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John Winthrop Founds the Massechuesetts bay colony in 1630

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John Winthrop Founds the Massechuesetts bay colony in 1630

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In an attempt to found his own colony due to dissatisfaction with the Protestant Reformation, John Winthrop made his way to Massachusetts to be free from discrimination since Puritans were not held in a positive light. In Massachusetts, John and his colonists were unprepared for the harsh environment they placed themselves in and began to betray their goals of freedom in favor of being obedient to God so they would be fortunate enough to survive. Anyone who stepped out of line was exiled to the wilderness.

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Puritans were especially wary of witchcraft and the influence of other religions being present in their society. Due to this paranoia, Salem residents began to accuse eachother of witchcraft, the first being seven teenage girls who would act strangely and were thought to be victims of witchcraft. They blamed their neighbors, who blamed others, to save themselves. This resulted in the hanging of 19 residents and the crushing of Giles Cory.

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Bill For Establishing Religious Freedom June 18 1779

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Bill For Establishing Religious Freedom June 18 1779

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Due to the religious diversity of America, it was important, moving forward that a bill like this be passed. Separation between state and Church had to be defined, as it was something that was reminiscent of England's system of governance, which America aimed to do the opposite of. The bill ended official religion as well as persecution from the government.

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Well aware that the opinions and belief of men depend not on their own will, but follow involuntarily the evidence proposed to their minds; that 1 Almighty God hath created the mind free, and manifested his supreme will that free it shall remain by making it altogether insusceptible of restraint; 2 that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments, or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, 3 who being lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do, but to extend it by its influence on reason alone; 4 that the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavoring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world and through all time: That to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, 4 is sinful and tyrannical; that even the forcing him to support this or that teacher of his own religious persuasion, is depriving him of the comfortable liberty of giving his contributions to the particular pastor whose morals he would make his pattern, and whose powers he feels most persuasive to righteousness; and is withdrawing from the ministry those temporary 5 rewards, which proceeding from an approbation of their personal conduct, are an additional incitement to earnest and unremitting labours for the instruction of mankind; that our civil rights have no dependance on our religious opinions, any more than 6 our opinions in physics or geometry; that therefore the proscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages to which, in common with his fellow citizens, he has a natural right; that it tends also 7 to corrupt the principles of that very 8 religion it is meant to encourage, by bribing, with a monopoly of worldly honours and emoluments, those who will externally profess and conform to it; that though indeed these are criminal who do not withstand such temptation, yet neither are those innocent who lay the bait in their way; that the opinions of men are not the object of civil government, nor under its jurisdiction; 9 that to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion and to restrain the profession or propagation of principles on supposition of their ill tendency is a dangerous falacy, which at once destroys all religious liberty, because he being of course judge of that tendency will make his opinions the rule of judgment, and approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they shall square with or differ from his own; that it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government for its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts against peace and good order; and finally, that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself; that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate; errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them.

We the General Assembly of Virginia do enact 10 that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.

And though we well know that this Assembly, elected by the people for the ordinary purposes of legislation only, have no power to restrain the acts of succeeding Assemblies, constituted with powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this act 11 irrevocable would be of no effect in law; yet we are free to declare, and do declare, that the rights hereby asserted are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present or to narrow its operation, such act will be an infringement of natural right.

, p. 58-9. No MS copy of this famous Bill has been found. Text of Act as adopted in 1785 is in xii, 84-6. The engrossed MS copy of the Act, on parchment, is in Vi (photostat in TJ Editorial Files); the text in Hening agrees with this authoritative text and also with the text of the official printing in the session laws of Oct. 1785 (Acts passed at a General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Richmond: Dunlap and Hayes [1786], p. 26-7). For various contemporary printed texts, see note below. Since the printed text of 1779 is reproduced in facsimile in this volume, the text of the has been followed here so that the slight variations in punctuation and spelling can be noted. The texts of both the 1779 broadside and the 1784 are obviously different from the MS as TJ would normally have written it, the former employing such spellings as "honours," "labour," &c., and the latter being punctuated in an erratic manner. These variations may be attributed to copyists' or printers' errors. These two texts are the closest we can get to TJ's original, but there is little to choose between them: the most that can be said is that the 1779 broadside is the earliest known text. Those parts of the Bill that were deleted by amendment are printed in italic type; it is important to note that this device is employed only as a graphic means of showing at a glance the changes made by the General Assembly and that the text as printed in , p. 58-9, is entirely in roman type and should, for ordinary purposes, be so quoted.

For a good summary and background of TJ's attitude toward the established Church, dissenting groups, and the relationship of church and state, see Malone, Jefferson, i, 274-80. This Bill, which TJ ranked with the Declaration of Independence, might indeed be considered as a necessary consequence of it: as the Declaration of Independence asserted the natural right of a people to choose any form of government conducive to their safety and happiness, so the Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom asserted the natural right of a person to choose his beliefs and opinions free of compulsion. In this sense the famous preamble to TJ's Bill provided philosophical justification, as of natural right, not merely for the ideas of religious toleration and separation of state and church but also for the right of the individual to complete intellectual liberty-"the opinions of men are not the object of civil government, nor under its jurisdiction." TJ later asserted that the effort to disestablish the Church of England in Virginia and to establish religious freedom brought on "the severest contests" in which he had ever been engaged (see Notes and Proceedings on Discontinuing the Establishment of the Church of England, 11 Oct. to 9 Dec. 1776). The effort had resulted in 1776 in a compromise: TJ and his colleagues had failed to obtain repeal of all laws interfering with religious worship and, instead of disestablishing the Church, had only succeeded in exempting dissenters from levies made in behalf of the establishment. From 1776 to 1779 the General Assembly was assailed with petitions for and against further reform. The particular issue was whether the maintenance of churches should be left to voluntary contributions or whether "a general assessment should not be established by law, on every one, to the support of the pastor of his choice" (Autobiography, i, 54). The Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, though TJ declared he had drawn it in 1777, was probably not brought forward in these years from 1776 to 1779 because the intense fight over the question of a general assessment made it difficult enough to hold the position that had been gained. However, on 4 June 1779, after TJ had been elected governor, the House ordered Harvie, Mason, and Baker to bring in a bill on this subject. TJ's Bill was presented by Harvie on 12 June, the next day it passed the second reading, and the third reading was postponed to 1 Aug., which killed it for that session (, May 1779, 1827 edn., p. 34, 36, 44, 46).

There is no reference in the Journals of the House of Delegates to the printing of TJ's Bill as introduced at the May 1779 session, but, though attributed to the year 1785 in the bibliographies of Sabin and others, it was printed in the summer of 1779 as a broadside under the title: "A BILL for establishing RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, printed for the consideration of the PEOPLE" (see facsimile reprint in this volume; see also Mazzei to TJ, 19 Mch. 1780). Whether this was done under the authority of the General Assembly or privately by TJ and other supporters of the Bill is not certain, but, though the General Assembly from time to time did print bills that were held over from one session to another so that they could be discussed by the people (e.g., see Bill for Giving the Members of the General Assembly an Adequate Allowance, 12 Dec. 1778), the available evidence seems to support the supposition that it was privately issued. For, if the General Assembly had authorized publication, there would seem to be no reason why such authorization should not have appeared in the Journals, as other similar authorizations did. Also, at the Oct. 1779 session there were several petitions for and against this particular Bill and two of them express doubt as to whether the publication was authorized by the General Assembly or not. A petition from Augusta county expressed approval of "the bill presented to the last Assembly, (and published, as they suppose, for the Consideration of the people) 'for establishing religious freedom'" and prayed that it be enacted into law. Another petition from dissenters in Lunenberg county asserted that they had seen "a bill which they suppose was published by order of the last Assembly, 'for establishing religious freedom'" (this petition, incidentally, supports TJ's assertion that some of the dissenting groups, having gained their point in 1776, went over to the opposition and supported the idea of a general assessment; for the petition of the Lunenberg dissenters approved the Bill and at the same time prayed for the enactment of a general assessment). Other petitions from Essex and Amherst concerned the Bill but did not refer to the fact or. the method of its being printed (, Oct. 1779, 1827 edn., p. 20, 27, 32, 37). It seems obvious that, if this Bill had been printed under public authority, that fact would have been known to the petitioners and their memorials to the General Assembly would not, therefore, have expressed doubt on the point. For if the broadside had been printed by public authorization, it would no doubt have been transmitted as such by the clerk of the House or by the executive department. When the printing of The Report of the Committee of Revisors was authorized by the General Assembly in 1784, the resolution specifically directed that the pamphlet "be distributed throughout the several counties by the Executive, in such manner as they shall judge most conducive to the end proposed." It is difficult to imagine what motive could have persuaded, or what means could have been employed by, the General Assembly to conceal its authorization of the printing of the broadside if, as on this and other occasions, its object was to have the Bill "printed for the consideration of the people."

