In the year of the nation's 250th anniversary, join ICS to explore a paradox of the early Republic: the gap between the vision of liberty and the reality of religious exclusion. While the founders championed representative democracy, many 1776 state constitutions implemented practices that effectively barred Jewish citizens and other religious minorities from holding public office. This session equips educators with primary source-driven strategies to teach the crucial distinction between religious toleration and true religious liberty. Highlighting primary sources such as Jonas Phillips’ 1787 letter to George Washington, the session will trace the civic activism of early Jewish Americans that expanded religious liberty .