Private Writings
In his letters to young people, particularly to his adopted children, Washington urged upon them truth, character, honesty, but said little or nothing related to specific items of religious practice. Analysts who have studied Washington's papers held by the Library of Congress assert that his correspondence with Masonic Lodges is replete with references to the "Great Architect of the Universe" (which Masonic historian S. Brent Morris refers to as a neutral Masonic style of referring to God—probably derived from the writings of John Calvin).
Various prayers said to have been composed by him in his later life are highly edited. An unfinished book of copied Christian prayers attributed to him (as a youth) by a collector (around 1891) was rejected by Worthington C. Ford, editor of an edition of Washington's papers, and the Smithsonian Institution for lack of authenticity. Comparisons to documents Washington actually wrote show that it is not in his handwriting.
In a letter to George Mason in 1785, he wrote that he was not among those alarmed by a bill "making people pay towards the support of that which they profess", but felt that it was "impolitic" to pass such a measure, and wished it had never been proposed, believing that it would disturb public tranquility.
Read more about this topic: George Washington And Religion
Famous quotes containing the words private and/or writings:
“All significant truths are private truths. As they become public they cease to become truths; they become facts, or at best, part of the public character; or at worst, catchwords.”
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“If someday I make a dictionary of definitions wanting single words to head them, a cherished entry will be “To abridge, expand, or otherwise alter or cause to be altered for the sake of belated improvement, one’s own writings in translation.””
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