The George Washington Letter Project

Exploring Religious Freedom and Democracy

1790 George Washington wrote a "Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island" in a public exchange of messages with Moses Seixas, leader of one of the oldest Jewish congregations in the new republic. The letters between the two men powerfully express the principle of religious freedom for the new United States—one that speaks to the very nature of citizenship and equality in a religiously diverse society. The nation's first president wrote:

"All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent national 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."

You can find the full text of the letters, historical context, and more about the project, on the Facing History and Ourselves: Give Bigotry No Sanction website.

The George Washington Letter Project is a joint initiative between Facing History and the George Washington Institute for Religious Freedom, a New York-based foundation created by philanthropist Ambassador John L. Loeb to promote open, respectful discussion about religious liberty and separation of church and state. Through the lens of Washington's Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport of 1790, this project empowers educators to address contemporary issues of religious bigotry in classrooms around the world.