[Separation of Church and State]

MAILS ON THE SABBATH. / The following Report was made to the Senate of the United States, by a / Committee, of which RICHARD M. JOHNSON was Chairman, and to / whom was referred the several petitions on the subject of prohibiting the / whom was referred the several petitions on the subject of prohibiting the / transportation of Mails on the Sabbath. Reported in Senate January, 1829. / TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE..... [caption title and beginning of text]

Salem, O[H]: (John) Hudson, Printer, nd [1850-60s?]. Broadside. 49 x 32 cm. Following the title and preliminary statement are three columns of text, the whole enclosed in a decorative border, moderate foxing to paper. Several broadsides on this subject were published at the time of Richard Johnson's report in 1829, and the reason for this later edition is unclear. John Hudson, the printer, born ca. 1820, was active in Salem, Ohio and OCLC shows about a dozen of his imprints all within the 1850s-1860s but not this title. Salem was a Quaker community inclined toward abolition. John Hudson's son Joseph fought in the Civil War as a Major with the 1st Missouri Colored Brigade. Joseph's wife has left an account of both Fredrick Douglass and Sojourner Truth coming through her family's house, also in Salem. The Underground Railroad ran through there. John Hudson was a printer for the Anti-Slavery Bugle and publisher in 1866, of the Salem Journal, with one of his sons. Joseph Hudson later became, among other things, publisher of the Topeka, (KS) Capital newspaper. This broadside does not appear in Singerman. Item #66630

The subject of mail delivery on Sundays was hotly debated in Congress for nearly twenty years (1810-1830), as the post office handled and carried the mail seven days a week during this period. Petitions by various religious groups over these years requested that such work on Sundays be terminated. The text of this Senate report is a distillation of the controversy, and clearly takes the committee's opinion that a Congressional act halting mail delivery on the Sabbath, for religious reasons, would be contrary to the principles of the Constitution. "We are aware that a variety of sentiment exists among the good citizens of this nation, on the subject of the Sabbath day, and our government is designed for the protection of one as much as for another. The Jews, who, in this country are as free as Christians, and entitled to the same protection for the laws, derive their obligation to keep the Sabbath day [on Saturday] … with these different views, the committee are of the opinion that Congress cannot interfere … our government is a civil, and not a religious institution … the transportation of the mail on the first day of the week, it is believed, does not interfere with the rights of conscience. The petitioners for its discontinuance appear to be actuated by a religious zeal which may be commendable, if confined to its proper sphere; but they assume a position better suited to an ecclesiastical than to a civil institution. They appear, in many instances to lay it down as an axiom, that the practice is a violation of the law of God. Should Congress, in legislative capacity, adopt the sentiment, it would establish the principle, that the Legislature is a proper tribunal to determine what are the laws of God. It would involve a legislative decision in a religious controversy; and on a point in which good citizens may honestly differ in opinion, without disturbing the peace of society, or endangering its liberties. If this principle is once introduced, it will be impossible to define its bounds. Among the religious persecutions with which almost every page of modern history is stained, no victim ever suffered, but for the violation of what government denominated the law of God. To prevent a similar train of evils in this country, the Constitution has wisely withheld from our government the power of defining the Divine Law. It is a right reserved to each citizen; and while he respects the rights of others, he cannot be held amenable to any human tribunal for his conclusions." The head of the committee in the Senate, Richard Johnson (ca. 1780-1850) of Kentucky, was praised for this landmark report; his political rise, to nomination as Martin Van Buren's vice-president, followed. Sunday mail delivery continued until after the Civil War, when rapid delivery of news became more a function of modern technology than seven-day a week diligence.

Price: $500.00