Correspondence with President John Tyler concerning the wording of a proclamation issued by Tyler after the death of President William Henry Harrison. April 1841. Rare Documents file and SC-3303, American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, OH.

Correspondence Between President John Tyler & Jacob Ezekiel of Richmond, VA

In the wake of President William Henry Harrison?s (1773?1841) death from pneumonia after only a month in office, Vice President, John Tyler (1790?1862) delivered a mournful proclamation to the American people dated 13 April 1841 where he called for a national day of ?fasting and prayer?:

When a Christian people feel themselves to be overtaken by a great public calamity, it becomes them to humble themselves under the dispensation of Divine Providence, to recognize His righteous government over the children of men, to acknowledge His goodness in time past, as well as their own unworthiness, and to supplicate His merciful protection for the future.

These words caught the eye of Jacob Ezekiel (1812?1899), a dry goods merchant and prominent member of Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome (now Congregation Beth Ahabah) in Richmond, Virginia. Ezekiel was the father of Moses Jacob Ezekiel (1844?1917), the acclaimed sculptor, and came to prominence by successfully lobbying to amend Virginia?s Sunday Closing Laws in 1849, allowing businesses to remain open on Sundays. Ezekiel, who was a close friend of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, would eventually move to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1869 and aid in the formation of the Hebrew Union College, where he served as secretary of the board of governors from 1876?1896. Three days after Tyler?s proclamation, Ezekiel wrote to the President his fear that by labeling the United States citizenry a ?Christian people,? the President excluded Jews and people of other religious beliefs from involvement in remembrance of the country?s leader. In a short message dated 19 April 1841 President Tyler responded to Ezekiel, not only to allay his fears, but also to remind him of Judaism and Christianity?s shared heritage and love of God: ?I designed in nothing to exclude any portion of my fellow-citizens from a cordial union in the solemnities of that occasion,? Tyler wrote. ?In speaking of the duties of Christian people, I meant in no way to imply that similar duties should not be performed by all mankind.?