Christian life and character of the civil institutions of the United States, developed in the official and historical annals of the republic

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TO THE

CITIZENS OP THE UNITED STATES,

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS

HAVE THEIR

THIS VOLUME

IS

RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.

CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER

OF THE

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS

OF THE

• UNITED STATES,

DEVELOPED IN THE OFFICIAL AND HISTORICAL
ANNALS OF THE REPUBLIC.

BY

B. F. MORRIS.

'•'True religion affords to Government its surest support."— WASniXGTOX.

'•The highest gh)ry of the American Kevolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble l/ontj
tlie principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.'' — John Quixcy Ai).\ms.

"The religion of the New Testament— that religion which is founded on the teachings of Jesus
Cln-ist and his Apostles— is as sure a guide to duty in politics and legislation as in any concern uV
life." — Daniel Webster.

*' Righteousness exalteth a nation." — Bible.

PiriLADELPiriA:
GEORGE W. (MIIIJ)S, r.iS ,^' d.^o CHESTNUT ST.

CIXCLN'NATl: JMCKKV .t CAKUOLL.

lcS(34.

I 283060

I'

Eutered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1SG3, by
B. F. MORRIS,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of

Pennsylvania.

STEREOTYPED BY L. JOHNSON & CO.
PHILADELPHIA.

PREFACE,

This volume is committed to tlie American people, in
the firm assurance that the invaluable facts which it records
will be grateful to every patriotic and pious heart. In it,
as from the richest mines, has been brought out the pure
gold of our history. . Its treasures have been gathered and
jDlaced in this casket for the instruction and benefit of the
present and future. We have a noble historic life ; for our
ancestors were the worthies of the world. We have a
noble nation, full of the evidences of the moulding presence
of Christian truth, and of the power and goodness of
Divine wisdom in rearing up a Christian republic for all
time. That this was the spirit and aim of the early
founders of our institutions the facts in this volume
fully testify.

The field through which the reader will walk, in this
work, must give wider expansion to his political views,
quicken the pulses of his loyalty, add to his conscious dig-
nity as an American citizen, strengthen his confidence in
our future, and impart a higher tone to his piety.

The single object of the compiler was to link, in a con-
nected form, the golden chain of our Christian history, and
to reveal the basis on which our institutions stand.

The documents and facts are authentic, and have been
collected, with laborious diligence, from standard historical
works and from the political and Christian annals of the
nation. The volume is the voice of the best and wisest
men of the republic. It nuist, tlierofore, have weight
with the American people, and be a political and Clnistian
thesaurus and text-book to the scholar, the teacher, the

b PREFACE.

patriot, the politician, the statesman,, the jurist, the legis-
lator, the divine, and, in a word, to all classes of American
citizens.

The work is not speculative or theoretical, but a series
of facts to unfold and establish the Christian life and
character of the civil institutions of the United States, in
the light of which every American citizen can trace to its
source the true glory of the nation, and learn to appreciate
its institutions and to venerate and imitate the great and
good men who founded them.

It has been a deliglitful task of patriotism and piety to
the compiler to prepare the volume, and to lay it as a
gTateful offering upon the common altar of his country
and of Christianity.

The work has been the labor of years, performed in
various States of the Union, and in the capital of the
nation, within sight of the tomb of Washington, during
the most eventful year of the Rebellion ; and its laat pages
were prepared for the press in Philadelphia, where so many
of the sacred scenes of the Revolution transjDired. The
volume, therefore, has in its preparation a national feature,
and the reader will be impressed with the importance and
appositeness of the facts to the present time.

It is also the ardent hope of the compiler that the facts
and princii^les recorded in this volume, and in which, in
our early struggle, all denominations of Christians uttered
with such harmony their convictions that the only sure and
stable basis of our civil institutions was in the Christian
religion, may contribute to strengthen the union of patriot-
ism and piety in all parts of the country, to save the nation
from the perils of a wicked rebellion, and be the brightest
hope of the future. .

Care has been taken to give each author credit for his
thoughts and language, though in a few instances it may
have been overlooked. It was not the desire nor the de-
sign of the compiler to elaborate his own views, — thousih

PEEFACE. 7

they are found in the volume, — but to give those of the
great leading minds of the republic, both past and present.

His grateful acknowledgments are tendered to the
Librarians of the Young Men's Mercantile Library Asso-
ciation, and of the Mechanics' Institute Libraries of Cin-
cinnati ; of the State Library of Ohio ; of the Historical and
Astor Libraries of ~^ew York; of the Mercantile Library
and Library Association of Philadelphia ; of the Libraries
of Congress, and of the Literior Department ; to the Chief
Clerk in the Department of State, for access to the manu-
script papers of Washington ; to Peter Force, of Washing-
ton City, for frequent examinations of his large and invalu-
able collection of books and periodicals illustrative of the
early history of our country ; and to the Honorable Thomas
Corwin, of Ohio, for numerous visits to his valuable library.
His thanks are due also to the late Honorable Samuel
W. Parker, of Indiana, for the frequent use of his large
political and historical library, and to the late Judge John
McLean, of Ohio, who imparted to the compiler valuable
suggestions in reference to the prejDaration of the work.

The Introduction to the work is written by Rev. Byron
Sunderland, D.D., pastor for the last twelve years of the
First Presbyterian Church of Washington City, and Chap-
lain to the Senate of the United States in the Thirty-
Seventh Congress. Its high Christian tone and sentiment,
its finished literary excellence, and the important truths it
so forcibly enunciates will render it well worthy the atten-
tion of the reader.

The volume is committed to the blessing of God and to
the judgment and favor of the American people, in Immblo
trust that it may aid in preserving and perpetuating to
future generations the Union of tlie States, the integrity of
the best government ever instituted by the wisdom of men,
and the nationality of the American Eepublic.

PRINCIPAL AUTHORITIES CONSULTED,

Archives of American Annals, by Peter Force.

Journals of Congress and Official Eecords, Colonial and State Consti-
tutions and papers.

Bancroft's History of the United States.

Hall's History of the Puritans.

Grahame's Colonial History of America.

"Webster's Works.

Burke's Works.

Annals of the American Pulpit, by W. B. Spragije.

Pulpit of the Eevolution, by Johx Wixgate Thorxtox.

Chaplains and Clergy of the Revolution, by J. T. Headley.

Dr. Beecher's Works.

Power of the Pulpit, by Dr. Spring.

Character of the American Government, Anonymous.

Eev. J. Adams's Sermon, with Notes, on the Relation of Christianity
to the Civil Government of the United States.

Principles and Acts of the American Revolution, by H. Niles.

Grimke's Writings and Orations.

Chaplains of the American Government, by L. D. Johnson.

Nash's Morality of the State.

Life and Times of Washington, by John Frederick Schrceder, D.D.

Sparks's Writings of Washington.

Custis's Recollections of Washington.

Religious Opinions and Character of Washington, by E. C. McGuire.

Presbyterian Review, New England Review, Bibliotheca Sacra, Re-
bellion Recond, by Frank Moore, and a large number of periodicals, of
the time of the Revolution and at the formation of the Constitution of
the United States.

The Chapter on the Christian Element in the Civil War was compiled
from the official acts and j)aj)ers of the ecclesiastical denominations, of
benevolent organizations, and of the national and State Governments.

Bible.

Story's Commentaries on the Constitution.

Bayard's Commentaries on the Constitution.

Rawle on the Constitution.

Gardner's Institutes of International Law.

Griswold's Republican Court, or American Society in the Days of
Washington.

Mrs. Ellett's American Women.

Histories of the Various Colonies and. States.

Hough's Thanksgiving Proclamations.

Lossing's Field-Book of the Revolution.

Sanderson's Biography of the Signers of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Introduction, by Rev. Byeon Sunderland, D.D 11

CHAPTER I.

Sources of Proof to establish the Christian Life and Character of the Civil

Institutions of the United States 25

CHAPTER II.
The Hand of God in the Settlement of the American Continent 40

CHAPTER III.

Puritan Settlement — Its Christian Motives and Scenes 4i

CHAPTER IV.

Civil Government instituted in the Mayflower on a Christian Basis 51

CHAPTER V.
Christian Colonization of the New England Colonies Gl

CHAPTER VI.

Christian Systems of Education in the New England Colonies 72

CHAPTER VII.

Christian Colonization of Pennsylvania — New York — New Jersey — Dela-
ware 82

CHAPTER VIII.

Christian Colonization of Virginia — Maryland — South Carolina — North

Carolina — Georgia 02

CHAPTER IX.

Statesmen of the Revolution — Their Views of Christianity and its Rela-

tiuus to Civil Society and Government 110

CHAPTER X.

Christian Legislation of the Continental Congress 20G

CHAPTER XL
State Constitutions durinp^ the Revolution — Christian Doctrines incorpo-
rated in them as Fundamental Law ^^G

9

10 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XII. ^.^

PAGE

The Federal Constitution a Christian Instrument 246

CHAPTER XIII.
Christian Scenes in the First Congress under the Constitution 270

CHAPTER XIV.
The Christian Acts and Scenes of the Army of the Revolution 277

CHAPTER XV.
Government Chaplains 306

CHAPTER XVI.
Christian Ministers of the Revolution 332

CHAPTER XVII.
Christian Women of the Ftevolution 388

CHAPTER XVIII.

Christian Churches of the Revolution — Congregational Churches 420

CHAPTER XIX.
Christian Churches of the Revolution — The Baptist Churches — Methodist

Episcopal Church- 447

CHAPTER XX.
Christian Churches of the Revolution — The Reformed Dutch Church
and other Churches — German Lutheran Church — Universalist Con-
vention 460

CHAPTER XXI.
Christian Character of Washington 479

CHAPTER XXII.
Fast and Thanksgiving Days 525

CHAPTER XXIII.
Thanksgiving Days appointed by the States 560

CHAPTER XXIV.

Christian Scenes in the Capitol of the Republic 613

CHAPTER XXV.

Christianity of American Courts, and Christian Character of Eminent

American Judges 634

CHAPTER XXVI.
The Christian Element in the Civil War of the United States 665

INTRODUCTION,

The story of Christianity in America is one of the most
astonishing chapters in the annals of the world. The events of
Providence in reserving and preparing the country of these
United States to be the theatre of its development and triumphj
constitute one of the most remarkable passages of modern
history.

This is a Christian nation, first in name, and secondly because
of the many and mighty elements of a pure Christianity which
have given it character and shaped its destiny from the begin-
ning. It is pre-eminently the land of the Bible, of the Chris-
tian Church, and of the Christian Sabbath. It is the land of great
and extensive and oft-repeated revivals of a spiritual religion, —
the land of a free conscience and of free speech, — the land of
noble charities and of manifold and earnest efforts for the ele-
vation and welfare of the human race. The chief security and
glory of the United States of America has been, is now, and
will be forever, the prevalence and domination of the Christian
Faith.

The materialist may find in other aspects of our country many
grounds of complacency. Compared with other nations, we
have had a wonderful career. The marvels of the republic
stand thick along the line of our advancement. Whether we
consider the colonial period, or tliat of the Revolution, or those
of subsequent times, our growth in numbers, in territory, in
wealth and power, has been almost unparalleled. The spirit of
our Government and its institutions is singularly adapt<.'il to
secure the general peace and hap[)incss of human society. Our
example has long been an object of jealousy and fear to the
oppressors of man. Our country has thrown open an asylum
to the unfortunate from every quarter of the globe. All the
kindreds of the earth have been welcome to re})03c beneath the
shadow of our Tree, which in less than a single century li;us
spread its branches across the continent. And if our civil

II

12 INTEODUCTIOIT.

polity has not realized all the possible blessings of a free govern-
ment, the reason lies less in the genius of the economy than in the
acknowledged imperfections of human nature itself. In addition
to these things, Providence has signally favored the nation in
its geograJDhical position, the fertility of its soil, the plenty of
its seasons, and the salubrity of its climate. The vigor of the
people has found ample scope in utilizing the physical resources
of the country, by all the industries and arts of agriculture,
manufacture, and commerce; while in conducting the educa-
tional and intellectual interests of society, no modern nation in
the same space of time has contributed more to the great ele-
ments of that higher civilization towards which the world is
everywhere slowly but surely tending. These are sources of
just satisfaction to every friend and lover of his country. But
they are, meanwhile, considerations which fall far below those
great moral and spiritual principles in the absence of which no
state on earth can perpetuate its existence.

The true theory of national life and prosperity is clearly un-
folded in the revealed word of God. The secret of all stability
and enduring greatness in human governments, as with indivi-
dual men, is to be found alone in the quickening power of the
Christian Faith. This only, imbuing and pervading the mind
and heart of human society, can organize and preserve to the
body politic its highest and most untroubled fortunes. Falli-
bility and corruption inhere indeed in the materials of every
commonwealth, — the result of wdiich is a liability to continual
change. Growth succeeded by decay, and decay forcing an-
other growth, is the philosophy of national vicissitude, as it is
also the great fact of the physical creation. '' One generation
passeth away, and another generation cometh," and therefore
the permanence of empire must rest in the ideas of a people.
If then there be in such ideas no great enduring principle of
spiritual life, there can be no perpetuity of national existence.
If there be no grand, sublime, and imperishable thought, filling
the soul of a people with its fire and fashioning their progress
after its pattern, "there can be no sense in which they may
escape the inevitable mutations of the world, or avoid the fate
of so many that have gone before them.

The most powerful empires of the past have perished because
they v^ere wanting in a principle strong enough and spiritual
enougrh to resist the self-destructive eners;ies of human nature.

INTRODUCTION. 13

The pagan world could not furnisli such a principle. It was
in neither their philosophy nor their religion. It is not in the
power of man unaided to discover and apply such a principle.
Nothing short of divine wisdom and power can actualize among
the nations that principle of spiritual life which not only origin*
ates but preserves the substance of social and civil welfare.
Christianity is the divine method of imparting this principle to
men and nations, and the only method revealed from Heaven for
regulating our present state, and, after this, conferring upon us
the lasting awards of a glorious immortality. The doctrines of
Christianity form a system of perfect and saving truth, its
duties comprise the sum of all genuine beneficence, while its
ascendency over the human soul is effectually secured by the
regeneration of no less than the infinite Spirit of Grod.

The dispensation of this Spirit has been distinctly and con-
stantly affirmed in our country, and the people have been
instructed to expect " times of refreshing from the presence of
the Lord," not more in the early and latter rains of heaven than in
the silent but reformatory processes of our moral and religiout
condition. The Author of human nature is that same God who
must re-supply its wasting energy, and diffuse in human society
the life and light of truth, by turning men from the way of
transgression unto 'Hhe wisdom of the just." According to this
belief, there is a direct and immediate connection between the
human soul and the Divine Spirit; and wherever the sacred in-
fluence falls, there human beings are sure to " walk in newness
of life," supporting and stimulating all that is precious and
invaluable in the temporal and eternal well-being of mankind.
This doctrine, wdiich lies equally removed from the superstition
of ignorance and from the levity of unbelief, has been more
thoroughly explained and more widely disseminated among the
people of America than anywhere else on the face of the earth.
And it is due to the influence of evangelical religion among all
classes of society, more than to all other considerations together,
that our prosperity has been so great and our progress so un-
exampled. '' Ye are the light of the world. Ye are the salt of
the earth." This is the description of men whose views and
conduct are the result of the inspiration of Jesus Christ. All
time attests its truth. " Ilightcousness exalteth a nation, while
sin is a reproach to any }»eo})le," and must, if persisted in, pave
the way to their final destruction. This divine maxim h^is

14 INTRODUCTION.

been exemplified in all the old seats of human population, and
is borne onward in the spirit of prophetic admonition from age
to age. The voice of history is lifted in repeated accents of
solemn warning, and rolls in thunder-blasts its own great lesson
upon the ear of nations.

But while, without doubt, there has been, and is now, the
presence of an evangelical power in this republic, that has left
its impress and its influence upon our institutions and our
society, and has reared so many sacred monuments for the
gratitude and the admiration of mankind, it cannot and ought
not to be denied that the nation as it stands to-day is far
below that moral and religious condition which constitutes the
essential safety, prosperity, and honor of any people. It is
sadly true that a very large proportion of the population are
strangers to the genuine spirit of the Christian religion, and
almost, if not altogether, unacquainted even with the history
of its facts and the extent of its influence in the land of our
inheritance. The standing complaint of human degeneracy
remains against us. Causes have been operating — and of late
years with fearful rapidity and strength — to produce a state of
moral obliquity and practical atheism among us, appalling in
magnitude and of alarming consequence. It has become of
late quite customary to sneer at the puritanism of our fathers,
and to speak with contempt of the severity of their manners and
the bigotry of their faith. This impious treatment, by the pre-
sent corrupters of society, of a generation of men whose lofty
principles and illustrious virtues they seem utterly unable to
comprehend, is well adapted not only to arouse the deepest in-
dignation, but also to excite the most lively concern. There are
two quarters from which these evil influences chiefly proceed.
A class of men without conscience, and reckless of all moral
restraint, have gained ascendency in public favor, and assume
from their prominent position to mould and direct the public
sentiment of the nation. Their general influence upon the
public morals has been like the wind of the desert, — poisonous,
withering, and destructive. Another and very large class of
men moving in the lower w\alks of life form a significant element
of our iVmerican population, whose hard and vicious instincts,
gratified without compunction and paraded everywhere in the
most oftensive manner, would seem to render them wellnigh
incapable of reformation. Apparently insensible to all the

IXTEODUCTIO^T. 15

nobler sentiments of public morality and virtue, and ever ready
to perform their congenial part in the general demoralization,
they demand that all the higher classes shall pander to their
depraved appetites, as the price of their patronage and support.
In this reciprocal play of the baser passions the common prin-
ciples of morality are daily sacrificed, and the strong and the
weak join hands in carrying down the nation to the very verge
of ruin. No man can observe the conditions of society in our
country, and the obvious impulses of human conduct, without
feeling that the perils against which the fathers warned us, and
which have been so faithfully and constantly pointed out by the
ministers of religion, have, notwithstanding, increased at a fear-
ful rate, without seeing that the most alarming departures from
the standard of individual rectitude and social integrity have
occurred among us within the century that is past.

And, while every period has exhibited the signs of public de-
generacy, none in our history presents more fearful proofs of
the impiety and obduracy of great masses of the people. We
have abandoned, in a great measure, the faith and practice of
our ancestors, in putting aside from their lawful supremacy the
Christian ordinances and doctrines. The natural result is, that
we have corrupted our ways in all the circles of society and in.
all the pursuits of life. We have become as a field rank with
the growth of all the vices and heaped with the pollution of
mighty crimes. The rigid training of former times through
family government, discipline, and instruction has been greatly
relaxed, if not in many cases wholly neglected. Indeed, there
are multitudes of parents in the land who from physical and
moral causes are totally unfit to have the care of the children
to whom they have given birth : so that a generation of human
beings is growing up in one of the most favored regions of the
globe, whose preparation for the responsibilities of their age
and mission has been sadly at fault, and whoso precocity in
levity, mischief, and insubordination already equals the vitiating
examples that are set before them. The education of the nation
is going forward with rapid strides, but it is in a lamentable
degree under tlic auspices of immorality and irreligion, alike in
the high and the low places of the community. The unblush-
ing venality and brazen wickedness of a large portion of the
conductors of the public press and of the public men of tho
country have strongly tended to demoralize tho nation, to

16 INTEODUCTION.

undermine the foundations and destroy the influence of Chris-
tian discipline, and to turn the mind and heart of many to infi-
delity and licentiousness. The same baleful spirit has moved
upon the fountains of human learning and science, and so secu-
larized the philosophy of the times as to have set the high
faculty of human reason at variance with the sacred majesty of
religion, and to have plunged thousands upon thousands of our
young men into a sea of splendid sophistry and subtlety and
all the ruinous speculation of a proud but vain imagination.
Meanwhile, from the hearts of multitudes the dignity of honest
labor and the dictates of a sober and frugal economy have died
out, on the one hand increasing pauperism and crime and lend-
ing to misfortune the aggravation of human improvidence,
and on the other fostering habits of false show, and thus in-
creasing the temptation to deception, fraud, peculation, and all
the dishonesties of the most high-pampered extravagance and
excess. Moreover, the wanton neglect or abuse of our provi-
dential blessings, and the unconscious apostasy from every
sentiment of purity and virtue, have served greatly to defile
and degrade the mind of a large portion of the community,
and fill the centres of population with a low and vulgar
herd, who throng the open temples of obscenity and infamy.
Thus the materials are prepared for human guilt and wretched-
ness, whose catalogue of crimes and woes exhausts the power
of language to express them. Beyond all this, political con-
troversy and partisan strife for the reins and spoils of power,
conducted without principle, and reeking with abuse, have
taken so fierce a form as often to have driven the best men
from the arena and left the worst upon the field. The selfish
and profligate stand forward to control the nominations and
elections to office, and afterwards gamble with its duties and
obligations without shame and without remorse. Nor is this
all. Our wrongs to the Indian and the African, continued
from the beginning, have brutalized the temper, darkened
the understanding, and perverted the judgment of the nation
in regard to the plainest principles of common humanity and
justice. The tide of emigration from the Old World has borne
to our shores a large element of the foreign-born, who speedily
become imbued with our native and inexorable prejudice in this
respect. Thus, while we claim to be a free government, we
have cherished institutions in our midst which are a mockery

INTRODUCTION. 17

of the name of liberty and have become our standing shame
and curse in the sight of the whole world. Involved in a
criminality so grave, we have not fjiiled to exhibit its usual con,-
comitants, — arrogance and self-conceit. Our vast facilities of pro-
duction, trade, and transportation have filled us with high notions
of our superiority, and at the same time degraded us to dispo-
sitions of covetousness and cruelty. And from the long period
of our tranquillity we have come at length to a pitch of wicked-
ness that has culminated in one of the most gigantic and deso-
lating civil wars the world has ever seen. Our unparalleled
liberty has degenerated into dissolute indulgence; we have been
so long without the burdens of government as to have almost
forgotten the price of our birthright and to have cast away the
only safeguards of its continuance; we have proved ourselves un-
worthy of our inheritance, in our contempt of that virtue which
alone affords protection to society, in our blind disregard of the
Christian foundations on which alone the great interests of a
nation can permanently rest. Thus, at last, a majority of the
people have grown wholly unmindful of the authority and pre-
rogative of G-od, and of the duties we owe to him and to his
creatures. The true life and soul of Christianity has been to a
great degree emasculated, and the very titles of Jehovah and
the tokens of his awful majesty in the earth have become to
multitudes amons; us as idle and unmeanino; as the Grecian
myths, used, indeed, to furbish a paragraph with classic ele-
gance or round a period with sonorous emphasis, but completely
divested of those great, grand, solemn, and glorious thoughts
which never can dwell with vulgarity, profanation, and irreve-
rence.

Now, if, under such conditions, Christianity should resume
her sway and bring the masses of the nation back to the pure
and simple virtues and to the stern and heroic spirit which
marked the age of our Revolutionary fathers, it will prove to
be a moral miracle equal to her first triumphs in apostolic days.
Yet to this object all good men should devote their energies and
their prayers. In the firm conviction that virtue must finally be
supreme, and that a wise and beneficent Providence has designed
this continent to bo the theatre of the yet more glorious con-
quests of Christianity, it is the mission and the duty of all friends
of evangelical truth to combine in the attempt to hold and appro-
priate this country, with its resources, monuments, and insti-

2

18 INTRODUCTION.

tutions, for an empire devoted to the spread of God's kingdom
in the earth, and the universal reign of Jesus Christ.

And it is high time that we had begun to see our duty and
to feel our obligation. God's great ''judgments are already in
the land:" shall not its inhabitants begin ''to learn righteous-
ness"? The associated moral and spiritual power of a Chris-
tian people ought now to be making itself felt in every part of
the land and in all that concerns the existence and welfare of
the country. It is the settled conviction of many of the most
intelligent and purest minds that the time has come when the
Christian people of America should take into their own hands
the work of reclaiming the government and wielding its power
more decisively for the glory of God and the highest good of
human nature, and that for this purpose the true and the good
should sternly separate themselves from all connection with the
openly vicious and corrupt, and from all countenance and sup-
port of those whose life and example will not bear the scrutiny
of common decency and morality. And if in a representative
government like ours there must be political divisions, and a
conflict of the suffrages of the people, let there be a Christian
party, — a party that will not sustain by their sympathy or their
votes men who are known to be in sentiment and life, by pre-
cept and example, unchristian and untrue to the great principles
of the Christian faith ; for the highest treason of which man-
kind are capable is treason against the authority and law of the
Divine government itself; and the most deadly enemies to
human government are they who, with a great pretence of
loyalty, are nevertheless daily insulting the majesty of Him who
has power to destroy nations at his will.

The fountain of political turbulence and corruption un-
doubtedly lies in the primary assemblies of the people, as con-
ducted upon the principle of loar-iy cauGus, which for a long
period has amounted to little else than a system of chicanery
and venality too humiliating to describe. This kind of impo-
sition upon the free action of American citizenship has been
carried to such an extent as wellnigh to neutralize the title of
suffrage itself, and make of the boasted ballot-box a mockery of
American privilege. For the caucus, then, let the Church be
substituted, — not any one sect or denomination of Christians,
but the whole Church catholic, — not with a view to exciting
mutual jealousies and creating hostile prejudices, but standing

INTRODUCTION. 19

on the platform of Cliristian character supposed to be exempli-
fied in the sincere adherents of every Christian Church. Let the
weight of every vote tell what is the conviction, the intelligent,
sober, and matured judgment, of the Christian mind of this
nation as to the value to our country of i^ersonal integrity and
upright manhood. If it Vv^ere well established that such would
be the policy of the truly Christian portion of the people in
all the Christian churches of the country, the very fact
would carry with it a moral influence which even the most
brazen and unscrupulous politician could not altogether de-
spise or resist. And in connection with this position it must
be seen that our Christian duty requires us also to set our
faces as a flint against the current of socia.1 and moral degra-
dation which flows in the popular fashions-, tastes, customs,
and amuseraents of the day, — in the factitious and dishonest
principles of business life, — in the whok circle of immoral
and dangerous practices and pursuits which ensnare the mul-
titude and draw them on to ruin. We must be more dili-
gent and faithful with the early years of childhood. Chris-
tian parents must resume the discipline and religious training
over their sons and daughters which prevailed in the earlier
and p^rer days of the republic. And all the departments of
government must be filled with men who will adm.inister their
power for the suppression of whatever is deleterious in its influ-
ence, and for the encouragement of wha/tever is of a beneficent
and elevating tendency. The Church of Christ must purge
itself of worthless members, who now, through the laxity of
discipline, continue a scandal and a reproach, cumbering its pro-
gress and dragging down its sacred name into the dust. All the
educational and eleemosynary institutions and organizations of
the tim^es should be pervaded by the ruling spirit of the Chris-
tian faith, and quickened and animated by the living principle
of evangelical purity and power. In the liberal professions
and in ail the stations of political prominence from which de-
cidedly Christian men have been pushed aside partly through
their own timidity and partly by the audacity of bold and
scheming demagogues, there must be made an earnest and perse-
vering effort to establish the tried and faithful representatives
of a higher morality and a more stainless character. In all
these respects the evils of our delinquency have been multiply-
ing from year to year. Christian men have been unwilling or

20 INTRODUCTION.

afraid to unite upon the distinctive principles of a common
Christianity, and have shrunk from the sacrifice, scarcely ready
to suffer whatever of temporary defeat, expense, or reproach it
might cost, and tamely submitting to be overruled by the bold-
ness, the assiduity and energy of the evil-minded who assume to
control and dictate the public policy and manners of the nation.
In this way we have been swiftly sinking into the grossest per-
versions of ethical truth and the obligations of duty. We have
confounded almost every distinction in morals ; " we have put
good for evil, and evil for good; w^e have called bitter sweet,
and darkness light." In the unrestrained freedom of our expe-
rience, with no bonds and no restrictions of government or law
that we could feel sensibly resting upon us, and permitted alike
under divine and human authority to live in our lusts and to
develop in monstrous proportions the sentiment of individual
importance, we have come to exhibit little real regard for
magistrates of our own choosing, and scarcely less disrespect
for the very existence and form of civil government itself. Our
very thoughts have been dissolved in the infatuation of personal
sovereignty, ' until oaths and compacts, written charters and
constitutions confirmed by the highest sanctions possible to man,
are ruthlessly violated, rebellion is inaugurated, and we are
brought to the very door of anarchy itself. It could not be
otherwise with a people who have in the name of liberty struck
at the vital interests of one whole race of men, and through
these have aimed an impious blow at the prerogatives of God
himself.

And now the clay of vindication and of vengeance has burst
upon us. The storm which uncovers the social and moral
heart of the nation reveals the melancholy fiict of a wide-
spread demoralization amid the deepest corruption and the
grossest profligacy of great multitudes of the people. Ee-
bellion in favor of perpetuating a system of human bondage
is held by many to be the crowning glory of men. Sedi-
tion, treachery, perjury, violence, and blood are counted as
deeds of fame to immortalize their authors and abettors.
Meanwhile, there are not wanting those who, utterly un-
principled, in the guise of pretended friendship, are gloating
over the scene, and, like the fabled harpies of Tartarus, are
plucking their gorge from the miseries of the nation, already
reeling in the agonies of a mortal conflict. This is the spectacle

INTRODUCTION. 21

wliich America presents to the world at the present moment.
And were it not relieved by some brighter hues of Christian
hope, by the spirit of an earnest and patriotic ardor, by the
stupendous and heroic sacrifices of hundreds of thousands of
men and women who freely lay all they possess on the altar of
their country, and, finally, by the consciousness of the rectitude
of our cause, our firm reliance on providential direction, and the
assurance of the glorious purposes of God to be accomplished
through this dreary and dreadful passage of the nation's history,
it would be indeed the darkest and the saddest chapter yet
recorded in the book of time.

Of what avail, then, is it for the enemies of a spiritual religion
to attempt to delude us with the vain pretence that the true
progress of mankind implies the rejection of the Bible as the
divinely inspired word of God, and the denial of its authority
in the aff^airs of men, and that in the onward march of civil-
ization the dogmas of the Christian Church have become obso-
lete,— that the human mind has outgrown its restrictions, and
can no longer be controlled by its discipline or instructed by its
counsels? and of what avail is it, by mocking at the sober habits
and simple virtues of a purer age, to prepare society for the
frightful scenes of its own dissolution? Here still are the great
and solemn realities of life, here are the giant evils with which
men have to grapple, and which, in despite of all the levities
and impieties of an c})icurean philosophy, cannot be treated as
idle dreams, the vagrant f^mcies of a distempered mind. And
in the effort to ignore both the mischiefs and the remedy of our
subverted moral condition by the scoffing infidelity and the
specious skepticism of our times, the nation with itW its treasure
has already been brought to the verge of destruction.

Every intelligent man knows it; every honest man confesses
it. And yet the signals of evil omen are not removed. The
spirit that humljlcs a nation before the God of heaven and sup-
plies the conditions of the Divine interposition for our salvation
has been strangely wanting to the people; while men are every-
where found among us who leave no means unused to bring the
religion of our fathers into contempt, and to cut the nation loose
from all her moorings in the ancient faith of martyrs and apos-
tles. The men that do this, whether in the refuse that reeks
from the daily press, or in the more pretentious eloquence of the
forum, or in the more elaborate and finished chaj)tcrs of the pe-

22 IXTEODUCTIO^f.

riodical, or in tlie more prurient and higli-wronglit pages of fic-
tion that curse and corrupt the literature of the day, are the
deadly enemies of the human soul not only in its relations to the
present life, but also in its aspirations for the life to come. They
are likewise the malignant and felonious torch-bearers of infi-
delity, setting the temple of our American greatness on fire,
giving our heritage to the flames, and lighting a mighty people
into the abyss of self-destruction.

AVhoever, therefore, contributes his labor to raise a barrier
against so vast and deplorable a calamity to ourselves and the
world, wdioever lifts his voice like a trumpet in admonition and
warning of the danger, and especially whoever can succeed in
recalling the mind of the nation to the Christian annals of the
republic, in bringing back to the freshly opened fountains of the
early inspiration the weary and exhausted body of the people,
that they may once more be refreshed and strengthened, once
more commune with the great principles, sentiments, achieve-
ments, and characters of former times, and be imbued with a sense
of the value and importance of their recognition and imitation,
will have rendered a noble service, and may justly be regarded
as a public benefactor. For the facts of our past history, inspired
by the faith of the Christian religion, authenticated and sup-
ported as they are by unquestionable proofs, comprise a body of
evidence wdiich no well-res^ulated mind can resist as to the
divinity of the Christian religion itself and the reality of a
superintending Providence over all the afi'airs of men. At the
same time, they serve to acquaint us with the very purest and
loftiest sentiments of the most illustrious men of America in
every generation, and with an unbroken chain of testimony in
regard to the influence of Christianity upon our national destiny
from the beginning until now. And all this appears in con-
nection with the history of most tragic and trying times, and is
put forth in terms of thrilling eloquence, of stirring pathos, and
of startling energy, kindling the soul to the sublimest fervor of
grand and heroic enthusiasm. We shall find in this story of well-
attested occurrences and events all the elements that can move
the human heart to its profoundest depths, — the wise and steady
counsels of the great and good men that adorned the secular
professions and pursuits, — the ringing trumpet-voice of the Chris-
tian ministry ever calling the host to the march or the conflict, —
the beauty and tenderness of woman, roused, amid the- sweetness

INTRODUCTION. 23

and charms of her gentler nature, as by some supernatural im-
pulse, to all the high and lofty aims of truth and liberty, and
imparting everywhere to the breast of manhood a portion of her
own unspeakable endurance and devotion, — the sublime unity of
the Christian faith, in which were joined Catholic and Protestant,
Churchman and Dissenter, clergyman and layman, the members
of all parties and the parties of all creeds, as if animated by one
spirit and glowing with one thought, — the great idea of civil and
religious liberty for all the tribes of men. Surely in these great
outlines of essential unity there is enough to gratify and inspirit
our generation upon the review of the records of those who have
preceded us. It only needs to collect these scattered materials
into one volume of available size and proportions to furnish to the
American people one of the richest and most useful manuals of
political and Christian information ever published in any country.
Such an attempt is made in the present volume, so far as is
known the only work of the kind ever prepared for popular use
and general circulation. The author and compiler, the Eev. B.
F. Morris, a Protestant clergyman, for many years a successful
pastor and preacher of the gospel in the great Valley of the
West, and during the last year a pastor in Washington City,
having mingled largely with all classes of the people and
become extensively "acquainted with many of the leading minds
and most prominent and distinguished men of the nation both
living and dead, and being peculiarly qualified also by extensive
travel and observation throughout our country, and apparently
moved to it by a natural aptitude for such a work and an earnest
desire to serve the cause of Christianity and civil liberty, some
ten years since conceived the idea of collecting from the national
archives, and the various other sources of information in the
country, the important and deeply interesting materials relating
to Christianity in our history which are presented in this
volume. In accomplishing this work he has not sought to express
at length any opinions or speculations of his own, except so far
as to give order, arrangement, and connection to the rich and
copious materials thus brought together. Nor has it boon his
design, as the title of the work might possibly suggest, to give
a complete account of the Christian Church in this country, or
even a compendium of American ecclesiastical or theological his-
tory (which would properly bo a distinct work in itself, and is
held in reserve for some powerful pen of future times), but rather

24 INTRODUCTION.

to show how the spirit of Christianity has entered into the found-
ations and elements of our national existence^ and how it has
affected our civil and political history and given shape and
structure to our institutions, — to exhibit the relations it has borne
to the state and the impulse it has given to the actors in the
great drama of American colonization and independence, the
support it affords to the civil institutions of the American people,
and its general influence upon their fortunes and their destiny.
The conspicuity and moral grandeur of these great lessons are
most powerfully and abundantly illustrated. No man can ponder
them as presented here without discovering that they furnish an
effectual antidote to the skeptical tendencies and moral laxities
of the age, and w^ithout breathing an earnest prayer that all the
people may become familiar with these great memorials of the
past, these solemn and sublime tributes of a mighty nation to
the one inspiring principle of their prosperity and greatness, and
may learn to cherish it with increasing vigilance and care as the
only solid foundation of their present peace or their future hope.
In undertaking a work of this magnitude years ago, how little
could the author have anticipated that the period assigned in
Providence for the consummation of his labor should be one in
which the errors, follies, and sins of the nation have culminated
in the awiul storm that now desolates the land, and at a time
when it may be hoped that the American people, chastened and
sobered through so bitter an experience, will be more disposed
to avail themselves of the opportunity to review the sacred monu-
ments of the past, to mark their departures from the ways of
wisdom, and to return to the only path of safety and of honor !
Had the author been gifted with a foreknowledge of the events
of the past few years, he could scarcely have set himself to per-
form a task more fitting to the exigency of the time or better
adapted to promote the reformation which the present judgments
of God must pjroduce as the only alternative of our sure and
swift destruction. No analysis of the book is here required. It
will speak for itself in thunder-tones. As the common manual
of the people, it should be in the hands of every individual in
all our borders, and, if diligently perused and faithfully im-
proved, who can tell but, under the blessing of God, it may
become the morning star of the mightiest day of national regene-
ration the world has yet beheld ? B. Sunderland.

Washington, D.C, April 16, 18G3.

THE

CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER

OF THE

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES.

CHAPTER I.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES — THEIR CHRISTIAN ORIGIN AND
CHARACTER — STATEMENT OF THE SOURCES OF PROOF OF THIS FACT CHRIS-
TIANITY THE PERVADING ELEMENT — OBJECT OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE
REPUBLIC — SYMBOLS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENTS — CHRISTIAN CONSTITUTIONS

AND STATE PAPERS THE REVOLUTION INSPIRED BY RELIGION — CHRISTIAN

ANNALS OF THE REPUBLIC — CHRISTIAN FAITH OF THE MEN WHO FORMED
OUR CIVIL INSTITUTIONS — DUTY OF AMERICAN CITIZENS TO STUDY THE
CHRISTIAN ORIGIN AND GENIUS OF THEIR CIVIL INSTITUTIONS.

The history and genius of the civil institutions of the United
States must ever be a subject of profound thought and interest
to the American citizen. Their establishment and progress to
completed forms of government, and their influence and fruits
upon thirty millions of people and on the nations of the earth,
constitute a new era in the science of civil government and the
progress of human liberty, and commend them to the reverent
study of the statesman, the patriot, the Christian, and the
citiz'-ii.

The institutions of the North American republic had their
l>irth and baptism from the free inspirations and genius of the
Chri.stian religion. This fact has given to the state its political
power and moral glory, and shed new light on the benign nature
and adaptation of the Christian system to secure the highest
political prosperity to a nalion.

''Christianity is the principal and all-pervading clement,
the deepest and most solid foundation, of all our civil institu-
tions. It is the religion of the people, — the national religion;

25

26 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

but we have neither an established church nor an established
religion. An established church implies a connection between
church and state, and the possession of civil and political as
well as of ecclesiastical and spiritual power by the former.
JSTeither exist in this country; for the people have wisely judged
that religion, as a general rule, is safer in their hands than in
those of rulers. In the United States there is no toleration; for
all enjoy equality in religious freedom, not rs o. privilege granted,
but as a right secured by the fundamental law of our social
compact. Liberty of conscience and freedom of worship are
not chartered immunities, but rights and duties founded on the
constitutional republication of reason and revelation."

The theory and faith of the founders of the civil and political
institutions of the United States practically carried out these
statements. They had no state church or state religion, but
they constituted the Christian religion the underlying founda-
tion and the girding and guiding element of their systems of
civil, political, and social institutions. This proposition will be
confirmed by the following summary of historic fects, which
have an extended record in the various chapters of this volume.

First. The Christian inspirations and purpose of the founders
and fathers of the republic.

It was a popular legend of the ancients, which gave to their
laws, literature, and religion a sacred solemnity and power, that
the founders of empires received immediate inspiration from
the gods, and that their systems of government came from
the responses of the deities Avho presided in their temples of
religion. This myth, in a Christian sense, was a grand and
glorious fact with the wise and skilful workmen who, under
God, created and completed the civil institutions of the United
States.

No claim to special inspiration from heaven is set up for the
fathers of our republic. It would, however, be a violence to
historic truth not to afiirm and admit that they were under
the special and constant guidance of an overruling Providence.
The Bible, as the divine charter of their political rights, as well
as of their hopes of immortality, they reverently studied, and
on it laid the corner-stone of all their compacts and institutions.
The Mosaic system of political jurisprudence, which ''contains
more consummate wisdom and common sense than all the legis-
lators and political writers of the ancient nations," the founders

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 27

of the American republic thoroughly understood, and incor-
porated its free spirit and democratic principles into their
organic institutions.

Secondly. The Christian men who formed our civil institu-
tions were trained and prepared for their work in scenes of
conflict in which the truest ideas of liberty and religion were
developed.

Great ideas, and the forward movements of the ages, have re-
ceived their inspiration and impetus from civil and religious
agitations and revolutions. This fact has its historic analogy
in the conflicts that preceded the planting of a Christian re-
public on the North American continent. ''The whole of the
sixteenth century was a period of active jjrcparation for future
times ; and all that is great in modern science may be said to
have received its foundation in the agitations that grew out of
that period of the world. It forms one of the grandest and
richest eras in human history." Whilst it was an age replete
with the most splendid triumphs in science and literature, it was
pre-eminent, also, for its elaboration and vindication of the
fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty.

The persecutions of the Puritans in England for non-con-
formity, and the religious agitations and conflicts in Germany by
Luther, in Geneva by Calvin, and in Scotland by Knox, were the
preparatory ordeals for qualifying Christian men for the work
of establishins; the civil institutions on the American continent.
"God sifted," in these conflicts, ''a whole nation, that he might
send choice grain over into this wilderness;" and the blood and
persecution of martyrs became the seed of both the church
and the state.

It was in these schools of fiery trial that the founders of the
American republic were educated and prepared for their grand
Christian mission, and in which their faith and characters
became strong and earnest with Christian truth. They were
trained in stormy times, in order to prepare them to elaborate
and cstaVjlisli the fundamental principles of civil and relii;ious
liberty and of just systems of civil government.

Brewster, and Winthrop, and Roger Williams, and IVnn,an(l
George Calvert, and Oglethorpe, and Otis, and Adams, and
JcfTorson, and Washington, with their illustrious co-laborers,
could trace their true political parentage to Pym, and Hamp-
den, and Wickliffe, and Milton, and Cromwell, and to the ages

28 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

in wliicli they vindicated tlie principles of liberty, and sealed,
many of them, their faith by martyrdom.

Thirdly. Thus inspired and prepared, the Christian men of
Puritan times and of the Kevolution presented and developed
the true symbol of civil government.

A nation, in the embodied form and spirit of its institutions,
is the symbol of some one leading idea. This rules its civil
administration, directs its social crystallization, and forms its
political, martial, and moral character.

The Hebrew commonwealth was the symbol of a theocratic
government. Its rituals of religion and liberty maintained the
form and diffused the spirit of freedom and of a true republican
government. Its nationality, growing out of peculiar and local
causes, after ages of historic grandeur, passed away. It was the
first and the last type of a national theocratic republic.

The Eoman empire, in its colossal unity and form, was the
symbol of law, of the stately grandeur of a strong government,
of the reign of military rule and conquest. Its fabled origin,
and the mythical communion of its founder (Numa) with the
divinities, gave a rigid religious cast to its civil and military in-
stitutions and transactions. The science of Eoman jurisprudence
educated the citizens of the empire in the cardinal virtues of
loyalty and patriotism. Religion is a Roman word, signifying
obligation to the government. A PbOman citizen could no more
be disloyal to his country than to the gods. This conviction
gave to the government a religious character, and made it in-
vincible in war and strong in governmental authority and in-
fluence. Cicero, in one of his addresses, refers to the religious
element of the Roman empire in these words : — " However much
we may be disposed to exalt our advantages, it is, nevertheless,
certain that we have been surpassed in population by the
Spaniards, in physical force by the Gauls, in shrewdness and
cunning by Carthage, in the fine arts by Greece, and in mere
native talents by some of our Italian fellow-countrymen ; but in
the single point of attention to religion we have excelled all
other nations, and it is to the favorable influence of this circum-
stance upon the character of the people that I account for our
success in acquiring the political and military ascendency we
now enjoy throughout, the world."

This pervading religious element produced, also, the loftiest
martial enthusiasm in the Roman citizen. '' The attachment of

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 29

the Eoman soldier," says Gibbon, '' was inspired by tbe united
influence of religion and honor." In union with these civil and
martial virtues in Koman citizens, the symbol of their govern-
ment resulted in producing and blending some of the milder
virtues of social and domestic life. Female character was
formed on the most finished models of pagan excellence ;
chastity was a golden virtue; and to educate sons for statesmen
or soldiers was the highest ambition of the most illustrious
ladies of Rome.

The symbol of the Greek republic was the ideal and the
actual of Beauty. "The Greek," says a writer, '^ saw the world
almost only on the side of beauty. His name for if was Kos-
mos, divine order and harmony." This idea, in the mind of
the Greek, was developed in artistic creations, and in the orna-
mental more than the useful. The fine arts — literature, paint-
ing, statuary, music, poetry, and oratory — were the natural and
genial results of the Grecian symbol. It gave to the Greek
religion and government the same ideal features, making the
first a realm peopled with gods, and the second a system of but
little political force or permanency. The Greek democracies
were subject to sudden changes, and were wrecked amid the
wild and tumultuous waves of liberty. ''It was said of the
popular assemblies of Athens that if every Athenian were
a Socrates, still every Athenian assembly would be a mob."
The political and civil institutions of the Greeks accomplished
less, perhaps, for liberty and the rights of man than any other
ancient republic.

The symbol of the British empire, from its earliest history
till the present, was national aggrandizement and selfishness,
originating in the feudal system. The landed estates became
invested in a few, who grew into an aristocracy of wealth, of
social caste, and of political power. The people were reduced
to vassals, and had but few political rights and privileges.
This aristocracy of wealth and of social position converted the
government into a system of political selfishness and of na-
tional aggrandizement, at the expense, often, of international
justice, honor, and right. Commerce, and territorial exi)ansion,
and the perpetuity of its nobility with all their hereditary
privileges, have ever been the leading purposes of the British
government. The prestige and unlimited power of this symbol
of the empire of Great Britain have realized the words of

30 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Webster, who, alluding to the gigantic nationality of the em-
pire, said that she '' had dotted the surface of the whole globe
with her possessions and military posts, whose morning drum-
beats, following the sun, and keeping company with the hours,
circle the earth daily with one continued and unbroken strain
of the martial airs of England,"

The symbol of the French empire is glory. This has ever
been the star of destiny that has ruled the nation and converted
its institutions into a mission of martial glory. The great evil
of this symbol of the French empire was, that it displaced the
moral basis on which every nation must permanently rest.
Atheism, practical and theoretical, has ruled the French em-
pire, and its fatal power has more than once threatened the
very life of the nation. '^ Open the annals of the French nation,"
said Lamartine, '' ?Jid listen to the last words of the political
actors of the drama of our liberty. One would think that God
was eclipsed from the soul, — that his name was unknown in the
language. The republic of these men without a God has been
quickly stranded. The liberty won by so much heroism and so
much genius has not found in France a conscience to shelter it,
a God to avenge it, a people to defend it against the atheism
which is called glory. All ended in a soldier. An atheistic
republic cannot be heroic."

The founders of the Christian republic of ISi'orth America
adopted the symbol of civil and religious liberty as the great
idea and end of all their civil institutions. They had the most
glorious conceptions of the genius of the Christian religion, not
only as a system of spiritual doctrines, but as designed and
adapted to create and carry on the best and freest forms of civil
government. They held to the faith that civil government was
an ordination of God, and that its administration ought to harmo-
nize with the law and will of God as revealed in the Bible. This
great object was kept before the minds of the founders and fathers
of the republic, and their beau-ideal of civil government was
that which was found in the Christian religion. As the fruits
of this symbol, or leading idea and purpose, contrast the
Christian republic of North America with the fruits of ancient
and modern nations.

'' What is the spirit," says Grimke', '' of the civil and political
institutions of America ? Is it not free, magnanimous, and
wise, frank and courteous, generous and just, in a degree far

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 31

surpassing that of ancient Greece? Who would suffer, much
less institute, a comparison between our national government
and the council of Amphictyon, or between our State systems
and the compound of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy
to be found in the Grecian States? As fountains of noble
thoughts and high aspirations after public power, duty, and
happiness, far above the triumphs of antiquity, who does not
look with a virtuous pride, with grateful exultation, on the
Senate of the United States, on the Chamber of National Ee-
presentatives, and on the Supreme Court of the United States?
If the system of the Grecian excelled that of other ancient
states in its fitness to develop intellectual and moral freedom
and power, who will not acknowledge, in the civil and political
institutions of our country, a far superior capacity for the same
ends? What is there in the constitution or administration of
the Greek governments that can fill the soul of a freeman with
such a sense of his own dignity, power, and duty as our written
constitutions, the jury system, and the laws of evidence, the
scheme of representation, the responsibility of rulers, and the
independence of the judiciary ? And what, in the most glorious
age of Greece, was comparable to the genius and past fruits of our
government and country, — so august, magnanimous, and bene-
volent in the eyes of the world, — and to the prospect before
us, not of selfishness, ambition, and violence, at home or abroad,
but of harmony, virtue, wisdom, culture, at home ; abroad, of
duty, of usefulness, and love to all the nations of the earth?"

Fourthly, The Christian religion has a clear and full recog-
nition in the civil constitutions and state papers of the fathers
of the republic.

Official records express the faith and theory of those who
form and administer the civil institutions of a nation. The
fathers and founders of the American republic, being Christian
men and designing to form a Christian republic, would be
expected to imbue their state papers and th(.Mr civil constitu-
tions with the spirit and sentiments of the Christian religion.
This fact is historic in the civil institutions of the country,
and gives to its official documents a Christian feature and
influence which belong only to American constitutions and
American political annals. During the Revolutiun, the States
assumed their separate sovereignties and formed State constitu-
tions. These civil charters, as this work will show, were full

32 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAKACTER OF THE

and explicit in their incorporation of the fundamental doctrines
of the Christian religion, and their constitutions prohibited
men from holding office who did not publicly assent to their
faith in the being of a God, the divinity of the Bible, and in
the distinctive evangelical truths of Christianity.

The state papers of the Continental Congress were also full
of the spirit and sentiments of the Christian system. Under
the great seal of state, official documents were sent out to the
nation and the world which affirmed the ''merits and mediation
of Jesus Christ to obtain forgiveness and pardon for sins," and
prayed ''that pure and undefiled religion may be universally
diffused;" "that vice and irreligion maybe banished, and virtue
and piety established by grace ;" "that the nation may be made
a holy nation, and that the religion of our divine Eedeemer, with
all its benign influences, may cover the earth as the waters do
the sea;" "that God would grant to his Church the plentiful
effusions of divine grace, and pour out his Holy Spirit upon all
ministers of the gospel;" "that he would establish the inde-
pendence of these United States upon the basis of religion and
virtue," and "diffuse and establish habits of sobriety, order,
morality, and piety;" that he would "take under his guardian-
ship all schools and seminaries of learning, and make them
nurseries of virtue and piety, and cause pure religion and
virtue to flourish," and that he would "fill the world with his
glory." All their bills of rights, and remonstrances against the
usurpations of the British government, glowed with the fervid
and impassioned sentiments of liberty and religion, and their
high Christian tone and diction form a rich part of the Chris-
tian political literature of the republic.

Fifthly. The popular utterances of the Christian men who
formed our civil institutions declare the Christian religion to
be the symbol of the republic.

Puritan divines and lawgivers, and the statesmen and patriots
of the Revolution, unite their testimony on this point. They
affirmed, in every form, the indissoluble union of religion and
liberty. They uttered no such political atheism as "liberty first
and religion afterwards;" but, maintaining the divine origin
of both, they constituted their indissoluble union in the system
of civil government which they formed. In the pulpit, before
popular assemblies, in the forums of public justice, before the
tribunes of the people, in the halls of legislation, in the public

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 33

press, — in tracts, essays, books, printed sermons and orations, —
did the men of Puritan and Eevolutionary times utter their
great thoughts, and declare the union of liberty and religion.
A divine enthusiasm glowed in all their popular utterances, that
swept with electric energy through the public mind and con-
science, and which prepared the people for liberty, independ-
ence, and a Christian nationality. This historic fact will be
conclusively established in the present volume.

Sixthly. The revolution for liberty, independence, and consti-
tutional government* had its source in religion, and was the cause
of its energy and final victory.

History, as it records the events of ages, and the progress
of nations to higher conditions of freedom and prosperity
through revolutions, declares that "religion has been the com-
jDanion of liberty in all her conflicts and in all her battles."
The American Revolution adds another grand illustration of
this great historic truth. That splendid victory for liberty
and constitutional governments was not won by numbers, nor
military genius, nor by armies and navies, nor by any com-
bination of human means, but only through liberty intensified
and made heroic through religion. This was the breath of its
life, and carried it sublimely on till victory crowned our arms
and our banners waved over a free republic. It was the inspi-
rations of religion that girded our heroes for war, that guided
our statesmen in civil councils, that fired and filled the hearts
of the people with hope and courage, and gave to all the scenes
of that grand conflict a Christian beauty, power, and glory.

Its influence flowed from every source. The cradle-songs of
childhood ; the home scenes of prayer and piety ; the common
and academic schools of the country ; the Christian colleges
of the republic ; the literature of the age ; the songs of patriot-
ism and religion; the eloquence of the forum and the pulpit;
the councils of civil cabinets and the military camps; public
men and private citizens of all classes, became the medium of
diffusing the religious spirit and power of the Eevolution. This
fact induced Washington to say, " I am sure that there never was
a people who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interpo-
sition in their aflairs than those of tlie United States ; and I
should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency
which was so often manifested during the Kcvolution, or that
they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is

3

34 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

alone able to protect tliem. He must be worse than an infidel
that lacks faith, and more than wicked that has not gratitude
enough to acknowledge his obligations."

Seventhly. The Christian annals of the republic declare that
religion was the ruling influence and moral power of the
republic.

The historic grandeur and moral significance of the civil and
political annals of the American nation consist in their Chris-
tian spirit and declarations.. The inspirations and ideas of civil
and religious liberty which they embody ; "the fundamental and
inalienable rights of human nature which they announce and
defend ; the eternal laws of civil and political science which they
affirm ; the basis of just and orderly organic governments, and the
civil structures which have risen and rest upon it, and which the
annals of the republic present and unfold ; the Christian nation-
ality which they historically declare, and which they have contri-
buted to form; the spirit and language in which the annais of the
nation are written, and which permeate the state papers of the
republic from the Puritan to the Pvevolutionary era, and in some
good degree from the era of the Revolution to the present time ;
the philosophy and language of American history and American
literature, whether poetic, scientific, educational, political, or
religious, — all these constitute the facts and moral glory of the
annals of the nation, and unite in recording and presenting
them in a Christian form and spirit. Divest American annals
of this their grandest and most important feature, and their
value and glory would vanish.

The reverent and careful student of the annals of the Ame-
rican republic will find them imbued with the ''benign, mascu-
line, thoughtful spirit of the Christian religion." This feature
gives them an interest, influence, and importance, a political
and moral pre-eminence, over the annals of every other nation,
whether ancient or modern.

Eighthly. Christian monuments and altars of religion and
liberty.

Nations which are rich in historic grandeur have numerous
memorials whose inspirations and influences aid in the diffusion
of a healthy public sentiment and in the formation of a true
nationality. They educate the people to admire and imitate
the heroic virtues of the men and scenes of moral or martial
glory which the memorials are designed to commemorate and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 35

perpetuate. The custom is coeval with time, and has a divine
sanction. The annals of the Hebrew commonwealth record
the consecration of numerous altars, places, and temples to
religion and liberty. These were the symbols of theii' faith,
and from them flowed beneficent and copious influences to form
the intense religious nationality of that remarkable people, and
to mould all their institutions. It was a divine injunction, as
well as a work of piety and patriotism, for the Hebrew people
to ''walk about Zion, and go round about; tell the towers
thereof; mark well her bulwarks; consider her palaces ;" that
they might tell it to future generations that " this God was our
God."

The annals of American piety and patriotism have many
similar memorials, A republic, the outgrowth of the Christian
religion, whose history glows with the manifest presence and
providences of God, and whose freedom is baptized with the
sufl'erings and blood of martyred patriots and saints, would
hallow many memorials of historic associations and grandeur.
The American republic is rich in the monuments of piety and
patriotism, and their influences and associations have had, and
continue to have, the highest historic value and instruction for
every American citizen, and are fraught with some of the
noblest and purest lessons of religion and liberty. Their genial
and inspiring power has been difi'usive and beneficent in in-
fusing fresher love for our civil institutions, and deepening and
strengthening that intense enthusiasm for our freedom and free
institutions which is characteristic of every loyal American.
American history, in the Christian and patriotic scenes, achieve-
ments, and men which it records, is peculiarly grand and rich
in this element and influence of our national sentiment and
power. The altars of religion, the monuments of nature and
art, the scenes of martial and moral glory, the halls of consti-
tutional freedom, and the temples of legislation and organized
civil governments, around all of which cluster memorable asso-
ciations and glowing inspirations, are eminently worthy of
record, and should bo reverently studied by every ])atriot
and Christian.

Ninthly. The Christian faith and character, personal and
political, of most of the men who originated and constructed our
civil institutions, aSirm the presiding genius and jtowor of the
Cliristian religion.

36 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Sacred history, and the institutions which it unfolds, have their
life and glory from the good and great men whom the providence
and Spirit of God raised up and qualified for their varied and im-
portant missions. " In nothing does the superiority of the Bible
over all other books appear more manifest than in its graphic
and inimitable delineations of human character. From first to
last it opens to our view, besides poets and orators, a magnificent
succession of living characters, — kings and statesmen, heroes
and patriarchs, prophets and apostles," who constituted the
glory of the age and nation in which they acted, and whose
character and influence are a rich part of the political and
moral wealth of the world.

The American republic, like the Hebrew commonwealth, has
its chief glory from the good and great men who have adorned
its civic and Christian history, and were the active agents in
building up the organic forms of the social and political life of
the republic. The Puritans, and the men of colonial history,
were stalwart, noble Christian men. The men antecedent to
and actors in the eventful drama of the Eevolution were, most
of them, men whose minds were illuminated by divine influ-
ences, and whose characters and lives bore the superscription
and the image of Christ. All were not public professors of the
Christian religion, but almost all acknowledged its divinity and
necessity to the existence, w^elfare, and stability of the state.
Their Christian faith and characters not only constitute the
enduring glory of our republic, but are also the sources of the
Christian features of our civil institutions.

The true and lasting fame of the American nation — its poli-
tical and moral glory — consists in the eminent and illustrious
characters which have, in each successive age of the republic,
adorned the state and directed its political destinies. Trained
in a Christian school and formed under Christian influences, and
deriving their ideas of civil and religious liberty from the
Bible, their practical faith led them to adopt it as the rule of
life and to consult it as the source of their civil and political
views and principles, as well as of their religious belief and
hopes. The monument of these men of Puritan and Revolu-
tionary times is in the great Christian ideas and truths they
elaborated and incorporated into the civil institutions of the
nation, and in the Christian virtues, public and private, which
they bore as the fruits of their Christian faith.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF TEE UNITED STATES. 37

The leaders of our Revolution were men of wliom the simple
truth is the highest praise. They were singularly sagacious,
sober, thoughtful, wise. Lord Chatham spoke only the truth
when he- said to Franklin of the men who composed the first
Colonial Congress, " The Congress is the most honorable assem-
bly of statesmen since those of the ancient Greeks and E-omans
in the most virtuous times. They were most of them profound
scholars, and studied the history of mankind that they might
know men. They were so familiar with the lives and thoughts
of the Avisest and best minds of the past, that a classic aroma
hangs about their writings and their speeches ; and they were
profoundly convinced of what statesmen know and mere poli-
ticians never perceive, — that ideas are the life of a people, —
that the conscience, not the pocket, is the real citadel of a
nation."

