ESPINOZA v. MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
Basically, SCOTUS held 5-4 that states cannot discriminate against religious-affiliated private school. The real targets were Blaine amendments; it failed at the federal level, but various states, including Montana, implemented their own. Blaine amendments were particularly aimed at Catholics, who established their own schools as an alternative to public schools, which at the time were not secular but reflected a Protestant perspective (including Bibles and prayers). Protestant majorities didn't want taxpayers subsidizing Catholic education which they tried to link to the establishment clause. Technically the amendments didn't specifically identify Catholics although they were the clear target.Let's be clear: my late maternal uncle, a diocesan priest, didn't care for the schools, which he saw as a drain on parish finances. Catholic schools are run on shoestring budgets, e.g., 60 cents on a public school dollar, large families are given deep discounts, and few are turned down on ability to pay. The Church schools don't exclude Protestants or others of different faiths; in fact, my third-grade teacher was Protestant. I attended all or parts of second through sixth grade in Catholic school. I can assure you the quality of instruction was as good or better than my experience in public school. For the most part, religious dogma was not an emphasis; I attended daily Mass and occasionally we might start out with a prayer. I scandalized my second-grade sister/nun teacher when she asked me one day if I would like to lead the class in prayer. ("Not really.") Tough discipline. I can still taste having a sister wash my mouth out with soap when I talked back to an older kid.
So the story behind the case is that Montana established some subsidy program leveraging private-sector donors to support students attending private schools. The Montana tax office established a rule terming religious affiliated schools ineligible, in reference to the Blaine amendment. Plaintiff parents won in district court but the Montana Supreme Court reversed on Blaine. SCOTUS in turn basically ruled the Blaine Amendment unconstitutional, violating the Free Exercise clause.
This was clearly the right decision; the government should not be discriminating against religiously-affiliated schools. Moreover, as a libertarian, I prefer education choice against the public school monopoly. Now some libertarians don't like tax dollars going to the private sector, although clearly private school parents pay for two schools and we are really talking about private consumers keeping more of their own money and making their own choices--which shouldn't be limited by discriminating against certain providers.
Was the Civil War Really About Slavery?
The politically correct answer is yes. But let's point out a few facts:- The Confederacy knew that key trading partners, i.e., France and Britain, had abolished slavery and were reluctant to recognize or support the Confederacy. So apparently they had put slavery on the table early in the war, one of the reasons behind Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Now why would they do that unless their independence was the primary interest?
- The Confederacy was prepared in the late stages of the war to offer slaves their freedom in exchange for their help on the battlefield. Again, why would this happen if the motivation was maintaining the institution of slavery?
- Lincoln made clear in his first inaugural address he was willing to accept slavery in the South forever in the Constitution if seceding states returned to the fold. He dubiously justified emancipation based on his role of Commander-in-Chief, which is why he didn't free the slave states still in the Union. By seceding, the South lost any hopes of enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act and expanding slavery in the territories.
I'm obviously not arguing slavery in the South was insignificant or morally acceptable. But even if you look at the Confederate Constitution, you see a lot of nuances reflecting economic and other grievances the South had held for decades against the North.
