Christian denominations and sects not treated equally in the 19th century
Notwithstanding what people say today, the United States of America was founded on Christian principles. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution “prevents the government from making laws … that prohibit the free exercise of religion.” It was clear that the First Amendment applied to the federal government, but the individual states were not bound by the bill of rights until the ratification bill the Fourteenth Amendment, which made the bill of right enforceable to all governmental entities in the United States, including the states. Until the Fourteenth Amendment, the states were unkind to, and at times downright, evil in their treatment of Christian denominations and sects that were in the minority of Christianity. Missouri’s treatment of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a prime example. The Latter-day Saints began moving into Jackson county, Missouri, in 1831, just one year after the church’s founding in New York. Based on...