Jefferson believed that the Statute guaranteed religious freedom for “the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindoo, and infidel of every denomination.” He believed that such broad freedom and toleration was essential in a republic with people from such different religions, ethnicities, and races. Did Thomas Jefferson […]
He committed his administration to repealing taxes, slashing government expenses, cutting military expenditures, and paying off the public debt. Through his personal conduct and public policies he sought to return the country to the principles of Republican simplicity. What were Thomas Jefferson’s goals? Thomas Jefferson was a Democratic- Republican, and […]
As he did throughout his life, Jefferson strongly believed that every American should have the right to prevent the government from infringing on the liberties of its citizens. Certain liberties, including those of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition, should be sacred to everyone. How did Thomas Jefferson view freedom? […]
While opposed to the institutions of organized religion, Jefferson consistently expressed his belief in God. For example, he invoked the notion of divine justice in 1782 in his opposition to slavery, and invoked divine Providence in his second inaugural address. Did Thomas Jefferson believe in religious freedom? Jefferson believed that […]
He was a Christian deist because he saw Christianity as the highest expression of natural religion and Jesus as an incomparably great moral teacher. He was not an orthodox Christian because he rejected, among other things, the doctrines that Jesus was the promised Messiah and the incarnate Son of God. […]
25. More lawyers signed the Declaration than any other profession. The National Archives has published a spreadsheet (PDF) of the representatives who signed the Declaration of Independence. The sheet also lists their occupation and while many occupied more than one parallel profession, 25 of the 56 signers were lawyers. How […]
6 Key Players At The Constitutional Convention George Washington. Portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart. James Madison. James Madison by John Vanderlyn (White House Historical Association) George Mason. Portrait of George Mason by John Hesselius (Wikimedia) Roger Sherman. William Paterson. James Wilson. Who were 3 founding fathers that debated […]
That democracy cannot long exist without enlightenment; That it cannotfunction without wise and honest officials; That talent and virtue, needed in a free society, should be educated regardless of wealth, birth or other accidental condition; That other children of the poor must thus be educated at common expence. How did […]
For Washington, the pursuit of knowledge was a life-long passion. Unlike many of his contemporaries in the Continental Congress, Washington never attended college or received a formal education. His two older brothers, Lawrence and Augustine Washington, Jr., attended Appleby Grammar School in England. Was George Washington self educated? 1. Washington […]
The Founders’ Reading List The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker – Tobias Smollett. The Law of Nations – Emerich de Vattel. Rules of Civility – Richard Brookhiser. George Washington: The Indispensable Man, by James T. Washington: A Life, by Ron Chernow. Beauty and the Beast – Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont. […]
Edward Rutledge. Edward Rutledge (age 26) was the youngest signer, and Benjamin Franklin (age 70) was the oldest signer. Who was the youngest signer and from what state? 6. There was a 44-year age difference between the youngest and oldest signers. The oldest signer was Benjamin Franklin, 70 years old […]
JULIUS GOEBEL, JR., & JOSEPH H. SMITH, eds., The Law Practice of Alexander Hamilton. 5 vols. New York: Columbia University Press for William Nelson Cromwell Foundation, 1964-81. Which founding father was a lawyer? Alexander Hamilton, Esq.: Founding Father as Lawyer. What did Alexander Hamilton do? Alexander Hamilton was a founding […]
Alexander Hamilton, Esq.: Founding Father as Lawyer. Who was the first lawyer in America? Born in Indiana as A. Macon Bolling, he moved to New England at some point in the early 1840s and changed his name to Macon Bolling Allen in Boston in January 1844. Soon after, Allen moved […]
Most people are surprised to learn that eight lawyer-presidents did so. In addition to Harrison and Taft, the advo-cates were John Quincy Adams, James Polk, Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, Grover Cleveland, and Richard Nixon. What presidents studied law? Hayes (1845 graduate of Harvard Law School), Barack Obama (1991 Harvard Law […]
When UVA became a fully coeducational institution, the affiliation between UVA and Mary Washington came to an end. During the early ’70s, more transfer students came from Mary Washington to UVA than from any other school. When did UVA start accepting girls? In January 1920, the Board of Visitors passed […]