"The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or on any pretext, abridged."

During the debate on this proposal, Mr. Gerry stated he:

"[D]id not like the term national, proposed by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Madison), and he hoped it would not be adopted by the house. It brought to his mind some observations that had taken place in the (State ratifying) conventions at the time they were considering the present constitution. It had been insisted on by those who were called antifederalists, that this form of Government consolidated the Union; the honorable gentleman’s motion shows that he considers it in the same light. Those who were called antifederalists at the time complained that they had injustice done them by the title, because they were in favor of a Federal Government, and the others were in favor of a national one; the federalists were for ratifying the constitution as it stood, and the others not until amendments were made. Their names then not ought to have been distinguished by federalists and antifederalists, but rats and antirats."

Now we have one big nest of rats called Congress.