On Nov. 5, 1775, 250 years ago, George Washington put an end to “Guy Fawkes Day” celebrations in the American Revolutionary Army after discovering some of his men planned to burn an effigy of the pope. It was a key moment in American history, and only one of numerous times that the Father of our country fought against antisemitic and anti-Catholic prejudice, establishing religious rights even before America declared independence.
For a little background on Guy Fawkes Day, which commemorates the discovery of an unsuccessful 1605 plot by a few Catholic noblemen to blow up Parliament, please read here. It is incredibly important to understand that the plot came in the midst of decades of bloody and vicious persecution of English, Irish, and Scots Catholics from Protestant Elizabeth I and James I of England, which left thousands dead and tens of thousands more enslaved. Though a devout Episcopalian, Washington had no sympathy for religious intolerance, and he ensured America would not continue to celebrate the macabre holiday.
Read Washington’s 1775 proclamation, which laid the groundwork for an end to Guy Fawkes Day celebrations in America:
As the Commander in Chief has been apprized of a design form’d for the observance of that ridiculous and childish custom of burning the Effigy of the pope–He cannot help expressing his surprise that there should be Officers and Soldiers in this army so void of common sense, as not to see the impropriety of such a step at this Juncture; at a Time when we are solliciting, and have really obtain’d, the friendship and alliance of the people of Canada, whom we ought to consider as Brethren embarked in the same Cause. The defence of the general Liberty of America: At such a juncture, and in such Circumstances, to be insulting their Religion, is so monstrous, as not to be suffered or excused; indeed instead of offering the most remote insult, it is our duty to address public thanks to these our Brethren, as to them we are so much indebted for every late happy Success over the common Enemy in Canada.
We can certainly see some political considerations at work behind Washington’s decision. Besides Catholic Canada, the Americans were hoping for the financial and military support of Catholic Spain and France. Also, the Irish were one of the biggest ethnic groups in the Continental Army.
But the proclamation was more than a smart political move — in fact, it challenged the prejudices that many Anglo-Americans, both in the Army and in the Continental Congress, had grown up holding, and that were ubiquitous in many areas of the colonies. Washington was defying more than a century of prejudice from his fellow Protestants, setting a new standard for Americans of all faiths to follow.
Washington, who numbered Irish Catholic immigrant John Fitzgerald among his closest friends, also more than once officially proclaimed the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day in the Army. For example, in 1778, during the hard winter at Valley Forge, a group of German soldiers made a scarecrow version of St. Patrick and paraded it around to make fun of the Irish and their favorite saint. Washington rode down to stop the brewing riot and told the angry Irish soldiers, “I too am a great lover of Saint Patrick’s Day, and must settle the affair by making all the army celebrate the day.”
In a 1790 letter to American Catholics, Washington wrote, “And I presume that your fellow-citizens will not forget the patriotic part which you took in the accomplishment of their Revolution, and the establishment of their Government: or the important assistance which they received from a nation in which the Roman Catholic faith is professed.” To this day, you can see a painting of the Blessed Virgin displayed in Washington’s ballroom at his Mount Vernon home.
Read Also: Terror-Sponsoring Qatar Supports Genocidal China’s Taiwan Claims
The worst and most violent religious prejudice that is increasingly common across the political spectrum in America now is antisemitism. Washington also had something to say on that topic, when he responded to a complimentary message from the Newport Hebrew Congregation in 1790. Notice Washington’s emphasis on how Jews are not to be “tolerated” but treated as fully equal citizens, just like Protestants and Catholics:
The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support…
May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths.
Like Washington, let us vow that we will grant to bigotry no sanction and to persecution no assistance in the truest and noblest American tradition.
