"HISTORY SPEAKS" BLOG
As a Republican State Treasurer and one of America’s wealthiest Black businessmen, he played a vital role in rescuing debt-ridden Louisiana after the Civil War.
He became one of America’s most influential Southern Black leaders, emerging from his background as a sugar planter and the wealthiest Creole slave owner in Louisiana during his time. His legacy reflects both his economic power and his impact on Black leadership in the South.
This story challenges popular narratives in Black history today, presenting a perspective that deserves to be told. By examining this unique viewpoint, the tale enriches our understanding of history and encourages deeper reflection on the complexities of the past.
His name was Antoine Dubuclet, Jr.
Antoine Dubuclet, Jr. was born to two free Black parents in 1810 near Baton Rouge, LA. Upon his father’s death, Antoine inherited a lucrative sugar plantation and the responsibility of over 70 enslaved individuals who worked the land alongside it.
In the mid-1830s, Antoine married Claire Pollard, a wealthy free Black woman who owned a plantation with 44 slaves. By 1860, he managed both plantations and owned over 100 slaves, becoming Louisiana’s wealthiest slaveholder. After Claire’s death in 1852, they left behind nine highly-educated children, two of whom became doctors. He later remarried and had three more children.
The Bittersweet Impact of the Civil War
The Civil War (1861-1865) severely impacted the sugar industry, leading to a significant decline in production and profitability. Consequently, Dubuclet’s financial fortunes within the industry were drastically diminished as a result of this turmoil. To survive the deep financial losses from his sugar plantations, Dubuclet relied on the estate of his first wife, which he had wisely divested and invested.
In the end, the war left the entire South in ruins and facing bankruptcy.
It was time to rebuild, but how and by whom?
Dubuclet Rises to Save Louisiana.
Like sugar, Antoine knew money and how to grow it. In 1868, he won the state treasurer position as a member of the Republican Party. Dubuclet restored the fortunes of Louisiana and was re-elected in 1870 and 1874. However, his political success was not without opposition. He was the only officeholder who survived the “Battle of Liberty Place” in September 1874—an attempted insurrection by the Crescent White League. He also overcame impeachment in 1876.
It’s no wonder that a year later, Dubuclet retired from politics.
A Life Memorialized
Antoine died on December 18, 1887 as one of the South’s richest men.
Dubuclet is remembered as “a true Southern gentleman: smart, well-dressed, and debonair.” A former slave owner and Republican politician, he played a pivotal role in saving Louisiana from bankruptcy.
In 1990, he was inducted into the Louisiana Black History Hall of Fame.
It’s quite the story. A tale that, according to one historian, “will tear apart historical perception.”
Antoine Dubuclet.
Creole Family Man. Sugar Planter. Wealthy Businessman. Republican Politician.
And now you know the rest of HIStory.
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SOURCES:
- “Antoine Dubuclet” (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Dubuclet
- “10 Black Slaveowners That Will Tear Apart Historical Perception” by D.G. Hewitt (May 17, 2018): https://historycollection.com/10-black-slaveowners-that-will-tear-apart-historical-perception/8/
He was among America’s first black preachers.
A fiery Methodist who converted thousands—blacks, Indians, whites—to Christianity in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
His life story–of only 35 years–has inspired millions.
John Marrant was born a free black June 15, 1755 in New York City.
When his father died, at four, his mother moved the family to Florida, then to Georgia, and finally to South Carolina. John learned to read and write and play the French horn. His musical talent landed several gigs.
At age 13, John joined a friend at a revival meeting featuring the legendary Great Awakening evangelist George Whitefield. As Whitefield preached, Marrant experienced a dramatic conversion to Christ. In the heat of spiritual fire, he collapsed to the floor, paralyzed and mute. It was no momentary experience. John couldn’t move nor talk. Friends had to carry him home. His family was shocked. Doctors tried to administer medication, but he refused.
In the days and weeks that followed, only one thing eased John’s condition: studying the Bible.
Although he eventually regained movement and could talk, his family still believed John went insane. All he wanted to do was read and study the Bible. When the fight with his family proved too much, Marrant left home to wander in the woods, alone, relying only upon God’s protection and provision.
One day a lone Cherokee found John, and they covenanted to work together. Hunting. Fishing. Trading furs. When the Indian took him to his tribal fort, John was viewed as a threat to the Cherokees and sentenced to death. Marrant began to pray to Jesus. His bold and incessant prayers not only converted his executioner, they convinced the chief to dismiss his death sentence. John lived with the tribe for the next two years, converting dozens of Cherokees to Christianity.
Marrant had no special credentials. Just a love for God and His people.
Eventually, John returned to his family (who didn’t recognize him initially) and found work on local plantations. He used the opportunity to evangelize and convert black slaves with whom he labored. During the Revolutionary War, the British captured Marrant and discovered his musical skills. They commissioned him as a musician in their Royal Navy then sent him to fight several British battles.
After the war, John moved to London to sell clothing. That’s when he reconnected with George Whitefield, the fiery English evangelist who radically converted him as a young teen.
Whitefield encouraged John to join the Methodist clergy and on May 15, 1785, he was ordained.
His first church was in Nova Scotia, ministering to blacks, Indians and interested whites. John’s passionate biblical messages drew crowds…and criticism. Methodist ministers were increasingly jealous that their white parishioners preferred Marrant’s black services.
Eventually John moved to Boston and found a new cause: abolishing slavery. In 1785, he published his autobiography: A Narrative of the Lord’s Wonderful Dealings with John Marrant, A Black. In his book, Marrant recounted his radical conversion, life with the Cherokees and the “wonderful dealings” and experiences he enjoyed. The book proved popular and sold well (17 editions), inspiring black readers for decades.
Three years later, John married. There’s some evidence he and Elizabeth had children, but it’s unverified. The rest of John’s life he preached and pastored, returning to London, where he died on April 15, 1791. Marrant was only 35 years old.
If it wasn’t for his book, John’s name and legacy as America’s first black preacher might be forever lost to time.
John Marrant. Free Black. Methodist Evangelist. Author. Abolitionist. Musician.
And now you know the rest of HIStory.
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SOURCES:
- “John Marrant” (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Marrant
- Marrant, John. A Narrative of the Lord’s Wonderful Dealings with John Marrant, A Black (1785). Available as a Google book download.
Bridget Mason (1818-1901)
For nearly forty years, she lived as a slave under a Mississippi master. Despite never learning to read or write, she saved her earnings as a midwife, ultimately becoming a wealthy Black real estate magnate and a revered philanthropist.
This inspiring tale illustrates that what truly matters is not how you begin life but how you finish it. It’s a powerful reminder that the journey and its outcomes define our experiences far more than our starting point.
Her nickname was “Biddy.”
Bridget Mason, born into slavery in August 1818, experienced life under several masters before being sold to Robert and Rebecca Smith in Mississippi. Her valuable childcare, livestock management, and medicine skills made her an indispensable asset to her owners.
A Mormon Move West
In 1847, the entire Smith family converted to Mormonism and pulled up stakes to move west with Brigham Young. Biddy traveled with her slave owners from Mississippi to eastern Illinois, on to Colorado, and eventually Salt Lake City, Utah. She was among 34 slaves in the wagon train and walked the entire 1,700 miles, arriving in 1848.
In 1851, Brigham Young commissioned a group of Mormons to emigrate to California and establish a new outpost. Among those in the wagon train were the Smith family and Biddy, but they soon encountered a significant problem: California was a free state.
California Schemin’
During the Civil War era, free states were those where slavery was illegal, primarily located in the North and opposing slavery’s expansion. In contrast, slave states permitted slavery, predominantly in the South, and relied on enslaved labor, ultimately seceding to form the Confederacy.
Once Biddy crossed into the Golden State (which had become a state only a year earlier), it meant she was no longer a slave. But that fact didn’t matter to her master. He ignored California law. Besides, Biddy was illiterate, so the Smiths could easily keep her unaware… and so she remained enslaved.
Breaking Free
In 1856, Smith decided to move to Texas, a slave state, prompting Biddy to voice her concerns. The move would separate her from her children. After sharing her fears with two free Black men, they informed her of California law. Biddy then sued Robert Smith for emancipation.
During the court hearings, Biddy’s master displayed his ruthlessness by providing false testimony, claiming she intended to relocate to Texas, and bribing her lawyer to miss court dates. Additionally, Biddy was unable to testify personally due to a California law that barred Blacks from speaking against Whites in court.
After 38 years of slavery, justice for Biddy and her family finally arrived when the judge liberated her from Smith. This pivotal moment marked the end of a long and arduous struggle for freedom.
Building a New Life
Biddy, a free Black woman in the prime of her life and mother of three daughters, quickly found work as a nurse and midwife. Living frugally, she saved every penny she earned, ultimately using her savings to purchase land.
Biddy was among the pioneering Black women who made history by owning real estate in Los Angeles, breaking barriers and paving the way for future generations. Her achievements are a testament to resilience and determination in a challenging environment.
