The phrase of Jefferson (see above) was quoted by the United States Supreme Court first in 1878, and then in a series of cases starting in 1947.[SUP][55][/SUP] The phrase "separation of church and state" itself does not appear in the United States Constitution. The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The Supreme Court did not consider the question of how this applied to the states until 1947; when they did, in Everson v. Board of Education, the court determined that the first amendment applied to the states and that a law enabling reimbursement for busing to all schools (including parochial schools) was constitutional.[SUP][56][/SUP]"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."~ the first amendment.
scuttle on bucky.
you are once again out of your depth.
Before 1947, however, these provisions were not considered to apply at the state level;[SUP][dubious discuss][/SUP] indeed in the 1870s and 1890s unsuccessful attempts were made to amend the constitution to accomplish this, but it was accomplished by judicial decision in 1947.[SUP][57][/SUP][SUP][not in citation given][/SUP][SUP][58][/SUP]
The concept was implicit in the flight of Roger Williams from religious oppression in the Massachusetts Bay Colony to found the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations on the principle of state neutrality in matters of faith.[SUP][59][/SUP][SUP][60][/SUP]
Williams was motivated by historical abuse of governmental power, and believed that government must remove itself from anything that touched upon human beings relationship with God, advocating a "hedge or wall of Separation between the Garden of the Church and the Wilderness of the world" in order to keep the church pure.
Through his work Rhode Islands charter was confirmed by King Charles II of England, which explicitly stated that no one was to be molested, punished, disquieted, or called in question, for any differences in opinion, in matters of religion.
Williams is credited with helping to shape the church and state debate in England, and influencing such men as John Milton and particularly John Locke, whose work was studied closely by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and other architects of the U.S. Constitution. Williams theologically derived his views mainly from Scripture and his motive is seen as religious, but Jefferson's advocation of religious liberty is seen as political and social.[SUP][61][/SUP]
