Letter to Thomas Jefferson, 22 January 1786
James Madison22 January 1786
Madison’s report to Jefferson on the session of the Virginia assembly that had ended the night before, including how the bill for religious freedom was passed.
Madison sat in the assembly through the session and writes as a participant, the day after it closed. He tells Jefferson that the general assessment had been defeated by petitions from all parts of the state, that the bill passed the House without alteration, that the Senate objected to the preamble and obtained some changes of wording, and that the enacting clauses passed untouched. It is an account of the passage of An Act for Establishing Religious Freedom by a member who was present.
Cited in
- 1786 to 1791, firm date