In the 1840s, nativist movement leaders formed official political parties and local chapters of the national Native American Party (later the American Party), although they continued to be commonly known as the Know-Nothing Party. Politicians sought to insert provisions into state constitutions against Catholics who refused to renounce the pope. The Know-Nothing movement brought bigotry and hatred to a new level of violence and organization.
The party’s legacy endured in the post-Civil War era, with laws and constitutional amendments it supported, still today severely limiting parents’ educational choices. A federal constitutional amendment was proposed by Speaker of the House James Blaine prohibiting money raised by taxation in any State to be under the control of any religious sect; nor shall any money so raised or lands so devoted be divided between religious sects or denominations. These were then named the Blaine Amendments of 1875.
in recent decades, often in response to challenges to school choice programs, the U.S. Supreme Court has demonstrated great interest in examining the issues of educational alternatives and attempts limit parental options. Massachusetts plays a key role in this debate. The Bay State was a key center of the Know-Nothing movement and has the oldest version of Anti-Aid Amendments in the nation, as well as a second such amendment approved in 1917. Two-fifths of Massachusetts residents are Catholic, and its Catholic schools outperform the state’s public schools, which are the best in the nation.
A Declaration of Independence: Reaffirming the Autonomy of the Third Branch
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Press Releases, Press Releases: Government /by Editorial StaffJames W. Dolan, Esq., Principal, Dolan and Connly, P.C., Former First Justice, Dorchester District Court
The study graphically documents the wildly uneven distribution of resources caused by a patronage system that has led to overstaffing of courts that are politically connected and understaffing of those that are not. The documentation is compellingly clear, one of the best existing analyses of the effects of patronage in a court system. The legal maxim “res ipsa loquitur” captures the self-evident nature of the presentation. There was no need for editorializing.
A Declaration of Independence: Reaffirming the Autonomy of the Third Branch
Of Markets, Government, Lawyers, and Freedom
/0 Comments/in Transcripts /by Pioneer InstituteABC News correspondent John Stossel delivered the keynote address at Pioneer Institute’s 2001 Better Government Competition Awards Dinner. Best known for his “Give Me a Break” segment on the ABC news magazine program “20/20,” Stossel also produces prime-time specials; one of his most recent was a consumer report on government. The Dallas Morning News has called Stossel, the winner of 19 Emmy Awards, “the most consistently thought-provoking TV reporter of our time.” Excerpts of his remarks are printed below.
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Civic Education in Massachusetts: Preparing Students for Citizenship
/0 Comments/in Transcripts /by Pioneer Institute and David CampbellA recent Pioneer Institute White Paper examined the state of civic education in Massachusetts, comparing the performance of district, charter, and private— including parochial and secular private—schools in preparing students for responsible citizenship. To mark the study’s release, Pioneer sponsored a Forum with the author, David Campbell, a research fellow at Harvard University’s Program on Education Policy and Governance. Commentary was provided by former Congressman Mickey Edwards, John Quincy Adams lecturer in legislative politics at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government; Jay Greene, senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute; and Diane Palmer, Massachusetts coordinator of “We the People” Center for Civic Education. The remarks of each are excerpted below
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