George Washington Letter Reading

Honoring Religious Freedom

Every summer, the TSF Newport hosts The George Washington Letter Reading, an event honoring our nation’s heritage of religious freedom. George Washington’s 1790 letter to “To the Hebrew Congregation in Newport” was written after his first trip to Rhode Island as President. In his eloquent reply to a letter written by Moses Seixas, warden of the local Jewish congregation, Washington attested to the new government’s commitment to freedom of religion, an entitlement he regarded as an “inherent natural right.” He restated from the Seixas letter that the federal government “gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.” The annual event has a long tradition of distinguished keynote speakers and letter readers, including Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan. The program includes presentations of the Judge Alexander George Teitz Award and the Aaron and Rita Slom Scholarship for Freedom and Diversity.

The 78th Annual George Washington Letter Reading

The 78th annual reading of the George Washington Letter took place in The Old Colony House on Sunday, August 17, 2025. This year’s reader of the Washington Letter was Rebecca Bertrand, Executive Director of the Newport Historical Society. Meryle Cawley, Executive Director of TSF Newport, read the Seixas letter, and Rhode Island School of Design President Crystal Williams delivered the keynote address.