Jefferson's Struggle for Religious Freedom: The Unseen Revolution

983 Words2 Pages

During the ensuing fight for independence during the American Revolution, Jefferson looked to the future and for a way of securing religious freedom as well. The growing dissent against the Anglican Church, by groups like Presbyterians and Baptists, found new numbers thanks to the Great Awakening, which raised religious zeal and succeeded in converting many people away from the Church of England. At least, the dissenters of the Anglican Church in Virginia had their growing numbers behind them at the start of the war, which they used to try and leverage full religious freedom for war support. Though they were partially successful in gaining some reform in marriage laws and tax reductions, they failed to gain full freedom from persecution, so Jefferson drafted a Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, which failed to gain any traction in the Virginia State Assembly. The Assembly had a few issues related to the idea of full freedom of religion, which would allow the justification of any behavior no matter how depraved, but also the way Jefferson framed his argument using Enlightenment principles; His preamble read: “the opinions and belief of men depend not on their own will, but follow involuntarily the evidence proposed to their minds,” which the assembly …show more content…

I have considered it as a matter between every man and his maker, in which no other, & far less the public, had a right to intermeddle.” Jefferson’s desire for his religious privacy caused him to suffer attacks from his political enemies, especially during the 1800 presidential campaign against John Adams, where he was called “an atheist in religion and a fanatic in politics” by longtime enemy Alexander Hamilton. Therefore, it is no surprise Jefferson tried to maintain an outward appearance of Christian piety, even if he did so most often to avoid

Show More
Related

  • Sworn On The Altar Of God Summary

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    Various people are devoted to numerous pursuits in their lives. A man in particular known as Thomas Jefferson was devoted to religion. Sworn on the Altar of God is a biography written by Edwin S. Gaustad that goes in depth about Jefferson’s unwavering religious beliefs throughout his life. The book exemplifies how Thomas Jefferson interacts with religious, political, and personal issues. The book follows a timeline from when he was first born into an Anglican family to when he broadened his horizons as a young adult to the impacts he made before, during, and after his Presidency to the aftermath of his death. Edwin S. Gaustad effectively argues that Thomas Jefferson used his religious beliefs to have a positive impact on the world around him.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Vice President Burr

    294 Words  | 1 Pages

    A Christian man, he was opposed to dueling. However, he felt it his “religious duty” to oppose Burr’s political career, considering him “a dangerous man…who ought not be trusted with the reins of government.” Mr. Hamilton attempted to accommodate the mandates of honor and politics with those of morality and religion and the law. He had satisfied the code of uprightness by accepting Burr’s challenge, violating civil law only under duress. He had preserved his political veracity by refusing to express regret for earnest political opinions. Now he would maintain his ethical and devout religious principles by withholding his fire. Therefore, one could ascertain Mr. Hamilton’s motivations for dueling were similar to Aaron Burr’s, for both morality and politics. However, we should consider his religious obligations as the priority of his purpose. As can be seen, where the ego is involves, so therefore lies a person’s

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Thomas Jefferson's Separation Of Church And State

    1838 Words  | 4 Pages

    From 1786-1800, James Madison and other political theorists, wrote eighty-five federalist papers explaining issues on our country and urging people to reconnect with the new constitution. In Federalist paper 10, Madison illustrates that with government and the way that we think about who we look up to in terms of rights has strengthened a divide in mankind. “A common passion or interest will, in almost every case, be felt by a majority of the whole; a communication and concert result from the form of government itself,” (Madison: The Federalist 10). James Madison ties with Jefferson in his opinion about how religion and government do not mix well. He does not tolerate when an argument between a citizens beliefs and the law becomes a problem because it clearly states in the Constitution that “Congress shall make no law respecting a religious movement” (Americans United) In Federalist paper 51, Madison also expresses on how being under the same ruling and in the same environment we have to learn to listen to both sides of the story. “In a free government the security for civil rights must be the same as that for religious rights. It consists in the one case in the multiplicity of interests, and in the other in the multiplicity of sects,” (Madison: The Federalist 51). The way that Jefferson and Madison compare is through the way that they think things should be perceived, such as,

