Editing James G. Blaine (section)

=== Blaine Amendment ===
{{Main|Blaine Amendment}}
Once out of the speaker's chair, Blaine had more time to concentrate on his presidential ambitions, and to develop new policy ideas.{{sfnm|Crapol||1pp=42–43|Green||2pp=49–51}} One result was a foray into education policy. In late 1875, President Grant made several speeches on the importance of the [[separation of church and state]] and the duty of the states to provide free [[State school|public education]].{{sfnm|Smith||1pp=568–571|Green||2pp=47–48}} Blaine saw in this an issue that would distract from the Grant administration scandals and let the Republican party regain the high moral ground.{{sfnm|Crapol||1pp=42–43|Green||2pp=49–51}} In December 1875, he proposed a joint resolution that became known as the [[Blaine Amendment]].{{sfnm|Crapol||1pp=42–43|Green||2pp=49–51}}

The proposed amendment codified the church-state separation Blaine and Grant were promoting, stating that:

{{blockquote| No State shall make any law respecting an [[Establishment Clause|establishment of religion]], or prohibiting the [[Free Exercise Clause|free exercise thereof]]; and no money raised by taxation in any State for the support of public schools, or derived from any public fund therefor, nor any public lands devoted thereto, shall ever 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.{{efn|While the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] already imposed the first two restrictions on the federal government, they were not deemed to apply to the states until 1947<ref>See ''[[Everson v. Board of Education]]'', 330 U.S. 1 (1947).</ref> and 1940,<ref>See ''[[Cantwell v. Connecticut]]'', 310 U.S. 296 (1940).</ref> respectively.{{sfn|Green|pp=39–41}}}}}}

The effect was to prohibit the use of public funds by any religious school, although it did not advance Grant's other aim of requiring states to provide public education to all children.{{sfn|Green|p=38}} The bill passed the House but failed in the Senate.{{sfnm|Crapol||1pp=42–43|Green||2pp=49–51}} Although it never passed Congress, and left Blaine open to charges of [[Anti-Catholicism in the United States|anti-Catholicism]], the proposed amendment served Blaine's purpose of rallying [[Protestantism|Protestants]] to the Republican party and promoting himself as one of the party's foremost leaders.{{sfnm|Crapol||1pp=42–43|Green||2pp=49–51}}