This document from 1789 records a conversation between a Quaker group and the President, George Washington. The letter, composed at the Quakers’ yearly meeting, expresses gratitude to Washington for his leadership skills, his role in building the new government, and the religious freedom granted in the United States, which they describe as "the choicest of blessings".

Washington’s response, printed at the bottom of the page, shows a turning point in his view of the Quaker community. During the revolutionary years, he had been disapproving of their refusal to perform what he saw as their moral and social duty; to bear arms and play a part in the common defence of their country. He was suspicious of their pacifist views, mistaking them for an affiliation with the British cause. However, he was lenient with pacifists as regards his army and more supportive of the Quakers once convinced that their motivations were apolitical.

Trying to understand Washington’s personal religious views is difficult as accounts of his spiritual life are full of contradictions. Records show that Washington may even have taken care to avoid publicly clarifying his religious position, skirting the enquiries of his government colleagues. However, what is clear is that Washington believed in religious freedom. In reply to the Quakers letter he states, “The liberty enjoyed by the people of these United States, of Worshiping the Almighty God agreeable to their consciences, is not only among the choicest of their blessings, but also of their rights.”

For the Quakers, who had been subjected to religious persecution since their arrival in America and were in search of a more tolerant religious environment, this was paramount. They tell Washington, “As we are people whose principles and conduct have been misinterpreted and traduced, we take the liberty to assure thee that we feel our hearts affectionately drawn towards thee.”

This letter is just one of a series of letters written by Washington to religious groups between 1789 and 1790. The most famous of these was his letter to the Hebrew Congregation in 1790 in which he stated, “For happily the government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens ...”, thus cementing his reputation as a champion of religious freedom. However, unlike politicians such as Thomas Jefferson, Washington did not call for the complete separation of religion and state, believing that religion was key to promoting good citizenship.

Two years after this address, on 15 December 1791, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed guaranteeing religious freedom by preventing the government from passing any laws regarding religion and protecting each person's right to practice any faith without fear of government intervention.

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