Outline

I Introduction
1. Hook: Begin with a brief discussion of some of the problems with the Blue Laws, and gradually lead into the thesis.
2. Thesis: Although a time held tradition in many states, the Blue Laws are in direct violation of the Doctrine of the Separation of Church and State and therefore should not be perpetuated in American society.
3. Implications: Precisely why are the Blue Laws unconstitutional? What effect would a change in the blue laws have on the average American citizen?
II Background
1. Thoroughly discussed the Separation of Church and State from an ideological perspective. Include frequent allusions to the ideologies of the founding fathers as well as to the Constitution and other landmark documents in our nation’s history.
2. Briefly discuss the history of the blue laws.
III Unfair to different Religions
1. Include testimony by people of different religions who feel that this is unfair.
2. Discuss the American ideal of “equality for all.”
IV Fails to benefit Americans and sometimes hinders businesses.
1. Argue that forcing businesses to close on Sunday mornings does absolutely nothing to benefit Americans.
2. Show how businesses could make a lot more money by opening on Sunday mornings.
3. Argue that the average person only has two days off per week: Saturday and Sunday and to restrict what a person can and cannot do during ¼ of that time is absurd.
V Clear Religious Intent – contradicts Separation of Church and State
1. Explain how The Constitution creates the Doctrine of Separation of Church and State.
2. Argue that since the Blue Laws limit what one can buy before 1:30 on Sunday (when people are normally in church) as well as prohibit the sale of alcohol on Sunday, the Blue Laws were clearly motivated by religion even if the laws themselves do not establish a “state religion.”
3. Use quotes by politicians who support the Blue Laws with biblical references in order to demonstrate that religion did in fact influence the passage of the Blue Laws.
VI Counterarguments and Refutation
1. “America was founded on Christianity.” Counter this by saying that although the founding fathers were Christian, they wanted religious freedom for everyone; therefore they would not have condoned the Blue Laws.
2. “You can just until after 1:30 (or in the case of alcohol, after Sunday) to buy items.” Counter this by saying it is the principle that matters, and on principle, the Blue Laws should not be allowed simply on the basis of principle alone.
VII Conclusion
1. Recap the arguments developed in the paper, and tie everything together.

This outline provided a tentative plan for my research; however, the logical structure of the final paper contained some major differences from the plan given here.

Annotated Bibliography

The Separation of Church and State
1. Audi, Robert. “The Separation of Church and State and the Obligations of Citizens.” Philosophy and Public Affairs 18.3 (1989): 259-296. JSTOR. 05 Oct. 2009 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2265345?&Search=yes&term=citizen&term=%22separation+of+church+and+state%22&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3D%2522separation%2Bof%2Bchurch%2Band%2Bstate%2522%2Bcitizen%26gw%3Djtx%26prq%3Dseparation%2Bof%2Bchurch%2BAND%2Bstate%2Bcitizen%26Search%3DSearch%26hp%3D25%26wc%3Don&item=5&ttl=1697&returnArticleService=showArticle>

This article states the separation of church and as what the government strives for. It then speaks about how great care must be taken to achieve this and how if not careful, the government could mistakenly fail to uphold this. In my argument, I will use this to demonstrate how many actions done by the government are questionable as far as whether or not they really are secular. This will ultimately uphold my thesis that the government does not uphold the separation of church and state and well as it should.
2. Schoenfeld, William. “Separation of Church and State: A Policy or a Principle?” The North American Review 189.642 (1909): 662-674. JSTOR. 05 Oct. 2009 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/25106351?&Search=yes&term=citizen&term=%22separation+of+church+and+state%22&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3D%2522separation%2Bof%2Bchurch%2Band%2Bstate%2522%2Bcitizen%26gw%3Djtx%26prq%3Dseparation%2Bof%2Bchurch%2BAND%2Bstate%2Bcitizen%26Search%3DSearch%26hp%3D25%26wc%3Don&item=2&ttl=1697&returnArticleService=showArticle>.
This is an analysis of the separation of church and state written by a reverend. In this article, he agrees with the principle of the separation of church and state. However, he also expresses disapproval over much of the religious discrimination. He also claims that the separation of church and state if upheld as a policy must be upheld in principle also. This will be used for pointing out flaws in the governmental execution of the separation of church and state.
3. “Sunday Blue Laws.“ The Virginia Law Register. 7.1 (1921): 1-8. JSTOR. 05 Oct. 2009 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1106383?&Search=yes&term=%22blue+laws%22&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoAdvancedSearch%3Fq0%3D%2522blue%2Blaws%2522%26f0%3Dall%26c0%3DAND%26q1%3D%26f1%3Dall%26c1%3DAND%26q2%3D%26f2%3Dall%26c2%3DAND%26q3%3D%26f3%3Dall%26wc%3Don%26Search%3DSearch%26sd%3D%26ed%3D%26la%3D%26jo%3D&item=2&ttl=773&returnArticleService=showArticle>.
This article upholds the Sunday Blue Laws. It claims that although man must not discriminate against others based on religion, there is a divine obligation. I believe that the Blue Laws violate the Separation of Church and State Doctrine. Therefore this will be useful when showing and accrediting the opposing side of the argument. However, I must refute then proceed to refute the opposing side.
4. Johnson, Alvin and Frank Yost. Separation of Church and State in the United States. 2nd ed. Minnesota: University of Minnesota, 1948.
This book provides a plethora of information regarding the separation of church and state. It thoroughly discusses 20 different issues that stem directly from the doctrine of the separation of church and state. This book will be quite useful as I plan to include discussions on real life issues as well as an ideological discussion.

