Thomas Jefferson Religious Freedom Monument (Fredericksburg, Virginia)

 interesting place  Add category

This monument to religious liberty was unveiled in public ceremony on October 16, 1932. Representatives of sixteen of the leading denominations in the United States participated in the commemoration. This monument was moved from its original site on George Street in 1977.

It was here in Fredericksburg on January 13, 1777, that Thomas Jefferson met with his committee, George Mason, Edmond Pendleton, George Wythe and Thomas Ludwell Lee, to draft the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. This famous bill established the principle that "no man shall suffer on account of his religious opinions or beliefs. "This Virginia statute was later incorporated into the United States Constitution as the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.

Annually at the site of this monument on January 13, the City of Fredericksburg pays homage to Thomas Jefferson and his farsightedness to give each Virginian and each American his religious freedom. Jefferson considered this statute drafted in Fredericksburg to be one of the three major accomplishments of his life along with the Declaration of Independence and the establishment of the University of Virginia.