The effort to have Bill No. 82 passed separately at the May and Oct. sessions in 1779 was not successful. But in Oct. 1785 this Bill was one of two in the second half of the revisal brought up for consideration and the only one of these adopted (the other was Bill No. 79). Madison reported to Monroe on the day the Bill passed the House: "The Bill proportioning crimes and punishments was the one at which we stuck after wading thro' the most difficult parts of it. A few subsequent bills however were excepted from the postponement. Among these was the Bill for establishing Religious freedom, which has got thro' the H. of Delegates without alteration, though not without warm opposition. Mr. Mercer and Mr. Corbin were the principal Combatants against it" (Madison to Monroe, 17 Dec. 1785, Writings, ed. Hunt, ii, 205). This was something of an understatement. The Bill was introduced by Madison 31 Oct. 1785, read twice, and referred to the committee of the whole. It was debated and amended by the committee on 15 Dec., and this amendment, which has not been identified, was approved by the House the next day. At the same time another amendment was proposed-that is, that the whole of TJ's preamble be struck out and the following substituted therefor: "Whereas, it is declared by the Bill of Rights, 'that religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore, all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience, and it is the mutual duty of all to practice christian forbearance, love and charity towards each other'" (, Oct. 1785, 1828 edn., p. 12-15, 93, 94, 95). When Madison reported on this Bill to TJ, 22 Jan. 1786, q.v., he mentioned the Senate's effort to accomplish the same amendment, but did not refer to that attempted earlier in the House. As an indication of the importance attached to this whole question, it is worth noting that the ayes and noes on this amendment were recorded in the Journals. The amendment failed by a vote of 38 to 66.

On 17 Dec. a motion was made to postpone the third reading of the engrossed Bill until the Oct. session 1786, but this was defeated. The Bill was thereupon read the third time, put to a vote, passed by a majority of 74 to 20, and transmitted to the Senate. The ayes and noes were ordered to be recorded. Those voting in favor of the Bill were: Joshua Fry, Wilson Cary Nicholas, Joseph Eggleston, Samuel Jordan Cabell, Zachariah Johnston, Michael Bowyer, John Trigg, Robert Clark, George Hancock, Archibald Stuart, William Anderson, Hickerson Barksdale, John Clarke (Campbell), Samuel Hawes, Anthony New, John Daniel, Henry Southall, French Strother, Henry Fry, William Gatewood, Meriwether Smith, Charles Simms, David Stuart, William Pickett, Thomas Helm, Christopher Greenup, James Garrard, George Thomson, Alexander White, Charles Thruston, Thomas Smith, George Clendennin, John Lucas, Jeremiah Pate, Ralph Humphreys, Isaac Vanmiter, George Jackson, Nathaniel Wilkinson, John Mayo, Jr., John Rentfro, William Norvell, John Roberts, William Dudley, Thomas Moore, Carter Braxton, Benjamin Temple, Francis Peyton, Christopher Robertson, Samuel Garland, Benjamin Logan, David Scott, William Pettijohn, Robert Sayres, Daniel Trigg, William Hartwell Macon, Griffin Stith, David Bradford, James Madison, Charles Porter, William Harrison, Benjamin Lankford, John Clarke (Prince Edward), Richard Bibb, Cuthbert Bullitt, Daniel Carroll Brent, Williamson Ball, Andrew Moore, John Hopkins, Gawin Hamilton, Isaac Zane, John Tayloe, John Whittaker Willis, Andrew Kincannon, and James Innes.

Those who voted against the Bill were: Thomas Claiborne, Miles King, Worlich Westwood, John Page, Garland Anderson, Elias Wills, William Thornton, Francis Corbin, Willis Riddick, Daniel Sandford, John Gordon, Edward Bland, Anthony Walke, George Lee Turberville, William Garrard, John Francis Mercer, Carter Bassett Harrison, Richard Cary, Jr., Wilson Cary, and Richard Lee.

The Senate amended the Bill and returned it to the House on 29 Dec.; this was precisely the same amendment that had been offered in the House two weeks earlier. This time the amendment failed of adoption by a vote of 35 to 56, a vote that, like the earlier one, reflected opposition to the preamble rather than to the Bill; for the vote in favor of the Bill on 17 Dec. included some (e.g., such a conservative as Carter Braxton) who voted in favor of the amendment on 29 Dec. There was, on the other hand, almost no shifting of position among those whose names are recorded as voting on the amendment on both 16 Dec. and 29 Dec.: Francis Peyton voted in favor of it on the former date and against it on the latter; Anthony New and John Prunty voted against it at first and then for it.

The Senate on 9 Jan. 1786 insisted on its amendment and requested a free conference on the subject of its amendment, to which the House agreed. The managers met on 12 Jan. 1786. The Senate's "objections [to the preamble]," wrote Madison, "were frivolous indeed. In order to remove them as they were understood by the Managers of the H. of D. the preamble was sent up again from the H. of D. [on 13 Jan.] with one or two verbal alterations. As an amendment to these the Senate sent down a few others, which as they did not affect the substance though they somewhat defaced the composition, it was thought better to agree to than to run further risks, especially as it was getting late in the Session and the House growing thin. The enacting clauses past without a single alteration, and I flatter myself have in this country extinguished for ever the ambitious hope of making laws for the human mind" ( Madison to TJ, 22 Jan. 1786; , Oct. 1785, 1828 edn., p. 12-15, 93, 94, 95, 96, 115, 117, 134, 135, 138, 139, 143-4, 148). The amendments offered by the Senate, and agreed to by the House on 16 Jan. 1786, are indicated in notes 1, 2, and 4; other amendments made either in the House or Senate are indicated in notes 7, 8, 9, and 11.

Madison and others thought these amendments rendered "the style less elegant, though the sense is not affected" ( xii, 84). But Malone (I, 279) is quite correct in saying that these amendments deleted "some of the more sweeping statements about the supremacy and illimitability of reason; and, as a result, the statute did not rest on quite so broad a base as the one its author had designed."