Biddy’s real estate investments flourished over time, leading to her wealth. She generously used her resources to shelter and feed the impoverished and imprisoned. Mason funded a traveler’s aid center, daycares, and schools for children. She also played a crucial role in founding the first African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles. Once, she paid the grocery bills for a community made homeless by a flood, and daily, people lined up at her home seeking financial assistance, which she provided as much as she could.
Biddy often stated, “The open hand is blessed, for it gives in abundance, even as it receives. If you hold your hand closed, nothing good can come in.” She lived by this philosophy every day of her life, embodying the blessings of generosity and openness.
A Rich Life of Generosity
During her final years, Mason’s financial holdings surpassed $300,000, equivalent to approximately $9.2 million today. This substantial amount reflects her successful financial management throughout her life.
Biddy died January 15, 1891. She passed as a revered citizen of Los Angeles and was awarded several distinctions, including memorial parks, murals, and even a day (November 16) named in her honor.
Bridget “Biddy” Mason.
Former Slave. Real Estate Entrepreneur. Christian Philanthropist.
And now you know the rest of HERstory.
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SOURCES:
- “Biddy Mason” (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biddy_Mason
- Beasely, Delilah L. The Negro Trail Blazers of California (Los Angeles: 1919): 90, 109, 110, 117. Available for download at Google books.
- Martineau Wagner, T. (2007, July 12). Bridget “Biddy” Mason (1818-1891). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/mason-bridget-biddy-1818-1891/
Due to the high casualty rate of the Civil War, Union fatalities quickly populated established military cemeteries in Washington, D.C. and Alexandria, VA.
Montgomery C. Meigs
A Union Quartermaster General named Montgomery C. Meigs was tasked to find that new resting place. Several eligible locations were evaluated, but one in particular caught Meigs’s eye.
It was a plot of land with plenty of acreage and amazing views just outside Washington, D.C.
Quartermaster General Meigs knew the property was Lee’s. He also nursed a grudge against him.
Montgomery C. Meigs wasn’t born a Yankee, but he was as close as you can get. Meigs was born in Georgia., but at one-year old, his father moved the family to Philadelphia for work. Meigs grew up a wealthy and well-connected Northerner. At 15, Meigs went to the University of Penn to study French, German, Latin, art, literature and poetry. He then attended West Point to serve in the U.S. Army, graduating fifth in his class (1836).
One of his early commissions was under the command of Lt. Robert E. Lee on the Mississippi River.
As the Union’s Quartermaster General, Col. Meigs’s reputation was “efficient, hard-driving, and scrupulously honest.” A political peer commented that he was:
“one of the ablest graduates of the Military Academy, was kept from the command of troops by the inestimably important services he performed as Quartermaster General. Perhaps in the military history of the world there never was so large an amount of money disbursed upon the order of a single man … The aggregate sum could not have been less during the war than fifteen hundred million dollars, accurately vouched and accounted for to the last cent.“
Consequently, Col. Meigs relished the opportunity to acquire and use Lee’s estate for a Union graveyard.
The Union Quartermaster General purposely buried dead Union soldiers within feet of the Confederate general’s Virginia mansion. He even gave one Union soldier his final resting spot in Mary Lee’s beloved rose garden.
To make things more complicated, the U.S. government claimed ownership rights to the land.
Robert E. Lee’s former home had a moniker, that became the name of the cemetery: ARLINGTON.
Twenty-one states have an “Arlington” inside their border. Besides Virginia, the most famous is Arlington, TX where 365,438 people live and the home of baseball’s Texas Rangers.
In 1940 western civilization was under attack.
Wars raged across the globe. Fascist dictators invaded and occupied weaker countries. Totalitarian regimes removed human rights and denied religious liberty. The threat of atheist socialism and communism spread across the globe, even to Main Street, U.S.A.
The world hungered for peace and security.
In a May 1940 radio address President Franklin D. Roosevelt confessed, “Americans might have to become the guardian of western culture, the protector of Christian civilization.”1 A few months later, he preached “If the spirit of God is not in us, and if we will not prepare to give all that we have and all that we are to preserve Christian civilization in our land, we shall go to destruction.”2
Throughout the war years, Roosevelt—a devout Episcopalian—often acknowledged “Christian civilization” and “religious liberty as essential for universal peace and security.
The horrific Jewish Holocaust gave Roosevelt the political capital to promote a bubbling global dream.
He called his new worldwide vision: The United Nations.
Roosevelt knew a Judeo-Christian worldview was problematic to the secularism and atheism of Nazis, socialists, and Communists: “Those forces hate democracy and Christianity as two phases of the same civilization. They oppose democracy because it is Christian. They oppose Christianity because it preaches democracy.”3
Roosevelt envisioned the United Nations as creating progressive global “peace and security” serviced through Christian nations:
“Even in time of war those Nations which still hold to the old ideals of Christianity and democracy are carrying on services to humanity which have little or no relationship to torpedoes or guns or bombs. That means very definitely that we have an abiding faith in the future—a definite expectancy that we are going to win through to a peace that will bring with it continuing progress and substantial success in our efforts for the security and not for the destruction of humanity.”4
After Roosevelt’s death, President Harry Truman picked up the mantle for the “United Nations.”
On October 24, 1945, fifty-one countries ratified the United Nations Charter . In early 1946, Truman delivered his own fiery sermon to the Federal Council of Churches of Christ: “We have just come through a decade in which the forces of evil in various parts of the world have been lined up in a bitter fight to banish from the face of the earth…religion and democracy.”5
Truman argued human rights were rooted to the “worth and dignity” of every person. All lives (and nations) mattered to God. Truman then disclosed a shocking revelation to this religious council. The new U.N. Charter was written with “the essence of religion.” It’s tenets were spiritual values and objectives to:
• End aggression
• Maintain peace
• Promote social justice
• Defend individual rights/freedoms
• Substitute reason/justice for tyranny/war
• Protect the small and weak
Truman concluded “the United Nations [had] laid the framework of the Charter on the sound rock of religious principles.”6 To answer this charter, he issued an altar call for American Protestants, Catholics, and Jews to unify and lead a “moral and spiritual awakening.”
The United Nations first task was to recognize Israel’s right to exist (awarded May 15, 1948).
To affirm this right, the British ceded their control of Palestine (which they occupied since 1917) in order for the Jews to possess the homeland of their ancestry. Whereas the Nazi wanted to exterminate the Jew, Roosevelt’s (and Churchill’s) vision gave these “children of Israel” back their ancient land with dignity and worth.
The late 1940s produced notable achievements for the United Nations.
In a 1950 U.N. Assembly address, President Truman outlined the early successes of the United Nations, including better living conditions, freedom, and justice. The U.N. directly helped millions through food, schoolbooks, vaccinations, and farming advice. However, Truman observed, it was the U.N.’s support of the “spiritual values of men’s lives” that’s brought the most dignity and worth.7
This was always the original Judeo-Christian vision of the United Nations, reflecting the Judeo-Christian values of the United States and western civilization.
Unfortunately, after 1950, the U.N. devolved and drifted toward secular paths.
The first evidence of secularization happened in 1948 in the U.N.’s “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” This document proclaimed the freedom of opinion, speech, and religion; prohibited slavery, forced marriages, torture and inhumane punishment. All of these human rights are good. The problem? Unlike American founding documents, the United Nations refused to acknowledge God as the originator of these human rights.
The secularization of Europe was evident, and an influential stamp upon the United Nations.
In contrast, during the 1950s, the United States, under the Eisenhower administration entered into our most “Christian” decade of the century.
During this decade, the U.S. pledge added the phrase “one nation under God” and America’s currency included the statement “In God We Trust.” Furthermore, church attendance reached historic highs in Eisenhower’s America. In fact, Dwight D. Eisenhower is the only U.S. president to be baptized in office. Television, movies and music–even with new “edgy” artists, styles and programs–remained rather benign. Pat Boone was as popular as Elvis Presley in the late 1950s (although the King of Rock ‘n Roll eventually won the war in the coming decades). Ozzy and Harriet and Father Knows Best were 1950s television templates for the ideal family. Disney movies (Cinderella, Davy Crockett, Peter Pan), Disneyland (July 17, 1955) and the Mickey Mouse Club ruled “boomer” kid culture.
But the rest of the world was moving in a different direction, including the United Nations.
During the 1950s, the United Nations slowly replaced it’s religious foundation with secular principles and values. Religion, particularly Judeo-Christianity was shelved and sidelined. For example, in December 1955, U.S. ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge recommended for United Nations sessions to open with prayer. It’s a practice that remains a tradition in the U.S. Congress to this day, but the secular-minded United Nations politely and quietly rejected the recommendation.
Furthermore, a secular United Nations body was more tolerant and accepting of communist, atheist countries. By the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan voiced legitimate concerns about “a growing disregard for the U.N. charter” and noted how certain (communist) nations violated the charter through civil rights abuses, human slavery, and sex trafficking. Reagan was ignored.
