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You are here: Home / Open Threads / And Now a Few Words from President Washington: The Government of the United States which Gives to Bigotry No Sanction Edition

And Now a Few Words from President Washington: The Government of the United States which Gives to Bigotry No Sanction Edition

by Adam L Silverman|  December 8, 201512:49 pm| 55 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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On August 21, 1790 President Washington sent a letter in reply to one which had been read to him on 18 August by Moses Seixas. Washington was making his first trip to Rhode Island and this was shortly after Rhode Island had ratified the Constitution. Seixas was a member and official of the Jewish synagogue in Newport. This congregation is now known as Touro Synagogue and is considered the oldest continuous Jewish congregation in the US. President Washington was so moved by Mr. Seixas’s remarks, including those about tolerance, that he sent a written reply to the entire congregation. It is reproduced below and is followed by an image of the original letter.

President Washington’s Letter to the Hebrew Congregation at Newport, Rhode Island

Gentlemen:

While I received with much satisfaction your address replete with expressions of esteem, I rejoice in the opportunity of assuring you that I shall always retain grateful remembrance of the cordial welcome I experienced on my visit to Newport from all classes of citizens.

The reflection on the days of difficulty and danger which are past is rendered the more sweet from a consciousness that they are succeeded by days of uncommon prosperity and security.

If we have wisdom to make the best use of the advantages with which we are now favored, we cannot fail, under the just administration of a good government, to become a great and happy people.

The citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy — a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship.

It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights, for, happily, the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my character not to avow that I am pleased with your favorable opinion of my administration and fervent wishes for my felicity.

May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants — while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.

May the father of all mercies scatter light, and not darkness, upon our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in His own due time and way everlastingly happy.

G. Washington

gw

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Reader Interactions

55Comments

  1. 1.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    December 8, 2015 at 12:50 pm

    1790, perhaps?

    :-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  2. 2.

    akaoni

    December 8, 2015 at 12:51 pm

    1790

  3. 3.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 8, 2015 at 12:52 pm

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: @akaoni: Fixed. I’d like to blame autocorrect, but I’m not sure that will fly

  4. 4.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 8, 2015 at 12:54 pm

    And I have no idea why I’m getting all these extra lines for spacing. It’s showing up correctly in the edit post on the wordpress page.

  5. 5.

    HinTN

    December 8, 2015 at 12:55 pm

    Old George certainly lived a long time and was quite eloquent, too.

  6. 6.

    different-church-lady

    December 8, 2015 at 12:55 pm

    …for, happily, the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction…

    Well, except for that little slavery thing, which took another 75 years to lose its harbor…

  7. 7.

    HinTN

    December 8, 2015 at 12:56 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: It’s fine on Android mobile.

  8. 8.

    Keith G

    December 8, 2015 at 12:57 pm

    G Washington is such an interesting person to study. He had such a minor education one compared to so many of the other founders. And yet he accumulated an amazing array of accomplishments both in word and deed.

    Edit, I seem to be having all of my comments thrown into moderation. Is there a way this can be looked into? Any suggestions? This is happening no matter which device I am using.

  9. 9.

    Mr. Longform

    December 8, 2015 at 12:57 pm

    I’m pretty sure that expert military guy on fox would say Washington is a big pussy for writing this.

  10. 10.

    different-church-lady

    December 8, 2015 at 12:57 pm

    Could I be de-FYWP’ed, please and thank you.

  11. 11.

    ET

    December 8, 2015 at 1:07 pm

    Someone needs to do ad buys in all the major papers and just run this.

  12. 12.

    dedc79

    December 8, 2015 at 1:08 pm

    Context is key here too. Pick a country (basically any country) in Europe from that same time period, and that country likely: (1) did not permit jews to live there, (2) denied jews citizenship, the right to own land, or participation in certain professions (3) actively pushed for their conversion to christianity.

    Republicans are always praising american exceptionalism but they’re working pretty hard to undo one of our nation’s truly most exceptional characteristics.

  13. 13.

    catclub

    December 8, 2015 at 1:08 pm

    as to corrections, I think maybe Touro? not Tuoro?

    Truro is in Nova Scotia! Tuareg is North Africa.