Ironically, due to TJ himself, it was the text neither of the Bill as originally submitted nor of the Act as finally adopted that was in his day and subsequently most generally accepted as "The Act for Establishing Religious Freedom." In 1776 TJ had revealed his desire to have the world, or at least some of his friends and political associates, know the text of the Declaration of Independence as he had drafted it, and he had sent out several copies that he had laboriously copied by hand. But his pristine text was not printed at all until more than a quarter of a century had elapsed and it never came close to achieving the popularity enjoyed by the text as adopted by Congress. But the Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom fared differently: its full text as drafted by TJ was put into type six years before its altered version was enacted into law. What was more important, TJ, being in France at the time his Bill was adopted, saw to it that the famous declaration was widely distributed. It was not mere pride of authorship but pride of country as well that led him to obtain publication in Europe: "it is honorable for us," he wrote Madison, "to have produced the first legislature who has had the courage to declare that the reason of man may be trusted with the formation of his own opinions" ( TJ to Madison, 16 Dec. 1786); in the same letter TJ reported that the Act "has been received with infinite approbation in Europe and propagated with enthusiasm"; that it had been translated into French and Italian, had been sent to most of the courts of Europe, had been inserted in the Encyclopédie méthodique, was appearing in most of the publications respecting America, such as those of Brissot, Clavière, and Mazzei; and that it had "been the best evidence of the falshood of those reports which stated us to be in anarchy." Though his motive in promoting publication in Europe was elevated, TJ nevertheless took unwarranted liberties with the authoritative text of this immortal statute, as the following facts clearly prove.

Facsimiles of what TJ in the epitaph that he later drew up referred to as "the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom" are to be found in TJ Editorial Files: (1) A BILL for establishing RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, I printed for the consideration of the PEOPLE. Williamsburg, 1779]. Broadside, Boston Public Library, Evans 19350, 7476, and Sabin 100041. (All three bibliographies, apparently assuming that the Bill was published under public authority in the fall of 1785 when the Bill was being debated, assign that date, the place as Richmond, and James Hayes, the public printer, as the printer. Since the Bill was undoubtedly printed in 1779, and was probably issued privately, this assignment should be changed as to place, printer and date, and probably as to publisher); (2) An ACT for establishing RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, I passed in the assembly of Virginia in the beginning / of the year 1786. [Paris, 1786]. Four-page pamphlet. Copy in PHi; another that TJ sent to van Hogendorp was found by Dr. Howard C. Rice, Jr., in the Van Hogendorp papers, Rijksarchief, The Hague, Sabin 100342. This text, which was sent to various persons by TJ as a separate pamphlet, was also bound in as an appendix to some copies of the first edition of Notes on Virginia. It was later included as an appendix to the 1787 Stockdale edition, the 1788 (first American) edition printed in Philadelphia by Prichard and Hall, and in subsequent editions of the Notes. The text of (5) below derives from one of these editions. (3) Acte de la République de VIRGINIE, / qui établit la liberté de Religion. [Paris, 1786]. Fourpage pamphlet, probably printed by Philippe-Denys Pierres (see ii, 237). Copy in NN; another found by Dr. Rice in Van Hogendorp papers, Rijksarchief, The Hague, Sabin 100342; (4) An ACT for establishing RELIGIOUS / FREE- / DOM, passed in the Assembly / of Virginia in the beginning of the year 1786 / [rule] / Acte de la République de VIRGINIE, / qui établit la liberté de Religion, passé / à l'assemblée de la Virginie au commen- / cement de l'année 1786. [Paris, 1786]. Eight-page pamphlet found by Dr. Rice, in the Bibliothèque de l'Institut de France, Paris, Sabin 100344; (5) REPUBLICAN NOTES / on / RELIGION; / AND, / an ACT ESTABLISHING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, passed in the ASSEMBLY of / VIRGINIA, in the YEAR 1786. / [rule] / BY THOMAS JEFFERSON, ESQUIRE, / president of the united states. / [rule] /[ornament] / DANBURY: /printed by THOMAS ROWE. / 1803. Twelvepage pamphlet containing extracts from Query xvii, Notes on Virginia and (p. 9-11) the text of "An ACT for establishing RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, / passed in the Assembly of Virginia, in the beginning / of the Year 1786," Sabin 35914. This text, as well as the title, obviously derives from that described under (2) above. These various contemporary versions are referred to in the notes below as Text (1), Text (2), &c.

A glance at Texts (2) to (5) above is sufficient to show that they are not derived from the broadside of 1779, or from the of 1784, or even from the printed session laws of 1785. They are, in the points noted below, at variance with both the Bill and the Act. All of the English texts described above, excluding Text (1) of course, agree. All of the French texts, which vary from the English texts in one important particular but possibly were derived from one of them, agree with each other. Clearly TJ had before him a copy of the Act as adopted when he prepared this English version of 1786; it is equally clear that he also had at hand a copy of the Bill when he produced this curious hybrid text whose stemma embraced those of both Bill and Act. The following variations are to be noted. First, English Texts (2), (4), (5) do not begin, as the Act does, with the phrase "Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free" but, as the amended Bill does, with the words "Well aware that Almighty God hath created the mind free." This incorporates part of the amendment indicated in note 1, below, but also restores part of the deleted initial phrase of the Bill. The French texts agree with the English in this variant reading. Second, the deletions made by amendments to the Bill as described in notes 2, 4, and 9 below are all followed in English and French Texts (2) to (5), since none of these texts contains any of the words or clauses deleted in these places or their equivalent. Third, English Texts (2), (4), (5) agree with the Bill rather than the Act as adopted by including the word "very" at the point indicated in note 8, below. Finally and curiously, French Texts (3) and (4) agree with the Bill rather than with the Act in the phraseology of the enacting clause (see note 10, below), reading: "Nous, l'Assemblée générale de Virginie, établissons pour loi‥‥" The English Texts (2), (4), and (5), however, read as follows: "Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly ‥‥" which is neither the text of the Bill nor that of the Act as adopted (the latter does not contain the word "therefore"). Ironically, TJ himself, by accepting in part the enacting clause agreed upon by the General Assembly and by retaining the opening words ("Well aware that") of his Bill, did grammatical and structural violence to his great declaration of intellectual and spiritual freedom. It is inexplicable that the English Texts (2), (4), and (5) should have had this fault, and that the French Texts (3) and (4) should not have. The long French preamble beginning "Convaincus que le Dieu tout puissant a créé libre l'esprit de l'homme" is made grammatically and structurally sound when the enacting clause following it reads: "Nous, l'Assemblée générale de Virginie, établissons pour loi‥‥" But the preamble of English Texts (2), (4), and (5) which begins "Well aware that Almighty God hath created the mind free ‥‥" is left dangling in mid-air, without a noun or pronoun to depend on, when its enacting clause, instead of following the Bill as TJ drew it with its stately "We the General Assembly do enact," reads "Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly."

TJ's hybrid English version of 1786, which is neither precisely that of the Bill nor that of the Act, unfortunately triumphed over the more elevated style of the former and over the legally more correct form of the latter. This version, with its unhappily dangling preamble, became established in America by the 1788 edition of the Notes on Virginia. The H. A. Washington edition of TJ's Writings unfortunately carried the hybrid text, and even the title given it in 1786-"An Act for establishing Religious Freedom, passed in the Assembly of Virginia in the beginning of the year 1786." The Commonwealth of Virginia could go on publishing the authoritative version (e.g., The Code of Virginia, Richmond, 1849, p. 358-60); and Ford (ii, 237-9) could print the Bill as it was in the 1784 ; but when the most widely used edition of TJ's papers () repeated the incorrect text used in the Washington edition, that form became so firmly established that the authoritative or the original versions could never hope to displace it. Even scholarly editors of modern texts, such as Adrienne Koch and William Peden (The Life and Writings of Thomas Jefferson, New York, 1944, p. 311-13), continue to repeat the unhappy hybridization of errors that TJ propagated in 1786.

3. In his Autobiography TJ wrote: "Where the preamble declares that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed, by inserting the word 'Jesus Christ,' so that it should read, 'a departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion' the insertion was rejected by a great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of it's protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindoo, and infidel of every denomination" ( i, 62). There is no record in the Journals of this particular amendment.

5. Text (1) reads "temporal," which is clearly what TJ intended. The clerk's or printer's error which caused the to read "temporary" was repeated in the Act as adopted, thus giving legal sanction to an incorrect usage that TJ could not tolerate. Accordingly in 1786 he restored "temporal" to Text (2), a reading which was followed by the derivatives of that text. The various revisals and codifications of Virginia laws, however, have adhered to the legally correct but otherwise improper "temporary."

