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G. Washington.

The address of the Hebrew Congregations in the cities of Philadelphia, New York, Richmond, and Charleston, to the President of the United States:

Sir: It is reserved for you to unite in affection for your character and person every political and religious denomination of men, and in this will the Hebrew congregations aforesaid yield to no class of their fellow-citizens.

We have hitherto been prevented by various circumstances peculiar to our situation from adding our congratulations to those which the rest of America have offered on your elevation to the chair of the Federal Government. Deign, then, illustrious sir, to accept this our homage.

The wonders which the Lord of Hosts hath worked in the days of our forefathers have taught us to observe the greatness of His wisdom and His might throughout the events of the late glorious Revolution; and, while we humble ourselves at His footstool in thanksgiving and praise for the blessing of His deliverance, we acknowledge you, the leader of American armies, as His chosen and beloved servant. But not to your sword alone is present happiness to be ascribed; that, indeed, opened the way to the reign of freedom, but never was it perfectly secure until your hand gave birth to the Federal Constitution and you renounced the joys of retirement to seal by your administration in peace what you had achieved in war.

To The Eternal God, who is thy refuge, we commit in our prayers the care of thy precious life; and when, full of years, thou shalt be gathered unto thy people, 'thy righteousness shall go before thee,' and we shall remember, amidst our regret, "that the Lord hath set apart the godly for Himself," whilst thy name and thy virtues will remain an indelible memorial on our minds.

Manuel Josephson.

For and in behalf and under the authority of the several congregations aforesaid.

Philadelphia, December 13, 1790.

The President was pleased to reply to the foregoing as follows:

Answer—To the Hebrew Congregations in the cities of Philadelphia, New York, Charleston, and Richmond:

Gentlemen: The liberality of sentiment toward each other, which marks every political and religious denomination of men in this country, stands unparalleled in the history of nations.

The affection of such a people is a treasure beyond the reach of calculation, and the repeated proofs which my fellow-citizens have given of their attachment to me and approbation of my doings, form the purest source of my temporal felicity. The affectionate expressions of your address again excite my gratitude and receive my warmest acknowledgement.

The power and goodness of The Almighty, so strongly manifested in the events of our late glorious revolution, and His kind interposition in our behalf, have been no less visible in the establishment of our present equal government. In war He directed the sword, and in peace He has ruled in our councils. My agency in both has been guided by the best intentions and a sense of duty I owe to my country.

And as my exertions have hitherto been amply rewarded by the approbation of my fellow-citizens, I shall endeavor to deserve a continuance of it by my future conduct.

May the same temporal and eternal blessings which you implore for me, rest upon your congregations.

G. Washington.

The foregoing expressions of the father of his country to his Hebrew fellow-citizens may be appropriately supplemented by the following correspondence of patriots of the early days of the United States.

In 1818 the Mill Street Synagogue was consecrated. Mordecai M. Noah delivered an eloquent address on the occasion, and sent copies thereof to distinguished statesmen. Among the replies received were the following, which are worthy of preservation:

Copy of a Letter from Thomas Jefferson.[22]

Monticello, May 28, 1818.

Sir:—I thank you for the discourse on the consecration of the Synagogue in your city, with which you have been pleased to favor me. I have read it with pleasure and instruction, having learnt from it some valuable facts in Jewish history which I did not know before. Your sect by sufferings has furnished a remarkable proof of the universal spirit of religious intolerance inherent in every sect, disclaimed by all while feeble, and practiced by all when in power. Our laws have applied the only antidote to this vice, protecting our religious, as they do our civil rights, by putting all on an equal footing. But more remains to be done, for although we are free by the law, we are not so in practice; public opinion erects itself into an Inquisition, and exercises its office with as much fanaticism as fans the flames of an Auto-de-fe.

The prejudice still scowling on your section of our religion, although the elder one, cannot be unfelt by yourselves; it is to be hoped that individual dispositions will at length mould themselves to the model of the law, and consider the moral basis, on which all our religions rest, as the rallying point which unites them in a common interest; while the peculiar dogmas branching from it are the exclusive concern of the respective sects embracing them, and no rightful subject of notice to any other; public opinion needs reformation on that point, which would have the further happy effect of doing away the hypocritical maxim of "intus et lubet, foris ut moris." Nothing, I think, would be so likely to effect this, as to your sect particularly, as the more careful attention to education, which you recommend, and which, placing its members on the equal and commanding benches of science, will exhibit them as equal objects of respect and favor. I salute you with great respect and esteem.

(Signed)

Thomas Jefferson.

M. M. Noah, Esq.

Copy of a Letter from James Madison, Esq., on the same subject.

Montpelier, May, 15, 1818.

Sir:—I have received your letter of the 6th, with the eloquent discourse delivered at the consecration of the Synagogue. Having ever regarded the freedom of religious opinions and worship as equally belonging to every sect, and the secure enjoyment of it as the best human provision for bringing all, either into the same way of thinking, or into that mutual charity which is the only proper substitute, I observe with pleasure the view you give of the spirit in which your sect partake of the common blessings afforded by our Government and laws.

As your foreign mission took place whilst I was in the administration, it cannot but be agreeable to me to learn that your accounts have been closed in a manner so favorable to you.

(Signed)

James Madison.

Copy of a Letter from John Adams, Esq.

Quincy, July 31, 1818.

Sir:—Accept my best thanks for your polite and obliging favor of the 24th, and especially for the discourse inclosed. I know not when I have read a more liberal or more elegant composition.

You have not extended your ideas of the right of private judgment and the liberty of conscience, both in religion and philosophy, farther than I do. Mine are limited only by morals and propriety.

I have had occasion to be acquainted with several gentlemen of your nation, and to transact business with some of them, whom I found to be men of as liberal minds, as much honor, probity, generosity and good breeding, as any I have known in any sect of religion or philosophy.

I wish your nation may be admitted to all privileges of citizens in every country of the world. This country has done much. I wish it may do more, and annul every narrow idea in religion, government, and commerce. Let the wits joke; the philosopher sneer! What then? It has pleased the Provident of the 'first cause,' the universal cause, that Abraham should give religion, not only to Hebrews, but to Christians and Mahometans, the greatest part of the modern civilized world.

(Signed)

John Adams.