  14. 14.

    satby

    December 8, 2015 at 1:09 pm

    @Mr. Longform: The reichtwing is in a lather of joy that somebody called Obama a name. Not the name they would have liked, but a derogatory name just the same (bonus points for the misogyny too).
    One of which is a cousin of mine who just ordered a bunch of stuff from my store and I’m now debating just refunding her money and telling her I can’t fill her order. I can, but I’m too pissed off to right now.

  15. 15.

    Amir Khalid

    December 8, 2015 at 1:10 pm

    @Keith G:
    Happened to me to in the thread just downstairs. So it’s not just you. It’s just FYWP being FYWP.

  16. 16.

    Villago Delenda Est

    December 8, 2015 at 1:11 pm

    “The Stock of Abraham”

    The Donald calls you a wuss, Washington.

  17. 17.

    Cermet

    December 8, 2015 at 1:12 pm

    @different-church-lady: End of slavery 75 years after that letter? Really? Remember the chain gangs? These were absolutely real slavery in all senses (except name) until almost 1940. So, really, try more like 175 years. And bigotry was very strong in the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s. And is still growing in very fertile ground, of late.

  18. 18.

    Villago Delenda Est

    December 8, 2015 at 1:13 pm

    @Cermet: Agreed. We’re not there yet.

  19. 19.

    Gin & Tonic

    December 8, 2015 at 1:13 pm

    It is, as noted, the Touro Synagogue, an object of admiration for Rhode Islanders of all faiths. Note also that the part about “to bigotry no sanction” is not original to Washington, as he is echoing that same phrase in the letter from the Jewish congregation to Washington that precipitated his response. The text of that letter is at Adam’s first link

  20. 20.

    shell

    December 8, 2015 at 1:14 pm

    He had beautiful handwriting, as well.

  21. 21.

    RaflW

    December 8, 2015 at 1:19 pm

    May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants

    Wait, isn’t the Mooooslem horde Abrahamic? What could G.W. have been thinking!?!?

  22. 22.

    p.a.

    December 8, 2015 at 1:21 pm

    !

  23. 23.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 8, 2015 at 1:24 pm

    @catclub: Fixed

  24. 24.

    Miss Bianca

    December 8, 2015 at 1:32 pm

    I love this. I love reading the words of the actual Founding Fathers, as opposed to the lathered-up BS paraphrases that certain persons who shall remain nameless, but who like to imagine themselves the modern day Sons of Liberty, are forever horking up at us.

  25. 25.

    Garrick

    December 8, 2015 at 1:35 pm

    @Cermet: Chain gangs are still legal, as is slavery, as long as one has been convicted of a crime.

  26. 26.

    Garrick

    December 8, 2015 at 1:37 pm

    It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights, for, happily, the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

    Damn, that is just painful to read. Nice words, but clearly written without access to one of his home’s tall windows.

  27. 27.

    Larv

    December 8, 2015 at 1:49 pm

    @catclub:

    Truro is in Nova Scotia!

    Also, and originally, in Cornwall.

  28. 28.

    Aaron

    December 8, 2015 at 1:55 pm

    Notice that GW says that the government of the US Constitution is a Liberal policy.

  29. 29.

    daveNYC

    December 8, 2015 at 1:55 pm

    Whatever his other faults, the country was very lucky to have Washington as the first president. A lot of successful revolutions get real ugly when the first guy in charge decides to become God-King Emperor for life.

  30. 30.

    J R in WV

    December 8, 2015 at 2:09 pm

    Adam,

    You are a gift to the blog and to the nation!

    Thank you for coming to write and talk with us. Your knowledge of history and ability to do historical research on a relevant topic brings so much to all of us.

    And take that, Trump! You are a miserable and uneducated person about the nation’s foundations, the nation you have the arrogance to imagine you are qualified to lead! Fie on you! First amendment of the Bill of Rights: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

    Prohibits all the things Trump has proposed as serious policy intentions. Also, in the body of the constitution, in Article 6 we see that ” …no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”

    Sounds like to me that even asking someone what religion they believe in is illegal for the governments to do, under any circumstances – no matter how hard Trump wants to do it. The other “freedom” amendments take care of racial or national origin biases, IIRC!

    JR

  31. 31.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 8, 2015 at 2:17 pm

    @J R in WV: Thanks, I’m blushing.

  32. 32.

    Calouste

    December 8, 2015 at 2:22 pm

    @dedc79: France emancipated the Jews in 1791, the next year, which Napoleon than spread through the territories he conquered.

