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[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 62 Reported in House (RH)]

                                                  House Calendar No. 54
107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 62

                          [Report No. 107-143]

 Expressing the sense of Congress that the George Washington letter to 
 Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, which is on display at the 
 B'nai B'rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., is 
 one of the most significant early statements buttressing the nascent 
        American constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 14, 2001

 Mr. Kennedy of Rhode Island (for himself and Mr. Langevin) submitted 
    the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

                             July 17, 2001

Reported with an amendment, referred to the House Calendar, and ordered 
                             to be printed
                  [Insert the part printed in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
 Expressing the sense of Congress that the George Washington letter to 
 Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, which is on display at the 
 B'nai B'rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., is 
 one of the most significant early statements buttressing the nascent 
        American constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.

Whereas George Washington responded to a letter sent by Moses Seixas, warden of 
        Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, in August 1790;
Whereas, although Touro Synagogue, the oldest Jewish house of worship in the 
        United States, and now a national historic site, was dedicated in 
        December 1763, Jewish families had been in Newport for over 100 years 
        before that date;
Whereas these Jews, some of whom were Marranos, came to the United States with 
        hopes of starting a new life in this country, where they could practice 
        their religious beliefs freely and without persecution;
Whereas they were drawn to the Colony of Rhode Island and the Providence 
        Plantations because of Governor Roger Williams' assurances of religious 
        liberty;
Whereas the letter from Touro Synagogue is the most famous of many 
        congratulatory notes addressed to the new president by American Jewish 
        congregations;
Whereas Seixas articulated the following principle, which Washington repeated in 
        his letter: ``For happily the Government of the United States, which 
        gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance; requires 
        only that they who live under its protection, should demean themselves 
        as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual 
        support'';
Whereas the text of George Washington's letter to Touro Synagogue states:

    ``Gentlemen:

    ``While I receive with much satisfaction, your Address replete with 
expressions of affection and esteem, I rejoice in the opportunity of 
answering you, that I shall always retain a grateful remembrance of the 
cordial welcome I experienced in my visit to Newport, from all classes of 
Citizens.

    ``The reflection on the days of difficulty and danger which are past, 
is rendered the more sweet, from a consciousness that they are succeeded by 
days of uncommon prosperity and security. If we have wisdom to make the 
best use of the advantages with which we are now favored, we cannot fail, 
under the just administration of a good Government, to become a great and a 
happy people.

    ``The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud 
themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal 
policy: a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of 
conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration 
is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that 
another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily 
the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to 
persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its 
protection, should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all 
occasions their effectual support.

    ``It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my character not to 
avow that I am pleased with your favorable opinion of my administration, 
and fervent wishes for my felicity. May the Children of the Stock of 
Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will 
of the other inhabitants, while every one shall sit in safety under his own 
wine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the 
father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make 
us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and 
way everlastingly happy.'';

Whereas this was the first statement of such a principle enunciated by a leader 
        of the new United States Government;
Whereas this principle has become the cornerstone of United States religious and 
        ethnic toleration as it has developed during the past two centuries;
Whereas the original letter is on display as part of the permanent collection of 
        the B'nai B'rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.; 
        and
Whereas Americans of all religious faiths gather at Touro Synagogue each August 
        on the anniversary of the date of the letter's delivery and at the 
        Klutznick Museum on George Washington's birthday to hear readings of the 
        letter and to discuss how the letter's message can be applied to 
        contemporary challenges: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the George Washington letter sent to Touro Synagogue in 
        Newport, Rhode Island, in August 1790, which is on display as 
        part of the permanent collection of the B'nai B'rith Klutznick 
        National Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., is one of the most 
        significant early statements buttressing the nascent American 
        constitutional guarantee of religious freedom; and
            (2) the text of the George Washington letter should be 
        widely circulated, serving as an important tool for teaching 
        tolerance to children and adults alike.

                                                  House Calendar No. 54

107th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                            H. CON. RES. 62

                          [Report No. 107-143]

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 Expressing the sense of Congress that the George Washington letter to 
 Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, which is on display at the 
 B'nai B'rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., is 
 one of the most significant early statements buttressing the nascent 
        American constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             July 17, 2001

Reported with an amendment, referred to the House Calendar, and ordered 
                             to be printed
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