- Barbara Clark Smith, Curator, Division of Political History,
National Museum of American History - Harry Rubenstein, Chair
and Curator, Division of Political History, National Museum of
American History The first presidential candidate to be attacked
for his supposed religious views was Thomas Jefferson, in the
election of 1800. Clergymen and writers in newspapers suggested
that Jefferson was a heretic, an atheist, and an opponent of all
religion. What was the fact of the matter? And what can
Jefferson’s beliefs—and the controversy about them—tell us about
Jefferson’s America? Curators Harry Rubenstein and Barbara Clark
Smith discuss Jefferson’s personal beliefs, based on his
writings and the book that he made, The Life and Morals of Jesus
of Nazareth. They explore the broad impact of Enlightenment
ideas on many Americans in the age of revolution. They will
explain why Jefferson never publicly replied to attacks on his
religion. Most important, the curators examine Jefferson’s views
of the American Revoluti