''Events," says a living American divine, ''march in the
train and keep step to the music of that divine Logos which
was, and is, and is to come. In order to act the right part in
them, and in order to understand them when they do come to
pass, our intelligence must be in vital sympathy with that of
their invisible Author and Arbiter. The divine purpose which
is forcing its way into existence, and preparing for itself a local
liabitation and a name, must be reproduced in our own con-
sciousness and embodied in our own life. This is the only way
for men to become coworkers with the Most Hiojh in executing:
his sovereign behests.

" This is the ancient method by which from age to age mighty
nations, and all the elect spirits of the race, have comprehended
their heaven-appointed missions, fulfilled their tasks, and ren-
dered themselves illustrious in human annals. This is the
secret of that sacred enthusiasm which transformed Eastern
ehepherils and nomads of the desert into venerable patriarchs,
seers, warriors, and kings, which changed fishermen into apos-
tles and evangelists, and which is able still to bless the world
with heroes, saints, and martyrs.

" It is the prevalence of some divine idea in the soul, actuating
the whole being and illuminating the path of life. Let a man
grasp, in honest conviction, a real thought of God, and spend
his days in striving to realize it, and he is on the highway to
glory, honor, and immortality. Let a whole people gnisp, in
honest conviction, some sacred cause, some principle of im-

38 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

mor-tal justice, and consecrate themselves to tlie work of vindi-
cating that cause and enthroning that principle, and we have
the grandest spectacle ever witnessed on earth."

The grandeur of such a spectacle was seen in the faith and
purpose of the fathers and founders of the American republic.
These men, as well as the people, did grasp a great and " real
thought of God," and devoted themselves to its glorious realiza-
tion ; and the result was the vindication of eternal right and jus-
tice, and the creation and establishment of civil institutions in
conformity to the principles and teachings of the Christian
religion. It is in the light of this great historic fact that the
faith and labors of the Puritans and the men of the Revolution
are to be read and studied.

This summary of the Christian facts and principles which
belong to the history, formation, and progress of the civil
institutions of the American republic impresses the patriotic and
pious duty of giving diligent attention and study to the annals
of our nation and the origin and genius of our institutions.

The ancient republics regarded it as a high political necessity
and duty to educate their citizens into the history and spirit of
their peculiar institutions. '^The young men of the Roman em-
pire," says Gibbon, ''were so devoted to the study of the genius
and structure of Roman law and government, that the cele-
brated Institutes of Justinian were addressed to the youth of
his dominion who had devoted themselves to the science of
Roman jurisprudence, and they had assurances from the reign-
ing emperor that their skill and ability would in time be
rewarded by an adequate share in the government of the re-
public."

" The Greek citizen," says Grimke, " was subjected, from the
cradle to the grave, to the full, undivided, never-varying in-
fluence of the peculiar institutions of his own country. The
spirit of those institutions was forever living and moving around
him, — was constantly acting upon him at home and abroad, in
the family, at the school, in the temple, on national occasions.
That spirit was unceasingly speaking to his eye and ear ; it was
his very breath of life ; his soul was its habitation, till the
battle-field or the sea, banishment, the dungeon, or the hem-
lock, stripped him equally of his country and his life."

If these duties were so faithfully discharged by the people of
the ancient republics, how much higher and more important

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 39

that the American people should know the history and nature
of the civil institutions of their Christian republic, and live
under their constant and full power, and thus be qualified to
discharge with fidelity and conscientiousness all the duties of an
American citizen !

'^ Be assured," says Grimke (changing a word of the passage),
"if the American citizen rightly comprehends the genius of
Christianity, the spirit of our institutions, the character of the
age in which he lives, he must be deeply imbued with the
benign, masculine, thoughtful spirit of religion. Let me com-
mend to the profound study of every American citizen the
institutions of their country, and the noble illustrations of them
to be found in the writings of our historians and statesmen,
judges, orators, scholars, and divines. Let me commend to
their reverence, gratitude, and imitation the character of
Washington, the noblest personification of patriotic duty, dig-
nity, and usefulness that men ever have seen. Let me com-
mend to them to enter with a deep seriousness, yet with a
glowing enthusiasm, into the spirit of their institutions and of
the age in which they live."

Nothing would have a happier influence on the public men
and politics of our day, nothing raise, expand, and purify
them, nothing would so exalt their conceptions and aims, or give
them higher significance or greater weight, than a thorough and
candid study of the Christian faith, characters, and actions of
the great and good men who founded our civil institutions and
watched over their history and development.

This duty, if faithfully discharged, would unfold the divine
source of our civilization and system of civil government, give
a higher appreciation of the inheritance received from our
fathers, and a firmer purpose to preserve and transmit them,
unimpaired, in their original purity and glory, to future ages
and generations.

This study would impress the fact stated by Sir William
Jones, a great English jurist, who said, with great truth and
beauty, that "we live in the midst of blessings till wo are
utterly insensible of their greatness and of the source from
whence they flow. We speak of our civilization, our arts, our
freedom, our laws, and forget entirely how large a share is duo
to Christianity. Blot Christianity out of the pages of man 'a
history, and what would his laws have been ? what his civili-

4:0 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

zation ? Christianity is mixed up witli our very being and our
daily life; there is not a familiar object around us which does
not wear a different aspect because the life of Christian love is
on it, — not a law which does not owe its gentleness to Chris-
tianity,— not a custom which cannot be traced, in all its holy?
healthful parts, to the gospel."

CHAPTER II.

GOD IX HISTORY TIEWS OF DIVIXE PROTIDEXCE BY VARIOUS AUTHORS SETTLE-

JIEXT OF THE AMERICAN CONTINENT DISCOVERED BY COLUMBUS FIRST ERA

OF COLONIZATION — PREPARATORY MEANS OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY RELI-
GIOUS ACTS AND CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS HIS FORMAL CONSECRATION OF

THE CONTINENT TO CHRIST HIS WILL — WEBSTER's VIEW OF C0LU3IBUS.

God in human history is the key that solves the problem of
human destiny and sheds a true and satisfactory light on the
pathway and progress of nations.' "In history," says D'Aubi-
gn6, '' God should be acknowledged and proclaimed. The his-
tory of the world should be set as the annals of the govern-
ment of the Sovereign of the universe. God is ever present on
that vast theatre where successive generations of men and
nations struggle. The history of the world, instead of present-
ing a confused chaos, appears as a majestic temple, in which the
invisible hand of God himself is at work, and which rises to his
glory above the rock of humanity.

" Shall we not recognize the hand of God in those grand
manifestations, those great men, those mighty nations which
arise and start as it were from the dust of the earch, and
communicate a new form and destiny to the human race?
Shall we not acknowledge him in those great heroes who
spring from society at appointed epochs, — wdio display a
strength and an activity beyond the ordinary limits of human-
ity, and around whom, as around a superior and mysterious
power, nations and individuals gladly gather? And do not
those great revolutions which hurl kings from their thrones
and precipitate whole nations to the dust, — do they not all
declare aloud a God in history ? Who, if not God ? What a
startling fact, that men brought up amid the elevated ideas

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 41

of Christianity regard as mere superstition tliat divine inter-
ventijon in liiiman affairs which the very heathen have uni-
versally admitted !"

That great scholar and Christian philosopher of Germany,
the Chevalier Bunsen, says, in his " Philosophy of Human His-
tory," " The noblest nations have ever believed in an immutable
moral order of the world, constituted by divine wisdom and
regulating the destinies of mankind. The truly philosophical
historian must believe that there is an eternal order in the
government of the world, to which all might and power are to
become and do become subservient; that truth, justice, wisdom,
and moderation are sure to triumph ; and that when the con-
trary appears to be the case, the fault lies in our mistaking the
middle for the end. There must be a solution for every com-
plication, as certainly as a dissonance cannot form the conclu-
sion of a musical composition. In other words," says Bunsen,
''the philosopher who will understand and interpret history
must believe that God, not accident, governs the world."

'' The principles that govern human affairs," says Bancroft,
"extending like a path of light from century to century, become
the highest demonstration of the superintending providence of
God. Universal history does but seek to relate the sum of all
God's works of providence. The wheels of providence are not
turned about by blind chance, but they are full of eyes round
about, and they are all guided by the Spirit of God." '' Provi-
dence is the light of history, and the soul of the world. God is
in history, and all history has a unity because God is in it."

No era in human history is more signally and sublimely
marked with the manifest providence and presence of God than
that of the discovery and Christian colonization of the North
American continent.

In 1402, Columbus hailed the opening of .the New "World
with a song of praise, and by a solemn act of prayer conse-
crated it to God. In 1408, six years later, Cabot, an English
navigator, discovered Newfoundland, and sailed along the coasts
of the American continent. Columbus and Cabot were both
Eoman Catholics, and made their discoveries under the auspices
of Fonlinand of Spain and Henry VIII. of England, wlio were
Roman Catholic sovereigns. It was more than a hundred years
subsequent that any serious attempts were made to colonize the
countries discovered by the Spanish and English navigators.

42 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

^' The intervening century," says a writer, " was in many
respects the most important period of the world ; certainly the
most important in modern times. More marked and decided
changes, affecting science, religion, and liberty, occurred in that
period than had occurred in centuries before; and all these
changes were just such as to determine the Christian character
of this country.

'' Meantime, God held this vast land in reserve, as the great
field on which the experiment was to be made in favor of civil
and religious liberty. He suffered not the foot of Spaniard,
or Portuguese, or Frenchman, or Englishman, to come upon
it, until the changes had been wrought in Europe which
would make it certain that it would always be a land of reli-
gious freedom. The changes then wrought, the advances then
made, related to science and the arts, to religion, to the princi-
ples of liberty. The whole of the sixteenth century was a
period of active preparation for future times, and all that is
great in modern science and art may be said to have received
its foundation in the agitations that grew out of that period
of the world. The twelve decades, from 1480 to 1600, form
one of the grandest and richest eras in the history of humanity.
It was in that period that the foundation of our liberty was
laid, — in that period that it became sure that this w^ould be
a land of civil and religious freedom, England during all
that time was a great laboratory in which these principles
were brought out ; and from the views which prevailed at the
time of Henry VIL, and which had prevailed for ages, it
required one whole century to advance the world to that
position which was maintained by Pym and Hampden and
Milton, and was seen in the principles of Winthrop, and
Eobinson, and Brewster, of George Calvert, of Pvoger Williams,
and of William Penn. Scarcely any thing has occurred in his-
tory which is more remarkable or which has been more certainly
indicative of the designs of Providence."

'' Columbus came," says Irving, '' as a religious man, an admi-
ral of Christ, to find the continent, not for its material trea-
sures, but because it held souls which he wished to bring as a
trophy tojthe feet of Christ."

'' A deep religious feeling mingled with his meditations and
gave them at times a tinge of superstition, but it was of a
Bublime and lofty kind. He looked upon himself as being in

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 43

the hand of Heaven, chosen from among men for the accom-
plishment of its high purpose; he read, as he* supposed, his
contemplated discoveries foretold in the mystic revelations of
the prophets. The ends of the earth were to be brought toge-
ther, and all nations and. tongues and languages united under
the banner of the Eedeemer. This was to be the triumphant
consummation of his enterprise, bringing the unknown regions
of the earth into communion with Christian Europe, — carry-
ing the light of the true faith into benighted and pagan
lands, and gathering their countless nations under the holy
dominion of the Church. One of his principal objects was
undoubtedly the propagation of the Christian faith. Columbus
now considered himself about to effect this great work, — to
spread the light of revelation to the very ends of the earth,
and thus to be the instrument of accomplishing one of the
sublime predictions of Holy Writ.

" Whenever he made any great discovery, he celebrated it by
solemn thanks to God. The voice of prayer and melody of
praise rose from his ship when they first beheld the New World,
and his first act on landing was to prostrate himself upon the
earth and return thanksgiving. All his great enterprises were
undertaken in the name of the Holy Trinity, and he partook
of the communion before his embarkation. His conduct was
characterized by the grandeur of his views and the magna-
nimity of his spirit. Instead of scouring the newly-found
countries, like a grasping adventurer, eager only for imme-
diate gain, as was too general with contemporaneous disco-
verers, he sought to ascertain their soil and productions, their
rivers and harbors : he was desirous of colonizing and culti-
vating them, conciliating and civilizing the natives, intro-
ducing the useful arts, subjecting every thing to the control
of law, order, and religion, and thus of founding regular and
prosperous empires." In his will Columbus enjoins on his son
i-'iego, or whoever might inherit after him, "to spare no pains
in having and maintaining in the island of Hispaniola four good
professors of theology, to the end and aim of their studying and
laboring to convert to our holy faith the inhabitanis of tho
Indias; and, in proportion as by God's will tho revonuo of the
estate shall increase, in tho same degree shall tho number of
teachers and devout persons increase, who are to strive to make
Christians of the natives."

44 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

" The grecat epitapli," said Webster, '' commemorative of the
character and the worth, the discoveries and the glory, of
Oolurabus, was that he had given a new world to the crowns
of Castile and Aragon. This is a great mistake. It does not
come up to all the great merits of Columbus. He gave the
territory of the Southern hemisphere to the crowns of Castile
and Aragon ; but, as a place for the plantation of colonies, as a
place for the habitation of men, a place to which laws and reli-
gion, and manners and science, were to be transferred, as a
place where the creatures of God should multiply and fill the
earth under friendly skies and with religious hearts, he gave it
to the whole world, he gave it to universal man ! From this
seminal principle, and from a handful, a hundred saints, blessed
of God and ever honored of men, landed on the shores of Ply-
mouth and elsewhere along the coast, united with the settle-
ment of Jamestown, has sprung this great people."

CHAPTER III.

PURITAN SETTLEMENT — ORIGINATES IN RELIGIOUS MOTIVES — PREVIOUS AGES
PREPARATORY — PILGRIMS EMIGRATE TO HOLLAND — MOTIVES FOR LEAVING
ENGLAND — WEBSTER's VIEW OF THE EMBARKATION — SOJOURN IN HOLLAND —
EMIGRATION TO THE NEW WORLD — FAREWELL SCENES — ROBINSON, THE PASTOR
HIS FAREWELL WORDS — ARRIVAL AT PLYMOUTH ROCK — CHRISTIAN CONSE-
CRATION OF THE CONTINENT MRS. SIGOURNEY's POETRY ON THE PILGRIMS

MACAULAy's view OF THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER OF THE PILGRIMS — THEIR
OWN DECLARATIONS — WEBSTER's REMARK.

The Puritan settlement on the American continent, around
which cluster the grandest associations and results, dates from
the 22d of December, 1620, one hundred and twenty-eight
years after a Christian navigator had greeted the New World
with a song of praise, and consecrated it to Christ in prayer.
The motives that began this memorable era in American his-
tory were intensely religious. It opened a new chapter in the
progress of events and in the history of colonizing countries.
Hitherto, conquest, ambition, worldly glory, had often marked
the settlement of newly discovered territory. God now

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 45

changes the scene, and, for the first time in the history of
the world, the colonization of a new and great continent begins
from the purest and profoundest religious convictions and
principles.

Previous ages had been preparatory to this new and import-
ant Christian era. Europe had been shaken and sifted by the
conflicts of the Reformation. In England, Christian ideas and
the principles of a purer and freer Christianity had, through
Wickliffe's translation of the Bible, been generally diffused, and
that book was the forerunner of comins? revolutions. There
was, in the providence of God, a peculiar fitness in the times to
train and prepare Christian men for the great work of laying
the foimdation of a Christian empire in a new continent. They
lived in an age of superior light, in which literature, philosophy,
and the arts and sciences had enlightened and elevated the
English nation; they were educated in schools of learning
where the word of God had enthroned its power and diffused
its light, and which created in their souls a longing desire for
the simple forms of worship ; their Christian faith was tried and
strengthened in the furnace of persecution, in which it grew
bolder for truth and freedom. Under such influences were the
Puritan men educated and prepared for their Christian mission
on the American continent. Their labors, as future ages showed,
received the crownino; and abundant blessinaj of God.

Under the convictions of a strong Christian faith, the Puri-
tans, in 1G08, bade farewell to England, where they had been
persecuted for their pure faith and simple forms of Christian
worship, and emigrated to Holland, where they hoped to find a
permanent asylum. The love of country, the ties of home and
kindred, the prospect of suffering, trials, and unnumbered pri-
vations, did not deter them from this Christian enterprise; —
" For their desires ivere set on the loays of God, and to enjoy his
ordinances. But they rested on his providence, and knew ivhom
they had believed.''

"The embnrkation of the Pilgrims for Holland," says Web-
ster, "is deeply interesting from its circumstances, and also as
a mark of the character of the times, independently of its con-
nection with names now incorporated with the history of em-
pires. Theirs was not the flight of guilt, but virtue. It was
an humble and peaceable religion flying from causeless oppres-
Bion. It was conscience attempting to escape from the arbitrary

46 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEE OF THE

rule of the Stuarts. It was Eobinson and Brewster leading off
their little band from their native soil, at first to find a shelter
on the shores of a neighboring continent, but ultimately to
come hither, and, having surmounted all difiiculties and braved
a thousand dangers, to find here a place of refuge and rest.
Thanks be to God that this spot was honored as the asylum of
religious liberty ! May its standard, reared here, remain forever !
May it rise as high as heaven, till its banner shall fan the air
of both continents, and wave as a glorious ensign of peace and
prosperity to the nations!"

After remaining in Holland twelve years, the Puritans re-
solved to seek rest and enlargement, and fulfil their Christian
mission, by emigrating to the Xorth American continent.

They had, as they affirmed, ''a great hope and inward zeal of
laying some good foundation, or at least to make some way there-
unto, for the propagating and advancing of the kingdom of Christ
unto those remote parts of the world ; yea, though they should
be but as stepping-stones unto others for performing so great a
work."

The farewell scenes are described by Governor Bradford, of
the colony, as follows : — 'SSo, being ready to depart, they had a
day of solemn humiliation with their pastor, — taking his text
from Ezra the 8th, 21, ^ I 'prodahned a fast there, at the river
Ahava, that we relight afflict ourselves before God, and seek of
him a right way for our little ones o.nd our substance;' upon
which he spent a part of the day profitably, and very suitably
to their present occasion. The rest of the time was spent in
pouring out their prayers to the Lord with great fervency, mixed
with abundance of tears. And the time being come when they
must depart, they were accompanied with most of their brethren
out of the city unto a town sundry miles off", called Delft Haven,
where the ship lay ready to receive them. So they left that
good and pleasant city,, which had been their resting-place near
twelve years. But they knew they were Pilgrims, and looked
not much on those things, but lifted up their eyes to heaven,
their dearest country, and so quieted their spirits. When they
came to the ship, and all things ready, and such of their friends
as could not come with them followed after them, and sundry
also came from Amsterdam to see them shipped and to take
their leave of them.

''Little sleep was there to most of them that night. Friendly

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 47

entertainment, Christian discourse, and expressions of deep
affection in parting," held their eyes waking. ''Never," says
Winslow, "I persuade myself, never people on earth lived more
lovingly together, and parted more sweetly, than we, the church
of Leyden," ''seeking, not rashly, but deliberately, the mind
of God in prayer, and finding his gracious presence with us,
and his blessing upon us."

The next day, — July 22, 1620, — the wind being fair, they
went on board, and their friends with them ; "when truly doleful
was the sight of that sad and mournful parting; to see what
sighs, and sobs, and prayers, did sound amongst them; what
tears did gush from every eye, and pithy speeches pierced each
other's heart; — that sundry of the Dutch strangers that stood on
the quay as spectators could not refrain from tears. Yet comfort-
able and sweet it was to see such lively and true expressions of
dear and unfeigned love. But the tide, which stays for no man,
calling them away that were thus loth to depart, their reverend
pastor, falling down upon his knees, and they all with him, with
watered cheeks commended them with most fervent prayers to
the Lord and his blessing; and then, with mutual embraces and
many tears, they took leave of one another, which proved their
last leave to many of them."

Before they sailed, on the deck of the ship, their pastor —
John Eobinson — gave them the following farewell charge: —
"Brethren, we are now quickly to part from one another; and
whether I ever live to see your faces on earth any more, the God
of heaven only knows ; but whether the Lord has appointed that
or no, I charge you, before God and his blessed angels, that you
follow me no further than you have seen me follow the Lord
Jesus Christ. If God reveals any thing to you by any other
instrument of his, l)e as ready to receive it as ever you were to
receive any truth by my ministry, for I am verily persuaded
the Lord has more truth yet to break forth from his Holy Word.
I charge you to take heed what you receive as truth ; examine
it, consider it, and compare it with the scri})tures of truth before
you receive it."

The farewell scenes closed, they set sail for the shores of the
New World. "That eml)arkation," says Choate, "speaks to the
nation as with the voices and melodies of an immortal hymn,
which dihites and becomes actualized into the auspicious going
forth of a colony whose j)lanting lias chang-nl the history of the

48 CHPJSTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

world, — a noble colony of devoted Christians, — educated, firm
men, valiant soldiers, and honorable women, — a colony on the
commencement of whose heroic enterprise the selectest in-
fluences of religion seemed to be descending visibly, and beyond
whose perilous path was hung the rainbow and the western star
of empire."

'^The Mayflower sought our shores," says "Webster, '^ under
no high-wrought spirit of commercial adventure, no love of
gold, no mixture of purpose warlike or hostile to any human
being. Like the dove from the ark, she had put forth only to
find rest. Solemn supplications on the shore of the sea in
Holland had invoked for her, at her departure, the blessings of
Providence. The stars which guided her were the unobscured
constellations of civil and religious liberty. Her deck was the
altar of the living God. Fervent prayers on bended knees
mingled morning and evening with the voices of the ocean and
the sighing of the winds in her shrouds. Every prosperous
breeze, which, gently filling her sails, helped the Pilgrims on-
ward in their course, awoke new anthems of praise ; and when
the elements were wrought into fury, neither the tempest, toss-
ing their fragile bark like a feather, nor the darkness and
howling of the midnight storm, ever disturbed, in man or
woman, the firm and settled purpose of their souls to undergo
all and to do all that the meekest patience, the boldest resolu-
tion, and the highest trust in God could enable human beings
to endure or to perform.

'' That Mayflower was. a flower destined to be of perpetual
bloom ! Its verdure will stand the sultry blasts of summer
and the chilling winds of autumn. It will defy winter ; it will
defy all climate, and all time, and will continue to spread its
petals to the world, and to exhale an ever-living odor and fra-
grance to the last syllable of recorded time."

On the 16th of September, 1620, they set sail from South-
ampton, and, after a stormy and perilous voyage, they fell in
with land on the American coast on the 9th of November,
''the which being made and certainly known to be it, they were
not a little joyful. On their voyage they would set apart whole
days of fasting and prayer, to obtain from heaven a good success
in their voyage, especially when the weather was much against
them, whereunto they had remarkable answers ; so much so

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 49

tliat the sailor3 were astonisliecl, and said tliey were the first
sea-fasts ever held in the world."

On the 22d of December, 1620, the Puritans, one hundred
and one in number, landed from the Mayflower, and planted
their feet on the Eock of Plymouth, and began a new era in
the history of the world. The day and the rock became canon-
ized in American history, and emblems of the grandest Chris-
tian ideas and associations. The first act of the Puritans, after
landing, was to kneel down and ofi'er their thanksgiving to God,
and by a solemn act of prayer, and in the name and for the
sake of Christ, to take possession of the continent. They thus
repeated the Christian consecration which Columbus, more than
a century before, had given to the Xew AVorld, and so twice in
the most formal and solemn manner was it devoted to Christ
and Christian civilization. The seed thus planted bore an
abundant harvest of Christian fruits, which have blessed the
nation and enriched the world. How significant and sublime
the lessons that gather round and flow from Plymouth Eock !
How does it speak for God and of God ! How grandly does it
proclaim the Christian faith and fruits of those great and good
men who, in prayer and faith, planted a Christian empire in the
New World, and started a Christian nation on a noble career of
progress and greatness !

" And can ye deem it strange
That from tlieir jjlanting such a branch should bloom
As nations envy ? Should a germ embalm'd
With prayer's pure tear-drops strike no deeper root
Than that which mad Ambition's hand doth strew
Upon the winds to reap the winds again ?
Hid by its veil of waters from the hand
Of greedy Europe, their bold vine sjDread forth
In giant strength.

" Its early clusters, crush'd
In England's winn-press, gave the tyrant host
A draught of deadly wine. 0 ye who boast
In your free veins the blood of sires like these.
Lose not their lineaments. Should Mammon cling
Too close around your heart, — or wealth beget
That bloated luxury which eats the core
From manly virtue, — or the tempting world
Make faint the Christian purpose in your soul, —
Turn ye to Plymouth's l)each ; and, on that rock.
Kneel in their footprints, and renew the vow
They brcatlied to God." Mrs. Sigourxet.

50 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

The Christian life and character of the Puritans have the
following description from the pen of England's historian,
Macaulay : —

^' The Puritans were men whose minds derived a peculiar
character from the daily contemplation of superior beings and
eternal interests. Not content with acknowledging in general
terms an overruling Providence, they habitually ascribed every
event to that great Being for whose power nothing was too
vast, for whose inspection nothing was too minute. To know
him, to serve him, to enjoy him, was with them the great end
of existence. They rejected with contempt the ceremonious
homage which other sects substituted for the 'worship of the
soul. Instead of catching occasional glimpses of the Deity
through an obscuring veil, they aspired to gaze full on the
intolerable brightness, and to commune with him face to face.
Hence originated their contempt for terrestrial distinctions.
The difference between the greatest and meanest of mankind
seemed to vanish when compared with the boundless interval
which separated the whole race from Him on whom their own
eyes were constantly fixed.

''They recognized no title to superiority but God s favor; and,
confident of that favor, they despised all the accomplishments
and all the dignities of the world. If they were unacquainted
with the works of philosophers and poets, they were deeply
read in the oracles of God. If their names were not found in
the registers of heralds, they felt assured that they were re-
corded in the book of life. Their palaces were houses not made
with hands ; their diadems, crowns of glory which should not fade
away. On the rich and the eloquent, on nobles and priests, they
looked down with (comparative) contempt ; for they esteemed
themselves rich in more precious treasures, and eloquent in a
more sublime language; nobles by the right of an earlier creation,
and priests by the imposition of a mightier hand. The very
meanest of them was a being to whose fate a mysterious and
terrible importance belonged, — on whose slightest action the
spirits of light and darkness looked with anxious interest, — who
had been destined, before heaven and earth were created, to
enjoy a felicity when heaven and earth should pass away. For
his sake the Almighty had proclaimed his will by the pen of
the evangelist and the harp of the prophet. He had been
rescued by no common deliverer from the grasp of no common

CIVIL INSTITUTION'S OF THE UNITED STATES. 51

foe. He had been ransomed by the sweat of no vulgar agony,
by the blood of no earthly sacrifice. It was for him the sun
had been darkened, that the rocks had been rent, that the dead
had arisen, that all nature had shuddered at the sufferings of
an expiring God.

'' Thus the Puritan was made of two different men : the one
all self-abasement, penitence, gratitude, passion ; the other,
stern, calm, inflexible, sagacious. He prostrated himself in the
dust before his Maker, but set his foot on the neck of his king.
In his devotional retirement, he prayed with groans and tears ;
but when he took his seat in the council, or girt on his sword
for war, these workings of the soul had left no perceptible
trace behind them. The intensity of their feelings on one
subject m.ade them tranquil on all others."

This description, in substance, corresponds wdth what the
New England Puritans say of themselves. '^ We give our-
selves," say they, '^ to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the word of
his grace, for the teaching, ruling, and sanctifying of us, in
matters of worship and conversation ; resolving to cleave unto
him alone for life and glory, and to reject all contrary w^ays,
canons, and constitutions of men in his v/orship."

"Our fathers," says Webster, "had that religious sentiment,
that trust in Providence, that determination to do right, and to
seek, through every degree of toil and suffering, the honor of God,
and the preservation of their liberties, which we shall do well to
cherish, to imitate, to equal, to the utmost of our ability."

CHAPTER IV.

CURISTTAN BIGNlFTCANCn OF THE PI'IIITAN SETTLEMENT — CIVIL GOVEnNMENT

INSTITUTED IN THE MAYFLOWER THE CHARTER VIEWS OF BANCROFT AN»

OTHERS — SYNOD OF NEW ENGLAND CHURCHES — DEFINE CIVIL GOVERNMENT —
CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND, BY MATHER —
CHARTERS EXI'RKSS CHRISTIAN OliJECTS OF THE SETTLEMENT — WKHSTKR'h
VIEWS OF THE CIVIL GOVEnNMENT OF THE PURITANS CHOATE's VIEW — BAN-
CROFT'S VIEW OF Calvin's influence.

The noblest significance of the Puritan settlement of the
North American continent consists in its Christian origin and aim.
As the design of Columbus was to "subject every thing to law,

52 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

order, and religion," so the Puritans began practically to exe-
cute this great work. Their first act was to institute a form
of civil government in conformity with the revealed will of
God, and under whose benign legislation they were to enjoy all
the rights and privileges of civil and religious freedom. The
form of government was instituted in the cabin of the May-
flower, before they landed on Plymouth Rock, and signed and
ratified under the solemnity of prayer and the most sacred
sanctions of the Christian religion. That charter of a godly
government is as follows : —

'^ In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are under-
w^ritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign lord. King
James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ire-
land, defender of the faith, &c., having undertaken, for the
glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor
of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony on
the northern part of Virginia, do, by these presents, solemnly
and mutually, in the presence of God and one another, covenant
and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our
better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends
aforesaid ; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame
stich just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and
offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and
convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we
promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof,
we have hereunto subscribed our names, at Cape Cod, the 11th
of November, in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord,
King James, of England, France, and Ireland the eighteenth,
and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini 1620."

^' This Constitution," said Webster, ''invokes a religious sanc-
tion and the authority of God on their civil obligations ; for it
was no doctrine of the Puritans that civil obedience is a mere
matter of expediency."

''This," says Bancroft, " was the birth of constitutional liberty.
In the cabin of the Mayflower humanity recovered its rights,
and instituted governments on the basis of equal rights, for the
general good. As the Pilgrims landed, their institutions
were already perfected. Democratic liberty and independent
Christian worship at once existed in America."

"The compact of the Puritans," said John Quincy Adams,
"is a full demonstration that the nature of civil governments,

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOXS OF THE UNITED STATES. 53

abstracted from the political institutions of tlieir native countr^^,
had been an object of their serious meditation."

''Thou little Mayflower," said Carlyle, "hadst in thee a veri-
table Promethean spark, the life-spark of the largest nation on
our earth ! Honor to the brave and true ! They verily carry
fire from heaven, and have a power that themselves dream not
of. Let all men honor Puritanism, since God has honored it."

'' This compact was the first in the world," says Hall, the his-
torian of the Puritans, ''entered into by freemen, preserving
the liberties of each, and guaranteeing to all equal privileges
and rights. It was the germ of the first true republic on earth.
The great idea, so novel, so startling to the world, so directly
opposed to the divine right of kings and prelates, under whose
sway the world had so long groaned in bondage, — the great idea
of such a republic, as founded in the nature and inalienable
rights of man, the Pilgrims derived from the gospel scheme of
a Christian church. For this stupendous discovery, which is
now so simple that we wonder it could ever have been overlooked,
we are wholly indebted to the diligent search which the Puri-
tans made into the great principles of the rights of conscience,
and into the true scriptural model of a Christian church."
The charter of freedom formed in the Mayflower is a solemn,
dignified, republican state paper, worthy of the founders of a
free Christian republic. " Good authorities have pronounced
it to have been the germ of American Constitutions." " It con-
tained," says Pitkin, " the elements of those forms of govern-
ment peculiar to the New World."

The synod of the New England churches met at Cambridge,
Massachusetts, September 30, 1648, and defined the nature of
civil government, the functions of the civil magistrate, and the
duties of the citizens, as follows : —

" I. God, the Supreme Lord and King of all the world, hath
ordained civil magistrates to be under him, over the people, and
for his own glory and the public good ; and to this end hath
armed them with the power of the sword for the defence and
encouragement of them that do well, and for the punishment of
evil-doers.

" 11. It is lawful for Christians to accept and execute the office
of magistrate when called thereunto. In the management
whereof, as they ought especially to maintain i»ioty, justice, and
peace, according to the wholesome laws of each Commonwealth,

54 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

SO for that end tliey may lawfully now, under the New Testa-
ment, Avage war upon just and necessar}^ occasions.

'^ III. They who, upon pretence of Christian liberty, shall oppose
any lawful power, or the lawful exercises of it, resist the ordi-
nances of God ; and for their publishing such opinions or maintain-
ing of such practices as are contrary to the light of nature, or the
known principles of Christianity, or to the power of godliness,
or such erroneous opinions and practices as either in their own
nature, or in the manner of publishing or maintaining them, are
destructive to the external p^eace and order which Christ hath
established in the church, they may be called to account and
proceeded against by the censure of the church and by the
power of the civil magistrate ; yet in such differences about the
doctrines of the gospel, or the ways of the worship of God, as
may befall men exercising a good conscience, manifesting it in
their conversation, and holding the foundation and duly observ-
ing the rules of peace and order, there is no warrant in the
magistrate to abridge them of their liberty.

^' IV. It is the duty of the people to pray for magistrates, to
lienor their persons, to pay them tribute and other dues, to obey
their lawful commands, and to be subject to their authority for
conscience's sake. Infidelity or indifi'erence does not make void
the magistrate's just and legal authority, nor free the people
from their due obedience to him. From which ecclesiastical per-
sons are not exempted ; much less has the Pope any powder or
jurisdiction over them in their dominions, or over any of their
people ; and least of all to deprive them of their dominions and
lives, if he shall judge them to be heretics, or upon other pre-
text whatsoever."

Civil government on the basis of the Bible and the free prin-
ciples of a pure Christianity w^as not the only object that the
Puritans had in view in coming to the ISlew World. They had
also the great and good end of extending and establishing the
kingdom of Christ, and of bringing the whole continent under
the reign of Christianity and filling it with its saving blessings.
Hence a grand part' of the mission of the Puritans was to
christianize and civilize the native Indians, who w^ere the sole
possessors of the North American continent.

Cotton Mather, in his work on New England, makes the
following statements as to the motives and reasons that moved
the Puritans to come to the New World : —

CIVIL IXSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 55

" The God of lieaven served, as it were, a summons upon the
spirits of his people in the English nation, stirring up the spirits
of thousands which never saw the faces of each other, with a
most unanimous inclination to leave the pleasant accommoda-
tions of their native country, and go over a terrible ocean into
a more terrible desert, for the pure enjoyment of all his ordi-
nances. It is now fit that the reasons of this undertaking
should be more exactly made known unto posterity ; especially
unto the posterity of those who were the undertakers, lest they
come at length to forget and neglect the true interests of New
England. Wherefore I shall transcribe some of them from a
manuscript wherein they were tendered unto consideration.

"GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE PLANTATION OF NEW

ENGLAND.

"First. It will be a service unto the church of great conse-
quence, to carry the gospel into those parts of the world and
raise a bulwark against the kingdom of Antichrist, which the
Jesuits labor to rear up in all parts of the world.

"' Secondly. All other churches of Europe have been brought
under desolations ; and it may be feared that the like judgments
are coming upon us ; and who knows but God has provided this
place to be a refuge for many whom he means to save out of the
general destruction?

" Thirdly. The land grows weary of her inhabitants, inasmuch
that man, which is the most precious of all creatures, is here
(in Europe) more vile and base than the earth he treads upon.
Children, neighbors, and friends, especially the poor, arc counted
the greatest burdens ; which, if things were right, would, be
counted the chiefest of earthly blessings.

" Fourthly. We are grown to that intemperance in all excess
of riot, as no mean establishment will suffice a man to keep sail
with his equals, and he that fails in it must live in scorn and
contempt. Hence it comes to pass that all arts and trades are
carried in that deceitful manner and unrighteous course, as it is
almost impossible for a good, upright man to maintain his con-
stant charge and live comfortably in them.

'Fiftlily. The schools of learning and religion arc so corrupted
as (beside the unsupportablc charge of education) most children,
even the best, wittiest, and of the fairest hopes, arc perverted,

56 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

corrupted, and utterly overtlirowu by the multitudes of evil
examples and licentious behavior in these seminaries.

^' Sixthly. The whole earth is the Lord's garden, and he hath
given it to the sons of Adam, to be tilled and improved by them :
why then should we stand starving here for places of habitation,
and in the mean time suffer whole countries, as profitable for the
use of man, to be waste without improvement?

'^ Seventhly. What can be a better and nobler work, and more
worthy of a Christian, than to erect and support a reformed
particular church in its infancy, and unite our forces with such
a company of faithful people, as by timely assistance may grow
stronger and prosper, but for want of it may be put to great
hazards, if not wholly ruined?

^' Eighthly. If any such as are known to be godly, and live
in wealth and prosperity here, shall forsake all this to join
w^th this reformed church, and with it run the hazard of a
hard and mean condition, it will be an example of great use,
both for removing of scandal and to give more life unto the
faith of God's people in their prayers for the plantation, and
also to encourage others to join the more Avillingly in it."

In 1629, an Emigrant Aid Society was formed in England to
promote the more rapid settlement of the North American
Colonies; and in the instructions to John Endicott, who was to
conduct the emigration, it is declared that the purpose is '' for
propagating of the gospel in these things we do profess above
ALL to be our ayme in settling this phmtacion."

In 1643, a confederation between the colonies of Massa-
chusetts, New Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven was
formed, in which it is affirmed that '' wee all came into these
parts of America with the same end and ayme, namely, to
advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to enjoy the
liberties thereof with puritie and peace, and for preserving and
propagating the truth and liberties of the gospel."

In the charter granted to Massachusetts, in 1610, by Charles L,
the Colonies are enjoined by '' their good life and orderly con-
versation to winne and invite the natives of the country to the
knowledge of the only true God and Saviour of mankind, and
the Christian faith which, in our royal intention and the adven-
turer's free possession, is the principal end of this plantation."

In 165g, John Eliot, pastor of Roxbury, Massachusetts, and
afterwards a devoted and distinguished missionary, completed

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 57

the translation of the entire Bible, including the Old and New
Testaments, for the use of the Indians. This fact having been
communicated to the corporation established in London for the
propagation of the gospel among the Indians of New England,
that body declared, that '^wee conceive" (the printing of the
work) " will not only be acceptable unto God, but very profht-
able to the poor heathen, and will much tend to the promotion
of the sperituall part of this worke amongst them. And there-
fore wee offer it not only as our owne, but as the judgment
of others, that the New Testament bee first printed in the
Indian lans-uaoje."

o o

The New Testament was, accordingly, printed at Cambridge,
Massachusetts, in 1660; and its preface contained the follov/-
ing ^' Epistle Dedicatory :" —

To the High and Mighty PRINCE, CHARLES the Second, by
the Grace of God KING of England, Scotland, France, and
Ireland, Defender of the faith, &c. The Commissioners of
the Vnited Colonies in New England wish increase of all

happiness, &c.

''The people of these four colonies (confederate for mutual
defence in the time of the late distractions of our dear native
country), your Majestie's natural born subjects, by the Favor
and Grant of Your Royal Father and Grandfather of Famous
Memory, put themselves upon this great and hazardous under-
taking, of planting themselves at their own Charge in these
remote ends of the Earth, that, without offence or provocation
to our dear Brethren and Countrymen, we might enjoy the
liberty to Worship God, which our own Consciences informed
us was not only Right, but Duty; As also that we might (if it
so pleased God) be instrumental to spread the light of the
Gospel, the knowledge of the Son of God our Saviour, to tlio
poor barbarous Heathen, which by His kite Majesty, in S')mo
of our patents, is declared to be His principal aim.

"Our Errand hither hath been Endeavours and Blessings;
many of the wild Indiana being taught, and uinlerstanding
the Doctrine of the Christian Reliccion, and with much afloction
attending Such Preachers as are sent to teacli th(Mn. ^fany
of their Children are instructed to Write and Reade, and some
of tliem have proceeded further, to attain the knowledge of the

5S CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Latiiie and Greek tongues, and are brouglit up with our English
youth in University-learning. There are divers of them that
can and do reade some parts of the Scripture, and some Cate-
chisms, which was formerly Translated into their own Lan-
guage, which hath occasioned the undertaking of a greater
Work, viz. : The Printing of the whole Bible, which (being
Translated by a painful Labourer [Eliot] amongst them, who
was desirous to see the Work accomplished in his dayes) hath
already proceeded to the finishing of the New Testament, which
we here humbly present to Your Majesty, as the first fruits and
accomplishment of the Pious Design of your Poyal Ancestors.

"And we do most humbly beseech your Majesty, that a
matter of so much Devotion and Piety, tending so much to the
Honour of God, may Suffer no disappointment. As this Book
was begun, and now finished, in the first year of your Establish-
ment; which doth not only presage the happy success of your
Highness' Government, but will be a perpetual Monument, that,
by your Majestie's Favour, the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ was first made known to the Lidians."

'' Our ancestors," said Webster, " established their system of
government on morality and religious sentiment. Moral habits,
they believed, cannot be safely trusted on any other foundation
than religious principles, nor any government be secure which
is not supported by moral habits. Living under the heavenly
light of revelation, they hoped to find all the social dispositions,
all the duties which men owe to each other and to society,
enforced and performed. Whatever makes good men makes
good citizens. Our fathers came here to enjoy their religion
free and unmolested; and, at the end of two centuries, there is
nothing of wdiich we can express a more deep and earnest con-
viction than of the inestimable importance of that religion to
man, in regard to this life, and that which is to come. Let us
not forget the rehgious character of our origin. Our fathers
were brought hither by their high veneration of the Christian
religion. They journeyed by its light and labored in its hope.
They sought to incorporate it with the elements of their society,
and to diffuse its influences through all their institutions, — civil,
political, social, and educational. Let us cherish their senti-
ments, and extend their influence still more and more, until the
full conviction that that is the happiest society which partakes

CIVIL II^^STITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 59

in the highest degree of the mild and peaceful spirit of Chris-
tianity." A set of men more conscientious in their doings,
or simpler in their manners, or nobler in their character, or
purer in their life and doctrines, never founded a common-
wealth.

''There was," says Choate, "one influence on the history
of the Puritans, whose permanent and varied effects on its doc-
trines and destiny is among the most striking in the whole
history of opinion, I mean its contact with the republican
reforms of the continent, and particularly those of Geneva. I
ascribe to the five years of Geneva an influence that has
changed the condition of the world. I seem to myself to trace
to it, as an influence on the English race, a new theology, a
new politics, another tone of character, the opening of another
era of time and liberty. I seem to myself to trace to it a
portion, at least, of the great civil war of England, the repub-
lican constitution framed in the cabin of the Mayflower, the
divinity of Jonathan Edwards, the battle of Bunker Hill, and
the independence of America."

Preferring to the same influence, Bancroft says that '' the
a;eniu3 of Calvin infused enduring elements into the institu-
tions of Geneva, and made it, for the modern world, the im-
pregnable fortress of popular liberty, the fertile seed-plot of
democracy. He that will not honor the memory and respect
the influence of Calvin knows but little of the origin of Ame-
rican liberty."

"Of the Puritans it may be said," remarks Judge Story, "with
as much truth as of any men that have ever lived, that they
acted up to their principles, and followed them out with an un-
faltering firmness. They displayed jlt all times a downright
honesty of heart and purpose. In simplicity of life, in godly
sincerity, in temperance, in humility, and in patience, as well as
in zeal, they seemed to belong to the apostolical age. Their wis-
dom, while it looked on this world, reached far beyond it in its
aim and objects. They valued earthly pursuits no farther than
they were consistent with religion. Amidst the temj)t;ition3 of
human grandeur, they stood unmoved, unshaken, unsoiluoed.
Their scruples of conscience, if they sometimes betrayed them
into difficulties, never betrayed them into voluntary sin. They
possessed a moral courage which looked present dangers in the
face as though they were distant and doubtful, seeking no

60 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

escape, and indulging no terror. When, in defence of tlieir faith,
of what they deemed pure and undefiled religion, we see them
resign their property, their preferments, their friends, and their
homes ; wdien we see them submitting to banishment and igno-
miny, and even to death ; when we see them in foreign lands, on
inhospitable shores, in the midst of sickness and famine, in
desolation and disaster, still true to themselves, still confident
in God's providence, still submissive to his chastisements, still
thankful for his blessings, still ready to exclaim, in the language
of Scripture, ' We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed ;
we are perplexed, but not in despair ; persecuted, but not for-
saken ; cast down, but not destroyed ;' when we see such things,
where is the man whose soul does not melt Avithin him at the
sight ? Where shall examples be sought or found, more fully
to point out what Christianity is and what it ought to accom-
plish?

''What better origin could we desire than from men of cha-
racters like these ? men to whom conscience was every thing, and
worldly prosperity nothing ; men whose thoughts belonged to
eternity rather than to time ; men who, in the near prospect of
their sacrifices, could say, as our forefathers did say, ' When we
are in our graves, it will be all one whether we have lived in
plenty or in penury, whether we have died in a bed of down,
or locks of straw. Only this is the advantage of the mean con-
dition, THAT THERE IS MORE FREEDOM TO DIE, and the lesS COm-

fort any have in the things of this world, the more liberty they
have to lay up treasures in heaven.' Men who, in answer to
the objections urged by the anxiety of friendship, that they
might perish by the way, or by hunger, or the sword, could an-
swer, as our forefathers clid, 'We may trust God's providence
for these things ; either lie will keep these evils from us, or will
dispose of them for our good, and enable us to bear them.'
Men who, in still later days, in their appeal for protection to the
throne, could say with pathetic truth and simplicity, as our iore-
fathers did, 'That we might enjoy divine worship, without human
mixtures, without offence to God, man, our own consciences, with
leave, hut not without tears, we departed from our country,
kindred, and fathers' houses, into this Patmos, in relation where-
unto we do not say, ''our garments are become old by reason of
the very long journey," but that ourselves, who came away in our

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 61

strengtli, are, by reason of our long absence^ many of us become
gray-headed, and some of us stooping for age.'

^'If these be not the sentiments of lofty virtue, if they breathe
not the genuine spirit of Christianity, if they speak not high
approaches towards moral perfection, if they possess not an
enduring sublimity, then indeed have I illy read the human
heart ; then indeed have I strangely mistaken the inspirations of
religion."

CHAPTER V.

CHRISTIAN COLONIZATION OF THE A^ARIOUS COLONIES THEIR VIEWS OF CIVIL

LIBERTY — THEIR LOCAL GOVERNMENT MASSACHUSETTS COLONY FORMS OF

CIVIL GOVERNMENT CHRISTIANITY THE SOUL OF THEIR CIVIL SYSTEMS

COLONY OF CONNECTICUT — GOVERNMENT INSTITUTED BY THE CHURCH — WIN-

THROP — Bancroft's picture of the colony — rhode island colony —

ROGER WILLIAMS — CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF RHODE ISLAND NEW HAMPSHIRE

COLONY — PICTURE OF THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES — ITS CHRISTIAN BEAUTY
AND INTEREST.

''The discovery of America," said Webster, "its colonization
by the nations of Europe, the history and progress of the colo-
nies, from their establishment to the time when the principal
of them threw off their allegiance to the respective states by
which they had been planted, and founded governments of their
own, constitutes one of the most interesting portions of the
annals of man. The Reformation of Luther broke out, kindling
up the minds of men afresh, leading to new habits of thought,
and awakening in individuals energies before unknown even to
themselves. The religious controversies of this period changed
society as well as religion." All the colonies, educated under the
genius of Christianity and indoctrinated into the knowledge of
the principles of just civil governments, laid the basis of their
civil systems on the Bible, and made its truths the corner-stone
of all their institutions. - The fundamental doctrine of the men
who phmted each colony was, that the legislation of the Bible
must be supreme and universal. Tliey rejected as heretical the
idea that civil governuK^nts could be rightly instituted, or wisuly
administered, without Christianity. Hence their institutions
and their civilization bi^gan under the auspices of Heaven, and

62 CHPJSTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

at once assumed tlie form of Christian order, and rose into
Christian symmetry and completeness ; their local democracies, in
township, county, and colony, became the nurseries of freedom,
and schools of science and art in civil government, and in which
each independent colony was in process of preparation for
W(5rking out the grand results of freedom, and the establishment
of a Christian nation on the American continent.

" Our fathers broup^ht with them from Eno;land not merelv a
vague spirit of personal liberty, but certain ideas of the method
of liberty in civil life. Taking the germ from certain Saxon
institutions in England, they gave to it in the colonies a de-
velopment which it had never had in the mother-country. The
tovjnshiiD in Nev/ England and the churches were the germs and
prototypes of the sovereignty of states. It is De Tocqueville who
says that the institutions of America are but the unfolding and
larger application of the forms and principles of the townships
of New England. New England townships are yet the purest,
if not the only, specimens of absolute democracy in the world.
The New England method was to reserve to the individual
every right possible, consistently with the good of his neighbor ;
to retain in the town every particle of authority possible, con-
sistently with the welfare of the state, and to yield to the Great
and General Court, as the legislature was named, and to the
executive, only such powers as were necessary for the welfare
of the Avhole commonwealth. Thus the colonial governments
were broad at the base. Authority was restricted to a few
things at the top, but grew in breadth as it came near to the
people. This was not an accident. It was the studious effort
of sturdy and wise men to keep for the individual just as much
personal liberty as was consistent with an equal liberty in all
bis fellows."

''The settlement of New England," says Trumbull, "purely
for the purposes of religion and the propagation of civil and
religious liberty, is an event which has no parallel in the his-
tory of modern ages. The piety, self-denial, suffering, patience,
perseverance, and magnanimity of the first settlers of the coun-
try are without a rival. The happy and extensive conse-
quences of the settlements which they made, and of the senti-
ments which they were careful to propagate to their posterity,
to the Church, and to the world, admit of no description. They

CIVIL INSTITUTIOXS OF THE UNITED STATES. 63

are still increasing, spreading wider and wider, and appear
more and more impyrtant."

Massachusetts,
As an independent colony, was the first and most memorable
of the Puritan family. Its Christian history and bold enun-
ciation and vindication of the pure doctrines of Christianity, and
their incorporation into forms of civil government and social
life, is one of the most remarkable and instructive chapters in
the Christian history of the world.

Charles 11. reascended the throne of England in 1660, when
the New England colonies had largely increased in population,
prosperity, and political power. Grown strong in Christian
faith, and in a fervent love for liberty, the people of Massachu-
setts enjoyed too much freedom for the despotic feelings and
principles of the king. Hence, on the restoration of Charles IL,
they feared that their freedom would be abridged and their
rights taken from them. The people of the commonwealth sent
to the kins; a formal and a frank address. It was full of Chris-
tian sentiment and faith, and declared their purpose to submit
to the G^overnment of the kino; in all thinQ;s not conflictino; with
their duties to the King of kings.

They prayed for the continuance of civil and religious liber-
ties. ''Your servants are true men, fearing God and the king.
We could not live without the public worship of God ; and that
we, therefore, might enjoy divine worship, without human
mixtures, we, not without tears, departed from our country,
kindred, and fathers' houses. To enjoy our liberty, and to
walk according to the faith and order of the gospel, was the
cause of our transporting ourselves, our wives, our little ones,
and our substance, choosing the pure Christian worship, with a
good conscience, in this remote wilderness, rather than tlie
pleasures of England with submission to the impositions of the
hierarchy, to which we could not yield without an evil con-
science."

These professions of good faith and loyalty failed to secure
the favor of Charles IL lie demanded a surrender of their
charter, and with it tlieir independence as a free Christian
commonwealth. The remonstrances against these usurpations
are suggestive memorialsof their Christian faith and firmness, and
a vindication of the axiom that "resistance to tyrants is obedi-

64 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OP THE

ence to God." In tlieir address to Charles IL, 1664, they
declare that they were ''resolved to act for the glory of God,
and for the felicities of his people ;" and that, ''having now above
thirty years enjoyed the privilege of government within them-
selves, as their undoubted right in the sight of God and man,
to be governed by rulers of our own choosing, and laws of cur
own, is the fundamental privilege of our charter."

This contest was a time of trial and of danger to their civil
liberties, and they said their hope was in God alone. A dnj of
fasting and humiliation was appointed, and the peoplQ pros-
trated themselves in humiliation and prayer before God, and
implored his interposition. The civil court, wLen convened for
the administration of business, spent a por'oion of each day in
prayer, — six elders praying, and a minister preaching a sermon.
"We must," said they, "as well consider God's displeasure as
the king's, the interests of ourselves and of God's things, as
his majesty's prerogative; for our liberties are of concernment,
and to be regarded as to preservation."

"Religion," says Bancroftg "had been the motive of settle-
ment; religion was now its counsellor. The fervors of the
most ardent devotion w^e'/o kindled ; a more than usually
solemn form of religious observance was adopted ; a synod of
all the churches in Massachusetts was convened to inquire into
the causes of the dangers to New England liberty, and the mode
of removing the evils." " Submission," said they, "would be an
offence against the majesty of Heaven. Blind obedience to the
pleasure of the king cannot be without great sin, and incurring
the high displeasure of the King of kings. Submission would
be contrary unto that which has been the unanimous advice of
the ministers, given after a solemn day of prayer. The minis-
ters of God in New England have more of the spirit of John the
Baptist in them, than now, when a storm hath overtaken them,
to be reeds shaken with the wind. The priests were to be the
first that set their foot in the water, and there to stand till the
danger be past. Of all men, they should be an example to the
Lord's people, of faith, courage, and constancy.

"The civil liberties of New England are part of the inherit-
ance of their fathers; and shall we give that inheritance away?
Is it objected that we shall be exposed to great suffering ?
Better suffer than sin. It is better to trust the God of our
fathers than to put confidence in princes. If we suffer because

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 65

we dare not comply with the wills of men, against the will of
Grod, we suffer in a good cause, and shall be accounted martyrs
in the next generation and at the great day."

These w^ere the noble utterances of Christian men and legis-
lators, and display the nature of the principles which governed
them in times of trial. They stood firm to their Christian
faith and civil rights, and demonstrated the inseparable union
between Christianity and civil liberty. These principles, main-
tained with such Christian heroism, were reproduced in the
scenes of the Kevolution, and contributed to the creation of a
new and independent empire.

This Christian commonwealth declared that those ^'who
should go about to subvert and destroy the Christian faith and
religion by broaching and maintainiDg damnable heresies, as
denying the immortality of the soul or the resurrection of the
body, or denying that Christ gave himself a ransom for oui-
sins, or shall deny the morality of the 4th Commandment, or
shall deny the ordinance of the civil magistrate, shall be ban-
ished."

"Were a council," said Wise, in 1669, "called of all the
learned heads of the whole universe, could they dictate better
laws and advise better measures for the acquirement of learn-
ing, the increase of virtue and good religion, than are in the
royal province of Massachusetts? If we take a survey of the
whole land, we shall find religion placed in the body politic as
the soul in the body natural. That is, the whole soul is in the
whole body while it is in every part."

Connecticut

Unfolds, in its Christian colonization and civil institutions, the
benign and beautiful fruits of the Christian religion. The ain\
of the crown and of the colonists in planting Connecticut wa,H
U) establish and extend the reign of the Christian religion.
For this purpose, the General Assembly of the Colony were
instructed to govern the people "so as their good life and
orderly conversation may win and invite the natives of th^'
country to the knowledge and obedience of the only true God
and Saviour of mankind, and the Christian faith; which, in our
royal intentions and the adventurer's free possession, is the only
and principal end of this plantation."
The first organization of civil society and government waJi

66 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE, OF THE

made, in 1G39, at Quinipiack, now the beautiful city of New
Haven. The emigrants, men of distinguished piety and ability,
met in a large barn, on the 4th of June, 1639, and, in a very
formal and solemn manner, proceeded to lay the foundations of
their civil and religious polity.

The subject was introduced by a sermon from Mr. Daven-
port, the pastor, from the words of Solomon, "Wisdom hath
builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars." After
a solemn invocation to Almighty God, he proceeded to repre-
sent to the Plantation that they were met to consult respecting
the setting up of civil government according to the will of God,
and for the nomination of persons who, by universal consent,
were in all respects the best qualified for the foundation-work
of a church. He enlarged on the great importance of thorough
action, and exhorted every man to give his vote in the fear of
God. A constitution was formed, which was characterized as
" the first example of a written constitution; as a distinct organic
act, constituting a government and defining its powers." The
preamble and resolutions connected with its formation are as
follows : —

" FoEASMUCH as it hath pleased the Almighty God, by the
wise disposition of his divine providence, so to order and dispose
of things that we, the inhabitants of Windsor, Hartford, and
Wethersfield, are now cohabiting and dwelling in and upon the
river of Connecticut, and the lands thereunto adjoining, and
well knowing where a people are gathered together the word
of God requireth that, to maintain the peace and union of
such a people, there should be an orderly and decent govern-
ment established according to God, to order and dispose of the
affairs of the people at all seasons as occasion should require;
do, therefore, associate and conjoin ourselves to be as one public
State or Commonwealth, and do enter into combination and
confederation to maintain and preserve the liberty and purity
of the gospel of our Loed Jesus, which we now profess, as also
the discipline of the churches, which, according to the truth of
said gospel, is now practised amongst us; as also in our civil
affairs to be guided and governed according to such Iriws, rules,
orders, and decrees as shall be made.

''I. That the Scriptures hold forth a perfect rule for the
direction and government of all men in all duties which they

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OP THE UNITED STATES. 67

are to perform to God and men, as well in families and com-
monwealths as in matters of the church.

'' II. That as in matters which concerned the gathering and
ordering of a church, so likewise in all public offices which
concern civil order, — as the choice of magistrates and officers,
making and repealing laws, dividing allotments of inheritance,
and all things of like nature, — they would all be governed by
those rules w^hich the Scripture held forth to them.

^' III. That all those v^ho had desired to be received free
planters had settled in the plantation with a purpose, reso-
lution, and desire that they might be admitted into church
fellowship according to Christ.

" IV. That all the free planters held themselves bound to
establish such civil order as might best conduce to the securing
of the purity and peace of the ordinance to themselves, and
their posterity according to God."

"When these resolutions had been passed, and the people had
bound themselves to settle civil government according to the
divine word, Mr. Davenport proceeded to state what men they
must choose for civil rulers according to the divine word, and
that they might most effectually secure to themselves and their
posterity a just, free, and peaceable government. After a full
discussion, it was unanimously determined —

^'V. That church members only should be free burgesses;
and that they only should choose magistrates among themselves,
to have power of transacting all the public civil affairs of the
plantation, of making and repealing laws, dividing inheritances,
deciding of differences that may arise, and doing all things and
businesses of a like nature."

That civil officers might be chosen and government proceed
according to these resolutions, it was necessary that a church
.•should be formed. Without this there could be neither free-
men nor magistrates. Accordingly, in the most formal and
solemn manner, a church was formed, with its proper officers.
After this, those who constituted the church elected Thcophilus
ICaton govern6r of the civil commonwealth, and others to the
offices of magistrates, secretary, and marshal.

The governor was then charged by the Kev. Mr. Davenport,
in the most solemn manner, as to his duties, from Deut. i. IG, 17:
— "And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear llu
(\ausc3 between your brethren, and judge righteously between

68 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

every man and liis brother, and tlie stranger that is with him.
Ye shall not respect persons in judgment, but ye shall hear the
small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face
of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too
hard for you, bring it unto me, and I w^ill hear it."

The General Court, established under this constitution,
ordered, —

" That God's word should be the only rule for ordering the
affairs of government in this commonwealth."

In 1662, Winthrop, whose father had been Governor of
Massachusetts Colony, obtained from Charles II. a charter for
the colony of Connecticut, which gave the largest civil liberty
to the colonists, and contained the great American doctrine of
popular sovereignty. "Winthrop was a truly godly magistrate,
combining learning, piety, and practical wisdom with superior
administrative talents. He was for fourteen consecutive years
governor of the colony.

