Thomas Jefferson Letter

to
Ursuline Convent Sisters, New Orleans






Paul Richardson
May 2012




Madams Washington April 24
th
1804

I have received, holy sisters, the letter you have written me
wherein you express anxiety for the property vested in your
institution by the former governments of Louisiana. The
principles of the constitution and government of the United States
are a sure guarantee to you that it will be preserved to you sacred
and inviolate, and that your institution will be permitted to govern
itself according to its own voluntary rules, without interference
from the civil authority. Whatever diversity of shade may appear
in the religious opinions of our fellow citizens, the charitable
objects of your institution cannot be indifferent to any; and its
furtherance of the wholesome purposes of society, by training up
its younger members in the way they should go, cannot fail to
ensure it the patronage of the government it is under. Be assured
it will meet all the protection which my office can give it.
I salute you, holy sisters, with friendship & respect.

Thomas Jefferson

I found this letter while visiting New Orleans recently. I explored
miles and miles on foot over a week. In the French Quarter there
is a convent of the Ursuline Sisters. They have an interesting
history coming to New Orleans in the early 18
th
century with a
declared mission to educate girls and minorities in the area. They
appeared to be far ahead of their times in that regard. Because of
that I spent some time learning their history as presented during a
tour of their grounds. One of the things that caught my eye was
the letter of Thomas Jefferson in his own hand of April 24
th
, 1804.
I transcribed the letter above exactly as Jefferson wrote it. I
determined to keep his punctuation from the time as opposed to
our current standards, e.g. its instead of its because we now use
the apostrophe only for the contraction of it is.
The thing that grabbed me was the clarity of Jeffersons assertions
regarding freedom of religion guaranteed by the constitution and
his practical attitude in support of the sisters good works. It is
understandable that they would want to clarify their standing
after the Louisiana Purchase brought them out of French
government into American government control. This, it seems is
a good context for viewing the current tussle between the
government and religious entities over whether the government
can specify what healthcare benefits will be provided by religious
organizations.
At its foundation it seems to emphasize the founders belief in
smaller government versus the current trend to larger and more
intrusive government. In any event, I believe everyone can benefit
from an ongoing study of history. There is always more to learn.