6. Text (1) reads: "any more than on our opinions in physicks or geometry." The error of the clerk or printer in omitting "on" in the was repeated in the Act as adopted. TJ in 1786 restored the preposition to Text (2), but at the same time the word "any" at the beginning of the clause quoted was omitted, a reading followed by the derivatives of that text. It is quite possible that this omission of the word "any" may have been made by the printer of Text (2) for no better reason than that of justifying his lines. While TJ's alterations in the text of the Act were, with this one possible exception, obviously intentional, other contemporaneous texts departed from the wording of the Act with engaging innocence either of a regard for accuracy or of respect for exact legal phraseology. The Act as printed, for example, in the Virginia Gazette, or American Advertiser (Richmond: James Hayes) for 22 Feb. 1786 dropped a conjunction, altered spellings, and substituted new words, such as "preacher" for "teacher," "suspicion" for "supposition," "minister" for "ministry," "habit" for "bait," "have" for "hath," and "physic" for "physics." This particular printing is possibly the one that was sent to TJ, though the Act may also have appeared in the Virginia Gazette and Independent Chronicle (Richmond: Dixon & Holt) and the Virginia Gazette & Weekly Advertiser (Richmond: Thomas Nicholson) and may have been sent to TJ from one of these sources. Certainly the text that was printed by Isaiah Thomas as "from the Virginia Gazette" in Madison's A Memorial and Remonstrance (Worcester, 1786) would seem to be derived from another text than that presented in James Hayes' Virginia Gazette; for Thomas' text repeats only three of its many vagaries-"preacher," "minister," and "physic." The text that appeared in Hayes' newspaper bore the attestation of John Beckley, clerk of the House, and of H. Brooke, clerk of the Senate. It is quite probable, therefore, that the words "preacher," "minister," and "physic" (as well as the variation indicated in note 10, below) were clerks' errors, just as Beckley's supervision of the printing of the Report of the Committee of Revisors had perpetuated such errors as those pointed out in this and the preceding note.

It was Dr. Richard Price, distinguished zealot for the American cause, who surpassed clerks, printers, and even TJ himself in taking liberties with the wording of a Virginia statute. In 1786 Dr. Price distributed copies of the Act in a broadside circular as "an example of legislative wisdom and liberality never before known" (London, 1786; Sabin 100343). This printing was undoubtedly based on Text (2), though the copy of the first edition of Notes on Virginia that TJ inscribed and presented to Dr. Price (Paris: privately printed, 1785; this copy now in NjP) does not contain that text. Thus, taking TJ's hybrid version of the Act as his starting point, Dr. Price produced a more extensively altered text that no one, fortunately, seems to have followed. Whatever Dr. Price may have felt about the wisdom and liberality of the legislature that adopted the Act, he indubitably thought that he could improve upon the style of the law. He therefore freely struck out words and phrases, altered others, and provided many variant readings; some of these were indubitable improvements, such as his excision of the word "bait" in an otherwise exalted passage.

10. In employing this phraseology, TJ departed from the usual form for the enacting clause. "We the General Assembly of Virginia do enact" is certainly more suited to the elevated style of the Bill than "Be it enacted by the General Assembly"; but, despite Madison's statement that no alterations were made in the enacting clause, the latter is the form that was adopted. Whether this was by amendment in the House or in the Senate is not certain. As noted above, TJ caused Text (2) to read: "Be it therefore enacted ‥‥" This does not conform to the text of the Act as adopted, which omits "therefore"; but it does conform to the attested copy of the Act as printed in Hayes' Virginia Gazette for 22 Feb. 1786. This seems to confirm the suggestion advanced in note 6, above, that TJ made use of a newspaper text of the Act as he was engaged in preparing Text (2).

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Founders Online: 82. A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, 18 June 1779

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82. A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, 18 June 1779

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The technological innovations of the 18th century gave rise to optimal manufacturing via factory labor, creating jobs for many via the mass production of goods. Textiles and other materials could be created at faster rates, moving a large number of laborers to cities and dorms to be factory workers. Social classes and gender roles became altered and started to guide American society in a different direction.

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The Treaty of Buffalo Creek in 1838 was directed toward the tribes occupying the New York area. The affected tribes were displaced from their land, and the Seneca were exiled to Kansas, many of whom died on their Journey there. The treaty was later violated in order to tax Native Americans as New York citizens, allowing some land to be given back in 1842, except Buffalo Creek.

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Jan. 15, 1838. | 7 Stat., 550. | Proclamation, Apr. 4, 1840.
Articles of a treaty made and concluded at Buffalo Creek in the State of New York, the fifteenth day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, by Ransom H. Gillet, a commissioner on the part of the United States, and the chiefs, head men and warriors of the several tribes of New York Indians assembled in council witnesseth:
WHEREAS, the six nations of New York Indians not long after the close of the war of the Revolution, became convinced from the rapid increase of the white settlements around, that the time was not far distant when their true interest must lead them to seek a new home among their red brethren in the West: And whereas this subject was agitated in a general council of the Six nations as early as 1810, and resulted in sending a memorial to the President of the United States, inquiring whether the Government would consent to their leaving their habitations and their removing into the neighborhood of their western brethren, and if they could procure a home there, by gift or purchase, whether the Government would acknowledge their title to the lands so obtained in the same manner it had acknowledged it in those from whom they might receive it; and further, whether the existing treaties would, in such a case remain in full force, and their annuities be paid as heretofore: And whereas, with the approbation of the President of the United States, purchases were made by the New York Indians from the Menomonie and Winnebago Indians of certain lands at Green Bay in the Territory of Wisconsin, which after much difficulty and contention with those Indians concerning the extent of that purchase, the whole subject was finally settled by a treaty between the United States and the Menomonie Indians, concluded in February, 1831, to which the New York Indians gave their assent on the seventeenth day of October 1832: And whereas, by the provisions of that treaty, five hundred thousand acres of land are secured to the New York Indians of the Six Nations and the St. Regis tribe, as a future home, on condition that they all remove to the same, within three years, or such reasonable time as the President should prescribe: And whereas, the President is satisfied that various considerations have prevented those still residing in New York from removing to Green Bay, and among other reasons, that many who were in favour of emigration, preferred to remove at once to the Indian territory, which they were fully persuaded was the only permanent and peaceful home for all the Indians. And they therefore applied to the President to take their Green Bay lands, and provide them a new home among their brethren in the Indian territory. And whereas, the President being anxious to promote the peace, prosperity and happiness of his red children, and being determined to carry out the humane policy of the Government in removing the Indians from the east to the west of the Mississippi, within the Indian territory, by bringing them to see and feel, by his justice and liberality, that it is their true policy and for their interest to do so without delay.

Therefore, taking into consideration the foregoing premises, the following articles of a treaty are entered into between the United States of America and the several tribes of the New York Indians, the names of whose chiefs, head men and warriors are hereto subscribed, and those who may hereafter give their assent to this treaty in writing, within such time as the President shall appoint.

GENERAL PROVISIONS.

ARTICLE 1.

Indians relinquish their right to lands at Green Bay.

The several tribes of New York Indians, the names of whose chiefs, head men, warriors and representatives are hereunto annexed, in consideration of the premises above recited, and the covenants hereinafter contained, to be performed on the part of the United States, hereby cede and relinquish to the United States all their right, title and interest to the lands secured to them at Green Bay by the Menomonie treaty of 1831, excepting the following tract, on which a part of the New York Indians now reside: beginning at the southwesterly corner of the French grants at Green Bay, and running thence southwardly to a point on a line to be run from the Little Cocaclin, parallel to a line of the French grants and six miles from Fox River; from thence on said parallel line, northwardly six miles; from thence eastwardly to a point on the northeast line of the Indian lands, and being at right angles to the same.

