The Touro Synagogue in Newport
The Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, stands as the oldest surviving synagogue in the United States and a powerful symbol of religious freedom in the nation. Completed in 1763 for a community of Sephardic Jews as a place where their faith could be practiced openly and without fear. Many in this Jewish community had fled the Inquisition or persecution in Europe, and Newport’s reputation for tolerance made is a place to live without hiding who they were.
At the center of the community was Rabbi Isaac Touro, the synagogue’s first spiritual leader. He is remembered for guiding the congregation but also for his Loyalist sympathies during the American Revolution. He believed in maintaining allegiance to the British Crown because the British were protecting the synagogue during the war. When the British evacuated Newport in 1779, Rabbi Touro left with them.
A famous moment in the synagogue’s history came in 1790 when the congregation wrote to President George Washington to express gratitude for the new nation’s promise of liberty. Washington’s reply assured the Newport Jews that the United States would give: “to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.” This is one of the most important statements on religious freedom written by a President. Every year, the synagogue holds a public reading of Washington’s letter.
In 1946, President Truman designated the Touro Synagogue as a National Historic Site, and it is still owned and actively used by the Jewish Congregation. The synagogue continues as a house of worship and a living testament to the right to practice faith openly.
Read More From Nancy
Salem Maritime National Historic Site
In Massachusetts, many visitors come to Salem searching for the echoes of the 1692 witch trials. But along the waterfront stands another Salem story, older in infrastructure, broader in reach and foundational to the young nation’s economy. The Salem Maritime National Historic Site preserves nearly nice acres along the harbor that reflect Salem’s extraordinary maritime […]
Hamilton Grange National Memorial
For those who have seen the musical Hamilton, do you remember the moment when the family “moves uptown? In the late 18th century, uptown meant leaving the crowded streets of lower Manhattan for open farmland to the north. This are would later become Harlem. That is where Alexander Hamilton built his country retreat, a house known […]
Weirs Farm National Historic Site
Visiting historic places was a cornerstone of our homeschooling journey when our daughters were young. We crossed the country together, discovering National Historic Sites and learning the stories that shaped our nation. Here in New England, Weir Farm in Connecticut remains one of the few National Parks in this state and is the only National […]
