‘Jefferson’ and ‘Henry’ to debate religious freedom
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| Richard Schumann as Henry (left) and Bill Barker as Jefferson |
Portrayed by Colonial Williamsburg interpreters Bill Barker and Richard Schumann, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry will appear at Christ Church on Wednesday, May 26, at 7 p.m. in a dramatic living history presentation. The distinguished colonial statesmen will debate religious freedom and the role of government and taxation in promoting religion in society.
Tickets are $15 per person and $25 per couple and include a reception in the courtyard after the performance. Tickets may be reserved through Christ Church at 438-6855 or .
The performance centers around two opposing bills Jefferson and Henry presented to the Virginia Legislature in the late 1770s and early 1780s. In the fall of 1784, the House of Delegates nearly passed a bill supported by Henry calling for a general assessment, or a tax, that would support ministers or “teachers of the Christian religion.” After a close vote, opponents of Henry’s bill succeeded in delaying a final vote until the delegates met the following year.
When the delegates convened in November 1785, support for Henry’s bill had eroded, due in large part to numerous petitions against it, including James Madison’s famous “Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments,” a document that circulated widely in the Northern Neck. Madison brought back Jefferson’s bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, first presented to the legislature in 1779. In January 1786 the legislature passed this as the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, one of the most important documents in American history.
The Jefferson-Henry debate is the final performance in a four-part lecture series titled “From Jamestown to the First Amendment: The Road to Religious Freedom.”