ARTICLE 2.

United States set apart other lands for Indians.

1830, ch. 148.

In consideration of the above cession and relinquishment, on the part of the tribes of the New York Indians, and in order to manifest the deep interest of the United States in the future peace and prosperity of the New York Indians, the United States agree to set apart the following tract of country, situated directly west of the State of Missouri, as a permanent home for all the New York Indians, now residing in the State of New York, or in Wisconsin, or elsewhere in the United States, who have no permanent homes, which said country is described as follows, to wit: Beginning on the west line of the State of Missouri, at the northeast corner of the Cherokee tract, and running thence north along the west line of the State of Missouri twenty-seven miles to the southerly line of the Miami lands; thence west so far as shall be necessary, by running a line at right angles, and parallel to the west line aforesaid, to the Osage lands, and thence easterly along the Osage and Cherokee lands to the place of beginning to include one million eight hundred and twenty-four thousand acres of land, being three hundred and twenty acres for each soul of said Indians as their numbers are at present computed. To have and to hold the same in fee simple to the said tribes or nations of Indians, by patent from the President of the United States, issued in conformity with the provisions of the third section of the act, entitled "An act to provide for an exchange of lands, with the Indians residing in any of the States or Territories, and for their removal west of the Mississippi," approved on the 28th day of May, 1830, with full power and authority in the said Indians to divide said lands among the different tribes, nations, or bands, in severalty, with the right to sell and convey to and from each other, under such laws and regulations as may be adopted by the respective tribes, acting by themselves, or by a general council of the said New York Indians, acting for all the tribes collectively. It is understood and agreed that the above described country is intended as a future home for the following tribes, to wit: The Senecas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Tuscaroras, Oneidas, St. Regis, Stockbridges, Munsees, and Brothertowns residing in the State of New York, and the same is to be divided equally among them, according to their respective numbers, as mentioned in a schedule hereunto annexed.

Tribes that do not agree to remove, etc., to forfeit all interest in said lands.

ARTICLE 3.

It is further agreed that such of the tribes of the New York Indians as do not accept and agree to remove to the country set apart for their new homes within five years, or such other time as the President may, from time to time, appoint, shall forfeit all interest in the lands so set apart, to the United States.

Peace and friendship.

ARTICLE 4.

Perpetual peace and friendship shall exist between the United States and the New York Indians; and the United States hereby guaranty to protect and defend them in the peaceable possession and enjoyment of their new homes, and hereby secure to them, in said country, the right to establish their own form of government, appoint their own officers, and administer their own laws; subject, however, to the legislation of the Congress of the United States, regulating trade and intercourse with the Indians. The lands secured to them by patent under this treaty shall never be included in any State or Territory of this Union. The said Indians shall also be entitled, in all respects, to the same political and civil rights and privileges, that are granted and secured by the United States to any of the several tribes of emigrant Indians settled in the Indian Territory.

Land set apart for the Oneida.

ARTICLE 5.

The Oneidas are to have their lands in the Indian Territory, in the tract set apart for the New York Indians, adjoining the Osage tract, and that hereinafter set apart for the Senecas; and the same shall be so laid off as to secure them a sufficient quantity of timber for their use. Those tribes, whose lands are not specially designated in this treaty, are to have such as shall be set apart by the President.

Annuities, where to be paid.

ARTICLE 6.

It is further agreed that the United States will pay to those who remove west, at their new homes, all such annuities, as shall properly belong to them. The schedules hereunto annexed shall be deemed and taken as a part of this treaty.

Treaty binding when ratified.

ARTICLE 7.

It is expressly understood and agreed, that this treaty must be approved by the President and ratified and confirmed by the Senate of the United States, before it shall be binding upon the parties to it. It is further expressly understood and agreed that the rejection, by the President and Senate, of the provisions thereof, applicable to one tribe, or distinct branch of a tribe, shall not be construed to invalidate as to others, but as to them it shall be binding, and remain in full force and effect.

The accounts of the commissioner, etc., how to be paid.

ARTICLE 8.

It is stipulated and agreed that the accounts of the Commissioner, and expenses incurred by him in holding a council with the New York Indians, and concluding treaties at Green Bay and Duck Creek, in Wisconsin, and in the State of New York, in 1836, and those for the exploring party of the New York Indians, in 1837, and also the expenses of the present treaty, shall be allowed and settled according to former precedents.

SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR THE ST. REGIS.

Payment to St. Regis Indians on their removal.

ARTICLE 9.

It is agreed with the American party of the St. Regis Indians, that the United States will pay to the said tribe, on their removal west, or at such time as the President shall appoint, the sum of five thousand dollars, as a remuneration for monies laid out by the said tribe, and for services rendered by their chiefs and agents in securing the title to the Green Bay lands, and in removal to the same, the same to be aportioned out to the several claimants by the chiefs of the said party and a United States' Commissioner, as may be deemed by them equitable and just. It is further agreed, that the following reservation of land shall be made to the Rev. Eleazor Williams, of said tribe, which he claims in his own right, and in that of his wife, which he is to hold in fee simple, by patent from the President, with full power and authority to sell and dispose of the same, to wit: beginning at a point in the west bank of Fox River thirteen chains above the old milldam at the rapids of the Little Kockalin; thence north fifty-two degrees and thirty minutes west, two hundred and forty chains; thence north thirty-seven degrees and thirty minutes east, two hundred chains, thence south fifty-two degrees and thirty minutes east, two hundred and forty chains to the bank of Fox river; thence up along the bank of Fox river to the place of beginning.

SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR THE SENECAS.

Land set apart for the Seneca, Cayuga, and Onondaga.

Money due to the Seneca by Massachusetts to be paid to United States, etc.

ARTICLE 10.

It is agreed with the Senecas that they shall have for themselves and their friends, the Cayugas and Onondagas, residing among them, the easterly part of the tract set apart for the New York Indians, and to extend so far west, as to include one half-section (three hundred and twenty acres) of land for each soul of the Senecas, Cayugas and Onandagas, residing among them; and if, on removing west, they find there is not sufficient timber on this tract for their use, then the President shall add thereto timber land sufficient for their accommodation, and they agree to remove; to remove from the State of New York to their new homes within five years, and to continue to reside there. And whereas at the making of this treaty, Thomas L. Ogden and Joseph Fellows the assignees of the State of Massachusetts, have purchased of the Seneca nation of Indians, in the presence and with the approbation of the United States Commissioner, appointed by the United States to hold said treaty, or convention, all the right, title, interest, and claim of the said Seneca nation, to certain lands, by a deed of conveyance a duplicate of which is hereunto annexed; and whereas the consideration money mentioned in said deed, amounting to two hundred and two thousand dollars, belongs to the Seneca nation, and the said nation agrees that the said sum of money shall be paid to the United States, and the United States agree to receive the same, to be disposed of as follows: the sum of one hundred thousand dollars is to be invested by the President of the United States in safe stocks, for their use, the income of which is to be paid to them at their new homes, annually, and the balance, being the sum of one hundred and two thousand dollars, is to be paid to the owners of the improvements on the lands so deeded, according to an appraisement of said improvements and a distribution and award of said sum of money among the owners of said improvements, to be made by appraisers, hereafter to be appointed by the Seneca nation, in the presence of a United States Commissioner, hereafter to be appointed, to be paid by the United States to the individuals who are entitled to the same, according to said apprisal and award, on their severally relinquishing their respective possessions to the said Ogden and Fellows.

Moneys to be invested for the Cayuga, etc.

SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR THE CAYUGAS.

ARTICLE 11.

The United States will set apart for the Cayugas, on their removing to their new homes at the west, two thousand dollars, and will invest the same in some safe stocks, the income of which shall be paid them annually, at their new homes. The United States further agree to pay to the said nation, on their removal west, two thousand five hundred dollars, to be disposed as the chiefs shall deem just and equitable.

