[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14130]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



              GEORGE WASHINGTON LETTER TO TOURO SYNAGOGUE

  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar No. 93, S. Con. Res. 
16.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the concurrent 
resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 16) 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.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
concurrent resolution and preamble be agreed to en bloc, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements related 
thereto be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 16) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 16

       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 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 Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the George Washington letter 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.

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