The first is an arrogant pre-tension falsified by the contradictory opinions of all Rulers in all ages, and throughout the world: the second an unhallowed perversion of the means of salvation" (Boston).

Madison's document was successful in crushing Henry's measure, as opposition flooded the Virginia statehouse from every corner of the commonwealth, and the bill was voted down (Boston). Using this momentum, Madison pushed Jefferson's "Act for Establishing Religious Freedom" through the assembly, while Jefferson was serving in France as the U.S. ambassador (Boston). Writing to Jefferson, Madison noted, "The enacting clauses passed without a single alteration, and I flatter myself have in this Country extinguished for ever the ambitious hope of making laws for the human kind" (Boston). It was not long before Madison had the opportunity to express these views to a national audience.

By 1787, it was obvious that the loose arrangement provided by the Articles of...
[ View Full Essay]