Freedom of religion, the First Amendment, and the Supreme Court : how the Court flunked history / Barry Adamson.

Includes bibliographical references ( p. 399-409) and index.

The historical purpose an meaning of the First Admendment's establishment clause the Constitution's establishment clause -- Religion and government in the 1700s : the "establishment" -- The states pre-constitution "Declarations of Rights" -- The states' demands for a "Bill of Rights" as part of the Constitution -- The First Congress' consideration of a Bill of Rights : May to September, 1789 -- The meaning of "meaning" : words mean today, and tomorrow, what they meant when written -- The author's own understanding : Congress's Contemporaneous Acts in 1789 -- The author's own understanding : Congress's subsequent acts -- A meaning consistent with the states' own constitutions and laws in 1789 -- A meaning consistent with amendments proposed by ratifying states -- A meaning consistent with Madison's passions -- Irony of ironies : the Supreme Court extends the establishment clause's disablement to the states -- Jefferson's metaphorical "wall of separation" : a wall of colloquial concoction -- The Supreme Court flunks history and sends religion, God, and Christmas Underground -- The consequences of a rewritten history : the Everson aftermath.