Warren Throckmorton

“So, the claim made by the Forbes resolution and Barton about federal funds authorizing evangelism and/or the "propagation of the gospel to the heathen" is simply false. While some might dismiss this as a minor point, we find the claim tendentious and troubling.  Those who make the claim about government-sponsored evangelism obscure the whole story of the Gnadenhutten massacre and the real purpose of the involvement of the federal government with the United Brethren and the Christian Indians. By making these bills about Jefferson and his alleged support for religion, Barton minimizes an atrocity committed against native Americans.  When one examines this episode in context, it is clear that the federal government did not simply decide to give money to the United Brethren in order for them to "propagate the gospel among the heathen." The federal government gave a trust to a group of people who organized as "The Society of the United Brethren for propagating the Gospel among the Heathen" for the purpose of helping the brutalized native people return and keep rights to their lands. If there had not been an atrocity and subsequent displacement of the Delaware converts, there would have been no need for federal legislation in this case. The narrative developed by Barton and others is misleading and obscures the situation. All Jefferson did was approve bills that had a religious society's name attached to the title. Barton’s appropriation of the story hides a cruel irony. It was the propagation of the Gospel among the Indians that led to their conversion and pacifism. They would not protect themselves or fight back against their aggressors because of the Gospel they believed. Barton wants to make this story about a government outreach to teach Indians the Gospel, when it was the actions of a state militia that led to the slaughter of men, women, and children from their community. If anything, this story provides a precedent for reparations paid to those harmed by government action. The Christian Indians were brutally murdered by a state militia and in response, the federal government attempted to deed them land.”
― Warren Throckmorton, Getting Jefferson Right: Fact-Checking Claims About Thomas Jefferson