A Wall of Separation · Episode 2 of 14 · 37 min
How Jefferson and Madison Wrote Religious Freedom Into American Law
In one generation a colonial metaphor became national law. Virginia's fight over a church tax produced Madison's Memorial and Remonstrance and Jefferson's Statute for Religious Freedom, the Constitution banned religious tests, and the First Amendment forbade an establishment. In 1802 Jefferson gave the doctrine its enduring name in a letter to Connecticut Baptists.
Who's who
- James Madison+6 more episodesAuthor of the Memorial and Remonstrance and manager of the religion clauses
- Thomas Jefferson+10 more episodesAuthor of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and the Danbury letter
- Patrick HenrySponsor of the 1784 general-assessment bill
- George Washington+5 more episodesSupported Henry's assessment in principle; issued Thanksgiving proclamations
- John LelandBaptist preacher and ally of Madison in Virginia
Where it happens
- Virginia+3 more episodesSite of the fight over the church tax and the 1786 statute
- ConnecticutHome of the Danbury Baptists under a Congregational establishment
Timeline
- 1784Patrick Henry introduces a bill taxing Virginians for teachers of the Christian religion
- 1785Madison writes the Memorial and Remonstrance; petitions defeat the assessment
- January 16, 1786Virginia enacts Jefferson's Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom
- September 1787The Constitutional Convention adopts Article VI, barring religious tests
- December 15, 1791The Bill of Rights, including the First Amendment, is ratified
- January 1, 1802Jefferson tells the Danbury Baptists the First Amendment builds a wall of separation
Still debated
Scholars divide over whether the framers forbade only a single national church or all government support of religion. Critics argue the wall of separation phrase is a later gloss given outsized weight, and Madison's late private memoranda are contested as evidence.
← PreviousThe Man Who Invented 'Separation of Church and State' — Before JeffersonNext →When U.S. Public Schools Were Quietly Protestant — and Catholics Fought Back
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