Religion in the revolutionary era

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Religion in the revolutionary era
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Religion and the Revolution

• Except for the great awakening, no forces of
  consequence had acted prior to the Revolution to
  break down the social, economic, and religions
  walls which divided the American colonies.
• Indeed, there seemed to be a horror of
  consolidation, tending to tear down any proposals
  for unification.
• So regnant was this feeling that the colonists,
  many of them loyal members of the Church of
  England, labored to prevent the introduction of
  the Anglican episcopate into America lest it
  begin a process of setting up a complete
  autocratic hierarchy with centralized authority.
• Because the Church of England had such a
  traditionally centralized organization, it never
  became a popular church in colonial America even
  where it was established by law.

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Religion and the Revolution

• Background
• Nevertheless, certain intellectual factors as
  well as economic and political, helped to prepare
  the way for revolution and to bind the people,
  out of necessity, into a confederation.
• Among these were--
• the idea of fundamental law and the natural
  rights of the individual as guaranteed by that
  law
• the social contract idea that government is
  created by consent of the people
• and the ideataught by Calvinthat when there is
  oppression, the representatives of the people
  have the right to resist.

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Religion and the Revolution

• Background
• Three religious factors, in particular, had an
  important and direct bearing on the Revolution.
• The first was the Great Awakening.
• In this great revival, the American colonists
  discovered for the first time a common emotional
  and intellectual challenge.
• Intercolonial leaders such as Edwards,
  Whitefield, and Tennent did much to foster
  cooperation and union among various religious
  groups and to lessen racial and denominational
  tensions.
• This emphasis, together with an increasing shift
  of population throughout the colonies, helped to
  create a sense of rapport.
• By drawing many nominal adherents of the Anglican
  Church into the fellowship of the evangelical
  denominations the revival weakened the chain
  which bound the colonies to England.
• Since the Anglican Church was one of the
  principal links between England and her
  possessions, any noticeable decline in its
  strength was bound to have an effect on relations
  with the mother country.

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Religion and the Revolution

• Background
• 2. A second contributing factor was fear of
  Anglican ecclesiasticism by evangelicals.
• Since colonial Anglicanism was hindered by its
  inability to administer confirmation and
  ordination in America, it was natural that from
  time to time some of its leaders would agitate
  for the establishment of an episcopate which
  would make these functions possible.
• The sending of a bishop to America might actually
  have been a step toward independence, for it
  would have whetted the American appetite for
  self-rule.

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Religion and the Revolution

• Background
• 2. A second contributing factor was fear of
  Anglican ecclesiasticism by evangelicals.
• But evangelical leaders, principally
  Congregationalists and Presbyterians, strongly
  objected to this attempt on the ground that it
  was another excuse for interference from the
  British government.
• Between the years 1766 and 1775 these two
  denominations held joint conferences to combat
  ecclesiasticism the principal effect of their
  meetings was to promote a more favorable attitude
  toward intercolonial cooperation.
• While nothing came of the effort to establish an
  American episcopate, the discussion stirred up
  more discontent with England and its national
  church and thus indirectly contributed to the
  revolutionary cause.

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Religion and the Revolution

• Background
• 3. A third factor was concern over the Quebec Act
  of 1774.
• In 1763 England had received the French dominion
  in Canada as part of the settlement of the Treaty
  of Paris which terminated the Seven Years War.
• In return she had agreed to extend toleration to
  Roman Catholics.
• But eleven years later, when she included the
  Northwest Territory, a triangular area between
  the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers within the
  boundaries of the Province of Quebec, a storm of
  protest was raised.
• It seemed to many Protestants that Roman Catholic
  influence would be coming too close to New
  England and the Middle Colonies for comfort.
• The result was mounting tension culminating in
  revolt.

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Religion and the Revolution

• Background
• During the pre-revolutionary era the pulpit was
  the most important single force in the colonies
  for the shaping and controlling of public
  opinion.
• The minister was usually the best-educated person
  in the community and his words were regarded as
  having considerable authority behind them, even
  when they dealt with political philosophy.
• When fired with zeal to preach independence and
  resistance to royal authority, he could exercise
  a tremendous influence over his congregation.
• In light of the fact that Congregationalist,
  Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed, and Baptist
  ministers were almost overwhelmingly on the side
  of the Revolution and that they were supported to
  a large extent by the Lutherans and German
  Reformed, one can understand the importance of
  the role played by the clergy in this tumultuous
  era.

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Religion and the Revolution

• Background
• The attitude of the ministry is well represented
  in the sermons of the period.
• The philosophy of John Locke is curiously blended
  with illustrations from the OT.
• George III is reminded of the fate of Rehoboam,
  and communities which do not furnish their quotas
  of men and money to the patriot cause are
  reminded that the people of Meroz were cursed for
  similar faults.
• Compelled submission to the arbitrary acts of
  legislators who do not represent the people is
  contrary to the will of God and must be resisted.
• So the clergy stirred the minds of their people
  and fanned the flames of rebellion.

