My new essay in Civitas introduces novel research about the understanding of the Establishment Clause in 1868.
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essay → introduce → 1868
I dug through recently digitized archives of the Freedmen Bureau.
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I → dig → Bureau
In short, a federal government agency, headed by military chaplains, worked with religious groups to establish schools in the South, and the curriculum in those classes included bible readings and prayers.
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curriculum → head → readings
The regulations for Freedmen schools in Texas provided that classes would begin at 9 A.M. and "[t]he morning Exercises will commence with either the singing of an appropriate hymn, or prayer, or the reading of the Scriptures."
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Exercises → provide → Scriptures
After prayers, the students would sing "an appropriate hymn or melody."
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students → sing → hymn
The Freedmen school in Bainbridge, Georgia opened the day by reading one chapter from the Bible.
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school → open → Bible
The Freedmen school in Mobile, Alabama opened each day with a "divine service, which exercises consist of reading short selections from the Bible, after which the school repeat[s] the 23rd Psalm."
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school → open → Psalm
(It begins, "The Lord is my shepherd. . . .")
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Lord → begin → ?
"Then all kneel, when a short prayer is offered by some designated teacher, at the close of which all join in the repetition of the Lord's prayer, when the exercises are concluded by singing . . .
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exercises → kneel → prayer
In February 1868, a teacher at the Clinton's Freedmen's School in Tennessee reported to the Freedmen's Bureau that "the prayers of the pupils is [sic] encouraging."
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prayers → report → pupils
In October 1868, Dellie Gordon, a teacher at a Sabbath School in Prince George's County, Maryland, wrote to Rev. John Kimball, the Superintendent of District of Columbia Schools.
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Gordon → write → Schools
Gordon relayed that she "opened school on Sunday afternoon and recited the Ten Commandments which, the children had never heard before."
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children → relay → which
Gordon added that "with explaining the 2nd chap St. Matthew the afternoon passed very pleasantly."
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afternoon → add → chap
(This chapter discusses Jesus's birth and early childhood.)
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chapter → discuss → birth
The purpose of teaching scripture was not merely to promote literacy.
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purpose → teach → literacy
The Bureau recognized a close connection between teaching religion and promoting morality among the families of recently freed slaves.
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Bureau → recognize → slaves
In October 1866, the Superintendent of Schools for Alabama wrote that "[e]ffort has been made to supply the moral and religious wants of the freedmen as far as possible" through the donation of 2,000 Bibles from the American Bible Society.
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e]ffort → write → Society
The report observed that "portions of the Holy Scriptures find their way to households which, probably, would be reached in no other way."
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which → observe → way
Another report from Alabama explained that "[e]ffort has been made to supply the moral and religious wants of the freedmen as far as possible."
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e]ffort → explain → freedmen
General O.O. Howard, the Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau, and the namesake of Howard University, was told that teachers "explain[ed] the lessons of morals and christianity, so strikingly presented in every page of the Bible."
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teachers → tell → Bible
The schools also engaged in outright proselytization.
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schools → engage → proselytization
Teachers at American Missionary Association schools for Freedmen in Alabama were required to fill out a monthly report with questions about conversion: how many Bibles were distributed?
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Bibles → require → conversion
How many families were "engaged in religious services, either by reading the Scriptures, singing, or prayer"; how many "hopeful conversions, if any, during the month"?
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families → engage → month
One report from the Girard Freedmen School reported nine hopeful converts.
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report → report → converts
The Freedmen schools, which were managed and funded by the federal government, proactively incorporated the Bible into the curriculum.
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which → manage → curriculum
Students began their day with prayer, read from the bible, and teachers were encouraged to proselytize.
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teachers → begin → bible
These actions were viewed as a critical way to develop morality among the freedmen.
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actions → view → freedmen
This history from the Second Founding should inform how the Establishment Clause would have been understood when the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted.
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Amendment → inform → Founding
I have published here only a small bit of my research.
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I → publish → research
The full load will come in a forthcoming symposium article.
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load → come → article
I encourage others to follow this path, and see what else comes up.
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what → encourage → path
The Aporia
