AMERICAN JUDAICA – "An Act for the relief of Jews in Maryland." Pp. 154-155, in: Laws Made and Past at the General Assembly of the State of Maryland. Annapolis: printed by Jeremiah Hughes, 1824. [With]: Additional 1825 volume containing the confirmation of the Act's passage, on p.21.

An important act furthering religious freedom in America. Despite the guarantee of religious freedom in the Bill of Rights, this Constitutional provision was not binding on state governments until after the Civil War, with the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868. Maryland's first state constitution, passed in 1776, retained a colonial statute requiring all public servants, including lawyers and jurors, to formally profess the Christian faith. While Maryland's Jews had been protesting this since the 18th century, it took 50 years to remedy.

The bill was championed by the Scottish-born politician, Thomas Kennedy (1776-1832), who was outraged by the injustice of excluding a group of people from public life only because of their religious beliefs. For him, religion was "a question which rests, or ought to rest, between man and his Creator alone." The so-called "Jew Bill" narrowly passed on its third attempt and just a few months later, two Jewish men were elected to Baltimore City Council. They were still required to profess a belief in a "future state of rewards and punishments." See Maryland State Archives for the State House Trust, website.

Together, two volumes. (Toned, mild wear at ends.) Early 20th century library cloth (spines sunned). Provenance: Association of the Bar Library, City of New York (stamps and shelf-marks).