Today the United Nations is a shell of its original vision. In fact, many leaders no longer see its relevance or necessity. Can the United Nations, sans biblical principle, effectively monitor human rights and religious liberty? Can a secular body of world leaders, working without God, produce global unity, peace, or security?
Roosevelt didn’t think so. Neither did Truman or Reagan.
But there was a day back in 1945 when the “United Nations” had six million reasons to exist, and each was tethered to biblical purpose.
It’s why we can’t ignore our past.
Because eventually has a way of repeating itself.
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SOURCES:
- Franklin D. Roosevelt. Radio Address Before the Eighth Pan American Scientific Congress. Washington, D.C.
May 10, 1940. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/radio-address-before-the-eighth-pan-american-scientific-congress-washington-dc - F. D. Roosevelt. Address at Dedication of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. September 02, 1940. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-dedication-great-smoky-mountains-national-park
- F. D. Roosevelt. Campaign Address at Brooklyn, New York; November 1, 1940. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/campaign-address-brooklyn-new-york
- F. D. Roosevelt. Radio Address on the President’s Sixtieth Birthday. January 30, 1942. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/radio-address-the-presidents-sixtieth-birthday
- Harry S. Truman. Address in Columbus at a Conference of the Federal Council of Churches. March 6, 1946. https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/public-papers/52/address-columbus-conference-federal-council-churches
- Ibid.
- H.S. Truman. Address to the U.N. General Assembly. October 24, 1950. https://2009-2017.state.gov/p/io/potusunga/207324.htm#:~:text=result%20of%20their%20sacrifices%2C%20the,them%20achieve%20two%20great%20purposes.
Over the past 60 years, American culture has slowly abandoned it’s Judeo-Christian moorings and became more secular. But it wasn’t always that way. In fact, for nearly two centuries, America was a proud and self-confessed political “Christian nation.”
Joseph Story was a U.S. Supreme Court justice who served between 1812 and 1845. He wrote the original commentary on the U.S. Constitution. In the section on the First Amendment, Story confirmed this “Christian nation” politic:
Now there will probably be found few persons in this or any other Christian country, who would deliberately contend that it was unreasonable, or unjust to foster and encourage the Christian religion generally, as a matter of sound policy, as well as of revealed truth.
In fact, every American colony, from its foundation down to the Revolution, with the exception of Rhode Island, (if, indeed, that state be an exception,) did openly by the whole course of its laws and institutions, support and sustain in some form the Christian religion; and almost invariably gave a peculiar sanction to some form of its fundamental doctrines.
And this has continued to be the case in some of the states down to the present period, without the slightest suspicion that it was against the principles of public law or republican liberty.[1]
Flipping the Script? Impossible!
In this single statement, Justice Story flipped the script on the popular modern notion that America was founded as a secular nation. In fact, it wasn’t even possible. For 185 years, ever since the Declaration of Independence in 1776, America had been overwhelmingly a Christian nation by profession.
America’s Christian preference was documented through historical court cases, edicts, sermons, books, diaries, journals, last wills and testaments, statues, paintings, monuments, and many other references. Photography further showed Americans at churches, usually packed. After major tragedies, Americans attended church. To seek God’s protection and provision, Americans went to church. Many American “holy” days (holidays) were rooted to religion, from St. Valentine’s to St. Patrick’s to Thanksgiving.
A “Christian” America was a Blessing
In 1831 a French philosopher and historian named Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to America to study why it was so successful as a young nation…and immediately identified its Christianity as the source of its political and social liberty.
In the 1800s, Christianity led the way to abolish slavery, give blacks, Indians and women voting rights, educate children, build hospitals, house the homeless, feed the poor, liberate nations and rebuild countries after catastrophes.
The YMCA? Young Men’s Christian Association. The Salvation Army? A Christian organization. Compassion International? Again, Christian. Has there been any other religion that’s done as much good for a society or culture than Christianity? It’s easy to pick on the mistakes, foolishness and bad found inside of a Christian culture, but they pale in comparison to the successes, wisdom and good its produced.
America is an “idea.” Liberty. Equality. Justice. Where did these ideas come from? Jesus and Christianity. It’s why our Christian Founders relied on their faith to guide the framing of a new nation.
Consequently, there’s never been a time in America’s history when our population didn’t identify as Christian. For most of America’s history it’s been an overwhelming majority. However, since the 1950s, there has been a decline. The good news? Even in today’s “post-Christian” America, two out of three Americans continue to prefer and profess Christianity (according to Gallup polling).
The Decline of American Christianity
Nevertheless, the decline in American Christianity since 1960 has been significant [2]:
1961: 93% of Americans identified as Christians (Protestants [70%], Catholics [23%], while 2% were Jewish, 2% were other (Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim), 2% were “none” (agnostic/atheist) and 1% no answer.
1981: 87% of Americans identified as Christians (Protestants [59%], Catholics [28%], while 2% were Jewish, 4% were other (Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim), 7% were “none” (agnostic/atheist) and 1% no answer.
1991: 81% of Americans identified as Christians (Protestants [56%], Catholics [25%], while 2% were Jewish, 5% were other (Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim), 9% were “none” (agnostic/atheist) and 2% no answer.
2001: 82% of Americans identified as Christians (Protestants [53%], Christian-Non-Specific [4%], Catholics [25%], while 2% were Jewish, 4% were other (Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim), 8% were “none” (agnostic/atheist) and 2% no answer.
2013: 72% of Americans identified as Christians (Protestants [38%], Christian-Non-Specific [10%], Catholics [24%], while 2% were Jewish, 5% were other (Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim), 15% were “none” (agnostic/atheist) and 4% no answer.
2023: 66% Americans identified as Christians (Protestants [33%], Christian-Non-Specific [11%], Catholics [22%], while 2% were Jewish, 6% were other (Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim), 22% were “none” (agnostic/atheist) and 3% no answer.
Why did Christianity Decline in America?
What changed in America? When did the decline begin?
Clearly, the decline began in the 1960s, as the Baby Boom generation came of age. This post-WW2 generation suckled on affluence. In the 1940s, America rediscovered life after war, building new suburbs, buying new cars and exploring new lifestyles. Rising incomes allowed people to purchase pleasure. In the 1950s, these “Leave it to Beaver” families embraced travel (from National Parks to Disneyland) and new weekend toys like motorboats, campers and motorcycles. With each new pleasure, God and church was pushed more to the side.
A new technology named television brought the world (and its influences) directly into the home. Rock and roll music reimagined the Top 40. Elvis. Chuck. Buddy. Meanwhile, a new type of magazine arrived called Playboy. During the 1950’s, America began to lose her innocence.
In the 1960s, the Mickey Mouse boomers were now teens and college kids. They left their white picket fences for universities to learn that their parent’s lives were a lie…just a suburban Disneyland. The answer was to “tune in, turn on, and drop out” via drugs, sex and rock ‘n roll. The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan preached how the “times were a’changin’.” One of those changes were the atheists. Largely quiet during the “One Nation Under God” campaigns of 1950s Eisenhower’s America, these secularists were tired of God in America and decided to do something about it.
The Moment it All Changed
The secularist’s disdain is reflected in two landmark Supreme Court decisions to eliminate Christianity from public schools in 1962 (prayer) and 1963 (Bible reading). In the years following, secularists used these rogue decisions to dismantle Christianity in America’s public squares and remove religion from our nation’s political/ social institutions. Hollywood, television and pop media were certainly a contributing factor. Whereas Christian behaviors and faith were positively portrayed in pre-1970s media (television, movies, music), in the decades that followed the church and Christianity were lampooned, mocked, criticized and censored.
For example, in the 1950s and early 1960s, Hollywood delivered religious film classics like Ben Hur (1959), King of Kings (1961), The Robe (1953) and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). But not many years after, released Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979), Judas (2004) and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), films that ranged from slapstick mockery to blatant heresy.
After 1962’s S.C.O.T.U.S. decision to remove prayer from public schools, secularists (who composed less than 2% of the American public) systematically dismantled Christian images, traditions, monuments and holidays, most notably Christmas, via the judicial system using a single phrase “separation of church and state.”
A phrase not even in the U.S. Constitution or the First Amendment.
Reread Joseph Story’s quote. It also reveals how modern America has reinterpreted and misapplied the “separation of church and state” doctrine. In fact, nearly all the decisions in the past 60 years, including the removal of prayer in schools, rest on a highly questionable opinion in 1947 Supreme Court case (Everson v. Board of Education). In other words, reinterpretation and misapplication of this “separation” idea, depending on your view, has either destroyed “Christian America” or righted the true Founding Father desire for Constitutional law.
The First Amendment stated Congress could make no law, but our Founders never imagined our Christian national identity would be erased by her Judiciary branch (who, constitutionally, had no power to make or enforce law, only interpret and give opinions).
“The Separation of Church From State?”
Historically, the 15th century phrase–“the separation of church and state”–was coined by clergy whose churches were oppressed and persecuted by European state churches. These clerics certainly meant the “separation of Church FROM State.” After all, no one in Europe or America viewed this idea as meaning to create a completely secular state (until the 1800s).