'' Eeligion," says Bancroft, '^ united with the pursuits of agri-
culture to give to the land the aspect of salubrity ; religious know-
ledge was carried to the highest degree of refinement, alike in its
application to moral duties, and to the mysterious questions on
the nature of God, of liberty, and of the soul. Civil freedom was
safe under the shelter of a masculine morality, and beggary
and crime could not thrive in the midst of the severest manners.
The government was in honest and upright hands ; the state
was content with virtue and single-mindedness; and the public
welfare never suffered at the hands of plain men." Under this
Christian government '^Connecticut was long the happiest state
in the world." " The contentment of Connecticut was full to
the brim. In a public proclamation, under the great seal of the
colony, it told the world that its days, under the charter, were
the 'halcyon days of peace.' "

*' In an age," says Trumbull, "when the light of freedom was
but just dawning, the illustrious men of the colony of Con-
necticut, by voluntary compact, formed one of the most free and
happy constitutions of government which mankind have ever
adopted. Connecticut has ever been distinguished by the free
spirit of its government, the mildness of its laws, and the
general diffusion of knowledge among all classes of its inhabit-
ants. They have been no less distinguished for their industry,
economy, purity of manners, prosperity, and spirit of enter-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OP THE UNITED STATES. 69

prise. For more than a century and a lialf tliey have had no
rival as to the steadiness of their government, their internal
peace and harmony, their love and high enjoyment of domestic,
civil, and religious order and happiness. They have ever stood
among the most illuminated, fervent, and boldest defenders of
the civil and religious rights of mankind."

Ehode Island

Became a distinct colony in 1662, by the grant of a charter
from Charles II. This charter gave the utmost Christian lib-
erty in the exercise of the rights of conscience in religion.

The object of colonizing Ehode Island is thus expressed in
the charter : — '^ The colonists are to pursue with peace and loyal
minds their sober, serious, and religious intentions of godly
edifying themselves and one another in the holy Christian faith
and worship, together with the gaining over the conversion of
the poor ignorant Indians to the sincere profession and obedience
of the same faith and worship."

Eoger Williams, a Baptist minister, and among the first emi-
grants to the colony of Massachusetts, was the founder of the
Ehode Island Colony. Having seen and felt the evils of an
intolerant spirit in matters of religion, he obtained a charter
that granted freedom in religious matters to all denominations.
''No person," declared the charter, "within the said colony, at
any time hereafter, shall be in any wise molested or punished,
disquieted or called in question, for any difference in opinion in
matters of religion ; every person may at all times freely and
fully enjoy his own judgment and conscience in matters of reli-
gious concernments." This organic law was confirmed by the
first legislative Assembly declaring, in 1665, that ''liberty to
all persons as to the worship of God had been a principle main-
tained in the colony from the very beginning thereof; and it
was much in their hearts to preserve the same liberty forever."
In 1680 the same fundamental law was re-enacted : — " We leavo
every man to walk as God persuades his heart : all our peoplo
enjoy freedom of conscience."

** Eoger Williams,'* says Bancroft, ''asserted the great doc-
trine of intellectual liberty. It became his glory to found a
Ftate u})on that principle, and to stam}) himself upon its rising
institutions so deeply that the impress can never bo erased with-
out the total destruction of the work. ID' was tlio first person

70 . CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTES OF THE

in modern Christen clom to assert in its plenitude the doctrine
of the liberty of conscience, the equality of opinions before the
law ; and in its defence it was the harbinger of Milton, the
precursor and the superior of Jeremy Taylor. Williams would
permit persecutions of no opinion, of no religion, leaving heresy
unharmed by law, and orthodoxy unprotected by the terrors
of penal statutes." He had the honor of enunciating that fun-
damental principle of the Bible and of American institutions,
" that the civil power has no jurisdiction over the conscience,"
a doctrine which, Bancroft says, '^ secures him an immortality
of fame, as its application has given religious peace to the Ame-
rican Avorld."

The colony thus founded on a Christian basis enjoyed a Chris-
tian democracy, and this original charter of civil and religious
liberty continued as the organic government of Khode Island
till 1842, '' the oldest constituted charter in the world. No-
where in the world were life, liberty, and property safer than in
Khode Island."

"Rhode Island," says Arnold, in his history of that common-
wealth, "was a State whose founders had been doubly tried in
the purifying fire; a State which more than any other has
exerted, by the weight of its example, an influence to shape the
political ideas of the present day, whose moral power has been
in the inverse ratio with its material importance ; of which an
eminent historian of the United States has said, that, had its
territory ' corresponded to the importance and singularity of
the principles of its early existence, the world would have been
filled with wonder at the phenomena of its history.'"

New Hampshire,
In 1679, was separated from Massachusetts and organized as an
independent province. The colonists, having been so long a
part of the Christian commonwealth of Massachusetts, consti-
tuted their institutions on the same Christian basis. Its legisla-
ture was Christian, and the colony greatly prospered and in-
creased in population. It nourished a class of Christian men
who loved liberty, and vrho have ever exerted a prominent in-
fluence on the civil and religious interests of the American
nation.

January 1, 1680, a royal decree declared New Hampshire
an independent province ; and the policy of the king was to

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 71

smooth the way to an unjust and an unconstitutional govern-
ment. The colonists, in their remonstrances, declared that the
policy '' struck liberty out of existence, by denying them the
choice of their own rulers ; and they viewed the loss of liberty
as a precursor to an invasion of their prosperity." A civil as-
sembly was convened, and a solemn public fast proclaimed and
observed to propitiate the favor of Heaven, and the continuance
of their "precious and pleasant things."

In an address to the king, the colonists of New Hampshire
say, "that your petitioners' predecessors removed themselves,
and some of us, into this remote region and howling wilderness,
in pursuance of the glorious cause proposed, viz. : The glory of
God, the enlarging of his majesty's dominions, and spreading the
gospel among the heathen."

The influence and results of the Christian constitutions and
governments of New England are stated by Eev. John Wise,
in a work on the Government of the New England Churches, as
follows : —

"1. Legislative power (that civil omnipotence) is doing very
great things for religion, by their proclamations, and all penal
laws enacted for the crushing of immorality and vice, and all
their wise and exact precepts for the support of justice and piety.
They' are opening many civil channels, whereby they are con-
veying judgment, justice, and righteousness down our streets
from the great fountain. Nay, this great and dread assembly
puts awe upon all mankind. And the more daring and despe-
rate are kept within compass, from a sense of this most terrible
seat of thunder hanging over their heads, and upon every affront
ready to break in strokes of vengeance and woes upon them,
especially if they grow beyond the reach of common law.

"2. The executive power, or ministers of the law, are like a
standing camp to awe, and a flying army to beat off, the enemy :
they have their spies and scouts out in every quarter to observe
his motions and break his measures, namely, in the innumerable
number of all sorts of civil officers ; and thus by the sword of
justice they hunt down sin and impiety in the land. They are
a terror to evil-doers, and a praise to them that do well ; for the
civil authority, by their wise and just precepts, their per.-onal
and noble examples and zealous administrations, outdo Plato
himself, with all his moral reasons ; for they can turn a Sodom
into a Sion, and keep Sion to be Sion, evident by tho history

72 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

and chronicles of several governments of God's ancient people.
For chief rulers, by tlieir good or bad measures, can make or
mar, kill or cure, a nation in a moral sense."

CHAPTER VI.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION — ITS IMPORTANCE TO THE CIVIL STATE — POLICY OF THE

PURITANS SCHOOLS ESTABLISHED THE EARLY SCHOOL LAWS HARTARD

COLLEGE FOUNDED — CHRISTIAN FACTS CONNECTED WITH ITS ESTABLISHMENT

YALE COLLEGE — CHRISTIAN HISTORY — INFLUENCE OF THESE COLLEGES ON THE

STATE STATEMENT OF THEIR RESULT — JUDGE STORY"s yiE>YS — BANCROFT'S

YIEWS.

Education, next to the Christian religion, is an indispensable
element of republican institutions, tlie basis upon which all free
governments must rest.

^^ The state must rest upon the basis of religion, and it must
preserve this basis, or itself must fall. But the support which
religion gives to the state will obviously cease the moment
religion looses its hold upon the popular mind. The very fact
that the state must have religion as a support for its owif au-
thority demands that some means for teaching religion be em-
ployed. Better for it to give up all other instruction than that
religion should be disregarded in its schools. The state itself
has a more vital interest in this continued influence of religion
over its citizens than in their culture in any other respect."

. Christian education, from the very beginning of the New
England colonies, engaged the attention of the Puritans, and
ample provisions were made for the instruction of all the chil-
dren and youth in every branch of human and divine know-
ledge. This, indeed, was one object they had in coming to the
New World. Cotton Mather, in presenting the considerations
for the plantation of the colonies, says : —

''The schools of learning and religion are so corrupted as
(besides the unsupportable charge of education) most children,
even the best and wittiest, and of the fairest hopes, are per-
verted, corrupted, and utterly overthrown by the multitude of
evil examples and licentious behavior in these seminaries."

John Eliot, the apostle to the Indians, in a prayer before the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 73

Civil Court, in Massachusetts, in 1645, uttered the following
sentiments : —

^'Lord! for schools everywhere among us ! That our schools
may flourish ! That every member of this Assembly may go home
and procure a good school to be encouraged in the town where
he lives ! That before we die we may be so happy as to see a
good school encouraged in every plantation in the country !"

In 1644, the Christian colonists, ^Ho the end that all learning
may not be buried in the graves of our forefathers, ordered,"
that every township, ''after the Lord hath increased them
to fifty householders, shall appoint one to teach all children
to read and write ; and where any tow^n shall increase to the
number of one hundred families, they shall set up a grammar
school ; the master thereof being able to instruct youth so far
as they may be fitted for the university."

" One of the earliest legislative acts of the Massachusetts
colony was the following : — ' Forasmuch as the good education
of children is of singular behoofe and benefit to any common-
wealth ; and whereas parents and masters are too indulgent and
negligent of their duty in that kind, —

'' 'It is therefore ordered by this courte and authority thereof,
that the selectmen of every towne, in the several precincts and
quarters where they dwell, shall have a vigilent eye over theire
brethren and neighbours ; to see, first, that none of them shall
suffer so much barbarisme in any of their familyes, as not to
endeavor to teach, by themselves or others, theire children and
apprentices, so much learning as may inable them perfectly to
read the English tongue, and knowledge of the capitall lawos.' "

As early as 1635, free schools were commenced in Boston.
The union of the Massachusetts and New Hampshire colonies
continued till 1680, and daring this time the example of Boston
was rapidly followed by smaller towns in both colonies. " In
the sul)ject of schools both rulers and ministers felt a dee}) in-
terest, and schoolmasters were a commodity in great demand,
and eagerly sought." As early as 1644, one town devoted a
portion of its lands to the support of schools; but, beturo the
lands could be produ''tivo, thoy raised in various ways the sum
of twenty pounds to hire a schoolmaster.

The following was passed by the General Couil. in the year
1647, lor the promotion of common education:-

*^It is therefore ordered hj t/m courte and aiaujiirj uicrcoj,

74 CHEISTIAi^ LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

That every towneshipp within this jurisdiction, after that the
Lord hath increased them to the number of fifty howsholders,
shall then forthwith appointe one within theire towne, to teach
all such children as shall resorte to him, to write and read ;
whose wages shall be paid either by the parents or masters of
such children, or by the inhabitants in generall, by way of
supplye, as the major parte of those who order the prudentials
of the towne shall appointe.

''And it is further ordered, That where any towne shall
increase to the number of one hundred families or howsholders,
they shall sett up a grammar schoole, the masters thereof being
able to instruct youths so far as they may bee fitted for the
university."

In 1636, the colonists began at Cambridge, Massachusetts,
the first college on the American continent. Its commencement
was as follows : —

"The magistrates led the loay by a subscription among them-
selves of two hundred pounds, in books for the library. The
comparatively wealthy followed with gifts of twenty and thirty
pounds. The needy multitude succeeded, like the widow of old,
casting their mites into the treasury. A number of sheep was
bequeathed by one man; a quantity of cotton cloth, worth nine
shillings, presented by another; a p)ewter flagon, ivorth ten shil-
lings, by a third; a fruit-dish, a sugo/r-spoon, a silver-tipt jug,
one great set, and one smaller trencher set, by others.''

"Ti\Q ends," says Cotton Mather, " for which our fathers chiefly
erected a college were that scholars might there be educated
for the service of Christ and his churches, in the work of the
ministry, and that the youth might be seasoned in their tender
years with such principles as brought their blessed progenitors
into this wilderness. There is no one thing of greater concern-
ment to these churches, in present and after times, than the
prosperity of that society. We cannot subsist without a
college."

A college, accordingly, was established in 1636, and in 1638
E^ev. John Harvard, a learned and wealthy minister, died, and
by his will gave one-half of his property and his entire library
to the college at Boston ; and hence it is called Harvard College,
and now, also, Cambridge University.

According to the rules for the government of this college,
the president or professor, on being inaugurated, must first

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 75

'' repeat his oatli to the civil government ; then he must declare
his belief in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,
and promise to open and explain the Scriptures to his pupils
with integrity and faithfulness, according to the best light God
shall give him." He also must promise 'Ho promote true piety
and godliness by his example and instruction."

^^The rector or president shall also cause the Scriptures daily,
except on the Sabbath mornings and evenings, to be read by the
students at the times of prayer in the school; and upon the
Sabbath he shall either expound practical theology, or cause
the non-graduating students to repeat sermons ; so that, through
the blessing of God, it may be conducive to their establishment
in the principles of the Christian Protestant religion.

''The exercises of the students had the aspect of a theological
rather than a literary institution. They were practised twice
a day in reading the Scriptures, giving an account of their pro-
ficiency in practical and spiritual truths, accompanied by theo-
retical observations on the language and logic of the sacred
writings. They were carefully to attend God's ordinances, and
be examined on their profiting; commonplacing the sermons,
and repeating them publicly in the hall. In every year and
every week of the college course, every class was practised in
the Bible and catechetical divinity.''

Eev. Thomas Shepard, D.D., a learned divine, and laborious
minister of God, conceived the design of procuring voluntary
contributions of corn — money being out of the question — from
all parts of New England, for the purpose of maintaining poor
students. He laid the followinc^ memorial before the commis-
sioners of the united colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Con-
necticut, and New Haven, which met at Hartford, in 1644.

"To the Honored Commissioners: —

"Those whom God hath called to attend the welfiire of re-
ligious commonwealths have been prompt to extend their euro
for the good of public schools, by means of which the common-
wealth may be furnished unto knowing and understanding men
in all callings, and the church with an able minister in all
places; without which it is easy to see how both these estates
may decline and degenerate into gross ignorance, and, conse-
quently, into great and universal profimeness. !May it please
you, therefore, among other things of common concernment
and public benefit, to take into your consideration some way of

7b CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

comfortable maintenance for that school of the prophets that
now is established .... If, therefore, it were recommended by
you to the freedom of every family that is able and willing to
give, throughout the plantations, to give but the fourth part
of a bushel of corn, or something equivalent thereto," &c^

This memorial was received, and its policy cordially carried
out by the commissioners, who recommended to the deputies of
the several General Courts, and to the elders within the four
colonies, to call for a voluntary contribution of one peck of corn,
or twelve pence in money, or its equivalent in other commodities,
from every family, — a recommendation which was adopted and
very generally responded to.

The constitution of Massachusetts, of 1780, thus refers to
Harvard College : — "Whereas our wise and pious ancestors, so
early as the year 1636, laid the foundation of Harvard College,
in which university many persons of great eminence have, by
the blessing of God, been initiated into those arts and sciences
which qualified them for public employment, both in Church
and State; and w^hereas the encouragement of arts and sci-
ences, and all good literature, tends to the honor of God, the
advantage of the Christian religion, and the great benefit of
this and the other United States of America, it is declared,
that the President and Fellows of Harvard College," &c.

At ISTew Haven, Connecticut, the second successful effort was
made to found a permanent college of learning. Common
schools, v/here the elements of education were widely difi'used
among the rising population, did not satisfy the enlarged views
of literary men, and the plan of an institution of higher pre-
tensions and more extended scope occupied the thoughts of
the first settlers of Connecticut.

After various consultations, chiefly in reference to the interests
of the Church, and confined in a great measure to the liberal
and enlightened clergy of the times, a definite proposition was
at length submitted with regard to the establishment of a col-
lege in New Haven. The following resolution is the earliest
record on the subject : —

"At a General 'Court, held at Guilford, June 28th, a.d. 1652,
Voted, the matter about a college at New 2aven was thought to
be too great a char,c;e for us of this jurisdiction to undergo alone,
especially considering the unsettled state of New Haven town,
being publicly declared, from the deliberate judgement of the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF TEE UNITED STATES. 77

most understanding men, to be a place of no comfortable
subsistence for the present inhabitants there. But, if Connec-
ticut do join, the planters are generally willing to bear their
just proportion for erecting and maintaining of a college there."

In 1700, ten of the principal ministers in the colony were
nominated and agreed upon, by a general consent, both of the
ministers and people, to stand as trustees or undertakers to
found, erect, and govern a college. They soon met at Branford,
and laid the foundation of Yale College. Each member brought
a number of books and presented them to the body, and, laying
them on the table, said : — "I give these hooks for the found-
ing of a college in this colony." The object of a college at ISTew
Haven was stated by a large number of ministers and lay-
men, who petitioned the Colonial Assembly for a charter. They
said that, ^'from a sincere regard to, and zeal for upholding
the Protestant religion by a succession of learned and orthodox
men, they had proposed that a collegiate school should be
erected in this colony, wherein youth should be instructed in
all parts of learning, to qualify them for public employment in
Church and civil State."

The legislature of the colony promptly responded to the ap-
plication, and a charter w^as granted, in which it was said, —

" Whereas, several well-disposed and public-spirited persons,
out of their sincere regard to, and zeal for upholding and
propagating the Christian Protestant religion by a succession
of learned and orthodox men, have expressed by petition
their earnest desire that full liberty and privilege be granted
unto certain undertakers for the founding, suitably endowing
and ordering a Collegiate School within his Majesty's Colooy
of Connecticut, wherein youth may be instructed in the arts
and sciences, who, through the blessing of Almighty God,
may be fitted for public employment both in Church and State.
To the intent, therefore, that all due encouragement be given to
such pious resolutions, and that so necessary and religious an
undertaking may be set forward and well managed, be it
enacted," &c.

The charter being granted, at a meeting of the collogiato
undertakers, held at Saybrook, November 11, a.d. 1701, they
sent out the following circular : —

"Whereas, it was the glorious public design of our now blessed
fathers in their removal from Europe into those parts of Ame-

78 CHPJSTTAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OP THE

rica, both to plant, and (under the Divine blessing) to propagate
in this wilderness, the blessed Eeformed Protestant religion,
in the purity of its order and worship, not only to their poste-
rity, but also to the barbarous natives ; in which great enterprise
they wanted not the royal commands and favor of his Majesty
King Charles the Second to authorize and invigorate them.

'^We, their unworthy posterity, lamenting our past neglect of
this grand errand, and sensible of the equal obligations better
to prosecute the same end, are desirous in our generation to
be serviceable thereunto. Whereunto the religious and liberal
education of suitable youth is, under the blessing of God, a chief
and most probable expedient :

'^ Therefore, that we might not be wanting in cherishing the
present observable and pious disposition of many well-mindec^
people to dedicate their children and substance unto God in
such a good service, and being ourselves with sundry other reve-
rend elders, not only desired by our godly people to undertake, as
Trustees, for erecting, forming, ordering, and regulating a Col-
legiate School, for the advancement of such an education ; but
having also obtained of our present religious government both
full liberty and assistance by their donation to such use ; tokens,
likewise, that particular persons will not be wanting in their
beneficence ; do, in duty to God and the weal of our country,
undertake in the aforesaid design.

''For the orderly and effectual management of this affair, we
agree to, and hereby appoint and confirm, the following rules : —

''1st. That the Rector take special care, as of the moral be-
haviour of the students, at all times, so with industry to in-
struct and ground them well in theoretical divinity ; and to
that end shall take effectual measures that the said students be
weekly caused memoriter to recite the Assembly's Catechism
in Latin ; and he shall make, or cause to be made, from time to
time, such explanations as may (through the blessing of God) be
most conducive to their establishment in the principles of the
Christian Protestant religion.

" 2d. The Rector shall also cause the Scriptures daily (ex-
cept on the Sabbath), morning and evening, to be read by the
students, at the times of prayer in the school, according to the
laudable order and usage of Harvard College, making exposi-
tions upon the same ; and upon the Sabbath shall either expound
practical theology, or cause the non-graduating students to repeat

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 7P

sermons; and in all other ways, according to his best discre-
tion, shall at all times studiously endeavor, in the education of
the students, to promote the power and purity of religion and
the best edification of these New England churches."

Eev. Henry B. Smith, of the Union Theological Seminary at
New York, in behalf of the Society for the Promotion of Col-
legiate and Theological Education at the West, presents the
following view of the history and fruits of the colleges at Cam-
bridge and New Haven : —

'' For our encouragement it may be said that no people ever
began its institutions under better auspices or with ampler
promise. This we owe, under God, to the pious zeal of our
Pilgrim Fathers, many of them eminent in learning as well as
faith. John Cotton, of Boston, had been the head-lecturer and
dean of Immanuel College in Cambridge, England. John
Newton, of Ipswich, afterwards of Boston, was offered a fellow-
ship in the same college. John Davenport, of New Haven, was
termed a 'universal scholar.' Thomas Hooker, of Hartford,
was a fellow of Cambridge, and was here called the ' light of
the Western churches.' Thomas Thatcher, of Weymouth, com-
posed a Hebrew lexicon. Charles Chauncey, president of Har-
vard, had been Professor of Greek in Cambridge, England.
Cotton Mather was the author of three hundred and eighty-two
publications, including the 'Magnalia.'

" Established under such auspices, it is no wonder that all
our earlier colleges, and, following in their train, most of the later,
have been animated by the conviction that institutions of learning
are needed by Christianity, and should have this faith as the
basis of all their instructions. The earliest were not so much
colleges as schools for the training of the ministry. The Pil-
grims, when they numbered only five thousand families, founded
the University of Cambridge, in 1G36, with its perennial motto,
' Christo et Ecclesias ;' and Cotton Mather says that this university
was 'the best thing they ever thought of.' In 1G9G, there wcr*'
one hundred and sixteen pastors in the one hundred and twenty-
nine cliurches, and one hundred and nine of these were from
Harvard. Harvard has educated one thousand six hundred and
seventy-three ministers: throe hundred and fifty-one arc still
living. Yale College dates from 1700, and in its earlier years
the Assembly's Catechism in Greek was read by tlie freshmen ;
the sophomores studied Hebrew ; the juniors, sophomores, and

80 CHUISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

the seniors, botli at Harvard and Yale, were tlioroughly in-
structed in divinity in the admirable compend of WoUebius.

^' Yale has given to our churches one thousand six hundred
and sixty-^ne ministers, of whom seven hundred and forty-one
are still living. In the State of Connecticut, down to 1842,
out of nine hundred and forty-seven ministers, only thirty-three
were not graduates. Princeton was started in 1741, one of the
fruits of the great revival, and by the New Side of that day.
Dartmouth was a missionary school from its inception in 1769;
dnd its catalogue gives the names of more than seven hundred
ministers, a quarter-part of all its graduates. And almost all
of our later colleges are the fruit of Christian beneficence, and
their foundations have been laid with the prayers of our churches;
and He who heareth prayer has breathed upon them his divine
blessing, and through their influence sanctified our youth for
the service of Christ and his Church. They have aspired to
realize that ideal of education which Milton had in vision when
he said, ' The end of learning is to repair the ruins of our first
parents by regaining to know God aright, and out of that
knowledge to love him, to imitate him, to be like him, as
we may the nearest by possessing our souls of true virtue,
which, being united to the heavenly grace of faith, makes up
the highest perfection.' "

'' Yale College," says Lossing, '^ aside from its intrinsic worth
as a seminary of learning, is remarkable for the great number
of the leading men of the Kevolution who were educated within
its walls. That warm a.nd consistent patriot. President Daggett,
gave a political tone to the establishment favorable to the re-
publican cause, and it was regarded as the nursery of "Whig
principles, during the Eevolution. When New Haven was in-
vaded by Tryon, Yale College was marked for special vengeance;
but the invaders retreated hastily, without burning the town.
There were very few among the students, during our war for
independence, who were imbued with tory principles, and they
were generally, if known, rather harshly dealt with."

''Among the most striking acts of the legislation of the Puri-
tans," says Judge Story, '^ are those which respect the cause of
learning and education. Within ten short years after their first
settlement, they founded the University of Cambridge, and en-
dowed it with the sum of four hundred pounds, — a sum which,
considering their means and their wants, was a most generous

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 81

benefaction. Perhaps no language could more significantly
express the dignity of their design than their own words.
'After God had carried us safe to New England/ said they,
' and we had builded our houses, provided necessaries for our
households, reared convenient places for God's worship, and
settled the civil government, one of the next things we longed
for, and looked after, was to advance learning and perpetuate
it to p)Osterity, dreading to leave an illiterate ministry to the
churches when our present ministers shall lie in the dust.' The
truest glory of our forefathers is in that system of public in-
struction which they instituted by law, and to which New Eng-
land owes more of its character, its distinction, and its pros-
perity than to all other causes. If this system be not altogether
without example in the history of other nations (as I suspect
it to be in its structure and extent), itjs, considering the age
and means of the projectors, an extraordinary instance of wise
legislation, and worthy of the most profound statesmen of any
times. At the distance of centuries, it stands alone and un-
rivalled. It was on this system of public instruction that our
fathers laid the foundation for the perpetuity of our institutions,
and for that growth of sound morals, industry, and public
spirit, which has never yet been wanting in New England, and,
we may fondly hope, will forever remain her appropriate praise.

'' I know not what more munificent donation any government
can bestow than by providing instruction at public expense,
not as a scheme of charity, but of municipal policy. If a pri-
vate person deserves the applause of all good men, wdio founds
a single hospital or college, how much more are they entitled to
the appellation of public benefactors who by the side of every
church in every village plant a school of letters ! Other monu-
ments of the art and genius of man perish; but these, from their
very nature, seem absolutely immortal."

" In these measures," says Bancroft, " especially in the laws
establishing common schools, lies the secret of the success and
character of New England. Every child, as it was born into the
world, was lifted from the earth by the genius of the country,
and in the statutes of the land received, as its birthright, a
pledge of the public care for its morals and its mind."

82 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

CHAPTER VII.

COLONIZATION OF PENNSYLVANIA PENN's CHARACTER — HIS FRAME OF GOVERN-
MENT BASED ON THE BIBLE CHRISTIAN LEGISLATION BANCROFT'S VIEW

OF PENN — HIS COLONY A NEW ERA IN LIBERTY MEANS OF EDUCATION —

COLONIZATION OF NEW YORK ITS COMMERCIAL SPIRIT ASSUMES A CHRIS-
TIAN CHARACTER THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH — PURITAN AND PRESBY-
TERIAN SETTLEMENTS EPISCOPAL CHURCH — THE HUGUENOTS CHRISTIAN

LEGISLATION OF THE COLONY — EDUCATION A SCHOOL RELIC — NEW JERSEY

COLONY CHRISTIAN STANDARD IN LEGISLATION — COLONY OF DELAWARE IT8

CHRISTIAN SETTLEMENT.

In 1682, another important era in the Christian colonization
of the North American continent was inaugurated. William
Penn was singularly qualified to be the founder of a Christian
commonwealth. He had been educated under the influence
of the gospel. He had studied the origin of government, the
nature of civil liberty, and the rights of man, in the light of
the pure word of God, and formed the purpose of founding a
Christian empire on the free and peaceful precepts of Christian-
ity. He had a firm faith in the great American idea that
man, educated by Christianity, was capable of self-government.
Finding no place in Europe to try the experiment of a Christian
government, he resolved to seek it in America.

The settlement of the province of Pennsylvania by William
Penn formed a new era in the liberties of mankind. It afforded
a resting-place where the conscientious and oppressed people
of Europe might repose, and enjoy the rights of civil and reli-
gious freedom which mankind had derived as an inheritance
from the Creator.

He obtained from Charles II. a grant of territory that now
embraces the States of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Dela-
ware. He was legally inducted to the governorship of this
immense domain, in England, by the officers of the crown, and
in 1682 arrived in the New World and assumed the civil
government of the colony. He avowed his purpose to be to
institute a civil government on the basis of the Bible and to
administer it in the fear of the Lord. The acquisition and
government of the colony, he said, was '* so to serve the truth

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 83

and the people of the Lord, that an example may be set to the
nations."

The frame of government which Penn completed in 1682 for
the government of Pennsylvania was derived from the Bible.
He deduced from various passages '' the origination and descent
of all human power from God; the divine right of govern-
ment, and that for two ends, — first, to terrify evil doers;
secondly, to cherish those who do well;" so that government,
he said, ''seems to me to be a part of religion itself," — ''a
thing sacred in its institutions and ends." ''Let men be good,
and the government cannot be bad." "That, therefore, which
makes a good constitution must keep it, — namely, men of wis-
dom and virtue, — qualities that, because they descend not with
worldly inheritance, must be carefully propagated by a virtuous
education of youth."

The first legislative act, passed at Chester, the seventh of
the twelfth month, December, 1682, announced the ends of a
true civil government. The preamble recites, that, "Whereas
tiie glory of Almighty God and the good of mankind is the
rciison and end of government, and, therefore, government
in itself is a venerable ordinance of God, and forasmuch as it
is principally desired and intended by the proprietary and
governor, and the freemen of Pennsylvania and territories
thereunto belonging, to make and establish such laws as shall
best preserve true Christian and civil liberty, in opposition to
all unchristian, licentious, and unjust practices, whereby God
may have his due, Caesar his due, and the people their due,
from tyranny and oppression."

The frame of government contained the following article on
religious rights : —

" That all persons living in this province who confess and
acknowledge the one almighty and eternal God to be the crea-
tor, upholder, and ruler of the world, and who hold themselves
obliged in conscience to live peaceably and justly in civil
society, shall in no wise be molested or prejudiced for their
religious persuasion or practice in matters of faith and wor-
ship ; nor shall they be compelled at any time to frequent or
maintain any religious worship, place, or ministry whatso-
ever."

William Penn, when about planting his colony and establish-

8-i CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

ing his government in Pennsylvania, in 1682, caused the follow-
ing law to be made : —

'' To the end that looseness, irreligion, and atheism may not
creep in under the pretence of conscience in this province, be it
further enacted by the authority aforesaid. That, according to
the good example of the primitive Christians, and for the ease
of the creation, every first day of the week, called the Lord's
day, people shall abstain from their common toil and labor,
that, whether masters, parents, children, or servants, they may
better dispose themselves to read the Scriptures of truth at
home or to frequent such meetings of religious worship abroad,
as may best suit their respective persuasions."

'' In the judgment of this Quaker patriarch and legislator,"
says Bancroft, '^ government derived neither its obligations nor
powers from man. God was to him the beginning and the end
of government. He thought of government as a part of reli-
gion itself. Christians should keep the helm and guide the
vessel of state."

His object also was to carry the Christian religion to the
natives. This Christian design is expressed in the charter
granted by Charles H. It says, '^ Whereas our trusty and
beloved William Penn, out of a commendable desire to enlarge
the British empire, as also to reduce the savages, by just and
gentle measures, to the love of civil society and the Christian
religion, hath humbly besought our leave to translate a colony."
This purpose was expressed by Penn in the petition he sent to
the king. He says he '' should be able to colonize the pro-
vince, which might enlarge the British empire, and promote the
glory of God by the civilization and conversion of the Indian
tribes." He urged all who proposed to join the colony ''to have
especial respect to the will of God."

He continued to act as Governor of Pennsylvania till June,
1684, when he returned to England. Before his embarkation,
he uttered these farewell words to the colony, as his parting
benediction: — '' I bless you in the name and power of the Lord;
and may God bless you with his righteousness, peace, and
I'lenty, all the land over. Oh that you would eye God in all,
through all, and above all the works of his hand."

One of the great features of the Christian polity of Penn was
his faith and fair dealings with the Indians. Every rood of
land he obtained by honest purchase, and his integrity and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 85

frankness won for him and his colony the confidence and friend-
ship of the Indian race. Treaties of mutual advantage were
entered into between them, in which it was covenanted that
as long as the grass grew and the waters ran, the links in
the chain of their mutual friendship should be kept bright
and strong. His transactions with the Indian tribes were
marked with Christian integrity, and added new lustre to his
fame.

Penn, as the wise founder of a civil commonwealth, provided
measures for the general diffusion of the blessings of a Chris-
tian education.

*' Let men," he says, '' be good, and the government cannot
be bad. That, therefore, which makes a good constitution must
keep it, — namely, men of wisdom and virtue, qualities that, as
they descend not with worldly inheritance, must be carefully
propagated by a virtuous education of the youth."

One of the last acts of William Penn on leaving the country
for England was to grant a charter to the public school in
Philadelphia, in order to secure good school-instruction equally
to all the children of the cont'tnunity. On the seal of this
institution he placed the motto, '' Good instruction is bet-
ter THAN riches;" with the impressive adage, ''Love ye one
another."

The Christian Colonization of New York
Is cotemporancous with its first settlement. Commerce and
Christianity are always in gonial sympathy and co-operation ;
and as commerce, from the beginning of the colony in 1G09,
was a leading motive of the first settlers, so the Christian reli-
gion pioneered its way side by side with commerce. As early
as 1G13, four years after the discovery of Manhattan by Hud-
.son, Holland merchants had established S'^veral trading-posts,
and in 1G23 measures were taken to found an agricultural and
Christian settlement. The first emigrants were those who had
fled from the severity of religious persecution in the seven-
teenth century in the French Belgic provinces, and came with
a faith tried in a fiery furnaco.

The East India Company, formed in 1G21, stipulated that
" where emigrants went forth under their auspices, and that of
tbo States-General of Holland, it should be their duty to send
out a schoolmasLer^ being a pious member of the church, whose

86 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

office it was to instruct the cliilclren, and preside in their reli-
gious meetings on the Sabbath and other days, leading in the
devotions, and reading a sermon, until the regular ministry
should be established over them. An individual was often desig-
nated as a Zickento-ooster, (comforter of the sick,) who for his
sj^iritual gifts was adapted to edify and comfort the people."

In 1633 the first minister came over, and associated with him
was a schoolmaster, who organized a church school. The intro-
duction, at this early period of the settlement of the colony,
of the church and school combined, cannot, therefore, be claimed
as the peculiar distinction of the Puritan emigrants, as the
direct aim and the provision made in the early settlements
by the Dutch was to extend and preserve in the midst of them
the blessings of education and religion.

The Collegiate Eeformed Dutch Church of New York was the
first founded in North America, and dates from the first settle-
ment on Manhattan Island. The first religious meetings were
held in a temporary building, till in 1626 an emigrant, in build-
ing a horse-mill, provided a spacious room above for the congre-
gation. At an interview, in 1642, between a famous navigator,
De Vries, and the Governor of the Colony, the former remarked
'' that it was a shame that the English when they visited Man-
hattan saw only a mean barn in which we worshipped. The first
they built in New England, after their dwelling-houses, was a
fine church: we should do the same." This led to the erection
of a new and spacious church-edifice.

In a letter written on the 11th of August, 1628, by Eev.
Jonas Michaellus, the first minister of the Dutch Reformed
Church in the United States, there is found the following state-
ment : —

^'We have established the form of a church, and it has been
thought best to choose two elders for my assistance, and for
the proper consideration of all such ecclesiastical matters as
might occur. We have had at the first administration of the
Lord's Supper full fifty communicants, not without great joy
and comfort for so many, — Walloons and Dutch ; of whom a por-
tion made their first confession, and others exhibited their church
certificates. We administer the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's
Supper once in four months.

'^ We must have no other object than the glory of God in build-
ing up his kingdom and the salvation of many souls. As to tho

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 87

natives of this country, I find them entirely savage and wild,
proficient in all wickedness, who serve nobody but the devil.
Let us then leave the parents in their condition, and begin with
the children who are still young, and place them under the in-
struction of some experienced and godly schoolmaster, where
they may be taught especially in the fundamentals of our Chris-
tian religion. In the mean time it must not be forgotten to pray
to the Lord, with ardent and continual prayers, for his blessing."

In 1636, the Puritans of New England began to add largely
to the New York colony. In ten years after the Puritan emi-
gration began, " there were so many at Manhattan as to require
preachers who could speak in English as well as Dutch." '' Whole
towns," says Bancroft, ^' had been settled by New England men,
who had come to America to serve God with a pure conscience,
and to plant New England liberties in a congregational way."

The colony of New York, after being under the jurisdiction
of the Dutch for fifty years, passed, in 1664, to that of England.
This political revolution secured a rapid colonization from
various quarters. " English, Irish, Scotch, French, and Dutch,
chiefly Presbyterians and Independents," now began to emigrate
to the colony of New York. The Episcopalians claimed ''that
the province was subject to the ecclesiastical government of the
Church of England, and that theirs was the religion of the
state." The Duke of York, afterwards James II., maintained
an Episcopal chapel in New York at his own private expense.
" Ministers," said Andros, the civil Governor of the colony, in
1683, " are scarce, and religion wanes." " There were about
twenty churches, of which half were destitute of ministers.
But the Presbyterians and Independents, who formed the most
numerous and thriving portions of the inhabitants, were the
only class of the people who showed much willingness to pro-
cure and support ministers."

The seventeenth century, constituting an important era of
Christian colonization of the New World, brought to the North
American colonies the rich Christian contribution from the
Huguenots of France. All the colonies gave them a heart-
welcome as refugees from a frenzied and cruel religious perse-
cution. They were ardent lovers of liberty, and declared that,
with " their ministers, they had come to adore and serve God
with freedom." These Christian exiles were warmly welcomed
to the colony of New York, and became one of the richest

88 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

portions of the population. In 1662 tliey had become so nume-
rous that the colonial laws and official papers were published in
French as w^ell as in Dutch and English. The French church
in the city of New York became the metropolis of Calvinism,
where the Huguenot emigrants out of the city came to worship.

" The character, of the first Huguenot settlers," says Dr. De
Witt, " was eminently worthy, both here and in other parts of
the State and the United States. An interesting fact is related
concerning the first settlers of ISlew Eochelle, in Westchester
county. When they entered the forests, and with toilful labor
engaged in clearing and cultivating the fields, they resolved, in
the spirit of deep piety which they brought with them, to unite
with their brethren in New York in the public worship of the
Sabbath, though at a distance of twenty miles. Such was their
reverence for the sanctification of the Sabbath that they would
take up their march on foot in the afternoon of Saturday, and
reach New York by midnight, singing the hymns of Clement Marot
by the way. Engaging in the worship of the Sabbath, they
remained till after midnight, and then took their march in return
to New Eochelle, relieving the toil of the way by singing
Marot's hymns." ^' Happy and proud," says Bancroft, " in the
religious liberty they enjoyed, they ceased not to write to their
brethren in France of the grace which God had shown them."

In 1665, the colonial legislature of New York passed the fol-
lowing act in reference to Christianity and its ordinances : —

" Whereas, The public w^orship of God is much discredited
for want of painful [laborious] and able ministers to instruct
the people in the true religion, it is ordered that a church shall
be built in each parish, capable of holding two hundred persons;
that ministers of every church shall preach every Sunday, and
pray for the king, queen, the Duke of York, and the royal
family; and to marry persons after legal publication of license."

It was also enacted that ^' Sunday is not to be profaned by
travelling, by laborers, or vicious persons," and "church-wardens
to report twice a year all misdemeanors, such as swearing,
profaneness. Sabbath -breaking, drunkenness, fornication, adul-
tery, and all such abominable sins." "Persons were punished
with death who should in any wise deny the true God or his
attributes." These were the laws of the colony of New York
until 1683.

The following paper will show better the attention that the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 89

early settlers of New York paid to education, and is an amusing
relic of colonial antiquity. It belongs to the ancient local his-
tory of Flatbush, Long Island : —

Aet. 1. The school shall begin at 8 o'clock and go outt att
11; shall begin again att 1 o'clock and ende att 4. The bell
shall bee rung beefore the school begins.

Art. 2. When school opens, one of the children shall reado
the morning prayer as it stands in the catechism, and close
with the prayer before dinner; and inn the afternoon the same.
The 'evening school shall begin with the Lord's prayer and close
by singing a psalm.

Ae-T. 3. Hee shall instruct the children inn the common
prayers and the questions and answers off the catechism on
Wednesdays and Saturdays, too enable them too say them
better on Sunday inn the church.

iVrt. 4. Hee shall bee bound too keep his school nine months
in succession, from September too June, one year with another,
and shall always bee present himself.

Art. 5. Hee shall bee choirister off the church; rins; the bell
three tymes before service, and reade a chapter off the Bible inn
the church between the second and third ringinge off. the bell;
after the third ringinge he shall reade the ten commandments
and the twelve articles off ffiiith and then sett the psalm. In
the afternoone after the third rinQ-in^^e off the bell hee shall reado
a short chapter or one off the psalms off David as the congre-
gationc are assemlilinge; afterwards he shall again sett the
])sahn.

Art. G. When the minister shall preach at Broockland or
Utrecht he shall be bounde to reade twice before the congre-
gatione from the booke used for the purpose. Hee shall heare
the children recite the questions and answers off tlie catechism
on Sunday and instruct them.

Art. 7. llee shall provide a basin off water for the baptism,
ffor which hee .'^hall receive twelve stuyvers in wampum llbr
every baptism from [)arc'nts or sponsors. Hee shall furnish
bread and wiia; llbr coinmuniiju att the charge oil the church,
llee shall also serve as messenger llbr the consistories.

Art. 8. H'-e sliall give the funerale invitations aixi t^ll the
bell; and llbr which hee shall receive for persons off tilt eon years
off age and upwards twelve guildei's; and ffor persons under

90 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

fifteen, eight guilders ; and iff liee shall cross the river to New
York hee shall have fiour guilders more.

[The compensation of the schoolmaster was as follows :]

1st. Hee shall receive ffor a speller or reader three guilders
a quarter ; and ffor a writer ffour guilders ffor the daye school.

Inn the evening ffour guilders for a speller or reader, and five
guilders ffor a writer per quarter.

2nd. The residue off his salary shall bee ffour hundred guild-
ers in wheat (of wampum value) deliverable at Broockland
Fferry with the dwellinge, pasturage and meadowe appurtain-
inge to the school.

Done and agreede on inn consistorie, in the presence off the
Honourable Constable and Overseers, this 8th daye off October,
1682.

Constable and Overseers. The Consistorie.

Cornelius Berrian, Casparus Vanzuren,

Ryniere Aertsen, Minister.

Jan Remsen. Adriaen Ryerse,

Cornelius Barent Van-
[derwyck.

I agree to the above articles, and promise to observe them.

Johannes Von Ech.kellen.

New Jersey
Became an independent colony in 1664. '^ Its moral character
was moulded by New England Puritans, English Quakers, and
Dissenters from Scotland." An association of church-members
from the New Haven colony resolved with one heart 'Ho carry
on their spiritual and town affairs according to Godly Govern-
ment;" and in 1668 the colonial legislative Assembly, under
Puritan influence, transferred the chief features of the New
England codes to the statute-book of New Jersey. New Jersey
increased in population and prosperity under the genial presence
of Christian institutions, and became distinguished for intelli-
gence, industry, and enterprise. ''The people," says Bancroft,
"rejoiced under the reign of God, confident that he would
beautify the meek with salvation."

The Christian teachings of the Quakers, in union with Pres-
byterian and Anabaptist influences, made New Jersey, in its
colonial structure, a model Protestant republic. " These were
interwoven into the earliest elements of the political society of

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 91

New Jersey, and constitute one of the beautiful historical inci-
dents of the age. The people have always enjoyed a high repu-
tation for piety, industry, economy, and good morals." They
received and practised such Christian lessons as the following,
given by their friends in England, in 1681 : —

''Friends that are gone to make plantations in America,
keep the plantations in your own hearts, that your own vine^i
and lilies be not hurt. You that are governors and judges, you
should be eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, and fathers to the
{.>oor, that you may gain the blessing of those who are ready to
[^erish, and cause the widow's heart to sing for gladness. If you
rejoice because your hand hath gotten much, if you say to the
tine gold. Thou art my confidence, you will have denied the God
that is above. The Lord is ruler among nations ; he will crown
his people with dominion."

The high ^standard of Christian morality in the colony of New
Jersey was indicated by the motto on the provincial seal, —
'^Righteousness exalteth a nation^ A proclamation made by
Governor Basse, in 1697, contains the following Christian
record : — "It being very necessary for the good and prosperity
of this province that our principal care be, in obedience to the
laws of God, to endeavor as much as in us lyeth the extirpa-
tion of all sorts of looseness and profanity, and to unite in the
fear and love of God and one another, that, by the religious and
virtuous carriage and behavior of every one in his respective
station and calling, the blessing of Almighty God may accom-
pany our honest and lawful endeavors, I do therefore, by and
with the advice of the Council of this province, strictly prohibit
cursing, swearing, immoderate drinking. Sabbath-breaking, and
all sorts of lewdness and profane behavior in word and action ;
and do strictly charge and command all justices of the peace,
sheriffs, constables, and all other officers within the province,
that they take duo care that all laws made and provided for
the suppression of vice and encouraging of religion and virtue,
particularly the observance of the Lord's day, bo duly put into
execution."

Delaware
llad a Christian colonization. Gustavus Adolphus, of the royal
family of Sweden, projected an enterprise to aid in the Chria-
tian settlement of the Now World. Its object, though in piirt

92 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

commercial, was declared to be for the benefit of the " wbole
Protestant world." In 1637, two vessels, fitted out by the
Government of Sweden, carried out a band of emigrants with
their Christian teachers, and in the spring of 1638 they sailed
into Delaware Bay and began the Christian colonization of that
region. In 1640 the colony received Christian emigrants from
New England. It continued a political connection with the
colony of Pennsylvania till 1704, when it became an independ-
ent commonwealth.

CHAPTEE VIII.

COLONIZATION OF VIRGINIA — CHARTER — ITS CHRISTIAN OBJECTS — PREACHING
OF THE GOSPEL ENJOINED INDIANS TO BE CHRISTIANIZED — COLLEGE INSTI-
TUTED JEFFERSON'S REMARKS ACTS OF CHRISTIAN LEGISLATION EPISCO-
PACY ESTABLISHED — COLONIZATION OF MARYLAND — LORD BALTIMORE CHAR-
TER— RELIGIOUS TOLERATION BECOMES THE FUNDAMENTAL LAW OF AMERICAN

CONSTITUTIONS COLONIZATION OF SOUTH CAROLINA CHARTER — FRAME OF

GOVERNMENT FORMED BY LOCKE — COLONIZATION OF NORTH CAROLIN^^. — BIBLB
THE BASIS OF THEIR INSTITUTIONS CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTIONS TO CIVIL DE-
LEGATES COLONIZATION OF GEORGIA OGLETHORPE — THE WESLEYS — CHRIS-
TIAN ELEMENT IN GEORGIA LESSONS OF THE COLONIZATION OF THE CONTI-
NENT REMARKABLE PROPHECY OF AN ENGLISH BISHOP A NEW SCENE OF

PROVIDENCE OPENED IN THE SETTLEMENT OF AMERICA.

The Colonization of Virginia

Began in 1607, fourteen years previous to the Puritan settle-
ment in New England, and seventy-five before William Penn
gave to Pennsylvania the basis of a Christian government. In
April, 1606, James, King of England, granted to a colony
forming to emigrate to America a charter for the possession of
those territories lying on the sea-coast between the S4th and
45th degrees of north latitude, and all the islands within a hun-
dred miles of those shores. That charter declared the design
of the colonists to be ^'to make habitation and plantation and
to deduce a colony of sundry of our people into that part of
America commonly called Virginia ; and that so noble a work may,
by the providence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the glory
of his divine majesty in propagating of the Christian religion
to such people as yet live in darkness and in miserable ignorance
of the true knowledge and worship of God, and may, in time,

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 93

bring the infidels and savages living in those parts to human
civility and a quiet government."

It is, moreover, in the Virginia charter of 1609 declared
"that it shall be necessary for all such as inhabit within the
precincts of Virginia to determine to live together in the fear
and true worship of Almighty God, Christian peace, and civil
quietness ;" and that '' the principal effect which we [the crown]
can desire or expect of this action is the conversion and reduc-
tion of the people in those parts unto the true worship of God
and the Christian religion."

In a code of laws for the government of the Virginia colony,
which the king assisted to frame, v/ere "enjoined the preaching
of the gospel in America, and the performance of divine wor-
ship in conformity with the doctrines and rites of the Church
of England." In 1619, twelve years after the first settle-
ment of Virginia, ''The King of England having formerly
issued his letters to the bishops of the kingdom, for collecting
money to erect a college in Virginia for the education of Indian
children, nearly fifteen hundred dollars had been already paid to
this benevolent and pious design, and Henrico had been selected
as a suitable place for the seminary. The Virginia Company
o;ranted ten thousand acres of land to be laid ofi" for the Univer-
sity at Henrico. The first design was to erect and build a col-
lege in Virginia for the training up and educating infidel
[Indian] children in the true knowledge of God." The princi-
pal design of William and Mary College was to instruct and
christianize the Indians.

Jefferson, in his ''Notes on Virginia," says, "The purposes
of the institution would be better answered by maintaining a
perpetual mission among the Indian tribes, the object of which,
besides instructing them in the principles of Christianity, as
the founder required, should be to collect their traditions, laws,
customs, languages, and other circumstances which might lead
to a discovery of their relation with one another or descent
from other nations. When these objects are accomplished with
one tribe, the missionary might pass to another."

"The colony of Virginia consisted of Church-of-England
men, and many of their first acts related to provision for the
Church. The ministers were considered, not as pious and cha-
ritable individuals, but as officers of state, bound to promote
the true faith and aid sound morality by authority of the com-

94 CHPJSTIAN LIFE AKD CnARACTER OF THE

munity by wliicli tliey were paid, and to which they were held
responsible for the performance of their duty. The very first
act of the Assembly required every settlement in which the
people worship God to build a house to be appropriated exclu-
sively for that purpose ; the second act imposed a penalty of a
pound of tobacco for absence from divine service on Sunday ;
and another act prohibited any man from disposing of his
tobacco until the minister's portion was paid.

When the population had increased to fifty thousand, in
1668, there were " nearly fifty Episcopal parishes, with a3 many
glebes, church-edifices, and pastors. Episcopacy was established
by law ; attendance was enforced by penalties : even the sacra-
mental services of the Church were legally enjoined upon the
people ; every thing wore the appearance of a very strict reli-
gious economy." The Christian religion was the underlying
basis and the pervading element of all the social and civil in-
stitutions of the Virginia colony.

In 1662, the xissembly of Virginia passed an act to make
permanent provision for the establishment of a college. The
preamble of the act establishing it recites ''that the want of
able and faithful ministers in this country deprives us of those
great blessings and mercies that always attend upon the service
of God;" and the act itself declares "that for the advancement
of learning, education of youth, supply of the ministry, and
promotion of piety, there be land taken up and purchavsed for a
college and free school, and that with all convenient speed there
be buildings erected upon it for the entertainment of students
and scholars." In 1693 the College of William and Mary was
founded.

Maryland

Began her colonial settlement in 1632, under the auspices of
Lord Baltimore, a British nobleman and a Eoman Catholic.
His object was to ''people a territory with colonists of his own
religious faith, and to erect an asylum in North America for
the Catholic religion." He obtained a charter from Charles I.,
in which it was declared that the "grantee was actuated by a
laudable zeal for extending the Christian religion and the terri-
tory of the British empire ; and if any doubt should ever arise
concerning the true meaning of the charter, there should be no
construction of it derogatory to the Christian religion."

CIVIL I2<STITUTI0NS OP THE UXITED STATES. 95

The first band of colonists, consisting of two hundred men
of rank, led by Leonard Calvert, brother of Lord Baltimore,
Hailed from England in November, 1632, and landed on the coast
of Maryland early in 1633. As soon as they landed, the gover-
nor erected a cross, and took possession of the country ''for our
Lord Jesus Christ, and for our sovereign lord the King of Eng-
land." "To every emigrant fifty acres of land were given in
absolute fee; and the recognition of Christianity as the esta-
blished faith of the land, with an exclusion of the political pre-
dominance or superiority of any particular sect or denomination
of Christians was enacted." The colonists '' soon converted a
desolate wilderness into a flourishing commonwealth enlivened
by industry and adorned by civilization."

Eeligious toleration was, from the beginning, proclaimed as
one of the fundamental laws of the colony. The Assembly,
mostly of the Roman Catholic faith, passed, in 1650, a memo-
rable Christian act, entitled, an ''Act concerning Religion."
The preamble declared that '' the enforcement of the conscience
had been of dangerous consequence in those countries where it,
had been practised;" and therefore it was ordained "that no
person professing to believe in Jesus Christ should be molested
on account of their faith, or denied the free exercise of their par-
ticular modes of worship." This act of religious toleration was
as honorable to the first Catholic colony as it was a fitting
tribute to the genius and sanction of the Christian religion. "It
was the earliest example," says Judge Story, "of a legislator
inviting his subjects to the free indulgence of religious opinion."

"With all that was excellent and grand and far-reaching
in the principles of the Pilgrims, and with all the mighty
influences of the religion of the Pilgrims in its bearing on the
liberties of this nation, — ultimately infinitely more far-reach-
ing than those which had gone out from Maryland, — still,
it cannot be denied that the principles ado[)ted in that colony
were in advance of those which wore held by the settlers of
either Plymouth or Jamestown ; and though coming short of
those hoLl by Roger Williams and William Penn, yet they wore
Huch as the ago, in its progress, was carrying to that result."
This beneficent and fundamental law exerted a highly favorable
influence on the prosperity of the Maryland colony, and largely
increased its population. It was, in time, incorporated in the
legislation of the Ic^s tolerant colonies, an 1 tinnlly became the

96 CHRISTIAlN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

supreme law in all the State Constitutions, as well as in the
Constitution of the United States.

South Carolina

Began her colonial existence and history under the auspices
of the Christian religion. In 1662, a company of emigrants,
generally grandees of England and courtiers of Charles II.,
obtained a charter and settled in South Carolina. In the
charter, it was stated that the colonists, " excited with a laud-
able and pious zeal for the propagation of the gospel, have
begged a certain country in the parts of America, not yet culti-
vated and planted, and only inhabited by some barbarous people,
Yv^ho have no knowledge of God."

In 1669, a second charter was obtained, and the outlines of
its government, under the title of "the Fundamental Constitu-
tion of Carolina," was drawn up by John Locke, the great
Christian philosopher, who declared that Christianity had " God
for its Author, salvation for its end, and truth without any
mixture of error for its matter." In that constitution it is
declared that —

"Since the natives of the place, who will be concerned in our
plantations, are utterly strangers to Christianity, whose idolatry,
ignorance, or mistake gives us no right to expel or treat them
ill, and those who remove from other parts to plant there will
undoubtedly be of different opinions concerning matters of re-
ligion, the liberty whereof they will expect to have allowed them,
and it will not be reasonable on this account to keep them out ;
that civil peace may be maintained amidst the diversity of
opinions, and our agreement and compact with all men may be
duly and faithfully observed ; the violation whereof, upon what
pretence soever, cannot be, without great offence to Almighty
God, and great scandal to the true religion which we profess ;
and also that Jews, heathens, and other dissenters from the
purity of the Christian religion may not be scared and kept at
a distance from it, but, by having opportunity of acquainting
themselves with the truth and reasonableness of its doctrines
and the peaceableness and inoflensiveness of its professors, may
by good usage and persuasion, and all those convincing methods
of gentleness and meekness suitable to the rules and designs of
the gospel, be won over to embrace and unfeignedly to receive
the truth : therefore any seven or more persons, agreeing in

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 97

any religion, shall constitute a Church or profession, to which
they shall give some name, to distinguish it from others."

In the terms of communion of every such Ckureh ot jyTofession,
it was required that the three following articles should appear : —
that there is a God ; that public worship is due from all men to
this Supreme Being ; and that every citizen shall, at the command
of the civil magistrate, deliver judicial testimony with some form
of words indicating a recognition of divine justice and human
responsibility. Only the acknowledged members of some Church
or profession were capable of becoming freemen of Carolina, or
of possessing any estate or habitation within the province ; ami
all persons were forbidden to revile, disturb, or in any way per-
secute the members of any religious association allowed by
law. What was enjoined to freemen was permitted to slaves,
by an article which declared that "since charity obliges us to
wish well to the souls of all men, and religion ought to alter
nothing in any man's civil estate or right, it shall he lawful for
slaves, as well as others, to enter themselves and be of what
Church or profession any of them shall think best and thereof
be as fully members as any freeman."

In another of the articles of '^the Fundamental Constitution" it
was declared that 'Svhenever the country should be sufficiently
peopled and planted, the provincial parliament should enact regu-
lations for the building of churches, and the public maintenance
of divines, to be employed in the cause of religion according to
the canons of the Church of England ;" 'Svhich, being the only
true and orthodox and the national religion of all the king's
dominions, is so also of Carolina ; and therefore it alone shall
be allowed to receive public maintenance by grant of parlia-
ment."

. After twenty years of experiment, the form of government
instituted by Locke was abolished. The French Protestants-,
and Dissenters from England, became the ruling power, and
established a more just and liberal system of government.

The Huguenots formed an important part of the colony of
South Carolina.

The same lovely picture of piety as in the New York colony
was presented by these Christian refugees who had settled in
South Carolina. ''There it was," says Bancroft, "that these
Calvinist exiles could celebrate their worship, withou^ fear, in the
midst of the forests, and minglo the voice of their psalms with

7

98 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

the murmur of the winds which sighed among the mighty oaks.
Their church was in Charleston. They repaired thither every
Sunday from their plantations, which were scattered in all direc-
tions on the banks of the Cooper." The descendants of these
Christian colonists became distinguished in American history,
and exerted a prominent influence in achieving the independ-
ence of the nation. American patriotism, eloquence, oratory,
and jurisprudence are adorned by many noble names, descend-
ants of the Huguenots.

NoETH Carolina,

From the beginning of her colonial history, laid the basis of
her institutions on Christianity. The first permanent settle-
ments were made by fugitives from Virginia, who sought refuge
from the rigid, intolerant laws of that colony, which bore so
heavily on all that could not conform to the ceremonies of the
established Church. When the Puritans were driven from
Virginia, some eminently pious people settled along the sea-
board, where they might be free from the oppression of intoler-
ant laws and bigoted magistrates. About the year 1707, a
colony of Huguenots located on the Trent Kiver, and one of
Palatines at Newbern, each maintaining the peculiar religious
services of the fatherland. The Q.uakers were, like other sects,
compelled to flee from the severe laws passed against them in
Virginia, and sought refuge in Carolina. As early as 1730,
scattered families of Presbyterians from the north of Ireland
were found in various parts of the colony. In 1736 a colony
of Presbyterians came from the province of Ulster, Ireland,
and made a permanent settlement. Subsequently several other
colonies of Presbyterians came from Ireland, and settled in dif-
ferent sections of the colony. These Presbyterian bands rapidly
increased, and formed numerous large congregations, which mul-
tiplied into other congregations ; and thus the colony became
thoroughly Christian, and the people imbued with a fervent love
of liberty.

In 1746 and 1747 a large emigration of Scotch came into the
colony of North Carolina. In the efl"orts of Prince Charles
Edward to obtain the crown of England, the Scotch were in
sympathy with him. George 11. granted pardon to a large
number on condition of their emigration and taking the oath of
allegiance. This is the origin of the Scotch settlements in North

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 99

Carolina. A large number who had taken up arms for the Pre-
tender preferred exile to death or to subjugation in their native
land, and during the years 1746 and 1747 emigrated with their
families a.nd those of many of their friends, to North Carolina.
In the course of a few years, large companies of industrious
Highlanders joined their countrymen.

This Christian people, both in Scotland and this country, con-
tended 'Hhat obligation to God was above all human control,
and for the government of their conscience in all matters of
morality and religion the Bible is the storehouse of information;
— acknowledging no Lord of the conscience but the Son of God,
the head of the Church, Jesus Christ, and the Bible as his divine
communication for the welfare and guide of mankind."

The Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, who formed so large a pro-
portion of the people of North Carolina, and moulded its reli-
gious and political character, were eminently pious and ardent
lovers of liberty. ^' Their religious principles swayed their
political opinions ; and in maintaining their form of worship and
their creed they learned republicanism before they emigrated to
America."

The religious creed of these Christian emigrants formed a
part of their politics so far as to lead them to decide that no
law of human government ought to be tolerated in opposition
to the expressed will of God. Their ideas of religious liberty
have given a coloring to their political notions on all subjects, —
have been, indeed, the foundation of their political creed. The
Bible was their text-book on all subjects of importance, and
their resistance to tyrants was inspired by the free principles
which it taught and enforced.

The following instructions to the delegates of Mecklenburg
county exhibit the sentiments of the people on the Christian
religion as the basis of civil government. It bears date Sep-
tember 1, 1775. The first Provincial Congress of North Caro-
lina was then in session.

*' 13th. You are instructed to assent and consent to the
establishment of the Christian religion, as contained in the
Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, to be the religion of
the state, to the utter exclusion forever of all and every other
(falsely so called) religion, whether pagan or papal ; and that a
full and free and peaceable enjoyment thereof be secured to all
and every constituent member of the state, as their individual

100 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

right as freemen, without the imposition of rites and ceremonies,
whether claiming civil or ecclesiastical power for their source ;
and that a confession and profession of the religion so esta-
blished shall be necessary in qualifying any person for public
trust in the state.

'' 14th. You are also to oppose the establishment of any mode
of worship to be supported to the oppression of the rights of
conscience, and at the destruction of private judgment."

This political paper declares that the people of North Caro-
lina believed the Bible, and from it drew their principles of
morals, religion, and politics. To abjure the Christian religion
would have been, with them, to abjure freedom and immortality.
They asserted in every political form the paramount authority
of the Christian religion as the sole acknowledged religion of
the state and community.

These Christian men, and others like them, constituted the
celebrated Mecklenburg Convention of North Carolina con-
vened in 1775. The convention was composed largely of Presby-
terians, the most distinguished of whom were ministers. The dele-
gates met on the 15th of May, 1775, and during their sittings
news arrived of the battle of Lexington. Every delegate felt
the value and importance of the prize of liberty, and the awful
and solemn crisis which had arrived. Every bosom swelled
with indignation at the malice, inveteracy, and insatiable revenge
developed in the late attack at Lexington.

After a full and free discussion of various subjects, it was
unanimously —

" 2. Eesolved, That we, the citizens of Mecklenburg county,
do hereby dissolve the political bands which have connected us
with the mother-country, and hereby absolve ourselves from
allegiance to the British crown, and abjure all political connec-
tion, contract, and association, with that nation which has wan-
tonly trampled on our rights and liberties, and inhumanly shed
the innocent blood of American patriots at Lexington.

'^ 3. Resolved, That we do hereby declare ourselves a free
and independent people, — that we are, and of right ought to
be, a sovereign and self-governing association, under the control
of no power other than that of God and the general govern-
ment of the Congress ; to the maintenance of which independ-
ence we solemnly pledge to each other our mutual co-operation,
our lives, our fortunes, and our most sacred honor."

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 101

This declaration of independence preceded the one made "by
Congress in 1776 more than a year, and is a noble monument
of the patriotism and piety of the people of North Carolina.

The colony of North Carolina is particularly distinguished
for the large number of able and patriotic ministers who were
diligent laborers in the fields of intellectual and Christian cul-
ture and in sowing broadcast the seeds of liberty and of future
independence. The annals of Biblical learning and of freedom
are adorned wdth the names of Campbell, Hall, Hunter, McAden,
Craighead, Alexander, McWhorter, McCane, Petillo, and others,
who were master-workmen in their department of Christian
labor, and ardent and fearless patriots. These men were the
pioneers of freedom and independence, and in all the measures
preparatory to the coming revolution they were the foremost
leaders.

The Colony of Georgia

Has a suggestive Christian history. James Oglethorpe, a mem-
ber of the British Parliament, imbued with the philanthropic
spirit of the gospel, obtained in 1732 a charter from George IL
to establish a colony in North America. He had in former
years devoted himself to the benevolent work of relieving multi-
tudes in England who were imprisoned for debt and suffering
in loathsome jails. Actuated by Christian motives, he desired
to see these poor sufferers placed in an independent condition,
and projected a colony in America for that purpose. ''For
them, and for persecuted Protestants," says Bancroft, 'Mie
planned an asylum and a destiny in America, where former
poverty would be no reproach, and where the simplicity of piety
could indulge the spirit of devotion without fear of persecution
from men who hated the rebuke of its example." This Chris-
tian enterprise enlisted " the benevolence of England ; the
charities of an opulent and enlightened nation were to be con-
centrated on the new plantation; the Society for Propagating
the Gospel in Foreign Parts sought to promote its interests; and
Parliament showed its good will by contributing ten thousand
pounds."

In January, 1732, Oglethorpe, with one hundred and twenty
fiinigrants, landed in America, and on the basis of the Cliristian
religion laid the future commonwealth of Georgia. The Chris-
tian liberality and philanthropy of the founder of the colony

102 CHEISJIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

spread its fame far and wide ; for it was announced that the
rights of citizenship and all the immunities of the colony "would
be extended to all Protestant emigrants from any nation of
Europe, desirous of refuge from persecution, or willing to under-
take the religious instruction of the Indians." The Moravians,
or United Brethren, — a denomination of Christians founded by
Count Zinzendorf, a German nobleman of the fifteenth century,
— were invited to emigrate to the colony of Georgia. They
accepted the invitation, and arrived in the winter of 1736.
Their object was to Christianize and convert the Indians, and to
aid in planting the institutions of the New World on the basis
of Christianity. The journal of John Wesley during the
voyage exhibits the godly manner of the emigrants. "Our
common way," says he, "of living was this. From four of the
morning till five, each of us used private j)rayer. From five to
seven we read the Bible together, carefully comparing it (that
we might not lean to our own understanding) with the writings
of the earliest ages. At eight were public prayers. At four were
the evening prayers, — when either the second lesson was ex-
plained, or the children were catechized and instructed before
the congregation. From five to six we again used private
prayer. At seven I joined with the Germans in their public
service. At eight we met again, to exhort and instruct one
another. Between nine and ten we went to bed, where neither
the roaring of the sea nor the motion of the ship could take
away the refreshing sleep which God gave us." What a Chris-
tian way of spending the time, for emigrants sailing over the
mighty deep to aid in founding a Christian empire on the shores
of a new world !

When these Christian emigrants touched the shore, their first
act was "to kneel and return thanks to God for their having
safely arrived in Georgia." " Our end in leaving our native
country," said they, "is not to gain riches and honor, but singly
this, — to live wholly to the glory of God." Their object was
"to make Georgia a religious colony, having no theory but
devotion, no ambition but to quicken the sentiment of piety."

The Christian founder of the commonwealth of Georgia car-
ried his Christian principles into all the official transactions of
the colony. The survey and division of the lots in the city of
Savannah were conducted under the sanctions of religion. On
the 7th of July, 1733, the emigrants met in a body upon the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OP THE UNITED STATES. 103

bluff of the river, before Oglethorpe's tent, and, having returned
thanks to Almighty God and joined in prayer for his blessing
to rest upon the colony and city they were about to found, they
proceeded to lay out the lots and divide them in a Christian
manner. They felt and said, ^'Except the Lord keep the city,
the watchman waketh but in vain."

Under the administration of Oglethorpe, the colony greatly
prospered and increased in numbers. " His undertaking will
succeed," said Johnson, Governor of South Carolina; ''for he
nobly devotes all his powers to serve the poor and rescue them
from wretchedness." " He bears a great love to the servants
and children of God," said the pastor of a Moravian church.
"He has taken care of us to the utmost of his ability. God has
so blessed us with his presence and his regulations in the land,
that others would not in many years have accomplished what he
has brought about in one."

In 1734, after a residence of fifteen months in Georgia, Ogle-
thorpe returned to England. He succeeded in obtaining ad-
ditional patronage for the colony, and in October, 1735, set sail
with three hundred emigrants, and after a long and stormy
voyage they reached the colony of Georgia in February, 1736,
where they were joined a few days after by a band of Christian
emigrants from the highlands of Scotland.

These colonists were accompanied by John and Charles
Wesley, the founders of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Their purpose was to aid Oglethorpe in his philanthropic labors
and to convert the Indians to Christianity. Charles Wesley
held the office of Secretary for Indian Affairs, and also that of a
chaplain to Governor Oglethorpe.

Ptcv. Mr. Stevens, a historian of Georgia, says that ''John
Wesley established a school of thirty or forty children, and
hired a teacher, in which he designed to blend religious instruc-
tion with worldly wisdom ; and on Sunday afternoon Mr. Wes-
ley met them in the church before evening service, and heard
the children recite their catechism, questioned them as to what
they had learned in the Bible, instructed them still further in
the Bible, endeavoring to fix the truth in their understandings
;is well as in their memories. This was a regular part of tlicir
Sunday duties; and it shows that John Wcdley, in the parish of
Christ's Church, in Savannah, had established a Sunday-school
nearly fifty years before Eobert Baikcs originated his noble

104 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

scheme of Sunday-instruction in Gloucester, England, and
eighty years before the first school in America on Mr. Pvaikes's
plan was established in New York."

George Whitefield visited Georgia, and preached with wonder-
ful eloquence and zeal, and labored with apostolic faith and
perseverance in founding an Orphan Asylum, a ''Bethesda,"
a " House of Mercy," for orphan children. His fame and
influence soon spread over -the colonies, and wherever he
went tens of thousands of people hung with breathless interest
on his preaching. He made a number of voyages to Eng-
land and back to America, and died in Newburyport, Massa-
chusetts, in 1770. In consequence of his Christian services
to Georgia, and especially his efforts for the orphans, the
legislature of the colony proposed to remove his remains to
Savannah and to bury them at public cost. Dr. Franklin
wrote to Dr. Jones, of Georgia, on the subject as follows:
— " I cannot forbear expressing the pleasure it gives me to
see an account of the respect paid to Whitefields memory,
by your Assembly. I knew him intimately upwards of thirty
years : his integrity, disinterestedness, and indefatigable zeal
in prosecuting every good work / have never seen equalled, I
shall never see excelled." And such was the effect of White-
field's preaching in Philadelphia that Franklin said, "It was
wonderful to see the change soon made in the manner of our
inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about
religion, it seemed as if all the world were growing religious,
so that one could not walk through the town in an evening
without hearing psalms sung in different families in every
street."

" It is a matter of great interest," says the historian of
Georgia, '' that religion was planted with the first settlers, and
that the English, the Salzburgers, the Moravians, the Methodists,
the Presbyterians, and the Israelites severally brought with them
the ministers or the worship of their respective creeds. The
Christian element of colonization — that without which the others
are powerless to give true and lasting elevation — entei-^ largely
into the colonization of Georgia, and did much for her pros-
perity and glory. No colony can point to a leader or founder
in whose character meet more eminent qualities or more en-
during worth than in that of James Oglethorpe, the father of
Georgia."

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 105

These Christian facts in the colonial history of our country
suggest the following lessons : —

1. The faith of the Puritans, and of the founders of the
various colonies, in the divine ori2:in and authoritv of civil
government.

They held firmly to the declarations of the Bible, that
''there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained
of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the
ordinance of God." And the doctrine of the divine origin of civil
government led these Christian men to regard the civil ruler
as the "minister of God to the people for good; and that he
that ruleth should rule in the fear of God." This true and
noble faith in reference to civil government and the character
of the men who administered it placed the entire administra-
tion of government under the direction of God and in harmony
with his will. The results of this faith and practice Avill always
be in perfect harmony with the just ends of government and
with the highest political and moral propriety of a nation. This
grand idea was one that was always supreme in the minds and
purposes of the Puritan and other colonial legislators in respect
to civil government. They ever regarded government as from
God ; and this view invested it with all the dignity and
authority of a divine institution.

" The first settlers," says Lord Brougham, "of all the colonies,
were men of irreproachable character. Many of them fled from
persecution; others on account of honorable poverty; and all
of them with their expectations limited to the prospect of a
l)are subsistence in freedom and peace. All idea of wealth or
pleasure was out of the question. The greater part of them
viewed their emigration as a taking up the cross, and bounded
their lio{)es of riches to the gifts of tlie Spirit, and their ambi-
tion to the desire of a kingdom beyond the grave. A set of
men more conscientious in their doings, or simpler in their
manners, never founded an empire. It is indeed the peculiar
i^lory of North America that, with very few exceptions, its
<»mpire was founded in charity and peace."

2. The subordination of civil government to the power of tlio
Christian religion.

"Tht^y looked upon tlieir commonwealths as institutions for
the preservation of the Churches, and the civil rulers as both
members and fathers of them." llenco it was a favorite doctrin<j

106 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Avith the first settlers of the colonies of Massachusetts and Con-
necticut, that all freemen and civil rulers must be in communion
with the Churches, and so promote the interest and spread of
Christianity.

This doctrine had an eminent advocate in the celebrated John
Cotton, the first minister of Boston.

"The government," says he, ''might be considered as a
theocracy, wherein the Lord was judge, lawgiver, and king ; that
the laws which he gave Israel might be adopted so far as they
were of a moral and perpetual equity ; that the people might
be considered as God's people in covenant with him ; that none
but persons of approved piety and eminent gifts should be
chosen rulers." At the desire of the court, he compiled a
system of laws, which were considered by the legislative body
as the general standard.

The same fact was stated by President Stiles, of Yale College,
in 1783. ''It is certain," said he, "that civil dominion was but
the second motive, religion the primary one, with our ances-
tors in coming hither and settling this land. It was not so
much their design to establish religion for the benefit of the
state, as civil government for the benefit of religion, and as sub-
servient .and even necessary towards the peaceable and un-
molested exercise of religion, — of that religion for which they
fled to these ends of the earth. They designed, in thus laying
the foundations of a new state, to make it a model for the glorious
kingdom of Christ."

Kev. John Norton, in 1661, declared, in an election sermon,
that they came into this wilderness to live under the order of
the gospel; 'Hhat our policy may be a gosjDel policy, and may be
complete according to the Scriptures, answering fully to the
word of God: this is the work of our generation, and the very
work we engaged for in this wilderness ; this is the .scope and
end of it, that which is loritten upon the forehead of New
England, viz., the complete walking in the faith of the gospel
according to the order of the gospel!'

3. The end and operations of civil government to propagate
and subserve the Christian religion.

"The Pilgrims," says P^ev. P. S. Storrs, "would have held that
state most imperfect which contented itself and complacently
rested in its own advancement and special prosperities, without
seeking to benefit others around it. They esteemed that pro-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 107

gress to be radically wanting in greatness and value wliicli was
a mere progress in power and wealth and in physical success ;
which gained no results of great character and culture, and
blossomed out to no wealthy fruits of enlarged Christian know-
ledge. The moral, to them, was superior to the physical ; the
attainments of Christian wisdom and piety, above accumulations
of worldly resources ; the alliance of the soul with God, through
faith, above the conquest and mastery of t;iature. And to these
they held the state to be tributary, as they held all things else that
existed on the earth, — the very earth itself and its laws. Not a
mere police establishment was the state, on their theory, accom-
plishing its office in protecting its subjects and punishing crimi-
nals. It was to them a place and a power of the noblest edu-
cation ; a teeming nursery of all good influences and heavenly
growths, from which letters, charities, and salvation should
proceed, and in which they should perpetually be nourished.
Philanthropic endeavors, and missionary enterprises, were to be
its results, the proofs of its prosperity, the real and im-
perishable rewards of its founders. It existed in order that cha-
racters might be formed, commanding, large, and full of light,
whose record should make all history brighter, whose influence
should link the earth with the skies. And they expected the
Millennium itself, with its long eras of peace and of purity, of
tranquil delight and illuminated wisdom, to spring as the last
and crowning fruitage from the states they were founding, and
from others like them."

4. The position and influence of the ministers of the gospel
in the civil afiairs of the state.

They were consulted on all matters pertaining to the civil
aflairs of the New England colonies, and had the controlling
influence in formiing and directing the civil government. Thu
very first written code of laws for Massachusetts, under the
charter of 1629, was drawn up by a minister. And the in-
struction of the civil court, appointed to frame the laws of the
commonwealth, was to make them ''as near the law of Go J as
they can." "They had great power in the people's heart," says
Winthrop. " Religion ruled the state through its ministers."

Ministers were selected as agents to obtain charters and
petition the king and Parliament, as well as to direct the cha-
racter of the civil government at homo. "The clergy were
gen. -rally consulted on civil matters, and the suggestions they

108 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

gave from the pulpit on election-clays and other special occasions
were enacted into laws."

Before the Declaration of Independence, the Bishop of St.
Asaph, in England, published a discourse, in which are found
the following remarkable passages in reference to the North
American colonies : —

''It is difficult," says he, "for man to look into the destiny
of future ages: the designs of Providence are vast and com-
plicated, and our own powers are too narrow to admit of much
satisfaction to our curiosity. But when we see so many. great
and powerful causes constantly at work, we cannot doubt of their
producing proportional effects.

*' The colonies in North America have not only taken root
and acquired strength, hut seem hastening with an accelerated
progress to such a powerful state as may introduce a new and
imfortant change in human affairs.

" Descended from ancestors of the most improved and en-
lightened part of the Old World, they receive as it were by in-
heritance all the improvements and discoveries of their mother-
country. And it happens fortunately for them to commence
their flourishing state at a time when the human understanding
has attained to the free use of its powers and has learned to act
with vigor and certainty. And let it be well understood what
rapid improvements, what important discoveries, have been
made, in a few years, by a few countries, with our own at the
head, which have at last discovered the right method of using
their faculties.

'^ May we not reasonably expect that a number of provinces
possessed of these advantages and quickened by mutual emula-
tion, with only the progress of the human mind, should very
considerably enlarge the boundaries of science? It is difficult
even to imagine to what height of improvement their discoveries
may extend.

^^ And perhaps they may make as comiderahle advances in
the arts of civil government and the conduct of life. May they
not possibly be more successful than their mother-country has
been in preserving that reverence and authority which are due
to the laws, — to those who make them, and to those who exe-
cute them? May not a method be invented of procuring
some tolerable share of the comforts of life to those inferior
useful ranks of men to whose industry we are indebted for the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 109

whole? Time and discipline may discover some means to cor-
rect the extreme inequalities between the rich and the poor, so
dangerous to the innocence and happiness of both. They may,
fortunately, be led by habit and choice to despise that luxury
which is considered with us the true enjoyment of wealth.
They may have little relish for that ceaseless hurry of amuse-
ments which is pursued in this country without pleasure, exer-
cise, or employment. And perhaps, after trying some of our
follies and caprices, and rejecting the rest, they may be led by
reason and experiment to that old simplicity which was first
pointed out by nature, and has produced those models which
we still admire in arts, eloquence, and manners.

" The diversity of the new scenes and new situations, which
so many growing states must necessarily pass through, may
introduce changes in the fluctuating opinions and manners of
men which we can form no conception of; and not only the
gracious disposition of Providence, but the visible preparation
of causes, seems to indicate strong tendencies towards a general
improvement."

John Adams, in contemplating the Christian colonization of
the American continent, uttered the following views of the
design of Providence : — '' I always consider," said he, " the
settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the open-
ing of a grand scheme and design of Providence for the illumi-
nation of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part
of mankind all over the earth."

110 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

CHAPTER IX.

CHRISTIAN STATESMEN OF THE REVOLUTION — REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF DIF-
FERENT AGES — THEIR INFLUENCE — VIEWS OF THE MEN OF THE REVOLUTION
ON THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION — OTIS — WARREN — SAMUEL ADAMS — HANCOCK —
JOHN ADAMS — SHERMAN — WITHERSPOON — FRANKLIN — JEFFERSON — MADISON
— JAY — BOUDINOT — LIVINGSTON — TRUMBULL — WASHINGTON, AND OTHERS —
THEIR STATE PAPERS — LORD CHATHAM'S EULOGY — WEBSTER's VIEW — VIEWS
OF THE STATESMEN OF THE REVOLUTION ON AMERICAN SLAVERY — JOHN
QUINCY ADAMS's VIEW OF THE BIBLE — GENERAL JACKSON'S VIEWS OF CHRIS-
TIANITY— HENRY clay's VIEWS — DANIEL WEBSTER's VIEWS — CONTRAST Of'
CHRISTIAN AND INFIDEL STATESMEN.

Wise and good men are God's workmen in laying the
foundations and in completing tlie structures of liuman
society. Every great and important era in history has been
distinguished by the providential appearance and the suc-
cessful labors of superior men, whose minds have been illumi-
nated and whose steps have been guided by divine wisdom,
and who have given progress to the interests of liberty and
religion. As representative men, — men of God, ordained and
prepared for their special mission, — contemplate Moses, the
man of Providence, whose wisdom and genius have moulded
the civil and religious institutions of all Christian nations;
Paul, whose Christian faith, inspired writings, and heroic life
have kindled the fires of freedom and truth among the nations
of the earth, and exerted a boundless influence upon the intel-
lectual and spiritual elevation and regeneration of the world ;
Luther, who by his masterly intellect and genius, his invincible
Christian faith, iron will, indomitable energy, richness of learning,
and earnest devotion to truth, has liberated the human intel-
lect from the shackles of ecclesiastical and civil despotism, and
put into ceaseless activity agencies and influences which are
working out the emancipation of nations and the moral regene-
ration of the world; Calvin, the profound thinker and theologian,
" who," says Bancroft, " infused enduring elements into the
institutions of Geneva, and made it for the modern world the
impregnable fortress <"-f popular freedom, the fertile seed-plot
of democracy. He spread the fires of freedom in Scotland and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. Ill

carried the seeds of civil liberty and revolution to New Eng-
land;" Wickliffe, the Oxford professor, and the translator of the
Bible into the English language, who planted the seeds of the
English Eeformation, and started influences that resulted in
Puritan emigration and the founding of a Christian nation on
the American continent; Wesley, who by his practical wis-
dom and piety, and his sanctified genius, revived '' Christianity
in earnest," and put into intense and benevolent activity Chris-
tian and educational forces which are working effectually among
the nations for their deliverance from error, ignorance, and
despotism; Washington, — the defender of his country, the
founder of a Christian republic, — whose fame and influence are
as boundless as the world, and whose great example, illustrious
life, profound practical wisdom, and unaffected piety have
made him the ornament of the race and the benefactor of the
world. These men were men of God, and divinely endowed
and prepared for their great Christian work in giving the
blessings of civil and religious liberty to nations.

'' The affairs of men," says Lord Brougham, ''the interests and
history of nations, the relative value of institutions as discovered
by their actual working, the merit of different systems of policy
as tried by their effects, are all very imperfectly examined with-
out a thorough knowledge of the individuals who administered
the systems and presided over the management of public coii-
cerns. The history of empires is indeed the history of me;..
— not only of the nominal rulers of the people, but of the leadin^i:
persons who exerted a sensible influence over the destinies ol
their fellow-creatures, whether the traces of that influence re-
sided in themselves, or, as in the case of lesser minds, their
power was confined to their own times."

The men of the Kevolution had been, under the provideiic'
of God, trained and qualified for their groat work. The Chris-
tian conflicts in Europe antecedent to American colonization,
their Christian ancestors who had established their civil and
.social institutions on the Bible, the Christian schools in wliich
thoy had been educated, and the purity and manly vigor of the
Christian fiiith which had formed their character and directed
their conduct, — these agencies had been at work to qualify the
men who wrought the American Kevolution and instituted our
present forms of civil government. An outline sketch of the faith
and declarations of the men who founded our civil institutions,

112 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

in relation to the Cliristian religion and its necessity to civil
government, will be recorded in the present chapter.

James OtiS;

Of Massachusetts, was among the first and foremost champions
of freedom. He was educated, under Christian influences, by
Eev. Jonathan Eussell, minister of his parish, and in this Chris-
tian school caught the indomitable spirit of resistance to des-
potism. ''Otis," said John Adams, ''is a flame of fire," — refer-
ring to a speech he made in Boston, in 1761, against the oppression
of the British Government. " With a promptitude of classical
allusions, a depth of research, a rapid summary of historical
events and dates, a profusion of legal authorities, a prophetic
glance of his eyes into futurity, and a rapid torrent of impetu-
ous eloquence, he hurried all before him. American independ-
ence was then and there born. The seeds of patriots and heroes
to defend the vigorous youth were there and then sown. In
fifteen years — i.e. in 1776 — he grew up to manhood and de-
clared himself free."

"There can be," said Otis, "no prescriptions old enough
to supersede the law of nature, and the grant of Almighty
God, who has given all men a right to be free. Government
springs from the necessities of our nature, and has an everlasting
foundation in the unchangeable will of God. The first principle
and great end of government being to provide for thqj3est good
of all the people, this can be done only by a supreme legislature
and executive, ultimately in the people, or the whole commu-
nity, where God has placed it.

" The right of every man to his life, his liberty, no created
being can rightfully contest. They are rights derived from
the Author of nature, — inherent, inalienable, and indefeasible
by any law, compacts, contracts, covenants, or stipulations which
man can devise. God made all men naturally equal."

Joseph Warren

Was as eminent for his virtues as for his intense patriotism.
He fell a martyr to liberty at Bunker Hill, the 17th of June,
1775. He combined in a remarkable degree the qualities
requisite for excellence in civil pursuits, with a strong taste for
the military. He was educated at Cambridge University, and
had in high perfection the gift of eloquence. His fine accom-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 113

plisliments as an orator, a patriot, and a professional and lite-
rary man were crowned with tlie virtues of religion. ''There
is hardly one," says Sparks, ''whose example exercised a more
inspiring and elevating influence upon his countrymen and the
world than that of the brave, blooming, generous, self-devoted
martyr of Bunker Hill. Such a character is the noblest spec-
tacle whicli the moral world affords. It is declared by a poet
to be a spectacle worthy of the gods. The friends of liberty,
from all countries and throughout all time, as they kneel upon
the spot that was moistened by the blood of Warren, will find
their better feelings strengthened by the influence of the place,
and will gather from it a virtue in some degree allied to his
own."

On the morning of the battle of Bunker Hill, at a meeting
of the Committee of Safety, Elbridge Gerry earnestly requested
him not to expose his person. " I am aware of the danger,"
replied Warren; "but I should die with shame if I were to
remain at home in safety while my friends and fellow-citizens
are shedding their blood and hazarding tlieir lives in the
cause." "Your ardent temper," replied Gerry, "will carry you
forward into the midst of peril, and you will probably fall."
" I know that I may fall," replied Warren ; " but where is the-
man who does not think it glorious and beautiful to dio for-
his country?"

"Dulcc et decorum est pro patria mori."

" In the private walks of life," said an orator who pronounced
a eulogy on Warren in Boston, April 8, 1776, at the reinter-
ment of his remains, " he was a pattern for mankind. In public
life, the sole object of his ambition was to acquire the conscience
of virtuous enterprises : amor patrice was the spring of his ac-
tions, and mens conseia recti was his guide. And on this security
he was, on every occasion, ready to sacrifice his health, his
interest, and his ease to the calls of his country. When the
liberties of his country were attacked, he appeared an early
chamjiion in the contest; and tlioui:^h his knowledge and abili-
ties would have insured riches and preferment (could lie have
stooped to prostitution), yet he nobly withstood the fascinating
charm, tossed fortune back her plume, and pursued the inflex-
ible purpose of his soul in guiltless competence. The greatness
of his soul shone even in the moment of death. In fine, to com-
ploto the great character, Uke Harrington he wrote, like Cicero

114 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

he spoke, and like Wolfe he died. The name and the virtues
of Warren shall remain immortal."

In an oration delivered in Boston, March 5, 1772, Warren,
after discussing the principles of liberty, closes as follows : —

^'If you with united zeal and fortitude oppose the torrent
of oppression ; if you feel the true fire of patriotism burning in
your breasts; if you from your souls despise the most gaudy
dress that slavery can wear ; if you really prefer the lonely cot-
tage (whilst blest with liberty) to gilded palaces surrounded with
the ensigns of slavery, — you may have the fullest assurances that
tyranny, with her whole accursed train, will hide their hideous
heads in confusion, shame, and despair. If you perform your
part, you must have the strongest confidence that the same
ALMIGHTY Being who protected your venerable and pious fore-
fathers, who enabled them to turn a barren wilderness into a
fruitful field, who so often made hare his arm for their salvation,
will be still mindful of you, their offspring.

'^ May this ALMIGHTY Being graciously preside in all our
councils. May he direct us to such measures as he himself will
approve and be pleased to bless. May we ever be a people
favored of God. May our land be a land of liberty, the
seat of virtue, the asylum of the oppressed, a name and a
praise in the whole earth, until the last shock of time shall
bury the empires of the world in one common undistinguished
ruin."

Samuel Adams,

A true Christian statesman and hero, wise, ardent, fearless,
■and influential, was '' a member of the church, and in a rigid
community was an example of morals and the scrupulous ob-
servance of every ordinance. Evening and morning his house
was a house of prayer; and no one more revered the Christian
Sabbath." He was among the foremost patriots of the Revolu-
tion, and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
After that act had been passed, he stood on the steps of the
Continental State-House, on the 1st of August, 1776, in Phila-
delphia, and, before thousands of patriots, delivered an oration,
in which are the following passages : —

" The time at which this attempt on our liberties was made,
when we were ripened into maturity, had acquired a knowledge
of war, and were free from intestine enemies, — the gradual ad-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 115

varices of our oppressors, enabling us to prepare for our defence,
— the unusual fertility of our lands, — the success which at first
attends our feeble arms, producing unanimity among our friends
and reducing our internal foes to acquiescence, — these are
strong and palpable assurances that Providence is yet gracious
unto our Zion, that it will turn away our captivity.

" These are instances of, I w^ould say, an almost astonishing
providence in our favor ; so that we may truly say that it is not our
arm that has saved us. The hand of Heaven appears to have led
us on to be, perhaps, humble instruments and means in the great
providential dispensation which is completing. Brethren and
fellow-countrymen, if it was ever granted to mortals to trace
the designs of Providence and interpret its manifestations in
favor of its cause, we may, with humility of soul, cry out,
' Not unto us, not unto us, but to thy name be the praise.'

" My countrymen, from the day on which an accommodation
takes place between England and America on any other terms
than as independent states, I shall date the ruin of this coun-
try. We are now, to the astonishment of the world, three
millions of souls united in one common cause. This day we
are called on to give a glorious example of what the w^isest and
best of men were rejoiced to view only in speculation. This
day presents the world with the most august spectacle that it's
annals ever unfolded, — millions of freemen voluntarily and
deliberately forming themselves into a society for the common
defence and common happiness. Immortal spirits of Hampden,
Locke, and Sidney ! will it not add to your benevolent joys to
behold your posterity rising to the dignity of men, and evinc-
ing to the world the reality and expediency of your systems,
and in the actual enjoyment of that equal liberty which you
were happy, when on earth, in delineating and recommending
to mankind !"

Patrick Henry,

The passionate and eloquent orator of liberty and the Revolu-
tion, was a profound believer in the divinity of Christianity, and
declared its necessity to nations and governments as well as to
the salvation and happiness of the soul. In A]U'il, 1775, h«^
uttered the following Christian sentiments : —

" Ho had no doubt that that God who, in former ages, had
hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he might pIiow his power and

116 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

glory in the redemption of liis chosen people, for similar pur-
poses had permitted the flagrant outrages which had occurred
throughout the continent. It was for them now to determine
whether they were worthy of divine interference, — whether they
would accept the high boon now held out to them by Heaven; —
that, if they would, though it might lead them through a sea
of blood, they were to remember that the same God whose
power divided the Bed Sea for the deliverance of Israel still
reigned in all his glory, unchanged and unchangeable, — was
still the enemy of the oppressor and the friend of the oppressed,
- — that he would cover them from their enemies by a pillar of
cloud by day, and guide them through the night by a pillar of
fire."

In an impassioned burst of patriotism, he exclaimed, "We
must fight. I repeat it, sir, we must fight. An appeal to
arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. Nor shaU
we fight our battles alone. That God who presides over the
destinies of nations will raise up friends for us."

In reference to resolutions against the scheme of taxing the
colonies, passed by the Virginia legislature in 1765, he stated,
" Whether they will prove a blessing or a curse will depend on
the use which our people make of the blessings which a gra-
cious God hath bestowed on us. If they are wise, they will be
great and happy. If they are of a contrary character, they
will be miserable. Righteousness alone can exalt them as a
nation." Keader, whoever thou art, remember this, and in thy
sphere practise virtue thyself, and encourage it in others.

" He was," says Wirt, his biographer, " a sincere Christian.
His favorite religious works were Doddridge's Rise and Progress
of Eeligion in the Soul, Butler's Analogy of Religion Natural
and Revealed, and Jenyns's Views of the Internal Evidences
of the Christian Religion." '' Here," said he to a friend
(holding up the Bible), " is a book worth more than all other
books that were ever printed."

His last will bears this testimony, to his children and his
countrymen, to the truth and importance of religion : — " I have
now disposed of all my worldly property to my family : there
is one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is the
Christian religion. If they had this, and I had not given them
one shilling, they would be rich ; and if they had it not, and I
had given them all the world, they would be poor."

civil institutions of the united states. 117

John Hancock,

The son of a clergyman of Braintree, Massachusetts;, was dis-
tinguished for his patriotism, piety, and benevolence. His
great wealth and eminent talents were consecrated to his coun-
try. He was President of the Congress of 1776, and his name,
in a bold, broad hand, stands first on the Declaration of Inde-
pendence. Early in the struggle for independence and freedom
he inspired his patriot companions with such stirring Christian
words as these : —

'' I have the most animating confidence that the present
noble struggle for liberty will terminate gloriously for America.
And let us play the men for our God, and for the cities of our God :
while we are using the means in our power, let us humbly commit
our righteous cause to the great Lord of the Universe, who
loveth righteousness and hateth iniquity. And, having secured
the approbation of our hearts by a faithful and unwearied dis-
charge of our duty to our country, let us joyfully leave our
concerns in the hands of Him who raiseth up and putteth down
the empires and kingdoms of the earth as he pleaseth, and,
with cheerful submission to his sovereign will, devoutly say,
* Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit he in
the vines ; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the field shall
yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there
shall be no herd in the stall : yet we will rejoice in the Lord, we
will joy in the God of our salvation' "

John Adams,

The orator of the Eevolution, signer of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, the first Vice-President and second President of the
United States, was a firm believer in Christianity. He was early
trained in its heavenly lessons, being the son of a deacon of the
Congregational Church, of which he himself became a member.
" His faith and soul clung to the Christian religion as the hope
of himself and his country." In every position, he exerted
his great powers to extend its beneficent reign. He was a fiiith-
ful attendant on the public worship of God at home and when
attending to his public duties abroad. Jefferson said of Adams
that " a man more perfectly honest never came from tlic hands
of the Creator."

"The Christian religion," Adams said, " as I undci-stand it, is

118 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

tlie brightness of the glory and the express portrait of the charac-
ter of the eternal, self-existent, independent, benevolent, all-power-
ful, and all-merciful Creator, Preserver and Father of the universe,
the first good, the first perfect, and the first fair. It will last as
long as the world. Neither savage nor civilized man, without a
revelation, could have discovered or invented it." "Religion
and virtue are the only foundations, not only of republicanism
and of all free governments, but of social felicity under all gov-
ernments and in all the combinations of human society. Science,
liberty, and religion are the choicest blessings of humanity :
without their joint influence no society can be great, flourishing,
or happy."

Mr. Adams was the first minister to England after peace was
established. On the 9th of June, 1785, he was presented to the
court of Great Britain, and made to the Queen of England the
following address : —

" Permit me, madam, to recommend to your majesty's royal
goodness a rising empire and an infant virgin world. Another
Europe, madam, is rising in America. To a philosophical mind
like your majesty's, there cannot be a more pleasing contempla-
tion than the prospect of doubling the human species and aug-
menting at the same time their prosperity and happiness. It
will in future ages be the glory of these kingdoms to have
planted that country and to have sown there those seeds of
science, of liberty, of virtue, and, permit me, madam, to add, of
PIETY, which alone constitute the prosperity of nations and the
happiness of the human race."

When the Declaration of Independence was passed, Adams
wrote to his wife as follows : —

" The fourth day of July, 1776, will be a memorable epoch in
the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be cele-
brated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary fes-
tival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverence,
by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty God. It ought to be
solemnized with pomp, shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bon-
fires, and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the
other, from this time forward forever.

^' You will think me transported with an enthusiasm; but I am
not. I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that
it will cost us to maintain this declaration and support and de-
fend these States ; yet through all the gloom I can see the rays

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 119

of liglit and glory. I can see that the end is worth more than
all the means, and that posterity will triumph, although you
and I may rue it, — which I hope we shall not."

Robert Treat Paine,

A signer of the Declaration of Independence, had studied
prayerfully and thoroughly the whole range of theology before
he entered upon the study of law. He was for a short time
chaplain in the army, and preached occasionally in Boston.
'' He was a decided, firm believer in the Christian revelation,
and was fully convinced of its divine origin. He received it as
a system of moral truth and righteousness given by God for the
instruction, consolation, and happiness of man. His intellec-
tual, moral, and religious character was strongly marked with
integrity."

Elbridge Gerry,
Also a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Vice-
President of the United States, was a statesman who recognized
the providence of God in human affairs, and had faith in the
divinity of Christianity. In a letter to Samuel Adams, Decem-
ber 13, 1775, he says, " History can hardly produce such a
series of events as has taken place in favor of American oppo-
sition. The hand of Heaven seems to have directed every occur-
rence. Had such an event as lately occurred at Essex happened
to Cromwell, he would have published it as a miracle in his
favor, and excited his soldiers to enthusiasm and bravery." '' It
is the duty of every citizen," he said, ^' though he had but one day
to live, to devote that day to the service of his country." '' May
that Omnipotent Being," (in addressing the Senate in 1814,)
"who with infinite wisdom and justice presides over the desti-
nies of nations, confirm the heroic patriotism which has glowed
in the breasts of the national rulers, and convince the enemy
that, whilst a disposition to peace on honorable and equitable
terms will ever prevail in their public councils, one spirit, ani-
mated by the love of country, will inspire every department of
the national government."

Matthew Thornton,
A native of Ireland, was distinguished in the cause of liberty.
He wiia a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and the

120 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

disciple and friend of Washington. '' No man was more deeply
impressed with a belief in the existence and bounties of an over-
ruling Providence, — which he strongly manifested by a practical
application of the strongest and wisest injunctions of the Chris-
tian reliQ;ion. A believer in the divine mission of our Savior, he
followed the great principles of his doctrines."

Stephen Hopkins

Was a pure-minded patriot and Christian statesman. He signed
the Declaration of Independence, and bore a distinguished part in
securing our liberties and forming our free institutions. He
was a Quaker, and took an active interest in their church-affairs,
and opened his house for their religious worship. He was well
acquainted w^th the evidences of Christianity, and was frequently
heard to confound the cavils of infidels and to establish the
divinity of the Christian religion.

William Ellery,

An ardent patriot, active and influential in Congress, and a signer
of the Declaration of Independence, was a Christian statesman.
'' He studied the Scriptures with reverence and diligence ; feel-
inoj their value, seekino: for the truth, and aimino; at the obe-
dience they require." He had firm faith in the justice and good-
ness of God. In the most gloomy periods of the Revolution, he
always ended his cheering addresses by saying, "Let us be hopeful
and trusting; for 'the Lord reigneth.'"

Roger Sherman
Was a wise legislator, an ardent and incorruptible patriot, and
a ripe Christian statesman. He had the unbounded confidence
of Congress, and was on the committee to draft the Declaration
of Independence. In Congress he advocated the Christian duty
and propriety of appointing days of fasting and prayer and
thanksgiving to Almighty God, and was the author of several
of those eminently Christian state papers. He had great influ-
ence in imbuing the public and legislative transactions of the
country with a scriptural sense of the need of God's presence
and blessing. Washington esteemed and revered him as an emi-
nent Christian and as a wise statesman. Adams said, " He was one
of the soundest and strongest pillars of the Revolution." In early
youth he made a public profession of religion, and for more than

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 121

a half-century lie defended its doctrines and illustrated its vir-
tues. He applied Christian principles to every department of
ociety, and considered all governments sadly defective that
were not based on the moral teachings and principles of the
Bible.

At his funeral it was said by his pastor, Jonathan Edwards,
.Tun., D.D., that, '' whether we consider him as a politician or
a Christian, he was a great and good man. The words of David
concerning Abner may with great truth be applied on this oc-
casion : — ' Know ye not that there is a great man fallen this
day in Israel?' He ever adorned the profession of Christianity
which he made in youth, was distinguished through life for
public usefulness, and died in prospect of a blessed immor-
tality."

The predominant traits in Mr. Sherman's character were his
practical wisdom and his strong common sense. Mr. Jefferson,
on one occasion, when pointing out the various members of
Congress to a friend, said, — "That is Mr. Sherman, of Con-
necticut, a Tiian who never said a foolish thing in his life.'*
He possessed a singular power of penetrating into the charac-
ters and motives of men, while the rectitude and integrity
of his own nature enabled him to acquire an extraordinary
influence. "Though a man naturally of strong passions, ho
obtained a complete control over them, by means of his deep
religious spirit, and became habitually calm, sedate, and self-
possessed."

Samuel Huntington

Acted a prominent part in achieving our independence, and was
a signer of the Declaration of Independence. "He was a firm
friend of order and religion, a member of the Christian Church,
and punctual in his devotions of the fomily. He was, occa-
sionally, the people's mouth to God when destitute of preaching.
As a professor of Christianity and a supporter of its institutions,
lie was exemplary and devout."

William Williams

Was the son of Rev. Solomon Williams, who for fifty-four years
was the pastor of the Congregational church of Lebanon, Con-
necticut. "He was a man of [)iety, and from liis early youth
a member of the church. In all relations and transactions of life

122 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

he preserved an unblemished Christian character." His high
Christian character won for him the distinction of an honest poli-
tician. He signed the Declaration of Independence, and aided
in forming our free institutions.

Oliver Wolcott

Has an honorable record in the annals of freedom. He was a
Christian statesman, and signed the charter of our independ-
ence. '^His integrity was inflexible, his morals were strictly
pure, and his faith that of an humble Christian, untainted by
bigotry or intolerance."

Philip Livingston

Belonged to a family of eminent Christian celebrity. He was
a statesman of the highest order, consecrated himself to the
cause of his country, and exercised great influence in forming
our free institutions. He was a firm believer in the Christian
religion, and an humble follower of our Divine Eedeemer.

EicHARD Stockton

Was a true patriot, a ripe statesman, an eloquent orator, a pro-
found jurist, and an honor to the Christian Church. He signed
the Declaration of Independence, and aided greatly in our strug-
gle for freedom. His will attests his views of the truth and
importance of the Christian religion, in these words: — "As my
children will have frequent occasion of perusing this instrument,
and may be particularly impressed with the last w^ords of their
father, I think proper here not only to subscribe to my entire
belief in the great leading doctrines of the Christian religion,
such as the being of a God, and the universal defection and de-
pravity of human nature, the divinity of the Person and the
completeness of the redemption purchased by the blessed Sa-
viour, the necessity of the operations of the Divine Spirit, of
divine faith accompanied with an habitual virtuous life, and the
universality of the Divine Providence, but also, in the bowels
of a father's affection, to charge and exhort them to remember
that the feai of the Lord is the beginning of w^isdom."

John Witherspoon

Was a Christian patriot, and a learned minister of the gospel.
He was from Scotland, the land of learning and of liberty, and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 123

a descendant of John Knox, the Eeformer. His great learning
attracted the attention of the friends of education, and he was
called to the presidency of Princeton College. Soon after his
arrival the scenes of the Revolution opened, and the college was
suspended. ''Under his auspices," says Dr. Pvogers, a cotem-
porary, ''have been formed a large proportion of the clergy of
the Presbyterian Church, and to his instructions America owes
many of her most distinguished patriots and legislators. In the
civil councils of his adopted country he shone with equal lustre,
and his talents as a legislator and senator showed the extent
and the variety of the powers of his mind. His distinguished
abilities pointed him out to the citizens of New Jersey as one
of the most proper delegates to the convention which formed
their republican Constitution. In this assembly he appeared to
all the professors of law as profound a civilian as he had before
been known to be a philosopher and divine. Early in the year
1776 he was sent, as a representative of the people of New
Jersey, to the Congress of the United States. He was seven
years a member of that illustrious body, which, under Provi-
dence, in the face of innumerable difficulties and dangers, led us
on to the establishment of our independence. He was one of
the signers of the Declaration of Independence. While he was
thus engaged in serving his country in the character of a civi-
lian, he did not lay aside his ministry." He advocated the cause
of the country, with admirable simplicity, by his pen ; exalting
it in the pulpit by associating the interests of civil and religious
liberty, and zealously co-operating in its active vindication in
Congress. He was an eminent Christian statesman, as well as
a pious and learned divine. "If the pulpit of America," says
Headley, "had given only this one man to the Eevolution, it
would deserve to be held in everlasting remembrance for the
service it rendered the country."

A sermon which Dr. Witherspoon preached at Princeton, on
the 17th of May, 1770, being the general fast a])pointed by the
Congress through the United Colonies, entitled "The Dominion
of Providence over the Passions of Men," was rich in profound
thought, and eloquent and ju.st in its views of civil and religious
liberty. His object in the discourse was to show that public
calamities and commotions, the ambition of mistaken princes,
and the passions and wickedness of men, are under the dorai*
nion of God, and will be overruled for the advancement and osta-

124 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEE OF THE

blisliment of religion and liberty. The passage on whicli lie
based this noble discourse was, ^'Surely the wrath of man shall
p'aise thee: the remainder of ivrath shalt thou restrain.'" —
(Psalm Ixxvi. 10.) The following extracts are given : —

''There is no part of Divine Providence in which a greater
beauty and majesty appears, than^when the Almighty Euler turns
the councils of wicked men into confusion, and makes them
militate against themselves. ' ' This he illustrates by many marked
events in sacred and profane history. And, applying the doctrine
of the discourse to the condition of the colonies struggling for
liberty, he says, '' You may perceive what ground there is to
give praise to God for his favors already bestowed on us respect-
ing the public cause. It would be a criminal inattention not to
observe the singular interposition of Providence hitherto in
behalf of the American colonies. How many discoveries have
been made of the designs of the enemy in Britain and among
ourselves, in a manner as unexpected to us as to them, and in
such season as to prevent their effect ! What surprising suc-
cess has attended our encounters in almost every instance !
Has not the boasted discipline of regular and veteran soldiers
been turned into confusion and dismay before the new and
maiden courage of freemen in defence of their property and
rights ? In what great mercy has blood been spared on the side
of this injured country ! Some important victories have been
gained in the South, with so little loss that enemies will proba-
bly think it dissembled. The signal advantage we have gained
by the evacuation of Boston, and the shameful flight of the army
and navy of Britain, was brought on without the loss of a man.
To all this we may add, that the counsels of our enemies have
been visibly confounded, so that I believe I may say with truth
that there is hardly any step which they have taken but it has
operated strongly against themselves, and been more in our
favor than if they had followed a contrary course.

''While we give praise to God, the supreme disposer of all
events, for his interposition in our behalf, let us guard against
the dangerous error of trusting in or boasting of an arm of
flesh. I could earnestly wish that, while our arms are crowned
with success, we might content ourselves with a modest ascrip-
tion of it to the power of the Highest. The Holy Scriptures in
general, and the truths of the glorious gospel in particular, and
the whole course of Providence^ seem intended to abase the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 125

pride of man and lay the vain-glorious in the dust. Tlie truth
is, that, through the whole frame of nature and the whole sys-
tem of human life, that which promises most performs the least.
The flowers of finest colors seldom have the sweetest fragrance.
The trees of greatest growth or fairest form are seldom of the
greatest value or duration. Deep waters run with the least
noise. Men who think most are seldom talkative. And I
think it holds as much in war as in any thing, that every boaster
is a coward. I look upon ostentation and confidence to be a sort
of outrage upon Providence ; and when it becomes general and
infuses itself into the spirit of a people, it is the forerunner of
destruction.

*^ From what has been said you may learn what encouragement
you have to put your trust in God, and hope for his assistance
in the present important conflict. He is the Lord of Hosts,
great in might and strong in battle. "Whoever has his coun-
tenance and approbation shall have the best at last. If your
cause is just, you may look with confidence to the Lord and
entreat him to plead it as his own. I would neither have you
to trust in an arm of flesh, nor to sit with folded hands and
expect that miracles shall be wrought in your defence. In op-
position to it, I would exhort as Joab did the host of Israel, who
in this instance spoke like a prudent general and a pious man : —
' Be of good courage, and let us behave ourselves valiantly for
our people, and for the cities of our God ; and the Lord do that
which is good in his sight.' " (2 Sam. x. 12.)

'' He is the best friend to American liberty who is the most
sincere and active in promoting true and undefiled religion, and
who sets himself with the greatest firmness to bear down pro-
fanity and immorality of every kind. Whoever is an avowed
enemy to God, I scruple not to call him an enemy to his country.
It is your duty in this important and critical sGason to exert
yourselves, every one in his proper sphere, to stem the tide of
prevailing vice, to promote the knowledge of God, the reverence
of his name and worship, and obedience to his laws. Your
duty to God, to your country, to your families, and to yourselves,
is the same. True religion is nothing else but an inward tem-
per and outward conduct suited to your state and circumstances
in Providence at any time. And as peace with God and con-
formity to him add to the sweetness of created comforts while
wo possess them, so in times of difficulty and trial it is the man

126 CHRISTIAN LIFE ANB CHAHACTER OF THE

of piety and inward principle that we may expect to find the
uncorrupted patriot, the useful citizen, and the invincible sol-
dier. God grant that in America true 'religion and civil liberty
may be inseparable, and that the unjust attempts to destroy the
one may in the issue tend to the support and establishment of
both."

In affixing his name to the Declaration of Independence, he
rose in that illustrious body of men and uttered the following
thrill ins^ words : —

" Mr. President : — That noble instrument on your table, which
insures immortality to its author, should be subscribed this very
morning by every pen in the House. He who will not respond
to its accents, and strain every nerve to carry into effect its
provisions, is unworthy the name of freeman. Although these
gray hairs must descend into the sepulchre, I would infinitely
rather they should descend thither by the hand of the execu-
tioner, than desert at this crisis the sacred cause of my country."

The appeal was electric. Every member rose and affixed his
name to that immortal Declaration.

In a discourse he preached at a public thanksgiving, after
peace, from the text, ^^ Salvation helongdh unto the Lord,'^ in
wdiich he showed ''what the United States of America owed to
Divine Providence in the course of the present war," he closed
with the following remarks : —

"Those who are vested with civil authority ought also with
much care to promote religion and good morals among all under
their government. If w^e give credit to the Holy Scriptures, he
that ruleth must be just, ruling in the fear of God. Those
who w4sh well to a state ought to choose, to places of trust,
men of inward principle, justified by exemplary conversation.
Those who pay no regard to religion and sobriety, in the persons
whom they send to the legislature of any state, will soon pay
dear for their folly. Let a man's zeal, profession, or even prin-
ciples, as to political measures, be what they wdll, if he is with-
out personal integrity and private virtue as a man, he is not to
be trusted. I think we have had some instances of men who
have roared for liberty in taverns, and were most noisy in
public meetings, who yet have turned traitors in a little while.
If the people in general ought to have regard to the moral
character of those whom they invest with authority, either
in the legislative, executive, or judicial branches, such as are bo

CIVIL INSTITUTIOKS OF THE UNITED STATES. 127

promoted may perceivo what is and will be expected of tliem.
They are under the strongest obligations to promote religion,
sobriety, industry, and even social virtue, among those who are
committed to their care. If you ask me what are the means
which civil rulers are bound to use for attaining these ends,
farther than the impartial support and faithful guardianship oi'
the rights of conscience, I answer, that example itself is none of
the least. Those who are in high stations and authority are
exposed to continual observation ; and therefore their example
i.s better seen and hath greater influence than that of persons of
inferior rank. Pveverence for the name of God, a punctual attend-
ance on the public and private duties of religion, as well as
sobriety and purity of conversation, are especially incumbent
on those who are honored with places of power and trust. But
I cannot content myself with this. It is certainly the duty of
magistrates to be a terror to evil-doers, and a praise to them
that do well."

''Let us cherish a love of piety, order, industry, purity. Let
us check every disposition to luxury, effeminacy, and the
pleasures of a dissipated life. Let us in public measures put
honor upon modesty and self-denial, which is the index of real
merit. And in our families let us do the best, by religious in-
struction, to sow the seeds which may bear fruit in the next
generation. Whatever state among us shall continue to make
piety and virtue the standard of public honor will enjoy the
greatest inward peace, the greatest national happiness, and in
every conflict will discover the greatest constitutional strength."

Benjamin Feanklin,

The civilian, the philosopher, the patriot, the wise and virtuou?
statesman, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, had
a profound reverence for the Christian religion and faith in its
divinity. He was, in his childhood and youth, trained in the
school of Puritan piety, and the foundation of his character and
eminent usefulness was formed by the teachings of a Christian
minister. In early life, he read Dr. Cotton Mather's little book,
entitled "Essays to Do Good," and in his old age he said, "All
the good I have ever done to my country or my fellow-creatures
must be ascribed to tho impressions produced on my mind by
perusing that little work in my youth."

128 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEPw OF THE

In writing, in 1790, to Dr. Stiles, President of Yale College,
Dr. Franklin said, —

^'You desire to know something of my religion. Here is
my creed. I believe in one God, the Creator of the universe.
That he governs it by his Providence. That he ought* to be
worshipped. That the most acceptable service we render him.
is in doing good to his other children. That the soul of man
is immortal, and will be treated with justice in another life
respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the funda-
mental points in all sound religion. As to Jesus of Nazareth,
my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system
of morals, and his religion, as he left them to us, is the best
the world ever saw, or is likely to see. I apprehend it has
received various corrupting changes ; and I have, with most of
the present dissenters in England, some doubt as to his divinity,
though it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having never
iBtudied it, and think it needless to busy myself with it now,
when I soon will have an opportunity of knowing the truth,
with less trouble. I see no harm, however, in its being be-
lieved, if that belief has the good consequence, as probably it
has, of making his doctrines more respected and observed,
especially as I do not perceive that the Supreme takes it amiss,
by distinguishing the believers in his government of the world
with any peculiar marks of his displeasure. I shall only add,
respecting myself, that, having experienced the goodness of that
Being in conducting me prosperously through a long life, I
have no doubt of its continuance in the next, though without
the smallest conceit of meriting such goodness. My sentiments
on this subject you will see in the copy of an old letter enclosed,
which I wrote in answer to one from an old religionist (White-
field) whom I had relieved in a paralytic case by electricity,
and who, being afraid I should grow proud upon it, sent me hia
»erious though rather impertinent caution.

*' With great and sincere esteem and affection, I am, &c.,

"Benjamin Feanklin."

Letter from Dr. Franklin to Rev. George Whitefield.

Philadelphia, June 6, 1753.
Dear Sir : —

I received your kind letter of the 2d inst., and am glad to hear that
you increase in strength : I hope you will continue mending until you
recover your former health and firmness. Let me know whether you

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 129

still use the cold bath, and what effect it has. As to the kindness you
mention, I wish it could have been of more serious service to you ; but
if it had, the only thanks that I should desire are, that you would always
be ready to serve any other person that may need your assistance ; and
so let offices go round, for mankind are all of a family. For my own
part, w^hen I am employed in serving others. I do not look upon myself
as conferring favors, but as paying debts. In my travels, and since my
settlement, I have received much kindness from men to whom I shall
never have an opportunity of making the least direct return, and
numberless mercies from God, who is infinitely above being benefited
by our services. These kindnesses from men I can, therefore, only
return to their fellow-men ; and I can only show my gratitude to God
by a readiness to help his other children and my brethren ; for I do not
think that thanks and compliments, though repeated weekly, can dis-
charge our real obligation to each other, and much less to our Creator.

You will see, in this my notion of good works, that I am far from
expecting to merit heaven by them. By heaven w^e understand a state
of happiness infinite in degree and eternal in duration. I can do
nothing to deserve such a reward. He that, for giving a draught of water
to a thirsty person, should expect to be paid with a good plantation,
would be modest in his demands, comj^ared with those who think they
deserve heaven for the little good they do on earth. Even the mixed
imjjerfect pleasures we enjoy in this world are rather from God's good-
ness than our merit: how much more so the happiness of heaven I
For my part, I have not the vanity to think I deserve it, the folly to
expect, or the ambition to desire it, but content myself in submitting
to the disposal of that God who made me, who has hitherto pre-
served and blessed me, and in whose fatherly goodness I may well con-
fide that he will never make me miserable, and that tlie affliction I may
at any time sutler may tend to my benefit.

The faith you mention has, doubtless, its uses in the world. I do not
desire to lessen it in any man, but I wish it were more productive of
good works than I have generally seen it. I mean real good works, —
works of kindness, charity, mercy, and public spirit ; not in holyday-
keeping, sermon hearing or reading, performing church ceremonies,
or making long prayers, filled with flatteries and compliments, despised
even by wise men, and much less capable of pleasing the Deity.

The worship of God is a duty ; the hearing and readhig may be use-
ful ; but if men rest in hearing and praying — as too many do — it is as if
the tree should value itself on being watered and putting forth leaves,,
though it never produced any fruit.

Your good Master thought loss of these outward aj)j)earanees than-
many of his modern dis('ij>les. He preferred tlie doers of the word t-<>
the hearerH ; the son that seemingly refused to ()bey his lather antl yet
performed his commands, to liim that professc^l his n^adincss but
neglected the work; tlie heretical l>ut cliuritable Samaritan, to the un-
eliaritaljle and orthodo.x priest antl s;inetitied iicvite : and those who gave
food to the liungrj-", drink to the thirsty, and raiment to the naked^
entertainment to the stranger, and never heard of his name, he declare.**,
ihall, in the last day, bo accepted, when those who cry, Lord, Lord,.

»

130 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

who value themselves on their faith, though great enough to perform
miracles, but having neglected good works, shall be rejected.

Being your friend and servant,

Benjamin Franklin.

Thomas Paine wrote a little V9lume entitled " The Age of
Eeason." He sent the manuscript to Dr. Franklin, and received
the following reply : —

Dear Sir : —

I have read your manuscript with some attention. By the argument
which it contains against a particular Providence, though you allow a
general Providence, you strike at the foundations of all religion. For.
without the belief of a Providence that takes cognizance of, guards
and guides, and may favor particular persons, there is no motive to
worship a Deity, to fear its displeasure, or to pray for its protection. 1
will not enter into any discussion of your principles, though you seem
to desire it.

At present I shall only give you my opinion that, though your reason-
ings are subtle, and may prevail with some readers, you will not succeed
so as to change the general sentiments of mankind on that subject;
and the consequence of printing this piece will be, a great deal of
o<iium drawn upon yourself, mischief to you, and no benefit to others.
He that spits against the wind spits in his own face. But were you to
succeed, do you imagine any good will be done by it? You yourself
may find it easy to live a virtuous life without the assistance afforded
by religion, — you having a clear perception of the advantages of virtue
and the disadvantages of vice, and possessing a strength of resolution
sufficient to enable you to resist common temptations. But think how
great a portion of mankind consists of ignorant men and women and
of inexperienced, inconsiderate youth of both sexes, who have need of
the motives of religion to restrain them from vice, support their virtue,
-and retain them in the jDractice of it till it becomes habitual, which is
the great point for its security. And perhaps you are indebted to her
-originally, that is, to your religious education, for the habits of virtue
:Upon which you now justly value yourself.

You might easily display your excellent talents of reasoning upon a
loss hazardous subject, and thereby obt^xin a rank with our most distin-
guished authors. For among us it is not necessary, as among the Hot-
tentots, that a youth, to be raised into the company of men, should
prove his manhood by beating his mother.

