The Case for Sunday Mails: Sabbath Laws and the Separation of Church and State in Jacksonian America
In the years 1828–31, thousands of Americans joined a fierce public debate over an issue that, while appearing trivial to a modern eye, exposed differing visions of the meaning of the First Amendment and the limits of religious influence in a republican government. That issue was Sunday mails. Under...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Review |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2013
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| In: |
A journal of church and state
Year: 2013, Volume: 55, Issue: 1, Pages: 71-91 |
| Further subjects: | B
Book review
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In the years 1828–31, thousands of Americans joined a fierce public debate over an issue that, while appearing trivial to a modern eye, exposed differing visions of the meaning of the First Amendment and the limits of religious influence in a republican government. That issue was Sunday mails. Under the 1825 federal law regulating the post office, postmasters were obliged to open their offices “on every day on which a mail shall arrive” and to deliver this mail to its recipients “on every day of the week.”1 Outraged that the federal government was sanctioning a practice that violated the Christian Sabbath, Protestant evangelicals began an energetic petition campaign to force Congress to end not just the delivery but also the transportation of mail on Sundays. |
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| ISSN: | 2040-4867 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: A journal of church and state
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jcs/csr107 |