The Convention thought it wrong to admit in the Constitution the idea that there could be property in men.
James MadisonThe Constitution of the U.S. forbids everything like an establishment of a national religion.
James MadisonBecause the bill vests in the said incorporated church an authority to provide for the support of the poor and the education of poor children of the same, an authority which, being altogether superfluous if the provision is to be the result of pious charity, would be a precedent for giving to religious societies as such a legal agency in carrying into effect a public and civil duty.
James Madison