The truth is America was founded by Christian colonists (i.e., Pilgrims, Puritans) who created Christian colonies, using biblical principles and values for their institutions and laws. These colonies eventually reconstituted as Christian states (many identifying through a “state” religion).
Thanks to the First Great Awakening (1730-1770) that grooved the Founding generation and the Second Great Awakening (1790-1840), an American “Christian” republic was born.
Many secular historians would vehemently disagree with this conclusion, but the evidence is overwhelming through the writings and speeches of the Founding Fathers, themselves.
The Testimony of our Founding Fathers
Very few Americans have read these writings or messages. It’s why I have include the documentation (endnotes). Many of these books are available today for free download at Google Books:
JOHN ADAMS:
“The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”[3]
BENJAMIN RUSH:
“I do not believe that the Constitution was the offspring of [Divine] inspiration, but I am as satisfied that it is as much the work of a Divine providence as any of the miracles recorded in the Old and New Testament.”[4]
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS:
“In the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior. The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.“[5]
JOHN JAY:
“Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”[6]
GOUVERNEUR MORRIS:
“There must be religion. When that ligament is torn, society is disjointed and its members perish… The most important of all lessons is the denunciation of ruin to every state that rejects the precepts of religion.”[7]
JAMES McHENRY:
“Public utility pleads most forcibly for the general distribution of the Holy Scriptures. Without the Bible, in vain do we increase penal laws and draw entrenchments around our institutions.”[8]
JOHN WITHERSPOON:
“He is the best friend to American liberty who is the most sincere and active in promoting true and undefiled religion, and who sets himself with the greatest firmness to bear down profanity and immorality of every kind. Whoever is an avowed enemy of God, I scruple not to call him an enemy of this country.”[9]
JEDIDIAH MORSE:
“To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom and political and social happiness which mankind now enjoys. All efforts made to destroy the foundations of our holy religion ultimately tend to the subversion also of our political freedom and happiness.”[10]
NOAH WEBSTER:
“The religion which has introduced civil liberty is the religion of Christ and His apostles… This is genuine Christianity and to this we owe our free constitutions of government.”[11]
The Conclusion of a House Judiciary Committee (1854)
Finally, in 1854 a U.S. House Judiciary Committee concluded, after a long investigation into America’s historical documents:
“Had the people, during the Revolution, had a suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, that Revolution would have been strangled in its cradle… In this age, there can be no substitute for Christianity… That was the religion of the founders of the republic and they expected it to remain the religion of the descendants.”[12]
The French philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville reportedly stated after his visit to America that “as long as America is good, America will be great. However, when America ceases to be good, she’ll surely cease to be great.”
Even if the great philosopher never said it, it sounds like something he would say. And it reflects the type of Americans that he engaged on their trip.
Essentially, the greatness of America is intrinsically bound (by blessing) to our goodness before God.
It’s something to think about…whether that Truth sings or stings.
SOURCES:
[1] Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States by Joseph Story, Vol 2 (Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1851), 592. Available for download at Google Books.
[2] The Gallup organization has consistently given the best look at American religion since 1948 through an annual poll. Gallup asked for “religious preference” and the general choices of Protestant, Christian (nonspecific), Catholic, Jewish, Mormon, Other, None, No Answer. https://news.gallup.com/poll/1690/religion.aspx
[3] John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, June 28, 1813, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson (Washington D. C.: The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1904), XIII:292-294.
[4] Benjamin Rush to Elias Boudinot, July 9, 1788, Letters of Benjamin Rush, ed. L. H. Butterfield (Princeton, New Jersey: American Philosophical Society, 1951), I:475.
[5] John Quincy Adams, An Oration Delivered Before the Inhabitants of the Town of Newburyport at Their Request on the Sixty-First Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1837 (Newburyport: Charles Whipple, 1837), 5-6.
[6] William Jay, Life of John Jay, (New York: J&J Harper, 1833), II:376, John Jay to John Murray Jr., October 12, 1816.
[7] “An Inaugural Discourse Delivered Before the New York Historical Society by the Honorable Gouverneur Morris, (President,) 4th September, 1816,” Collections of the New York Historical Society for the Year 1821 (New York: E. Bliss and E. White, 1821), 32, 34.
[8] Bernard C. Steiner, One Hundred and Ten Years of Bible Society Work in Maryland, 1810-1920 (Maryland Bible Society, 1921), 14.
[9] John Witherspoon, The Works of the Reverend John Witherspoon (Philadelphia: William W. Woodward, 1802), III:42.
[10] Jedidiah Morse, A Sermon, Exhibiting the Present Dangers and Consequent Duties of the Citizens of the United States of America, Delivered at Charlestown, April 25, 1799, The Day of the National Fast (MA: Printed by Samuel Etheridge, 1799), 9.
[11] Noah Webster, History of the United States (New Haven: Durrie and Peck, 1832), 300, 578.
[12] Reports of Committees of the House of Representatives Made During the First Session of the Thirty-Third Congress (Washington: A. O. P. Nicholson, 1854), 6-9.
Thomas Jefferson was always a believer.
Although his political opponents tagged him an atheist, there was no demonstrable evidence to support that claim. Being Virginian, Jefferson was raised Anglican but his disdain for the hypocrisy of Episcopal bishops and church practices—not to mention his desire to abolish Anglicanism as the state religion—created friction and faction. Nevertheless, according to historian Charles B. Sanford, “[Jefferson] and his family were baptized, married, and buried by the Anglican church.”[i]
After his wife’s death, Jefferson’s move to Paris invited more trouble upon his return. According to his critics, Jefferson was tolerant, if not a convert to French Deism, agnosticism and atheism. It wasn’t true. In fact, unlike Thomas Paine, Jefferson never entertained atheism, only flirted with agnosticism and was never a self-proclaimed Deist. These were all labels attached to him by others.
The Persecuted Man
The 1800 presidential election between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson proved a bitter battle filled with hateful mudslinging, rancorous politics and horrible gamesmanship. Jefferson won the war but vowed to never speak again on certain topics publicly. At the top of this list: religion.
During the campaign, his opponents skewered him as an “atheist.” They fostered fear among clergy and congregations that, if elected, Jefferson would become a tyrant and steal Bibles, close churches and demolish “freedom of religion” in America. In some Northern states fearful Christians hid their Bibles in case Jefferson was elected.
And he was, but none of it proved true.
Nevertheless, the relentless attacks continued, even after the election. Jefferson retreated to Monticello until he could move into his new White House home. The criticism of his religious convictions hurt. No matter how Jefferson answered, his political adversaries used it against him.
So he did something few can do. He went dark. Silent. Thomas Jefferson vowed never to speak publicly about his views on religion again. And he never did. Other than a smattering of letters to trusted friends, Jefferson preferred stone-cold silence on the matter.
And not surprisingly, his actions spoke louder than words.
Mr. Jefferson Goes to Washington
During his years of public office, especially as governor of Virginia, Jefferson routinely issued declarations for public prayer, public fasts and thanksgivings. He introduced bills to punish “Sabbath Breakers,” protect marriage and save church property.
As Vice President, Jefferson approved a plan for regular church services in the U.S. Capitol (launched December 4, 1800). At that time, the city of Washington was young, small and in construction. There were no churches for people to attend. As early as 1795, Jefferson had allowed a congregation in the “infant city” to meet in the Capitol. With the building completed and occupied in 1800, one of Congress’s first acts was to approve a [non-denominational] church services under the leadership of chaplains from the House and Senate.
The reason? The new capitol city had no [denominational] church.
The Church at the Capitol
When Jefferson moved to D.C., it’s the Capitol church he attended…regularly. Perhaps it was to persuade naysayers and critics who labeled him an “infidel” and “atheist” during the 1800 campaign. According to multiple witnesses, Jefferson rode his horse to services, no matter the weather.[ii] The president even invited the Marine Band to perform, but their “ostentatious” sound brought a quick end to that booking.
Mary Baynard Smith attended with Jefferson and noted: “The seat he chose the first Sabbath, and the adjoining one (which his private secretary occupied), were ever afterwards by the courtesy of the congregation, left for him and his secretary.”[iii] That “private secretary?” Probably none other than Meriwether Lewis (of Lewis and Clark fame).
The U.S. Capitol church services continued the late 1800s. According to congregants who regularly attended services, their gatherings drew presidents (including Madison, John Quincy Adams, and Lincoln), congressmen, federal judges, notable D.C. aristocrats and influential clergy…and their families.
By 1857, weekly attendance topped 2000.[iv]
It was America’s first non-denominational megachurch.
The Unitarian Man
In the early 1800s, Unitarianism migrated to America. In its primitive form, attractive to the Founding Father class, it featured two doctrinal distinctives: 1) questioning the Trinity (God in Three Persons); and 2) Pre-Existence of Christ. Both traditional doctrines immediately created battle lines, especially with the Catholics, Calvinists (Presbyterians) and Congregationalists.
