“Religious liberty is the chief cornerstone of the American system of government, and provisions for its security are embedded in the written charter and interwoven in the moral fabric of its laws. Anything that tends to invade a right so essential and sacred must be carefully guarded against, and I am satisfied that my countrymen, ever mindful of the suffering and sacrifices necessary to obtain it, will never consent to its impairment for any reason or under any pretext whatsoever.” Thomas F. Bayard, (1828-1898) U.S. Senator from Delaware, U.S. Secretary of State, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Source: Foreign Relations of the United States for 1885, pp.48-51.
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