Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/209

* LIBERTY. 191 LIBERTY CAP. lish authorities to impose the Church of England in place of the Dutch Reformed Church, but without success. In Georgia liberty of worship existed until near the Revolution, when the Church of England was established as the State religion. In Rennsylvania and Delaware, as in Rhode Island, no State Church ever existed. The framers of the Federal Constitution in- -irted a provision in that instrument declaring Unit no religious test should ever be required as a cjualilication to any office or public trust under llic Cnited States. Doubtless they had in mind tlie celebrated Test and Corporation acts of the Muarts, enforced in all the colonies except Rhode 1-laud, and in some of them down to the Kevolu- tiun. Even in tolerant Pennsylvania all public officers had to declare and subscribe to their dis- ! belief in 'transubstantiation, the adoration of the Virgin Mary, and the sacrament of the i;omish mass as superstitious and idolatrous. There was considerable opposition to the adoption of the Federal Constitution on account of its lack I of a provision excluding non-Christian sects from the right to hold office, and also of a pro- vision prohibiting Congress from creating a State nligion; and the first amendment to the Con- rtilutiou was one prohibiting Congress from making any laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, file States, however, were left free to establish a Church and restrict religious worship as they saw fit. As a matter of fact, all of the States . which maintained established churches during their colonial existence have disestablished them and inserted in their constitutions provisions granting religious liberty. A complete divorce ' f Church and State was not accomplished in -'ime of the commonwealths until after the adop- tion of the Federal Constitution. It came finally in Virginia through a decision of the Court of Appeals in 1840: in Delaware and Connecticut through the adoption of new constitutions in 1818 and 1831; in Massachusetts through an act of the Legislature in 1833; in Pennsylvania and South Carolina through the adoption of new constitutions in 1790; in Vermont and New Hampshire through acts of the Legislature passed in 1807 and 1819. At the present time twenty- ^ix of the State constitutions declare it to be the privilege of "every man to worship God ac- cording to the dictates of his own conscience." Eleven declare that the "free enjoyment of re- ligious sentiment and forms of worship shall ever be held sacred." Five make it the duty of the Legislature to pass laws for the protection of religious freedom. Xineteen declare that "no human authority ought to control or interfere with the rights of conscience." while nine ordain that "no person may be molested in person or rotate on account of religion." Most of the State constitutions forbid compulsory attendance or support of any Church ; many of them forbid the appropriation of money for the support of -I ctarian institutions, although Xew Hampshire, ^lassachusetts, and Missouri allow the parishes to provide for the support of religious teachers ; while nearly all in one form or another forbid religious te=ts for office. Curiously enough, how- ever, eight States, some of which forbid religious tests, disqualify from public office all who deny the existence of a Supreme Being or a future state of rewards and punishments. While almost complete liberty of worship now exists in the United .States, it is recognized that leligious liberty, like the liberty of the press and speech, may be abused to the injury of others and the detriment of the public morals. Thus the constitutions of many of the States provide for a guarantee against abuse by declar- ing that liberty of conscience shall not be con- strued to excuse acts of licentiousness or justify practices inconsistent with the peace and safety of the State, and the Supreme Court has held that liberty of worship as understood in the Cnited States extends only to relations between the individual and an extra-mundane being, and not to relations among individvials themselves. On this ground. the court held that a law of Congress prohibiting the practice of polygamy was not an infringement of religious worship. The influence of the American idea of religious liberty has been very powerful over Europe and elsewhere. In France different religious denomi- nations are treated equallj-, all receiving State aid. In Germany liberty of worship is allowed subject to certain restrictions upon the right of assembly. In England the Anglican Church is still the established faith, but religious tests for office, except in the case of the Crown, have been abolished. LIBERTY (OF. liberie, Lat. libertas, from lihci: free I . St.tie of. A colossal bronze statue executed by Frederic Bartholdi, a French sculp- tor, and presented to the people of the United States by the people of France. It .stands on Bed- loe's Island, in Xew York Harbor. The gift was designed to commemorate the hundredth anniver- sary of American indepen<lence. It was, however, not placed in position until 1SS5, and it was dedi- cated October 23, 1886. The statue represents a female figure holding a torch aloft. It is the loftiest statue in the world. The figure measures 111 feet in height, and to the extremity of the torch 151.41 feet. The torch is 30.5 feet 11 inches above mean tide. Forty persons can stand with- in the head, to which there is access by a stair- case inside of the statue ; a branch staircase leads into the extended arm. The torch is equipped with an electric light. The foundation was con- tributed by subscription among the American people. LIBERTY BELL. The bell which first rang to celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. .July 4, 1776. It was brought to Philadelphia from England in 1752, and was re- cast in April and again in .June. 1753. when the words "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, imto all the inhabitants thereof" (Ix-v. xxv. 10), were inscribed on it. For many years it was rung annually on the Fourth of .July, but on July 8. 1835, while being tolled in memory of Chief Justice Marshall, it was broken. It now hangs in the hallway of the old State House in Phila- delphia. LIBERTY BOYS. A familiar name for the Sons of Liberty of the American Revolution. LIBERTY CAP. A conical, close-fitting cap with the top drooping forward, sometimes known as the Phrygian cap from the fact that such a head-dress was commonly worn by the ancient Phrygians. A cap of this sort was a mark of freedom among the Greeks, and the placing of it upon the head of a slave was one of the cere- monies attending his manumission. The murder- ers of Cjesar carried through the streets a liberty