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Sec[Section] 1 Be it enacted by the people of the state of Illinois represented in the General Assembly. That the act, entitled “an act to amend an act relative to Criminal Jurisprudence
approved January thirtieth one thousand eight hundred and twenty seven” which act
was passed and approved January nineteenth one thousand eight hundred and twenty nine,
and repealed by the provisions of an act, entitled “an act relative to criminal Jurisprudence
approved February Twenty sixth one thousand eight hundred and thirty three, be and
the same is hereby revived.2
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A Bill for an act to revive an act entitled an act, to amend an act relative to Criminal
Jurisprudence approved January 19th 1829
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[02]/[12]/[1841]
[02]/[12]/[1841]
2
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[02]/[24]/[1841]
[02]/[24]/[1841]
a table.
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[02]/[13]/[1841]
[02]/[13]/[1841]
Engrossed
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[02]/[17]/[1841]
[02]/[17]/[1841]
passed
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1Wickliffe Kitchell introduced HB 200 in the House of Representatives on February 9, 1841. On February 12, the House refused to table the bill by a vote
of 23 yeas to 57 nays, with Abraham Lincoln voting yea. On February 17, the House passed the bill by a vote of 51 yeas to 25
nays, with Lincoln voting yea. On February 24, the Senate tabled the bill.
Journal of the House of Representatives, of the Twelfth General Assembly of the State
of Illinois, At Their Second Session, Begun and Held in the City of Springfield, December
7, 1840 (Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1840), 350, 382, 383-84, 391, 419; Journal of the Senate of the Twelfth General Assembly of the State of Illinois, At
Their Second Session, Begun and Held in the City of the Springfield, December 7, 1840 (Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1840), 335, 396.
2The 1829 law in question criminalized Sabbath-breaking. Individuals who disturbed
the peace on Sunday through labor, amusement, rioting, noise, profanity, or other
conduct were subject to fines, which rose from five to fifty dollars depending on
the nature and severity of the disturbance. The eleventh section of 1833 act, which
governed offenses against public morality and health, made it illegal to keep a saloon
or tavern open on Sunday, but the tenth division, which governed offenses against
public peace and tranquility and included provisions for disturbing the peace, made
no explicit or implicit reference to Sunday.
“An Act to amend the act relative to Criminal Jurisprudence, approved, January 30,
1827,” 19 January 1829,The Revised Laws of Illinois (Vandalia, IL: Greiner & Sherman, 1833), 662-63; “An Act relative to Criminal Jurisprudence,”
1 July 1833, The Revised Laws of Illinois (Vandalia, IL: Greiner & Sherman, 1833), 196-97, 198-99.
Handwritten Document, 2 page(s), Folder 157, HB 220, GA Session 12-2,
Illinois State Archives (Springfield, IL) ,