Florida (March 3, 1845) was the 27th State admitted to the Union. The Constitution of the State of Florida, adopted 1838, stated:
<Bill of Rights. That all men have a natural and unalienable right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience; and that no preference shall ever be given by law to any religious establishment or mode of worship.> 1845FL001
The Constitution of the State of Florida, adopted 1885, stated:
<Preamble. We, the people of the State of Florida, grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty...establish this Constitution.> 1845FL002
The Constitution of the State of Florida, adopted 1885, stated:
<The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship shall forever be allowed in this State, and no person shall be rendered incompetent as a witness on account of his religious opinions, but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to justify licentiousness or practices subversive of, or inconsistent with, the peace or moral safety of the State or society.> 1845FL003
--
American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1845FL001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Florida, 1838. Constitution, Bill of Rights. Frances Newton Thorpe, ed., Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws of the States, Territories, and Colonies now or heretofore forming the United States, 7 vols. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1905; 1909; St. Clair Shores, MI: Scholarly Press, 1968), Vol. II, p. 664. Anson Phelps Stokes and Leo Pfeffer, Church and State in the United States (NY: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1950, revised one-volume edition, 1964), p. 156.
1845FL002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Florida, 1885, Constitution, Preamble. Frances Newton Thorpe, ed., Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws of the States, Territories, and Colonies now or heretofore forming the United States, 7 vols. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1905; 1909; St. Clair Shores, MI: Scholarly Press, 1968), Vol. II, p. 733. Charles E. Rice, The Supreme Court and Public Prayer (New York: Fordham University Press, 1964), p. 168; "Hearings, Prayers in Public Schools and Other Matters," Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate (87th Cong., 2nd Sess.), 1962, pp. 268 et seq. Anson Phelps Stokes and Leo Pfeffer, Church and State in the United States (NY: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1950, revised one-volume edition, 1964), p. 156.
1845FL003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Florida, 1885, Constitution. Frances Newton Thorpe, ed., Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws of the States, Territories, and Colonies now or heretofore forming the United States, 7 vols. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1905; 1909; St. Clair Shores, MI: Scholarly Press, 1968), Vol. II, p. 733. Anson Phelps Stokes and Leo Pfeffer, Church and State in the United States (NY: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1950, revised one-volume edition, 1964), p. 156.