6/1/2005:
On this day in 1928, the ND Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the State’s 19th century Sabbath-breaking law, which forbade Sunday sales.
In State of ND v. Isaak Diamond, Diamond was charged with selling groceries on the Sabbath, but he claimed his action “did not constitute a public offense.” Diamond claimed the Sunday closing law violated both the U.S. and ND Constitutions, but the court ruled “there are no burdens cast upon the defendant that are not cast upon others in exactly the same situation,” and further, “the State in its exercise of police power has the right to prescribe a day of rest for the public in the interest of public health, morals, and recreation.”
The Sunday-closing law can be traced back to the year 321, when Rome’s Emperor Constantine proclaimed Sunday as the official Christian Sabbath, during which all work was to cease. This was later adapted as English common law, which the colonists brought with them to America. By 1776, every colony required church attendance, prohibited labor, and outlawed trade on Sundays.
The newly written U.S. Constitution called for a separation of church and state, but secularized laws continued to carry religious undertones. The Sabbath-breaking laws became known as “blue laws” when they were printed on blue paper in New Haven, CT, in 1781. The name stuck and has been used to this day.
In Dakota Territory, blue laws prohibited servile labor, public sports, trade, and even traffic other than on foot. When ND achieved statehood, it carried these laws forward, but added a ‘grocery list’ of exclusions that were deemed necessities. These necessities included fish, meat, milk, fruit and medicines – and candy and tobacco. The fine for anything other than these items was $1.00.
In 1920, voters approved a measure to allow baseball on Sundays, but it had to be played between 1:00 and 6:00 p.m., and games had to be held at least 500' from the nearest church. In 1943, the list of ‘necessities’ was expanded to include transportation, communication (telegram, telephone, and news), heat and power systems, and bakeries. However, the fine for breaking the law was upped to $50.00 and now included 1-20 days in the county jail.
ND’s blue laws have been contested since the beginning, and exclusions have been continually added. In 1967, restaurants, hotels, libraries, pharmacies, and hospitals were added, but Sunday shopping? No. By the mid-80s, ND’s blue laws were the toughest in the nation.
In 1984, ND officially became an urban state, by federal standards, and an “ability to maintain a competitive atmosphere and a desire to promote tourism” fueled outspoken public criticism. Lifestyle changes meant many families had to shop on weekends, and border cities, like Fargo and Grand Forks, were losing business to other states, all of which allowed Sunday shopping.
In February 1989, Dale Anderson, President of the Greater ND Assn told the Bismarck Tribune, “I hope people in this state…understand that if we do not turn our economy around, then we will continue to watch our local economies deteriorate and our young people leave this state.”
The ND Legislature finally repealed the ban in February 1991, leaving local governments to accept or decline Sunday shopping. On February 10, 1991, eligible stores opened at noon and were assailed by throngs of shoppers who broke all-time sales records. Sunday liquor sales, on the other hand, would not come into effect until two years later.
Sources: North Dakota Reports, Volume 56; Bismarck Tribune, 4 February 1989; Minot Daily News, 1 October 1990; The Forum, 5 February 1991, 7 February 1991, 11 February 1991; Joe Ellefson, North Dakota Blue Laws: Are they an Issue for the Past? Nov. 6, 1990
Dakota Datebook written by Merry Helm