I would advise you, therefore, not to attempt unchaining the tiger.
•but to burn this piece before it is seen by any other person ; whereby
you will save yourself a great deal of mortification from the enemies it
may raise against you, and perhaps a good deal of regret and repent-
ance. If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be wiihoiU
it ? 1 intend this letter itself as a proof of my friendship, and there-
fore add no professions to it, but subscribe simply.

Yours, B. Franklin.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 131

A LECTURE ON THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD IN THE GOVERNMENT
OF THE WORLD.

BY BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

I propose at this time to discourse on the providence of God in the
government of the world. It might be judged an affront should I go
about to prove this first principle, the existence of a Deity, and that he
is the creator of the universe, for that all mankind, in all ages, have
agreed in. I shall, therefore, proceed to observe that he must be a being
of infinite wisdom, as appears in his admirable order and disposition of
things, — whether we consider the heavenly bodies, the stars and planets,
and their wonderful regular motions ; or this earth, compounded of such
an excellent mixture of all elements ; or the admirable structure of
animate bodies, of such infinite variety, and yet every one adapted to
its nature and v/ay of life it is to be placed in, whether on earth, in the
air, or in the water, and so exactly that the highest and most exquisite
human reason cannot find a fault and say that this would have been
better so, or in such a manner ; which whoever considers attentively
and thoroughly will be astonished and swallowed up in admiration.

That the Deity is a being of great goodness, appears in his giving life
to so many creatures, each of which acknowledges it a benefit by their
unwillingness to leave it ; in his providing plentiful sustenance for them
all, and making those things most useful most common and easy to be
had ; such as water, necessary for almost every creature to drink ; air.
without which few could subsist ; the inexpressible benefits of light and
sunshine to almost all animals in general ; and to men the most useful
vegetables, such as corn, the most useful of metals, as iron, &c., the
most useful of animals, as horses, oxen, and sheep, he has made the
easiest to raise or procure in quantity or numbers ; each of which par-
ticulars, if considered seriously and carefully, would fill us with the high-
est love and affection.

That he is a being of infinite power, appears in his being able to form
and compound such vast masses of matter as this earth, the sun, and
innumerable stars and planets, and give them such prodigious motion ;
and yet so to govern them in their greatest velocity as that they shall
not fly out of their appointed bounds, nor dash one against another
for their mutual destruction. But 'tis easy to conceive of his power
when we are convinced of his infinite knowledge and wisdom ; for if
weak and foolish creatures as we are, by knowing the nature of a few
things, can produce such wonderful effects, such as, for instance, by
knowing the nature only of nitre and sea-salt mixed we can make a
water which will dissolve the hardest iron, and by adding one ingredient
more can make another water wliich will dissolve gold and make the
most solid bodies fluid; and by knowing the nature of salt})etro, sul-
phur, and charcoal, those mean ingredients mixed, we can sliake the
air in the most terrible manner, destroy ships, houses, and men at a dis-
tance, and in an instant overthrow cities, and rend rocks into a thou-
sand pieces, and level the highest mountains; what jmwor must He
possess who not only knows the nature of every thing in the universe.

132 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEE OF THE

but can make things of new natures with the greatest ease at his
pleasure ?

Agreeing, then, that the world was at first made by a being of infinite
wisdom, goodness, and power, which being we call God, the state of
things existing at this time must be in one of these four following man-
ners, viz. : —

1. Either he unchangeably decreed and appointed every thing that
comes to pass, and left nothing to the course of nature, nor allowed any
creature free agency.

2. Without decreeing any thing, he left all to general nature and
the events of free agency in his creatures, which he never alters or inter-
rupts ; or,

3. He decreed some things unchangeably, and left others to general
nature and the events of free agency, which also he never alters or
interrupts ; or,

4. He sometimes interferes by his particular providence, and sets aside
the effects which would otherwise have been produced by any of the
above causes.

I shall endeavor to show the first three suppositions to be inconsistent
with the common light of reason, and that the fourth is most agi'eeable
to it, and therefore most probably true.

In the first place ; If you say he has in the beginning uncnangeably
decreed all things, and left nothing to nature or free agency, three
strange conclusions will necessarily follow. 1. That he is now no more
a Grod. It is true, indeed, before he made such unchangeable decrees,
he was a being of power almighty ; but "now, having determined every
thing, he has divested himself of all further power ; he has done, and has
no more to do ; he has tied up his hands, and has no greater power than
an idol of wood or stone ; nor can there be any more reason for praying
to him or worshipping of him than of such an idol, for the worshippers
can never be better for such aAvorship. Then, 2. He has decreed some
things contrary to the very notion of a wise and good being ; such as
that some of his creatures or children shall do all manner of injury to
others, and bring every kind of evil upon them without cause ; and that
some of them shall even blasiDheme their Creator in the most horrible
manner ; and, which is still more highly absurd, that he has decreed
that the greatest part of mankind shall in all ages put up their earnest
prayers to him both in private and publicly in great assemblies, when
all the while he had so determined their fate that he could not possibly
grant them any benefits on that account, nor could such prayers be in
any way available. Why then should he ordain them to make such
prayers? It cannot be imagined that they are of any service to him.
Surely it is not more dilficult to believe that the world was made by a
God of wood or stone than that the God who made the world should be
such a God as this.

In the second place, if you say he has decreed nothing, but left all
things to general nature and the events of free agency, which he never
alters or interrupts, then these conclusions will follow : he must either
utterly hide himself from the works of his own hands, and take no
jaotice at all of their proceedings natural or moral, or he must be, as

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 133

undoubtedly he is, a spectator of every thing, for there can be no reason
or ground to suppose the first. I say there can be no reason to imagine
he would make so glorious a universe merely to abandon it. In this
case imagine the Deity looking on and beholding the ways of his crea-
tures. Some heroes in virtue he sees incessantly endeavoring the good
of others ; they labor through vast difficulties, they suffer incredible
hardships and miseries to accomplish this end, in hopes to please a good
God, and attain his favors, which they earnestly pray for. What an-
swer can he make, then, within Himself but this ? Take the reward
chance may give you : I do not intermeddle in these affairs. He sees others
doing all manner of evil, and bringing by their actions misery and de-
struction among mankind : what can he say here, but this ? — If chance
rewards, I shall not punish you. I am not to he concerned. He sees the just,
the innocent, and the beneficent in the hands of the wicked and violent
oppressor, and when the good are on the brink of destruction they pray
to him. Thou, 0 God, art mighty arid powerful to save: help us, we beseech thee!
He answers, I cannot help you ; it is none of my business, nor do I at all regard
those things. How is it possible to believe a wise and infinitely good being
can be delighted in this circumstance, and be utterly unconcerned what
becomes of the beings and things he has created ? for thus, we must be-
lieve him idle and inactive, and that his glorious attributes of power,
wisdom, and goodness are no more to be made use of.

In the third place. If you say he has decreed some things and left
others to the events of nature and free agency, which he never alters
nor interrupts, you un-God him., if I may be allowed the expression:
he has nothing to do ; he can cause us neither good nor harm ; he is no
more to be regarded than a lifeless image, than Dagon or Baal, or Bel
and the Dragon, and, as in both the other suppositions foregoing, that
being which from its power is most able to act, from its wisdom knows
best how to act, and from its goodness would always certainly act best,
is in this opinion supposed to become the most inactive of all beings,
and remain everlastingly idle, an absurdity which, when considered, or
but barely seen, cannot be swallowed without doing the greatest violence
to common reason and all the faculties of the understanding.

We are then necessarily driven to the fourth supposition, that the
Deity sometimes interferes by his particular providence, and sets aside
the events which would otherwise have been produced by the course of
nature or by free agency of men ; and this is perfectly agreeable with
wliat we can know of his attributes and perfections. But, as some may
doubt whether it is possible there should be such a thing as free agency
in creatures, I sliall just ofi'er one short argument on that account, and
jn-oceed to show how the duty of religion necessarily follows a belief of a
Providence. You acknowledge that God is infinitely powerful, wise,
and good, and also a free agent, and you will not deny that he has com-
innnieatcd to us a part of his wisdom, power, ami goodness, — that is, he
luus made us in some degree wise, potent, and good. And is it tlien
impossible for him to communicate any part of his freedom, and make
us also in some degree free ? Is even his infinite power sufficient for
this? I should be glad to hear what reason any man can give for
tliinking in that manner. It is sufficient for me to show tliat it is not

134 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

impossible, and no man, I think, can show it is improbable. Much
more might be oflered to demonstrate clearly that men are free agents
and accountable for their actions.

Lastly. If God does not sometimes interfere by his providence, it
is either because he cannot or because he will not. Which of these
positions will you choose ? There is a righteous nation grievously op-
pressed by a cruel tyrant: they earnestly entreat God to deliver them.
If you say he cannot, you deny his infinite power, which you at first ac-
knowledged. If you say he will not, you must directly deny his infinite
goodness. You are of necessity obliged to allow that it is highly rea-
sonable to believe a Providence, because it is highly absurd to believe
otherwise.

Now, if it is unreasonable to suppose it out of the power of the Deity
to help and favor us particularly, or that Ave are out of his hearing and
notice, or that good actions do not procure more of his favor than ill
ones, then I conclude that believing a Providence, we have the founda-
tion of all true religion ; for we should love and revere that Deity for
his goodness, and thank him for his benefits; we should adore him for
his wisdom, fear him for his power, and pray to him for his favor and
protection. And this religion will be a powerful regulator of our actions,
give us peace and tranquillity in our own minds, and render us bene-
volent, useful, and beneficial to others.

The following maxim of Franklin's is characteristic of the
man^ and reveals, in brief words, the whole genius and theory of
giving stability and progress to free governments and to the
diffusion of liberty : —

"A Bible and a newspaper in every house, a good school in
every district, — all studied and appreciated as they merit, — are
the principal supports of virtue, morality, and civil liberty."

Thomas Jefferson

Was the penman of the Declaration of Independence, and his
great abilities, genius, and ripe statesmanship have exerted a
moulding influence on the civil and political affairs of the na-
tion. ''He poured the soul of the continent," said Dr. Stiles,
in 1782, ''into the monumental act of Independence." His
views of the Christian religion have occasioned much discussion
among the Christian public, and he has generally been regarded
as an unbeliever in the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures.
The following facts and statements will shed light on his views
on this subject.

" I shall need" (he remarked, in his first message as President,)
"the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our
fathers, as Israel of old, from their native land, and planted them

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 135

in a country flowing with all the necessaries and comforts of life ;
who has covered our infancy with his providence, and our riper
years with his wisdom, and power; and to whose goodness I ask
you to join with me in supplications that he will so enlighten the
minds of your servants, guide their counsels, and prosper their
measures, that whatsoever they do shall result in your good and
shall secure to you the friendship and approbation of all nations."

"Can the liberties of a nation," said he, "be thought secure,
when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the
minds of the people that these liberties are the gifts of God ? —
that they are not to be violated except with his wrath ? Indeed.
I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and
that his justice cannot sleep forever."

"Never," says a writer in the " National Magazine," "were a
man's religious sentiments more grossly misrepresented than
Jefferson's. He was not an atheist. He believed in God the
Creator of all things, in his overruling providence, infinite wis-
dom, goodness, justice, and mercy. He believed that God hears
and answers prayer, and that human trust in him is never mis-
placed nor disregarded. He believed in a future state of re-
wards and punishments. He believed in the Bible precepts and
moralities. No man in Washington ever gave so much to build
so many churches as Jeff'erson. He respected and cherished
the friendship of truly pious men. He never wrote, for the
public eye, one word against Christianity. Religiously, Jeffer-
son would now be classed with the liberal Unitarians."

Mr. Jefferson, in a letter of condolence to John Adams on the
death of his wife, in 1818, expressed his views of a future
life as follows: — "It is some comfort to us both that the
term is not very distant at which we are to deposit in the same
cerement our sorrowing and suffering bodies, and to ascend in
essence to an ecstatic meeting with the friends we have loved
and lost, and whom we shall still love and never lose again.
God bless you and support you under your heavy affliction."

" Mr. Jefferson," says Bandall, "was a public professor of his
belief in the Christian religion. In all his most important early
state papers, such as his Summary View of the Rights of
British America, his portion of the Declaration made hy Con-
gress on the causes of taking up arms, the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, the draft of a Constitution for Virginia, &c., there
nre more or less pointed recognitions of God and Providence.

136 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

In his two inaugural addresses as President of the United States^
and in many of his annual messages, he makes the same recog-
nitions, clothes them on several occasions in the most explicit
language, substantially avows the God of his faith to be the God
of revelation, declares his belief in the efficacy of prayer and
the duty of ascriptions of praise to the Author of all mercies,
and speaks of the Christian religion, as professed in his country,
a.s a benign religion, evincing the favor of Heaven.

"Had his wishes been consulted, the symbol borne on the
}iational seal w^ould have contained our public profession of
Christianity as a nation.

"He contributed freely to the erection of Christian churches,
gave money to Bible societies and other religious objects, and
was a liberal and regular contributor to the support of the clergy.
He attended church with as much regularity as most members
of the congregation, sometimes going alone on horseback when
his family remained at home. He generally attended the Epis-
copal church, and, when he did so, always carried his prayer-book
and joined in the responses and prayers of the congregation."

The establishment of the University of Virginia occupied the
closing years of Jefferson's life. His wdsh was to make the in-
stitution rival the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in Eng-
land, and afford opportunities for young men to become thoroughly
accomplished in every branch of learning. A part of his plan
was a theological seminary in connection w^ith the university.
Rev. Mr. Tucker, of Virginia, in the Presbyterian synod, met
in 1859, said that "the establishment of a theological semi-
nary near the University of Virginia w^as carrying out the
original idea of Mr. Jefferson. He had seen in Mr. Jefferson's
own handwriting, the pains-taking style of the olden time, a sketch
of his plan. The University of Virginia w^as the crowning
glory of that great man's life, and he felt it his duty to vindicate
his memory, as he had it in his power to do, from any inten-
tion to exclude religious influences from the institution. He had
invited all denominations to establish theological schools around
the university, so that all might have the literary advantages
of the institution, without m^aking it subservient to one denomi-
nation."

George Mason,

Of Virginia, was one of the purest and ablest of the men who
conducted the important events of the Revolution to a forturxate

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 137

and triumphant issue. He was a man endowed by nature with
a vigorous understanding, which had been well cultivated by a
liberal education. In temperament he was like the younger
Gato, constitutionally stern, firm, and honest. His profound legal
learning, and his political views and public duties, as well as his
private life and character, were all under the guidance of virtue
and religion, which gave him an illustrious and influential posi-
tion in the cause of liberty and independence.

He was among the earliest and most distinguished of all the
champions of freedom and an independent constitutional govern-
ment; and no man exerted a greater influence on the fortunes of
the country. He was a member of the Convention of Virginia
which, on the 15th of May, 1776, declared that State independent,
and formed a State constitution ; and to him belongs the honor
of having drafted the first declaration of rights ever adopted
in America. It was made a part of the Constitution of Virginia,
where it yet remains. In this declaration of Mason's, man
seems to stand erect in all the majesty of his nature, — to assert
the inalienable rights and equality with which he has been
endowed by his Creator, and to declare the fundamental prin-
ciples by which all rulers should be governed and on which all
governments should rest. Three of the fundamental articles
are here inserted.

'' 1. That all men are created equally free and independent, and
have certain inherent natural rights, of which they cannot, by
any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; among which
are the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of ac-
quiring and procuring property and pursuing and obtaining
happiness and safety.

"2. That all power is by God and nature vested in, and
(consequently derived from, the peo[»le ; that magistrates are
their trustees and servants, and at all times amenable to them.

"3. That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the
common benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation,
or community.

" 15. That no free government, or tlic blessings of liberty, ran
be insured to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice,
moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and l\v frequent
recurrcncni to fundamental princnplos.

" 10. That religion, or the duty which wo owe to our Creator,
and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason

138 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OP THE

and conviction, not by force and violence, and, therefore, that
all men should enjoy the fullest toleration in the exercise of
religion, according to the dictates of conscience, unpunished and
unrestrained hy the magistrate ; unless under color of religion
any man disturb the peace or the safety of society ; and that
it is the mutual duty of all to practise Christian forbearance,
love, and charity towards each."

''If I can only live to see," said Mason, 'Uhe American Union
firmly fixed, and free government well established in our Western
world, and can leave to my children but a crust of bread and
liberty, I shall die satisfied, and say, with the Psalmist, ' Lord,
now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.' "

The following extract from Mr. Mason's last will and testa-
ment attests his passionate patriotism, and presents his view
of public life : —

''I recommend it to my sons, from my own experience in life,
to prefer the happiness of independence and a private station
to the troubles and vexations of public business ; but, if their own
inclinations or the necessity of the times should engage them
in public affairs, I charge them, on a father's blessing, never to
let the motives of private interest or ambition induce them to
betray, nor the terrors of poverty and disgrace, or the fear of
danger and death, deter them from asserting, the liberty of their
country, and endeavoring to transmit to their posterity those
sacred rights to which themselves were born."

This great man, whose soul was ever inflamed with liberty,
and whose masterly intellect illuminated the grand era of the
Eevolution with its clear and steady light, died in a ripe old
age, chastened and sanctified by providential afflictions in his
family, leaving a legacy of glory and virtue to his country.

GOUVERNEUR MORRIS,

Of New York, was an eminent statesman of the devolution,
and exerted a prominent influence in the formation of our re-
publican institutions. He was for many years in Congress and an
ambassador to France. During the terrific reign of atheism in
that country, he drew up a constitution for France, one article
of which was as follows : —

''Religion is the solid basis of good morals: therefore educa-
tion should teach the precepts of religion and the duties of man
towards God. These duties are — internally, love and adoration;

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 139

externally, devotion and obedience : therefore provision should
be made for maintaining divine worship as well as education.
But each has a right to entire liberty as to religious opinions,
for religion is the relation between God and man : therefore it
is not within the reach of human authority."

^' The education of young citizens," another article declared,
'' ought to form them to good manners, to accustom them to
labor, to inspire them with a love of order, and to impress them
with respect for lawful authority."

To a nobleman of France, Mr. Morris wrote, in June, 1792,
" I believe that religion is the only solid basis of morals, and
that morals are the only possible support of free governments."

In 1816, Mr. Morris was elected the first president of the
New York Historical Society. In his inaugural address he
presented his views of Christianity as follows : —

" The reflection and experience of many years have led me
to consider the holy writings not only as most authentic and
instructive in themselves, but as the clue to all other history.
They tell us what man is, and they alone tell us what he is.
AU of private and of public life is there displayed. From the
same pure fountain of wisdom we learn that vice destroys free-
dom, that arbitrary power is founded on public immorality,
and that misconduct in those who rule a republic, the necessary
consequence of general licentiousness, so disgusts and degrades
that, dead to generous sentiment, they become willing slaves.

'' There must be religion. When that ligament is torn, society
is disjointed, and its members perish. The nation is exposed to
foreign violence and domestic convulsion. Vicious rulers,
chosen by a vicious people, turn back the current of corruption
to its source. Placed in a situation where they can exercise
authority for their own emolument, they betray their trust.
They take bribes. They sell statutes and decrees. They sell
honor and office. They sell conscience. They sell their country.
By this vile practice they become odious and contemptible.

" The most important of all lessons from the Scriptures is
the denunciation of the rulers of every state that rojoctr^ the
precepts of religion. Those nations arc doomed to doilh who
bury in the corruption of criminal desire the awful sense of an
existing God, cast off the consoling hope of imniortaiity, and
seek refuge from despair in the dreariness of annihilation.
Terrible, irrevocable doom, — loudly pronounced, re[>oatedly,

140 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

strongly exemplified in the sacred writings^ and fully confirmed
by the long record of time ! It is the clue which leads through
the intricacies of universal history. It is the principle of all
sound political science.

•' Hail! Columbia! child of science, parent of useful arts, dear
country, hail! Be it thine to ameliorate the condition of
man. Too many thrones have been reared by arms, cemented
by blood, and reduced again to dust by sanguinary conflict
of arms. Let mankind enjoy at last the consolatory spec-
tacle of thy throne, built of industry on the basis of peace,
and sheltered under the wings of justice. May it be secured
by a jpious obedience to the divine will, which prescribes the
moral orbit of the empire with the same precision that his
wisdom and power have displayed in the wheeling millions of
planets round millions of suns, through the vastness of infinite
space."

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney

Was a distinguished Revolutionary officer of South Carolina,
and among the most brilliant lawyers of his age. His eminent
abilities and virtues induced Washington to proffer him several
of the highest places of trust in the Government, — Judge of the
Supreme Court, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State, — all
of which he declined from private considerations. He was a
member of the convention which framed the Constitution of the
United States. He was profoundly read in legal learning, and
in his practice liberal and benevolent, never taking a fee from
the widow and orphan. His great talents and attainments
were sanctified and directed by the Christian religion, and his
character adorned by its virtues. He had practical faith in the
divinity of the Bible and its essential need to a republican
government, and for more than fifteen years before his death
he acted as President of the Bible Society in Charleston, an.
office to which he was elected with unanimity by Christians of
every sect.

Benjamin Pvush,

An eminent physician and philanthropist, and one of the im-
mortal men who signed the Declaration of Independence, was
as eminent as a Christian as he was distinguished for his influ-
ence in the councils of the countrv. John Adams declared

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 141

him to be " one of the greatest and best of Christians." He
delighted in acts of Christian charities, and '^ esteemed the poor
his best patients; for Cod," said he, ''is their paymaster. He
was an earnest advocate of introducing and reading the Bible,
daily, as a common-school book, in all public schools and in
every seminary of learning. He wrote as follows on this im-
portant subject: —

^' The Bible as a School- Book.

" Before I state my arguments in favor of teaching children
to read by means of the Bible, I shall assume the five following
propositions : —

''I. That Christianity is the only true and perfect religion, and
that in proportion as mankind adopt its principles and obey its
precepts, they will be wise and happy.

*' II. That a better knowledge of this religion is to be ac-
quired by reading the Bible than in any other way.

'' III. That the Bible contains more knowledge necessary to
man in his present state than any other book in the world.

'' IV. That knowledge is most durable, and religious instruc-
tion most useful, when imparted in early life.

"V. That the Bible, when not read in schools, is seldom read
in any subsequent period of life.

'' My arguments in favor of the use of the Bible as a school-
book are founded, first, in the constitution of the human mind.
The memory is the first faculty which opens in the minds of
children. Of how much consequence, then, must it be -to im-
press it with the great truths of Christianity before it is pre-
occupied with less interesting subjects! There is also a peculiar
aptitude in the minds of children for religious knowledge. I
have constantly found them, in the first six or seven years of
their lives, more inquisitive upon religious subjects than upon
any others ; and an ingenious instructor of youth has informed
me that he has found young children more capable of receiving
just ideas upon the most difficult tenets of religion than upon
the most simple branches of human knowledge.

" There is a wonderful property in the memory, which enables
it, in old age, to recover the knowledge it had acquired in early
life, after it had been apparently forgotten for forty or fifty years.
Of how much consequence, then, must it be to fill the mind
with that species of knowledge, in chiklhood and youth, wliich,

142 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

when recalled in the decline of life, will support the soul under
the infirmities of age and smooth the avenues of approaching
death! The Bible is the only book which is capable of afi'ord-
ing this support to old age; and it is for this reason that we
find it resorted to with so much diligence and pleasure by such
old people as have read it in early life. I can recollect many
instances of this kind, in persons who discovered no attach-
ment to the Bible in the meridian of their lives, who have, not-
withstanding, spent the evening of them in reading no other
book.

" My' second argument in favor of the use of the Bible in
schools, is founded upon an implied command of God, and upon
the practice of several of the wisest nations of the world. In
the sixth chapter of Deuteronomy we find the following words,
which are directly to my purpose: — 'And thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy might. And these words which I command thee
this day shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them
diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou
sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and
when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.'

'' I have heard it proposed that a portion of the Bible should
be read every day by the master, as a means of instructing
children in it. But this is a poor substitute for obliging
children to read it as a school-book; for by this means we
insensibly engrave, as it v/ere, its contents upon their minds ;
and it 'has been rem.arked that children instructed in this way
in the Scriptures seldom forget any part of them. They have
the same advantage over those persons who have only heard
the Scriptures read by a master, that a man who has worked
with the tools of a mechanical employment for several years
has over the man who has only stood a few hours in the work-
shop and seen the same business carried on by other people."

Dr. Eush was an active friend of every philanthropic and
Christian reform. He was an earnest advocate of temperance,
and wielded his pen powerfully in its defence.

In an address to the people of the United States, in 1787,
Dr. Rush said, —

'' There is nothing more common than to confound the terms
of the American Revolution with those of the late Ameri-
can War. The American War is over; but this is far from being

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 143

the case with the American Kevolution. On the contrary,
nothing but the first act of the great drama is closed. It
remains yet to establish and perfect our new forms of govern-
ment, and to prepare the principles, morals, and manners of
our citizens for these forms of government, after they are
established and brought to perfection.

" To conform the principles, morals, and manners of our
citizens to our republican forms of government, it is absolutely
necessary that knowledge of every kind should be disseminated
through every part of the United States.

" For this purpose let Congress found a federal university. In
this university let every thing connected with governrnxcnt — such
as history, the law of nature and nations, the civil law, the-
municipal laws of our country, and the principles of commerce
— be taught by competent professors. Let masters be employed
likewise to teach gunnery, fortification, and every thing connected
with defensive and offensive war. Above all, let a professor of,
what is called in the European universities, economy, be esta-
blished in this federal seminary. His business should be t-o
unfold the principles and practice of agriculture and manufac-
tures of all kinds; and, to make his lectures more extensively
useful, Congress should support a travelling correspondent for
him, who should visit all the nations of Europe, and transmit to
him, from time to time, all the discoveries and improvement?
that are made in agriculture and manufactures.

"Let every man exert himself in promoting virtue and know-
ledge in our country, and we shall soon become good republic-
ans. Every man in a republic is public property. His time
and talents, his youth and manhood, his old age, nay, more, his
life, his all, belong to his country."

Fisher Ames,

A distinguished lawyer, a pure patriot, a fascinating orator, and an
eminent Christian statesman, was active and influential in giving
form and direction to the civil government of the United States.
As a representative in the legislature of Massachusetts, ho
advocated the adoption of the Federal Constitution, and during
eight years, the whole of Wavshington's administration, was a
member of Congress from that State. His character as a patriot
rests on the highest grounds. Ho loved his country with equal
[)urity and fervor. This aff-otion was the spring of all his efforts

144 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

to promote her welfare. The glory of being a benefactor to a
great people he justly valued. In the character of Mr. Ames
the circle of the virtues seemed to be complete, and each virtue
in its proper place.

''The objects of religion presented themselves with a strong
interest to his mind. The relation of the world to its Author,
and of this life to a retributory scene in another, could not be
contemplated by him without the greatest solemnity. The
religious sense was, in his view, essential in the constitution of
man. He placed a full reliance on the divine origin of Chris-
tianity. He felt it his duty and interest to inquire, and dis-
covered on the side of faith a fulness of evidence little short of
demonstration. At about thirty-five he made a public pro-
fession of his belief in the Christian religion, and was a regular
attendant on its services. In regard to articles of belief, his
conviction was confined to those leading principles about which
Christians have little diversity of opinion. He loved to view
religion on the practical side, as designed to operate by a few
simple and grand truths on the afi'ections, actions, and habits
of men. He cherished the sentiment and experience of religion,
careful to ascertain the genuineness and value of impressions
and feelings by their moral tendency. His conversation and
behavior evinced the sincerity of his religious impressions. No
levity upon these subjects ever escaped his lips ; but his manner
of recurring to them in conversation indicated reverence and
feeling. The sublime, the aff'ecting character of Christ he
never mentioned without emotion."

This distinguished orator, in all his writings and speeches,
imbued them with the pure and lofty sentiments of religion.
In an article, written in 1801 for a periodical in Boston, on
the subject of books for children, he thus speaks of the Bible, as
adapted to the tender years and opening minds of children : —

''Why, then, should not the Bible regain the place it once
held as a school-book ? Its morals are pure, its examples cap-
tivating and noble. The reverence for the sacred book, that is
thus early impressed, lasts long, and probably, if not impressed
in infancy, never takes firm hold of the mind. One con-
sideration more is important. In no book is there so good
English, so pure, and so elegant; and by teaching all the same
book, they will speak alike, and the Bible will justly remain the
standard of language as well as of faith."

civil institutions of the united states. 145

John Hart,

A signer of the Declaration of Independence, and a fearless
patriot, was a munificent benefactor of the Baptist Church, and
alwaj's known as a sincere but unostentatious Christian.

James Smith

Was educated by Eev. Dr. Alison, and was an ardent and active
patriot, and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independ-
ence. ^'He ever retained a veneration for religion and its
ministers, as well as his regular attentiou to public worship."

Egbert Morris

Was the great financier of the Bevolution, a signer of the
Declaration of Independence, and a member of the convention
that framed the Constitution of the United States. It may be
truly said of him, as it was of the Roman Cur tins, that he
sacrificed himself for the safety of the commonwealth. He was
a great and good man. ''The Americans owed, and still owe,
as much acknowledgment to the financial operations of Robert
Morris as to the negotiations of Benjamin Franklin, or even to
the arms of George Washington."

Alexander Hamilton,

The intimate friend and companion of Washington, was a states-
man of the highest order, and had pre-eminent influence in
forming the national Constitution and the present government.
He was educated by Rev. Hugh Knox, a Presbyterian minister,
to whom Hamilton was greatly attached. The fervent piety
of this gentleman gave a strong religious bias to his feelings.
When Hamilton was appointed aid-de-camp and secretary to
Washington, Knox wrote him as follows : —

''We rejoice in your good character and advancement, which
i.H indeed the only just reward of merit. May you still live to
deserve more and more of America, and justify the choice and
merit the approbation of the great and good Washington, ;i
name dear to the friends of the liberties of mankind ! ]\rark this :
you must be the annalist and biographer, as well as the aid-de-
camp, of General Washington, and the historiographer of the
American war. I aver, few men will be so well qualified to
write the history of the present glorious struggle. God only

10

146 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

knows how it will terminate. But, however that will be, it will
be an interesting story."

" Hamilton was stamped by the Divine hand with the impress
of genius. He had indeed a mind of immense grasp and un-
limited original resources." He uttered such views of moral
government as follows : —

" The Supreme Intelligence who rules the world has consti-
tuted an eternal law, which is obligatory upon all mankind, prior
to any human institution whatever. He gave existence to man,
together with the means of preserving and beautifying that
existence, and invested him with an inviolable right to pursue
liberty and personal safety. Natural liberty is the gift of the
Creator to the whole human race. Civil liberty is only natural
liberty modified and secured by the sanctions of civil society.
It is not dependent on human caprice, but it is conformable to
the constitution of man, as well as necessary to the well-being of
society. The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged
for among old parchments or musty records. They are written,
as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the
liand of Divinity itself, and can never be erased or obscured by
human power. This is what is called the law of nature, which,
being coeval with mankind and dictated by God himself, is, of
course, superior in obligation to any other. No human lav^/'S
are of any validity if contrary to this. It is binding over all
the globe, in all countries, and at all times."

In reference to the death of Washington, Hamilton said, '' If
virtue can secure happiness in another world, he is happy.
This seal is now upon his glory. It is no longer in jeopardy
by the fickleness of fortune."

'^ It is difficult," says Fisher Ames, speaking of Hamilton,
after his death, " in the midst of such varied excellences, to say
in what particular the effect of his greatness was most mani-
fest. No man more promptly discerned truth ; no man more
clearly displayed it : it was not merely made visible ; it seemed
to come bright with illumination from his lips. He thirsted
only for that fame which virtue would not blush to confer, nor
time to convey to the end of his course. Alas ! the great man
who was at all times the ornament of our country is withdrav^n
to a purer and more tranquil region. May Heaven, the guard-
ian of our liberty, grant that our country may be fruitful of
Hamiltons and faithful to their glory."

civil institutions of the united states. 147

Charles Carroll,

The last survivor of the signers of the Declaration of Independ-
ence, was a member of the Roman Catholic Church, and dis-
tinguished for his Christian patriotism and virtues. Lord
Brougham says, "He was among the foremost to sign the cele-
brated Declaration of Independence. As he set his hand to the
instrument, some one said, ^ There go some millions of pro-
perty ;' but, as there were many of the same name, he was told
he might get clear. 'They will never know which to take.'
'Not so,' he replied, and instantly added — 'of Carrollton.' He
was universally respected for his patriotism and virtues. He
had talents and acquirements which enabled him effectually to
help the cause he espoused. His knowledge was various, and
his eloquence was of a high order. It was like his character,
mild and pleasant, — like his deportment, correct and faultless."

In the year 1826, after all save one of the band of patriots whose
signatures are on the Declaration of Independence had de-
scended to the tomb, and the venerable Carroll alone remained
among the living, the government of the city of 'New York de-
puted a committee to wait on the illustrious survivor, and obtain
from him, for deposit in a public hall of the city, a copy of the
Declaration of 1776, graced and authenticated anew with his
sign-manual. The aged patriot yielded to the request, and affixed
with his own hand to a copy of the instrument the grateful,
vsolemn, and pious supplementary declaration which follows : —

"Grateful to Almighty God for the blessings which, through
Jesus Christ our Lord, he has conferred on my beloved country
in her emancipation, and in permitting me, under circumstances
<jf mercy, to live to the age of eighty-nine years, and to sur\ave
the fiftieth year of American Independence, adopted by Congress
on the 4th of July, 1776, which I originally subscribed on th('
2d day of August of the same year, and of which I am now the
last surviving signer, I do hereby recommend to the present
and future generations the principles of that important docii-
incnt as the best inheritance their ancestors could bequeath to
them, and pray that the civil and religious liberties they have
secured to my country may be perpetuated to remotest poste-
rity and extended to the whole family of man.

" Chas. Carrull, of CaiTolltou.

"August 2, 1820." ^

148 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Charles Thomson

Was the Secretary of the Continental Congress, a Quaker by
birtli and education, and a man of distinguished virtue and in-
tegrity of character. He possessed in an eminent degree the
confidence of Congress, and was the active and steadfast friend
of the Christian religion. His selection as secretary has a his-
toric interest and singularity.

The Continental Congress first sat in the building then called
Carpenter's Hall, up the court of that name in Chestnut Street.
On the morning of the day that they first convened, their
future secretary, Charles Thomson, who resided at that time in
the Northern Liberties, and who afterwards so materially as-
sisted to launch^our first-rate republic, had ridden into the city
and alighted in Chestnut Street. He was immediately accosted
by a messenger from Congress; they desired to speak with
him. He followed the messenger, and, entering the building,
he said he was struck with awe upon viewing the aspects of
so many great and good men impressed with the weight and
responsibility of their situation, on the perilous edge of which
they then were advancing. He walked up the aisle, and, bowing
to the president, desired to know their pleasure. '' Congress re-
quest your services, sir, as their secretary." He took his seat at
the desk, and never looked back until the vessel was securely
anchored in the haven of independence.

George Wythe

Was a statesman and a jurist of the highest accomplishments,
and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. "His vir-
tues were of the purest kind, his integrity inflexible, and his
justice exact. It was his daily endeavor to live a Christian
life; and he efiectually succeeded."

James Wilson,

A signer of the Declaration of Independence, and an eminent
jurist and judge, was educated under Christian auspices by
Dr. Isaac Watts and Dr. Eobert Blair. He was an orna-
ment to the American nation, and in public and private life
maintained the faith and difi'used the spirit and the principles
of Christianity.

civil institutions of the united states. 149

Samuel Chase
Was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a member of
Congress, and a Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States.
*' Among his virtues may be included a heartfelt piety and a
firm belief in the great truths of Christianity. He partook of
the sacrament but a short time before his death, and said he
was at peace with all mankind."

RicHAED Henry Lee
Was an accomplished orator of the Revolution, a signer of the
Declaration of Independence, and a Christian statesman. ^'In
the vigor of his mind, amid the honors of the world and its en-
joyments, he publicly declared his belief in Jesus Christ as the
Saviour of men.

Francis Lightfoot Lee,

The brother of Richard Henry, was an upright and virtuous
politician. He lived and died a Christian.

John Jay,
As a Christian legislator, statesman, and judge, exerted a large
and active influence in the Revolution, and in founding and
administering the civil government of the United States. In
private and public life he was an eminent Christian. His
recognition of God and belief in the Christian religion were
striking elements of his character.

'' Whoever," said he, " compares our present with our former
constitution will find abundant reasons to rejoice in the ex-
change, and readily admit that all the calamities incident to
this war will be amply compensated by the many blessings
flowing from this revolution.

''We should always remember that the many remarkable
and unexpected means and events by which our wants liave
been supplied and our enemies repelled or restrained are
such strong and striking proofs of the interposition of Heaven,
that our having been hitherto delivered from the threatened
bondage of Britain ought to be forever ascribed to its true
cause (the fixvor of God), and, instead of swelling our breasts
with arrogant ideas of our prowess and importance, kindle in
them a flame of gratitude and piety which may consume all
remains of vice and irreligion."

loO CHEISTIAN LIFE AXD CHARACTER OF THE

During a most gloomy period of the Eevolution, when New
York was in the hands of the British, and Washington was
retreating through New Jersey, with an almost naked army,
and the country desponding, Jay animated his countrymen with
such stirring words as the following : —

^^ Under the auspices of divine Providence your forefathers
removed to the wilds and wilderness of America. By their
industry they made it a fruitful, and by their virtues a happy,
country; and we should still have enjoyed the blessings of
peace and plenty, if we had not forgotten the source from which
these blessings flowed, and permitted our country to be conta-
minated by the many shameful vices which have prevailed among
us. It is a well-known fact that no virtuous people were ever
oppressed, and it is also true that a scourge was never wanting
to those of an opposite character. Even the Jews, those favor-
ites of Heaven, met with the frowns whenever they forgot the
smiles of their benevolent Creator. They for their wickedness
were permitted to be scourged ; and we for our wickedness are
scourged by tyrants as cruel and implacable as theirs. If we
turn from our sins, God will turn from his anger. Then will
our arms be crowned with success, and the pride and power of
our enemies, like the pride and arrogance of Nebuchadnezzar,
will vanish away.

" Let a general reformation of manners take place ; let uni-
versal charity, public spirit, and private virtue be inculcated,
encouraged, and practised. Unite in preparing for a vigorous
defence of your country as if all depended on you. And when
you have done all these things, then rely on the good providence
of Almighty God for success, in full confidence that without his
blessing all our eftbrts will inevitably fail.

'' Eouse, then, brave citizens ! Do your duty like men, and
be persuaded that Divine Providence will not let this Western
World be involved in the horrors of slavery. Consider that
from the earliest ages of the world religious liberty and reason
have been bending their course towards the setting sun. The
holy gospels are yet to be preached to these western regions ;
and we have the highest reason to believe that the Almighty
will not sufi'er slavery and the gospel to go hand in hand. It
cannot, it will not be."

In September, 1777, Jay, as Chief-Justice of the Supreme
Court of New York, delivered a charge to the Grand Jury of

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 151

Ulster county, on tlie political condition of the country. It
was given at a time when the Assembly and Senate were con-
vening, and the whole system of government, established by the
Constitution of New York, about being put in motion. The
grand inquest was composed of the most respectable characters
in the county. In that charge are found the following Chris-
tian passages : —

" Gentlemen : — It affords me very sensible pleasure to con-
gratulate you on the dawn of that free, mild, and equal govern-
ment which now begins to rise and break from amidst those
clouds of anarchy, confusion, and licentiousness which the arbi-
trary and violent domination of the King of Great Britain had
spread throughout this and the other American States. This is
one of those signal instances in which Divine Providence has
made the tyranny of princes instrumental in breaking the chains
of their subjects, and rendering the most inhuman designs pro-
ductive of the best consequences to those against whom they
were intended, — a revolution which, in the whole course of
its rise and progress, is distinguished by so many marks of the
divine favor and interposition that no doubt can remain of its
being finally accomplished. It was begun, and has been sup-
ported, in a manner so singular and, I may say, miraculous, that
when future ages shall read its history they will be tempted to
consider great part of it as fabulous. Will it not appear extra-
ordinary that thirteen colonies, divided by a variety of govern-
ments and manners, should immediately become one people,
and, though without funds, without magazines, without disci-
plined troops, in the face of their enemies, unanimously deter-
mine to be free, and, undaunted by the power of Great Britain,
refer their cause to the justice of the Almighty, and resolve to
repel force by force, — thereby presenting to the world an illus-
trious example of magnanimity and virtue scarcely to be paral-
leled? However incredible these things may in future appear,
we know them to be true, and we should always remember that
the many remarkable and unexpected means and events by
which our wants have been supplied and our enemies repelled
or restrained are such strong and striking proofs of the inter-
position of Heaven, that our having been hitherto delivered
from the threatened bondage of Britain ought, like the emanci-
pation of the Jews from Egyptian servitude, to bo forever
ascribed to its teue Cause, and, instead of swelling our breasts

152 CHRISTIAK LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

■with arrogant ideas of our own prowess and importance, kindle
in them a flame of gratitude and pietj which may consume all
remains of vice and irreligion.

"The Americans are the first people whom Heaven has
favored with an opportunity of deliberating upon and choosing
the forms of government under which they should live. While
you possess wisdom to discern and virtue to appoint men of
worth and abilities to fill the ofiices of the state, you will be
happy at home and respected abroad. Your life, your liberties,
your property, will be at the disposal only of your Creator and
yourselves.

" Security under our Constitution is given to the rights of
conscience and private judgment. They are by nature subject
to no control but that of Deity, and in that free situation they
are now left. Every man is permitted to consider, to adore,
and to worship his Creator in the manner most agreeable to
his conscience. No opinions are dictated, no rules of faith are
prescribed, no preference given to one sect to the prejudice of
others. The Constitution, however, has wisely declared that
the ' liberty of conscience, thereby granted, shall not be so con-
strued as to excuse acts of licentiousness or justify practices
inconsistent with the peace or safety of the state.' In a word,
the convention by whom that Constitution was formed were
of opinion that the gospel of Christ, like the ark of God,
would not fall, though unsupported by the arm of flesh ; and
liappy would it be for mankind if that opinion prevailed more
generally.

" But let it be remembered that whatever marks of wisdom,
experience, and patriotism there may be in the Constitution,
yet, like the beautiful symmetry, the just proportions, and
(^egant forms of our fii^t parents before their Maker breathed
into them the breath of lifo, it is yet to be animated, and,
till then, may indeed excite admiration, but will be of no use.
From the people it must receive its spirit, and by them be
quickened. Let virtue, honor, the love of liberty and science,
be and remain the soul of the Constitution, and it will become
the source of great and extreme happiness to this and future
generations. Vice, ignorance, and want of vigilance vfill be the
only enemies that can destroy it. i^.gainst these provide, and
of these be- forever jealous. Every citizen ought diligently to

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 153

read and study the Constitution of his country, and teach the
rising generation to be free."

'' Providence/'' said he, " has given to our people the choice
of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and
interest, of a Christian nation to select and prefer Christians
for their rulers."

Mr. Jay, from 1822 till his death in 1827, was President of
the Bible Society, and at each annual meeting delivered an
address. He demonstrated the divinity of the Bible, showed
its relations and results to civil government and human
society, and urged its universal circulation as the means to
illumine and regenerate the world. He was an active and
devout member of the Episcopal Church, but eminently liberal
and charitable in his Christian views. His life was a beautiful
exhibition of Christian faith, and his public career a noble
illustration of the value of Christianity in forming the cha-
racter and acts of a Christian statesman. Webster said of this
eminent Christian jurist, that '' when the ermine fell on him it
touched nothing less pure than itself."

He was eminently a man of prayer, and drew up a form, full
of spirituality and of Christian truths, as an extract will show :
— " Enable me, merciful Father, to understand thy holy gos-
pels, and to distinguish the doctrines thereof from erroneous
expositions of them; and bless me with that fear of offending
thee, which is the beginning of wisdom. Let thy Holy Spirit
purify and unite me to my Saviour forever; and enable me to
(;leave unto him as unto my very life, as indeed he is. Perfect
and confirm my faith, my trust, my hope of salvation in him,
and in him only.

" Give me grace to love and obey, and be thankful unto thee,
with all my heart, with all my soul, witli all my mind, and
with all my strength, and to worship and to serve thee in
liumility of spirit, and in truth. Give me grace also to love
rny neighbor as myself, and wisely and diligently to do the
duties incumbent on me according to thy holy will, and not
from worldly consideration. Condescend, merciful Father, to
iz;rant, as far as proper, tlio.sc imperfect petitions, those inade-
quate thanksgivings, and to pardon wliatover of sin hath min-
.L^lod in them, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord and
Kuviour, unto whom, with thee and the blessed Spirit, even one
God, be rendered all honor and glory, now and forever."

154 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

In his dying liour, he was asked if he had any farewell
counsels to leave his children. His reply was, " They have
THE Book."

Elias Boudinot

Acted a prominent part in the scenes of the Eevolution, and
was an able and active member of the Continental Congress.
He was a brilliant lawyer, an upright judge, a wise legislator,
and a true Christian statesman. His Christian feelings thus
found utterance on the propriety of observing the memory of
American independence : —

'' The history of the world, as well sacred as profane, bears
witness to the use and importance of setting apart a day as a
memorial of great events, whether of a religious or a political
nature. ISTo sooner had the great Creator of the heavens and
the earth finished his almighty work, and pronounced all very
good, but he set apart (not as anniversary, or one day in a
year, but) one day in seven, for the commemoration of his in-
imitable power in producing all things out of nothing.

" The deliverance of the children of Israel from a state of
bondage to an unreasonable tyrant was perpetuated by eating
the paschal lamb, and enjoining it to their posterity as an annual
festival forever, with a ' remember this day, in which ye came
out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage,'

'' The resurrection of the Saviour of mankind is commemo-
rated by keeping the first day of the week, not only as a certain
memorial of his first coming in a state of humiliation, but the
positive evidence of his future coming in glory.

" Let us, my friends and fellow-citizens, unite all our endea-
vors this day to remember with reverential gratitude to our
Supreme Benefactor all the wonderful things he has done for
us, in a miraculous deliverance from a second Egypt, — another
house of bondage. 'And thou shalt show thy son, on this day,
saying, This day is kept as a day of joy and gladness, because
of the great things the Lord has done for us, when we were
delivered from the threatening power of an invading foe. And
it shall be a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memo-
rial between thine eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in thy
mouth; for with a strong hand hast thou been delivered from
thine enemies. Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance, in its
season, from year to year forever.'

• CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 155

^'Who knows but the country for wliicli we have fought
and bled may hereafter become a theatre of greater events
than have yet been known to mankind? May these invigorating
prospects lead us to the exercise of every virtue, religious,
moral, and political. And may these great principles, in the
end, become instrumental in bringing about that happy state
of the world when from every human breast, joined by the
grand chorus of the skies, shall arise, with the profoundest reve-
rence, that divinely celestial anthem of universal praise, ' Glory
to God in the highest; peace on earth; good will towards men.' "

In 1816, Mr. Boudinot was elected the first President of the
American Bible Society. In accepting, he said, ''I am not
ashamed to confess that I accept the appointment of President
of the American Bible Society as the greatest honor that could
be conferred on me this side of the grave." He served, also,
from 1812 till his death in 1821, as a member of the American
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. His great
wealth was consecrated to objects of Christian benevolence.
He gave a liberal sum to the New Jersey Bible Society, to pur-
chase spectacles for the aged poor to enable them to read the
Bible.

James Madison

Was an eminent statesman and civilian of the Revolution, and
was called the '^ Father of the Constitution." He was educated
at Princeton College, under Dr. John Witherspoon, the eminent
Christian scholar and patriot, who delighted to bear testimony
to '' the excellency of his character." He remarked to Mr. Jef-
ferson, when they were colleagues in the Continental Congress,
that in the whole course of Mr. Madison's career at college ''he
never knew him to say or do an indiscreet thing."

He was a friend to universal toleration in religious matters,
and objected to the word '' toleration" in our constitutions,
because it implied an established religion. He labored to
remove the legal disabilities from the Baptists in Virginia, and
demonstrated that all men are equally entitled to the free oxer- .
cise of religion according to the dictates of conscience.

The following paragraphs from his messages exhibit liis vicw.s
on God as the Governor of nations : —

"Wo have all been encouraged to feel the guardianship and
guidance of that almighty Being whoso power regulates the

156 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

destinies of nations, whose blessings heave been so conspicuously
displayed to this rising republic; and to whom we are bound to
address our devout gratitude for the past, as well as our fervent
supplications and best hopes for the future."

'^Eecollecting always that, for every advantage which may
contribute to distinguish our lot from that to which others are
doomed by the unhappy spirit of the times, we are indebted to
that Divine Providence whose goodness has been so remarkably
extended to this rising nation, it becomes us to cherish a devout
gratitude, and to implore from the same omnipotent source a
blessing on the consultations and measures about to be under-
taken for the welfare of our beloved country."

'^ Invoking the blessings of Heaven on our beloved country,
and on all the means that may be employed in vindicating its
rights and advancing its welfare."

Again, in 1812, after the war, he says, ''The appeal was made,
in a just cause, to the just and all-powerful Being who holds in
his hands the chain of events and the destiny of nations." The
war ''is stamped with that justice which invites the smiles of
Heaven on the means of conducting it to a successful termi-
nation." ^'We are under sacred obligation to transmit entire to
future generations that precious patrimony of national rights
and independence, which is held in trust by the present/rom the
goodness of Providence." "We may humbly repose our trust in
the smiles of Heaven on so righteous a cause."

In closing his last message, Madison says, "May I not be
allowed to add to this gratifying spectacle, that the destined
career of my country will exhibit a government pursuing the
public good as its sole object, and regulating its means by those
great principles consecrated in its charter, and by those raoral
principles to which they are so well allied ? — a government, in
a word, whose conduct within and without may bespeak the most
noble of all ambitions, — that of promoting peace on earth, and
good will to men."

James Monroe

Was an active patriot and statesman of Eevolutionary and of
more modern times, taking a leading part in the political afiairs
of the nation, and was twice elected President. He has left
but little in reference to his views on the subject of religion.
The following sentences occur in his messages : —

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 157

^'I enter on tlie trust with my fervent prayers to the Almighty,
that he will be graciously pleased to continue to us that protection
which he has already so conspicuously displayed in our favor."

''The fruits of the earth have been unusually abundant, com-
merce has flourished, the revenue has exceeded the most favor-
able anticipations, and peace and amity are preserved with for-
eign nations on conditions just and honorable to our country.
For these inestimable blessings we cannot be too grateful to that
Providence which watches over the destinies of nations."

''When we view the great blessings with which our country
has been favored, those which we now enjoy, and the means
which we possess of handing them down unimpaired to our
latest posterity, our attention is irresistibly drawn to the source
from whence they flow. Let us, then, unite in off'ering our most
grateful acknowledgment for these blessings to the Divine
Author of all good."

"With a firm reliance on the protection of Almighty God, I
shall forthwith commence the duties of the high trust to which
you have called me."

"Deeply impressed with the blessings which we enjoy, and
of which w^e have such manifold proofs, my mind is irresistibly
drawn to that Almighty Being, the great source from whence
they proceed, and to whom our most grateful acknowledgments
are due."

Oliver Ellsworth

Was an eminent statesman of the Eevolution, and by Washing-
ton appointed Chief- Justice of the Supreme Court of the United
States. He was designed for the ministry, and studied theo-
logy under Dr. Bellamy, an eminent divine of Connecticut.
In this Christian school his principles were received and his
character formed. " Amiable and exemplary in all the relations
of the domestic and social life and Christian character, pre-emi-
nently useful in all the offices he sustained; whose great talents,
under the guidance of inflexible integrity, consummate wisdom,
and enlightened zeal, placed him among the first of the ilhis-
trious statesmen who achieved our independence and established
the constitution of the American republic. In all the public
stations which he ever filled he evinced an inflexible integrity,
the purest morality, and the most unshaken firmness and indc-
pcndenco."

158 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAHACTEE OF THE

William Henry Drayton,

Of South Carolina, an eminent jurist and statesman, who
devoted his great learning and abilities to achieve our in-
dependence and to form our free institutions, in April,
1776, gave utterance, in an official paper, to the following senti-
ments : —

^' I think it my duty to declare, in the awful seat of justice and
before Almighty God, that, in my opinion, the Americans can
have no safety but by the Divine favor, their own virtue, and
their being so prudent as not to leave it in the power of British
rulers to injure them. The Almighty created America to be
independent of Britain : let us beware of the impiety of being
backward to act as instruments in the Almighty's hand, now
extended to accomplish his purpose, and by the completion of
which alone America can be secure against the craft and insidious
designs of her enemies, who think her prosperity and

POWER ALREADY BY FAR TOO GREAT."

'' In a word, our piety and political safety are so blended, that
to refuse our labors in this divine work is to refuse to be a
great, a free, a pious, and a happy people ! And now, having left
the important alternative, political happiness or wretchedness,
under God, in a great degree in your hands, I pray the Supreme
Arbiter of the affairs of men so to direct your judgment as
that you may act agreeably to what seems to be his will, re-
vealed in his miraculous works in behalf of America bleeding
at the altar of liberty."

Major-General Greene,

Of Eevolutionary renown, was eminently distinguished in the
military service of his country, and was the confidential compa-
nion of Washington. He was as eminent for his virtues as for
his patriotism and devotion to his country. Alexander Hamil-
ton, in an eulogium on him, pronounced July 4, 1789, before the
Society of Cincinnati, says of him, —

'' The name of Greene will at once awaken in your minds the
imaa;e of whatever is noble and estimable in human nature.
As a man, the virtues of Greene are admitted ; as a patriot, he
held a place in the foremost rank ; as a statesman, he is praised ;
as a soldier, he is admired.

''But where, alas! is now this consummate general, this brave

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 159

soldier, this discerning statesman, this steady patriot, this vir-
tuous citizen, this amiable man ? Why could not so many
talents, so many virtues, so many bright and useful qualities
shield him from a premature grave ? It is not for us to scaii,
but to submit to, the dispensations of Heaven."

" He was a great and good m_an," was the comprehensive
eulogy passed upon him by Washington, when he heard the;
news of General Greene's death. '^Thus," says Washington,
" some of the pillars of the Kevolution fall. Others are mould-
ering by insensible degrees. May our country never want
props to support the glorious fabric."

Henry Knox,

Major-general in the American army during the Eevolutionary
War, was the right hand of Washington, and one whose re-
sources for the emergencies of the war were infinite. His parent.^
were of Scottish descent, and educated him in that piety whicii
has ever distinguished the people of that country. He pos-
sessed a. taste for literary pursuits, which he retained through life :
and this, in union with his fine military genius and personal
qualities, constituted him an accomplished gentleman and ai.
able officer in the army and in the War Department, to which
he was appointed by Congress before the adoption of the Con-
Htitution, and, after the government was organized, by Wash-
ington to the same office.

''The amiable virtues of the citizen and the man were a.-
conspicuous in the character of General Knox as the mow
brilliant and commanding talents of the hero and statesman.
The afflicted and destitute were sure to share of his compassicu.
and charity. ' His heart was made of tenderness.' J\Iildness
ever beamed in his countenance ; 'on his tongue were the words
of kindness. The poor he never oppressed; the most obscure
citizen could never complain of injustice at his hands.'

"To these amiable qualities and moral excellencies of General
Knox we may justly add his prevailing disposition to piety.
With much of the manners of the gay world, and opposed as
ho was to all superstition and bigotry, he might not apj^ear, to
iliose ignorant of his better feelings, to possess religion and
devout affections. He was a firm believer in the natural and
Tnoral attribute's of the Deity and his overruling and all-pre-
vailing providence."

160 christian life and character op the

Gilbert Mothier Lafayette

Deserves an eminent place among American lieroes, as the
champion of freedom and the friend of humanity. His chival-
rous and heroic devotion in the American cause constitutes a
romantic chapter in the history of the Revolution. He was a
member of the Catholic Church, a friend of Christianity, and his
sentiments and life were of a high moral tone. His inspirations
of liberty, his just and rational views of the rights of all men,
and his devotion to humanity and a Christian civilization, en-
title Lafayette to be enrolled among the Christian champions of
freedom. In reference to American slavery he said that if he
had supposed he was fighting to perpetuate the system, he never
would have unsheathed his sword for American liberty in our
Revolutionary struggle.

John Quincy Adams, in his eulogy on Lafayette, prepared at
the request of Congress, in 1834, says, ''The self-devotion of
Lafayette in the cause of America was twofold. First, to the
maintaining a bold and seemingly desperate struggle against
oppression and for national existence. Secondly and chiefly,
to the principles of their declaration, which then first un-
furled before his eyes the consecrated standard of human
rights.

''To the moral principle of political action, the sacrifices of
no other man were comparable to his. Youth, health, fortune,
the favor of the king, the enjoyment of ease and pleasure, even
the choicest blessings of domestic felicity, — he gave them all
for toil and danger in a distant land, and an almost hopeless
cause; but it was the cause of justice, and of the rights of
human kind."

Mr. Clarkson, of England, describes Lafayette "as a man
who desired the happiness of the human race in consistence
with strict subservience to the cause of truth and the honor of
God."

At the close of the Revolution, Congress appointed a com-
mittee to receive and, in the name of Congress, to take leave of
Lafayette, and to express to him their grateful and admiring
sense of his services. A memorable sentence of his reply is as
follows : —

"May this immense temple of freedom ever stand a lesson to
oppressors, an example to the oppressed, a sanctuary for the

CIVIL INSTITUTIO^rS OF THE UNITED STATES. IGl

rights of mankind ! And may these happy United States attain
that complete splendor and prosperity which will illustrate the
blessings of their Government, and for ages to come rejoice the
departed souls of its founders."

William Livingston

Was a Christian lawyer of New York, and afterwards distin-
guished as a Christian statesman and Governor of New Jersey.
In the earliest conflicts of the Revolution he said, —

" Courage, Americans ! liberty, religion, and science are on
the wing to these shores. The finger of God points out a
mighty empire to your sons. The savages of the wilderness
were never expelled to make room for idolaters and slaves.
The land we possess is the gift of Heaven to our fathers, and
Divine Providence seems to have decreed it to our latest poste-
rity. So legible is this munificent and celestial deed in past
events, that we need not be discouraged by the bickerings
between us and the parent country. The angry cloud will
soon be dispersed, and America advance to felicity and glory
with redoubled activity and vigor. The day dawns in which
the foundation of this mighty empire is to be laid by the esta-
blishment of a regular American Constitution.

''Let us, both by precept and example, encourage a spirit
of economy, industry, and patriotism, and that public integrity
which cannot fail to exalt a nation, — setting our flices at the
same time like a flint against that dissoluteness of manners and
political corru})tion which will ever be the reproach of any
people. May the foundation of our infant state be laid in
virtue and the fear of God, and the superstructure will rise
gloriously and endure for ages. Then we may humbly expect
the blessing of the Most High, who divides to nations their
inheritance and separates the sons of Adam. "Wliile we are
applauded by the whole world for demolishing the old fabric,
rotten and ruinous as it was, let us unitedly strive to approve
ourselves master-builders, by giving beauty, strength, and sta-
Ijility to the new. May we, in all our deliberations and pro-
ceedings, be influenced by the great Arbiter of the fito of
nations, by whom empires riso and fall, and who will not
always suffer the sceptre of the wicked to rest on the lot of tho
righteous, but in due time avenge an injured people on their
unfeeling -oppressor and Lis bloody instruments."

11

1G2 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OP THE

Governor Livingston, in 1778, published the following views
on the liberty of conscience in matters of religion : —

"If in our estimate of things we ought to be regulated by
their importance, doubtless every encroachment upon religion,
of all things the most important, ought to be considered as the
greatest imposition, and the unmolested exercise of it a propor-
tionate blessing.

"By religion I mean an inward habitual reverence for, and
devotedness to, the Deity, with such external homage, either
public or private, as the worshipper believes most acceptable to
him. According to this definition, it is impossible for human
laws to regulate religion without destroying it ; for they cannot
compel inward religious reverence, that being altogether mental
and of a spiritual nature ; nor can they enforce outward re-
ligious homage, because all such homage is either a man's own
choice, and then it is not compelled, or it is repugnant to it^
and then it cannot be religion.

