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| | Hutson Paper: James Madison and the Social Untility of Religion: Risks vs. Rewards (Library of Congress Exhibition) |
 | | The downfall of the general assessment bill is usually depicted as a kind of slow moving Armageddon, in which Madison and his followers, representing the forces of light and progress, gradually vanquish the legions of reaction who would have dragged America back into the dark ages of religious persecution and bigotry. |
 | | The contest between the supporters of the general assessment and Madison was not, however, another skirmish in the battle between ancients and moderns, for Henry and his counterparts in the other states were innovators. |
 | | The general assessment bill had been just such an innovation and so, too, in Madison's opinion were the various proposals that began emerging in the 1780s that the state, or in some cases the federal government, incorporate religious denominations, i.e., make them corporate bodies at law, enabling them to perform such functions as receiving bequests. |
| www.loc.gov /loc/madison/hutson-paper.html (5623 words) |
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