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Religion and the Revolution

• Background
• Edmund Burke, who understood the colonies as well
  as any English man, reported to Parliament that
  the Americans were largely Protestant dissenters
  from the C of E.
• They had grown accustomed to the freest
  discussion of all religious questions, and this
  had brought about extreme individualism.
• The right of private judgment which they reserved
  for themseIves in spiritual matters and the right
  to elect and dismiss religious leaders had been
  carried over into politics, a fact which
  accounted for their pronounced liberalism.
• But perhaps the most important factor in American
  patriotism was the conviction that from the
  outset God him self had guided their adventure in
  the new land.
• Fortified by a dream and a destiny, they could
  not be overwhelmed.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Congregationalists
• No religious body surpassed the
  Congregationalists in contributions to the
  revolutionary effort.
• The entire force of NE was thrown into the
  struggle, and this force was started and
  controlled largely by the clergy.
• One Loyalist from New York wrote to a friend in
  London that the NE ministers were wicked,
  malicious, and inflammatory their pulpits were
  converted into Gutters of Sedition and they
  substituted politics for the Gospel.
• Perhaps the most outspoken of these, ministers
  was Jonathan Mayhew of Boston, a vigorous
  opponent of the Stamp Act and the establishment
  of episcopacy in America.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Congregationalists
• One of his best- known sermons, entitled A Snare
  Broken, was preached in Boston on May 23, 1776.
• In it he said he had learned from the Bible that
  wise, brave and virtuous men were always friends
  to liberty that God gave the Israelites a king,
  or absolute monarch, in his anger, because they
  had not sense and virtue enough to like a free
  commonwealth.
• The NE clergy had plenty of opportunity to preach
  on civil affairs on election days, days for
  fasting and humiliation, and Thanksgiving days.
• The election sermon was especially important
  because it was preached before the governor and
  the colony law-making body and then was
  published.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Congregationalists
• From their studies of Locke and Milton, the
  ministers taught that civil government was of
  divine origin and that rulers derived theft power
  from God.
• But rulers are limited by law and must not
  transcend their rights.
• If they do so then the people have the right to
  resist.
• The clergy could, of course, find plenty of
  reasons why the people should resist the tyranny
  of England.
•  

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Congregationalists
• When hostilities actually broke out, the NE
  clergy exercised great influence in raising
  volunteers.
• Presidents Samuel Langdon of Harvard and Timothy
  Dwight of Yale advocated revolution and then
  commended the war effort to their students.
• Many ministers joined the army as chaplains or as
  regular soldiers.
• In fact, it was quite common for a clergyman to
  become an officer of troops raised from his own
  congregation.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Congregationalists
• The dynamic and forceful John Cleaveland of
  Ipswich, MA, is said to have persuaded his entire
  parish to enlist and then volunteered himself.
• David Avery of Windsor, Vermont, on hearing about
  the battle of Lexington, preached a sermon in
  which he called his congregation to arms.
• He then bade them farewell and marched away at
  the head of a score of volunteers, enlisting
  others as they went along the way.
• At Beverly, Massachusetts, Joseph Willard helped
  to raise two companies which he escorted into
  battle.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Congregationalists
• There were undoubtedly many instances in which a
  zealous clergyman could win more recruits than a
  seasoned veteran of many campaigns.
• Those who could not go to war contributed much to
  the cause of independence through their writings
  and gave as liberally as their stipends would
  permit.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Congregationalists
• Representative of Congregational laymen in the
  revolutionary era was Samuel Adams (1722-1803).
• Educated at Harvard, where he had been trained in
  both theology and law, his thought was shaped
  largely by Puritanism and the natural-rights
  school of political philosophy.
• His democratic psychology was grounded in the NE
  town-meeting.
• He believed fervently in the sovereignty of the
  people and in their right to change their
  fundamental law, along with its interpretation
  and administration, whenever they desired.
• This was because of his liberal faith that the
  people were competent to judge their own good and
  conduct their own affairs.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Congregationalists
• Samuel Adams
• Through his vigorous support of the revolutionary
  effort he furthered the democratic ideals of his
  compatriots and gave added force to the doctrines
  being proclaimed from New England pulpits.
•  

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Anglicans
• As an ecclesiastical organization the Anglican
  Church was, of all the denominations, most loyal
  to the English king.
• Yet out of its ranks came many of the most
  outspoken patriots men who would give their very
  lives for freedom from the tyranny of that same
  ruler.
• Among the clergy there was a strong inclination
  at the beginning of the Revolution to remain
  loyal to the crown.
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Churches and the Revolution