However, Unitarianism evolved throughout the 19th and 20th century, and has little comparison to its early incarnations. Jefferson seemed to lose interest after a few years. According to Randle’s early biography on the third president, Jefferson issued a paper to his eldest daughter to help his family deal with “the libels published against him.”[v]
One of those libels involved his ties to Unitarianism. Randle wrote how Jefferson,
…towards the close of his life he occasionally cut short all further inquiries or remarks tending towards discussion on the subject of religion…[particularly] saying he was Unitarian…[his grandchildren] heard him habitually speak reverently of God, the Saviour, and the great truths of Christianity.[vi]
Again, for a season, there’s evidence from writings and activities that Jefferson embraced Unitarianism.
He corresponded with the Unitarian Dr. Joseph Priestley and confessed his affection for Unitarianism to Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse. But, theologically, Unitarianism in Jefferson’s day wasn’t the same as today’s more ultra-liberal brand. Many of the Unitarian-Universal beliefs seen today were not part of the early 19th century version.
Restoration Christianity
Remember those church services Thomas Jefferson authorized at the U.S Capitol in 1800? A congregation led by congressional chaplains, not sectarian clergy? A non-denominational, autonomous congregation open to anyone of any class, creed or color?
A church of “we the people.”
This was Jefferson’s blueprint church. The “non-denominational” congregation was the only church the former president “constantly attended” after leaving his Episcopal heritage. While he maintained vestiges of Anglican and Unitarian convictions, Jefferson never placed membership in either church.
Jefferson’s Christianity, like the American ideal, was broader than any single creed or denomination. Only a non-denominational, decentralized church fully fit his theological and philosophical persuasions. It so happened that a movement of churches were birthed during the Second Great Awakening (1790-1840) through a new movement of nondenominational congregations loosely united through a desire to restore “primitive Christianity.”
While most historians point to the influences of Thomas and Alexander Campbell in west Virginia and Barton Stone in Kentucky for igniting the “restoration movement,” there were other early advocates for nondenominational Christianity. Most notably, for Jefferson, was James O’Kelly who separated from his Methodist Episcopal Church for a more “primitive” or “restoration” Christianity. O’Kelly adopted a new name for his congregations in Virginia and North Carolina: Christian churches.
Jefferson and Restoration Churches
The O’Kelly and Campbell “Christians” eventually spread throughout Jefferson’s Virginia.
These churches perfectly wedded Jeffersonian democracy with “primitive Christianity.” “Restoration” congregations reimagined American Christianity outside of strict and stiff denominational lines into autonomous gatherings based upon early Christianity. In communities across America “churches of Christ” and “Christian churches” sprouted.
After Jefferson’s retirement from politics, he corresponded with friends, such as Thomas Cooper, detailing his experiences at various nondenominational churches. For example, he visited a nondescript church at a courthouse one Sunday. Jefferson was delighted in how Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist all gathered, dined, and worshipped in unity, and wrote they “[joined] in hymning their Maker, [listened] with attention and devotion to each other’s preachers and all mix in society in perfect harmony.”[vii]
Jefferson had long envisioned such a gathering. He wrote a Christian friend in 1822:
I am looking with anxiety to see the dawn of primitive Christianity here, where, if it once appears, it will soon beam like the rising sun, and restore to reason her day. ‘Thy kingdom come’ is therefore my prayer; and my confidence is that it will come.[viii]
Many adherents believed these type of churches would produce a thousand year reign of Jesus on earth. In fact, the primary journal of Alexander Campbell’s Christian Churches was appropriately titled The Millennial Harbinger.
Thomas Jefferson the Church Man
The “king” and “kingdom” (church) that Jefferson desired was not a priest-driven denomination, but a “primitive” restored Christianity. And there’s evidence these types of churches attracted Jefferson in his latter years.
In Jefferson’s elderhood, his grandson Thomas Jefferson Randolph administered Jefferson’s “pecuniary embarrassments” (shame related to money) and paid many of his bills. Randolph claimed to be “more intimate with him than with any man I have ever known.”
Consequently, this grandson witnessed Jefferson behind the curtain and in private. His conclusion:
I never heard from him the expression of thought, feeling or sentiment inconsistent with the highest moral standard, or the purest Christian charity…His moral character was of the highest order…developed by the influences of the all-pervading benevolences of the doctrines of Christ—which he had intensely and admiringly studied.[ix]
Randolph noted his grandfather was “regular in his attendance on church, taking his prayer book with him.”[x] He does not cite the churches Jefferson attended but did say he drafted a blueprint for an Episcopal church in Charlottesville and was among the “largest contributors” to its construction. After his death, Randolph continued to pay a $200 subscription for Jefferson to also build a Presbyterian church in Charlottesville.[xi]
Again, no hint of animosity by the third president, and no affinity toward a particular church body either.
Thomas Jefferson was a church man, but his preferred church was nondenominational. A congregation of Christians only. A Christian Church committed to “primitive Christianity.”
To quote a popular maxim from these Restoration churches; “In matters of essentials, unity; in matters of opinion, liberty; and in all things, love.”
That was Jefferson’s creed…and church.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SOURCES:
[i] Charles B. Sanford, The Religious Life of Thomas Jefferson (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginian, 1984): 4,
[ii] One congressman recorded: “It was very rainy, but his ardent zeal brought [Jefferson] through the rain and on horseback to the Hall.” William Parker Cutler and Julia Perkins Cutler, Life, Journal, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler (Cincinnati: Colin Robert Clarke & Co., 1888), II:119, letter to Joseph Torrey, January 4, 1802.
[iii] Mrs. Samuel Harrison Smith (Margaret Bayard), The First Forty Years of Washington Society, Galliard Hunt, editor (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1906), 13.
[iv] James Hutson (Chief of the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress), Religion and the Founding of the American Republic (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1998), 91.
[v] Randle, Life of Jefferson, Vol. 3: 561.
[vi] Ibid.,
[vii] Sanford, Religious Life of Jefferson: 5.
[viii] “From Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Waterhouse, 15 October 1822,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/98-01-02-3095.
[ix] Henry S. Randall, The Life of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 3 (New York: Derby & Jackson, 1858): 671.
[x] Ibid., 672.
[xi] Ibid.
Ever hear of George Walton, Arthur Middleton, Lyman Hall or William Ellery? Or Thomas Heyward, Richard Stockton, Francis Hopkinson or William Floyd? Probably not. They’re hardly household names.
Did you know August 2 is far more important in U.S. history than Independence Day (July 4)? For without August 2, 1776, there would be no Independence Day.
Fifty-six courageous men signed the Declaration of Independence.
They pledged their “lives…fortunes, and…sacred honor.”Most signed the Declaration on August 2, 1776. We know the more famous signers like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and John Hancock (by his signature). Other names ring a bell, like Samuel Adams, Benjamin Rush and Roger Sherman.
But that’s only seven. What about the other 49? And what consequences did they face for their treason against their British king?
Every signer faced hardship for his act.
Many of those who signed there names to the Declaration were rich men who saw everything they built or grew get looted or torched by the British. Others used their fortunes to finance the Revolution against the British.
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were two of the more significant signers.
These two architects of the Declaration of Independence would eventually serve as the second and third U.S. Presidents, then spend two decades in bitterness due to a contentious 1800 presidential campaign. Eventually they reconciled, thanks to a mutual friend Dr. Benjamin Rush (who also signed the Declaration and was considered one of early America’s greatest minds). Dr. Rush also helped Jefferson to educate Meriwether Lewis prior to his great adventure to the Pacific Ocean with William Clark (1803-1806).
Ironically, Adams and Jefferson would die on the same day, within hours of each other. The day? July 4, 1826. The 50th anniversary of the Declaration.
Many who signed the Declaration fled their homes to avoid capture and death by hanging.
Benjamin Franklin noted this possibility at the signing, with his famous quip: “We must all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”
Seventeen men and their families watched their homes, businesses, property, libraries, and crops go up in smoke…some losing everything.
They faced looting, arson and confiscation. John Hart, for example, watched in vain as the British robbed his home, torched his mill and destroyed his crops. Rev. John Witherspoon witnessed his personal library go up in flames. At the time, clergymen were the librarian, educator and spiritual mentor for a local community. It was a devastating loss.
Even if the signers survived the Revolution, with property in hand, most died penniless. Thomas Jefferson was tens of thousands of dollars in debt when he died.
The signers’ families suffered too.
Sons were imprisoned (Abraham Clark) or killed in battle (John Witherspoon). Wives were also captured and some died as a result (Francis Lewis). Among the signers, several were also imprisoned (George Walton, Thomas Heyward, Arthur Middleton, Richard Stockton).
On July 4, the Continental Congress declared our Independence from Great Britain.
But until August 2, 1776, it was just talk and a piece of paper. On that day it was officially a Declaration to dissolve ties with the Mother Country of England.
Consequently, a signature was an act of treason.
And by signing the document every man (and his family) became a target. Four months later, Thomas Paine released his classic work The American Crisis and declared that it was time for choosing:
“The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman”
Our Founding Fathers were gutsy guys. They chose liberty over comfort and independence over convenience.
It’s something to think about.