    Read More

  • Jeffersonian-Republicans

    1136 Words  | 3 Pages

    Thomas Jefferson's strict interpretation not only stretched on political views, but religious views as well. Creating the Virginia Statue of Religious Freedom, Jefferson gave states the right to make those decisions, and the federal government had no say in religion (1). Politically, Jefferson was of strict interpretation, yet he did through-out his presidential terms made loose interpretations of the Constitution. This was mainly shown in the purchase of Louisana. At first, Jefferson wanted only New Orleans to keep the mouth of the Mississippi out of French possesion. If that would fail, he was even willing to make an alliance with Britain. When hearing that the United States had bought all of the Louisana Territory, Jefferson soon began to fret over whether it was unconstitutional (a loose interpretation). When Jefferson first took office, he appointed a new Treasury Secretary Gallatin, and kept most of the Federalist policies laid down by Alexander Hamilton in place. All the ideas the Democratic-Republicans were against, Thomas Jefferson kept all of them except for the excise tariff. Against war, Jefferson decided to size down the army during his administration. But the pasha of Tripoli declared an outrageous amout of money by the United States, and with the United States saying no, cutdown the flagstaff in front of the U.S. Consolate (4). Jefferson was forced to go against his views, and build up the army against the North African Barbary States in the First Barbary War (4). And last, but not least, Jefferson's Embargo Act of 1807 not only changed from strict to loose interpretations, but changed New Englanders minds as well (1)(5).

    Read More

  • The Vast Influence of Thomas Jefferson

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thomas Jefferson has an amazing role in our lives today from the hard work and time he spent to make an easier future for all of us. There are days that some of us could not thrive as the people we are without the appliances he made to make challenging tasks easier for us. Some people look up to him because he never stopped doing great things and never stopped showing unselfishness. Thomas Jefferson revolutionized the world of the 18th century and centuries to come. Thomas Jefferson was one of the most influential people of the 18th century because he was one of the founding fathers of America, he was the founder of the University of Virginia, and he was the creator of many life changing inventions, which drastically changed the world.

    Read More

  • Thomas Jefferson, the Hypocrite

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    ideas of Hamilton destroyed that hope in the bud, We can pay off his debts

    Read More

  • Thomas Jefferson: Pragmatics over Doctrine

    624 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the period 1800-1817, the Jeffersonians to a great extent compromised their political principles and essentially “out Federalized the Federalists”. While traditional Jeffersonian Republicanism advocated a strict interpretation of the Constitution and an emphasis on an agrarian economic system, the actual policies of Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were markedly different from their theoretical principles. This obvious compromise of Jeffersonian principles is evident in the Federal government’s assumption of broad-based political powers and institution of capitalistic Hamiltonian economic reforms, both of which stemmed from Jefferson and Madison’s adoption of broad constructionist policies.

    Read More

  • Grievances In The Declaration Of Independence

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jefferson’s language in the Declaration of Independence shows clear influence from Locke and his theory of Life, Liberty, and Property. Locke’s idea of government is one that sets out to protect these rights and once a government becomes more destructive than useful it is the right of the people to dissolve the government and start over from scratch. It can be seen that Jefferson’s view of government, through his criticisms toward the British Parliament, are in direct alignment with Locke’s.

    Read More

  • Jeffersonian Republicans Vs. Federalists

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    When Thomas Jefferson entered office in 1800, he came in with lots of new ideas and goals as the president. Jefferson believed in a smaller central government with stronger state governments. He was a Republican and favored the view of strict construction. He believed that, “Our country is too large to have all its affairs directed by a single government…” (Document A). Jefferson and his Republican party believed in a government that was going to work for the people and that was going to have them at its best interests. That is why they believed in having stronger state governments, they were closer to home and to the people they were governing, therefore they knew more of what the public needed. Document B also refers to strict construction and Jefferson’s beliefs. It talks about the freedoms that were stated in the constitution, mainly, the freedom of religion. Jefferson believes that the federal government should not have any say in dealing with religion of the people. The Republicans believed that any law stated in the Constitution should be strictly followed.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Thomas Jefferson's From Notes on the State of Virginia

