"The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, also known as the Jefferson Bible, was created by Thomas Jefferson around 1820 to express his own rational approach to faith. Using a pen, knife, and glue, Jefferson crafted a condensed version of the New Testament in keeping with the spirit of the Enlightenment"
Getting to see the Jefferson Bible was probably the best part about the exhibit, but the museum also examined the religious views of the other founding fathers as well. George Washington had a large section dedicated to him. There is a lot of debate in regard to just how religious our first president actually was, and many scholars are still divided on the issue. However, it was incredibly clear that his wife was religious. The exhibit had two of Martha Washington's Bibles that had not only her handwriting in them, but George Washington's as well. Martha was incredibly religious and reportedly read aloud from the Bible every morning and evening.
Other interesting artifacts included a Torah from the 1600s, an original Psalm book used by the Puritans, and notes and artifacts from Muslim-American scholars during the 1700s.
Also, in the Library of Congress, I was able to see a collection of Jefferson's original library. During the War of 1812, British soldiers burned down the White House library. At the time, Jefferson's collection was the largest in the country. He kindly sold the Library of Congress his collection, and it remains there to this day! The books are incredibly old, but you can still read the titles on their spine. I saw familiar names such as Spinoza, Kant, Locke, and Hume. His collection has politics, philosophy, biology, chemistry, mechanics, and anything you can think of. Many of the books I really wanted to read so that I could get a perspective of the 1700's view on historical events, figures, and perceptions on science.
If anyone is interested in this stuff, please let me know. I'm a huge history buff, so I took a LOT of pictures.
Very cool, Skye! I'd love to see your pictures.
ReplyDeleteMe too! Especially any that you were allowed to take of Jefferson's collection. That sounds like an awesome trip! I'd love to visit the Library of Congress someday. Very cool post! :)
ReplyDeleteA note from MTSU's debate coach: Skye is "at the Lafayette Debates hosted by the French Embassy in Washington, D.C. MTSU is the only state school invited this year with mostly Ivy League schools. To say it is an honor is an understatement!" Congrats and good luck, Skye!!
ReplyDeleteSkye,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the memories. I used to live in the suburbs of Washington DC and spent many hours at the Smithsonian and the archives and a few in the Library of Congress. I don't know how long you will be there but try to go to the Jefferson Memorial. I understand the Cherry Blossoms are in bloom. Also, hopefully, you will have time to go to the Supreme Court; I never made it there but hope to one day. I too would love to see whatever pictures you took and congratulations to you and the MTSU debate team being the only state school selected to attend the Lafayette Debates. What an honor.
Don