SOURCES CONSULTED:
- The Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence by the Rev. Charles A. Goodrich (New York: William Reed & Co., 1829).
- The Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence by N. Dwight, Esq. (New York: A.S. Barnes & Burr, 1860).
- Biographical Sketches of the Signers of the Declaration of American Independence by B.J. Lossing (New York: J.C. Derby, 1854)
- Lives of the Heroes of the American Revolution by John Frost (Boston: Phillips & Sampson, 1848)
**NOTE: All these works can be downloaded for free as a .PDF at Google Books.
Jefferson…wrote his own Bible that excluded all references to miracles, wonders, signs, virgin birth, resurrection, the God-head, and whatever else conflicted with his own religious thought.[i]
Robert S. Alley
These words–penned by an atheist–reflect a common belief that Thomas Jefferson was an irreligious Deist who “wrote his own Bible.”
It’s so common that even Jefferson’s own Monticello has updated its online description for the “Jefferson Bible” to read:
Jefferson put together this book himself, using not only an English copy of the Bible, but also French, Latin, and Greek copies. He literally took a razor to these biblical texts in order to cut out the passages about Jesus’ life that he thought were the most founded in reason and science and paste them together to form an edited biblical text. In other words, he left out anything having to do with miracles, including the resurrection.
This secular narrative suggests that Thomas Jefferson’s skepticism motivated him to pen his own Bible. Many nonreligious atheist historians argue that he harbored such animosity toward Christianity that he deliberately authored a version of the New Testament, stripping away its most contentious doctrines.
This irreligious narrative again taints the sensibilities of normally reliable sources like Monticello.org, who repeat this idea in more subtle terms: “Jefferson decided to comb through the Gospels and extract what he believed to be the real teachings of Jesus, devoid of perversions…” To their credit, Monticello admits that Jefferson was clearly an Anglican/Unitarian “theist” and not a “Deist.”
Christians Take the Bait
Many Christians also have swallowed the “Jefferson-Invented-His-Own-Bible” line.
Creation scientist Don Landis penned “Thomas Jefferson…took scissors to the Gospels and cut out all references to anything supernatural.”[ii] This edited version of the Gospels also “rejected the superstitions and mysticism of Christianity” and removed “the miracles and mysticism of Jesus.”[iii] This narrative asserts a charge against Jefferson, claiming he abandoned his Anglican faith in favor of French atheism. As evidence, he edited the Gospels, excising elements he deemed untrue.
For both the skeptic and the Christian, this “cut and paste” work is commonly known as “The Jefferson Bible.”
But what’s the truth? What was this “Jefferson Bible?” Why did he create it? And did it reflect Jefferson’s emerging agnostic or atheistic theology?
Jefferson the Atheist?
Jefferson published one book in his life: Notes on Virginia (1785). The former Virginia governor’s contentious work reflected his progressive views on the separation of church and state, which sparked fear among minority Christian denominations in Virginia. At that time, every state had an official religion. For example, Rhode Island was a Baptist state, Massachusetts a Congregationalist (Puritan) state, and Virginia an Anglican state.
In Jefferson’s gubernatorial days (1779-1781), all state officials–including the governor–had to swear allegiance to the Episcopal creed in order to hold office. Jefferson opposed both state-authorized and nationally-authorized religions, as criticized in his Notes on Virginia. He advocated for Virginia to adopt a constitutional framework like the U.S. Constitution. Jefferson aimed to provide non-Anglicans, predominantly Christians, with civil rights, opposing any single church’s control, including Anglicanism.
Jefferson’s criticism of his own denomination sparked immediate conflict. Critics, including Anglican clergy, questioned Jefferson’s motives and slandered his religious convictions. Political agitators seized this moment to label him as an atheist—a term viewed as the worst possible accusation of his time. Today, racism serves a similar function in our volatile political climate. Atheists were rare in early America. Even the Deist Thomas Paine didn’t go that far.
Initially, many accused of atheism fought back, but Jefferson found that approach worsened his situation. Ultimately, he chose silence regarding his religious convictions, which only fueled political opposition. Critics argued that his silence validated the charge of atheism, which followed him throughout his life and persists today without merit.
The rumors of Jefferson’s atheism started after his return from France in 1789.
Bitter partisan politics between his Republican party and the Federalists detonated a host of allegations against Jefferson. Daniel Webster’s salacious accusations were particularly damning. He claimed Jefferson was “addicted to French tastes [and] principles…[with] a preference for French opinions, whether in politics, morals, or religion.”[iv]
Webster claimed Jefferson was guilty by association with the French, whom he labeled as infidels and atheists. This untrue assertion influenced many, including clergy, to view Jefferson as a skeptic. Their claims persist today, yet Jefferson never publicly identified as an atheist or nonbeliever.
Jefferson was no atheist, nor unbeliever.
Thomas Jefferson’s time in France exposed him to Deism and skepticism, but he eventually rejected these views. However, his struggle with Anglicanism led him to abandon “traditional [Trinitarian] Christian doctrine” for a Unitarian “natural religion” featuring a “primacy of morality over dogma.”[v] But Jefferson’s early theological shifts and lifelong silence on his religion eventually led to confusion. His interest in Unitarianism did not lead to church membership; he only regularly attended Unitarian meetings in Philadelphia.
After his death, critics, primarily Christian clergy, falsely propagated Jefferson’s supposed atheism. In recent decades, skeptics adopted this narrative to promote a secular view of American history, ignoring the reasons behind the original label. Christians also misinterpreted political opposition to him as evidence of atheism, overlooking his Unitarian beliefs.
In reality, there’s no evidence Jefferson ever embraced atheism. It was a false charge then and remains a false charge now.
Jefferson and Scripture
Thomas Jefferson had a deep appreciation for sacred texts, owning a Qur’an and a book on Confucianism. However, he especially valued Bibles, which he often gifted to others. Jefferson enjoyed engaging in private conversations and corresponding on religious and biblical topics.
In his elder years, he confided: “I never to go bed without an hour’s reading of something moral, whereon to ruminate in the intervals of sleep.”[vi] His favorite read was a special collection of New Testament passages he assembled himself, cut from his New Testament and pasted into a bound volume.
The claim that Jefferson hated Christianity or the Bible is refuted by his spiritual practices. He not only read the Bible but also promoted it. In one 1814 example, he donated $50 to the Virginia Bible Society to help distribute Bibles to the poor, and included this supportive note:
…I had not supposed there was a family in this state not possessing a bible and wishing without having the means to procure one. When, in earlier life I was intimate with every class, I think I never was in a house where that was the case. However, circumstances may have changed…I therefore [enclose to] you [cheerfully] an order…sincerely agreeing with you that there never was a more pure & sublime system of morality delivered to man than is to be found in the four evangelists.[vii]
Obviously if Jefferson was a serious skeptic, Christian antagonist or atheist, he’d not help fund Bible distribution nor affirm the biblical morality of the Gospel writers.
Jefferson was fascinated with Jesus’ moralism.
As a prominent figure of the Enlightenment, Jefferson was deeply intrigued by the great philosophers of history. He owned books that compared Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to Descartes, Locke, and Rousseau. That’s when Jefferson was inspired to compile the morality and ethical teachings of Jesus into a single book.
At the time, Jefferson was also looking to the West.
In 1803, the United States completed the Louisiana Purchase from France, prompting the expedition of Lewis and Clark up the Missouri River to locate the legendary waterway to the Pacific Ocean. Aware of the numerous Indian tribes inhabiting the region, Jefferson sought to establish “peace and friendship,” believing that true peace required a shared “ethical and moral” conviction among all tribes.
President Jefferson developed a “Syllabus” that focused on biblical ethics and morality.
In 1803, Jefferson felt American democracy hinged upon a common civic virtue of “goodness.” Consequently, his “Syllabus” outlined the ethics and morals (virtues) of Jesus and Christianity. In 1816, Jefferson penned a letter to Francis Adrian Van Der Kemp explaining this “Syllabus” and an “extract” he created to support it:
I believe it [the Syllabus] may even do good by producing discussion, and finally a true view of the merits of this great reformer [Jesus]. pursuing the same ideas after writing the Syllabus, I made, for my own satisfaction, an Extract from the Evangelists of the texts of his morals, selecting those only whose style and spirit proved them genuine, and his own: and they are as distinguishable from the matter in which they are imbedded as diamonds in dunghills. a more precious morsel of ethics was never seen. it was too hastily done however, being the work of one or two evenings only, while I lived at Washington, overwhelmed with other business: and it is my intention to go over it again at more leisure. this shall be the work of the ensuing winter. I gave it the title of ‘the Philosophy of Jesus extracted from the text of the Evangelists.’
This letter to Van der Kemp came with a warning: “Do not connect this work to my name.” In 1816, Jefferson still felt the sting of his critics and understood the implications of his work. Although he believed his motives were pure, he acknowledged that some would argue he was tampering with Divine Revelation. In reality, Jefferson merely completed a common assignment in Bible colleges: compiling Jesus’ moral teachings from the Gospels.
