George Washington to Moses Seixas. Letterbook copy in the hand of Washington's secretary, 1790.

President Washington's response

President Washington sent a gracious reply to the Newport Hebrew Congregation in response to the congratulatory address given on August 17, 1790. This copy of Washington's outgoing correspondence records the president's words as they echo those of Moses Seixas, "It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it was the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. 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, in giving in all occasions their effectual support.".