Note 52 — Chapter VIII · A DEMOCRATIC WORLD.[44]

The Barrier Act was a Presbyterian device against hasty innovation. “Every proposal which contemplates a material change in the constitution of the Church or in its laws respecting doctrine, discipline, government, or worship, after being considered and accepted by the Synod, must be sent down to Presbyteries for their approval or disapproval, before it can become the law of the Church.” (The Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church of England, p. 50.) Just so, the Federal Amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to prohibition had to be referred to the several states for endorsement before final ratification.