DELAWARE

Civilian control of the Military did not just pop in to the Constitution 11 years later. This and many other fundamental ideas had come from the State Constitutions and other documents.

This was more than a decade before the Bill of Rights was created and passed. Delaware was so concerned about the separation of church and state that they would not allow any religious cleric or official, to serve in any position of the state militia or government. New York State the following year {621429} placed the same prohibition against clerics serving in any branch of the government. The U. S. Bill of rights did not go that far, but there are a number of religions that also support this notion. Perhaps the most dramatic example was Pope John Paul’s prohibition of Priests running for elective office.

See the Vermont Constitution for another variant of how slavery was abolished: {616994}

Note the phrase “well regulated militia.” This is the exact same phrase which the Founding Fathers chose to use in the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights over a decade later. And in this amendment the right to bear arms is provided for the “well regulated militia” and not for individuals as the Supreme Court has ruled many times. This quotation shows that the phrase was not just drafted by the founders, but had a clear and established meaning of which they were aware. Many people think that the phrase did not have a known meaning at the time but this quotation shows differently as the Constitutions of all the States were available to and studied by the Congress and most educated people.

Note that at the same time as the colonies were embarking on a War, there was a proscription against military conscription or a draft for a conscientious objector, albeit he had to pay the bonus so another man could be induced to take his place. However, the exemption for conscientious objectors has been eroded ever since whenever the nation has had conscription.

Civilian control of the Military did not just pop in to the Constitution 11 years later. This and many other fundamental ideas had come from the State Constitutions and other documents.

Note the phrase “well regulated militia.” This is the exact same phrase which the Founding Fathers chose to use in the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights over a decade later. And in this amendment the right to bear arms is provided for the “well regulated militia” and not for individuals as the Supreme Court has ruled many times. This quotation shows that the phrase was not just drafted by the founders, but had a clear and established meaning of which they were aware. Many people think that the phrase did not have a known meaning at the time but this quotation shows differently as the Constitutions of all the States were available to and studied by the Congress and most educated people.

Note that at the same time as the colonies were embarking on a War, there was a proscription against military conscription or a draft for a conscientious objector, albeit he had to pay the bonus so another man could be induced to take his place. However, the exemption for conscientious objectors has been eroded ever since whenever the nation has had conscription.

See the Vermont Constitution for another variant of how slavery was abolished: {616994}

This was more than a decade before the Bill of Rights was created and passed. Delaware was so concerned about the separation of church and state that they would not allow any religious cleric or official, to serve in any position of the state militia or government. New York State the following year {621429} placed the same prohibition against clerics serving in any branch of the government. The U. S. Bill of rights did not go that far, but there are a number of religions that also support this notion. Perhaps the most dramatic example was Pope John Paul’s prohibition of Priests running for elective office.