One interesting side note from this “Syllabus” of 1803 (p. 460-461): Thomas Jefferson defined “Deism” differently than today. He considered ancient Jews, Muslims, and Christians as “Deists” due to their belief in one God. While many today equate Deism with agnosticism or atheism, Jefferson would disagree with this interpretation.
The Philosophy of Jesus
First, Jefferson never authored a Bible, nor called this collection of biblical texts the “Jefferson Bible.” He likely would have objected to the title because he did not want his name associated with it or any similar work. The title “Jefferson Bible” was assigned to the document nearly a century after his death by individuals who did not know him personally.
After this Syllabus was created in 1803, Jefferson produced two separate compilations of extracts from the four gospels. The first was created in 1804 and titled, The Philosophy of Jesus. The second was compiled over the course of several years, and finally finished sometime in 1819-1820. This work is called The Life and Morals of Jesus.
Neither work was published nor known to the public until the mid-1800s. Jefferson never intended these documents for public view, leading to persistent questions and misunderstandings. Why did he compile these extractions? Was there a specific audience in mind? How did a collection of Bible verses address the issue?
Perhaps he had another reason for creating this collection of biblical texts.
During the 1790s, Jefferson grew concerned with America’s partisan conflicts.
The Founding generation grappled with two primary issues: politics and religion. Amidst a crisis in his own Episcopal faith, Thomas Jefferson grew increasingly concerned of hostility towards Christianity. He ultimately found solace in Unitarianism, a controversial faith that asserts Jesus was not God but rather a teacher of virtue and happiness for humanity.[ix] Jefferson’s rationalism aligned with Unitarian views on morality and non-trinitarianism; however, he never joined a Unitarian church, nor is there evidence of his attending one.
Dr. Benjamin Rush, a devout and intellectual fundamentalist Christian, was a trusted advisor to Thomas Jefferson on religious matters. Their friendship began in 1775, and Rush served as Jefferson’s personal mentor and pen pal. His influence likely inspired Jefferson to compile moral statements drawn from the teachings of Jesus.In fact, Jefferson sent the Syllabus first to Dr. Rush on April 21, 1803.
In early 1804, the same year Lewis and Clark began their expedition to the western sea, Jefferson selected Gospel verses that conveyed moral truths, clipping and pasting them into columns, producing:
…46 pages of pure and unsophisticated doctrines…[and] entitled it ‘The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth extracted from the account of his life and doctrines as given by Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John, being an abridgment of the New Testament for the use of the Indians unembarrassed with matters of fact or faith beyond the level of their comprehensions.’[x]
The lengthy title revealed: 1) it’s an abridgment, not a complete work; 2) focused only on the four gospels; and 3) intended for use with the Indians to help them better understand Christianity.
In 1803, Jefferson permitted only a select few, including Dr. Rush, to view this document. After Rush’s death a decade later, Jefferson retrieved his abridgment from Rush’s family and subsequently placed it among his personal effects.
Over time, only two “clipped” Bibles, a list of verses, and the title page survived.
The Life and Morals of Jesus
A year later Jefferson started a new, more ambitious, multi-lingual compilation that he titled “The Life and Morals of Jesus.” The work would reflect his search for spiritual truth, using the four gospels translated through English, French, Greek and Latin.
He began his new compilation in 1805…and then stopped…likely from busyness as President of the United States.
Jefferson restarted his project several years later, finally completing it in 1820.
After retiring to Monticello in 1809, Thomas Jefferson reconciled his antagonistic relationship with John Adams, aided by Benjamin Rush. Both Jefferson and Adams embraced Unitarianism. They exchanged dozens of letters from 1812 to 1825, some discussing Christianity. Adams encouraged Jefferson to publish a book, ultimately inspiring him to complete his compilation project.
In 1815, Jefferson confided to Rev. Charles Clay that he “had cut out from [the Gospels] every text they had recorded of the moral precepts of Jesus.”[xi] Once again this counters the narrative that he “cut out” the miracles. In reality, Jefferson left the life, ministry and practices of Jesus alone. Jefferson “cut out” and “pasted” only the “moral precepts.” That was his focus. He wasn’t creating a new Bible or carving up the old one. Jefferson was putting together an “abridgment” of the moral and ethical teachings of Jesus. This time it wasn’t for the Indians, though. He was creating this unique volume for himself.
Jefferson penned the theologian Charles Thomson in 1816:
I, too, have made a wee-little book from the same materials, which I call the Philosophy of Jesus… a more beautiful or precious morsel of ethics I have never seen; it is a document in proof that I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus…[xii]
In this letter Jefferson revealed this “wee little book” was about “ethics” not theology.
Christian critics misunderstand Jefferson’s intentions, confusing his work with his beliefs. They wrongly perceive his efforts as an attack on the New Testament to validate his Unitarian or skeptical views. In reality, Jefferson aimed to create a volume of “beautiful…precious…ethics” for contemplation.
His grandson Thomas Jefferson Randolph revealed this truth in 1858:
[My grandfather] left two codifications of the Morals of Jesus—one for himself, and another for the Indians; the first of which I now possess…His codification of the Morals of Jesus was not known to his family before his death, and they learnt from a letter addressed to a friend that he was in the habit of reading nightly from it before going to bed.[xiii]
Jefferson never intended to publish “Life and Morals.” It was for his personal edification as a “real Christian” (his words). Jefferson never shared its existence with friends or family; they discovered it after his death. This work was solely for his nightly moral reflection. Each evening, he read Jesus’ teachings on living well, akin to those who read Proverbs daily for similar reasons.
“Life and Morals” becomes the “Jefferson Bible”
After Jefferson’s death, his compilation remained in the care of the Jefferson family for decades, as it was one of his most private effects. The family respected Jefferson’s wish not to publish it, sharing it only with a few close friends like Dr. Rush and theologian Charles Thomson, as he intended it for a limited audience.
In 1895, Smithsonian librarian Cyrus Adler discovered the family still owned the book and purchased it for the Congressional Library. This “wee little book” of Jesus’ morals inspired Iowa Congressman John Lacey, who sought to distribute Jefferson’s work nationally in 1900. Two years later, Lacey’s resolution led to printing “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth” for every U.S. senator and representative, and for the next fifty years, it was distributed to every freshman upon taking their oath of office.
Eventually printed for every American to read.
Skeptics and secularists derisively renamed Jefferson’s work “The Jefferson Bible,” reviving old claims by Christian clergy about his supposed atheism. This Bible lacked miracles or references to Jesus’ Divinity, leading Christian critics to label it a “cut and paste” version. Over time, this narrative merged, with irreligious individuals citing Jefferson’s alleged atheism as support for their non-belief, perpetuating the myth that he was an atheist. Conversely, Christians accepted the narrative that Jefferson’s Bible merely reinforced his supposed irreligious and immoral beliefs.
Today, few Americans know the original title, purpose or intended audience of Jefferson’s “Life and Morals of Jesus.”
Thomas Jefferson reflected his religious young nation.
Thomas Jefferson was neither an atheist nor an unbeliever. Any skepticism he brought back from France was temporary. A complex thinker, he valued philosophy, ethics, and religion. His silence, meant to quell criticism, ultimately fueled false claims of atheism after his death and obscured his true religious views.
Jefferson grew up Anglican (Episcopal) but later rejected this faith for Unitarianism, never fully committing to membership or regular attendance. Evidence suggests that his Christianity was eclectic and “nondenominational,” as will be discussed in part three of this series.
Jefferson’s religion and religiosity were shaped by a “we the people” ethic—democratic, autonomous, and non-hierarchical. He fought against kings, popes, and clerics with equal fervor, expressing disdain for any systems that oppressed citizens. While he grappled with the concept of the Trinity, he is not alone; even Trinitarians often find it difficult to comprehend.
It’s why he could say, when all was said and done, “I’m a real Christian…a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus.”
He was a new kind of Christian, who was bringing a new kind of church to America in the early 1800s.
TO BE CONTINUED….THE CHURCH OF THOMAS JEFFERSON (PART THREE)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SOURCES:
[i] “The Real Jefferson on Religion” by Robert S. Alley: https://secularhumanism.org/1998/10/the-real-jefferson-on-religion/ Accessed March 15, 2024.
[ii] “Jonah and the Great Fish” by Don Landis, Answers in Genesis: https://answersingenesis.org/bible-characters/jonah-and-the-great-fish/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw48-vBhBbEiwAzqrZVAmImjoSE_8u0LjvAW4S0ck-v1aO8UMtqNxMsXM_Hj9JPmHh-ziDohoC4isQAvD_BwE Accessed March 15, 2024.
[iii] “Thomas Jefferson on Christianity & Religion” compiled by Jim Walker, Free Republic: https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/745447/posts Accessed March 15, 2024
[iv] Henry S. Randall, The Life of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 1 (New York: Derby & Jackson, 1858): 491. Download at Google Books.
[v] Dickinson W. Adams, ed., Jefferson’s Extracts from the Gospels: The Philosophy of Jesus and The Life and Morals of Jesus (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983), 9.