5. Morgan, Richard. The Supreme Court and Religion. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1972.
This book discusses the influence of the doctrine of the separation of church and state and landmark Supreme Court cases in our nation’s history. This will prove useful as it will allow me to examine precisely how the Supreme Court acts on issues related to the separation of church and state in a variety of areas such as prayer in schools. For each course, I will then analyze whether the Supreme Court was effective, or whether a different course of action should have been taken.

6. Untitled. Image. Accessed from Google image search on 05 Oct. 2009.
<http://www.abanet.org/publiced/conversations/constitution/images/estreligion_starter3.gif>. This image shows how the Supreme Court is frustrating religious people.
This most likely goes along with the opposing side of my argument. Therefore I will show it when presenting the opposing side but follow by refuting the idea that religion should not interfere with governmental activity.



7. Untitled. Image. Accessed from Google image search on 05 Oct. 2009. <https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYNC_AUAppfz8bO0GwMETLcHCcU4ZgvOYNLGZvZUQP_GRWcaK53c1eipl2nWZu1zM1j4-WdGFiKlajjom-qqjLDLG4-L3E1nIQiPb32FdknQIATmTttknNe55j8q5yjyOK9vORPjJGT9ox/s400/ChurchStateCartoon.jpg>.
This cartoon humorously pokes fun at the failure of the church and state to remain separate. This cartoon can be used to show my thesis about the failure of the government to uphold the separation of church and state. The humor in this will also help to draw the attention of the reader.

Here lie many sources I had thought about using in my paper along with my opinions on how they could be used effectively. Ultimately, however, I used many sources not present here, and there were also many sources here that I decided not to use.

The Separation of Church and State: Free Writing

The Separation of Church and State is a highly controversial issue in American society. For so long, it has been both an ideological conflict as well as a source of real world problems. . Many devoutly religious claim that the founding fathers of our nation founded our nation under Christian principles while many critics claim that the founding fathers intended for the government and the church to remain as separate entities as there are people of all different beliefs in our nation. In this paper, I will first examine the separation of church and state ideologically and then follow by discussing real life issues that stem from this including the use of the use of “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, the printing of “In God We Trust” on all coins, and the passage of the Blue Laws. Tentative Thesis: The Separation of Church and State, the ideological concept of a barrier between governmental and religious activities, has stood since the founding fathers of the United States wrote the Constitution; however, there have been many instances in modern society of which its enforcement has been questionable.
In this research, I wish to study a huge variety of different writings on this topic. I will study the writings of scholars on all sides as well as the writings of ordinary people who feel strongly about this topic. I will also examine various Supreme Court rulings on cases related to this. I will also read various government documents about this. In addition to this, I will explore visual rhetoric and its extensive use in conveying the opinions of varying sides on the issue of the separation of church and state.
Unfortunately, there are some inevitable problems that I will encounter. First of all, this paper is on a highly controversial issue and is written for a wide audience; therefore I must be very careful in order to avoid offending anyone whose views differ from mine. In addition to this, I must also make sure that I carefully examine the views of all sides and do not just focus on my own view point in order to avoid losing the respect of the reader(s).
Image Source: http://www.quizlaw.com/blog/images/churchAndState.jpg

This is a rough sketch of how I could plan an argument. However, the actual research was completely different from this, especially since I shifted from arguing about the Separation of Church and State in general to just arguing about the Blue Laws.