Freedom
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . .”
While some in the early United States proposed the use of taxes to support churches as safeguards of morality and social order, others argued that preferential treatment for one group put all others in jeopardy. Enlightenment ideals declared religion a personal matter, demanding government remain neutral in matters of faith. Crafting the First Amendment, James Madison anticipated the spirit of Thomas Jefferson’s “wall of separation” between church and state, shielding religion from government interference while protecting citizens from having religion imposed upon them.
James Madison: Speech Introducing Amendments to the Constitution
As originally written, the Constitution left much unsaid about individual rights. Before he became the nation’s fourth president, James Madison advocated adding a Bill of Rights enumerating constitutional protections. Using the notes here, he made his case to Congress on June 8, 1789. The notes did not include the word “religion” but instead mentioned “Freedom of Conscience.”
Loan from Library of Congress
John Leland: Letter Calling for a Bill of Rights
James Madison is credited with the addition of a Bill of Rights to the Constitution, but he was not alone in seeing this need. Baptist minister John Leland argued for the inclusion of individual rights and protections in this forceful letter. Among the most persecuted religious minorities in the early republic, Baptists like Leland put pressure on government to guarantee religious liberty for all.
Loan from Library of Congress
George Washington: Letter to the Hebrew Congregations
While the discussion of religion in the early United States focused largely on Protestant denominations, members of other religions likewise were concerned about their place in this new country. In the first year of his presidency, George Washington corresponded with a number of Jewish communities, assuring each that their rights would be protected.
Loan from Library of Congress
Thomas Jefferson: Letter to the Ursuline Sisters of New Orleans
The expansion of American borders raised questions of religious freedom. With the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, heavily Catholic French territories became part of the United States. Concerned for their rights and their property, the Roman Catholic nuns of the Ursuline Convent of New Orleans wrote to Thomas Jefferson to inquire if they had anything to fear. In his reply, Jefferson assured the sisters that their convent would not only be protected but would remain “sacred and inviolate.”
Loan from Ursuline Convent of New Orleans Archives and Museum
Thomas Jefferson: Letter to the Danbury Baptist Association
Perhaps the most famous expression of American religious liberty—the “wall of separation between church and state”—is found not in any official document, but in this short letter sent by Thomas Jefferson to Baptists in Danbury, Connecticut, during the first year of his presidency. Jefferson wrote the letter to assure Baptists and other religious minorities that the federal government would not meddle in matters he believed should be left “solely between Man & his God.”
Loan from Library of Congressn
Baptists of Virginia: “Ten Thousand Name” Religious Freedom Petition
Religious freedom did not begin with Independence. Beginning in 1776, Virginia’s religious dissenters (members of any denomination other than the Church of England) petitioned the state government for full religious rights, including not being forced to pay taxes providing financial support to clergy. Often signed by thousands of dissenters (as in the famous “Ten Thousand Name” petition shown here), these appeals were part of a larger freedom of conscience movement in Virginia, which later served as a model for religious liberty in the nation as a whole.
Loan from Library of Virginia
James Madison: Speech Introducing Amendments to the Constitution
As originally written, the Constitution left much unsaid about individual rights. Before he became the nation’s fourth president, James Madison advocated adding a Bill of Rights enumerating constitutional protections. Using the notes here, he made his case to Congress on June 8, 1789. The notes did not include the word “religion” but instead mentioned “Freedom of Conscience.”
Loan from Library of Congress
John Leland: Letter Calling for a Bill of Rights
James Madison is credited with the addition of a Bill of Rights to the Constitution, but he was not alone in seeing this need. Baptist minister John Leland argued for the inclusion of individual rights and protections in this forceful letter. Among the most persecuted religious minorities in the early republic, Baptists like Leland put pressure on government to guarantee religious liberty for all.
Loan from Library of Congress
George Washington: Letter to the Hebrew Congregations
While the discussion of religion in the early United States focused largely on Protestant denominations, members of other religions likewise were concerned about their place in this new country. In the first year of his presidency, George Washington corresponded with a number of Jewish communities, assuring each that their rights would be protected.
Loan from Library of Congress
Thomas Jefferson: Letter to the Ursuline Sisters of New Orleans
The expansion of American borders raised questions of religious freedom. With the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, heavily Catholic French territories became part of the United States. Concerned for their rights and their property, the Roman Catholic nuns of the Ursuline Convent of New Orleans wrote to Thomas Jefferson to inquire if they had anything to fear. In his reply, Jefferson assured the sisters that their convent would not only be protected but would remain “sacred and inviolate.”
Loan from Ursuline Convent of New Orleans Archives and Museum
Thomas Jefferson: Letter to the Danbury Baptist Association
Perhaps the most famous expression of American religious liberty—the “wall of separation between church and state”—is found not in any official document, but in this short letter sent by Thomas Jefferson to Baptists in Danbury, Connecticut, during the first year of his presidency. Jefferson wrote the letter to assure Baptists and other religious minorities that the federal government would not meddle in matters he believed should be left “solely between Man & his God.”
Loan from Library of Congressn
Baptists of Virginia: “Ten Thousand Name” Religious Freedom Petition
Religious freedom did not begin with Independence. Beginning in 1776, Virginia’s religious dissenters (members of any denomination other than the Church of England) petitioned the state government for full religious rights, including not being forced to pay taxes providing financial support to clergy. Often signed by thousands of dissenters (as in the famous “Ten Thousand Name” petition shown here), these appeals were part of a larger freedom of conscience movement in Virginia, which later served as a model for religious liberty in the nation as a whole.
Loan from Library of Virginia
