PENNSYLVANIA

The Act was passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly whose clerk interestingly enough was Tom Paine.

This appears to be the first statewide free public education system available to the poor.

This oath was even in force after the American Constitution was ratified and in effect. At the time, the Bill of Rights was not believed to be binding on the States—only on the Federal Government. Throughout American history there were many practices that were unconstitutional but were simply never litigated in the courts. Local community pressure often inhibited individuals from asserting their rights in the Federal Courts as did the expense. So, for most of American history local communities forced stores to close on Sunday. When the issue was finally taken to the Supreme Court, it was clear that such a practice was in violation of the First Amendment. Even in 2011, in Atlanta, it is “illegal” to buy beer on Sunday. When someone decides to litigate that, it will likely also be declared unconstitutional. The law not only discriminates against non Christians, but there are a few Christian sects which believe that Saturday is the Sabbath.

This early Pennsylvania law is surprising to many readers. Homosexuality under Mosaic law which most colonies followed was a capital crime. In the case of a Massachusetts rape law 3-years earlier, the judge was given discretion in imposing the death penalty for a traditional Biblical Capital Crime. However, in this Pennsylvania law, there was no provision for capital punishment for homosexual acts. Whipping was as far as they went.

This was a very creative solution to the problem of slavery. Slave holders and their supports have always claimed that the paid valuable money to acquire a slave and slaves were valuable personal property. Freeing slaves was the government confiscating their wealth. The Pennsylvania solution was to say that the labor of a slave for 7 years was worth far more than the cost of a slave, so that under this law, slave owners could get their monetary value back and make a modest profit, and slavery would gradually disappear over a 7 year period if no new slavery were allowed. Although it made a lot of sense, the Southern States felt that their economy was different—that they could never get free white men to pick cotton.

The Act was passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly whose clerk interestingly enough was Tom Paine.

This early Pennsylvania law is surprising to many readers. Homosexuality under Mosaic law which most colonies followed was a capital crime. In the case of a Massachusetts rape law 3-years earlier, the judge was given discretion in imposing the death penalty for a traditional Biblical Capital Crime. However, in this Pennsylvania law, there was no provision for capital punishment for homosexual acts. Whipping was as far as they went.

This was a very creative solution to the problem of slavery. Slave holders and their supports have always claimed that the paid valuable money to acquire a slave and slaves were valuable personal property. Freeing slaves was the government confiscating their wealth. The Pennsylvania solution was to say that the labor of a slave for 7 years was worth far more than the cost of a slave, so that under this law, slave owners could get their monetary value back and make a modest profit, and slavery would gradually disappear over a 7 year period if no new slavery were allowed. Although it made a lot of sense, the Southern States felt that their economy was different—that they could never get free white men to pick cotton.

This oath was even in force after the American Constitution was ratified and in effect. At the time, the Bill of Rights was not believed to be binding on the States—only on the Federal Government. Throughout American history there were many practices that were unconstitutional but were simply never litigated in the courts. Local community pressure often inhibited individuals from asserting their rights in the Federal Courts as did the expense. So, for most of American history local communities forced stores to close on Sunday. When the issue was finally taken to the Supreme Court, it was clear that such a practice was in violation of the First Amendment. Even in 2011, in Atlanta, it is “illegal” to buy beer on Sunday. When someone decides to litigate that, it will likely also be declared unconstitutional. The law not only discriminates against non Christians, but there are a few Christian sects which believe that Saturday is the Sabbath.

This appears to be the first statewide free public education system available to the poor.