In this Book

  • Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State
  • Book
  • Daniel Dreisbach
  • 2002
  • Published by: NYU Press
summary

The origins, controversial uses, and competing interpretations of Jefferson's famous remark—"wall of separation between church and state"

No phrase in American letters has had a more profound influence on church-state law, policy, and discourse than Thomas Jefferson’s “wall of separation between church and state,” and few metaphors have provoked more passionate debate. Introduced in an 1802 letter to the Danbury, Connecticut Baptist Association, Jefferson’s “wall” is accepted by many Americans as a concise description of the U.S. Constitution’s church-state arrangement and conceived as a virtual rule of constitutional law.

Despite the enormous influence of the “wall” metaphor, almost no scholarship has investigated the text of the Danbury letter, the context in which it was written, or Jefferson’s understanding of his famous phrase. Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State offers an in-depth examination of the origins, controversial uses, and competing interpretations of this powerful metaphor in law and public policy.

Table of Contents

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  1. Cover
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  1. Title Page, Copyright
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  1. Contents
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  1. 1. Introduction: The Creation of an American Metaphor
  2. pp. 1-8
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  1. 2. The President, a Mammoth Cheese, and the “Wall of Separation”: Jeffersonian Politics and the New England Baptists
  2. pp. 9-24
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  1. 3. “Sowing Useful Truths and Principles”: Thomas Jefferson and the Danbury Baptist Association
  2. pp. 25-54
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  1. 4. “What the Wall Separates”: A Jurisdictional Interpretation of the “Wall of Separation”
  2. pp. 55-70
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  1. 5. Early References to a “Wall of Separation”: Prefiguring the Jeffersonian Metaphor
  2. pp. 71-82
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  1. 6. Creating “Effectual Barriers”: Alternative Metaphors in Defense of Religious Liberty
  2. pp. 83-94
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  1. 7. “Useful Truths and Principles . . . Germinate and Become Rooted” in the American Mind: Jefferson’s Metaphor Enters Political and Juridical Discourse
  2. pp. 95-106
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  1. 8. Conclusion: The Re-Creation of Church-State Law, Policy, and Discourse
  2. pp. 107-128
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  1. Appendices: Appendices: Documents from the Papers of Thomas Jefferson
  1. 1. Proclamation Appointing a Day of Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer, May 1774
  2. p. 131
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  1. 2. Address to the Inhabitants of the Parish of St. Anne, 1774
  2. p. 132
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  1. 3. Bills Reported by the Committee of Revisors Appointed by the General Assembly of Virginia in 1776, 18 June 1779
  2. pp. 133-136
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  1. 4. Proclamation Appointing a Day of Publick and Solemn Thanksgiving and Prayer, November 1779
  2. pp. 137-139
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  1. 5. Draft of “The Kentucky Resolutions of 1798,” November 1798 (excerpt)
  2. pp. 140-141
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  1. 6. Correspondence with the Danbury Baptist Association, 1801–1802
  2. pp. 142-148
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  1. 7. Correspondence with the Citizens of Chesire, Massachusetts, January 1802
  2. pp. 149-151
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  1. 8. Second Inaugural Address, 4 March 1805 (excerpts)
  2. p. 152
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  1. 9. Letter from Jefferson to the Reverend Samuel Miller, 23 January 1808
  2. pp. 153-154
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  1. Notes
  2. pp. 155-243
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  1. Selected Bibliography
  2. pp. 245-269
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  1. Acknowledgments
  2. pp. 271-272
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  1. Index
  2. pp. 273-282
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  1. About the Author
  2. p. 283
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