    And according to wikipedia, New Hampshire was the last US state to fully emancipate the Jews in 1877.

  33. 33.

    dedc79

    December 8, 2015 at 2:27 pm

    @Calouste: My list was meant as ors not ands. Regardless, France was the exception rather than the rule at the time, and of course later there was Dreyfus and Vichy.

  34. 34.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    December 8, 2015 at 2:40 pm

    @Garrick:

    FWIW, Washington was the only slaveowning Founding Father to follow through on his word and free his slaves after his death. (Technically, it was supposed to be after Martha’s death, but she wisely sped up the manumission process so no one would “accidentally” speed up the process.) Everyone else talked a good game (*cough*Jefferson*cough*) but somehow just never got around to it.

    You know which major Founding Father never owned slaves, supported abolition his entire career, and helped Haiti write their original constitution? Yep, the guy on the 10-dollar bill. He also had a lot of nice things to say about Jews and related fond memories of his first schoolteacher, who was an elderly Jewish woman.

  35. 35.

    gvg

    December 8, 2015 at 2:42 pm

    I have often thought that America was so lucky in Washington. He didn’t like being President enough to want it forever, he wasn’t afraid to step down which implies good things about the other founders, and he set such a good example. So many other countries had revolutions that only brought purges and tyranny. I don’t actually know why we were so blessed when others weren’t except luck.
    My first year in college I took a semester on the Reformation and then the French revolution. It taught me a lot about the real significance of our revolution.
    The reformation is why we had to put in separation of church and state. The ignorant want to put more religion into our government. They just have no idea. One consequence is less sincere belief. Can you imagine being told what exact way to worship is alright? Which songs have to be sung, or not sung? The right way changing because the ruler changed (or we had an election)? I wish there was some way for them to experience what they think they want without impacting the rest of us. State religions are usually pretty corrupt to, not devout.

  36. 36.

    Gin & Tonic

    December 8, 2015 at 2:56 pm

    @Mnemosyne (tablet): I thought I’d heard there might be a Broadway musical about him. Could that be?

  37. 37.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    December 8, 2015 at 2:58 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Come on, who would write a Broadway musical about the first treasury secretary? Next you’ll be telling me it has hip-hop songs in it.

  38. 38.

    Gin & Tonic

    December 8, 2015 at 3:00 pm

    @Mnemosyne (tablet): Relax, I’m just pulling your leg. Nobody’d ever go see something like that.

  39. 39.

    Brachiator

    December 8, 2015 at 3:02 pm

    @Mnemosyne (tablet):

    FWIW, Washington was the only slaveowning Founding Father to follow through on his word and free his slaves after his death.

    Well, not quite.

    Of the 318 slaves at Mount Vernon in 1799, 123 of the individuals were owned by George Washington and were eligible to be freed as per the terms of the will. However, these conditions did not apply to all slaves at Mount Vernon. By law, neither George nor Martha Washington could free the Custis dower slaves.

    And that he owned slaves in the first place is still damning.

    However, I take your point. And Hamilton does stand out. I ran across a book that suggests that Madison did not pursue some slaves that escaped his holdings. John Adams did not own slaves.

    One founder later blasted Jefferson for not supporting Haitian independence.

  40. 40.

    greennotGreen

    December 8, 2015 at 3:06 pm

    @gvg: Maybe American theocrats should spend some time in Saudi Arabia.

    Kidding. They wouldn’t learn anything.

  41. 41.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    December 8, 2015 at 3:10 pm

    @Brachiator:

    Both the Washington and Adams administrations supported Haitian independence, but the Jefferson administration, not surprisingly, reversed course.

  42. 42.

    LWA

    December 8, 2015 at 3:17 pm

    @greennotGreen:

    They wouldn’t learn anything.

    God, I’m afraid they would learn too much.

  43. 43.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    December 8, 2015 at 3:30 pm

    @Brachiator:

    I can’t remember if you said you’ve read the Chernow book, but he came across an interesting tidbit: a woman came to the New York Manumission Society asking for their assistance in gaining her freedom. It turned out that her owners were John and Angelica Church, Hamilton’s brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

    The next set of minutes reported that the woman had been freed without any need for further action by the Society, so Hamilton seems to have had a word or two with his in-laws.

