PENNSYLVANIA,
STATE OF

(December 12, 1787), was the 2nd State admitted to the Union. The Constitution of the State of Pennsylvania, adopted 1776, stated:

Preamble. We, the people of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance, do ordain and establish this Constitution.1904

Frame of Government, Chapter 2, Section 10. And each member [of the legislature], before he takes his seat, shall make and subscribe the following declaration, viz: “I do believe in one God, the Creator and Governour of the Universe, the Rewarder of the good and Punisher of the wicked, and I do acknowledge the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by Divine Inspiration.”1905

On March 1, 1780, the legislature of the State of Pennsylvania passed an Act abolishing slavery within the State.1906 The Constitution of the State of Pennsylvania, adopted 1874, stated:

Preamble. We, the people of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance, do ordain and establish this Constitution.1907

Article I, Section 3. All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences.1908