• The Anglicans
• There are very few Loyalist sermons dating from
  the war period now in existence.
• Because of national sentiment it was extremely
  hazardous for a Tory minister to preach his
  political convictions.
• In fact, Jonathan Boucher deemed it necessary to
  preach with loaded pistols lying before him on a
  cushion.
• During one service he was actually forced out of
  his church by a band of armed men.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Anglicans
• In Virginia the majority of the clergy were
  Loyalist, though a substantial minority, perhaps
  one-third, was hostile to the English crown.
• Among the laity of Virginia, overwhelming
  support was on the side of independence with only
  a portion adopting the opinions of the Loyalist
  clergy.
• In the northern colonies, especially
  Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York, the
  clergy were even more inclined toward loyalty to
  England than in the South.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Anglicans
• From New York the Reverend John Stuart wrote No
  class was so uncompromising in its loyalty as the
  clergy of the Church of Eng land in this State
  and they in consequence did not fail to
  experience the bitter effects of their own unwise
  resolution.
• The Reverend Charles Inglis of Trinity Church,
  New York, in his Letters of Papinian, addressed
  to John Jay and the people of North America,
  attacked the revolutionary leaders in vehement
  tones You will find these pretended enemies of
  oppression the most unrelenting oppressors and
  their little fingers heavier than the kings
  loins. . . .There is more liberty in Turkey than
  in the dominions of the Congress.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Anglicans
• In NE, with the exception of Connecticut, most of
  the clergy were forced to flee they took refuge
  in New York, Canada, or England.
• Those that remained followed the dictates of
  necessity and were known for their peaceful
  submission and quiet deportment.
• Considering the fact that NE was the most zealous
  of all the regions in waging the war for
  independence, mere refusal to take a stand
  against the British could be viewed as a form of
  high treason.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Anglicans
• No Tory minister in the colonies labored under
  greater difficulties than the Reverend Samuel
  Seabury (1729-1796) subsequently to become bishop
  of Connecticut.
• When the Revolution began, he was in charge of
  the Westchester parish in New York and was busily
  engaged in turning out a series of loyalist
  pamphlets under the pseudonym The Westchester
  Farmer.
• In these pamphlets, which were written in an
  unusually witty and engaging manner, he attacked
  the Continental Congress and proposed peaceful
  submission to Britain.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Anglicans
• Later, while in Connecticut, Seabury was seized
  by a band of armed men and thrown into the New
  Haven jail on a charge of authoring the
  pamphlets.
• After languishing in prison for a month he was
  released for lack of evidence.
• Upon returning to New York he was severely
  persecuted.
• Then, after the battle of Long Island in 1776, he
  managed to escape to the British lines.
• He became a chaplain in the kings army and was
  assigned to a regiment of American Loyalists.
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Churches and the Revolution

• The Anglicans
• All New York Anglicans. however, were not
  Loyalists.
• Dr. Samuel Provoost, later to become first bishop
  of New York, fought on the side of the
  Revolution.
• And it was Alexander Hamilton, a Church of
  England layman, who refuted the arguments made by
  Seabury as the Westchester Farmer.
• Other New York Anglicans of patriotic renown were
  John Jay and Robert Morris.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Anglicans
• Philadelphia Anglicanism was more revolutionary
  than that of New York.
• Two of its outstanding representatives were
  William Smith, Provost of the College of
  Philadelphia, and Jacob Duché, rector of Christ
  Church.
• Duché served as the first chaplain of the
  Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776, and
  during that time no preacher could have done more
  for the cause of freedom.
• He is especially noted for his sermon The Duty
  of Standing Fast in our Spiritual and Temporal
  Liberties,
• preached in Christ Church on July 7, 1775.
• Strangely enough, when the British captured
  Philadelphia he went over to their side and later
  fled to England where he became chaplain of an
  orphanage.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Anglicans
• One of the most faithful leaders on the American
  side was the Reverend William White of
  Philadelphia.
• At the time when the revolutionary cause was
  closest to disaster he was offered the chaplaincy
  of Congress, which he accepted even though he
  knew that it might cost him his life if the
  British were victorious.
• He remained as chaplain until the close of the
  war.
• His influence had much to do with the decisions
  of many clergymen to serve as army chaplains, and
  the fact that the Anglican Church contributed the
  third largest number of chaplains to the patriot
  side was at least partially due to his efforts.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Anglicans
• It is significant that a large majority of
  Anglican laymen were patriots, while two-thirds
  of the signers of the Declaration of Independence
  were affiliated with the Anglican Church.
• In general, however, Anglican laymen were very
  much divided in their allegiance.
• In the Southern and Middle Colonies the majority
  were patriotic, while in New England they tended
  to side with the British.
• In the South, most Whigs belonged to the Church
  of England in New England no outstanding Whig
  was an Anglican.
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Churches and the Revolution

• The Anglicans
• It is significant that a large majority of
  Anglican laymen were patriots, while two-thirds
  of the signers of the Declaration of Independence
  were affiliated with the Anglican Church.
• In general, however, Anglican laymen were very
  much divided in their allegiance.
• In the Southern and Middle Colonies the majority
  were patriotic, while in New England they tended
  to side with the British.
• In the South, most Whigs belonged to the Church
  of England in New England no outstanding Whig
  was an Anglican.
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Churches and the Revolution