"The laws of England, indeed, do not peremptorily inhibit a
man from worshipping God according to the dictates of his own
conscience, nor positively constrain him to violate it, by conform-
ing to the religion of the state. But they punish him for doing
the former, or, what amounts to the same thing, for omitting the
latter, and, consequently, punish him for his religion. For what
are the civil disqualifications and the privation of certain privi-
leges he thereby incurs, but so many punishments ? And what
else is the punishment for not embracing the religion of others
but a punishment for practising one's own ? With how little
propriety a nation can boast of its freedom under such restraints
of religious liberty, requires no great sagacity to determine.
They afiect, it is true, to abhor the imputation of intolerance, and
applaud themselves for their pretended toleration and lenity.
As contra-distinguished, indeed, from actual prohibition, a per-
mission may doubtless be called a toleration ; for if a man is
permitted to enjoy his religion under whatever penalties or
forfeitures, he is certainly tolerated to enjoy it. But as far as
lie pays for such enjoyment by sufi'ering those penalties and
forfeitures, he as certainly does not enjoy it freely. On the
contrary, he is persecuted in the proportion that his privilege
is so regulated and qualified. I call it persecution, because it
is harassing mankind for their principles; and I deny that
such punishments derive any sanction from law, because the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 163

consciences of men are not the objects of human legislation.
And to trace this stupendous insult on the dignity of reason to
any other source than the abominable combinations of king-
craft and PRIESTCRAFT (in everlasting indissoluble league to ex-
tirpate liberty and to erect on its ruin boundless and universal
despotism) would, I believe/ puzzle the most assiduous inquirer.
For what business, in the name of common sense, has the magis-
trate (distinctly and singly appointed for our political and tem-
poral happiness) with our religion, which is to secure our
happiness spiritual and eternal? And, indeed, among all the
absurdities chargeable upon human nature, it never yet entered
into the thoughts of any one to confer such authority upon
any other.

'' In reality, such delegation of power, had it ever been made,
would be a mere nullity, and the compact by which it was
ceded altogether nugatory, the rights of conscience being im-
mutably personal and absolutely inalienable; nor can the state
or the community, as such, have any concern in the matter.
For in what manner doth it affect society what are the princi-
ples we entertain in our minds, or in what outivard form we
think it best to pay our adoration to God?

'' But, to set the absurdity of the magistrate's authority to
interfere in matters of religion in the strongest light, I would
fain know what religion it is that he has the authority to
establish? Has he a right to establish only the true religion?
or is any religion true because he does establish it? If the
former, his trouble is as vain as it is arrogant, because the true
religion, being not of this vjorld, ivants not the princes of this
world to support it, but has, in fact, either languished or been
adulterated wherever they meddled ivith it.

" If the supreme magistrate, as such, has authority to esta-
blish any religion he thinks to be true, and the religion so
established is therefore right and ought to be embraced, it
follows, since all supreme magistrates have the same authority,
that all established religions are equally right and ought to
be embraced. The Emperor of China, therefore, as supreme
magistrate in his empire, has the same right to establish the
precepts of Confucius, and the Sultan in his the imposture of
Mahomet, as hath the King of Great Britain the doctrine of
Christ in his dominion. It results from those principles
that the religions of Confucius and ^lahomet are equally true

164 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEE OF THE

with the doctrine of our Saviour and liis apostles, and equally
obligatory upon the respective subjects of China and Turkey
as Christianity is on those within the British realm, — a position
which, I presume, the most zealous advocate for ecclesiastical
domination would think it blasphemy to avow.

'^ The Ihiglish ecclesiastical governraent, therefore, is, and all
the RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENTS IN THE WORLD are manifest vio-
lations of the rights of p/'^^'a^e judgment in matters of religion.
They are impudent outrages on common sense, in arrogating a
power of controlling the devotional operations of the mind and
external acts of divine homage not cognizable by any human
tribunal, and for which we are accountable only to the great
Searcher of hearts, whose prerogative it is to judge them.

'^ In contrast with this spiritual tyranny, how beautiful
appears our catholic constitution in disclaiming all jurisdiction
over the souls of men, and securing, by a never-to-be-repealed
section, the voluntary, unchecked, moral suasion of every indi-
vidual, and by his own self-directed intercourse with the Father
of spirits, either hy devout retirement or public worship of his
own election! How amiable the plan of intrenching with the
sanctions of an ordinance, immutable and irrevocable, the
sacred rights of conscience, and renouncing all discrimination
between men on account of their sentiments about the various
modes of church government or the different articles of their
Jaithr

Jonathan Trumbull
Was, says Sparks, ^' one of the firmest of patriots and best of
men." He was Governor of Connecticut nearly twenty years,
— elected with great unanimity, and continuing till the close
•of the Eevolution. His services were of very great importance
throughout the whole war, not only in regulating the civil
affairs of Connecticut, but in keeping alive a military ardor
among the people. General Washington leaned on him as one
of his main pillars of support. The following extracts from
Governor Trumbull's letter to Washington will show the spirit
prevailing at that day, as well as the religious cast of his
mind : —

'^ Suffer me to congratulate you on your appointment to be
general and commander-in-chief of the troops raised, or to be
raised, for the defence of American liberty. Men who have tasted

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 165

of freedom, and wlio have felt tlieir personal rights, are not
easily taught to bear with encroachments on either, or brought
to submit to oppression. Virtue ought always to be made the
object of government; justice is firm and permanent.

'' The honorable Congress have, with one united voice, ap-
pointed you to the high station you possess. The Supreme
Director of all events has caused a wonderful union of hearts
and counsels to subsist amongst us. ISTow, therefore, be strong
and very courageous. May the God of the armies of Israel
shower down the blessings of his divine providence on you,
give you wisdom and fortitude, cover your head in the day of
battle and danger, and, by giving success, convince our enemies
of their mistaken measures, and that all their attempts to de-
prive the colonies of their inestimable constitutional rights and
liberties are injurious and vain."

Washington replied as follows : —

Cambridge, 18 July, 1775.
Allow me to return you my sincere thanks for the kind wishes and
favorable sentiments expressed in yours of the 13th instant. As the
cause of our common country calls us both to active and dangerous
duty, I trust that Divine Providence, which wisely orders the aftairs of
men, will enable us both to discharge it with fidelity and success. The
uncorrupted choice of a brave and free people has raised you to deserved
eminence.

Dr. Ezra Stiles, President of Yale College, in a sermon,
entitled "The United States elevated to Glory and
Honor," preached. May 7, 1783, before Governor Trumbull and
the General Assembly of Connecticut, paid the highest tribute
of praise to this pure patriot and exalted Christian statesman.
He said, —

" Endowed with a singular strength of the mental powers,
with a vivid and clear perception, with a penetrating and com-
prehensive judgment, embellished with the acquisition of aca-
demical, theological, and political erudition, your excellency
became qualified for a very singular variety of usefulness in
life. Wo adore the God of our fiithers, the God and Father
of the spirits of all flesh, that ho hath raised you up for such a
time as this, and that he hath put into your heart a wisdom
which I cannot describe without adulation, a patriotism and
intrepid resolution, a noble and independent spirit, an uncon-
querable lovG of liberty, religion, and our country, and that

166 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

grace by wliicli you have been carried tliroiigli tlie arduous
duties of a high office, never before acquired by an American
governor. Our enemies revere the names of Trumbull and
"Washington."

George "Washington,

'' First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his
countrymen," was also first as a Christian hero and statesman.
His Christian faith and sentiments pervaded his life, formed
his character, guided all his private and public acts, and were
repeated and recorded in every variety of form in all his state
papers. He regarded Christianity not only as a divine system,
worthy of the confidence of all men, and essential to man's
happiness here and hereafter, but he profoundly felt, and every-
where taught, that all good government must be founded and
administered in conformity to its benign and heavenly precepts.
It is a suggestive fact that Washington, who led the armies
of the Revolution to final victory, who presided in the council
that formed the old Articles of Confederation, who was presi-
dent of the convention that formed the Constitution, and who
was the first President elected to administer the government,
was a devout Christian. He has had more to do in shaping
the destinies of the American Government and nation than all
others combined, and in every official act he difi'used the spirit
and proclaimed, directly or indirectly, the principles of reli-
gion. This historical fact is unprecedented in the annals of the
world, and displays the guiding hand of God in raising up and
qualifying such a Christian leader for the American nation.
Washington opened and closed his administration with the fol-
lowing sentiments: —

'^ It is impossible," said he, '' to govern the universe without
the aid of a Supreme Being. Let us, therefore, unite in im-
ploring the Supreme Puuler of nations to spread his holy pro-
tection over these United States; to stop the machinations of.
the wicked; to confirm our Constitution; to enable us, at all
times, to suppress internal sedition and put invasion to flight;
to perpetuate to our country that prosperity which his goodness
has already conferred, and to verify the anticipations of this
government's being a safeguard to human rights."

^'The situation in which I now stand, for the last time, in the
midst of the representatives of the people of the United States,

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 1G7

naturally recalls the period when the administration of the
present form of government commenced; and I cannot omit the
occasion to congratulate you and my country on the success of
the experiment, nor to repeat my fervent supplications to the
Supreme Ruler of the Universe and Sovereign Arbiter of nations,
that his providential care may still be extended to the United
States; that the virtue and happiness of the people may be pre-
served; and that the government which they have instituted for
the protection of their liberties may be perpetual."

An appeal to the God of the Bible and of providence, from
such Christian statesmen, would be expected, on all suitable and
solemn occasions, in their state papers. These solemn appeals
are as follow : —

*' We hold these truths to be self-evident : that all men are
created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness. That to defend these rights
government was instituted. . . . We, therefore, the Eepresenta-
tives in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme
Ruler of the World for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in
the name and by the authority of the good people of these
colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these United Colo-
nies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States;
and for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on
Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives,
our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

" Our cause is just. Our union is perfect. Our internal
resources are great, and, if necessary, foreign assistance is
undoubtedly at hand. We gratefully acknowledge, as signal
instances of the Divine favor towards us, that his providence
would not permit us to be called into this severe controversy
until we liad grown up to our present strength, had previously
been exercised in warlike operations, and possessed of the
means of defending ourselves. With hearts fortified with these
animating rellections, we most solemnly, before God and the
world, declare that, exerting the utmost energies of those
powers which our beneficent Creator hath graciously bestowed
on us, the arms we have been compelled to assume we will, in de-
fiance of every hazard, with unabating firmness and perseverance,
employ for the preservation of our liberties; being with cue
mind resolved to die fi'ocmen rather than live slaves.

168 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEE OF THE

''Witli an humble confidence in the mercies of the supreme
and impartial Judge and Euler of the Universe, we most
devoutly implore his divine goodness to protect ns happily
through this great conflict, to dispose our adversaries to recon-
ciliation on reasonable terms, and thereby to relieve the empire
from the calamities of civil war/'

A manifesto by Congress, in 1778, closes as follows : —

^' We appeal to that God who searcheth the hearts of men
for the rectitude of our intentions, and in his holy presence
declare, as we are not moved by any light or hasty suggestions
of anger or revenge, so through every possible change of
fortune we will adhere to this oar determination."

'' Appealing to the Being who searches thoroughly the
heart," says a petition to the king in 1774, "we solemnly pro-
fess that our councils have been influenced by no other motives
than a dread of impendhig destruction. "We doubt not the
purity of our intention and the integrity of our conduct will
justify us at that grand tribunal before which all mankind
must submit to judgment."

''Appealing to Heaven for the justice of our cause, we deter-
mine to die or be free."

'' If it were possible for men, who exercise their reason, to
believe that the Divine Author of our existence intended a
part of the human race to hold an absolute property in and
an unbounded power over others, marked out by his infinite
goodness and wisdom as the objects of a legal domination
never rightfully resistible, however severe and oppressive, the
inhabitants of these colonies might at least require from the
Parliament of Great Britain some evidence that this dreadful
authority over them had been granted to that body."

" The Bills of Plights of the colonies sparkle Vv-ith sentiments
of humanity, of right, of liberty. The papers and resolves of
the old colonial legislatures had in them that which fed the
deep love of liberty in the human soul. The remonstrances
addressed to the throne, the letters of eminent men, the decla-
rations of Congress, were all aglow with a divine enthusiasm."

All the state papers emanating from these Christian men
were not only replete with political wisdom, but were, in spirit
and sentiment. Christian. Lord Chatham, in the British Par-
liament, says of them, —

" When your lordships look at the papers transmitted from

CIVIL institutio:ns of the united states. 169

America, — when you consider their decency, firmness, and wis-
dom,— you cannot but respect their cause and wish to make it
your own. For myself, I must dechxre and avow that in all
my reading and observation, — and it has been my favorite study,
— I have read Thucydides, and have studied and admired the
master states of the world, — that for solidity of reasoning, force
of- sagacity, and wisdom of conclusion, under such a compli-
cation of difficult circumstances, no nation or body of men can
stand in preference to the General Congress in Philadelphia. I
trust it is obvious to your lordships that all attempts to impose
servitude upon such men, to establish despotism over such a
mighty continental nation, must be vain, must be fatal."

Mr. Webster said he never could read this splendid eulogy
on the men and state papers of the Revolutionary era w^ithout
weeping.

Webster also said, ''At that day there could not be found
convened on the surface of the globe an equal number of men
possessing such enlightened views of government or animated
by a higher and a more patriotic motive. They were men full
of the spirit of the occasion, imbued deeply with the general
sentiment of the country, of large comprehension, long foresight,
and of few words. They made no speeches for ostentation;
they sat with closed doors, and their great maxim was, ^faire.
sans dire.'

" They knew the history of the past, and were alive to all the
difficulties and all the duties of the present, and they acted from
the first as if the future was all open before them. In such a
constellation it would be invidious to point out bright particular
stars. Let me only say, what none will consider injustice to
others, that George Washington was one of that number.

" The proceedings of this assembly wore introduced by reli-
gious observances and devout supplications to the throne of
grace for the inspirations of wisdom and the spirit of good
counsel.

" Regarding the public characters who preside] over our
affairs during the stormy period of the war, and those on whom
was devolved the yet more difficult and oven more im}>ortant
duty of creating a system of government for the republic they
have conducted to independence, wo cannot refrain from a con-
viction that they were specially called to their high inisiiiou by
a wise and an all-beneficent rrovidcnce. The extraordinary

170 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

intelligence and virtue displayed in the Continental Con-
gress were recognized by sagacious and dispassionate observers
througliout the world. Mirabeau, the great French statesman,
spoke of it as a company of demi-gods."

These great and good men, inspired with the sentiments of
religion and liberty, felt the incompatibility of human slavery
with the Christian life and character of the civil institutions
which they founded, and on all suitable occasions declared it
to be their first and fervent desire and purpose to have it
removed and destroyed.

The first Greneral Congress assembled in 1774, two year3
before the Declaration of Independence. Their first and main
work was the formation of the '^ Association' which formed a bond
of union between the colonies. The articles of the association
contain the following declarations on the subject of slavery : —

'' We do, for ourselves and the inhabitants of the several
colonies whom we represent, firmly agree and associate, under
the sacred ties of virtue, honor; and love of our country, as
follows : —

" 2, That we will neither import nor purchase any slave after
the first day of December next, after which time we will wholly
discontinue the slave-trade, and will neither be concerned in
it ourselves, nor will we hire our vessels nor sell our commodi-
ties or manufactures to those who are concerned in it.

'^11. That a committee be chosen in every county, city, and
town, by those who are qualified to vote for representatives in
the legislature, whose business it shall be attentively to observe
the conduct of all persons touching the Association; and when
it shall be made to appear, to the satisfaction of a majority of
any such committee, that any person within the limits of their
appointment has violated this Association, that such majority
do forthwith cause the truth of the case to be published in the
Gazette, to the end that all such foes to the ridits of British
America may be publicly known, and universally contemned as
the ENEMIES OF AMERICAN LIBERTIES, and thenCcforth we
respectively will break ofi" all dealings with him or her.

'' 14. And we do further a2;ree and resolve that we will have
no trade, commerce, dealings, or intercourse whatever with any
colony or province in North America which shall not accede to,
or which shall hereafter molest, this Association, but will hold

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 171

them as unworthy of the eights of freemen, and as inimical
to the liberties of this country.

'^ The foregoing Association, being determined upon by the
Congress, was ordered to be subscribed by the several members
thereof; and, therefore, we have hereunto set our respective
names accordingly.

'' In Congress, Philadelphia, October 20, 1774.

"Peyton Kandolph, President.
" New Hampshire. — John Sullivan, Nathaniel Folsom.
'' Massachusetts Bay. — Thomas Cushing, Samuel Adams,

John Adams, Eobert Treat Paine.
'' PvHODE Island. — Stephen Hopkins, Samuel Ward.
"Connecticut. — Eliphalet Dyer, Poger Sherman, Silas

Deane.
" New York. — Isaac Low, John Alsop, John Jay, James
Duane, Philip Livingston, William Floyd, Henry
Wisner, Simon Boerum.
" New Jersey. — James Kinsey, William Livingston, Ste-
phen Crane, Eichard Smith, John D. Hart.
" Pennsylvania. — Joseph Galloway, John Dickinson,
Charles Humphreys, Thomas Mifflin, Edward Biddle,
John Morton, George Boss.
" The lower counties, Newcastle, &c. — Caesar Eodney,

Thomas McKean, George Bead.
" Maryland. — Matthew Tilghman, Thomas Johnson, Jr.,

William Paca, Samuel Chase.
" Virginia. — Eichard Henry Lee, George Washington,
Patrick Henry, Jr., Ptichard Bland, Benjamin Harri-
son, Edmund Pendleton.
" North Carolina. — William Hooper, Joseph Hawes,

' Eichard Caswell.
"South Carolina. — Henry Middleton, Thomas Jjynch,
Christopher Gadsden, John Eutledge, Edward Eut-
ledge."

Societies having in view the abolition of slavery were formed
in a number of States, in the early period of the republic, in-
cluding Virginia and }^Iaryland ; and in 1794 a general con-
vention of delegates from all the abolition societies in iho United
States was held in Philadelphia, to (consult measures for tho
removal of slavery ; and this general convention met annually

172 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

for twelve years. To the first convention Dr. Eusli was a dele-
gate, and cliairman of a committee to draft an address to the
people of the United States, which contained the following
condemnation of slavery : —

^'Many reasons concur in persuading us to abolish domestic
slavery in our country.

^'It is inconsistent w^ith the safety of the liberties of the
United States.

'^ Freedom and slavery cannot long exist together. An un-
limited power over the time, labor, and posterity of our fellow-
creatures necessarily unfits men for discharging the public
and private duties of citizens of a republic.

''It is inconsistent with sound policy, in exposing the states
which permit it to all those evils which insurrections and the
most resentful war have introduced into one of the richest islands
in the West Indies.

"It is unfriendly to the present exertions of the inhabitants
of Europe in favor of liberty. What people will advocate free-
dom with a zeal proportioned to its blessings, while they view
the purest republic in the world tolerating in its bosom a body
of slaves?

" In vain has the tyranny of kings been rejected while we
permit in our country a domestic despotism which involves in
its nature most of the vices and miseries that we have endea-
vored to avoid.

''It is degrading to our rank as men in the scale of being.
Let us use our reason and social aff'ections for the purposes for
which they were given, or cease to boast a pre-eminence over
animals that are unpolluted with our crimes.

"But higher motives to justice and humanity towards our
fellow-creatures remain yet to be mentioned.

"Domestic slavery is repugnant to the principles of Chris-
tianity. It prostrates every benevolent and just principle of
action in the human heart. It is rebellion against the authority
of a common Father. It is a practical denial of the extent and
efficacy of the death of a common Saviour. It is a usurpation
of the prerogatives of the great Sovereign of the universe, who
has solemnly claimed an exclusive property in the souls of men.

"But, if this view of the enormity of domestic slavery should
not affect us, there is one consideration more, which ought to
alarm and impress us, especially at the present juncture.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 173

''It is a violation of a divine precept of universal justice,
which has in no case escaped with impunity."

Congress gave countenance and encouragement to these abo-
lition societies, formed in various States of the Union, and as
late as 1809 the Speaker of the House of Kepresentatives, by
a resolution, was directed to return a letter of thanks to an
abolition convention for a gift of Clarkson's " History of Slavery,''
which was ordered to be placed in the Congressional library.

The patriot and statesman, the philanthropist and Christian,
the politician and divine, the guardians of public liberty and
morality, were all united to exterminate this moral and political
evil from the republic. They deemed it a duty to imbue their
schools, colleges, churches, legislatures, and domestic circles
with the belief that slavery was a national crime, offensive to
God, and destructive to the safety, happiness, and prosperity
of the people.

Washington said, ''There is not a man living who wishes
more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition
of slavery ; but there is only one proper and effectual mode by
which it can be accomplished, and that is by legislative author-
ity ; and this, so far as my suffrages will go, shall not be want-
ing."— Letter to Robert Morris, April 12, 1786.
• "I never mean, unless some particular circumstance should
compel me to it, to possess another slave by purchase, — it being
among the first wishes of my heart to see some plan adopted
by which slavery in this count vy may be abolished by law." —
Letter to JoJm If. Mercer, 1786.

" There are in Pennsylvania laws for the gradual abolition of
slavery, which neither Virginia nor Maryland have at present,
but which nothing is more certain than that they must have,
and at a period not remote." — Letter to John Sinclair.

Washington wrote to Lafayette as follows : —

" The benevolence of your heart, my dear marquis, is so
conspicuous on all occasions that I never wonder at fresh proofs
of it; but your late purchase of an estate in the colony of
Cayenne with a view of emancipating the slaves, is a generous
and noble proof of your humanity. Would to God a like spirit
might diffuse itself generally into the minds of the people of
this country !"

Jefferson, the great apostle of democracy, declared, "The way,
I hope, is preparing, under the auspices of Ilcavcn, for a total

174 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

emancipation. The hour of emancipation is advancing in the
march of time. This enterprise is for the young, for those who
can follow it up and bear it through to its consummation. It
shall have all my prayers ; and these are the only weapons of
an old man. AVhat execrations should the statesman be loaded
with who, permitting one half the citizens thus to trample on
the rights of the other, transforms the one into despots and the
other into enemies, destroying the morals of one part and the
amor 2^citr ice of the other! And can the liberties of a nation
be thought secured, when we have removed their only firm basis,
a conviction in the minds of the people that their liberties are
the gift of God? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I
reflect that God is just, and that justice cannot sleep forever.
The^ Almighty has no attribute that can take sides with us in
such a contest."

Jefferson, writing from Paris, February, 1788, said, —

'^We must wait with patience the workings of an overruling
Providence, and hope that that is preparing the deliverance of
these [slaves] our suffering brethren. "When the measure of
their tears shall be full, when their tears shall involve heaven
itself in darkness, doubtless a God of justice v/ill awaken to
their distress, and, by diffusing light and liberty among their
oppressors, or at length by his exterminating thunder, manifest
his attention to things of this world, and that they are not left
to the guidance of blind fatality.

"I am very sensible of the honor you propose to me, of
becoming a member of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave-
Trade. You know that nobody wishes more ardently to see an
abolition, not only of the tiMe, but of the condition of the
slave ; and certainly nobody will be more willing to encounter
every sacrifice for that object."

Jefferson wrote to Edward Coles, of Illinois, August 25, 1814,
as follows : —

''The love of justice and love of country plead equally the
cause of these people ; and it is a moral reproach to us that they
should have pleaded so long in vain, and should have produced
not a single effort — nay, I fear, not much serious willingness — to
relieve them and ourselves from our present condition of moral
and political reprobation. It is an encouraging observation that
no good measure was ever proposed which, if duly pursued,
failed to prevail in the end. We have proof of this in the his-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 175

tory of the endeavors in the British Parliament to suppress that
very trade which brought this evil upon us. And you will be
supported by the religious precept, ' Be not weary in well-
doing.' "

Lafiiyette said, '' While I am indulging in my views of Ame-
rican prospects and American liberty, it is mortifying to be told
that in that very country a large portion of the people are
slaves ! It is a dark spot on the face of the nation. Such a
state of things cannot always exist.

''I see in the papers that there is a plan for the gradual
abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. I would bo
doubly happy of it for the measure in itself, and because a
sense of American pride makes me recoil at the observations of
diplomatists, and other foreigners, who gladly improve the un-
fortunate existing circumstances into a general objection to
our republican and, saving that deplorable evil, our matchless
system."

"I never," said Lafayette, on another occasion, ''woidd have
drawn my sword in the cause of America, if I could have con-
ceived that thereby I was founding a land of slavery."

John Jay said, in 1780, '^ An excellent law might be made out
of the Pennsylvania one for the gradual abolition of slavery.
Till America comes into this measure, her prayers to Heaven will
be impious. This is a strong expression, but it is just. I
believe God governs the world, and I believe it to be a maxim
in his as in our court, that those who ask for equity should
grant it."

^'The word slaves," he said, 'Svas avoided, probably on
account of the existing toleration of slavery, and its discordancy
with the principles of the Revolution, and from a consciousness
of its being repugnant to some of the positions in the Declara-
tion of Independence."

Monroe, in a speech in the Virginia Convention, said, " We
have found that this evil has preyed upon the very vitals of the
Union, and has been prejudicial to all the States in which it has
existed."

Henry Laurens, of South Carolina, for two years President
of the Continental Congress, wrote to his son, the 14th of Au-
gust, 1776, as follows :—

" You know, my dear son, I abhor slavery. I was born in a
country where shivery had been cstabli.-lHHl by British kings

176 CHETSTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

and Parliaments, as well as by the laws of that country, ages
before my existence. I found the Christian religion and slavery
growing together under the same authority and cultivation. I
nevertheless disliked it. In former days there was no combat-
ing the prejudices of men supported by interest. The day, I
hope, is approaching when, from principles of gratitude, as well
as justice, every man will strive to be foremost in showing his
readiness to comply with the Golden Rule."

Patrick Henry, the impassioned orator of the Revolution,
affirmed, '' Slavery is detested ; v/e feel its fatal effects ; we de-
plore it with all the pity of humanity. It would rejoice my
very soul to know that every one of my fellow-beings was
emancipated. I believe the time will come when an oppor-
tunity will be offered to abolish this lamentable evil."

'' Believe me, I honor the Quakers for their noble efforts to
abolish slavery. It is a debt we owe to the purity of our reli-
gion to show that it is at variance with that law that warrants
slavery."

In the Convention of Virginia, met to ratify the Constitution
of the United States, Patrick Henry argued " the power of
Congress, under the United States Constitution, to abolish slavery
in the States."

Randolph, in the Convention of Virginia, met to ratify the
Federal Constitution, said, ''I hope that there are none here
who, considering the subject in the calm light of philanthropy,
will advance an objection dishonorable to Virginia, that, at the
moment they are securing the rights of their citizens, there is a
spark of hope that those unfortunate men now held in bondage
may, by the operation of the General Government, be made

FREE."

John Marshall, the friend and biographer of "Washington, a
distinguished member of Congress under the administrations of
"Washington and Adams, and for forty years Chief-Justice of
the Supreme Court of the United States, saw with prophetic
sagacity the evils of slavery and its future results. In an in-
terview Harriet Martineau had with this venerable Christian
judge in 1835, he made the following statement, published in a
British magazine of that year. Marshall and Madison were
then the only surviving representatives of the old ideas of
Virginia on the subject of slavery. Miss Martineau says, —

''When I knew the chief-justice, he was eighty-three, — as

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 177

briglit-eyecl and warm-liearted as ever, wliile as dignified a
judge as ever filled tlie highest seat in the highest court of any
country. He said he had seen Virginia the leading State for
half his life ; he had seen her become the second, and sink to
be (I think) the fifth. Worse than this, there was no arresting
her decline, if her citizens did not put an end to slavery ; and
he saw no signs of any intention to do so, east of the moun-
tains at least. He had seen whole groups of estates, populous
in his time, lapse into waste. He had seen agriculture ex-
changed for human stock-breeding ; and he keenly felt the degra-
dation. The forest was returning over the fine old estates,
and the wald creatures which had not been seen for generations
were reappearing; numbers and wealth were declining, and
education and manners were degenerating. It would not have
surprised him to be told that on that soil would the main
battles be fought when the critical day should come which he
foresaw."

Madison, the father of the Constitution, '' thought it w^rong
to admit in the Constitution the idea that there could be pro-
perty in man." ^' I object to the word slave appearing in a
Constitution which I trust is to be the charter of freedom to
unborn millions; nor would I willingly perpetuate the memory
of the fact that slavery ever existed in our country. It is a great
evil, and, under the providence of God, I look forward to some
scheme of emancipation wdiich shall free us from it. Do not,
therefore, let us appear as if we regarded it perpetual, by using
in our free Constitution an odious word opposed to every senti-
ment of liberty."

After the Constitution went into operation, Madison in Con-
gress said, on the question of abolishing the slave-trade, —

" The dictates of humanity, the principles of the people, the
national safety and ha|)piness, and prudent policy, require it of
us. It is to be hoped that by expressing a national disapproba-
tion of the trade we may destroy it, and save our country from
reproaches, and our posterity from the imbecility ever attendant
on a country filled with slaves."

Harriet Martineau in 1835 spent some days with Madi.-..ji at
his residence in Virginia. She thus relates the opinions of
!M^adison on the subject of slavery : —

" To Mr. Madison despair was not easy. He liad a cheerful
and sanguine temper, and if there was one thing rather than

\2

178 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

another Avliich lie had learned to consider secure^ it was the Con-
stitution which he had so large a share in making. Yet he told
me that he was nearly in despair, and that he had been quite
so till the Colonization Society arose. Rather than admit to
himself that the South must be laid waste by a servile war, or
the whole country by a civil war, he strove to believe that mil-
lions of negroes could be carried to Africa and so got rid of»
I need not speak of the weakness of such a hope. What con-
cerns us now is that he saw and described to me, when I was his
guest, the dangers and horrors of the state of society in which
he was living. He talked more of slavery than of all other
subjects together, returning to it morning, noon, and night. He
said that the clergy perverted the Bible, because it was alto-
gether against slavery ; that the colored population was increas-
ing faster than the white; and that the state of morals was
such as barely permitted society to exist. Of the issue of the
conflict, whenever it should occur, there could, he said, be no
doubt. A society burdened with a slave system could make no
permanent resistance to an unencumbered enemy ; and he was
astonished at the fanaticism which blinded some Southern men
to so clear a certainty.

''Such was Mr. Madison's opinion in 1835."

James "Wilson, a leading member of the convention that
formed the Constitution of the United States, and in the ratifi-
cation convention of his State, speaking of the clause relating
to the power of Congress over the slave-trade, said, —

'^I regard this clause as laying the foundation for banishing
slavery out of this country. The new States which are to be
formed will be under the control of Congress in this particular,
and slavery will never be introduced among them. It presents
us with the pleasing prospect that the rights of mankind will be
acknowledged and established throughout the Union. If there
was no other feature in the Constitution but this one, it would
diffuse a beauty over its whole countenance. Yet the lapse of
a few years, and Congress w^ill have power to exterminate
slavery from within our borders."

Dr. Benjamin Franklin was the unwearied friend of emanci-
pation. He w^as President of the Pennsylvania Society for
promoting the abolition of slavery, ar.d addressed the follow-
ing memorial to Congress on the suliject, on behalf of the
society : —

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 179

Your memorialists, particularly engaged in attending to the distresses
arising from slavery, believe it to be their indispensable duty to present
this subject to your notice. They have observed with real satisfaction
that many important and salutary powers are vested in you, for pro-
moting the welfare and securing the blessings of liberty to the people of
the United States ; and as they conceive that these blessings ought
cheerfully to be administered, without distinctiox of color, to all de-
scriptions of people, so they indulge themselves in the pleasing expecta-
tion that nothing which can be done for the relief of the unhappy
objects of their care will be omitted or delayed.

From a persuasion that equal liberty was originally the portion of, and is
still the birthright of, all men, and influenced by the strong ties of hu-
manity and the principles of their institutions, your memorialists con-
ceive themselves bound to use all justifiable endeavors to loosen the
BONDS OF SLAVERY and promotc a general enjoyment of the blessings of
freedom. Under these impressions, they earnestly entreat your atten-
tion to the subject of slavery ; that you will be pleased to countenance
the RESTORATION TO LIBERTY of those Unhappy men who alone, in this
land of freedom, are degraded into perpetual bondage, and who, amid
the general joy of surrounding freemen, are groaning in servile subjec-
tion ; THAT YOU WILL DEVISE MEANS OF REMOVING THIS INCONSISTENCY OF

CHARACTER FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ; that you will promotc mcrcy
and justice towards this distressed race ; and that you will step to the
very verge of the power vested in you for discouraging every species of
traffic in the persons of our fellow-men.

Benjamin Franklin, President.
Philadelphia, Feb. 3, 1790.

Dr. Franklin ^vas tlie personal friend of Granville Sliarpe, wlio
was a member of the British Parliament, and devoted his life
to abolishing the slave-trade and to the promotion of universal
freedom. The following letter of this distinguished philanthro-
pist to Dr. Franklin is a rare and interesting paper touching
the subject of slavery as affected by the Constitution: —

To Ills Excellency Dr. Franklin, President or the Pennsylvania
Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery.

Leadhnhall Street, LoNDoy, 10th Jan'y, 17SS.
Dear Sir : —

I ouglit long ago to have acknowledged the deep sense whieli I en-
tertain of my obligations to the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting tlio
Abolition of Slavery, for the honor they liavo been pleased to confer
upon me by inserting my name in the number of their corresi)onding
members, as signified in your Excellency's letter of the Otli of July
List.

I read with particular satisfaction their excellent remon'^tranco
>\giiinst slavery, addressed to the convention. If our most solemn and
unanswcruble appeals to the consciences of men in behalf of humanity

180 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

and common justice are disregarded, the crimes of slavery and slave-
dealing become crying sins, which presumptuously invite the divine
retribution ; so that it must be highly dangerous to the political exist-
ence of any state, that is duly warned against injustice, to afford the
least sanction to such enormities by their legislative authority.

Having been always zealous of your government, I am the more sin-
cerely grieved to see the new Federal Constitution stained by the inser-
tion of two most exceptionable clauses of the kind above mentioned ; the
one in direct opposition to a most humane article ordained by the first
American Congress to be perpetually observed, and the other in equal
opposition to the express command of the Almighty not to deliver up
the servant that had escaped to his master ; and both clauses of the
0th Section of the 1st Article and the latter part of the 2d Section of
the 3d Article are so clearly null and void by their iniquity, that it
would be even a crime to regard them as law.

Though I have, indeed, too plainly proven myself a very unworthy
and dilatory correspondent, through the unavoidable imjoediments of
a variety of affairs and trusts which have been devolved upon me, yet
I must request your Excellency to inform the Pennsylvania Society
that I have never knowingly omitted any favorable opj^ortunity of pro-
moting the great objects of their institution, and trust in God I never
shall. With true esteem and respect, dear sir,

Yours, &c.,

Granville Sharpe.

This testimony of the fathers and founders of our civil insti-
tutions, as briefly put on record in this volume, confirms the
declarations of Mr. Leigh in the convention of Virginia, in 1882,
who said, —

''I thought, till very lately, that it was known to everybody
that during the Revolution, and for many years after, the aboli-
tion of slavery was a favorite topic with many of our ablest
statesmen, who entertained with respect all the schemes which
wisdom or ingenuity could suggest for its accomplishment."

Salmon P. Chase, in the Senate of the United States, in Feb-
ruary, 1854, declared the same fact in reference to the faith
and policy of the statesmen of the Revolution. He designated
that as the ''era of enfranchisement," and said, —

" It commenced with the earliest struggles for independence.
The spirit which inspired it animated the hearts and prompted
the efibrts of Washington, of Jefferson, of Patrick Henry, of
Wythe, of Adams, of Jay, of Hamilton, of Morris, — in short,
of all the great men of our early history. All these hoped,
all these labored, all these believed in the final deliverance of
the country from the curse of slavery. That spirit burned in
the Declaration of Independence, and inspired the provisions of

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 181

the Constitution and of the Ordinance of 1787. Under its influ-
ence, when in full vigor. State after State provided for the
emancipation of slaves within their limits, prior to the adoption
of the Constitution."

In these notices of the men of the Eevolution and their views
on the Christian religion, it is appropriate in this volume to record
the faith and declarations of four other eminent men, born during
the Eevolutionary struggle, and who have exerted a command-
ing influence on the legislation and politics of this country.

John Quincy Adams,

The sixth President of the United States, was an eminent
statesman and politician. Fifty years of his active life were
spent in the service of his country, with dignity, honor, and use-
fulness. "The fear of God," says Edward Everett, 'Svas the
last great dominant principle of his life and character. There
was the hiding of his power. Offices, and affairs, and honors,
and studies, left room in his soul for faith. No man laid hold
with a firmer grasp of the realities of life, and no man dwelt
more steadily on the mysterious realities beyond life. He en-
tertained a profound reverence for sacred things. He attended
the public offices of social worship with a constancy seldom
witnessed in this busy and philosophic age. The daily and
systematic perusal of the Bible was an occupation with which
no other duty was allowed to interfere. The daily entry of his
journal, for the latter part of his life, begins with a passage
extracted from Scripture, followed with his own meditations and
commentary; and, thus commencing the day, there is little doubt
that of his habitual reflections as large a portion was thrown
forward to the world of spirits as was retained by the passing
scenes. In all the private and public positions he occupied, he
displayed the principles of the Christian religion."

His inaugural address as President of the United States
says,—

"'Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but
in vain.' With fervent supplications for his favor, to his over-
ruling providence I commit, with humble but fearless coufulonce,
my own fate and the future destinies of my country.'"

His first message declares that " In taking a survey of the con-
cerns of our beloved country with reference to subjec^ts interesting
to the common welfare, the first sentiment which impresses

182 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CnARACTER OF THE

itself upon the mind is of gratitude to tlie Omnipotent Dis-
penser of all good, for the continuance of the signal blessings of
his providence, and especially for that health which to an un-
usual extent has prevailed within our borders, and for that
abundance which, in the vicissitudes of the seasons, has been
scattered with profusion over our land. Nor ought we less to
ascribe to him the glory that we are permitted to enjoy the
bounties of his hand in peace and tranquillity, — peace with all
the other nations of the earth, in tranquillity among ourselves."

In the year 1809, Mr. Adams was appointed Minister Pleni-
potentiary of the United States to the court of St. Petersburg.
During his residence there he addressed to his eldest son, who
was then ten years old, a series of letters on the study of the
Bible. Extracts from these letters are here given embodying
the views of this statesman on the Bible and its influence. The
letters were written during the years 1811 and 1813. The ex-
tracts are given without reference to their dates.

'' So great is my veneration for the Bible, and so strong my
belief that, when duly read and meditated upon, it is of all books
in the world that which contributes to make men good, wise,
and happy, that the earlier ixiy children begin to read it, and
the more steadily they pursue the practice of reading it through-
out their lives, the more lively and confident will be my hopes
that they will prove useful citizens to their country, respectable
members of society, and a real blessing to their parents.

*' I have, myself, for many years made it a practice to read
through the Bible once every year. My custom is to read four
or five chapters every morning, immediately after rising from
bed. It employs about an hour of my time, and seems to me
the most suitable manner of beginning the day.

" You know the difi'erence between right and wrong. You
know some of your duties, and the obligation you are under of
becoming acquainted with them all. It is in the Bible you
must learn them, and from the Bible how to practise them.
Those duties are — to God, to your fellow-creatures, to yourself.
' Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength,
and thy neighbor as thyself.' On these two commandments
(Jesus Christ expressly says) 'hang all the law and the pro-
phets.' That is to say that the whole purpose of divine revela-
tion is to inculcate them efficaciously upon the minds of men.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 1S3

'* Let us, then, searcli tlie Scriptures. The Bible contains the
revehition of the will of God ; it contains the history of the
creation of the world and of mankind. It contains a system
of religion and morality which we may examine upon its own
merits, independent of the sanction it receives from being the
word of God. In what light soever we regard it, whether with
reference to revelation, to history, to morality, or to literature,
it is an inexhaustible mine of knowledge and virtue.

" The first words of the Bible are, ' In the beginning God
created the heaven and the earth.* This blessed and sublime
idea of God, the Creator of the universe, — this source of all
human virtue and all human happiness, for which all the sages
and philosophers of Greece and B.ome groped in darkness and
never found, — is revealed in the first verse of the book of Gene-
sis. I call this the source of all human virtue and happiness.

" Here, then, is the foundation of all morality, — the source of
all our obligations as accountable creatures. This idea of the
transcendent power of the Supreme Being is essentially con-
nected with that by which the whole duty of man is summed
up in obedience to his will.

^''And God said. Let there be light, and there was light.'
This verse only exhibits one of the effects of that transcendent
power which the first verse discloses in announcing God as the
Creator of the world. The true sublimity is in the idea given
us of God. To such a God, piety is but a reasonable service.

''The moral character of the Old Testament, then, is that piety
to God is the foundation of all virtue, and that virtue is insepa-
rable from it, but that piety without the practice of virtue is
itself a crime and an aggravation of all iniquity. All tlic
virtues which were recognized by the heathens are inculcated
not only with more authority, but with more energy of argu-
ment and more eloquent persuasion, in the Bible, than in all
the writings of the ancient moralists.

''The sum of Christian morality, then, consists in piel)/ to
Oodf and bcficvolenec to man, — piety manifested not by formal
solemnities and sacrifices of burnt-offerings, but by repentance,
by obedience, by submission, Ity huiniLity, by the worship of the
lieart; and benevolence not founded upon selfish motives, but
t^uperior even to the sense of wrong or the re.^entment of
ijijuries.

" The whole system of Christian morality appears to have

184 CHRISTIAN LIFE AKD CHAEACTEE, OF THE

Leen set fortli by its Divine Author in tlie Sermon on tlie
Mount. What I would impress upon your mind as infinitely
important to the happiness and virtue of your life i.^ the gene-
ral spirit of Christianity, and the duties Avhich result from it..

'^ The true Christian is the 'justwn et tenacem j^^^opositi
viruin of Horace. The combination of these qualities,, so essen-
tial to the heroic character, with those of meekness, loivliness of
heart, and brotherly love, is what constitutes that moral per-
fection of which Christ gave an example in his own life,, and to
which he commended his disxiples to aspire. Endeavor to dis-
cipline your own heart and to govern your conduct through
life by these principles thus combined. Be meek, be gentle, be
kind, be affectionate to all mankind, not excepting your ene-
mies,— but. never tame or abject. Never give way to the wishes
of impudence, or show yourself yielding or complying to pre-
judices, wrong-headedness, or intractability, which would lead
or draw you astray from the dictates of your conscience and
your sense of right. ' Till you die, let not your integrity de-
part from you.' Build your house upon the E^ock; and then let
the rain descend, and the floods come^ and the winds blow, and
beat upon that house : it shall not fall, for it will be founded
upon a Eock. So promises your blessed Lord and Master."

'' By admitting the Bible as a divine revelation, we have hopes
of future felicity inspired, together with a conviction of our
present wretchedness. The blood of the Eedeeme-r has washed
out the pollution of our original sin, and the certainty of eternal
happiness in a future life is again secured to us in the primitive
condition of obedience to the w^ill of God.

" Jesus Christ came into the world to preach repentance and
remission of sins, to proclaim glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace, good will to man, and, finally, to bring life and
immortality to light in the gospel ; and all this is clear if we-
consider the Bible as a divine revelation,

''Let us conclude by resuming the duties to God, to our
fellow-creatures, and to ourselves, which are derived as imme-
diate consequences from the admission of the Bible as divine
revelation. 1. Piety. From the first chapter of the Old Testa-
ment to the last of the l^ew^ obedience to the will of God is in-
culcated as including the whole duty of man. 2. Benevolence.
The love of our neighbor was forcibly taught in the Old Testa-
ment; but to teach it more efi'ectually was the special object of

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 185

Christ's mission upon earth. 'Love/ says St. Paul, ^is the ful-
filling of the law.' But Christ says, ' A new commandment I
give unto you, that ye love one another ; as I have loved you,
that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye
are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.' 3. Humility.
The profound sense of our infirmities which must follow from
the doctrine of original sin, and of its punishment inflicted
upon all human kind, necessarily inspires meekness and low-
liness of spirit. These two are commanded expressly by Jesus
Christ; and, as principles of morality, they are not only difierent
from the maxims of every other known system of ethics, but
in direct opposition to them.

'' Of the ten commandments, emphatically so called for the
extraordinary and miraculous distinction with which they were
promulgated, the first four are religious laws. The fifth and
tenth are properly and peculiarly moral, and the other four are
of the criminal department of municipal law. The unity of
the Godhead, the prohibition of making graven images for
worship, that of taking ' in vain' the name of the Deity, and
the injunction to observe the Sabbath as a day sanctified and
set apart for his worship, were all intended to inculcate that
reverence for the one only and true God, that profound and
penetrating sentiment of 'picty, which is the great and only im-
mediate foundation of all human virtue.

" Next to the duties towards the Creator, that of honoring
the earthly parents is enjoined. It is to them that every indi-
vidual owes the greatest obligations, and to them he is conse-
quently bound by the first and strongest of earthly ties. The
following commands are negative, and require all to abstain
from wrong-doing — 1. In their persons; 2. In their i^ropcrty ;
3. In their conjugal rights ; and 4. In their good name. The
tenth and closing commandment goes to the very source of all
human action, the heart, and positively forbids all those desires
which first prompt and lead to every transgression upon the
property and rights of our fellow-creatures. Vain indeed would
bo the search among all the writings of profane antiquity — not
merely of that remote antiquity, but even in the most refined
and most philosophic ages of Greece and Rome — to find so broad,
so complete, so solid a basis for morality as this decalogue laya
down."

As the life of Mr. Adams was closing, he wa.s called to pre-

ISO CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

side at the anniversary of tlie Bible Society of the city of
Washington. On taking the chair, he said, —

''Fellow-citizens and members of the Bible Society: — In
taking the chair as the oldest Vice-President of the Society,
I deem myself fortunate in having the opportunity, at this stage
of a long life drawing rapidly to its close, to bear at this place,
the capital of our National Union, my solemn testimonial of
reverence and gratitude to that Book of books, the Holy Bible."

Mr. Adams died in the Capitol of the nation, on the 23d of
February, 1848, exclaiming, '' This is the last of earth : I am
content."

Andeew Jackson,

The admired military hero and popular President, was a
thorough believer in the Christian religion and its evangelical
doctrines. He embraced the system of the gospel with a cordial
and a warm-hearted faith. He had a pious Presbyterian mother,
who in her earliest years planted the seeds of divine truth
which in later life germinated into a practical faith' and bore
the fruits of genuine piety.

In his public life at Washington, as President, he bore un-
varying testimony to the divinity of the Bible, as a book essential
to civil government and to the salvation of the soul. During
his eight years' residence at Washington as President, he was
regular in his attendance on the public worship of God, and
had a pew in the First Presbyterian Church. The Bible Avas a
book which had a prominent place in the Presidential mansion
during his administration, and its perusal was his constant
habit and delight.

It -was a long-cherished desire of his heart to make a public
profession of his faith in Christ and join himself to a Christian
church, but he was deterred, like most of our political and
public men, by the fear his motives would be misunderstood and
impugned. The following letter wall explain his feelings on this
point. It was written to a friend in Boston.

Hermitage, August 24, 1S38.
Dear Sir : — I thank you kindly for the perusal of your pious uncle's
letter, which you were good enough to enclose for my perusal. Should
you live to see this pious divine, your uncle, present him my kind re-
gards, with my prayers for a long-continued life of usefulness and a
happy immortality. Say to him I would long since have made this

/

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 187

solemn public dedication to Almighty God, but knowing the wretchedness
of this workl, and how prone many are to evil, and that the scoffer of
religion w^ould have cried out, 'Hypocrisy/ he has joined the Church for politi-
cal ej^cci,' — I thought it best to postpone this public act until my retire-
ment to the shades of private life, when no false imputations could be
made that might be injurious to religion. Please say to him I well re-
member the pleasure I had of taking him by the hand and receiving
his kind benediction, for which I was grateful. It would give me plea-
sure 710W in retirement to receive and shake him by the hand. Present
our kind regards to your amiable family, and receive for yourself our
best wishes.

I remain, very respectfully, yours, etc.,

Andrew Jackson.

p.S. — I am so much debilitated that I can scarcely wield my pen.

A.J.

To Dr. Lawrence.

His faitli in an overruling Providence was expressed to Con-
gress and the country in these words, which were in substance
repeated in all his messages : —

His second inaugural address says, —

"It is my fervent prayer to that Almighty Being before
whom I now stand, and who has kept us in his hands from the
infancy of our republic to the present day, that he will so over-
rule all my intentions and actions, and inspire the hearts of my
fellow-citizens, that we may be preserved from dangers of all
kinds, and continue forever a united and happy people."

His message of 1835 says, "Never in any former period
of our history have we had greater reason than we now have
to be thankful to Divine Providence for the blessings of health
and general prosperity."

His message of 1836 : — " Our gratitude is due to the Supreme
Puuler of the universe; and I invite you to unite with me in
offering to him fervent supplication that his providential care;

may ever be extended to those who follow us I shall not cease

to invoke that beneficent Being to whose providence we ar<'
already so signally indebted, for the continuance of his blessings
on our beloved country."

" For relief and deliverance, let us firmly rely on that kind
Providence which, I am sure, watches with peculiar care over
the destinies of our republic, and on the intelligence and wis-
dom of our countrymen. Through ITis abundant goodness and
their patriotic devotion, our liberty and Union will be pre-
served."

188 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

" May the Great Enler of nations grant that the signal bless-
ings with which he has favored us may not, by the madness of
party or personal ambition, be lost ; and may his wise provi-
dence bring those who have produced this crisis to see their
folly before they feel the misery of civil strife, and inspire a
returning veneration for the Union, which, if we may dare to
penetrate his designs, he has chosen as the only means of attain-
ing the high destinies to which w^e may reasonably aspire."

Commodore Elliott brought from Asia a sarcophagus, which
was presented, through the National Institute, to General Jack-
son. His answer is as follows : —

Hermitage, March 27, 1845.
Dear Sir: —

Your letter of the LSQi instant, together with a copy of the proceedings
of the National Institute, have been received, . . . With the warmest
sensations that can inspire a grateful heart, I must decline accepting
the honor intended to be conferred. I cannot consent that my mortal
body shall be laid in a rejoository prej)ared for an emperor' or a king.
My republican feelings and princij^les forbid it ; the simplicity of our
system of government forbids it. Every monument erected to per-
jjetuate the memory of our heroes and statesmen ought to bear evidence
of the economy and simplicitj'- of our republican institutions and the
plainness of our republican citizens, who are the sovereigns of our glorious
Union and whose virtue is to perpetuate it. True virtue cannot e;:ist
where pomp and parade are the governing passions : it can only dwell
with the people, — the great laboring and producing classes, that form
the bone and sinew of our confederacy.

For these reasons, I cannot accept the honor you and the president
and directors of the National Institute intended to bestow. I cannot
permit my remains to be the first in these United States to be deposited
in a sarcophagus made for an emperor or a king. ... I have pre-
pared an humble depository for my mortal body beside that wherein
lies my beloved wife, where, without any pomp or parade, I have re-
quested, when my God calls me to sleep with my fathers, to be laid, — for
both of us there to remain until the last trumpet sounds to call the dead
to judgment, when we, I hope, shall rise together, clothed with that
heavenly body promised to all who believe in our glorious Redeemer,
who died for us that we might live, and by whose atonement I hope for
a blessed immortality.

Andrew Jackson.

The sublime system of divinity so clearly taught in the Holy
Scriptures was the joy and rejoicing of his heart. He had a
firm faith in the providential government of God over nations,
men, and events. When rehearsing facts that had occurred in
his military or political life, he would pause and say, "It was

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. ISO

the hand of God : Divine Providence ordered it so." '' Such an
officer was cut doAvn : he was a noble man. I felt his loss much ;
but it was the hand and counsel of God." In an address at a
dinner given in Georgetown, in honor of the hero of the battle
of New Orleans, he closed by saying, ''But to HezWEN and to
the bravery of our soldiers were we indebted for the victory ;
to Heaven and them let it be ascribed."

The following sketch of the religious feelings and dying
scenes of Andrew Jackson was Avritten by the Eev. John S. C.
Abbott :—

" One Sunday morning in the year 1827, as General Jackson
and his wife were walking towards the little Hermitage church,
she entreated him to take a decided stand as a Christian and to
unite with the Church. He replied, —

" ' My dear, if I were to do that now, it would be said all over
the country that I had done it for the sake of political effect.
My enemies would all say so. I cannot do it noio; but I pro-
mise you that when once more I am clear of politics I will join
the Church.'

''On the 23d of December, 1828, Mrs. Jackson died. It was a
terrible blow to her husband, who loved her with singular fervor
and constancy. He never quite recovered from the shock. His
spirit became very much subdued, and he gave up entirely the
use of profane language, to which he had been awfully addicted
^'n his younger days.

" Mr. Nicholas P. Trist, of Virginia, was the private secretary
of President Jackson. On one occasion it seemed necessary for
him to enter the President's apartment after he had retired for
the night. He found the President in his night-dress, sitting at
a table with his wife's miniature propped up against some books
before him, and between him and the miniature lay his wife's
well-worn prayer-book, from which, according to his invariable
custom, he was reading a prayer before he slept.

"About this time there was a season of special religious intc-
ro.st in Washington. The pastor of the church which the
President attended, and from whom the writer has the anecdote,
called at the White House and entered into conversation with
the President upon the subject of personal religion. Ho replied,
'No man respects religion more than I do, or feels more
deeply its importance. I promised my wife that I would attend
to the salvation of my soul as soon ius the election was over;

190 CnRISTIAX LIFE AND CHARACTEE OF THE

but now tlie cares wliicli engross me are so overwhelming, and
my cabinet in such a divided state, that I have not a moment's
time to think of any thing but the urgencies of the passing
hour. But I am resolved, so soon as I leave the Presidential
chair and retire to the seclusion of the Hermitage, to take up
in earnest the subject of religion.'

*' It was the old excuse : Go thy w^ay for this time, till I have
a convenient season. The hour of retirement came, and still
the general did not keep his promise. To one who addressed
him upon the subject, he wrote, in August, 1838, 'I would long
since have made this solemn dedication to Almighty God, but,
knowing the wretchedness of this world, and how prone many
are to evil, and that the scoffer of religion would have cried out,
"Hypocrisy! he has joined the Church for political effect," I
thought it best to postpone this public act until my retirement
to the shades of private life, wdien no false imputations could
be made that might be injurious to religion.'

"About a year from this time, in 1839, there was a protracted
meetina; at the Hermitao;e. General Jackson attended all the
services with deep solemnity. He was deeply impressed by the
last sermon, and urged the preacher, Px,ev. Dr. Edgar, of Nash-
ville, to go home with him. An engagement prevented this.
General Jackson, a sin-convicted man, with his eyes open to his
true condition, passed the evening and most of the night
in reading the Bible and in meditation and prayer. The
anguish and tears of that night eternity alone can reveal. "With
the light of the morning peace dawned upon his soul. It was
communion Sabbath at the little Hermitage church. That very
day the general made a public profession of his faith in Christ.
The church was crowded to its utmost capacity, the very win-
dows being darkened with eager faces. As in great infirmity
he leaned upon his staff, giving his assent to the creed and cove-
nant of the Church, tears trickled freely down his furrowed
cheeks, and all were overcome with emotion.

"From this time until his death he spent most of his time
reading the Bible. Scott's Family Bible he read through twice,
and daily conducted family prayers, summoning all the house-
hold servants. On the 8th of June, 1845, the summons came
for the weary pilgrim, then seventy-eight years of age, to appear
before his final Judge. As he lay upon his dying bed, after
a severe spasm, he swooned away, and all for a few momenta

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 191

tlioiTglit him dead. But lie revived, and, raising liis eyes,
said, —

'' 'My dear cliildren, do not grieve for me. It is true, I am
going to leave you. I am well aware of my situation. I have
suffered much bodily pain ; but my sufferings are but as nothing
compared with that which our blessed Saviour endured upon
that accursed cross, that we might all be saved who put our
trust in him.'

'' He then took an affectionate leave of each one of his family,
taking them one by one by the hand and addressing to each
a few words of counsel. ' He then,' writes Dr. Efselman, who
was present, 'delivered one of the most impressive lectures
upon the subject of religion that I have ever heard. He spoke
for nearly half an hour, and apparently with the power of inspi-
ration ; for he spoke with calmness, with strength, and even
with animation. In conclusion, he said, " My dear children and
friends and servants, I hope and trust to meet you in heaven,
both white and black." The last sentence he repeated, — "both
white and black." '

" All present were in tears. ' Oh, do not cry,' said the general :
'be good children, and we will all meet in heaven.' These were
his last words. He ceased to breathe, and died without a strug-
gle or a pang. 'Major Lewis,' writes the biograjriher, 'removed
the pillows, drew down the body upon the bed, and closed the
eyes. Upon looking again upon the face, he observed that
the expression of pain which it had worn so long had passed
away. Death had restored it to naturalness and serenity. The
aged warrior slept.' "

During his last illness, to a friend he pointed to the family
Bible on the stand, and said, —

"That book, sir, is the rock on which our republic rests. It
is the bulwark of our free institutions."

Henry Clay,
As an American statesman and a leading politician, wielded a
masterly and moulding influence in shaping the legislative and
political policy of his country. " His public life," says Dr. Eobert
C. Brecken ridge, in an oration on the occasion of laying tlio
corner-stone of a monument to Mr. Clay, " from the commencement
of the practice of the law till his death, lasted about fifty-fivo
years, — a public life hardly matched in its duration and splendor

I'92 CHPJSTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OP THE

by any other in our annals. He lived over seventy-five years:
three-quarters of a century more fruitful in events or more
decisive in their influence upon society had hardly ever oc-
curred in the history of mankind. It was about eight months
after the Continental Congress had issued from the city of Phi-
ladelphia the immortal Declaration of Independence, in the
name of the people of the United States, that the pious wife of
a faithful and laborious Baptist minister, far off in Virginia,
gave birth to Henry Clay. The language which he learned to
speak was replenished with the divine truth which pervades a
Christian household. The first words which he understood
were words which sunk into his heart forever, — Country,
Liberty, Independence. The first names he heard beyond
his father s household were names that will live forever, — the
name of his neighbor Henry, the prince of orators and patriots,
the name of his fellow -Virginian, Washington, the first of
mortals.

" God had bestowed on him a personal presence and bearing
as impressive as any mortal ever possessed. The basis of his
moral character was akin to that which lies at the foundation of
supreme moral excellence, — integrity and love of truth. His
was a high, fair, brave, upright nature. His intellectual cha-
racter, by which he will be chiefly known to posterity, was, as
all men acknowledge, of the highest order, clear, powerful, and
comprehensive : no subject seemed to be difficult under its
steady insight, and it embraced with equal readiness every de-
partment of human knowledge to which it became his duty to
attend. No genius was ever capable of a wider diversity of
use than his. And the vast and searching common sense
which was the most strikina: characteristic of his mind re-

o

vealed the purity, the truth, and the force with which the ulti-
mate elements of our rational nature dv\^elt and acted in his
noble understanding.

