Author: Henry S. Randall

Publisher:

Published: 2015-07-13

Total Pages: 748

ISBN-13: 9781331280064

Excerpt from The Life of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 3 of 3 In a letter to Attorney-General Lincoln, January 1st, 1802, he hinted his reasons for omitting to proclaim fast and thanksgiving days, after the custom of his predecessors; and also his views on the expediency of the prevailing custom of sending addresses to the President: "Averse to receive addresses, yet unable to prevent them, I have generally endeavored to turn them to some account, by making them the occasion, by way of answer, of sowing useful truths and principles among the people, which might germinate and become rooted among their political tenets. The Baptist address, now inclosed, admits of a condemnation of the alliance between Church and State, under the authority of the Constitution. It furnishes an occasion, too, which I have long wished to find, of saying why I do not proclaim fastings and thanksgivings, as my predecessors did. The address, to be sure, does not point at this, and its introduction is awkward. But I foresee no opportunity of doing it more pertinently. I know it will give great offence to the New England clergy; but the advocate of religious freedom is to expect neither peace nor forgiveness from them. Will you be so good as to examine the answer, and suggest any alterations which might prevent an ill effect, or promote a good one, among the people? You understand the temper of those in the North, and can weaken it, therefore, to their stomachs; it is at present seasoned to the Southern taste only. I would ask the favor of you to return it, with the address, in the course of the day or evening. Health and affection." The answer to the "Baptist Address," as it was afterwards published, contained a most emphatical "condemnation of the alliance between Church and State," but no direct allusion to his reasons for not proclaiming fast days. Whether Mr. Lincoln advised the suppression of the paragraph, or whether the "awkwardness" of its introduction induced the President, on second thought, to wait for a better "opportunity," we are not informed. A delegation from various Indian tribes visited Washington during the winter, and were addressed by the President on the 7th of January. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.