• The Anglicans
• Yet in all fairness it should be noted that the
  Anglican Church had no legislative body in
  America through which it could have expressed a
  patriotic sentiment.
• Its reputation was, of course, ruined by the
  large number of pro-British clergymen.
• Nevertheless, through many laymen as well as some
  clergy, the church made a contribution to
  American independence.
• One need only look at the names of a few of its
  distinguished membersGeorge Washington, James
  Madison, Patrick Henry, John Marshall, Robert
  Morris, John Jay, and Alexander Hamiltonto be
  assured of that fact.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Presbyterians
• It has been asserted that the sturdy
  Republicanism of the Presbyterians gave them an
  influence over the course of the Revolution out
  of all proportion to their numbers.
• Many writings of Loyalist leaders have indicated
  the amount of support given by Presbyterians to
  the patriot cause.
• Joseph Galloway, a Pennsylvania Tory, said that
  the foes of the English government in 1774 were
  Congregationalists, Presbyterians and
  smugglers.
• Concerning the composition of the Continental
  army he reported that one-fourth were natives of
  America, one-half were Irish, and the other
  fourth were English and Scottish.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Presbyterians
• While it is certainly true that the Presbyterian
  Church took its stand in favor of independence,
  it is worth noting that as late as 1775 the Synod
  of New York and Philadelphia opposed a complete
  break with the mother country and claimed that
  it is well known to you (otherwise it would be
  imprudent indeed thus publicly to profess,) that
  we have not been instrumental in inflaming the
  minds of the people, or urging them to acts of
  violence and disorder.
• On the other hand, the Synod endorsed the
  Continental Congress as a body of representatives
  duly elected by the people and commissioned to
  secure and defend their natural rights.
• Such action was thoroughly in harmony with the
  Calvinistic theory of government.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Presbyterians
• British officials in the Middle Colonies,
  however, seemed to be thoroughly convinced that
  the Presbyterians were responsible in large
  measure for the political events of the time.
• John Hughes, the stamp distributor for
  Pennsylvania, reported in 1775 that bigoted
  Calvinists were ripe for open Rebellion when
  they poisoned the Minds of the people enough.
• The following year the Reverend Charles Inglis,
  an Anglican Loyalist in New York, accused the
  Synod of passing a resolution to support the
  Continental Congress in all its measures he was
  probably referring to the statement issued in
  1775.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Presbyterians
• More malicious and unfounded was the report of
  missionaries of the Society for the Propagation
  of the Gospel in Delaware, who claimed at the
  outset of the Revolution that the war had been
  definitely planned by Presbyterians with the
  object of gaining their own religious
  establishment.
• The first religious body in the colonies to
  accept officially the Declaration of Independence
  and identify itself with the revolutionary cause
  was the Hanover Presbytery in Virginia.
• In a statement directed to the Virginia Assembly
  on October 24, 1776, it declared that we rely
  upon this Declaration, as well as the justice of
  our honorable legislature, to secure us the free
  exercise of religion according to the dictates of
  our consciences.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Presbyterians
• In 1778, when the British controlled
  Philadelphia, the Synod was held at Bedminster
  because Philadelphia was in possession of the
  enemy.
• It would seem definite that the Synod considered
  itself on the side of the Continental army.
• Nor could Abigail Adams have been entirely wrong
  in her statement to her husband, John, that the
  Presbyterian clergy are particularly active in
  supporting the measures of Congress from the
  rostrum, gaining proselytes, persecuting the
  unbelievers, preaching up the righteousness of
  their cause, and persuading the unthinking
  populace of the infallibility of success.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Presbyterians
• A considerable number of Presbyterians were
  leaders of the Revolution.
• Many were graduates of the College of New Jersey
  where they had first been exposed to the
  principles of freedom of conscience and
  government by the consent of the governed.
• Nine of the colleges alumni became members of
  the Federal Constitutional Convention in 1787,
  and its president,
• John Witherspoon (1728-1794), a Scottish
  immigrant, was a memorable figure in political
  affairs.
• So prominent was he in the movement for
  independence that he was characterized by John
  Adams as an animated Son of Liberty.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Presbyterians
• A great proportion of the Presbyterian clergy in
  those days had come under his guidance, a
  circumstance which partially accounts for the
  fervid patriotism of those leaders.
• Elected to represent New Jersey in the
  Continental Congress, Witherspoon began to
  agitate almost immediately for independence.
• In 1776 he signed the Declaration of
  Independence, being the only minister who was a
  member of the Continental Congress when that
  historic measure was enacted.
• His service in the Congress continued until 1783.
  