" Mr. Clay was the child of Christian parents, all the more
likely to be jealous of the heritage of God's love to their boy,
as they had little else to bestow upon him. His own repeated
declarations, made in the most public and solemn manner at
every period of his life, that he cherished the highest venera-
tion for the Christian religion, and the most profound convic-
tion of the divine mission of the Saviour of sinners, fully justify
the importance which I have attached to this element of his

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 193

destiny, even if he had not attested in his latter years the
sincerity of his life- long convictions, by openly professing his
faith in the Son of God and uniting himself with his professed
followers. He lived some years, and closed his days, in the com-
munion of the Protestant Episcopal Church, to which his vene*
rable wife had long been attached. It was my fortune to have
personal knowledge, under circumstances v;hich do not admit of
any doubt in my own mind, that, according to the measure of
the light he had, he was during a few years immediately pre-
ceding his death a penitent and believing follower of the divine
Kedeemer. It may be well allowed that the frank and habitual
avowal even of speculative faith in the Christian religion, by a
man of his character and position, was not without its value,
and was not free from reproach, during that terrible season of
unbelief which marked the close of the last century and
stretched forward upon the first quarter of the present. And
that the crowning efforts of his life were sustained by a sense
of Christian duty, and its last sufferings assuaged by the con-
solations of Christian hope, are facts too important, as they
relate to him, and too significant in their own nature, to be
omitted in any estimate of him. It is not, however, on ac-
count of such considerations as these that I reiterate with so
much emphasis the undeniable fact that Mr. Clay never was
an infidel, that he was always an avowed believer in true re-
ligion. But it is because such is my sense of the shallowness,
the emptiness, and the baseness of that state of the human
soul in which it can deny the God who created it and the
Saviour who redeemed it, and can empty itself of its own
highest impulses and disallow its own sublimest necessities,
that I have no conception how such a soul could be what this
man was, or do what he did. It is because I do understand
with perfect distinctness that b(.'lief in God, and belief in a
mission given to us by him, and to be executed with success
only by means of his blessing upon our efforts, must be a con-
viction, at once profound and enduring, in every soul that is
great in itself, or that can accomplish any thing great.
Wonderful as Mr. Clay's career was, it would be a hundredfold
more wonderful to suppose that such a career was ^to-siblc to a
scoffer and a skeptic."

Mr. Clay died in the city of Washington, on the 20th of June,
1852. Kev. Dr. Butler, chaplain of the Senate, delivered, in

13

194 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

tlie Senate-Chamber, a funeral sermon in the presence of tlie
President and Congress of the United States, in which he gave
the following just views of the character and principles of an
American statesman, and the views of Mr. Clay on the subject
of the Christian religion : —

^'A great mind, a great heart, a great orator, a great career,
have been consigned to history. I feel, as a man, the grandeur
of this career. But as an immortal, with this broken wreck of
mortality before me, with this scene as the 'end-all' of human
glory, I feel that no career is truly great but that of him who,
whether he be illustrious or obscure, lives to the future in the
present, and, linking himself to the spiritual world, draws from
God the life, the rule, the motive, and the reward of all his
labor. So would that great spirit which has departed say to
us, could he" address us now. So did he realize, in the calm and
meditative close of life. I feel that I but utter the lessons which,
living, were his last and best convictions, and which, dead, would
be, could he speak to us, his solemn admonitions, when I say
that statesmanship is then only glorious when it is Christian^
and that man is then only safe and true to his duty and his
soul, when the life which he lives in the flesh is the life of faith
in the Son of God. Great, indeed, is the privilege, and mc^t
honorable and useful is the career, of a Christian American
statesman. He perceives that civil liberty came from the free-
dom wherewith Christ made its early martyrs and defenders
free. He recognized it as one of the twelve manner of fruits
on the tree of life, which, while its lower branches furnish the
best nutriment of earth, hangs on its topmost boughs, which
wave in heaven, fruits that exhilarate the immortals. E^ecog-
nizing the state as God's institution, he will perceive that his
own ministry is divine. Living consciously under the eye and
in the love and fear of God, 'redeemed by the blood of Jesus,'
sanctified by his Spirit, 'loving his law,' he will give himself,
in private and in public, to the service of his Saviour. He will
not admit that he may act on less lofty principles in public
than in private life, and that he must be careful of his moral
influence in the small sphere of home and neighborhood, but need
take no heed of it when it stretches over continents and crosses
seas. He will know that his moral responsibility cannot be
divided and distributed among others. When he is told that
adherence to the strictest moral and religious [uinciples is

CIVIL IXSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 195

incompatible with a successful and eminent career, lie will
denounce the assertion as a libel on the venerated fathers of
the republic, — a libel on the honored living and the illustrious
dead, — a libel against a great and Christian nation, — a libel
against God himself, who has declared and made 'godliness
profitable for the life that now is.' He will strive to make
laws the transcripts of the character, and institutions illustra-
tions of the providence, of God. He will scan with admiration
and awe the purposes of God in the future history of the world,
in throwing open this continent, from sea to sea, as the abode
of freedom, intelligence, plenty, prosperity, and peace, and feel
that in giving his energies with a patriot's love to the welfare
of his country he is consecrating himself, with a Christian zeal,
to the extension and establishment of the Kedeemer's kino-dom.
Compared with a career like this, which is equally open to
those whose public sphere is large or small, how paltry are the
trades in patriotism, the tricks of statesmanship, the rewards of
successful baseness ! This hour, this scene, the venerated dead,
the country, the world, the present, the future, God, duty,
heaven, hell, speak trumpet-tongued to all in the service of
their country, to beware how they lay polluted or unhallowed

hands

* upon the ark
Of her magnificent and awful cause.'

"Such is the character of that statesmanship which alone
would have met the full approval of the venerated dead. For
the religion which always had a place in the convictions of his
mind had also, within a recent period, entered into his expe-
rience and seated itself in his heart. Twenty years since, he
wrote, ' I am a member of no religious sect, and I am not a
professor of religion. I regret that I am not. I wish that I
was, and trust that I shall be. I have, and always have had,
a profound regard for Christianity, the religion of my fiithers,
and for its rites, its usages and observances.' That feeling
proved that the seed sown by pious parents was not dead, though
stifled. A few years since, its dormant life was reawakened.
Ho was baptized in the communion of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, and during his sojourn in this city lie was in full com-
munion with Trinity rarish. He avowed his full faith in tho
great leading doctrines of the gospel, the fall and sinfulness of
mm, the divinity of Christ, the reality and necessity of the

196 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

atonement, the need of being born again by the Spirit, and
salvation through faith in a crucified Redeemer. He said, with
much feeUng, that he endeavored to, and trusted that he did,
repose his salvation upon Christ; that it was too late for him
to look at Christianity in the light of speculation, — that he had
never doubted of its truth, and that he now wished to throw
himself upon it as a practical and blessed remedy. Very soon
after this I administered to him the sacrament of the Lord's
Supper. It was a scene long to be remembered. There, in
that still chamber, at a weekday noon, the tides of life flowing
all around us, three disciples of the Saviour — the minister of
God, the dying statesman, and his servant, a partaker of the
like precious faith — commemorated their Saviour's dying love.
He grew in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. Among the books which, in connection
with the word of God, he read most, were Jay's ' Morning and
Evening Exercises,' the ' Life of Dr. Chalmers,' and ' The Chris-
tian Philosopher Triumphant in Death.' "

Mr. Cass, an eminent Christian statesman, whose life, private
and public, has illustrated- the virtues of the Christian religion^
and who in his ofiicial positions and public addresses has 4a''-
folded its benign relations and influence on society and' civil
states, was a co-Senator with Mr. Clay, and, in his remarks in
the Senate, on his character and death, said, —

" I was often with him during his last illness, when the world
and the things of this world were fast fading away before him.
After his duty to his Creator and his anxiety for his family, his
first care was for his country, and his first wish for the preserva-
tion and perpetuation of the Constitution and Union, — dear
to him in the hour of death as they had ever been in the vigor
of life, — of the Constitution and Union, whose defence in the
last and greatest crisis of their peril had called forth all his
energies, and stimulated those memorable and powerful exer-
tions which he who witnessed can never forget, and which no
doubt hastened the final catastrophe a nation now deplores
with a sincerity and unanimity not less honorable to themselves
than to the memory of the object of their affections. And
when we shall enter that narrow valley, through which he lias
passed before us, and which leads to the judgment- seat of
God, may we be able to say, through faith in his Son our Sa-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 197

viour, and in the beautiful language of the hymn of the dying
Christian, — dying, but ever living and triumphant, —

* The world recedes, it disappears !
Heaven opens on my eyes ! my ears

With sounds seraphic ring :
Lend, lend your wings ! I mount — I fly !
O Grave ! where is thy victory ?

0 Death • where is thy sting ?'

" Let 7ne die the death of the righteous, and let ray last end
he like his."

Daniel Webster's
Genius and influence on the political and legislative history of
the American republic has been, and is, pre-eminently pure
and powerful. As an American Senator, he was unequalled in
his profound views of the genius of our civil institutions, and
won for himself the title of the Great Expounder of the Consti-
tution. For forty years he occupied the highest eminence in
Congress and in the politics of the country, and acquired a famo
that will be enduring and historic. As a lawyer, a statesman,
a politician, an expounder of the Constitution, and a scholar,
Mr. Webster had no equal among modern statesmen. His
works constitute the richest treasures of the civil and political
literature of the republic, and are distinguished as profound
expositions of the genius of our institutions, and for their
classic beauty, eloquence, and purity. In the Senate of the
United States, before the Supreme Court of the United States,
and on political, literary, and commemorative occasions, he
vindicated the divinity of the Christian religion, and unfolded
its relations to civil society and government and to the present
and eternal well-being of man. The following declarations in
reference to the Christian religion will present his views on
this important subject.

In 18-14, ^Ir. Webster made an elaborate argument before
the Supreme Court of the United States against the validity of
the will of Stephen Girard, of riiiladelphia. Mr. (Jiranl had,
by his immense wealth, founded an institution of learning for
the eilucatiun of orphan childii'n. A provision in the will con-
tained the following restriction : —

"Secondly, lenjoin and require that tw ecclesiastic, viissionary^

198 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

or minister of any sect ivhatever shall ever Jiold or exercise any
station or duty whatever in the said College; nor shall any such
person ever he admitted for any purpose, or as a visitor, within
the premises appropriated to the purposes of the said College.

*' My desire is, that all the instructors and teachers in the
College shall take pains to instil into the minds of the scholars
the purest morality, so that on their entrance into active life
they may, from inclination and habit, evince benevolence towards
their fellow-creatures, and a love of truth, sobriety, and m-
dw5^r?/, adopting at the same time such religious tenets as their
matured reason may enable them to prefer."

The heirs-at-law of Stephen Girard tried the question of the
validity of the will. Mr. Webster was their lawyer, and made
a masterly argument against it and in favor of the Christian
religion. The speech produced a deep impression on the public
mind, and led to a meeting of the citizens of Washington,
belonging to different denominations, who passed the following
resolution : —

'' 1st. That, in the opinion of this meeting, the powerful and
eloquent argument of Mr. Webster, on the before-mentio^i^
clause of Mr. Girard's will, demonstrates the vital importaiKJJ'e
of Christianity to the success of our free institutions, and
its necessity as the basis of all useful moral education; and
that a general diffusion of that argument among the people of
the United States is a matter of deep public interest."

The speech was published and widely circulated. The extracts
in this volume touch upon various fundamental features of the
Christian religion.

On the Christian ministry Mr. Webster said, —

'' Now, I suppose there is nothing in the New Testament more
clearly established by the Author of Christianity than the
appointment of a Christian ministry. The world was to be
evangelized, was to be brought out of darkness into light, by
the influences of the Christian religion spread and propagated
by the instrumentality of man. A Christian ministry was,
therefore, appointed by the Author of the Christian religion
himself, and it stands on the same authority as any other part
of religion. And after his resurrection, in the appointment of
the great mission to the whole human race, the Author of
Christianity commanded his disciples that they should ' go into
all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.' This

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 109

was one of his last commands; and one of his hast promises
was the assurance, ^ Lo, I am with you always, even unto the
(3nd of the world.' I say, therefore, there is nothing set forth
more authentically in the New Testament than the appointment
of a Christian ministry ; and he who does not believe this does
not and cannot believe the rest.

" Why should we shut our eyes to the whole history of Chris-
tianity ? Is it not the preaching of the minister of the gospel
that has evangelized the more civilized part of the world?
Why do we at this day enjoy the rights and benefits of Chris-
tianity ourselves ? Do we not owe it to the instrumentality of
the Christian ministry ? And where was Christianity ever re-
ceived,— where were its truths ever poured into the human
heart, — where did its waters, springing up into everlasting life,
ever burst forth, — except in the track of the Christian ministry ?
Do we not all know that wherever Christianity has been carried
and wherever it has been taught by human agency, that agency
was the agency of Christian ministers?"

On the Christian Sabbath Mr. Webster said, —

" What becomes of the Christian Sabbath in a school thus
established? The observance of the Sabbath is a part of Chris-
tianity in all its forms. All Christians admit the observance of
the Sabbath. T4iere can be no Sabbath in this college, there
can be no religious observance of the Lord's day ; for there are
no means of attaining that end. Where can these little children
go to learn the truth, to reverence the Sabbath ? They are just
as far from the ordinary observance of the Sabbath as if there
was no Sabbath day at all. And where there is no observance
of the Christian Sabbath, there will, of course, be no public
worship of God.

'' As a part of my argument, I will read an extract from an
address of a large convention of clergymen and laymen, held
recently in Columbus, Ohio, to lead the public mind to a more
particular observance of the Sabbath, and which bears with
peculiar force upon this case : —

"'It is alike obvious that the Sabbath exerts its salutary
power by making the population acquainted with the being,
perfections, and laws of God, with our relations to him as his
creatures, and our obligations to him as rational and account-
able subjects, and with our characters as sinners, for whom his
mercy has provided a Saviour, under whose government wo

200 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CnAllACTER OF THE

live to be reptrainocl from sin and reconciled to God, and fitted
by his word and Spirit for tlie inheritance above.

''' It is by the reiterated instruction and iaipression which the
Sabba.th in^parts to the population of a- nation, by the moral
principle which it forms, by the conscience which it maintains,
by the habits of method, cleanliness, and industry it cn^ates,
by the rest and renovated vigor it bestows on exhausted human
nature, by the lengthened life and higher health it affords, by
the holiness it inspires, and cheering hopes of heaven and the
protection and favor of God which its observance insures, that
the Sabbath is rendered the moral conservator of nations.

'' ' The omnipresent influence which the Sabbath exerts, how-
ever, is by no secret charm or compendious action, upon masses
of unthinking minds; but it arrests the stream of worldly
thoughts, interests, and affections, stopping the din of business,
unlading the mind of its cares and responsibilities and the body
of its burdens, while God speaks to men, and they attend, and
hear, and fe ir, and learn to do his will.

'" You might as well put out the sun and think to enlighten
the world with tapers, destroy the attraction of gravity ai>i
think to wield the universe by hnman powers, as to extingiji^n
the moral illumination of the Sabbath, and break this glorious
mainspring of the moral government of God.' ".

On the relation of the Christian religion to morality, Mr.
Webster said, " This scheme of education is derogatory to
Cbristianity, because it proceeds upon the assumption that
the Christian religion is not the only true foundation, or any
necessary foundation, of morals. The ground taken is that reli-
gion is not necessary to morality, that benevolence may be
insured by habit, and that all the virtues may flourish, and be
safely left to the chance of flourishing, without touching the
waters of the living spring of religious responsibility. With
him who thinks thus, what can be the value of the Christian
revelation ? So the Christian world has not thought ; for by
that Christian world, throughout its broadest extent, it has
been, and is, held as a fundamental truth that religion is the
only solid basis of morals, and that moral instruction not rest-
ing on this basis is only building upon sand."

On the importance of early religious instruction, Mr. Webster
eaid, —

** This first great commandment teaches man that there is

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 201

one, and only one, great First Cause, — one, and only one, proper
object of human worship. This is the great, the ever fresh,
the overflowing fountain of all revealed trulli. Without it,
human life is a dosert, of no known termination on any side,
but shut in on all sides by a dark and impenetrable horizon.
Without the light of this truth, man knows nothing of his
origin and nothing of his end. And when the Decalogue v/as
delivered to the Jews, with this great announcement and com-
mand at its head, what said the inspired lawgiver? That it
should be kept from children ? — that it should be revered as a
communication fit only lor mature age? Far, far otherwise.
*And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in
thy heart. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy
children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house,
and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and
when thou riscst up.'

" There is an authoritv still more inspiring; and awful. When
little children were brought into the presence of God, his disciples
proposed to send them away; but he said, 'Suffer little children
to come unto me.' Unto rae: he did not send them first to
learn the lessons in morals to the schools of the Pharisees or to
the unbelieving Sadducees, nor to read the precepts and lessons
phylacterizcd on the garments of the Jewish priesthood ; ho
said nothing of different creeds or clashing doctrines; but ho
opened at once to the youthful mind the everlasting fountain of
living waters, the only source of eternal ti'uths : — 'Suffer little
childfen to come unto me.' And that injunction is of perpetu;d
obligation. It addresses itself to-day with the same earnestness
and the same authority wlii(.'h attended its first utterance to tho
Christian world. It is of force everywhere and at all times.
It extends to tho ends of the earth, it will reach to the end of
time, always and everywhere sounding in the ears of men, with
an emphasis which no repetition can weaken, and with an
authority which nothing can supersede, ' Suffer little children
to come unto nu;.' And not oidy my heart and my juilgmcnt,
my belief and my conscience, instruct me that this great pre-
cept should be obeyed, but tho idea is so sacred, the solenm
thoughts conn(ictod with it so crowd U})on me, it is so utleily
at variance with this system of philosophical morality which
we have hoard advocated, that I stand and speak here in fear of

202 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

being influenced by my feelings to exceed the proper line of my
pi^ofessional duty."

On the nature and purpose of true cliarity and its union with
the Christian religion, Mr. Webster said, —

'' There is nothing in the history of the Christian religion,
there is nothing in the history of English law, either before or
after the conquest ; there can be found no such thing as a school
of instruction in a Christian land, from which the Christian
religion has been, of intent and purpose, rigorously and oppro-
briously excluded, and yet such a school regarded as a chari-
table trust or foundation. A school of instruction for children,
from which the Christian religion and Christian teachers are ex-
cluded,— there is no such thing in the history of religion, there is
no such thing in the history of human laws, as a charity school
of instruction for children, from wdiich the Christian religion
and Christian teachers are excluded, as unsafe and unworthy
intruders. There can be no charity in that man of education
that opposes Christianity.

" I maintain that in any institution for the instruction of
youth, w^here the authority of God is disowned, and the duties
of Christianity derided and despised, and its ministers shut out
from all participation in its proceedings, there can no more
charity, true charity exist, than evil can spring out of the
Bible, error out of truth, or hatred and animosity come forth
from the bosom of perfect love. No, sir ! No, sir ! If charity
denies its birth and parentage, — if it turns infidel to the great
doctrines of the Christian religion, if it turns unbeliever, — it is
no longer charity. This is no longer charity, either in a Chris-
tian sense, or in the sense of jurisprudence; for it separates
itself from the fountain of its own creation."

The faith of the Christian religion, which Mr. Webster had
through his w^hole public career maintained with such masterly
eloquence, was his stay in the last scenes of life. He died at
Marshfield, Massachusetts, October 24, 1852. On that day he
said, ''All that is mortal of Daniel Webster w^ill soon be no
more." He then prayed, in his full, clear, and strong voice,
ending with the petition, " Heavenly Father, forgive my sins,
and receive me to thyself, through Christ Jesus."

His physician repeated to him, " Though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil : for thou art
with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 203

Mr. Webster instantly rejoined "The fact! the fact! That
is what I want! Thy rod! thy rod ! Thy staff! thy staff!"
His last words were, '' I still live."

A few days before his death he drew up and signed the
following declaration of his religious faith, which was by his
direction inscribed on his tomb : —

^' Lordy I believe: help thou mine unbelief. Philosophical
argument, especially that drawn from the vastness of the uni-
verse in comparison with the insignificance of this globe, has
sometimes shaken my reason for the faith which is in me ; but
my heart has always assured and reassured me that the gospel
of Jesus Christ must be a divine reality. The Sermon on the
Mount cannot be a merely human production. This belief
enters into the very depth of my conscience. The whole history
of man proves it.

"Daniel Webster."

Lamartine, a French statesman and writer, presents the fol-
lowing view of infidel and Christian influences, contrasted, on
men and nations : —

" I know — I sigh when I think of it — that hitherto the French
people have been the least religious of all the nations of Europe.
Is it because the idea of God — which arises from all the evi-
dences of nature and from the depths of reflection — being the
profoundest and weightiest idea of which human intelligence is
capable, and the French mind being the most rapid, but the most
superficial, the lightest, the most unreflective of all European
races, this mind has not the force and severity necessary to carry
far and long the greatest conception of the human understanding ?

'' Is it because our Governments have always taken upon them-
selves to think for us, to believe for us, and to pray for us? Is
it because we are, and have been, a military people, a soldier
nation, led by kings, heroes, ambitious men, from battle-field to
battle-field, making conquests and never keeping them, ravaging,
dazzling, charming, and corrupting Europe, and bringing home
the manners, vices, bravery, lightness, and impiety of llu; (uimp
to the fireside of the people?

" I know not; but certain it is tliat the nation has an immense
progress to make in serious thought if she wishes to remain free.
If we look at the characters, compared as regards religious sen-

204 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

timents, of the great nations of Europe, America, even Asia, the
advantage is not for us. Tlie great men of other countries live
and die on the scene of history, looking up to heaven ; our great
men appear to live and die, forgetting completely the only idea
for which it is worth living and dying: they live and die looking
at the spectator, or, at most, at posterity.

''Open the history of America, the history of England, and
the history of France ; read the great lives, the great deaths,
the great martyrdoms, the great words at the hour when the
ruling thought of life reveals itself in the last words of the
dying; and compare.

'' Washington and Franklin fought, spoke, suffered, always in
the name of God, for whom they acted ; and the Liberator of
America died, confiding to God the liberty of the people and his
own soul.

'' Sidney, the young martyr of a patriotism guilty of nothing
but impatience, and who died to expiate his country's dream
of liberty, said to his jailer, 'I rejoice that I die innocent
towards the king, but a victim resigned to the King on high,
to whom all life is due.'

"The Republicans of Cromwell only sought the way of God
even in the blood of battles. Their politics were their faith;
their reign, a prayer ; their death, a psalm. One hears, sees,
feels, that God was in all the movements of these great people.

"But cross the sea, traverse the Channel, come to our times,
open our annals, and listen to the great words of the great
political actors of the drama of our liberty. One would think
that God was eclipsed from the soul, that his name was un-
known in the language. History will have the air of an atheist
when she recounts to posterity these annihilations rather than
deaths of celebrated men in the greatest year of France ! The
victims only have a God ; the tribune and lictors have none.

"Look at Mirabeau on the bed of death. 'Crown me with
flowers,' said he ; ' intoxicate me with perfumes ; let me die to
the sound of delicious music' Not a word of God, or of his soul.
Sensual philosopher, he desired only supreme sensualism, a last
voluptuousness in his agony.

"Contemplate Madame Roland, the strong-hearted woman of
the Revolution, on the cart that conveyed her to death. She
looked contemptuously on the besotted people who killed their
prophets and sibyls. Not a glance towards heaven ! Only one
word for the earth she was quitting : — ' 0 Liberty !'

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 205

"Approach the dungeon-door of the Girondins. Their last
night is a banquet; the only hymn, the Marseillaise!

'* Follow Camille Desmoulins to his execution. A cool and
indecent pleasantry at the trial, and a long imprecation on the
road to the guillotine, were the two last thoughts of this dying
man on his way to the last tribunal.

''Hear Danton on the platform of the scaffold, at the distance
of a line from God and eternity. ' I have a good time of it :
let me go to sleep.' Then to the executioner, * You will show
my head to the people : it is worth the trouble.' His faith,
annihilation; his last sigh, vanity! Behold the Frenchman of
this latter age !

*' What must one think of the relisiious sentiment of a free
people whose great figures seem thus to march in procession to
annihilation, and to whom that terrible minister, death itself,
recalls neither the threatenings nor promises of God ?

*'The republic of these men without a God has quickly been
stranded. The liberty won by so much heroism and so much
genius has not found in France a conscience to shelter it, a God
to avenge it, a people to defend it against that atheism which has
been called glory. All ended in a soldier and some apostate
republicans travestied into courtiers. An atheistic republican-
ism cannot be heroic. When you terrify it, it bends ; when you
would buy it, it sells itself. It would be very foolish to immo-
late itself. Who would take any heed? The people ungrateful,
and God non-existent! So finish atheistic revolutions 1"

206 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

CHAPTEE X.

CHRISTIAN LEGISLATION OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS RELIGION THE BASIS

OF CIVIL STATES RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS OF THE MEN WHO FORMED OUK

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS BURKe's VIEWS — WEBSTER's VIEWS FIRST CONGRESS

FIRST PRATER IN CONGRESS — DESCRIBED BY ADAMS — DESCRIBED BY WEB-
STER AND GOODRICH — LEGISLATION ON THE BIBLE — CONGRESS APPROPRIATES

MONEY TO PURCHASE BIBLES CONGRESS SUPERINTENDS THE PRINTING OF AN

EDITION OF THE ENTIRE BIBLE CORRESPONDENCE ON THE SUBJECT — BIBLES

PRESENTED TO CONGRESS — LETTER OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT AND SPEAKER

AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS TO PREVENT OFFICERS

OF THE GOVERNMENT FROM ATTENDING THEATRES, ETC. ADDRESS OF CON-
GRESS TO THE PEOPLE LEGISLATION ON THE SABBATH — DISCOURAGE ALL

DISSIPATION — CONTINENTAL CONGRESS A CHRISTIAN BODY THE MORAL ENDS

OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT.

Plutarch declares that tlie great care of the legislators of the
republics of Greece and Rome was to inspire men with a sense
of the favor and displeasure of the gods, and that religion is the
cement of civil union, and the essential support of civil govern-
ment. " A city might as well be built/' says he, '' on the
air, without any earth to stand upon, as a commonwealth or a
kingdom be constituted or preserved without religion." " No
state," says an American writer, " ever yet existed without the
basis of some religion. The earliest state constitution of which
we have any clear record is the Egyptian, and this was distinctly
a theocracy. The Hebrew state was at first theocratic; and when
God gave the people a king, the religious element in their con-
stitution was not withdrawn. The old kingdoms of Assyria,
Phenicia, Media and Persia, all made use of some special reli-
gion as auxiliary to their civil state."

The testimony of Polybius, an ancient writer and philo-
sopher, to the beneficial efi'ects which resulted from the system
of pagan superstition, in fortifying the sentiments of moral
obligation and supporting the sanctity of oaths, is so weighty
and decisive that it would be injustice not to insert it, — more
especially as it is impossible to attribute it to the influence of
credulity on the author himself, who was evidently a skeptic.
It is scarcely necessary to remark that all the benefits which

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 207

might in any way flow from superstition are secured to an
incomparably greater degree by the belief of true religion.

''But among all the useful institutions," says Polybius, ''that
demonstrate the superior excellence of the E-oman govern-
ment, the most considerable, perhaps, is the opinion which
people are taught to hold concerning the gods ; and that which
other men regard as an object of disgrace appears, in my judg-
ment, to be the very thing by which this republic is cherished
and sustained. I mean superstiti@n, the Roman religion, which
is impressed with all its terrors, and influences the private
actions of the citizens and the public axlministration of the
state, to a degree that can scarcely be excelled."

" In almost all of the distinguished states," said A. H. Everett,
in the Legislature of Massachusetts, " the principal care of the
community has been to provide for the support of religion. In
Egypt, Palestine, and the Oriental nations, religion has always
been the main object of the government. In Greece it was
the only bond of union that held together the several members
of that illustrious commonwealth of states."

" Seeing therefore it doth appear," says the great and venerable
Hooker, "that the safety of states dependeth upon religion ; that
religion unfeignedly loved perfecteth men's abilities unto all kinds
of virtuous services in the commonwealth ; that men's desire is,
in general, to hold no religion but the true, and that whatever
good efl'ects do grow out of their religion, who embrace, instead
of the true, a false, the roots thereof are certain sparks of the
light of truth intermingled with the darkness of error, because
no religion can wholly and only consist of untruths : we have
reason to think that all true virtues are to honor true religion as
their parent, and all well-ordered commonwealths to love her as
their chiefest stay."

Christianity is for all the wants of the civil state, as it is
for all the wants of the soul and immortality. Hence it ^'havS
entered on a career of universal conquest : first the conquest
of men, then of customs, institutions, corporations, and govern-
ments. She aims to carry out her spirit in the extremities even
of the living framework of society. Accordingly, Christianity
liulds it to be as much the duty of the state to be born again
irom a life of selfishness and ambition and worldly glory, to a
life of universal love, and justice, and liberty, and devotion to
(jod and his service." A nation and a ixovernment thus reicenc-

o^ ' ^ -"O^

208 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

rated would realize John Milton's idea of a civil government^
that it should be ^'one huge christian personage, one

MIGHTY outgrowth AND STATURE OP AN HONEST MAN."

The American colonies had a profound conviction of the
essential need of religion as the onlv true basis of civil Q;overn-
ment. They had been schooled in the faith and practice of the
Protestant religion, and when the time came for them to insti-
tute governments for themselves they were prepared to found
them, and carrv them on accordino; to the relis-ion of the Bible.

"The people of the colonies/' said Burke in the British Par-
liament, "are descendants of Englishmen. England is a nation
"which still, I hope, respects, and formerly adored, freedom. The
colonists went from you when this part of your character was
most predominant; and they took this bias and direction the
moment they parted from your hands. They are, therefore, not
only devoted to liberty, but to liberty according to English
ideas and on English principles. Their governments are popu-
lar in a high degree. If any thing were wanting to this neces-
sary operation of the form of government, Keligion would
have given it a complete effect. Pueligion — always a principle
of energy in this new people — is no way worn out or impaired;
and their mode of professing is also one main cause of this free
spirit. The people are Protestants, and of that kind which is
most adverse to all implicit submission of mind and opinion.
This is a persuasion, sir, not only favorable to liberty, but built
upon it. The dissenting interests have sprung up in direct
opposition to all the ordinary powers of the world, and could
justify that opposition only on a strong claim to natural liberty.
All Protestantism^ even the m.ost cold and passive, is a sort of
dissent. But the religion most prevalent in our Northern
colonies is a refinement on the spirit of the principle of resist-
ance : it is the dissidence of dissent, and the protestantisno of the
Protestant rdir/ioTi. This religion, under a variety of denomi-
nations, agreeing in nothing but in the communion of the spirit
of liberty, is predominant in most of the Northern Provinces.
The colonists left England when this spirit was high, and in the
emigrants v/as highest of all ; and even the stream of foreigners
which has been constantly flowing into these colonies has, for
the greater part, been composed of dissenters of their own
countries, and have brought with them a temper and a cha-
racter far from alien to that of the people with whom they

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 209

mixed. A fierce spirit of liberty has grown up ; it lias grown
up with the growth of your people, and increased with the
increase of their population and wealth, — a spirit that, un-
happily, meeting with an excess of power in England, which,
however lawful, is not reconcilable to any idea of liberty, much
less with theirs, has kindled this flame which is ready to
consume us."

This thorough education of the colonists in the Protestant
school of Christianity, from their earliest history down to the
Eevolution, prepared the statesmen w^ho instituted our forms
of government to found them on the principles of Christianity.
This policy but reflected the will of the people, as well as the
views and convictions of the men -who framed our free insti-
tutions.

" That some religion," said Bishop Mcllvaine, " and that the
Christian religion, is recognized as the religion of this nation
and government, and as such is interwoven in its laws, and has
a legal preference, though not ' establishment' in technical lan-
guage, over whatever else has the name of religion, and espe-
cially over all forms of infidelity, all must admit. We are
thankful that our system of government, our common law, and
administration of justice, were instituted by men having the
wisdom to see how entirely the liberties and interests of this
nation are dependent on the teachings and keeping of the truths
and institutions of Christianity."

"There is nothing," says Webster, ''we look for with more
certainty than this principle, that Christianity is a part of the
law of the land. Every thing declares this. The generations
which have gone before speak to it, and pronounce it from the
tomb. We feel it. All, all proclaim that Christianity, general,
tolerant Christianity, independent of sects and parties, that
Christianity to which the sword and the fagot are unknown,
general, tolerant Christianity, is the law of the land."

The statesmen of the Continental Congress, in their delibe-
rations, officially recognized the Christian religion, and incorpo-
rated its principles into their legislative acts. That body of
great men is thus si)okcn of by Webster. lie says, —

"No doubt the assembly of the first Continental Congress
may be regarded as the era at which the Union of tlieso States
commenced. This event took place in Fhiladeli)hia, the city
distinguished by the great civil events of our early history, on

u

210 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEH OF THE

the 5tli of September, 1774, on whicli day tlie first Continental
Congress assembled. Delegates were present from New Hamp-
shire, Massachusetts, Khode Island, Connecticut, New York,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

" Let this day be ever remembered ! It saw assembled from
the several colonies those great men whose names have come
down to us and will descend to all posterity. Their proceed-
ings are remarkable for simplicity, dignity, and unequalled
ability. At that day, probably, there could have been convened
on no part of the globe an equal number of men possessing
greater talents and ability, or animated by a higher and more
patriotic motive. They were men full of the spirit of the
occasion, imbued deeply with the general sentiment of the
country, of large comprehension, of long foresight, and of few
words. They made no speeches for ostentation : they sat with
closed doors, and their great maxim was, '/aire sans direJ
They knew the history of the past, they w^ere alive to all the
difficulties and all the duties of the present, and they acted
from the first as if the future were all open before them. In
such a constellation it would be invidious to point out the bright
particular stars. Let me only say — what none can consider in-
justice to others — that George Washington was one of the
number.

''This first Congress, for the ability which it manifested,
the principles which it proclaimed, and the characters which
composed it, makes an illustrious chapter in American history.
Its members should be regarded not only individually, but in a
group ; they should be viewed as living pictures, exhibiting
young America as it then was, and when the seeds of its public
destiny were beginning to start into life, well described by
our early motto as being full of energy and prospered by
Heaven : —

* Non sine Diis, animosus infans.'

''For myself, I love to travel back in imagination, to place my-
self in the midst of this assembly, this union of greatness and
patriotism, and to contemplate, as if I had witnessed, its pro-
found deliberations, and its masterly exhibitions both of the
rights and wrongs of the country."

The proceedings of the Assembly were introduced by reli-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 211

gious observances and devout supplications to tlie throne of
grace, for the inspiration of wisdom and the spirit of good
counsels.

The first act of the first session of the Continental Congress
was to pass the following resolution : —

Tuesday, September 6, 1774. — Resolved, That the Rev. Mr. Duche be de-
sired to open Congress to-morrow morning with prayer, at Carpenter's
Hall, at nhie o'clock.

Wednesday, September 7, 1774, a.m. — Agreeable to the resolve of yester-
day, the meeting was opened with prayer by the Rev. Mr. Duche.

' John Adams, in a letter to his wife, thus describes that
scene : —

'^ When the Congress first met, Mr. Cushing first made a
motion that it should be opened with prayer. It was opposed
by one or two, because we were so divided in religious senti-
ments— some were Episcopalians, some Quakers, some Ana-
baptists, some Presbyterians, and some Congregationalists — that
we could not agree in the same act of worship. Mr. Samuel
Adams rose and said, ' he was no bigot, and could hear a prayer
from a gentleman of piety and virtue, who was at the same,
time a friend to his country. He was a stranger in Phila-
delphia, but had heard that Mr. Duch^ deserved that character,
and therefore he moved that Mr. Duch<5, an Episcopalian clergy-
man, might be desired to read prayers to the Congress to-morrow
morning.' The motion was seconded, and passed in the afiirma-
tive. Mr. Eandolph, our President, waited on Mr. Duch^, and
received for answer that if his health would permit he certainly
would. Accordingly, next morning he appeared, with his clerk
and in his pontificals, and read the collect for the seventh day
of September, which was the thirty-first Psalm. You must re-
member that this was the first morning after we heard the
horrible rumor of the cannonade of Boston. I never saw a
greater eff*ect produced upon an audience. It seemed as if
Heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read on that morning.
It has had an excellent effect upon everybody here. I must
beg you to read that Psalm." It is as follows : —

1. In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust ; let mc never be u-shamed :
deliver me in thy righteousness.

2. Row down thine eiir to mc ; deliver mc speedily : be thou my .-trong
rock, for a house of defence to save mc.

212 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

3. For thou art my rock and my fortress ; therefore for thy name^s
sake lead me, and guide me.

4. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me : for thou
art my strength.

5. Into thine hand I commit my spirit : thou hast redeemed me, O
Lord God of truth.

G. I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the
Lord.

7. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy : for thou hast considered
my trouble ; thou hast known my soul in adversities ;

8. And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy : thou hast
set my feet in a large room.

0. Have mercj'" upon me, 0 Lord, for I am in trouble : mine eye is
consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.

10. For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my
strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are con-
sumed.

11. I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among
my neighbors, and a fear to mine acquaintance : they that did see me
without fled from me.

12. I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind : 1 am like a broken
vessel.

13. For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side:
while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away
my life.

14. But I trusted in thee, 0 Lord : I said, Thou art my God.

15. My times are in thy hand : deliver me from the hand of mine ene-
mies, and from them that persecute me.

16. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant : save me for thy mercies*
sake.

17. Let me not be ashamed, 0 Lord ; for I have called upon thee :
let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.

18. Ljet the lying lips be put to silence ; which speak grievous things
proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

19. Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them
that fear thee ; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee
before the sons of men !

20. Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride
of man : thou shalt kee^D them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of
tongues.

21. Blessed be the Lord : for he hath showed me his marvellous kind-
ness in a strong city.

22. For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes : never-
theless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto
thee.

23. Oh love the Lord, all ye his saints : for the Lord preserveth the
faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.

24. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that
hope in the Lord,

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 213

*^ After this," says Adams, '' Mr. Ducli^, unexpectedly to every-
body, struck out into an extemporaneous prayer, which filled the
bosom of every man present. I must confess I never heard a
better prayer, or one so well pronounced. Episcopalian as he is,
Dr. Cooper himself never prayed with such fervor, such ardor,
such earnestness and pathos, and in language so elegant and
sublime, for America, for the Province of Massachusetts, and
especially for the town of Boston,"

In Adams's Diary, Sept. 7, 1774, the same scene is recorded : —

'' Went to Congress again ; heard Mr. Duchd read prayers ; the
collect for the 7th of the month was most admirably adapted,
— though this was accidental, or, rather, providential. A prayer
which he gave us of his own composition was as pertinent, as
affectionate, as sublime, as devout, as I ever heard offered up to
Heaven. He filled every bosom present."

"We give below the prayer as it is printed in Thatcher's
*' Military Biography," under date of December, 1777.

O Lord our heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings and
Lord of lords, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers oa
earth, and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all tlio
kingdoms, empires, and governments ; look down in mercy, we beseecli
thee, on these American States who have fled to thee from the rod of
the oppressor, and thrown themselves on thy gracious protection, de-
siring to be henceforth dependent only on thee ; to thee they havo
appealed for the righteousness of their cause ; to thee do they now look
up for that countenance and support which thou alone canst give ; take
them, therefore, heavenly Father, under thy nurturing care ; give them
wisdom in council, and valor in the field ; defeat the malicious designs
of our cruel adversaries ; convince them of the unrighteousness of their
cause, and if they still persist in their sanguinary purposes, oh, let tlio
voice of thine own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain*
them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved hands in the day
of battle. Be thou present, 0 God of wisdom, and direct the council:<
of this honorable assembly : enable them to settle things on the best
and surest foundation, that the scene of blood may be speedily closed,
that order, harmony, and peace may be effectually restored, and truth
and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst thy i)eoplo.
Preserve the health of their bodies and the vigor of their minds ;
shower down on them and the ynillions they here represent, such tempo-
ral blessings as thou st^-est expedient for them in this world, and orown
<hem with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask in
the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Saviour.
Amen !

" It must have been an interesting scene," says Goodrich : — " a

214 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE, OF THE

minister, bound to forms, finding extemporaneous words to suit
the occasion, and the Quaker, the Presbyterian, the Episcopa-
lian, and the EatioDahst, — some kneeling, some standing, bnt
all praying, and looking to Heaven for wisdom and counsel in
this hour of doubt, anxiety, and responsibility. Adams and
Sherman, the Puritans, standing erect, — Thomson, the Quaker,
finding the movement of the Spirit in the words of a conse-
crated priest, — with Washington, Henry, and other Episco-
palians, kneeling, according to their creed, and all invoking wis-
dom from above, would make a touching and instructive picture.
Its moral would be, that the greatest minds, in moments of diffi-
culty and danger, acknowledge their dependence upon God, and
feel the necessity of elevating and purifying their hearts by
prayer; and that the differences of sect, the distinctions of form,
all vanish when emergency presses upon the consciences of
men and forces them to a sincere and open avowal of their con-,
victions."

Webster described, in the Senate, the same scene as follows : —
^' At the meeting of the first Congress, there was a doubt in the
minds of many about the propriety of opening the sessions with
prayer; and the reason assigned was, as here, the great diversity
of opinion and religious belief; until at last Mr. Samuel Adams,
with his gray hairs hanging about his shoulders, and with an
impressive venerableness now seldom to be met with (I suppose
owing to different habits), rose, in that assembly, and,- with the
air of a perfect Puritan, said, ^ it did not become men profess-
ing to be Christian men, who had come together for solemn
deliberation in the hour of their extremity, to say there was
so wide a difference in their religious belief that they could not,
as one man, bow the knee in prayer to the iVlmighty, whose
advice and assistance they hoped to obtain ; and, Independent
as he was, and an enemy to all prelacy as he was known to be,
he moved that Eev. Mr. Duche, of the Episcopal Church, should
address the Throne of Grace in prayer.' Mr. Duch(^ read the
Episcopal service of the Church of England ; and then, as if
moved by the occasion, he broke out into extemporaneous
prayer ; and those men who were about to resort to force to
obtain their rights were moved to tears ; and ' floods of tears,'
he says, ' ran down the cheeks of pacific Quakers, who formed
a part of that interesting assembly ;' and depend upon it, that
where there is a spirit of Christianity there is a spirit ivhich

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 215

rises above form, above ceremonies, independent of sect or creed
and the controversies of clashing doctrines ^

That Congress of Christian statesmen appreciated the services
rendered by their first chaplain, and unanimously

'^ Voted, That the thanks of Congress be given to Mr. Duch^,
by Mr. Gushing and Mr. Ward, for performing divine service,
and for the excellent prayer which he composed and delivered
on the occasion."

The public worship of Almighty God was personally and
officially observed by the statesmen of the Eevolution. The
records of the Continental Congress present this fact : —

" Saturday, July 15th, 1775. — On motion, Resolved, That
the Congress will, on Thursday next, attend divine service in
a body, both morning and afternoon^

On the 3d of October, 1775, on the occasion of the sudden
demise of Peyton Eandolph, Congress resolved to attend his
funeral as mourners, and appointed a committee '' to wait on
the Eev. Mr. Duchd and request him to prepare a proper dis-
course to be delivered at the funeral."

The legislation of Congress on the Bible is a suggestive
Christian fact, and one which evinces the faith of the states-
men of that period in its divinity, as well as their purpose to
place it as the corner-stone in our republican institutions.

The breaking out of the Eevolution cut off the supply of
'' books printed in London." The scarcity of Bibles also came
soon to be felt. Dr. Patrick Allison, one of the chaplains
to Congress, and other gentlemen, brought the subject before
that body in a memorial, in which they urged the printing of
an edition of the Scriptures.

On the 11th of September, 1777, the committee to whom the
memorial was referred reported as follows :—

Thursday, September 11, 1777. — Tlio committee to wliom the memorial
of Dr. Allison and others was referred, report. That they have con-
ferred fully with the printers, &c., in this city, and are of opinion that
the proper types for printing the Biblo are not to bo had in this coun-
try, and tliat the jjaper cannot bo procured, but with such dilliculties,
and subject to such casualties, as render any dependence on it alto-
gether improper; that to import types for tlio purpose of setting up an
entire edition of the Bible, and to strike oft' 30,000 co])ies, with i):ipcr,
binding, ttc, will cost .€10,272 10, which must bo advanced by Congress,
to be reimbursed by the sale of the books; that, in the opinion of tho
committee, considerable dilliculties will attend the procuring the types

216 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEH OF THE

and paper ; that, afterwards, the risk of importing them will consider-
ably enhance the cost, and that the calculations are subject to such un-
certainty in the present state of affairs, that Congress cannot much rely
on them ; that the use of the Bible is so universal, and its importance
60 great, that your committee refer the above to the consideration of
Congress, and if Congress shall not think it expedient to order the im-
portation of types and paper, the committee recommend that Congress
will order the Committee of Commerce to import 20,000 Bibles from
Holland, Scotland, or elsewhere, into the different ports of the States
of the Union.

Whereupon it was moved, That the Committee of Commerce be
directed to import 20,000 copies of the Bible.

On this motion. New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Ehode Island, Con-
necticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, voted in the affirma-
tive ; New York, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and
South Carolina, voted in the negative.

So it was resolved in the affirmative.

In 1781 Eev. Mr. Aitken memorialized Congress to aid him in
printing an American edition of the Bible. Congress appointed
a committee, who submitted a report on the subject as follows : —

By the United States in Congress assembled :
September 12, 1782.
The committee to whom was referred a memorial of Eobert Aitken,
Printer, dated 21st January, 1781, respecting an edition of the Holy
Scriptures, report, That Mr. Aitken has, at great expense, now finished
an American edition of the Holy Scriptures in English ; that the com-
mittee have from time to time attended to his progress in the work ;
that they also recommended it to tlie two chaplains of Congress to exa-
mine and give their opinion of the execution, who have accordingly
reported thereon ; the recommendation and report being as follows : —

Philadelphia, 1st Sept., 17S2.
Reverend Gentlemen : —

Our knowledge of your piety and public sj^irit leads us, without
apology, to recommend to your particular attention the edition of the
Holy Scriptures published by Mr. Aitken. He undertook this expen-
sive work at a time when, from the circumstances of the war, an Eng-
lish edition of the Bible could not be imported, nor any opinion formed
how long the obstruction might continue. On this account, particularly,
he deserves applause and encouragement. We therefore wish you,
reverend gentlemen, to examine the execution of the work, and, if
approved, to give it the sanction of your judgment and the weight of
your recommendation.

We are, with very great respect,

Your most obedient, humble servants,
(Signed) James Duane, Chairman,

In behalf of a committee of Congress on Mr. Aitken's memorial.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 217

Reverend Dr. "White and Rev. Mr. Duffield, Chaplains of the United
States in Congress assembled, report : —

Gextlemex : —

Agreeably to j^our desire, we have paid attention to Mr. Robert
Aitken's impression of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and Xew Testa-
ments. Having selected and examined a variety of passages through-
out the work, we are of opinion that it is executed with great accuracy
as to the sense, and with as few grammatical and typographical errors as
could have been expected in an undertaking of such magnitude. Being
ourselves witnesses of the demand for this invaluable work, we rejoice
in the present prospect of a surplus, — hoping that it will prove as advan-
tageous as it is honorable to the gentleman who has exerted himself
to furnish it, at the evident risk of private fortune.
We are, gentlemen,

Your very respectful and humble servants,

(Signed) William White,

George Duffield.
Philadelphia, Sept. 10, 1782.

Hon. James Duaxe, Esq., Chairman, and the other honorable gentle-
men of the committee of Congress on Mr. Aitken's memorial.

Whereupon, Resolved, That the United States, in Congress assembled,
highly ajjprove of the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken,
as subservient to the interests of religion, as well as an instance of the
progress of the fine arts in this country ; and, being satisfied from the
above report of his care and accuracy in the execution of the work, they
recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United
States, and hereby authorize him to publish this recommendation in the
manner he shall think proper.

Charles Thomson, Secretary.

The American Bible Society publi.slied, in 1856, the following
statement in connection with the presentation of a Bible to each
House of Congress : —

The Bible in Congress.
A joint note was received in May last from the two chaj^lains of Con-
gress, suggesting that our Board present a copy of the pulpit Bible for uso
in public worsliip at the Capitol. The suggestion was cheerfully comjUied
with, and tlic following response received, showing, with a thousand
other incidents, that, wliilo we have no state-established religion, we are
correctly styled a Christian nation • —

WAsnixoTov, May 19, lSi6.
To the Board of Managers of the American Bible Society.
Gentlemen: — Wo luive the pleasure to acknowledge the receipt of an
imperial quarto Bibh^ for the use of Congress attlie hands of your Secre-
tary.

In lu'half of Congress, we beg to tender to you our grateful thanks for

218 CHPJSTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

this appropriate present, and to express the hope that the great truths
contained in that sacred record may be impressed upon all our minds
and hearts.

With sentiments of the highest respect and consideration, we have
the honor to be

Your obedient servants,

John C. Breckixridge, Pres. Sen.
Wm. Pennington, Speaker H. R.

The Biele and the First Congress.

The above article, coming from the officers of the present Congress,
leads us to subjoin a brief account of the doings of the first Congress in
regard to the same divine book, as given in Rev. Dr. Strickland's His-
tory of the American Bible Society : —

" As early as the beginning of the last century, laws existed in some
of the colonies requiring every family to be furnished with a Bible.
This supply continued to be kept up by individual exertion until the
meeting of the first Congress in 1777, one year after the Declaration of
Independence. In the early formation of our government, those who
looked upon the experiment with jealous eyes anticipated a speedy
dissolution, from the fact that it made no provision for the establish-
ment of religion. Although the legislative power of our country is pro-
hibited from making laws prescribing and enforcing the observance of
any particular faith or form of worship, yet it is equally powerless in
prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; while at the same time it extends
its protecting Eegis over the rights of conscience. The Government has
never been unmindful of the great interests of religion, but has from
the beginning adhered to and carried out the language of Washington,
tliat ' religion and morality are indispensable supports of political
existence and prosperity.'

" The Congress of 1777 answered a memorial on the subject of Bible-
distribution in this country, by appointing a committee to advise as to
the printing an edition of thirty thousand Bibles. The population of
the country then was only about three millions, and all the Bibles in
the entire world at that period did not exceed four millions. Thus it
will be seen that its circulation in this and all other countries at that
time was exceedingly limited.

" The report of the committee appointed by Congress forms one of
the brightest epochs in the history of our republic, and sheds a clear
and steady light over every subsequent eventful period. The public
recognition of God in that act was of infinitely greater importance in
giving stability to the times, securing the permanency of our institu-
tions, than all the imposing and formidable array of legal enactments
ever made for the establishment of religion.

"The committee, finding it difficult to procure the necessary material,
such as paper and types, recommended Congress, ' the use of the Bible
being so universal, and its importance so great,' to direct the Committee
on Commerce to import, at tlie expense of Congress, twenty tiiousand
English Bibles from Holland, Scotland, or elsewhere, into the different

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 219

ports of the States of the Union. The report was adopted, and the
imiwrtation ordered.

" In 1781, when, from the existence of the war, no English Bible
could be imported, and no opinion could be formed how long the
obstruction might continue, the subject of printing the Bible was again
presented to Congress, and it was on motion referred to a committee of
three.

*' The committee, after giving the subject a careful investigation,
recommended to Congress an edition printed by Eobert Aitken, of
Philadelphia ; whereupon it was

" ' Resolved, That the United States, in Congress assembled, highly
approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as subser-
vient to the interests of religion : and, being satisfied of the care and
accuracy of the execution of the work, recommend this edition to the
inhabitants of the United States.' '^

How interesting is a history of the early circulation of the Bible in
this country ! What moral sublimity in the fact, as it stands imperish-
ably recorded and filed in the national archives ! Who, in view of this
fact, will call in question the assertion that this is a Bible nation ? Who
will charge the Government with indifference to religion, when the first
Congress of the States assumed all the rights and performed all the
duties of a Bible society long before such an institution had an exist-
ence ?

This was the first Bible published in the English language
having an American imprint. It was a small duodecimo, in
two volumes, in a brevier type. The report of the committee
and the resolution of Congress (sometimes called the Bible Con-
gress) are reprinted on a leaf immediately following the title-
page. The recommendation of Congress bore no fruit. Imme-
diately, after the publication of the work, peace was proclaimed,
— when it was found that Bibles could be imported from Great
Britain cheaper than it was possible to print them here. Mr.
Aitken, therefore, not obtaining a ready sale for his edition,
which he had carried on with great difficulty, was nearly ruined
by the undertaking. Previous to the Revolution and the pub-
lication of the edition of the Bible by Mr. Aitken, this country
was supplied with Bibles in the English language chiefly from
Great Britain.

Chancellor Kent, of New York, states the results an<l in-
fluence of the Bible on society as follows : —

"The general diffusion of the Bible is the most effectual way
to civilize and humanize mankind; to purify and exalt tho
general system of public morals ; to give efficacy to the just
precepts of international and municipal law ; to enforce tho

220 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

observance of prudence, temperance, justice, and fortitude, and
to improve all the relations of domestic and social life."

Chief-Justice Hornblower, of New Jersey, remarks as fol-
lows : —

''Let this precious volume have its due influence on the hearts
of men, and our liberties are safe, our country blessed, and the
world happy. There is not a tie that unites us to our families,
not a virtue that endears us to our country, not a hope that,
thrills our bosoms in the prospect of future happiness, that has
not its foundation in this sacred book. It is the charter of
charters, — the palladium of liberty, — the standard of righteous-
ness. Its divine influence can soften the heart of the tyrant, —
can break the rod of the oppressor, and exalt the humblest
peasant to the dignified rank of an immortal being, — an heir of
eternal glory."

The following record, found in the Journals of Congress, Oc-
tober 12, 1778, shows their high appreciation of the morality of
the Bible as a necessary qualification for the discharge of official
public duties : —

Whereas true religion and good morals are the only solid founda-
tions of public liberty and happiness :

Resolved, That it be, and it hereby is, earnestly recommended to the
several States to take the most effectual measures for the encourage-
ment thereof, and for the suppressing theatrical entertainments, horse-
racing, gaming, and such other diversions as are productive of idle-
ness, dissipation, and a general depravity of principles and manners.

Resolved, That all officers in the armj' of the United States be, and
hereby are, strictly enjoined to see that the good and "wholesome rules
provided for the discountenancing of profaneness and vice, and the
preservation of morals among the soldiers, are duly and punctually
observed.

On the IGth of October, 1778, Congress passed the following
act, as may be seen on their official journal of that date : —

Whereas frequenting playhouses and theatrical entertainments has
a fatal tendency to divert the minds of the people from a due attention
to the means necessary for the defence of their country and the pre-
servation of their liberties :

Resolved, That any person holding an office under the United States
who shall act, promote, encourage, or attend such plays, be deemed
unworthy to hold such office, and shall be accordingly dismissed.

In this place it is appropriate to notice, as a patriotic and
Christian memorial, Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, where

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 221

the patriots and statesmen sat in solemn council, and passed
the Declaration of Independence and previous Christian acts,
and made their solemn appeals to God. That old State-House
still stands as a relic of the Kevolution, and its associations
and inspirations attract the American people to look upon its
venerable form, to troad its rooms and halls, and to gaze upon
the portraits of many of the men who acted a distinguished
part in achieving our independence and in forming our civil
institutions. It was from the steps of this temple of freedom
that John Nixon, on the 8th of July, 1776, in the hearing of
thousands, read the Declaration of Independence ; and from the
same spot Samuel Adams pronounced an oration on the great
event, in which he said, —

'' Brethren and fellow-countrymen ! If it was ever granted
to mortals to trace the designs of Providence and to interpret
its manifestations in favor of their cause, we may, with humility
of soul, cry out, ^ Not unto us, not unto us, but to thy name be
praise.' "

The American people, as they look upon this consecrated
temple of freedom, will re-echo the words of an American
poet : —

"This is the sacred fane wherein assembled

The fearless champions on the side of right, —
Men at whose declaration em}»ircs trembled,
Moved by the truth's immortal might.

"Here stood tlie patriot, — one Union folding

The Eastern, Northern, Southern sage and seer,
"VVitliin that living band whicli, trutli upholding.
Proclaims each man his fellow's peer.

"Hero rose the anthem which all nations, hearing,
In loud response the echoes backward luui'd;
Reverberating still the ceaseless cheering.
Our continent repeats it to the world.

"This i^the hallow'd spot where, first unfurling,
Fair Freedom spread her blazing scroll of light ;
Here, from oi)pression's throne the tyrant hurling,
She stood supreme in majesty and might."

TIk^ most interesting and suggestive memorial in IndoponJ-
ence Hall is the old State-House bell. " This bell," says Watson,
in his "Annals of Philadelphia," " was imported from England

222 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

in 1753, for the State-House; but, having met with some accident
in the trial ringing after it was landed, it lost its tone received
in the fatherland, and had to be conformed to ours by recast-
ing. This was done under the direction of Isaac Norris, Esq.,
the then Speaker of the Colonial Assembly; and to him we are
probably indebted for the remarkable motto, so indicative of its
future use, ' Proclaim liberty throughout all the land
UNTO all the inhabitants THEREOF.' That it was adopted
from the Scriptures (Lev. xxv. 10) may to many be still more im-
pressive, as being also the voice of God, that great Arbiter by
whose signal providences we afterwards attained to that ' liberty'
and self-government which bid fair to emancipate our whole
continent, and, in time, to influence and ameliorate the condition
of the subjects of arbitrary government throughout the civilized
world."

The ringing of this bell first announced to the citizens, who
were anxiously waiting the result of the deliberations of Con-
gress (vv^iich were at that time held with closed doors), that
the Declaration of Independence had been decided upon ; and
then it was that the bell proclaimed the realization of the divine
motto inscribed upon it some fifteen years previous.

" That old bell is still seen by the patriot's eye,
And he blesses it ever when journeying by ;
Long years have pass'd o'er it, and yet every soul
Will thrill, in the night, to its wonderful roll ;
For it speaks in its belfry, when kiss'd by the blast,
Like a glory-breathed tone from the mj^stical past.
Long years shall roll o'er it, and j'^et every chime
Shall unceasingly tell of an era sublime ;
Oh, yes ! if the flame on our altars should pale.

Let its voice but be heard, and the freeman shall start
To rekindle the fire, while he sees on the gale

All the stars and the stripes of the flag of his heart."

William Koss Wallace.

In an address to the inhabitants of the United States of
America, by Congress, are found the following Christian senti-
ments and principles : —

'^ America, without arms, ammunition, discipline, revenue,
government, or ally, almost stripped of commerce, and in the
weakness of youth as it were, v/ith a ' staff and a sling' only,
dared, ^in the name of the Lord of Hosts,' to engage a
gigantic adversary, prepared at all points, boasting of his

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 223

strength, and of whom even mighty warriors 'were greatly
afraid.'

"As to inferior officers employed in the public service, we
&.NXIOUSLY desire to call your most vigilant attention to their
conduct with respect to every species of misbehavior, whether
proceeding from ignorance, negligence, or fraud, and to the
making of laws for inflicting exemplary punishment on all
offenders of this kind.

'' Your government being now established, and your ability to
contend with your invaders ascertained, we have, on most
mature deliberation, judged it indispensably necessary to call
upon you for forty millions of dollars, &c.

" We are persuaded you will use all possible care to make the
promotion of the general welfare interfere as little as may be
with the care and comfort of individuals : but thous-h the
raising of these sums should press heavily on some of your con-
stituents, yet the obligations we feel to your venerable clergy,
the truly helpless w^idows and orphans, your most galLant, gene-
rous, meritorious officers and soldiers, the public faith, and the
common weal, so irresistibly urge us to attempt the appreciation
of your clemency, that we cannot withhold obedience to these
authoritative declarations.

" On this subject we will only add, that, as the rules of justice
are most pleasing to our infinitely good and gracious Creator,
and an adherence to tliern most likely to obtain his favor, so they
will ever be found to be tJie best and safest maxims of human
policy.

"What nation ever engaged in such a contest, under such a
complication of disadvantages, so soon surmounted many of
them, and in so short a period of time had so certain a prospect
of a speedy and happy conclusion? We will venture to pro-
nounce that so remarkable an instance exists not in the annals
of mankind. Encouraged by favors already received from
Infinite Goodness, gratefully acknowledging them, earnestly
imploring their continuance, constantly endeavoring to draw
them down on your heads by an amendment of your lives and
a conformity to the Divine will, humbly confiding in the pro-
tection so often and wonderfully experienced, vigorously employ
the means placed by Providence in your hands for completing
your labors.

