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Blaine It On Politics: The (Non-) Effect Of Anti-Aid Amendments On Private School Choice Programs In The U.S. States, Patrick J. Wolf, Richard D. Komer, Michael Q. Mcshane

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

James G. Blaine was a prominent American politician of the late 19th Century. Although Blaine was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for President in 1884, U.S. Secretary of State, Speaker of the House, and a Senator from Maine, his primary legacy was the enshrinement of "anti-aid" amendments in the constitutions of 39 U.S. states. These so-called "Blaine Amendments" were designed to prohibit government funds from supporting "sectarian" religious organizations such as schools and charities. In Blaine's day, "sectarian" was widely understood to be a euphemism for "Catholic". Nondenominationally Protestant organizations such as the public schools of the day were considered to …