    Hamilton’s mother owned a few slaves when they lived in the West Indies, but they were sold off after she died when he was 12. It’s possible that Hamilton’s wife brought a couple of slaves to the marriage but, if she did, they were freed shortly after the wedding because no census or household records show that they reported having slaves. And, of course, Eliza became a strong abolitionist in her own right after Hamilton’s death.

  44. 44.

    Roger Moore

    December 8, 2015 at 3:32 pm

    @gvg:

    I have often thought that America was so lucky in Washington.

    We were lucky, but it wasn’t pure luck. If you read what the other founding fathers said about Washington, they were of very mixed opinion about his ability, but they were universal (or as close to universal as such a large group ever can be) in praising his character. They chose him as their leader because they recognized the latter as more important than the former. So they were fortunate to have someone of such great character around, but showed wisdom in recognizing its importance.

  45. 45.

    PaulW

    December 8, 2015 at 3:45 pm

    our nation may have bigots and haters at most levels of society, but we ought to, we NEED TO elect to our high political offices those persons who will lead by speaking to the better angels of our nature.

  46. 46.

    C.V. Danes

    December 8, 2015 at 4:13 pm

    @Cermet: Try, like, still. As in to this day.

  47. 47.

    EthylEster

    December 8, 2015 at 4:33 pm

    @ET wrote: Someone needs to do ad buys in all the major papers and just run this.

    Today most readers would not get to the end and would not understand what they had read if they did.

    Imagine living in a society that so obviously respects written communication.

  48. 48.

    Shana

    December 8, 2015 at 4:37 pm

    @Mnemosyne (tablet): Speaking of which, I did get the soundtrack Sunday evening. Loving it. I also hear that the first new production of Hamilton will be in Chicago, an open-ended run starting September 2016.

  49. 49.

    daveNYC

    December 8, 2015 at 5:12 pm

    @Mnemosyne (tablet): That’s what makes the ‘put a woman on the ten dollar bill’ effort so annoying. Target the $20! Get that Andrew Jackson Trail of Tears slave owning asshole off the currency.

  50. 50.

    Sad_Dem

    December 8, 2015 at 5:16 pm

    @Aaron:

    Notice that GW says that the government of the US Constitution is a Liberal policy.

    That’s because it was. John Locke and Adam Smith were liberals. They opposed the reactionaries of their day. The Constitution of the United States is a liberal document based on liberal ideas.

  51. 51.

    tybee

    December 8, 2015 at 5:46 pm

    @satby:

    sometimes, the best revenge is taking their money and making a profit.

  52. 52.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 8, 2015 at 5:47 pm

    @Brachiator: the Custis slaves, if I’m recalling correctly, wound up ultimately belonging to Robert E. Lee as he married one of the Custis daughters or granddaughters. He, of course, had no interest in freeing them.

  53. 53.

    Brachiator

    December 8, 2015 at 6:22 pm

    @Mnemosyne (tablet):

    I can’t remember if you said you’ve read the Chernow book, but he came across an interesting tidbit: a woman came to the New York Manumission Society asking for their assistance in gaining her freedom. It turned out that her owners were John and Angelica Church, Hamilton’s brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

    I’ve read other biographies of Hamilton, and other works about him, but not Chernow’s work. I guess it goes on my list, now.

    The Bowery Boys website and podcast used to have a lot of good stuff on Hamilton and his connection to New York City.

    Right now, they have a great feature: A TRIP TO LITTLE SYRIA, NEW YORK’S FIRST MIDDLE EASTERN NEIGHBORHOOD. Very timely.

  54. 54.

    Brachiator

    December 8, 2015 at 6:31 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    the Custis slaves, if I’m recalling correctly, wound up ultimately belonging to Robert E. Lee as he married one of the Custis daughters or granddaughters. He, of course, had no interest in freeing them.

    Lee’s father-in-law wanted the slaves released after his death, and Lee wrote a document promising to do so, even though he kept them and hired them out for at least 5 years. In the end, it played out like this:

    Those families can be identified in this document, in which Lee finally liberates them by court order one day after the effective date of the Emancipation Proclamation.

    To his credit, Lee tried to prevent the further exploitation of these freed people.

  55. 55.

    Rugosa

    December 9, 2015 at 11:41 am

    @Miss Bianca: Yes, the reference to how we could be a “great and happy people” choked me up a bit. To listen to the current Republican field, making us a narrow-minded and unhappy people seems to be the point. So much for preserving the Founding Fathers’ vision!

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