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July 8, 2008

Update: Whitehouse reads Washington's letter to Touro

Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse was among U.S. senators today who read from important documents that helped shape our nation, as the Senate celebrated Independence Day.

While the Declaration of Independence was among the documents, Whitehouse read from a 1790 letter from President George Washington to the congregation of Touro Synagogue in Newport.

The group chose Newport, according to the congregation’s Web site, after hearing of Rhode Island founder Roger William's dedication to religious acceptance.

The synagogue, established in 1763 by a group of 15 Jewish families, has served as a meeting place for the Rhode Island General Assembly and a hospital for British troops, sparing it from destruction during the American Revolution.

In Washington’s letter to the congregation, Washington asserted that the new sovereign nation would “… give to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance;” an example of the country’s commitment to religious freedom.

Video: Watch Whitehouse's reading of the letter and learn more about its history.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Brandie M. Jefferson  at 5:14 PM | Permalink

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pod | July 8, 2008 12:16 PM link

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