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “From Notes on the State of Virginia,” Thomas Jefferson includes some proposed alterations to the Virginia Laws and discusses some differences between blacks and whites. First, he describes one of the proposed revisions regarding slavery: All slaves born after the enactment of the alteration will be freed; they will live with their parents till a certain age, then be nurtured at public disbursement and sent out of state to form their own colonies such that intermarrying and conflicts can be avoided between blacks and whites. Next, Jefferson indicates some physical differences between blacks and whites, including skin color, hair, amount of exudates secreted by kidneys and glands, level of transpiration, structure in the pulmonary organ, amount of sleep, and calmness when facing dangers. As he notes, these differences point out that blacks are inferior to whites in terms of their bodies. In addition, Jefferson also asserts that the blacks’ reasoning and imagination are much inferior to the whites’ after he observes some of the art work and writings from the blacks. As a result, based on his observation, he draws a conclusion that whites are superior to blacks in terms of both body and mind. However, Jefferson’s use of hasty generalization, begging the question, and insulting language in his analysis is a huge flaw which ruins the credibility of his argument and offenses his readers.

    Read More

  • Thomas Jefferson A Hypocrite

    1221 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Hypocrisy behind Thomas Jefferson         One of Thomas Jefferson’s greatest accomplishments was being an author of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson strongly believed that slavery was morally wrong and that the United States should abolish it once and for all. In addition, Jefferson believed that all men were created equal, but as a slave owner he refused to let go of his own slaves. There is evidence behind the thought that his words did not always match his actions, especially when it came to individual rights and freedom.

    Read More

  • Thomas Jefferson And The Civil War

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13,1743 in Shadwell, Virginia. He was born into a family that had status, wealth, and tradition of public service. Jefferson was the third child in the family and grew up with six sisters and one brother. Thomas Jefferson was well educated; he attended private schools and at the age of seventeen he attended the College of William and Mary. Thomas Jefferson was interested in being a scientist, after learning that there was no opportunity for a career in science in Virginia he then studied law. In 1767, Thomas Jefferson was admitted to the bar in 1769, when Jefferson public career started he already owned more than twenty-five hundred acres that he inherited from his father who died in 1757. After marring his wife Martha Wayles Skelton whom was a young widow his property doubled. After the death of Martha’s parents, his property doubled again.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Us Constitution And The Declaration Of Independence

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his brief response, President Jefferson sympathized with the Baptists in their opposition to the state of Connecticut’s established religion. The question of this assignment is “What do you think the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution thought about the separation of church and state or about the separation of God from government?” While devoutly committed to religious liberty He deeply opposed established churches as existed in Massachusetts and Connecticut, but recognized that, as President, he had to respect them. The letter contains the phrase "wall of separation between church and state," that expressed his reverence for the First Amendment’s “wall of separation between Church & State” at the federal level. This became the short-hand for the Establishment Clause that we use today: "Separation of church and state." President Jefferson put much thought and intense scrutiny into the letter, and consulted New England politicians to assure that his words would not offend while still conveying his message that it was not the place of the Congress or of the Executive to do anything that might be misconstrued an establishment of religion. The now well-known the phrase "wall of separation between church and state,” lay

    Read More

  • Argument Analysis - Declaration of Independence

    765 Words  | 2 Pages

    The way that Jefferson structured The Declaration of Independence made the article extremely influential. Jefferson first starts by sharing his belief that governments and monarchies that do not represent the people. He then goes on to tell the rights that he believes all people should have all over the world. The rights he describes are simple and reasonable. From there his last line of that paragraph is “to prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid World.” Then he starts to describe the injustices done to the colonies by the English crown. His structure works well to persuade people because he does not start immediately accusing the king of all these injustices or with strong languages. Like all good speakers and authors, Jefferson starts off with a lightly worded statement about when a group of people should start a new government. He then transitions to a slightly stronger statement about human rights, and then he goes into his compelling injustices of the king. The injustices that he describes include “He has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our Towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People. The Declaration of Independence is...

    Read More

  • Comparison Of The Age Of Reason

    1065 Words  | 3 Pages

    Unlike Franklin, Thomas Jefferson actually acted upon his beliefs. Thomas Jefferson, as well as many other people living in America was tired of British Rule, so Thomas Jefferson composed “The Declaration of Independence,” declaring America to be its’ own independent nation. In “The Declaration of Independence,” Jefferson writes, “We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (Jefferson 340). Jefferson’s writing reflects the time period of enlightenment when he specifically uses the phrases “that all men are created equal,” from the aforementioned quote because during the period of deistic points of view, there was belief that all men were created equal; however, during the 1700s, this belief of all men being created equal did not apply to African American

    Read More

More about Jefferson's Struggle for Religious Freedom: The Unseen Revolution

Open Document