Includes bibliographical references (p. 285-290) and index
Legislating morality : four streams of thought -- Three grounding principles for moral legislation : popular sovereignty, natural law, and divine law -- The nature of God in early American state constitutions -- The nature of man in early American state constitutions -- The constitutionality of moral legislation in early state constitutions -- A constitutional mandate : moral legislation in post-revolutionary Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Massachusetts -- Ambiguous constitutionality : moral legislation in post-revolutionary Virginia, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia, New York, and South Carolina -- Contemporary scholarship and early American state legislation of morality -- Considerations for legislation of morality in the 21st century