New Jersey (December 18, 1787) was the 3rd State admitted to the Union. The Constitution of the State of New Jersey, adopted 1776, stated:
<Article XVIII. That no person shall ever, within this Colony, be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience;
That there shall be no establishment of any one religious sect in this Province, in preference to another; and that no Protestant inhabitant of this Colony shall be denied the enjoyment of any civil right, merely on account of his religious principles;
That all persons, professing a belief in the faith of any Protestant sect, and who should demean himself peaceably under the government, should be capable of being elected unto any office of profit or trust, or of being a member of either branch of the Legislature.> 1787NJ001
On February 15, 1804, the legislature of the State of New Jersey passed an Act which abolished slavery within the State. The Constitution of the State of New Jersey, adopted 1844 and 1947, stated:
<Preamble. We, the people of the State of New Jersey, grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing upon our endeavors to secure and transmit the same unimpaired to succeeding generations, do ordain and establish this Constitution.> 1787NJ002
<Article I, Section 3. No person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience.> 1787NJ003
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1787NJ001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). New Jersey, 1776, Constitution, Article XVIII. The Constitutions of the Several Independent States of America (Boston: Norman and Bowen, 1785), p. 73, Section 19. Benjamin Franklin Morris, The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States (Philadelphia, PA: L. Johnson & Co., 1863; George W. Childs, 1864), p. 234. 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). Edwin S. Gaustad, Neither King nor Prelate-Religion and the New Nation, 1776-1826 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1993), p. 167-168.
1787NJ002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). New Jersey, February 15, 1804, Act passed by the legislature of the State of New Jersey which abolished slavery within the State. Joseph Bloomfield, editor, Laws of the State of New Jersey, Compiled and Published Under the Authority of the Legislature (Trenton: James J. Wilson, 1811), pp. 103-105. New Jersey Constitution, 1844, 1947, Preamble. Charles E. Rice, The Supreme Court and Public Prayer (New York: Fordham University Press, 1964), pp. 172-173; "Hearings, Prayers in Public Schools and Other Matters," Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate (87th Cong., 2nd Sess.), 1962, pp. 268 et seq. Tim LaHaye, Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, Publishers, Inc., 1987), p. 92.
1787NJ003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). New Jersey, 1844, 1947, Constitution, Article I, Section 3. Charles E. Rice, The Supreme Court and Public Prayer (New York: Fordham University Press, 1964), pp. 172- 173; "Hearings, Prayers in Public Schools and Other Matters," Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate (87th Cong., 2nd Sess.), 1962, pp. 268 et seq. Tim LaHaye, Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, Publishers, Inc., 1987), p. 92.