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Presbyterians
• In 1778 he signed the Articles of Confederation
  on behalf of his state.
• He was a member of the committee on foreign
  affairs, the board of war, the secret committee,
  and also the committees of finance and supplies
  for the army.
• In November, 1776, when the war was going badly
  for the Americans, he and two others went to the
  headquarters of General Washington to render
  assistance in reenlisting the soldiers whose
  terms had expired or were about to expire.
• It is not difficult to understand why the
  Reverend Jonathan Odell, the Tory satirist, who
  quit his parish at Burlington, New Jersey, and
  fled to the British lines in 1777, singled him
  out for this vitriolic attack in verse.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Presbyterians
• George Duffield, chaplain to the Continental
  Congress and pastor of the Third Presbyterian
  Church, Philadelphia, was another outstanding
  leader.
• He was particularly noted for his direct and
  forceful sermonic presentations, with their pithy
  remarks, which prompted John Adams to observe in
  a letter to his wife that Duffields principles,
  prayer, and sermons more nearly resemble those of
  our New England clergy than any I have heard.
• The minister became chaplain to the army around
  New York during the summer of 1776, and remained
  with that body during the whole of that terrible
  campaign.
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Churches and the Revolution

• The Presbyterians
• Perhaps the most romantic episode concerned James
  Caldwell of the Presbyterian church at Elizabeth,
  New Jersey.
• It is said that when the militia at the battle of
  Springfield ran out of wadding for their muskets,
  Caldwell hurried to his church and returned with
  an armful of Watts Psalm Books, throwing them to
  the ground and crying out, Now, boys, give em
  Watts! Give em Watts!
• Caldwell and his wife were subsequently murdered
  by the British.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Presbyterians
• When the war finally drew to a close in October,
  1781, Presbyterians rejoiced over the victory.
• The following year the Synod sent out a Pastoral
  Letter which spoke of the general and almost
  universal attachment of the Presbyterian body to
  the cause of liberty and the rights of mankind.
• It then urged that prayers of thanksgiving be
  offered for the achievement of independence.
•  
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Churches and the Revolution

