Crafts or contraceptives? Hobby Lobby wants to exercise its religious freedom.

• Position: On the Line

On March 25, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius. The cases deal with private corporations objecting to the contraceptive coverage mandate included in the Affordable Care Act. Both firms say they object to emergency contraceptives and IUDs on religious grounds. If they prevail, not only will the firms be able to dictate coverage options for their female employees, but many more corporations may start to "exercise" their anti-birth-control "religious freedoms."

The Citizens United decision in 2010 said that corporations were persons. And, as Lyle Denniston noted on his SCOTUSblog, "The First Amendment protects the rights 'of the people,' and [a] 1993 law protects the religious rights of persons.' " Denniston asked: "Do profit-making companies qualify as either?"

Learn more at Americans United for Separation of Church and State: www.au.org.

The First Nations saw the Seven Years'War as a conflict between two European powers; the aboriginal peoples only fought as allies of either the English or French. They had not been conquered; this was their land and they had allowed Europeans to come and settle under certain conditions, such as gift distribution. Discontent began to grow. In response, a British plan to control the European traders by restricting trade to posts and to eliminate rum failed. Into this troubled situation stepped a remarkable native leader, Pontiac, an Ottawa chief. Although this charismatic leader had fought for the French, he quickly moved to establish good relations with the British after the fall of Montreal. When British promises did not materialize, localized Aboriginal uprisings occurred which Pontiac exploited and unified into a native revolt in the summer of 1762, which gave First Nations control of most of the Old Northwest.

Long before these uprisings, the British had recognized the pressures on the land west of their colonies along the Atlantic coast. The British moved to correct the situation with a series of proclamations. The first issued in 1761 focused on several British colonies along the east coast of North America, including Nova Scotia. There were to be no sales of Amerindian lands without official authorization and settlers unlawfully established on Indians' lands were to be...