Historical Documents

The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was written in 1779 by Thomas Jefferson. In 1786, the Virginia General Assembly enacted the statute into the state's law. The Statute for Religious Freedom is one of only three accomplishments Jefferson instructed be put in his epitaph.

James Madison's, A Memorial and Remonstrance, circulated in thirteen or more petitions and more than 1,550 signatures endorsed its opposition to Patrick Henry's General Assessment Bill which would have assessed a tax "for the support of the Christian religion." His arguments succeeded in turning popular sentiment against Henry's bill and removed roadblocks that had obstructed the passage of Jefferson's bill for religious liberty. It also clearly documents the thoughts and intentions of Madison, the chief writer of the US Constitution, the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights.

Separation of Church and State, By Philip Hamburger, Harvard University Press

The background and text of the First Amendment, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10, 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration, Article 18 reads "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."

The Thomas Jefferson Digital Archive is published by the University of Virginia and consists of over 1700 electronic texts written by or written to Jefferson, over 9,000 quotations arranged by theme, date, topic, and place of publication, Jefferson biographies, Jefferson organizations, and special Jefferson collections.

The James Madison Papers from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress consist of approximately 12,000 items captured in some 72,000 digital images. They document the life of the man who came to be known as the "Father of the Constitution" through correspondence, personal notes, drafts of letters and legislation, an autobiography, legal and financial documents, and miscellaneous manuscripts. The collection is organized into six series dating from 1723 to 1836.

The complete Thomas Jefferson Papers from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress consists of approximately 27,000 documents. This is the largest collection of original Jefferson documents in the world. Document types in the collection as a whole include correspondence, commonplace books, financial account books, and manuscript volumes.