![]() ![]() It could be passed in Virginia because Dissenting sects there (particularly Baptists, Presbyterians, and Methodists) had petitioned strongly during the preceding decade for religious liberty, including the separation of church and state. Divided into three paragraphs, the statute is rooted in Jefferson's philosophy. Written by Thomas Jefferson and passed by the Virginia General Assembly on January 16, 1786, it is the forerunner of the first amendment protections for religious freedom. The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom is a statement about both freedom of conscience and the principle of separation of church and state. Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (annotated transcript) But what Jefferson wanted to be remembered for, besides writing the Declaration of Independence, was writing the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and founding the University of Virginia. In the Declaration, and in his other writings, Jefferson was perhaps the best spokesman we have had for the American ideals of liberty, equality, faith in education, and in the wisdom of the common man. This assignment, and what he made of it, ensured Jefferson's place as an apostle of liberty. Then he was entrusted with drafting the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was too anti-British to be made use of until a total break with Great Britain had become inevitable. The force of its arguments and its literary quality led the Convention to elect Jefferson to serve in the Continental Congress. But Jefferson sent a paper to the convention, later published as A Summary View of the Rights of British America. Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) was prevented by illness from attending the Virginia Convention of 1774 that met to discuss what to do in the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party and the closing of the port of Boston by the British. ![]()
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