• The Dutch Reformed
• The Dutch Reformed Church was fundamentally on
  the side of freedom.
• Unfortunately, since its congregations were
  situated largely in areas where British might was
  most vigorous, the church suffered acutely from
  the war many edifices were destroyed and the
  ministers were frequently driven from their
  homes.
• When the British captured New York, a number of
  the church buildings were desecrated the Dutch
  ministers fled the city and their congregations
  were scattered.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Dutch Reformed
• The denomination set aside days of fasting,
  thanksgiving, prayer and humiliation during the
  war period.
• Thus, in 1775, the General Synod recommended its
  churches in New York and New Jersey to set aside
  the seventh of May as a day of solemn
  humiliation, with fasting and prayer.
• At the same time the church did what it could to
  further enlistments in the Continental army.
• Because of war conditions the synod did not meet
  in 1776 and 1777.
• After what the synod deemed a just and necessary
  war had been terminated, it deposed Domine J. C.
  Rubel for immoralities he was alleged to have
  committed and for being a Tory.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The German Reformed
• In general the record of the German Reformed
  Church was patriotic.
• A number of the officers in the Continental army
  such as General Nicholas Herkimer, the hero of
  Oriskany, and Baron Frederick William Von
  Steuben, a ruling elder in the Nassau Street
  Church in New York, were from its ranks.
• Many of the ministers also seem to have been
  staunch supporters of independence.
• At the outset of the war the Reverend John H.
  Weikel got into difficulty for preaching on the
  text, Better is a poor and wise child, than an
  old and foolish king, who will no more be
  admonished.
• Michael Schlatter of Philadelphia was put in
  prison by the British for favoring the American
  cause, while William Hendel required armed guards
  to protect him from pro-British Indians while
  preaching in Lykens Valley, Pennsylvania.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The German Reformed
• Conversely, several German Reformed churchmen
  favored the British.
• The Reverend John Michael Kern of New York became
  a Loyalist because he thought that the colonies
  were not yet prepared for independence.
• He emigrated to Nova Scotia but at the close of
  his life returned to Pennsylvania, penniless and
  sick at heart.
• At the beginning of the struggle Dr. John Joachim
  Zubly of Savannah, Georgia, played a prominent
  part with the Sons of Liberty, armed citizens who
  harassed British officialdom up and down the
  country.
• He was even sent to the Continental Congress as a
  representative from Georgia.
• But he did not favor separation from Eng land and
  used what influence he had to combat it.
• The result was that he soon lost his prestige and
  was banished from Savannah in 1777.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The German Reformed
• In 1775 the Pennsylvania Coetus directed that a
  day of general fasting, repentance and prayer
  shall be held in all our congregations on the
  last Wednesday in June.
• That same year the Reformed and Lutheran Churches
  joined in an appeal to the German citizens of New
  York and North Carolina, calling upon them to
  support the measures of Congress and the cause of
  American freedom.
• The Germans also helped to organize militia
  companies which were prepared to march wherever
  and whenever they were commanded.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Lutherans
• The German Lutherans were not well organized in
  America when the Revolutionary War began, and so
  their contributions must be measured in terms of
  the actions of various representative leaders.
• By all standards, the family of the Muhlenbergs
  was the most important of the Lutherans in
  America.
• Henry Melchior Muhlenberg the father, had
  exercised a governing position over all the
  Lutheran churches from New York to Georgia.
• Though he maintained a standard of neutrality,
  his sons were patriots.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Lutherans
• The German Lutherans were not well organized in
  America when the Revolutionary War began, and so
  their contributions must be measured in terms of
  the actions of various representative leaders.
• By all standards, the family of the Muhlenbergs
  was the most important of the Lutherans in
  America.
• Henry Melchior Muhlenberg the father, had
  exercised a governing position over all the
  Lutheran churches from New York to Georgia.
• Though he maintained a standard of neutrality,
  his sons were patriots.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Lutherans
• John Peter Muhlenberg was a pastor at Woodstock,
  VA at the beginning of hostilities.
• The Sunday after he had heard the news of Bunker
  Hill he rose in his pulpit and told his
  congregation that in the language of Holy Writ,
  there is a time for all things. There is a time
  to preach and a time to fight and now is the
  time to fight.
• At the close of the service he removed his pulpit
  vestments and stood before the congregation in
  the uniform of a Virginia colonel.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Lutherans
• He later became a breveted major-general and took
  part in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown,
  and Monmouth.
• At Yorktown he was in command of the first
  brigade.
• In 1776 he was a member of the Virginia
  Convention, and later represented Pennsylvania in
