I then did a general survey of the decade of the fifties and tried to find any forms of popular dissent. Connections between religion and the traditions of the American government appear almost everywhere, but we have witnessed many acts of Congress related to religion. Some American citizens speak out against a religious faith that is in any way connected to the government as a violation of the Establishment Clause.
For example, monuments and displays of the Ten Commandments are a nationwide issue. The federal court initially ordered that the monument be removed by December 18, 2001, because it violated the Establishment Clause. Another recent topic involving the Establishment Clause that has received a lot of media attention concerns one of the faith-related acts of Congress passed during the 1950s.
Although the Moore and Newdown cases both involved potential violations of the Establishment Clause, the pledge affects a significantly broader population. Savage: “The Supreme Court will rule on two states' rendition of the Ten Commandments.” Los Angeles Times.
Chapter Two: The Cold War and the Culture of the 1950s
8 As a result, fear and paranoia in the United States only increased with the advent of the decade of the fifties. Most young Americans during the fifties seemed content to accept the status quo. The religiosity of the 1950s was related to the increased importance of religion in American life during World War II.
An early Supreme Court ruling in 1947 somewhat coincided with fitfie's mentality. The amendment to the pledge is one of the better-known acts of Congress incorporating religious beliefs in the 1950s. Except for the mention of the term "United States of America", it could actually be the pledge of any republic.
Ferguson also noted the constant references to presidents throughout the history of the United States. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic it represents. 18 United States Congress House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Amendment to the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States to accompany H.J.Res.
20 U.S., Congress, House, Committee on the Judiciary, Amending the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States to Accompany H.J.Res.
Chapter Four: Other Congressional Acts of the 1950s
The Graham campaign in Washington lasted a week and culminated on the steps of the Capitol. In 1953, a senator from Michigan wanted the words "In God We Trust" to appear on a United States postage stamp. The Postmaster General held a ceremony in honor of the unveiling of the first stamp bearing the words "In God We Trust".
Sunday Star in the Home Records supplement to show the popularity and support for the new stamp. Without any debate or dissent, Congress approved canceling the United States mail with the phrase "Pray for Peace." The move to add "In God We Trust" to US currency and require the phrase on all United States coins began in 1955, and the adoption of the phrase as the National Motto.
Although the phrase "In God We Trust" had recently appeared on a postage stamp in 1953, the historical significance of the phrase did not come into focus until 1955. Similar to the words "under God" inserted into the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954. the fact that “In God We Trust” is written on all United States coins and currency goes unnoticed by most Americans. Beginning in the Civil War, citizens called for the addition of a reference to God on the currency of the United States.
In response, the Treasury Department told Bennett that the government had not enacted any "In God We Trust" legislation regarding United States coin and currency since the turn of the century. Finally, Bennett made clear the overall purpose of Act 619—not only to add the words "In God We Trust" to currency, but also to require those words to appear on all United States coins. The addition and requirement of "In God We Trust" on all United States coins and currency caused no public outcry and did not attract much media attention.
Moreover, Multer objected not because the bill might violate the Establishment Clause, but because the words "In God We Trust" on the currency of the United States served no purpose. In one of the last faith-related acts passed by Congress in the fifties, the phrase "In God We Trust" reappeared one year later as a proposal for the National Motto of the United States and received a response that similar to the previous congressional actions. As with the acts of Congress previously mentioned, the decision to make "In God We Trust" the national motto of the United States met with no protest.
Americans for the continuing importance of the connection between the nation and faith in God. The small addition of the stamp with the phrase "In God We Trust" and the display of "Pray for Peace" on all mail sent, along with the familiar addition of.
Chapter Five: Against the Status Quo
For example, the Confederate government placed religious references in the Confederate Constitution and on the Confederate Seal. The first organized campaign for a Christian amendment to the Constitution began before the end of the Civil War. In 1863, the National Association for the Amendment of the Constitution (later renamed the National Reform Association) was formed.
Butler of the House Committee on the Judiciary said that the committee should no longer consider the Christian Amendment because the United States had formed. 34; 13 Despite numerous attempts, no folin of a Christian amendment to the United States Constitution has ever passed. The wording of the Christian amendment that Flanders proposed in 1954 differed from the previous attempt for such an amendment.
During the Senate hearing, the mixed response to the Christian amendment differed sharply from responses to other religion-related acts that have passed unanimously in Congress during a decade of wrangling. Most of the opponents who spoke out against the amendment followed some form of Judaism. The Christian Amendment apparently went too far with religious sentiment even for Congress in the 1950s.
In addition, the mass media of the fitfies published very few critical comments on the congress decisions. A major source of protest against the religiosity of the decade was the American Unitarian Association. Jeannette Hopkins, news editor of The Christian Register, described Meyer's speech as "a combative speech, warning."
Another article critical of the religion of the fifties appeared in the Christian Register in the December 1955 issue. 551, Proposed Amendments to the Constitution; a monograph on resolutions introduced in Congress proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America, 70th Congress, 2d session. 551, Proposal of amendments to the Constitution; a monograph on resolutions introduced in Congress proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America, 70th Congress, second session.
Chapter Six: Conclusion
By making religious faith a prominent element of American life, congressmen hoped to use it in the Cold War fight against. The supposedly conservative and conforming American population of the 50s embraced the religiosity of the day. While religious faith is intertwined with America's history, it was not until the 1950s that seven acts of Congress passed incorporating religious faith into American life, all within the four years from 1952 to 1956.
Despite the enactment of the legislation, some critics of Congress's actions did not consider the potential violation of the Establishment Clause; among the few critical opinions, most focused on the hypocrisy of the legislation or the alleged shallowness of American religious faith. The Cold War argumentation of congressmen for most actions and the lack of opposition showed the conservative and conformist mentality of the population of the 1950s; people willingly embraced the religiosity of the time to alleviate the anxiety and uncertainty felt throughout the country. Whereas in the 1950s people were generally silent about acts of Congress related to religion, Americans today openly express their disapproval.
People around the country bring to the attention of the courts what they consider to be violations of the Establishment Clause. Additionally, the Ten Commandments case in Montgomery was one of many across the country involving similar monuments. Frederick received his Ten Commandments monument during the 1950s as part of a nationwide campaign by Hollywood director Cecil B.
DeMille, in collaboration with the philanthropic group The Fraternal Order of the Eagles, to promote the film The Ten Commandments. 1 In 2002, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, a high school senior (Blake Trettien) filed a lawsuit against the city of Fredeirck over the Ten Commandments monuments located in a local public park. 2 Trettien dropped the case after the city sold the land where the monument was located to the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of the Eagles.
In June 2005, the Supreme Court will rule on two cases involving the display of monuments to the Ten Commandments as a violation of the law. All the recent controversies over the Establishment Clause highlight the difference between today's sentiment and the consensus of the 1950s. The rare event that in less than four years, seven laws incorporating religious beliefs were unanimously passed into law by Congress, with virtually no dissent, supports the idea that the...