Investment for the Onondagas, etc.

SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR THE ONONDAGAS RESIDING ON THE SENECA RESERVATIONS.

ARTICLE 12.

The United States agree to set apart for the Onondagas, residing on the Seneca reservations, two thousand five hundred dollars, on their removing west, and to invest the same in safe stocks, the income of which shall be paid to them annually at their new homes. And the United States further agree to pay to the said Onondagas, on their removal to their new homes in the west, two thousand dollars, to be disposed of as the chiefs shall deem equitable and just.

Payment to certain persons for services, etc.

SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR THE ONEIDAS RESIDING IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

ARTICLE 13.

The United States will pay the sum of four thousand dollars, to be paid to Baptista Powlis, and the chiefs of the first Christian party residing at Oneida, and the sum of two thousand dollars shall be paid to William Day, and the chiefs of the Orchard party residing there, for expenses incurred and services rendered in securing the Green Bay country, and the settlement of a portion thereof; and they hereby agree to remove to their new homes in the Indian territory, as soon as they can make satisfactory arrangements with the Governor of the State of New York for the purchase of their lands at Oneida.

Tuscaroras agree to remove in five years, etc.

Tuscaroras convey certain land to United States, in trust, etc.

Proceeds of improvements to be paid to the owners thereof.

SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR THE TUSCARORAS.

$400,000 to be applied for the benefit of Indians, how.

ARTICLE 14.

The Tuscarora nation agree to accept the country set apart for them in the Indian territory, and to remove there within five years, and continue to reside there. It is further agreed that the Tuscaroras shall have their lands in the Indian country, at the forks of the Neasha river, which shall be so laid off as to secure a sufficient quantity of timber for the accommodation of the nation. But if on examination they are not satisfied with this location, they are to have their lands at such place as the President of the United States shall designate. The United States will pay to the Tuscarora nation, on their settling at the West, three thousand dollars, to be disposed of as the chiefs shall deem most equitable and just. Whereas the said nation owns, in fee simple, five thousand acres of land, lying in Niagara county, in the State of New York which was conveyed to the said nation by Henry Dearborn and they wish to sell and convey the same before they remove West: Now therefore, in order to have the same done in a legal and proper way, they hereby convey the same to the United States and to be held in trust for them, and they authorize the President to sell and convey the same, and the money which shall be received for the said lands, exclusive of the improvements, the President shall invest in safe stocks for their benefit, the income from which shall be paid to the nation, at their new homes, annually; and the money which shall be received for improvements on said lands shall be paid to the owners of the improvements when the lands are sold. The President shall cause the said lands to be surveyed, and the improvements shall be appraised by such persons as the nation shall appoint; and said lands shall also be appraised, and shall not be sold at a less price than the appraisal, without the consent of James Cusick, William Mountpleasant and William Chew, or the survivor, or survivor of them; and the expenses incurred by the United States in relation to this trust are to be deducted from the moneys received before investment.
Witnesses:
And whereas, at the making of this treaty, Thomas L. Ogden and Joseph Fellows, the assignees of the State of Massachusetts, have purchased of the Tuscarora nation of Indians, in the presence and with the approbation of the commissioner appointed on the part of the United States to hold said treaty or convention, all the right, title, interest, and claim of the Tuscarora nation to certain lands, by a deed of conveyance, a duplicate of which is hereunto annexed: And whereas, the consideration money for said lands has been secured to the said nation to their satisfaction, by Thomas L. Ogden and Joseph Fellows; therefore the United States hereby assent to the said sale and conveyance and sanction the same.
SCHEDULE A.
ARTICLE 15.
Number residing on the Seneca reservations.
The United States hereby agree that they will appropriate the sum of four hundred thousand dollars, to be applied from time to time, under the direction of the President of the United States, in such proportions, as may be most for the interest of the said Indians, parties to this treaty, for the following purposes, to wit: To aid them in removing to their homes, and supporting themselves the first year after their removal; to encourage and assist them in education, and in being taught to cultivate their lands; in erecting mills and other necessary houses; in purchasing domestic animals, and farming utensils and acquiring a knowledge of the mechanic arts. In testimony whereof, the commissioner and the chiefs, head men, and people, whose names are hereto annexed, being duly authorized, have hereunto set their hands, and affixed their respective seals, at the time and place above mentioned.

R. H. Gillet, Commissioner.
SCHEDULE B.
Disposition of the $3,000 provided for Tuscaroras by fourteenth article of this treaty.

(To the Indian names are subjoined a mark and seal.)

CENSUS OF THE NEW YORK INDIANS AS TAKEN IN 1837.

The above was made before the execution of the treaty.

R. H. Gillet, Commissioner.

The following is the disposition agreed to be made of the sum of three thousand dollars provided in this treaty for the Tuscaroras, by the chiefs, and assented to by the commissioner, and is to form a part of the treaty:

To Jonathan Printess, ninety-three dollars.

To William Chew, one hundred and fifteen dollars.

To John Patterson, forty-six dollars.

To William Mountpleasant, one hundred and seventy-one dollars.

To James Cusick, one hundred and twenty-five dollars.
SCHEDULE C.
Disposition of the $4,000 provided for the Onondagas and Cayugas.

To David Peter, fifty dollars.

The rest and residue thereof is to be paid to the nation.

The above was agreed to before the execution of the treaty.

R. H. Gillet, Commissioner.

Schedule applicable to the Onondagas and Cayugas residing on the Seneca reservations. It is agreed that the following disposition shall be made of the amount set apart to be divided by the chiefs of those nations, in the preceding parts of this treaty, any thing therein to the contrary notwithstanding.

To William King, one thousand five hundred dollars.

Joseph Isaacs, seven hundred dollars.

Jack Wheelbarrow, three hundred dollars.

Silversmith, one thousand dollars.

William Jacket, five hundred dollars.

In relation to the sale of lands by the Senecas to the State of Massachusetts, referred to in tenth article.

Buton George, five hundred dollars.

The deed of conveyance.

The above was agreed to before the treaty was finally executed.

R. H. Gillet, Commissioner.

Jan. 15, 1838.

At a treaty held under the authority of the United States of America, at Buffalo Creek in the county of Erie, and State of New York, between the chiefs and head men of the Seneca nation of Indians, duly assembled in council, and representing and acting for the said nation, on the one part, and Thomas Ludlow Ogden of the city of New York and Joseph Fellows of Geneva, in the county of Ontario, on the other part, concerning the purchase of the right and claim of the said Indians in and to the lands within the State of New York remaining in their occupation: Ransom H. Gillet, Esquire, a commissioner appointed by the President of the United States to attend and hold the said treaty, and also Josiah Trowbridge, Esquire, the superintendent on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, being severally present at the said treaty, the said chiefs and head men, on behalf of the Seneca nation did agree to sell and release to the said Thomas Ludlow Ogden and Joseph Fellows, and they the said Thomas Ludlow Ogden and Joseph Fellows did agree to purchase all the right, title and claim of the said Seneca nation of, in and to the several tracts, pieces, or parcels of land mentioned, and described in the instrument of writing next hereinafter set forth, and at the price or sum therein specified, as the consideration, or purchase money for such sale and release; which instrument being read and explained to the said parties and mutually agreed to, was signed and sealed by the said contracting parties, and is in the words following:

