New York (July 26, 1788) was the 11th State admitted to the Union. The Constitution of the State of New York, adopted 1777, stated:
<Article XXXVIII. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever hereafter be allowed, within this State, to all mankind: Provided, that the liberty of conscience, hereby granted, shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness.> 1788NY001
On March 29, 1799, the State of New York, in the twenty-second session, second meeting of the legislature, passed an Act which abolished slavery within the State. The Constitution of the State of New York, adopted 1777 and 1821, stated:
<And Whereas we are required, by the benevolent principles of rational liberty, not only to expel civil tyranny, but also to guard against that spiritual oppression and intolerance wherewith the bigotry and ambition of weak and wicked priests and princes have scourged mankind:
This Convention doth further, in the name and by the authority of the good people of this State, ordain, determine, and declare that the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever hereafter be allowed within this State to all mankind:
Provided, That the liberty of conscience hereby granted shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this State.
And Whereas the ministers of the gospel are, by their profession, dedicated to the service of God and the cure of souls...ought not to be diverted from the great duties of their function...> 1788NY002
<Blasphemy is a crime at common law and is not abrogated by the constitution.> 1788NY003
The Constitution of the State of New York, adopted 1846, stated:
<Preamble. We, the people of the State of New York, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings, do establish this Constitution.> 1788NY004
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1788NY001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). New York, 1777, Constitution, Article XXXVIII. Davis v. Beason, 133 U.S. 333, 341-343, 348 n. (1890). 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. 168.
1788NY002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). New York, March 29, 1799, in the twenty-second session, second meeting of the legislature of the State of New York, passed an Act which abolished slavery within the State. Laws of the State of New York, Passed at the Twenty-Second Session, Second Meeting of the Legislature (Albany: Loring Andrews, 1798), pp. 721- 723. New York Constitution, 1777, 1821. 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), pp. 236- 237.
1788NY003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). New York, 1777, 1821, Constitution, cited by the Massachusetts Supreme Court in the case of Commonwealth v. Abner Kneeland; 37 Mass. (20 Pick) 206, 207, 218. (Sup. Ct. Mass. 1838).
1788NY004. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). New York, 1846, 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). Charles E. Rice, The Supreme Court and Public Prayer (New York: Fordham University Press, 1964), p. 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. Benjamin Weiss, God in American History: A Documentation of America's Religious Heritage (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1966), p. 155. Tim LaHaye, Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, Publishers, Inc., 1987), p. 93. Gary DeMar, America's Christian History: The Untold Story (Atlanta, GA: American Vision Publishers, Inc., 1993), p. 66. Gary DeMar, "Censoring America's Christian History" (Atlanta, GA: The Biblical Worldview, An American Vision Publication-American Vision, Inc., July 1990).