  both the House and Senate of the United States.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Lutherans
• Frederick A. C. Muhlenberg, his brother, was
  pastor of Christ German Lutheran Church in New
  York.
• When the British approached the city in 1776, he
  fled and became an assistant to his father.
• From 1779 to 1780 he was a member of the
  Continental Congress and was president of the
  Pennsylvania Convention which ratified the
  Federal Constitution.
• During the years 1789 to 1797 he was a member of
  the national House of Representatives and served
  as its first speaker.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Lutherans
• While Lutherans were predominantly in favor of
  independence, some were loyal to the English
  crown.
• When the British captured New York the Reverend
  Bernard Hausihl remained in the city and proved
  himself to be a Tory.
• Upon the evacuation of the city by the English
  army, he and many of his congregation migrated to
  Nova Scotia and settled near Halifax.
• He later became a clergyman in the Church of
  England.
• In Georgia, the Reverend Christopher Triebner, a
  German immigrant, went over to the British side
  and at the close of the war moved to England.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Baptists
• Baptist congregations gave intense support to the
  movement for independence.
• Persecuted as they were under English law, they
  could not help but favor a cause which promised
  them full liberty of conscience.
• They supported the Revolution because they hoped
  for fairer treatment under the new government and
  because idealogically their democratic polity and
  compact theory of government harmonized more
  nearly with the principles which ruled the
  patriot side.
• The Baptists suffered excessively at the hands of
  the British.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Baptists
• When the English army took possession of Newport,
  Rhode Island, in 1776, they burned the Baptist
  meetinghouse and parsonage and imprisoned the
  minister.
• From that time Rhode Island Baptists worked
  actively for the Revolution, even though it meant
  uniting with the Congregationalists, who had once
  bitterly persecuted them.
• Isaac Backus, the Baptist historian, stated that
  in Massachusetts the Baptists were so completely
  united in the defense of their country that when
  the General Court of Boston passed an act in
  October, 1778, listing 811 men who were enemies
  of the government and should not be permitted to
  return, not a single Baptist was on the list.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Baptists
• In 1774, the Warren Association, composed of
  Baptist churches in NE, met under the leadership
  of Isaac Backus, President Manning of Rhode
  Island College, John Gano, and Morgan Edwards.
• Backus was sent to Philadelphia to petition the
  Continental Congress for full religious liberty.
• The attempt met with failure and the Baptists
  turned to the provincial congress of
  Massachusetts where once again their overtures
  were rejected.
• The Baptists, nevertheless, did receive some
  recognition for their patriotic activities.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Baptists
• In 1779, Samuel Stillman, pastor of the First
  Baptist Church of Boston was commissioned to
  preach the annual election sermon.
• The principal thesis of his homily was that the
  foundation of civil society is the consent of the
  governed.
• Election should be free and often, and
  representation should be as equal as possible.
  The sacred rights of conscience are among the
  inalienable rights of mankind and can never be
  controlled by any human authority.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Baptists
• Virginia Baptists were particularly militant In
  August, 1775, they issued an Address which
  stated that because of the oppression in America
  it was perfectly lawful to go to war, and that
  they ought to resist Britain because of her
  unjust invasion, her oppressive tyranny, and her
  repeated hostilities.
• Numerous Baptists responded by enlisting in the
  army.
• In Culpepper County, Thomas McClanahan recruited
  a company of Baptists and led them into service.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Methodists
• At the beginning of the Revolution Methodism was
  still new to America.
• In all the colonies there were only 19 preachers
  and 3148 members.
• In general this group was regarded as
  unpatriotic, thanks largely to the pronouncements
  of John Wesley.
• Until 1775 Wesley had disapproved of the
  repressive measures taken by the British
  government.
• But then he read Dr. Samuel Johnson Taxation No
  Tyranny, and was so convinced that he wrote A
  Calm Address to the American Colonies, in which
  he condemned the colonists for their actions
  against the crown.
• This created rabid hostility to the Methodists
  which was not relieved when, in 1776, Wesley
  called John Hancock a felon and urged the
  Americans to lay down their arms.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Methodists
• Most Virginia Methodists hurried to the defense
  of the Established Church.
• A large proportion of their missionaries had only
  recently arrived from England and, of course,
  remained loyal.
• Leaders such as Martin Rodda and Thomas Rankin
  became pronounced Loyalists.
• Even Francis Asbury refused to take the oath of
  allegiance in Maryland and was forced to flee to
  Delaware where clergymen were not required to
  take the oath.
• Some were pacifists, as in the case of Jesse Lee.
  

