A rare collection of original letters, family Bibles, and founding-era artifacts is offering undeniable evidence of Scripture’s role in America’s birth.
On display at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, the new exhibition marking America’s 250th anniversary examines how the Bible influenced the nation’s earliest years through original documents and historical objects. Featured items include the first Bible printed in English in America, family Bibles belonging to several founding fathers, and an original Thomas Jefferson letter on religious freedom.
According to Anthony Schmidt, the museum’s director of collections and curatorial, the evidence speaks for itself.
“The Bible has been an integral part of this nation’s founding and history,” Schmidt told Fox News Digital. “That’s not a theological claim; it’s what the documents show. The founding fathers referenced Scripture, argued from it, and built political frameworks on its language about human dignity and liberty.”
The exhibition displays Revolutionary-era materials that unified the colonies, Jefferson’s writings on religious liberty, early arguments against tyranny rooted in biblical principles, and artifacts tracing Jewish civic life in early America. Visitors encounter portraits of Washington, busts of Franklin, and a hand-colored lithograph memorializing Lincoln.
Schmidt acknowledges the founders disagreed sharply on religion, but the historical record is clear: “They were still shaped by the Bible’s language and arguments.”
This matters. For decades, secular revisionists have insisted America’s founding was purely Enlightenment rationalism, divorced from Scripture. Yet Washington’s letters invoke providence. Jefferson quoted Jesus. Adams cited biblical anthropology when explaining why power must be separated.
“We want visitors to encounter the history of this country and see, in the primary documents, what impact the Bible actually had on the people who built it,” Schmidt said.
The documents don’t lie. The question is: will we listen?
