Tillman, Seth (2021) A Religious Test in America?: The 1809 Motion to Vacate Jacob Henry’s North Carolina State Legislative Seat—A Re-Evaluation of the Primary Sources. The North Carolina historical review, 98 (1). pp. 1-41. ISSN 0029-2494

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Abstract

During 1776, but prior to announcing the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress instructed the state legislatures to call conventions to draft constitutions to regularize their local state governments so that each could be administered in the name of the People and absent royal governors and royal officers. North Carolina heeded the revolutionary call—in 1776, it implemented a new constitution with a bill of rights. One interesting feature of the 1776 North Carolina Constitution was that Article 32 imposed a religious test. Article 32 stated: That no person, who shall deny the being of God or the truth of the Protestant religion, or the divine authority either of the Old or New Testaments, or who shall hold religious principles incompatible with the freedom and safety of the State, shall be capable of holding any office or place of trust or profit in the civil department within this State.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Religious Test; America; 1809; Vacate; Jacob Henry; North Carolina; State Legislative; Seat—A Re-Evaluation; Primary Sources;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Law
Item ID:	13964
Depositing User:	Seth Tillman
Date Deposited:	08 Feb 2021 16:11
Journal or Publication Title:	The North Carolina historical review
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	https://ssrn.com/abstract=3498217
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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