Today, we are happy to bring you our conversation with Steven K. Green, author of The Grand Collaboration: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Invention of American Religious Freedom

What inspired you to write this book? 

I think all historians are drawn to writing a biographical work at some point in their careers. I had relied on the more familiar writings of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison on church-state matters in my previous books, articles, and legal memoranda but had never examined their work in a comprehensive manner. I realized that there was not a book that did a truly in-depth analysis about their “grand collaboration” to advance religious freedom, so I seized the opportunity. I also felt that such a work was timely considering the current scholarly and legal reevaluation of the relevance of the Jeffersonian-Madisonian model of church-state relations.

What did you learn and what are you hoping readers will learn from your book? 

What I learned – or what was impressed on me to a much greater extent – was the extent to which both men thought about religious matters in a comprehensive way and the degree to which they prioritized the issue of religious freedom and connected it to the larger notion of freedom of inquiry. Both men had a lot on their plates during their long political careers, but this issue was never far from their minds.

What surprised you the most in the process of writing your book? 

Although other historians have commented on this, I was surprised (in a very touching way) by the deep emotional and intellectual affection that each man had for the other. Even though Jefferson’s and Madison’s individual contributions to the development of American republicanism were immense and impressive, on the issue of religious freedom it is difficult to separate their contributions.

What’s your favorite anecdote from your book?

James Madison has a much-deserved reputation for advocating for a strict separation of church and state, including the separation of religion from politics. But in his first campaign for the US House of Representatives in 1788, Madison faced charges – concocted by Patrick Henry – that he opposed legal protections for religious dissenters. As a result, Madison actively campaigned in Baptist and Lutheran churches while he and his surrogates solicited endorsements from sympathetic clergy. Madison justified his activities as necessary to counteract Henry’s misrepresentations, but it remains ironic for a proponent of church-state separation.

What’s next? 

I am finishing a manuscript for a book, tentatively titled Infidel(ity): The Gilded Age Battle Over Freethought, Free-Love, and Feminism. The book examines the intersection of a prominent freethought movement with issues of women’s rights and Anthony Comstock’s moralistic campaign against obscenity and reproductive freedoms. In addition to Comstock, the book considers the roles of Robert Ingersoll, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Victoria Woodhull.