This indenture, made this fifteenth day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, between the chiefs and head men of the Seneca nation of Indians, duly assembled in council, and acting for and on behalf of the said Seneca nation, of the first part, and Thomas Ludlow Ogden, of the city of New York, and Joseph Fellows of Geneva, in the county of Ontario, of the second part witnesseth: That the said chiefs and head men of the Seneca nation of Indians, in consideration of the sum of two hundred and two thousand dollars to them in hand paid by the said Thomas Ludlow Ogden and Joseph Fellows, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have granted, bargained, sold, released and confirmed, and by these presents do grant, bargain, sell, release and confirm unto the said Thomas Ludlow Ogden and Joseph Fellows, and to their heirs and assigns, all that certain tract, or parcel of land situate, lying and being in the county of Erie and State of New York commonly called and known by the name of Buffalo Creek reservation, containing, by estimation forty-nine thousand nine hundred and twenty acres be the contents thereof more or less. Also, all that certain other tract, or parcel of land, situate, lying and being in the counties of Erie, Chatauque, and Cattaraugus in said State commonly called and known by the name of Cattaraugus reservation, containing by estimation twenty-one thousand six hundred and eighty acres, be the contents thereof more or less. Also, all that certain other tract, or parcel of land, situate, lying and being in the said county of Cattaraugus, in said State, commonly called and known by the name of the Allegany reservation, containing by estimation thirty thousand four hundred and sixty-nine acres, be the contents more or less. And also, all that certain other tract or parcel of land, situate, lying and being partly in said county of Erie and partly in the county of Genesee, in said State, commonly called and known by the name of the Tonawando reservation, and containing by estimation twelve thousand, eight hundred acres, be the same more or less; as the said several tracts of land have been heretofore reserved and are held and occupied by the said Seneca nation of Indians, or by individuals thereof, together with all and singular the rights, privileges, hereditaments and appurtenances to each and every of the said tracts or parcels of land belonging or appertaining; and all the estate, right, title, interest, claim, and demand of the said party of the first part, and of the said Seneca nation of Indians, of, in, and to the same, and to each and every part and parcel thereof: to have and to hold all and singular the above described and released premises unto the said Thomas Ludlow Ogden and Joseph Fellows, their heirs and assigns, to their proper use and behoof for ever, as joint tenants, and not as tenants in common.

In relation to the sale of lands by the Tuscaroras to the State of Massachusetts, referred to in the fourteenth article.

In witness whereof, the parties to these presents have hereunto and to three other instruments of the same tenor and date one to remain with the United States, one to remain with the State of Massachusetts, one to remain with the Seneca nation of Indians, and one to remain with the said Thomas Ludlow Ogden and Joseph Fellows, interchangeably set their hands and seals the day and year first above written.

The dead of conveyance.

I have attended a treaty of the Seneca Nation of Indians, held at Buffalo Creek, in the county of Erie, in the State of New York, on the fifteenth day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, when the within instrument was duly executed, in my presence, by the chiefs of the Seneca Nation, being fairly and properly understood by them. I do, therefore, certify and approve the same.

R. H. Gillet, Commissioner.
Sealed and delivered in presence of-
Jan. 15, 1838.

At a treaty held under and by the authority of the United States of America, at Buffalo Creek, in the county of Erie, and State of New York, between the sachems, chiefs and warriors of the Tuscarora nation of Indians, duly assembled in council and representing and acting for the said nation, on the one part and Thomas Ludlow Ogden of the city of New York and Joseph Fellows of Geneva in the county of Ontario, on the other part, concerning the purchase of the right and claim of the said nation of Indians in and to the lands within the State of New York, remaining in their occupation: Ransom H. Gillet, Esquire, a commissioner appointed by the President of the United States to attend and hold the said treaty, and also Josiah Trowbridge, Esquire, the superintendent on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, being severally present at the said treaty, the said sachems, chiefs and warriors, on behalf of the said Tuscarora nation, did agree to sell and release to the said Thomas Ludlow Ogden and Joseph Fellows, and they, the said Thomas Ludlow Ogden and Joseph Fellows did agree to purchase all the right, title and claim of the said Tuscarora nation of, in and to the tract, piece, or parcel of land mentioned and described in the instrument of writing next hereinafter set forth, and at the price, or sum therein specified, as the consideration or purchase money for such sale and release; which instrument being read and explained to the said parties, and mutually agreed to, was signed and sealed by the said contracting parties, and is in the words following:

This indenture, made this fifteenth day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, between the sachems, chiefs, and warriors of the Tuscarora nation of Indians, duly assembled in council, and acting for and on behalf of the said Tuscarora nation of the first part, and Thomas Ludlow Ogden of the city of New York, and Joseph Fellows of Geneva, in the county of Ontario, of the second part witnesseth: That the said sachems, chiefs and warriors of the Tuscarora nation, in consideration of the sum of nine thousand six hundred dollars, to them in hand paid by the said Thomas Ludlow Ogden and Joseph Fellows, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have granted, bargained, sold released, and confirmed, and by these presents do grant, bargain, sell, release and confirm to the said Thomas Ludlow Ogden and Joseph Fellows, and to their heirs and assigns, all that tract or parcel of land situate, lying and being in the county of Niagara and State of New York, commonly called and known by the name of the Tuscarora reservation or Seneca grant, containing nineteen hundred and twenty acres, be the same more, or less, being the lands in their occupancy, and not included in the land conveyed to them by Henry Dearborn, together with all and singular the rights, the rights, privileges, heraditaments, and appurtenances to the said tract or parcel of land belonging, or appertaining, and all the estate, right, title, interest, claim and demand of the said party of the first part, and of the said Tuscarora nation of Indians of, in and to the same, and to every part and parcel thereof: To have and to hold all and singular the above described and released premises unto the said Thomas Ludlow Ogden and Joseph Fellows, and their heirs and assigns, to their proper use and behoof for ever, as joint tenants and not as tenants in common.

In witness whereof, the parties to these presents have hereunto and to three other instruments of the same tenor and date, one to remain with the United States, one to remain with the State of Massachusetts, one to remain with the Tuscarora nation of Indians and one to remain with the said Thomas Ludlow Ogden and Joseph Fellows, interchangeably set their hands and seals, the day and year first above written.

James Stryker.

R. H. Gillet.

Charles H. Allen.

J. F. Schermerhorn.

Nathaniel T. Strong, U. S. interpreter.

H. B. Potter.

Orlando Allen.

(To the Indian names are subjoined a mark and seal.)

At the abovementioned treaty, held in my presence, as superintendent on the part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and this day concluded, the foregoing instrument was agreed to by the contracting parties therein named, and was in my presence executed by them; and being approved by me, I do hereby certify and declare such my approbation thereof.

Witness my hand and seal, at Buffalo Creek, this 15th day of January, in the year 1838.
Supplemented article to the treaty concluded at Buffalo Creek, in the State of New York, on the 15th of January 1838, concluded between Ransom H. Gillet, commissioner on the part of the United States, and chiefs and head men of the St. Regis Indians, concluded on the 13th day of February 1838. Supplemental article to the treaty concluded at Buffalo Creek in the State of New York, dated January 15 1838.
Assent of the St. Regis Indians to the treaty.

$1,000 to be paid to them within one year after the ratification of this treaty.

J. Trowbridge, Superintendent.

I have attended a treaty of the Tuscarora nation of Indians, held at Buffalo Creek, in the county of Erie in the State of New York, on the fifteenth day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, when the within instrument was duly executed in my presence, by the sachems, chiefs, and warriors of the said nation, being fairly and properly understood and transacted by all the parties of Indians concerned and declared to be done to their full satisfaction. I do therefore certify and approve the same.
The foregoing was executed in our presence-
R. H. Gillet, Commissioner.

Feb. 13, 1838.7 Stat., 561.

