George Washington’s letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island (United States | 1790) — Digital download — Classroom handout
George Washington’s letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island (United States | 1790) — Digital download — Classroom handout
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The Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, is the oldest synagogue in the United States. In fact, it was built in 1763, which makes it older than the country itself.
In August 1790, George Washington, who had been elected the first president of the United States, visited Newport after Rhode Island ratified the Constitution, the last of the 13 original colonies to do so. A group of local civic and religious leaders wrote letters of greeting to him. Among them was Moses Seixas, the warden of Congregation Kahal Kadosh Yeshuat Israel, on behalf of the members of the “Hebrew congregation” in the Touro Synagogue.
President Washington wrote letters back. In the case of his reply to the Hebrew congregation, he quoted extensively from the letter he had received from the Touro Synagogue — evidence of how much he agreed with what Seixas had written.
This letter is an important example of how the Founders felt about religious freedom and the role the new Constitution and federal government would play in preserving that freedom.
Because George Washington’s letter is the more famous of the two, it is shown first. However, Washington’s ideas and words relied heavily on Moses Seixas’s letter (which is also worth reading in its own right), so this second letter is also included. The language in these texts, including punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and paragraphing, has been modernized.
The handout is designed with classroom needs in mind. It includes the complete, unabridged text of these two letters as well as a brief introductory text, almost identical to the paragraphs above, to provide background and context to the reader. The text is set in easy-to-read, 11-point type. Lines are numbered for easy reference in classroom discussion. Lines on the right side of the page provide space for the reader to take notes. (These lines use the same spacing as college-ruled notepaper.) The document's title as well as country and year of publication are clearly indicated. Several footnotes provide additional information. The handout is optimized for black-and-white printing and to save printer/photocopier ink/toner to reduce your printing costs.
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