In James Parton’s book, Life of Thomas Jefferson, he talks about the life of Thomas Jefferson and the many accomplishments he had. Jefferson was born in Virginia to his parents Peter Jefferson and Jane Randolph. He had a very wealthy and distinguished family. His family brought him up in the Church of England. As a child, his mother would read to him from the Book of Common Prayer. His father was a planter who also served as a leading member of their church, the Anglican Church. Jefferson spent much of his younger life studying under Reverend James Maury who was an Anglican minister. He was also a graduate of William and Mary which was the college Thomas Jefferson later attended. When Jefferson was only sixteen years old, he began going to college. During his college life, he was influenced by William Small who was the only faculty that was not in the Anglican clergy. Small taught more on the terms of the Enlightenment. He taught Jefferson about the Enlightenment thinkers and Jefferson developed a lifelong passion for their teachings. Since Jefferson could also read French, he became one of the minorities of American Deists that was strongly influenced not just by the Scots and English Enlightenment, but also by the more radical French counterpart. Jefferson remained an Anglican and an Episcopalian throughout his life, despite his difference in belief of the two. Jefferson’s children were committed to attending the Episcopal Church. Jefferson also generously supported the St. Anne’s Parish and he continued to record the births, marriages, and deaths of any family members in his father’s prayer book. Even though Jefferson moved to more of an Episcopalian religion, he still did not leave his ancestral faith (Parton 1-45).
In the book Thomas Jefferson: A Life, Willard Randall emphasizes the fact that even though Jefferson was being criticized for his religious views, he continued to study the gospels, and wrote a summary of his own religious beliefs. Jefferson believed in what the Unitarians of the early nineteenth century believed. The big idea in this belief was that God was only one person. He was not represented as God in three persons (555). Even though Jefferson may have had a somewhat different view on religion than other of his time, he still had good intentions with everything he did. One of the notable things he did was his reasoning behind free public education and his three tier education chart. He wanted all individuals to be able to grow up and have equal opportunities for everything in life. When they went out into the real world he wanted everyone to be just as well educated as everyone else. He believed that people, no matter what race they were, what sex they were, or what type of family they came from, that they all had an equal chance. Schmidt says that “although Jefferson was essentially a Deist, he was nevertheless greatly influenced by Christian values” (254).
Throughout Thomas Jefferson’s life, he had a numerous amount of accomplishments and achievements. One thing he did was reform Virginia by writing the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. In Douglas T. Miller’s book Thomas Jefferson and the Creation of America, chapter three, titled Reforming Virginia, discussed the many accomplishments of Jefferson. Some of his major goals towards creating a more republican utopia included “devising easier access to land ownership; establishing religious freedom; providing free public education; streamlining and liberalizing Virginia’s penal code; and ending the slave trade and eventually abolishing slavery” (Miller 26). He had a large interest in the education of young people. Miller stated that Jefferson had a three tier chart for an education system with a “university” that was at the top of the chart. Everyone was able to go through the elementary school, then those who qualified for grammar school could do so, and then further, those who qualified to the university after grammar school were allowed into the university. Jefferson also attempted to end slaver. Even though he didn’t completely get rid of slaver, he did succeed in getting rid of the act of importing slaves. Another thing that Jefferson had a great victory over was his quest for religious freedom. Jefferson believed that the church and the state should be completely separate from each other. In Miller's book, Thomas Jefferson and the Creation of America, he quoted Jefferson: “ ‘The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does to me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. If neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg…Reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents against error’ ” (27). One thing Jefferson had against the Anglican Church was their idea of having taxes support the church and the Anglican clergy. He believed that making people pay money to support any church, no matter what denomination, was taking away their religious freedom. On top of these many things he accomplished, he also wrote several books, including the Jefferson Bible. Thomas Jefferson was a very diverse individual who would fight for what he thought was right (25-35).
Christianity has always had a vital role in government, whether it was a conflicting issue or something praised. Going further back to the time when Christ was here, people believed that he was there to attempt to overthrow the Roman government. He was teaching the ways of God and the Romans didn’t approve of his teachings and believed them to be false. Because of the government’s claims about Christ, there was a conflict between Christianity and the government. In Europe, before the pilgrims sailed to America, they viewed the church and state as one. Decisions were made by the clergy and the pope, and the church even seemed to have more say in how the state was run rather than the government itself. When the pilgrims came to America, they established a church and began governing themselves. Our founding fathers came in to establish a true government for the United States. Some people may argue that America was not technically found upon “Christian” ideas. Thomas Jefferson, along with the help of some of the other founding fathers, created the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. There was much question to whether or not the Declaration reflected Christian influences. In Alvin Schmidt’s book, How Christianity Changed the World, he answered this question by saying:
First, the document clearly reflects its indebtedness to the Christian understanding of the natural law…Second, the Declaration of Independence specifically states that a government may be deposed when it violates people’s “inalienable rights”…Third, although Jefferson was essentially a Deist, he was nevertheless greatly influenced by Christian values…Fourth, the Declaration of Independence speaks about truths being “self-evident”…
Also, the Constitution shows similar Christian influences in its amendments. The very first amendment discusses the freedom of religion. The amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” (Jordan 45). Not only is there that amendment, but there are also the amendments of cruel and unusual punishment, the abolition of slavery, woman’s suffrage, black suffrage, rights to a fair trial, and many other ones that all have a Christian background. All of these amendments were put into play to look out for us as individuals. They all give3 each person an equal chance at whatever. The women’s and black’s suffrage state that there should be no discrimination against race or sex on the matter of voting. What it says about slavery is that no person should have to be put under involuntary service to another person accept as a punishment. And on the matter of punishment, there shall be no cruel and unusual punishment, meaning that no one should be punished for more than what their crime was. In 2 Corinthians 8:13, the Bible says that “I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but there as a matter of [equality].” God did not intend for people to be treated differently. He created man equally in His image and intended on everyone to be treated as equals as well. The few amendments mentioned and many others all show this idea of equality in humans.
Even though many people claim that the United States was not started based on Christianity, it still has Christian ideas and backgrounds. Not only are Christian ideas shown in the Constitution but also in currency. On every dollar bill the words “In God We Trust” are written on them. Christianity had a huge impact on government whether people want to believe it or not.
Works Cited
Holmes, David L. Faiths of the Founding Fathers. Oxford: New Yord Oxford UP, 2006. Print.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Classic Thinline ed. Wheaton: Good News, 2001. Print.
Jordan, Terry L. The U.S. Constitution: And Fascinating Facts About It. Seventh Ed. Naperville: Oak Hill, 2009. Print.
Miller, Douglas T. Thomas Jefferson and the Creation of America. Ed. John A. Scott. New York: Makers of America, 1997. Print.
Parton, James. Life of Thomas Jefferson. New York: Da Capo, 1971. Print.
Randall, Willard S. Thomas Jefferson: A Life. New York: Henry Hold, 1993. Print.
Schmidt, Alvin J. How Christianity Changed the World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan House, 2001. Print.
by
donhill83 (student)