[vi] Thomas Jefferson Letter to Vine Utley (March 21, 1819): https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-14-02-0144 Accessed March 15, 2024.
[vii] Adams, Jefferson’s Extracts, 13.
[viii] Bible Society of Virginia: Thomas Jefferson Monticello: https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/bible-society-virginia/ Accessed March 15, 2024
[ix] Adams, Jefferson’s Extracts, 14-16.
[x] Ibid., 28.
[xi] Andrew A. Lipscomb, ed., The Writings of Thomas Jefferson (Washington, D.C.: The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1904): 232-233.
[xii] Ibid., 385.
[xiii] Henry S. Randall, The Life of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 3 (New York: Derby & Jackson, 1858): 671-672.
Jefferson’s personal history…disgraceful conduct…reputation for free thinking and loose morality is admitted.[1]
“An atheist and fanatic.”[2]
“[His] knowledge of and admiration for the teachings of Jesus have never been equaled by any other president.[3]
“Jefferson’s religion…was misunderstood…criticisms came from those who knew neither Jefferson nor his religious beliefs.”[4]
The Misunderstood Monticello Man
Two centuries have passed since Thomas Jefferson lived, yet his religious views remain unclear and enigmatic.
Jefferson’s most vocal critics were Christians, who first labeled him an atheist as a political strategy.
Today, both skeptics and Christians view the Monticello man as anti-Christian, agnostic, or atheist, citing his writings, political positions, and the “Jefferson Bible”—an empty, self-made gospel, as evidence.
Finding the truth isn’t easy. Mostly, because Thomas Jefferson is a hard nut to crack.
Jefferson’s religious views were complex, yet Christian.
Thomas Jefferson, a man of the Enlightenment, studied philosophy, politics, science, history, and religion, amassing a private library of nearly 6,500 books. Despite this, he wrote sparingly on religion. However, in every correspondence discussing his beliefs, he remained clear and direct, contrasting with today’s agnostics, leaving no doubt about his theological stance.
Jefferson expressed strong opposition to certain churches, notably the Anglican (Episcopal) church, which was the Virginia state religion of his time. He particularly targeted Anglican ecclesiastical hierarchies. Although Jefferson was anti-Catholic as a Protestant, he never exhibited any signs of being “anti-Christian,’ contrary to the fears of some New England denominations and political opponents of his day.
There is no evidence that Jefferson denounced or ceased practicing Christianity. Throughout his life, he engaged with his faith in various ways, including Bible reading, prayer, church attendance, and contributions to missions.
Thomas Jefferson’s religious views require context.
Jefferson wrote religious statements that raised concern, even promoted skepticism. Such quotes still provide the irreligious with ammunition. However, when considered within their broader contexts, these statements present a different perspective that challenges initial interpretations.
In 1787, for example, Jefferson encouraged his nephew Peter Carr to “question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.”[5] Many argue Jefferson embraces secular rationalism in this statement. However, the context suggests he encouraged Peter to approach religion with tolerance. It’s acceptable to question the Divine; if God exists, He would welcome the process of inquiry. Ultimately, God transcends our doubts.
On another occasion, Jefferson penned (1801): “I … reposed my head on that pillow of ignorance which a benevolent creator has made so soft for us, knowing how much we should be forced to use it.”[6] Many skeptics use Jefferson’s statement as evidence of his agnosticism, but the context reveals otherwise. He responds to a query about the soul’s transmigration into eternity—a topic he deemed unworthy of his time. Thus, he chose to remain either ignorant or apathetic. Ironically, he bases his ignorance on a “pillow” made by a “benevolent creator,” making it difficult to argue against his belief in a creator God while asserting his unbelief.
Jefferson’s framing faith was Anglican.
Thomas Jefferson’s religious views—particularly his Christianity—were rooted to his Anglican faith.
Jefferson was baptized and raised Anglican (Episcopal). Later, he affirmed its creed for political reasons, as Virginia law required office holders to accept Anglicanism as the state religion.
Thomas married Martha, a devout Anglican, and they had six children, all baptized in the Anglican faith. During this period, Jefferson was a dedicated Episcopalian. In 1776, he authored “Notes on Religion,” an extensive treatise affirming historic Christian doctrines.[7] In the same year, Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence incorporated biblical themes, appealing for Divine Protection, arguing for Divine Creation, and reminding readers of Divine Judgement, along with four clear acknowledgments of God.
To his dying day, Jefferson seemed to maintain some form of Episcopalian faith, even though he embraced–for a season–a popular new form of Christianity known as Unitarianism. Even still, at least one historian Charles B. Sanford argued Jefferson never left his Episcopal roots, “From the evidence of his life, we may safely conclude that Jefferson remained a member in good standing of his local Episcopal church all his life, in outward form at least.[8]
Jefferson flirted with doubt and disbelief.
Before turning 40, Thomas Jefferson experienced the tragic loss of three children, followed by the death of his beloved Martha. These losses left him deeply depressed for weeks.
Eventually, Jefferson accepted a diplomatic role in France. In Paris, the secular and hedonistic culture seduced him, leading to a lifestyle of disbelief and self-indulgence. His reading list now included skeptics like David Hume, contributing to his labeling as an “atheist” upon his return to America, marked by the influence of French secularism.
The issue? It lacked permanence. Jefferson later minimized his French experiences and dismissed Hume’s radical ideas: “I remember well the enthusiasm with which I devoured [Hume’s writings] when young, and the length of time, the research and reflection which were necessary to eradicate the poison it instilled into my mind.”[9]
Nevertheless, the French “ways” did influence Jefferson. He was never the same after 1789.
A New Kind of Christian
The early 1800s were a precarious period marked by upheaval. France, recovering from a bloody secular revolution, was embroiled in war. Meanwhile, America was navigating its new Constitution, as the Second Great Awakening ignited a religious fervor, shaping a “Christian” America that would influence the nation for over a century.
The Second Great Awakening gave rise to non-denominational churches that advocated for Christian unity, local church autonomy, and a return to a more primitive faith. Virginia was a hotspot for these revivals. Thomas Jefferson, who valued unity and autonomy while opposing hierarchical religion, was similarly attracted to this liberating form of Christianity.
In fact, after retirement, he regularly attended religious services at the Albemarle Courthouse that featured preachers from a variety of different denominations.[10]
“I am a real Christian,” Jefferson confessed to a friend, a decade before his death, “that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ.”[11]
The meaning behind that declaration remains debatable. At the time, Jefferson was deeply engaged in Unitarianism, a Christian denomination viewed as heretical by more orthodox believers. He appeared to reject core Christian doctrines, such as the divinity of Jesus, his resurrection, and atonement, though the extent of this rejection is uncertain.
Thomas Jefferson was neither fully atheist nor agnostic, despite criticisms. His unorthodox Christianity and exploration of Unitarianism were fleeting, never straying far from his Anglican roots. More honest historians label him as a liberal Episcopalian or conservative Unitarian, though these labels still fall short. Jefferson’s reluctance to clarify his beliefs towards the end of his life complicates understanding. In an apologetical letter to the devout Dr. Benjamin Rush, he clearly rejected “state religion” and avowed: “I have sworn, upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”[12]
Nevertheless, historian Henry Randall, one of Jefferson’s earliest and most partisan biographers, concluded: Mr. Jefferson never, at any period of life, made himself an aggressive assailant of Christianity; … never, in a solitary instance, sought directly or indirectly to proselyte a human being to unchristian views, or to shake his conviction in Christian ones.[13]
Agree or disagree, Thomas Jefferson proved a new kind of Christian for a new kind of nation.
And maybe that’s what “Man of Monticello” envisioned all along.
PART TWO: THE BIBLE OF THOMAS JEFFERSON
SOURCES:
[1] “The Private Character of Thomas Jefferson” from The New Englander, printed in The Living Age, No. 892, July 6, 1861: 515.
[2] Alexander Hamilton’s charge against Jefferson, according to Charles B. Sanford, The Religious Life of Thomas Jefferson (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1984): 1.
[3] Ibid, 3.
[4] Ibid., 6.
[5] Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Peter Carr, with Enclosure, 10 August 1787: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-12-02-0021
[6] Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Isaac Story, 5 December 1801: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-36-02-0025
[7] Thomas Jefferson, The Works of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Paul Leicester Ford, Volume 2 (New York: G.P. Putman’s Sons, 1904), 255. Google Book download.
[8] Sanford, Religious Life of Jefferson, 1984: 5.
[ 9] Letter from Thomas Jefferson to William Duane, 12 August 1810: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-03-02-0001-0002
[10] “Thomas Jefferson and Religious Freedom,” The Jefferson Monticello: https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/thomas-jefferson-and-religious-freedom/#fn-13
[11] Thomas Jefferson, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Albert Ellery Bergh, editor (Washington, D.C.: The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1904), Vol. XIV, p. 385, to Charles Thomson on January 9, 1816.
[12] Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Rush, September 23, 1800: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-32-02-0102
[13] Henry S. Randall, The Life of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 1 (New York: Derby & Jackson, 1858): 495-96. Google Book download.