The undersigned chiefs and head men of the St. Regis Indians residing in the State of New York having heard a copy of said treaty read by Ransom H. Gillet, the commissioner who concluded that treaty on that part of the United States, and he having fully and publicly explained the same, and believing the provisions of the said treaty to be very liberal on the part of the United States and calculated to be highly beneficial to the New York Indians, including the St. Regis, who are embraced in its provisions do hereby assent to every part of the said treaty and approve the same. And it is further agreed, that any of the St. Regis Indians who wish to do so, shall be at liberty to remove to the said country at any time hereafter within the time specified in this treaty, but under it the Government shall not compel them to remove. The United States will, within one year after the ratification of this treaty, pay over to the American party of said Indians one thousand dollars, part of the sum of five thousand dollars mentioned in the special provisions for the St. Regis Indians, any thing in the article contained to the contrary notwithstanding.

Done at the council house at St. Regis, this thirteenth day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight. Witness our hands and seals.

R. H. Gillet, Commissioner.

A. K. Williams, Agent on the part of New York for St. Regis Indians.

W. L. Gray, Interpreter.

Owen C. Donnelly.

Say Saree.

(To the Indian names are subjoined a mark and seal.)
Witness:
We the undersigned chiefs of the Seneca tribe of New York Indians, residing in the State of New York, do hereby give our free and voluntary assent to the foregoing treaty as amended by the resolution of the Senate of the United States on the eleventh day of June 1838, and to our contract therewith, the same having been submitted to us by Ransom H. Gillet, a Commissioner on the part of the United States, and fully and fairly explained by him, to our said tribe, in council assembled.

Dated Buffalo Creek September 28 1838.

(To the Indian names are subjoined marks.)

The above signatures were freely and voluntarily given after the treaty and amendments had been fully and fairly explained in open council.
Signed in presence of-
R. H. Gillet, Commissioner.

(To the Indian names are subjoined marks.)

These ten chiefs signed in my presence except the last John Snow.

H. A. S. Dearborn,

Superintendent of Massachusetts.

Nathl. T. Strong, U. S. Interpreter.

James Stryker, U. S. Agent.

George Kenququide, by his attorneys.

N. T. Strong.

White Seneca.
Executed in the presence of-
The signature of George Kenququide was added by his attorneys in our presence.

R. H. Gillet,

James Stryker.

18th January 1839.

We the undersigned chiefs of the Oneida tribe of New York Indians do hereby give our free and voluntary assent to the foregoing treaty as amended by the resolution of the Senate of the United States on the eleventh day of June 1838, the same having been submitted to us by Ransom H. Gillet, a commissioner on the part of the United States and fully and fairly explained by him to our said tribe in council assembled.
Dated August 9th 1838 at the Oneida Council House.

Timothy Jenkins.
Executed in presence of-
(To the Indian names are subjoined marks.)

The above assent was voluntarily freely and fairly given in my presence, after being fully and fairly explained by me.

R. H. Gillet, Commissioner, &c.

We the undersigned sachems chiefs and head men of the Tuscarora nation of Indians residing in the State of New York, do hereby give our free and voluntary assent to the foregoing treaty as amended by the resolution of the Senate of the United States on the eleventh day of June 1838, and to our contract connected therewith, the same having been submitted to us by Ransom H. Gillet, a commissioner on the part of the United States, and fully and fairly explained by him to our said tribe in council assembled.

Dated August 14th, 1838.

J. S. Buckingham,

D. Judson,

Leceister S. Buckingham,

Orlando Allen.

(To the Indian names are subjoined marks.)

The above assent was freely and voluntarily given after being fully and fairly explained by me.

R. H. Gillet, Commissioner.

We the undersigned chiefs and head men of the tribe of Cayuga Indians residing in the State of New York do hereby give our free and voluntary assent to the foregoing treaty as amended by the resolution of the Senate of the United States on the eleventh day of June 1838, the same having been submitted to us by Ransom H. Gillet, a commissioner on the part of the United States, and fully and fairly explained by him to our said tribe in council assembled.

Dated August 30th 1838.

Executed in presence of-

James Young.

(To the Indian names are subjoined marks.)

The above four signatures were freely given in our presence.

R. H. Gillet, Commissioner.

H. A. S. Dearborn,
Witnesses:
Superintendent of Massachusetts.

We the undersigned sachems, chiefs and head men of the American party of the St. Regis Indians residing in the State of New York, do hereby give our free and voluntary assent to the foregoing treaty as amended by the Senate of the United States on the eleventh day of June 1838, the same having been submitted to us by Ransom H. Gillet a commissioner on the part of the United States, and fully and fairly explained by him to our said tribe in council assembled. The St. Regis Indians shall not be compelled to remove under the treaty or amendments.

Dated October 9th, 1838.

The foregoing assent was signed in our presence.

R. H. Gillet, Commissioner.

James B. Spencer.

Heman W. Tucker.

A. K. Williams, Agent St. Regis Indians.

Frs. Marcoux Dictre.

(To the Indian names are subjoined marks.)

We the undersigned, chiefs, head men and warriors of the Onondaga tribe of Indians residing on the Seneca reservations in the State of New-York, do hereby give our free and voluntary assent to the foregoing treaty as amended by the Senate of the United States on the eleventh day of June, 1838, the same having been submitted to us, by Ransom H. Gillet, a commissioner on the part of the United States and fully and fairly explained by him to our said tribe in council assembled.

Dated August 31st, 1838.

Silversmith,

Noah Silversmith,

William Jacket.

(To the Indian names are subjoined marks.)

The above signatures were freely given in our presence.

R. H. Gillet, Commissioner.

H. A. S. Dearborn,

Superintendent of Massachusetts.

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Jan. 15, 1838. | 7 Stat., 550. | Proclamation, Apr. 4, 1840. Articles of a treaty made and concluded at Buffalo Creek in the State of New York, the fifteenth day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, by Ransom H.

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Following the Emancipation Proclamation aswell as Juneteenth, the official end of slavery was on December 6th, 1865. Once Georgia ratified the 13th Amendment, it fulfilled the requirement of 3 out of 4 states to ratify the amendment. This led to the outlawing of slavery and began a new era of American society.

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1907 Founding of the Church of God in Christ

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1907 Founding of the Church of God in Christ

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Charles Harrison Mason founded the Church of God in Christ in Memphis, Tennessee. Garnered notoriety from many different races and even had followers internationally. The church became a community cornerstone, breaking down racial barriers, welcoming blacks and whites in its congregation.

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January 16 1919 The Ratification of the 18th Amendment

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January 16 1919 The Ratification of the 18th Amendment

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Leading up to the 18th Amendment and the prohibition, there had been a long-standing belief that alcohol only had a net negative impact on American society, as it contributed to domestic violence and poverty due to its addictive and mind-altering effects. In 1919, the amendment was ratified and later repealed in 1933 once the government realised how much money they were losing from illegal alcohol sales during the great depression.

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December 8th 1941 U.S involvment in World War 2

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December 8th 1941 U.S involvment in World War 2

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After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, the US joined the Allied Powers against the Axis powers. This aided America as it came out of the Great Depression and solidified the U.S as a world power.

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Engel v. Vitale was an important court case that altered America's educational system and culture. Mandated prayer times in schools were argued to be a violation of the First Amendment since the act implied an official religion. The court ruled in favor of abolishing this practice, which caused a chain reaction of removing official religious practice from other schools.

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In an effort to seperate from the "one religion," many expressed revolutionary resistance. One notable person was Jim Jones, who founded the Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ. This religion aimed to counter mainstream Protestantism as an entirely unique denomination. They relocated to Guyana to form their own agrarian society seperate from the secular world. After the murder of a congressman who was visiting Jonestown, Jim led his 900 followers in a mass suicide ritual, successfully separating himself from mainstream protestantism via death.

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Janurary 8, 1998 Canadian Apology to the "First People"

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Janurary 8, 1998 Canadian Apology to the "First People"

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The Canadian government officially apologized to the indigenous people of Canada for the 150 years of abuse towards the Natives. Many Native Canadian children were forced to attend school, where they were often abused. The catholic church also apologised, all except the church of Quebec. Notably, America has never made such an apology.