Topic: Legal History
Media › document
Massachusetts Constitution
The 1780 Massachusetts constitution allowed religious toleration, but it also mandated tax-funded religious instruction by teachers who were Protestant. Unlike Jefferson and his colleagues in Virginia, Massachusetts leaders assumed that...
Media › document
Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments
James Madison opposed Patrick Henry’s 1784 bill for tax-supported religion in Virginia. In this pamphlet refuting Henry’s arguments, Madison described religious liberty as a natural right. For Madison, that meant...
Media › document
Memorial to the States General
In this message, John Adams explains why the Netherlands should accept him as a legitimate diplomatic envoy. He discusses the many reasons why Americans rejected British rule and points out...
Media › document
Molasses Act
Parliament passed the Molasses Act in 1733 in order to encourage North American British colonists to buy sugar products, such as molasses and rum, from other British colonies. The law...
Media › document
New England Restraining Act
The New England Restraining Act was passed by Parliament in order to punish the colonies for their boycott of British goods. The law prohibited the New England colonies from trading...
Media › document
New York Assembly Dissolved
This 1776 proclamation from the royal governor of New York sent the colony’s legislators home and shut down the legislature. As conflict between the colonies and Great Britain intensified, representatives...
Media › document
Northwest Ordinance
Based on principles put forth by Jefferson a few years earlier, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established a three-step process for turning territories into states. When the white population of...
Media › document
Pennsylvania and the Federal Constitution
This quotation is from James Wilson’s opening address to the Pennsylvania ratifying convention. Wilson, a delegate to both the Philadelphia convention and his state convention, was a strong supporter of...
Media › document
Petition to the King
This document is the so-called “Olive Branch” petition sent by the Second Continental Congress to George III. In July 1775, certain delegates insisted that the colonists make a final effort...
Media › document