The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

Thomas Jefferson wrote…. Thomas Jefferson was saying…..

Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free; God made it so that our thoughts are free; and that
that all attempts to influence it by temporal any attempt to influence our thoughts by a civil
punishment or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, institution is hypocritical and mean, and are apart
tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and from the God that gave us free thought, who would
meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the not try and control our thoughts, so the government
Holy author of our religion, who being Lord both shouldn’t control them either.
of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by
coercions on either, as was his Almighty power to
do . . .

Be it enacted by the General Assembly, 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 opinion in matters
of religion, and that the same shall in no wise
diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.
The General Assembly shall make a rule that
nobody should be forced to support any religious
worship, place, or ministry and will not be
bothered by others because of his religion of
beliefs. Every man should be free to tell others and
maintain their religion without it affecting their
civil rights
 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 act
of succeeding assemblies, constituted with powers
equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this
act to be 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 as would be an infringement of
natural right.
All of us here were elected for making laws, and
have no power to restrain the acts of the people
in the future since they have the same powers,
but we do want to be sure that everyone knows
that these religious rights are natural rights of
mankind and that if the future leaders want to
pass laws that violate this, they will be taking
away natural rights.

The Virginia Declaration of Rights

George Mason wrote… George Mason meant……

That in all capital or criminal prosecutions, a
Man hath a Right to demand the Cause &
Nature of his Accusation, to be confronted
with the Accusers & Witnesses, to call for
Evidence in his Favour, and to a speedy Trial
by an impartial Jury of his Vicinage, without
whose unanimous Consent He can not be
found guilty, nor can he be compelled to give
Evidence against himself; And that no Man be
deprived of his Liberty, except by the Law of
the Land, or the Judgment of his Peers
That excessive Bail ought not to be required,
nor excessive Fines imposed, nor cruel &
unusual punishments inflicted.
In all criminal trials, the accused has the right
to know the Cause and Nature of what he is
being accused of, to have a time to be with
the person who said he committed a crime
and witnesses, to collect evidence he thinks
will help his case, to have a fast trial in front of
a jury, where he can not be found guilty
unless they all agree he is guilty. He can not
give evidence against himself; and no natural
rights should be violated
Asking too much money for a crime is not
allowed, and neither is giving a punishment
that is too cruel or unusual
That in Controversies respecting property, and When two people disagree on the law of
in Suits between Man & Man, the ancient Trial something, it is most important that they have
by Jury is preferable to any other, & ought to a trial with a Jury present.
be held sacred.

That the Freedom of the Press is one of the Being able to write and use the press freely is
great Bulwarks of Liberty, and can never be one of the greatest things about having
restrained but by despotic Government. freedom and can never be limited by the
government

That a well regulated Militia, composed of the
Body of the People trained to Arms, is the proper,
natural, & safe Defence of a free State; that
standing Armies, in Time of Peace, shou'd be
avoided, as dangerous to Liberty; and that, in all
Cases, the Military shou'd be under strict
Subordination to, & governed by the Civil power.
A country needs a strong military, full of
people trained with weapons to defend a free
State. Keeping an army in times of peace
should be avoided because it is dangerous to
liberty and the military should always be
under the control of the people

The Bill of Rights

The Founders wrote…. The Founders meant…..

1. Congress shall make no law Congress can not make laws that violate
respecti ng an establishment of freedom of speech, the press, people gathering,
religion, or prohibiti ng the free and freedom to tell the government what they
exercise thereof; or abridging the don’t like
freedom of speech, or of the press;
or the right of the people peaceably
to assemble, and to peti ti on the
government for a redress of
grievances
2. A well-regulated militi a, being A strong military is needed for a free state, and
necessary to the security of a free the right of people to keep weapons should not
state, the right of the people to be taken away
keep and bear arms, shall not be
infringed.
3. No soldier shall, in ti me of peace be Soldiers can not be forced to live with citizens
 quartered in any house, without the without them saying it is ok, even in a time of
consent of the owner, nor in ti me war.
of war, but in a manner to be
prescribed by law.
4. The right of the people to be secure People have a right to their property that can
in their persons, houses, papers, not be searched or taken without a warrant or
and effects, against unreasonable a strong suspicion that they are breaking the
searches and seizures, shall not be law by someone who knows the laws well.
violated, and no warrants shall
issue, but upon probable cause,
supported by oath or affi rmati on,
and parti cularly describing the
place to be searched, and the
persons or things to be seized.
5. No person shall be held to answer Nobody can be held on trial without being told
for a capital, or otherwise infamous their crimes by a grand jury, except with
crime, unless on a presentment or military crimes. Nobody can be put on trial for
indictment of a grand jury, except the same crime twice and can not be made to
in cases arising in the land or naval testify against themselves in court. Everyone
forces, or in the militi a, when in deserves due process, and their property can
actual service in ti me of war or not be taken for public use without being paid
public danger; nor shall any person for by the government.
be subject for the same off ense to
be twice put in jeopardy of life or
limb; nor shall be compelled in any
criminal case to be a witness
against himself, nor be deprived of
life, liberty, or property, without
due process of law; nor shall
private property be taken for public
use, without just compensati on.
6. In all criminal prosecuti ons, the People who are accused of a crime have a right
accused shall enjoy the right to a to a speedy and public trial, by a jury of people
speedy and public trial, by an that live in a similar place, and the jury must be
imparti al jury of the state and informed of why the person is being accused.
district wherein the crime shall The person who is accused of a crime deserves
have been committ ed, which to know what crime he is accused of and has a
district shall have been previously right to have people testify for him, and to have
ascertained by law, and to be a lawyer appointed if they do not already have
informed of the nature and cause of one.
the accusati on; to be confronted
with the witnesses against him; to
have compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses in his favor,
 and to have the assistance of
counsel for his defense.
7. In suits at common law, where the In common lawsuits regarding theft with a
value in controversy shall exceed value above $20, people have a right to a trial
twenty dollars, the right of trial by by jury.
jury shall be preserved, and no fact
tried by a jury, shall be otherwise
reexamined in any court of the
United States, than according to
the rules of the common law.
8. Excessive bail shall not be required, Requiring people to pay too much money on
nor excessive fi nes imposed, nor bail or for fines should not be allowed. Having
cruel and unusual punishments punishments that are extra cruel or unusual
infl icted. should not be allowed.

9. The enumerati on in the
Consti tuti on, of certain rights, shall
not be construed to deny or
disparage others retained by the
people.
10. The powers not delegated to the
United States by the Consti tuti on,
nor prohibited by it to the states,
are reserved to the states
respecti vely, or to the people.
The rights of the people are not limited by the
Constitution, but the rights of the government
are.
The powers in this Constitution not given to the
federal government are therefore reserved to
the states or the people.