Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

June 24, 2026

The Two Jews Who Kept Thomas Jefferson’s Legacy Alive

Uriah P. Levy and Frank Marx Etting.

While Jews played no part in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, there were two who played a major role in preserving the history of the document and the legacy of its author. Uriah P. Levy purchased Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate to preserve it as a memorial, while commissioning the most important statue of its proprietor. After him, writes Michael Auslin, came Frank Marx Etting:

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