Baudouin I Quotes
Do all have the freedom of conscience except the King?
The Belgian parliament legalized abortion and under the constitution the King had to sign the legislation. But he, a Roman Catholic, opposed abortion:. A political solution was found whereby the cabinet declared him unable to govern for a day and assumed his powers to promulgate the bill.
Baudouin I, King of Belgium, Quoted in New York Times, April 8, 1990
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Typical of the times, the king was accountable to no one for anything. 200 years later, most of the world have accepted the principle that no one is above the law and that every leader is accountable to the people.
John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian minister with evangelical sympathies, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
This appears to be one of the first religious groups to withdraw and separate from a state church.
This Cahier was the consensus of the Clergy of Blois in 1789. There were cahiers of several provinces of France—some by the clergy, some by the nobles. What is fascinating is the emergence of many of the pre-revolutionary French concepts. The example of the American revolution and its principles was known throughout the educated classes of France.
Some of the Patriots of Early America realized that the oppressions of British rule were coming from Parliament and initially took the position that only the King could make laws for the colonies and not Parliament. Therefore, they were as Englishmen challenging illegal English laws. Most American hostility was directed at Parliament and not the King. However, once there was any physical resistance, King George came down with such a heavy hand that American hatred transferred to him. For related quotes on the King/Parliament issue, see {639145}, {639144}, {639142}, {639141}, {639140}, & {639137}
Many American colonists had relatives and friends in England, and Paine argued that American independence would help and not het the English people.
Baudouin was King of the Belgians from 1951 until his death in 1993. He was the last Belgian king to be sovereign of the Congo.