Religious Regulation Quotes
The Shereth Israel congregation was the first organized Jewish congregation in America. Traditionally, in Europe the congregation would appoint a butcher to ritually slaughter animals and sell them to the congregation members at controlled prices. However, a New York butcher of the time decided that since America was a free country, he would sell directly to Jews and not go through the congregation, thus avoiding the price fixing which he thought unfairly low. The congregation responded as they traditionally had in Europe and asked the civil authorities to enforce their right to control religious activities in the community. The City Council then passed this law. The butcher appealed to the courts which ruled that he had the right to sell his meat regardless of the congregation—that the American law may not be used to enforce any religious tradition. The case set important precedents regarding the relationship between church and state, monopolies, and individual commercial rights.
Bishop Ames had been appointed by the war department to take charge of all the Christian churches in the Southern states as they were defeated. The reason is that most Southern clerics were advocates of the rebellion. However many Northern churches, especially those in border states also contained ministers who were not only preaching treason but also aiding the Southern cause. The President thought that the War Department’s order gave Ames authority over all churches where the minister aided the rebellion. So he wrote to Ames limiting the authority. After the President was assured that Ames authority would only extend to Southern churches that had been in the rebellion, Lincoln allowed Ames to appoint ministers and control churches. This is the only time in American history that the Federal government actually controlled churches directly.
