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83

Thomas Jefferson

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Thomas Jefferson

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Auction Date:2010 May 12 @ 10:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
ALS as president signed “Th: Jefferson,” one page, 8.25 x 10, April 25, 1803. A week before the Louisiana Purchase treaty was signed, Jefferson writes to his daughter, Maria Eppes, alluding to an earlier promise he made to Dr. Benjamin Rush to one day give him his views of the Christian religion. In full: “A promise made to a friend some years ago, but executed only lately, has placed my religious creed on paper. I have thought it just that my family, by possessing this, should be enabled to estimate the libels published against me on this, as on every other possible subject. I have written to Philadelphia for Dr. Priestly’s history of the corruptions of Christianity, which I will send you, & recommend to an attentive perusal, because it establishes the groundwork of my view of this subject.

“In a letter from Mr. Eppes dated the Hundred Apr 14. he informed me Francis had got well through the measles; but he does not say what your movements are to be. My chief anxiety is that you should be back to Monticello by the end of June. I shall advise Martha to get back from here by the middle of July, because the sickly season commences here by that time, altho’ the members of the government venture to remain till the last week of that month—Mr. & Mrs. P. Carr stayed with me 5 or 6 days on their way to Baltimore. I think they propose to return in June. Nelly Carr continues in ill health. I believe they expect about the same time to get back to Dunlora. I wrote to Mr. Eppes yesterday. Be assured of my most affectionate and tender love to yourself, and kiss Francis for me. My cordial salutations to the family of Eppington when you see them.” The integral second page is addressed in Jefferson’s hand to “Mrs. Maria Eppes, Bermuda Hundred.”

In very good to fine condition, with intersecting mailing folds (slightly touching bottom of signature and an “f” in last name), a few small separations along the mailing folds, small spot of circular toning from missing wax seal, faint water stain touching “son” of last name, small stains and tiny holes along two folds, and paper loss to second integral page. The letter is very clean overall, beautifully signed and clearly penned throughout.

Jefferson’s mention here of having “placed my religious creed on paper” is a reference to his 1803 composition summarizing the comparative merits of Christianity, a task he undertook after reading Joseph Priestley’s publication, Socrates and Jesus Compared. In his own Syllabus of an Estimate of the Merit of the Doctrines of Jesus—whom only a few people, including his daughter and Benjamin Rush, were allowed to see—Jefferson hoped to correct his misrepresented religious points of view expressed by political opponents in the 1800 presidential election. Those opponents, members of the Federalist Party, criticized Jefferson for holding “unorthodox” religious viewpoints. The Founding Father, however, refused to comment on the attacks during the campaign, instead expressing the belief that an individual’s faith should remain completely a private matter.

Personally, however, Jefferson’s so-called unorthodox stance included his belief that the teachings of Jesus had been “corrupted” by theologians, and Jefferson sought to cut and paste pieces of the New Testament together to compose a version that excluded any miracles by Jesus. By doing so, the third president felt he was providing his maligned family with the ammunition necessary “to estimate the libels published against me on this, as on every other possible subject.” Interestingly, by being forced to put into words his religious beliefs, Jefferson was able to gain a unique perspective of the importance of the "separation of church and state,” a premise he later championed and which this artifact uniquely combines. Jefferson’s letters on his religious views are quite uncommon on the market. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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