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Methodists
• By 1778, every Methodist minister sent out by
  Wesley had left America, with the exception of
  Asbury, and he was in forced retirement.
• Methodists were frequently persecuted.
• During the years 1778 to 1780, few gains were
  made outside Maryland and Virginia where the
  Anglican Church was strong and not entirely
  opposed to the Methodist societies.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Methodists
• A number of Methodists refused to follow their
  English leaders and went over to the patriot
  side.
• Among the native preachers there were many
  patriots such as Freeborn Carrettson, Philip
  Gatch, and William Watters.
• But their contributions were not sufficient to
  relieve Methodism of the contempt which had been
  placed upon it.
• Despite all disabilities, however, the Methodist
  revival was carried forward in the South by 1781
  the membership throughout the country had risen
  to 10,539.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Friends
• Contributions of the Friends to the Revolution
  were relatively meager.
• With the exception of a minority who believed a
  defensive war to be justifiable, they opposed war
  because they felt it could not he justifiable by
  its results.
• At a time when feeling ran high and physical
  resistance was regarded as the only proof of
  loyalty, such a position practically amounted to
  treason.
• But a close examination of the facts will show
  that while the majority of Friends were opposed
  to war most of them tended to be anti-British.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Friends
• In 1765, fifty of them signed a non-importation
  agreement as a means of passive resistance.
• What the Loyalists counted on was the
  conservatism of the old Quaker families and the
  strong resolutions passed by the Quaker meetings
  against violent resistance to the civil
  authorities.
• Actually, about 400 members of the church were
  disowned for participating in the war efforts of
  the patriots, while only six were similarly
  disciplined for aiding the British.
• Friends were expelled not only for joining the
  army, but also for fitting out an armed vessel,
  making weapons of war, and even assuming a
  military appearance.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Friends
• The faction which held that armed resistance is
  justifiable broke with the orthodox group and
  founded the Free Quakers or Fighting Quakers,
  a sect which lasted well into the nineteenth
  century.
• Among them were Thomas Mifflin, who subsequently
  became Quartermaster General and governor of
  Pennsylvania, and Nathanael Greene, who succeeded
  Muffin as Quartermaster General.
• None was more famous than Betsy Ross, who made
  the first American Stars and Stripes.
• When the British, under General Howe, were in the
  vicinity of Philadelphia in 1777, a number of
  prominent Friends alleged to be pro were arrested
  and removed to Winchester, Virginia, where they
  were held in confinement throughout the winter.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Friends
• After the Continental army reentered Philadelphia
  in the spring of 1778, the Quaker residents
  became targets of malicious attacks inspired by
  feverish patriots.
• Their homes were ransacked, their farms
  despoiled, and their property seized when they re
  fused to pay war taxes.
• School teachers were thrown into prison for
  refusing to take an oath of allegiance others
  were kept in jail for months without being
  brought to trial.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Friends
• In New England the Friends, were treated with
  greater favor.
• Early in the war the Rhode Island Legislature
  passed an act which granted exemption from
  military service to persons who could prove they
  held membership in a Quaker meeting.
• But the misuse of the provision by unworthy
  persons soon led to its repeal.
• A new enactment provided that Friends, upon being
  drafted, might elect to pay for a substitute if
  they refused to do so, their property would be
  confiscated.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Friends
• In view of the terrible hardships experienced by
  the revolutionaries in Rhode Island and the
  apparent Loyalist leanings of the Friends at
  Newport, such legislation seems to have been
  mild.
• In Massachusetts, where Friends were to be found
  in considerable numbers, the government adopted a
  policy similar to that of Rhode Island.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Mennonites and Moravians
• Most of the Mennonites in Pennsylvania, like the
  Friends, favored the American side, but refused
  to engage in hostilities.
• Only a few were Tories, and these emigrated to
  Canada at the close of the war.
• Their main division came over the question of
  whether they should pay the war tax.
• A group led by Christian Funk thought they should
  pay it the majority, notwithstanding, felt
  otherwise, and Funk and his followers were forced
  to withdraw in 1776 and form a separate religious
  body.
• On the whole the Mennonites suffered little
  persecution, although they contributed nothing
  beyond a few supplies to the patriotic cause.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Mennonites and Moravians
• The Moravians furthered the revolutionary effort
  in various non-military ways, but were badly
  treated by both sides.
• They offered their buildings at Bethlehem to be
  used as hospitals for the Continental army and
  furnished the army with much-needed supplies.
• Some rendered noncombatant service, as in caring
  for wounded Continental soldiers.
• Probably their greatest service was rendered
  through their missions to the Indians.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Mennonites and Moravians
• In the opening years of the struggle, David
  Zeisberger kept the Delawares from going to war
  with the settlersa most important service in
  days when every man was needed to fight the
  British.
• During the course of the war Zeisberger and his
  associates were twice summoned to Detroit and
  accused of espionage, but they were able to
  prove their innocence.
• Their Indian converts, inspired by pacifist
  principles, did their utmost to dissuade hostile
  natives from going on the warpath as well as to
  warn settlers of planned attacks.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Mennonites and Moravians
• Their motives were frequently misjudged by both
  sides during the winter of 1781 they suffered
  terribly from exposure and lack of food, having
  been driven by the British from their homes.
• Finally they were granted permission to go back
  to their settlements along the Tuscarawas River
  in Ohio to gather food.
• Here the Christian Indians welcomed a company of
  American militia who, they supposed, had come on
  a friendly mission.
• Instead they were crowded into two buildings and
  ruthlessly slaughtered.
• Only two boys in the party of 96 escaped alive.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Roman Catholics
• The year 1776 found Roman Catholicism in America
  neither populous nor well organized.
• But its adherents supported the Revolution whole
  heartedly in the hope that they might gain more
  toleration, since only in Maryland and
  Pennsylvania did they enjoy anything
  approximating religious liberty.
• As the war advanced, their influence grew,
  especially after the Roman Catholic countries of
  Spain and France had recognized the United
  States.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Roman Catholics
• Father John Carroll, later archbishop, worked,
  though unsuccessfully, with a committee of
  Congress in an effort to win the French Canadians
  to the cause of independence.
• Among the Roman Catholic signers of the
  Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
  were Thomas Fitzsimmons, Daniel Carroll, and
  Charles Carroll of Carrollton.
• A number of Roman Catholic volunteers enlisted in
  the army and navy.
• Several Roman Catholic regiments were organized,
  including Congress Own, the Catholic Indians
  from St. John, Maine, and the Catholic
  Penobscots.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Roman Catholics
• There were also a number of Roman Catholic
  officers who came from Ireland, France, and
  Poland to give their services to the cause of
  liberty.
• Only a few Roman Catholics were Tories.
• In Philadelphia, a Roman Catholic regiment was
  recruited in 1777-1778, while General Howe and
  his troops occupied that city.
• It was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Alfred
  Clinton, then a member of St. Marys parish.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Roman Catholics
• On July 4, 1779, the French minister and first
  diplomatic representative to the United States,
  Conrad Gerard, invited the American officials in
  Philadelphia to attend a Te Deum in St. Marys
  Church to celebrate the third anniversary of
  American independence.
• When the news of the surrender at Yorktown
  reached Philadelphia, the French minister again
  invited the Congress to attend a service of
  thanksgiving in the Roman Catholic church.
• These actions did much to place Roman Catholics
  in a favorable light and to establish their
  prestige among the American people.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Roman Catholics
• It is thus understandable that in response to a
  letter of congratulations from the Roman
  Catholics, President Washington should have
  written of their part in the struggle for
  independence I presume your fellow-citizens
  will not forget the patriotic part which you took
  in the accomplishment of their revolution.
• While the American churches can scarcely be held
  responsible for the precipitation of the
  revolutionary conflict, there were elements
  within them which fostered the national desire
  for liberty.
• There was a religious temper in America which
  bred discontent with the former order.

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Churches and the Revolution

• The Roman Catholics
• Not only did the majority of church bodies in the
  colonial period have politics which favored
  democracy or republicanism, they experienced a
  higher degree of religious liberty than was to be
  found in any other country of the world.
• Where religious liberty is found in part a demand
  for political freedom will come in like manner.
• The Christian churches supported the cause of
  independence, not because they hoped to profit
  from it in a materialistic way, but because of
  their profound conviction that every man has the
  right to live in freedom and worship his Maker
  according to the dictates of his own conscience.

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The Churches in A Period of reorganization
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Churches and Reorganization

• With the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown
  in 1781, American independence had at last been
  achieved.
• An American nation, however, waited to be born
  out of the conflict and confusion which
  characterized the opening years of autonomous
  rule.

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Churches and Reorganization

• At the completion of independence, America was
  thirteen rather than one the Articles of
  Confederation had, to be sure, established a
  loosely knit confederacy, but its power was in
  name only.
• The spirit of localism forgotten for a time in
  the flush of revolutiona