"Effectually superintend the behavior of pul^lic ofiicers, di7i-

224 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

gently lyi'omote piety, virtue, brotherly love, learning, frugality,
and moderation; and may you be approved before Almighty
God, worthy of these blessings we devoutly wish you to enjoy.

''Done in Congress, by unanimous consent, this twenty-sixth
day of May, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine.

''John Jay, President,

"Attest, Charles Tho^ison, Secretary ^

The Sabbath, in its moral and political influences, was re-
garded by the Puritans and the Christian statesmen of the Ee-
volution as an essential pillar of support to the civil edifice.

The Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, on the 15 th of
June, 1775, adopted the following, on the Sabbath : —

"As it has pleased J.^?7ii^A?^y God, in his providence, to suffer
the calamities of an unnatural war to take place among us, in
consequence of our sinful declensions from him, and our great
abuse of those invaluable blessings bestowed upon us ; and as
we have reason to fear, unless we become a penitent and re-
formed people, we shall feel still severer tokens of the Divine
displeasure; and as the most effectual way to escape those deso-
lating judgments which so evidently hang over us, and, if it
may be, obtain the restoration of our former tranquillity, will
be that we repent and return every one from his iniquities
unto Him that correcteth us, which if we do in sincerity and
truth, we have no reason to doubt but he will remove his judg-
ments, cause our enemies to be at peace with us, and prosper
the work of our hands.

"And as among the prevailing sins of this day, which
threaten the destruction of this land, we have reason to lament
the frequent profanations of the Lord's day, or Christian Sdb^
hath; many spending their time in idleness or sloth, others in
diversions, and others in journeying, or business which is not
necessary on that day ; and, as we earnestly desire that a stop
may be put to this great and prevailing evil, it is, therefore,

"JResolved, That it be recommended by this Congress to the people of
all ranks and denominations throughout this colony, that they not only
pay a religious regard to that day, and to the public worship of God.
thereon, but that they also use their influence to discountenance and
suppress any profanation thereof in others.

"And it is further Besolved, That it be recommended to the ministers
of the gospel to read this resolve to their several congregations, accom-
panied -vYith such exhortations as they shall think proper.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 225

*' And whereas there is great danger that the profanation of the Lordts
day will prevail in the camp, we earnestly recommend to all the officers
not only to set a good example, but that they strictly require of their
soldiers to keep up a religious regard to that day, and attend upon the
public worship of God there, so far as may be consistent with other
duties/'

The Provincial Congress of Georgia, Thursday, July 6, 1775,
adopted the following resolution : —

10. That we will, in our several stations, encourage frugality,
economy, and industry, and promote agriculture, arts, and the manu-
factures of British America, especially that of wool, and will discounte-
nance and discourage every species of extravagance and dissipation,
especially horse-racing, and every kind of gaming, cock-fighting, exhi-
bition of shows, plays, and other expensive diversions and entertain-
ments ; and on the death of any relation or friend, none of us, or any
of our families, shall go into any farther mourning dress than a black
crape or ribbon on the arm or hat for gentlemen, and a black ribbon or
necklace for ladies ; and we will discontinue the giving of gloves and
scarfs at funerals.

These facts show the religious sentiments and make us
acquainted with the religious feelings of the members of the
Continental Congress. That body of statesmen paid respect to
religion by system, on principle, and in their official acts.
Their state papers do not merely contain general references to
a superintending Providence and a supreme Creator and Gover-
nor of the world, but they usually contain sentiments un-
equivocally Christian. Their journals disclose various circum-
stances which indicate the personal interest taken by the mem-
bers in the stated and occasional religious services.

" Thus our republic," said Mr. Giddings, in Congress, '' was
founded on religious truth, and it was thus far emphatically a re-
ligious government. It has ever been sustained by the religious
sentiment of the nation, and it will only fail when this element
shall be discarded by the people. The Philadelphia Convention
(the Continental Congress) will be remembered in coming time
as the first, in the history of political parties of our nation,
to make religious truths the basis of its political action, and
first to proclaim the rights of mankind as universal, to bo
enjoyed equally by princes and people, by rulers and the most
humble. It was the first to proclaim the fatherhood of God
and the brotherhood of man."

The Continental Congress, in the foregoing acts, kept in view

15

226 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

the true aims and ends of a civil government, as expressed
by Kev. E. D. McMaster, D.D., in his inaugural address as
President of the Miami University of Ohio. He says, —

'' According to the notions that perhaps generally prevail, the
end of civil society and its governmental institutions is an end
purely secular, and this even not the highest of that class of ends.
Its object, as is supposed, is to prevent men from the invasion
of each other's persons and estates, and, after that, according to
the various theories of different political schools, more or less
to regulate and promote the industrial pursuits and interests
of the members of the community. Nothing can be more
unworthy the dignity of the subject, or more untrue, than
these low conceptions of the object of civil institutions. The
highest end of a state and of its whole order is a moral end, —
that is, a religious end. It is that by a scrupulous respect in
all its own legislation and administration at home, and in all its
relations and intercourse with other nations abroad, to do right,
by the equitable and vindicatory punishment of crime and the
establishment of justice, it may inspire and cherish in its citi-
zens the love of righteousness. It is thus a great ^noral institu-
tion, of high dignity and of mighty power, whose highest end
is the development of man's moral nature and the forming of
him to virtue in this respect, and ultimately in all the glory
of God, whose ordinance it is."

CHAPTER XL

THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE ERA OF THE REVOLUTION — NATURE Ot

WRITTEN CONSTITUTIONS NEED OF A RELIGIOUS SANCTION VIEW OP

DE WITT CLINTON — VIEW OF WINTHROP DOCTIiiXKS OF CHRISTIANITY INCOR-
PORATED INTO ALL THE STATE CONSTITUTION f- — CHRISTIAN ARTICLES OF THB
CONSTITUTION — DECLARE THE DIVINITY OF THE BIBLE — CIVIL OFFICERS RE-
QUIRED TO SUBSCRIBE TO ITS DOCTRINES THE PRESENT STATE CONSTITU-
TIONS CHRISTIAN — LEGISLATION OF NEW YORK ON THB SABBATH — PROVIN-
CIAL CONGRESS OF NEW YORK — ITS PROCLAMATION — GENERAL COURT OP
MASSACHUSETTS — ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE — PROCLAMATION.

When a people assume the condition and dignity of a civil
state, their first want and effort is a just constitution of govern-
ment. This accomplished, it affords the highest evidence of their

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 227

progress in intelligence, liberty, and social order. But the
constitution of every natio?i., if it secures great moral and poli-
tical prosperity, must be enforced by sanctions which are higher
and more authoritative than human parchments and laws.
Their practical force ami value must be derived from, faith in
God and the sanctions of the Divine law. Hence the men who
have founded states on written constitutions have always
resorted to religious sanctions to give practical power to
their constitutions and to enforce the laws of the government.
This great principle is coexistent in all governments, whether
pagan or Christian. Every oath that is taken to support a
constitution acknowledges the power and necessity of the sanc-
tions of religion. It is an appeal to Grod in behalf of constitu-
tional government, — to give it authority, by making the legis-
lation of conscience and accountability to God support and
uphold the laws of the land.

'' The sanctions of the Divine law," says De Witt Clinton, in
an address delivered before the American Bible Society, May,
1823, '' supply all deficiencies, cover the whole area of human
action, reach every case, punish every sin, and recompense
every virtue. Its rewards and punishments are graduated
with perfect justice, and its appeals to the hopes and fears of
men are of the most potential character and transcendent
influence. The codes of men and the laws of opinion and
government derive a great portion of their weight from the
influence of a future w^orld. Justice cannot be administered
without the sanction of truth ; and the great security against
perjury is the amenability of another state. The sanctions
of religion compose the foundations of good government ; and
tlie ethics, doctrines, and examples furnished by Chi'ist exhibit
the best models for the laws of opinion."

" All societies of men," says Winthrop, a member of Congress,
and Speaker of the House of Eepresentatives in 1848, '^ must
be governed in some way or other. The less they may have
of stringent state government, the more they must have of
individual self-government. The less they rely on public law
or physical force, the more they must rely on private moral
restraint. Men, in a word, must necessarily be con t roller!,
either by a power within them or by a power without thom ;
either by the word of God or by the strong ai'ui of man;

228 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

either "by tlie Bible or by the bayonet. It may do for other
countries and other governments to talk about the state sup-
porting religion : here, under our free institutions, it is religion
which must support the state."

Lord Bacon, in enumerating what he calls the four pillars of
government, three of which are justice, counsel, and treasure,
places religion as the first in order and importance, says, —

'^ The reason why religion is universally and justly repre-
sented as essential to the prosperity of states, is not less obviou.=i
than the fact. The object of government is to enforce among
individuals the observance of the moral law, and states are pros-
perous in proportion as this object is attained. But the only
effectual sanction to this law is the Christian relisrian. Hence
a government which neglects the care of religion is guilty of
the folly of promulgating laws unaccompanied with any ade-
quate sanction of requiring the community to obey without pre-
senting to their minds the motives that generally induce to a
prompt and cheerful obedience. Under these circumstances, the
only resource left to the public authorities is mere physical
force ; and experience has abundantly shown that this is wholly
ineffectual, excepting as an aid and supplement, in particular
cases, to the moral influences, which alone can be depended on
for the preservation of the tranquillity and good order of
society. There are persons, and even parties, who, at the very
moment when the use of physical force as an engine of govern-
ment is discredited and abandoned, seem to be laboring with a
sort of frantic energy to destroy the influence of all the moral
motives that can be substituted for it, — more especially religion.
I have said, and I repeat, that if while we abandon the use of phy-
sical force as an engine of maintaining order we should also dis-
card the only valuable and effectual moral influence, and leave the
individual to the undirected guidance of his own selfish passions,
our institutions will be found to be impracticable, and society
will fall into a state of dissolution."

Such views were radical in the faith of the Puritans and of
the statesmen of the Eevolution, and they incorporated the fun-
damental doctrines of Christianity into their systems of govern-
ment. The following facts found in the State Constitutions
of the Revolution demonstrate the Christian life and character
of our civil institutions.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 229

The Constitution of Massachusetts,

In 1780, inserted the following organic law on the subject of the
Christian religion : —

*' That as the happiness of a people, and the good order and preser-
vation of civil government, essenlialhj depend upon piety, religion, and mo-
ral'dif, and as these cannot be generally diffused through a community
hut by tlie institution of t}(£ public worship of God, and of public instruction in
piety, relifion, and morality : therefore, to promote their happiness and to
secure the good order and preservation of their government, the
people of this commonwealth have a right to invest their legislature
with power to authorize and require, and the legislature shall, from tinie to
time, a^f-thjorize arul require, the several towns, parishes, precincts, and other
bodies politic, or religious societies, to 'nmhe suitable provimn, at their own
expense, for the instituiioyi of the public worship, and for the support and mainten-
ance of public Protestant teachers of piety, religion, and morality, in all cases
where such provision shall not be made voluntarily ; and the people of
this commonwealth have also a right to, and do, invest their legislature
with authority to enjoin upon all their subjects an attendance upon tlie instructions
of t/ie public teachers aforesaid at stated times and seasons, if there be any on
whose instructions they can conscientiously attend." And that " because
a frequent recurrence to the fundamental principles of the Constitution,
and a constant adherence to those of piety, justice, moderation, temper-
ance, industry, and frugality, are ab{Solutely necessary to preserve the
advantage of liberty and to maintain a free government, the people
ought consequently to have a particular regard to all those priyiciple-s in the
choice of their ofveers and representatives ; and tJiey have a right to require of
their Lawgivers and magistrates an exact and constayit observance of them in the
formation and execution of all laws necessary for the good of the com-
monwealth." And that every person "chosen governor, lieutenant-
governor, senator, or representative, and iiccepting the trust, shall sub-
scribe a solemn profession that he believes ix tub Christiax religion,

AND UAS A FIRM I'ERSUASIOX OF ITS TRUTH."

" I am clearly of opinion," said Mr. Webster, in the Conven-
tion of Massachusetts, in 1820, met to revise the Constitution,
" that we should not strike out of the Constitution all recogni-
tion of the Christian religion. I am desirous, in so solemn a
transaction as the establishment of a Constitution, that wo
should keep in it an expression of our resjioct and attachment
to Christianity, — not, indeed, to any of its peculiar forms, but to
its general principles." Another })art of the Constitution recog-
nizes in the fullest manner the benefits which civil society
derives from those Christian institutions which cherish piety,
morality, and religion. •

230 CHKISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTES OF THE

The Coi^stitution of South CaeoliisA,

Adopted in 1778, declares Cliri&tianitj to be the fundamental
law of tlie State, in tlie following language : —

That all persons and religious societies who acknowledge that there
is one God, and a future state of rewarfs and punishments, and that
God is to be publicly worshipped, shall be tolerated. The Christian
Protestant religion shall be deemed, and is hereby constituted and
declared to be, the established religion of the State, Th.at all denomi-
nations of Christian Protestants in this State, demeaning themselves
peaceably and faithfully, shall enjoy eqnal religions and ciyil privileges.
To accomplish this desirable purj)ose without injury to the religious
property of those societies of Christians which are by law already incor-
porated for the purpose of religious worship, and to put it fully into the
power of every other society of Christian Protestants, either already
formed or hereafter to be formed, to obtain the like incorporation, it is
hereby constituted, appointed, and declared that the respective societies
of the Church of England, that ai-e already formed in this State for the
purpose of religious woi'iship, shall continue incorporate and hold the
religious property now in their possession. And that whenever fifteen or
more male persons not under twenty-one j^ears of age, professing the
Christian Protestant religion, and agreeing to unite themselves in a
society for the purposes of religious worship, they shall (on complying
with the terms hereinafter mentioned) be and be constituted a Cliurch,
and be esteemed and regarded in law as of the established religion of
the State, and on a petition to the legislature shall be entitled to be
incorporated and to enjoy equal privileges. That every society of Chris-
tians so formed shall give themselves a name or denomination, by
which they shall be called and known in law, and all that associate with
them for the purpose of worship shall be esteemed as belonging to the
society so called ; but that previous to the establishment and incorpora-
tion of the respective societies of every denomination as aforesaid, and
in order to entitle them thereto, each society so petitioning shall have
agreed to and subscribed in a book the five following articles, — without
which no agreement or union of men upon pretence of religion shall
entitle them to be incorpoFated and esteemed as a church of the esta-
blished religion of the State. (See Locke's Const., Arts. 97-100).

I. That there is one Eternal God, a future state of rewards and pun-
ishments.

II. That God is to be publicly worshipped.

III. That the Christian religion is the true religion.

IV. That the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are of
divine inspiration, and are the rule of faith and practice,

V. That it is lawful, and the duty of every man being thereunto
called by those that govern, to bear Avitness to truth. That every inhabit-
ant of this State, when called to make an appeal to God as a witness to
truth, shall be permitted to do it in that way which is most agreeable to
the dictalffes of his own conscience. And that the people of this State

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES." 231

may forever enjoy the right of electing their own pastors or clergy, and,
at the same time, that the State may have sufficient security for the due
discharge of the pastoral office by those who shall be admitted to bo
clergymen, no person shall officiate as minister of any established
church who shall not have been chosen by a majority of the society to
which he shall minister, or by persons appointed by the said majority
to choose ami procure a minister for them, nor until the minister so
chosen and appointed shall have made and subscribed the following
declaration, over and above the aforesaid five articles, viz. : —

That he is determined, by God's grace, out op the holy scriptures,
to instruct the people committed to his charge, and to teach nothing
{as required of necessity to eternal salvation) but that which he shall
be persuaded may be concluded and proved from the Scrij)tures ; that
he will use both public and private admonitions, as well to the sick as
to the whole within his cure, as need shall require and occasion shall
be given ; and that he will be diligent in prayers, and in reading of the
Holy Scriptures, and in such studies as help to the knowledge of the
same ; that he will be diligent to frame and fashion his own self and
his family according to the doctrine of Christ, and to make both him-
self and them, as much as in him lieth, wholesome examples and pat-
terns to the flock of Christ ; that he will maintain and set forward, as
much as he can, quietness, peace, and love among all the people, and
especially among those who are or shall be committed to his charge.

No person shall disturb or molest any religious assembly, nor shall
use any reproachful, railing, or abusive language against any Church,
that being the certain way of disturbing the peace, and of hindering
the conversion of any to the truth, by engaging them in quarrels and
animosities, to the hatred of the professors, and that profession which
otherwise they might be brought to assent to. No person whatsoever
shall speak any thing in their religious assembly irreverently or sedi-
tiously of the government of the State. No i3erson shall by law be
obliged to pay towards the maintenance and support of a religious wor-
ship that he does not freely join in or has not voluntarily engaged to
support ; but the churches, chapels, parsonages, glebes, and all other
property now belonging to any societies of the Church of Kngland, or
any other religious societies, shall remain and be secured to them for-
ever.

They should choose by ballot from among themselves, or from the
people at large, a governor and commander-in-chief, a lieutenant-gov-
ernor, and privy council, all of the Protestant rdiyion ; that no j^erson
should be eligible to a seat in the Senate unless he he of the Protestant
religion; that no person should be eligible to sit in the House of Ke]n-e-
sentatives unless he be 0/ the Protestant religion.

VlIlGINIA,

In Ikt organic cliaiter and legislative acts, affirms the truth of
the Christian system in terms as follows : —

By an act of the Assembly in 1705, it was doclarod, that if

232 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

any person brought up in the Christian religion denies the being
of a God or the Trinity, or asserts that there are more Gods
than one, or denies the Christian religion to be true, or the
Scriptures to be of divine authority, he is punishable, on the
first offence by incapacity to hold office or employment, eccle-
siastical, civil, or military ; on the second, by disability to sue,
to take any gift or legacy, to be guardian, executor, or admi-
nistrator, and by three years' imprisonment without bail.

This act may be found in Jefferson's Works, vol. viii. p. 399.

This law, opposed to the spirit of Christianity while affirming
its divinity, was abolished in 1786 by the following

Act for Establishing Religious Freedom.

Well aware that Almighty God hath created the mind free ; that all
attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burdens, or by
civil incapacitations, tend not only to beget habits of hypocrisy and
meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the Author of our Re-
ligion, who, being Lord both of the body and mind, yet chose not to
propagate it by coercion on either, as was in his almighty power to do :

Be it, therefore, enacted by the General Assembly, That no man shall be
compelled to frequent or support any religious Avorship, place, or minis-
try, whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened
in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his reli-
gious opinions or belief ; but that all men shall be free to profess and
by argument to maintain their opinions in matters of religion, and that
the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.

This act, passed under the auspices of Mr. Jefferson, he
regarded as one of the best works of his life.

The Declaration of Eights, which passed unanimously the
Virginia Legislature, June 12, 1776, affirmed that

Its free government could be preserved but by a firm adherence to
justice, moderation, benevolence, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent
recurrence to fundamental principles and the manner of discharging it.
Religion is the duty we owe our Creator, and can be directed only by
reason, not by force and violence ; and therefore all men are equally
entitled to the free exercise of it according to the dictates of conscience ;
and it is the mutual duty of all to practise Christian forbearance, love
and charity towards each other.

The following ancient laws of Virginia show the historic fact
of the incorporation of the Christian religion and its ordinances
into the civil government of that Commonwealth.

In 1662 it was enacted that

Every person who should refuse to have his child baptized by a lawful

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 233

minister shall be amerced two thousand pounds of tobacco, half to be
paid to the parish, half to the informer.

The whole liturgy of the Church of England shall be thoroughly read
at church, or chapel, every Sunday ; and the canons for divine service
duly observed.

Church-wardens shall present at the county court, twice every year,
in December and April, such misdemeanors of swearing, drunkenness,
fornication, &c. as by their own knowledge, or common fame, have
been committed during their being church-wardens.

Enacted that the Lord's Day be kept holy, and no journeys be made
on that day, unless upon necessity. And all persons inhabiting in this
country, having no lawful excuse, shall, every Sunday, resort to the parish
church or chapel, and there abide orderly during the common prayer,
preaching, and divine service, upon the penalty of being fined fifty
pounds of tobacco by the county court.

In 1668,

The 27th of August appointed for a day of humiliation, fasting, and
prayer, to implore God's mercy : if any person be found upon that day
gaming, drinking, or working (works of necessity excej^ted), upon pre-
sentment by church-wardens and proof, he shall be fined one hundred
pounds of tobacco, half to the informer, and half to the poor of the
parish.

The Constitution of Pennsylvania,

Adopted in 1776, declares that the Legislature shall consist of
** persons most noted for wisdom and virtue," and that every
member should subscribe the following declaration : —

I do believe in one God, the Creator and Governor of the universe,
the Rewarder of the good, and the Punisher of the wicked ; and I
acknowledge the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be given
by inspiration.

The Constitution of North Carolina,
Bearing date 1776, declares

That no person who should deny the being of a God, or tho trutli of the
Protestant religion, or the divine authority of either the OM or Now
Testaments, or who should hold religious j)riuei]iles imompatiblo with
the freedom and safety of the State, sliould be cajuible of hohling any
oflfice or place of trust in the civil government of this State.

Delaware,
In hor first Constitution, formed during the Revolution, made
the following declaration : —

That ev«'ry citizin who should be cliosen a ni«nibor of either house

234 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEE OF THE

of the Legislature, or appointed to any other office, should be required
to subscribe to the following declaration : — " I do 2:»rofess faith in God the
Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ his only Son, and in the Holy
G-host, one God and blessed for evermore ; and I do acknowledge the
Ifoly Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be given by divine
inspiration."

Maryland

Formed a State Constitution in 1776, and the Declaration of
Rights (Art. XIX.) says,—

That as it is the duty of every man to worship God in such manner
as he thinks most acceptable to him, all persons professing the Christian
religion are equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty.
And (in Art. XXXY.) " That no other qualification ought to be required
on admission to any office of trust or profit than such oath of support
and fidelity to this State, and such oath of office, as shall be directed by
this Constitution or the Legislature of this State, and a declaration of belief
m the Christian religion."

The Constitution also authorized the Legislature '' to lay a
general tax for the support of the Christian religion."

New Jersey,
In her Constitution formed in 1776, declares

That there shall be no establishment of any one religious sect in
this province in 2:>reference to another, and that no Protestant inhabit-
ant of this colony shall be denied the enjoyment of any civil right on
account of his religious principles ; but

That all persons professing a belief in the faith of any Protestant sect,
and who should demean himself peaceably under the government,
should be capable of being elected unto any office of profit or trust, or
of being a member of either branch of the Legislature.

The following instructions from the Legislature of New Jersey
to its delegates in Congress in 1777 will exhibit the high
Christian sentiments of the men who directed the civil and
military concerns of the Revolution. Among the delegates
were John Witherspoon and Elias Boudinot. The Legislature
instructs as follows :

1. We hope you will habitually bear in mind that the success of the
great cause in which the United States are engaged depends upon the
favor and blessing of Almighty God ; and therefore you will neglect
nothing w^hich is competent to the Assembly of the States for pro-
moting piety and good morals among the people at large. But especially
we desire that you may give attention to this circumstance in the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 235

government of the army, taking care that such of the articles of war as
forbid profaneness, riot, and debauchery be observed and enforced with
all due strictness and severity. This, we aj^prehend, is absolutely
necessary for the encouragement and maintenance of good discipline,
and will be the means of recruiting the army with men of credit and
principle, — an object ardently to be wished, but not to be expected if
the warmest friends of their country should be deterred from sending
their sons and connections into the service, lest they should be tainted
with impious and immoral notions and contract vicious habits.

New Hampshiee

Formed a State Constitution in 1776; and in it declares

That morality and piety, rightly grounded on evangelical principles,
would give the best and greatest security to government, and would lay
in the hearts of men the strongest obligation to due subjection ; and
that the knowledge of these was most likely to be propagated by the
institution of the public worship of the Deity and instruction in mo-
rality and religion.

The Constitution of the same State in 1792 empowered the
Legislature to adopt measures " for the support and maintenance
of public Protestant teachers of piety, religion, and morality."

The province of New Hampshire, in a convention composed
of one hundred and forty-four deputies appointed by the various
towns in the province aforesaid, after resolving " that we heartily
approve of the proceedings of the late grand Continental Con-
gress," jjassed the following : —

Lastly, we earnestly entreat you, at this time of tribulation and
distress, when your enemies are urging you to despair, when every
scene around is full of gloom and horror, that, in imitation of your
pious forefathers, you implore the divine Being, who alone is able to
<Jeliver you from your present unhappy and distressing situation, to es-
pouse your rigliteous cause, secure your liberties, and fix them on a
firm and lasting basis.

The Constitution of Georgia,

Adopted in 1777, declares that "all the members of the Legis-
lature shall be of tho Protestant religion."

The Constitution of Vermont
Declares that

Fvery R(^ct or denomination of Christians ought to obsorvf tho S;d>-
bath or Lord's Day, and keep u\) some sort of religious worship, which
to them shall seem most agretablo to the rt'vcul<.<l will i>f dod.

236 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Connecticut,

In Part 7, sec. 1 of lier Constitution, declared that, —

It being the duty of all men to worship the Supreme Being, the
great Creator and Preserver of the Universe, and their right to
render that worship in the mode most consistent with the dictates of
their consciences, no person shall, by law% be compelled to join or sup-
port, nor be classed ^^nth or associated to, any congregation, church, or
religious association. But every person now belonging to such congre-
gation, church, or religious association shall remain a member thereof,
until he shall have separated himself therefrom, in the manner herein-
after provided. And each and every society or denomination of Chris-
tians in this State shall have and enjoy the same and equal powers,
rights, and privileges, and shall have power and authority to suj)port
and maintain the ministers or teachers of their respective denomi-
nations, and to build and repair houses for public worship, by a tax on
the members of any such society only, to be laid by a major vote of the
legal voters assembled at any society meeting, warned and held accord-
ing to law, or in any other manner.

The Charter of Rhode Island,

Granted by Charles II., in 1682-83, and which continued to be
the Constitution of that Commonwealth till 1843, says, —

The object of the colonists is to pursue, with peace and loyal
minds, their sober, serious, and religious intentions of godly edifying
themselves and one another in the holy Christian faith and worship,
together with the gaining over and conversion of the poor ignorant
Indian natives to the sincere j^i'ofession and obedience of the same
faith and W'Orship.

The Constitution of JSIew York,

Though less full and explicit on the subject than those of other
States, yet contains an organic act recognizing the Christian
religion. The Constitution of 1777 has the following articles,
the same as those inserted in the Constitution formed in 1821 : —

And Whereas we are required, by the benevolent principles of rational
liberty, not only to expel civil tyranny, but also to guard against that
spiritual oppression and intolerance wherewith the bigotry and ambi-
tion of weak and wicked priests and princes have scourged mankind:
this Convention doth further, in the name and by the authority of the
good people of this State, ordaix, determine, and declare that the free
exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without
discrimination or preference, shall forever hereafter be allowed within
this State to all mankind: Provided, That the liberty of conscience
hereby granted shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentious-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 237

ness or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this
State.

And Whereas the ministers of the gospel are, by their profession,
dedicated to the service of God and the cure of souls, and ought not
to be diverted from the great duties of their functions : therefore, no
minister of the gospel, or priest of any denomination whatsoever, shall,
at any time hereafter, under any pretence or description whatever, be
eligible to or capable of holding any civil or military office or place
within this State.

An examination of tlie present Constitutions of the various
States, now existing, will show that the Christian religion and
its institutions are recognized as the religion of the Government
and the nation.

The recognitions of Christianity in the State Constitutions are
of three kinds. 1. These instruments are usually dated in the
year of our Lord. 2. ISTearly all of them refer to the observance
of Sunday by the Chief Executive Magistrate, in the same way
in which such observance is referred to in the Constitution of
the United States. 3. All the State Constitutions, or legislation
under them, guard with vigilance the religious observance of
the Christian Sabbath, and punish, with greater or less severity,
all unlawful violation of the day. 4. Definite constitutional
provisions not only recognizing the Christian religion, but
affording it countenance, encouragement, and protection.

''In perusing the thirty-four Constitutions of the United
States, we find all of them recognizing Christianity as the-well-
known and well-established religion of the communities whose
legal, civil, and political foi^ndations they are. The terms
of this recognition are more or less distinct in the Consti-
tutions of the different States ; but they exist in all of them.
The reason why any degree of indistinctness exists in any of
them, unquestionably, is that at their formation it never came
into the minds of the IVamers to suppose that the existence of
Christianity as the religion of their communities could ever
admit of a question. Nearly all these Constitutions recognize
the customary observance of Sunday ; and a suitable observance
of this day includ(.'S a performance of all the peculiar duties of
the Christian faith. The Constitution of Vermont declares
tliat ' every sect or denomination of Christians ought to observe
the Sabbath or Lord's Day, and keep up some sort of religious
worship, which to them shall seem most agreeable to the revealed
will of Co.l' The Constitutions of Massachusetts and Mary-

238 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

land are among those which do not prescribe the observance of
8unday : yet the former dechires it to be ' the right, as well as
the duty, of all men in society, publicly and at stated seasons to
worship the Supreme Being, the great Creator and Preserver of
the universe ;* and the latter requires every person appointed to
any office of profit or trust to ' subscribe a declaration of his
belief in the Christian religion.' Two of them concur in the
sentiment that 'morality and piety, rightly grounded on evan-
gelical principles, will be the best and greatest security to
government ; and that the knowledge of these is most likely to
be propagated through a society by the institution of the
public worship of the Deity, and of public instruction in
morality and religion.' Only a small part of what the Consti-
tutions of the States contain in regard to the Christian religion
is here cited. At the same time, they all grant the free exercise
and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, with some
slight discriminations, to all mankind. The principle obtained
by the foregoing inductive examination of our State Consti-
tutions is this: — The people of the United States have

RETAINED THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION AS THE FOUNDATION OF
THEIR CIVIL, LEGAL, AND POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS; WHILE
THEY HAVE REFUSED TO CONTINUE A LEGAL PREFERENCE TO
ANY ONE OF ITS FORMS OVER ANY OTHER."

In 1838, the Legislature of New York, in a report from the
Com.mittee on Petitions, 'Spraying a repeal of the laws for the
observance of the Sabbath," by a vote nearly unanimous
reje-cted the petition, and declar^l that, — ■

In all countries, some kind of religion or otlier lias e^^stecl in all ages.
No people on the face of the globe are without a prevailing national reli-
gion. Magistrates have sought in many countries to strengthen civil
government by an alliance with some particular religion and an intole-
rant exclusion of all other?. But those who have wielded this formi-
dable power have rendered it a rival instead of an auxiliary to the public
welfare, — a fetter instead of a protection to the rights of conscience.
With us it is wisely ordered that no one religion shall be established
by law, but that all persons shall be left free in their choice and in
their mode of worship. Still, this is a Christian, iiation. Kinety-nine
hundredths, if not a larger proportion, of our whole population, believe
in the general doctrines of the Christian religion. Our Government de-
pends for its being on the virtue of the people, — on that virtue that has
its foundation in the morality of the Christian religion ; and that reli-
gion is the common and prevailing faith of the people. There are, it
is true, exceptions to this belief; but general laws are not made for ex-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 239

cepted cases. There are to be found, here and there, the world over,
individuals who entertain opinions hostile to the common sense of man-
kind on subjects of honesty, humanity, and decency; but it would be a
kind of republicanism with which we are not acquainted in this country,
which would require the great mass of mankind to yield to and be
governed by this few.

It is quite unnecessary to enter into a detailed review of all the evi-
dences that Christianity is the common creed of this nation. We know
it, and we feel it, as we know and feel any other unquestioned and
admitted truth ; the evidence is all around us, and before us, and with
us. We know, too, that the exceptions to this general belief are rare, —
so very rare that they are sufficient only, like other exceptions, to prove
a general rule.

The following papers reflect the Christian tone of the civil
government and people of New York during the era of the
Eevolution : —

Die Saturnii, 9 ho. a.m., July 8. 1775,
The Continental Congress having recommended it to the inhabitants
of the Colonies to keep the twentieth day of July instant, 1775, as a
day of fasting and prayer, this Congress does strictly enjoin all persons
in this colony religiously to observe the said recommendation. And
we, being tauglit by that holy religion, declared by the merciful Jems
and sealed by his blood, that we ought to acknowledge the hand of God
in all public calamities, and being thoroughly convinced that the Grreat
Disposer of events regardeth the hearts of his creatures, do most ear-
nestly recommend it to all men to conform themselves to the pure dic-
tates of Christianity, and by deep repentance, and sincere amendment
of their lives, implore of our heavenly Father that favor and protection
which he alone can give.

CoMSixTTEE-CnAMBER, Xew York, May, 1776.
Whereas the honorable Continental Congress have appointed and
earnestly recommend " that the 17tli inst. (being to-morrow) be ob-
served by tlic United Colonies as a day of humiliation, fasting, and
prayer, that we may with united hearts confess and bewail our mani-
fold sins and transgressions against God, and, by a sincere roi)entanco
and amendment of life, as a people, appease his righteous displeasure
against us, humbly imploring his assistance to frustrate the cruel pur-
poses of our unnatural enemies, and, by inclining their hearts to justice
and peace, prevent the further effusion of luinian blood ; but if, continu-
ing deaf to the voice of reason and humanity, and inflexil)ly bent on
desolation and war, they constrain us to rei)el their liostile invasions by
open resistance, that it may please the Lord of hosts, the God of armies,
to animate our officers and soldiers with invincible fortitude, to guard
and j)rot«'ct them in the day of battle, and to crown the Continental
armies, by sea and land, with victory and success; tliat he may bless
all our representatives in General Congress, Provincial Congress, Con-
ventions, and Committees; preacrvo and strengthen their union, give

24:0 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

wisdom and stability to their councils, and direct the most efficient
measures for establishing the rights of America on the most honorable
and permanent basis ; that he would be graciously pleased to bless all
the people in these colonies with health and plenty, and grant that a
spirit of incorruptible patriotism and of pure and undefiled religion
may universally prevail, and that this continent may be speedily restored
to the blessings of peace and liberty, and enabled to transmit them
inviolate to the latest posterity." It is therefore expected that all the
inhabitants of this city and county do, on the morrow, abstain from all
and every kind of servile labor, business, and employment, and attend
upon divine service in public, which will be performed in all churches
in this city ; that no persons (but such as are in the Continental service,
whose business may require it) will be permitted to cross the ferries,
ride or walk out of town, or about the streets, for amusement or diversion ;
and that all parents and masters will be careful to restrain their chil-
dren from playing and straggling about this city on the ensuing day,
which ought to be, and we trust will be, regarded as the most solemn
day this devoted continent has ever yet beheld.

A true copy from the minutes. Published by order of the Committee,

Joseph Winter, Secretary.

The following extracts from a proclamation issued by the
Great and General Court of Massachusetts Bay in January,
1776, exhibit the high Christian character of the government
of that Commonwealth : —

As the happiness of the people is the sole end of government, so
the consent of the people is the only foundation of it, in reason, mo-
rality, and the natural fitness of things. And therefore every act of
government, every exercise of sovereignty, against or without the con-
sent of the people, is injustice, usurpation, and tyranny.

It is a maxim of every government that there must exist some-
where a supreme, sovereign, absolute, and uncontrollable power ; but
this power resides always in the body of the people, and it never was
or can be delegated to one man or a few, — the great Creator having
never given to men a right to invest authority over them unlimited
either in duration or degree.

When kings, ministers, governors, or legislators, therefore, instead
of exercising the powers intrusted to them according to the principles,
forms, and propositions stated by the constitution and established
by the original compact, prostitute those powers to the purposes of
oppression, — to subvert instead of supporting a free constitution, — to
destroy instead of preserving the lives, liberties, and properties of
the people, — they are no longer to be deemed magistrates vested
with a sacred character, but become public enemies, and ought to be
resisted.

The present generation may be congratulated on the acquisition of
a form of government more immediately, in all its branches, under the
influence and control of the people, and therefore more free and happy

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 241

than was enjoyed by their ancestors. But, as a government so popular
can be supported only by universal knowledge and virtue in the body
of the peoi^le, it is the duty of all ranks to promote the means of edu-
cation for the rising generation, as well as true religion, purity of man-
ners, and integrity of life, among all orders and degrees.

That piety and virtue, which alone can secure the freedom of any
people, may be encouraged, and vice and immorality suppressed, the
Great and General Court have thought fit to issue this proclamation,
commanding and enjoining it upon the good people of this colony that
they lead sober, religious, and peaceable lives, avoiding all blasphemies,
contempt of the Iloly Scriptures and of the Lord's Day, and all other
crimes and misdeameanors, all debauchery, profaneness, corruption,
revelry, all riotous and tumultuous proceedings, and all immoralities
whatsoever ; and that they decently and reverently attend the public
worshij^ of God, at all times acknowledging with gratitude his merciful
interposition in their behalf, devoutly confiding in him as the God of
armies, by whose favor and protection alone they may hope for success
in their present conflict.

And all judges, justices, sheriffs, grand jurors, tithing-men, and all
other civil officers within this colony, are hereby strictly enjoined and
commanded that they contribute all in their power, by their example,
towards a general reformation of manners, and that they bring to con-
dign punishment every person who shall commit any of the crimes or
misdemeanors aforesaid, or that shall be guilty of any immoralities
whatsoever ; and that they use their utmost endeavors to have the
resolves of the Congress and the good and wholesome laws of this
colony duly carried into execution.

And as ministers of the gospel within this colony have, during
the late relaxation of the powers of civil government, exerted them-
selves for our safety, it is hereby recommended to them still to con-
tinue their virtuous labors for the good of the people, inculcating by
their public ministry and private example the necessity of religion,
morality, and good order.

Ordered, Tliat the foregoing proclamation be read at the opening
of every sui)erior court of judicature, &c. and inferior court of com-
mon pleas and court of general sessions for the peace within this colony,
by their respective clerks, and at the annual town meetings, in March,
in each town. And it is hereby recommended to the several ministers
of the gospel throughout this colony to read tlie same in their respect-
ive assemblies, on the Lord's Day next after receiving, immediately
after divine service.

By order of the General Coiut.
In Council, January 19, 177G. In the House of Kepresentutives,

January 2o, 177G.

Cod Save thk Pkople !

In January, 1777, the Legislature of tlie State of ^^a.ssacllu-
settH Bay addressed to the people, through civil officers and
Christian ministers, a paper on the great conflict then in pro- .

16

242 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

gress, which, after presenting the condition of the country,
closes in these words : — '

We, therefore, for the sake of religion, for the enjoyment whereof
your ancestors fled to this country, for the sake of your laws and future
felicit}^ entreat you to act vigorously and firmly in this critical condition
of your country. And we doubt not but that your humble exertions,
under the smiles of Heaven, will insure that success and freedom due to
the wise man and patriot.

Above all, we earnestly exhort you to contribute all within your
power to the encouragement of those virtues for which the Supreme
Being has declared that he will bestow his blessing upon a nation, and
to the discouragement of those vices for which he overturns kingdoms
m in his wrath ; and that at all proper times and seasons you seek to him,
by prayer and supplication, for deliverance from the calamities of war,
duly considering that, without his powerful aid and gracious interposi-
tion, all your endeavors must prove abortive and vain.

The Christian views of the people and government of the
colony of Massachusetts are further disclosed by the following

proclamations : —

Provixcial Congress, Concord, Mass.,

Saturday, April 15, 1775, A.D.

Whereas it hath pleased the righteous Sovereign of the universe, in
just indignation against the sins of a people long blessed with inestima-
ble privileges, civil and religious, to suffer the plots of wicked men on
both sides of the Atlantic, who for many years have incessantly labored
to sap the foundation of our public liberties, so far to succeed that we
see the New England colonies reduced to the ungracious alternative of
a tame submission to a state of absolute vassalage to the wdll of a
despotic minister, or of preparing themselves to defend at the hazard
of their lives the inalienable rights of themselves and posterity against
the avowed hostilities of their parent state, who oj^enly threaten to
wrest them from their hands by fire and sword.

In circumstances dark as these, it becomes us, as men and Christians,
to reflect that, w^hilst every prudent measure should be taken to ward
off the impending judgment, or to prepare to act in a proper manner
under them when they come, at the same time, all confidence must be
withheld from the means we use, and ropose only on that God who
rules in the armies of heaven, and without whose blessing the best
human counsels are but foolishness, and all created power vanity.

It is the happiness of the church, that when the powers of earth and
hell are combined against it, and those who should be nursing fathers
become its persecutors, then the Throne of Grace is of the easiest
access, and its appeal thither is graciously invited by that Father of
Mercies who has assured it that " when his children ask bread, he will
not give them a stone." Therefore, in comjDliance with the laudable
practice of the people of God in all ages, with humble regard to the
steps of Divine Providence towards this oppressed, threatened, and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 2-13

endangered people, and especially in obedience to the command of
Heaven, that binds us to caJl on him in the da}" of trouble:

Resolved, That it be, and hereby is, recommended to the good people
of this colony, of all denominations, that Thursday, the eleventh day of
May next, be set apart as a day of public humiliation, fasting, and
prayer ; that a total abstinence from servile labor and recreation be
observed, and all their religious assemblies solemnly convened, to hum-
ble themselves before Gk>d, under the heavy judgments felt and feared ;
to confess the sins they haveoommited ; to implore the forgiveness of all
our transgressions ; a spirit of rejxjntance and reformation ; and a
blessing on the husbandry, manufiictures, and other lawful employ-
ments of this people ; and especially that the union of the American
colorde^ in defence of their rights (for which hitherto we desire to thank
Almighty God) may be preserved and confirmed ; that the Provincial,
and especially the Continental, Congresses, may be directed to such mea-
sures as 6^(9f/ will countenance ; that the peoi)le of Great BrifmnnndiXieiY
rulers may have their eyes opened to discern the things that make for the
peace of the nation and all its connections ; and that America, may soon
behold a gracious interposition of Heaven for the redress of her many
grievances, the restoration of all her invaded liberties, and their security
to the latest generations.

Ordered, That the foregoing be copied, authenticated, and sent to all
the reJigious assemblies in this colony,

Watertowx, Nov. 20.
A Proclamation' for a Public Thanksgiving.

Although, in consequence of the unnatural, cruel, and barbarous
measures adopted and pursued by the British administration, great and
distressing ctdamities are brought upon our distressed country, and in
this colony in particular wo feel the dreadful etfects of a civil tear, by
which America is stained witli the blood of her valiant sons, who have
bravely fallen in the laudable defefice of our riglits and privileges ; our
capital, once the seat of justice, oi)ulence, and virtue, is unjustly
wrested from its proper owners, who are obliged to liee from the iron
liand of tyranny,. or held in tlie unrelenting arms of oppression ; our
seaports greatly distressed, and towns burnt by the foes who have acted
the part of barbarous incendiaries ; and although the wise and lioly
<'rovernor of the world has, in his rigliteous providence, sent droughts
into thi« colony, and wasting sickness into many of our towns; yet we
liave the greatest reasons to adore and praise the Supreme Disposer of
all events, who deals infinitely better with us than we deserve, and
amidst all his judgments hath remembered mercy, by Ciiusing the
voice of liealth again to Ix* heard amongst us; instead of famine,
afVording to an ungrateful jtoople a competency of the necessaries and
comforts of life; in remarkably jjrotc^cting and preserving our troops
when in apparent danger, while our enemies, with all their boasted skill
and stivnglh, have met with loss, di.sap/xtinfmenf, and defeat: and, in the
CDurse of his good providence, the Father of all Mercies hath bostowed
upon us many other favors which call for our grateful acknowledgments:

There/ore^ Wo have thought fit, with the advice of the Council and

244 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

House of Eepresentatives, to appoint Thursday, the 23d of Novembe?
instant, to be observed throughout this colony as a day of public thanks-
giving ; hereby calling upon ministers and people to meet for religious
worship on the said day, and devoutly to offer up their unfeigned praise
to Almighty God, the source and benevolent bestower of all good, for
his affording the necessary means of subsistence, though our commerce
has been ■prevented and the supplies from the fishery denied us ; that
the lives of our officers and soldiers have been so remarkably preserved,
while our enemies have fallen before them ; that the vigorous efforts
which have been made to excite the savage vengeance of the wilderness
and to rouse the Indians in arms, that an unavoidable destruction
might come upon our frontier, have been almost miraculously defeated ;
that our unnatural enemies, instead of ravaging the country with uncon-
trolled sway, are confined within such narrow limits, to their own morti-
fication and distress, environed by an Awerican army, hrave and deter-
mined; and that our rights and privileges, both civil and religious, are so
far preserved to us, notwithstanding all efforts to deprive us of them.

And to offer up humble and fervent prayers to Almighty God for the
whole British empire, especially for the United American Colonies ; that
he would bless our civil rulers, and lead them into wise and prudent mea-
sures at this dark and difficult day ; that he would endow our General
Court with all that wisdom which is profitable to direct ; that he would
graciously smile upon our endeavors to restore peace, preserve our rights
and privileges and hand them down to posterity ; that he would grant
wisdom to the American Congress equal to their important station ;
that he would direct the generals and the American armies, wherever
employed, and give them success and victory ; that he would preserve
and strengthen the hands of the United Colonics ; that he would pour his
Spirit upon all orders of men through the land, and bring us to a
hearty repentance and reformation, and purify and sanctify all his
churches, and make ours Emanuel's land ; that he would spread the
knowledge of the Redeemer throughout the whole earth, and fill the
world with his glory. And all servile labor is forbidden on this day.

Given under our hands, at the Council-Chamber at Watertown, the
fourth day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven
hundred and seventy-five.

By their Honors' command.

J.\MES Otis. Percy Morton, Dep. Secy,

God Save the People I *

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 2^

CHAPTER XIL

FEDERAL COSSTITUTION — HAMILTON'S VIKW OF THE NECESSITY OF A STBONO

GOVEilNMEXT — HIS RESOLUTION IN CONGRESS TO CALL A CONVENTION

KECOJIMENDATION OF VIRGINIA — CONVENTION CALLED — CHARACTER OF ITS
MEMBERS — NO RECOGNITION OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION — HAMILiON's

REASON FOR THE OMISSION — WASHINGTON'S REASON THE CONSTITUTION A

CHRISTIAN STATE PAPER FRANKLIN'S CHRISTIAN ADDRESS TO THE CONVEN-
TION— HIS CLOSING SPEECH THE INFLUENCE OF FRANKLIN'S SPEECH DE-
SCRIBED BY A FRIEND OF A MEMBER OF THE CONVENTION — WASHINGTON'S

DELIGHT ITS EFFECT ON THE RESULTS OF THE CONVENTION — FRANKLIN

DECLARES THE CONSTITUTION FORMED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF GOD — WASH-
INGTON'S VIEWS HIS ADDRESS ON THE ADOPTION OF THE CONSTITUTION TO

THE PEOPLE OF PHILADELPHIA VIEWS OF DR. ADAMS JUDGE STORY ON

THE RELIGIOUS FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION JUDGE BAYARD's VIEWS —

SPEECH IN THE LEGISLATURE OF MASSACHUSETTS — HARMONY OF THE CON-
STITUTION WITH THE PRINCIPLES AND INSTITUTES OF CHRISTIANITY — SENATOR

FRELINGHUYSEN ON THE SABBATH THE CHRISTIAN FAITH OF THE AMERICAN

PEOPLE PICTURE OF PROSPERITY UNDER THE CONSTITUTION — THE VIRTUE

OF THE PEOPLE TO PRESERVE THE CONSTITUTION — PRAYER OFFERED FOR
THE CONVENTION AND THE CONSTITUTION.

^' By a Constitution," says Eawle, " we mean the principles
on which the government is formed and conducted.

" On the voluntary association of men in sufficient numbers to
form a political community, the first step to be taken for their
own security and happiness is to agree on the terms on which
they are to be united and to act. They form a Constitution, or
plan of government, suited to their character, their exigencies,
and their future prospects. They agree that it shall be the
supreme rule of obligation among them. This is the pure and
genuine source of a Constitution in the republican form.

" Vattel justly observes that the perfection of a state and its
aptitude to fulfil the ends proposed by society depend on its
Constitution. The first duty to itself is to form the best Con-
stitution possible, and one most suited to its circumstances, aiid
thus it lays the foundation of its safety, permanency, and hap-
piness.

" The history of man docs not present a more illustrious monu-
ment of human invention, sound political })rinciphrs, and judi-
cious combinations, than the Constitution of the United States,

246 CHEISTTAI^" LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF TKK

It is deemed to approach as near to perfection as any tliat Lays
ever been formed/'

The framers of the- Constitution of the United States pro-
foundly felt the magnitude and solemnity of their work. The
Revolution had been v<?on, with all its splendid results and
animating hopes. The Articles of the old Confederation had
proven too weak fo-r the ends of a strong government, aa,id fears
pervaded the minds o-f public men and the people that the ob-
jects for which they had labored would be lost. Under these
cii'cumstances, ^' it is the duty," said Hamilton,. ^' of all thoso
who have the welfare erf the community at heart, to unite their
efforts to direct the attention of the people to the true source
of the public disorders, — the want of an efficient ge]s:eeal
GOVEENMENT, — and to impress upon them this conviction, that
these States, to be happy, must have a stronger bond of u^io:^^
and a confedeeatioi<[ capable of drawing forth the resources
of the country." Accordingly, on the 30th of June, 1783, Con-
gress passed a series of resolutions setting forth the defects of
the old Confederate Government, and concluded v/ith the follov/-

M7iereas, it is essential to the liai3piness and security of these States
that their union should be estabhshed on the most sohd foundations ;
and it is manifest that this desirable object cannot be effected but by a
government capable, both in peace and war, of making every member
of the Union contribute in just proportion to the common necessities,
and of combining and directing the forces and wills of the seyeral parts
to a general end; to which purposes, in the opinion of Congress, the
present Confederation is altogether inadequate ;

And 1]7iereas, on the spirit which may direct the councils and mea-
sures of these States, at the present juncture, may depend their future
safety and welfare ; Congress conceive it to be their duty freely to state
to their constituents the defects which, by experience, haye been dis-
covered in the present plan of the Federal Union, and solemnly to call
their attention to a revisal and amendment of the same ;

Therefore, Resolved, That it be earnestly reconniiended to the several

States to appoint a convention to meet at on the day of

, with full powers to revise the Confederation, and to adjust and

propose such alterations as to them may appear necessary, to be finally
approved or rejected by the States respectively, and that a committee
of be appointed to prepare an address upon the subject.

The foregoing action of Congress was base^ on the recom-
mendation of the Legislature of Virginia, who ''proposed a
convention of commissioners from all the States, for the purpose

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 247

of taking into consideration tlie state of trade, and tlie pro-
priety of a uniform system of commercial relations, for their
permanent harmony and common interest. Pursuant to this
proposal, commissioners were appointed by five States, who met
at Annapolis in September, 1786. They framed a report to be
laid before the Continental Congress, advising the latter to call
a general convention of commissioners from all the States, to
meet in Philadelphia in May, 1787, for a more efi'ectual revi-
sion of the Articles of Confederation. Congress adopted the
recommendation of the report, and in February, 1787, passed
a resolution for the assembling a convention accordingly."

Virginia, in an act of her Assembly appointing her dele-
gates and urging the other States to meet in general conven-
tion, says, —

The crisis lias arrived at which the good people of America are
to decide the solemn question whether they will, by wise and magnani-
mous efforts, reap the just fruits which they have so gloriously acquired,
and of that Union which they have cemented with so much of their
common blood, or whether, by giving way to unmanly jealousies and
prejudices, or to partial and transitory interests, they will renounce the
auspicious blessings prepared for them by the Revolution, and furnish
to its enemies an eventual triumph over those by whose virtue and
valor it has been accomplished.

The convention accordingly met in Phihadel})liia, on May 14,
1787, and, after four months of solemn deliberation, the Federal
Constitution was formed, and sent to the States and the people
for ratification. After very thorough discussion before the
people, it was adopted, and went into practical operation.

" It was a most fortunate thing for America," says Curtis, in
his ''History of the Constitution," ''that the Eevolutionary age,
with its hardships, its trials, and its mistakes, had formed a
body of statesmen capable of framing for it a durable Constitu-
tion. The leading persons in the convention which formed
the Constitution had been actors, in civil or military life, in
the scenes of the Eevolution. In these scenes their charac-
ters as American statesmen had been formed. When tho
condition of the country had fully revealed the incai)acity of
tho government to provide for its wants, these men were
naturally looked to to construct a system to save it from
anarchy; and their great capacities, their high disinterested
purposes, their freedom from all fanaticism and illiberality,

248 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

and their earnest, unconquerable faith in the destiny of the
country, enabled them to found that government which now up-
holds and protects the whole fabric of liberties in the States of
this Union."

'' Of this convention," says a writer, " considering the cha-
racter of the men, the work in which they were engaged, and
the results of their labor, I think them the most remarkable
body ever assembled."

This Constitution, formed by such a body of able and wise
statesmen, contains no recognition of the Christian religion, nor
even an acknowledgment of the providence of God in national
affairs. This omission was greatly regretted by the Christian
public at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, as it has
been by the Christian sentiment of the nation ever since.

It is said that, after the convention had adjourned, Eev. Dr.
Miller, a distinguished professor in Princeton College, met
Alexander Hamilton in the streets of Philadelphia, and said,
*'Mr. Hamilton, we are greatly grieved that the Constitution has
no recognition of God or the Christian religion." *' I declare,"
said Hamilton, '^we forgot it!"

The attention of Washington was called to this omission.
After he was inaugurated, in 1789, as the first President under
the Constitution, the Presbytery Eastward, in Massachusetts
and New Hampshire, sent a Christian address to Washington,
in which they say, "We should not have been alone in re-
joicing to have seen some explicit acknowledgment of the only
true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, inserted some-
where in the Magna Charta of our country."

To this Washington replies, " I am persuaded you will per-
mit me to observe that the path of true piety is so plain as to
require but little political direction. To this consideration we
ought to ascribe the absence of any regulation respecting religion
from the Magna Charta of our country. To the guidance of
the ministers of the gospel this important object is, perhaps,
more properly committed. And in the progress of morality
and science, to which our Government will give every further-
ance, we may confidently expect the advancement of true reli-
gion and the completion of our happiness."

ISTotwithstanding this omission, the record of facts now to pass
before the reader will demonstrate that the Constitution was

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OP THE UNITED STATES. 249

formed under Christian influences and is, in its purposes and
spirit, a Christian instrument.

The Christian faith and character of the men who formed the
Constitution forbid the idea that they designed not to place the
Constitution and its government under the providence and pro-
tection of God and the principles of the Christian religion. In
all their previous state papers they had declared Christianity
to be fundamental to the well-being of society and government,
and in every form of official authority had stated this fact.
The Declaration of Independence contained a solemn ''appeal
to the Supreme Judge of the world," and expressed "a firm
reliance on the protection of Divine Providence." An article
in the old Confederation had declared that "it had pleased the
great Governor of the world to incline the hearts of the legis-
latures we severally represent in Congress to approve of, and to
authorize us to ratify, the said articles of confederation and per-
petual union." The various States who had sent these good and
great men to the convention to form a Constitution had, in all
their civil charters, expressed, as States and as a people, their
faith in God and the Christian religion. Most of the statesmen
themselves were Christian men ; and the convention had for its
president George Washington, who everywhere paid a public
homage to the Christian religion.

These statesmen, met to form a Constitution for a free and
growing republic, were at times baffled in reaching desirable
and harmonious results.

" I can well recollect," says Judge "Wilson, a member, '' though
I cannot, I believe, convey to others, the impression which on
many occasions was made by the difficulties which surrounded
and pressed the convention. The great undertaking, at some
times, seemed to be at a stand; at other times, its motions
seemed to be retrograde. At the conclusion, however, of our
work, the members expressed their astonishment at the success
with which it terminated."

It was in the midst of these difficulties that Dr. Franklin, on
the morning of the 28th of June, 1787, rose, and delivered the
following address : —

Mr. Prosidcnt : — Tlie slow pro^xross wo liiivt^ in;ulo, aft«M' f'>ur or five
works' clos(» attondancc uiid contimml rcasouing with iiitli otlior, — our
diir«'r«'Ut sontimotits on almost vvwy ((iiostion, sovoral of tln> hist pro-
diK'iiig as many ntiys as yeas, — is, mcthiidvs, a mcl.iuchol) proof of tho

250 CHEISTIAN LIFE AKD CHAEACXER OF THE

imperfection of human understanding. We indeed seem to feel our
own want of political wisdom, since we have been running about in
search of it. We have gone back to ancient history for models of
government, and examined the different forms of those republics
which, having been formed with the seeds of their own dissolution,
now no longer exist. And we have viewed modern states all round
Europe, but find none of their constitutions suitable to our circum-
stances.

In this situation of this assembly, groping as it were in the dark to
find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it w4ien presented to
us, how has it happened, sir, that we have not hitherto once thought
of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our under-
standing? In the beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when
we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for the
Divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously
answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have
observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence in our
favor. To that kind Providence we owe this happy opportunity of
consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national
felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend ? Or do we
imagine we no longer need his assistance ?

I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more con-
vincing proofs I see of this truth, — that God governs in the affairs of men.
And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it
probable that an empire can rise without his aid ? We have been as-
sured, sir, in the sacred writings, that ^Except the Lord build the house
they labor hi vain that build it.' I firmly believe this ; and I also believe
that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political build-
ing no better than the builders of Babel. We shall be divided by our
little, partial, local interests ; our projects will be confounded, and we
ourselves become a reproach and by-word down to future ages. And,
what is worse, mankind may hereafter, from this unfortunate circum-
stance, despair of establishing governments by human wisdom, and
leave it to chance, war, and conquest.

I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers imploring the
assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in
this assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one
or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service.

Madison says that

'' Mr. Sherman seconded the motion.

^' Mr. Hamilton and several others expressed their appre-
hensions that, however proper such a resolution might have
been at the beginning of the convention, it might at this late
day, in the first place, bring on it some disagreeable animad-
versions, and, in the second, lead the public to believe that the
embarrassments and dissensions within the convention had sug-
gested this measure.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 251

'^It was answered by Dr. Franklin, Mr. Sherman, and others,
that the past omission of a duty conld not justify a further
omission; that the rejection of such a proposition Avould expose
the convention to more unpleasant animadversions than the
adoption of it ; and that the 'alarm out of doors, that might be
excited for the state of things within, would at least be as likely
to do good as ill.

''Mr. Williamson observed that the true cause of the omission
could not be mistaken. The convention had no funds.

"Mr. Piandolph proposed, in order to give a favorable aspect
to the measure, that a sermon be preached, at the request of
the convention, on the Fourth of July, the anniversary of In-
dependence, and thenceforward prayers, &c. to be read in the
convention every morning."

The following authentic account of the scene connected with
Dr. Franklin's speech in reference to the need of Divine aid in
forming the Constitution was written in 1825 by an intimate
friend of the youngest member of the convention, and may be
found in McGuire's ''Pveligious Opinions and Character of Wash-
ington." It relates to the reconsideration of the provision which
had been made for the representation of the States in the
Senate. It had been determined that representation should be
according to population. To this principle the representatives
from the four smaller States objected. They moved a recon-
sideration, and expressed their purpose of withdrawing from
the conv<ntion unless the Constitution was so modified as to
give them an equal representation.

"A rupture," says the writer, "appeared almost inevitable,
and the bosom of Washington seemed to labor with the most
anxious solicitude for its issue. Happily for the United States,
the convention contained many individuals possessed of talents
and virtues of the highest order, whose hearts were deeply
interested in the establishment of a new and efficient form of
government, and whose penetrating minds had already deplored
the evils which would spring up in our newly-established republic
should the present attempt to consolidate it prove abortive.
Among those personages the most prominent was Dr. Franklin.
He was esteemed the Mentor of our body. To a mind naturally
strong and capacious, enriched by much reading and tho ex-
perience of many years, ho added a manner of communicating
his thoughts peculiarly Lis own, in which simplicity, beauty,

252 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

and strengtli were equally conspicuous. As soon as tlie angry
orators who liad preceded him had left him an opening, the
doctor rose, impressed with the weight of the subject before
them, and the difficulty of managing it successfully.

" In a speech, the doctor urged the consideration of the great
interests involved in the issue of their deliberations, and pro-
posed a recess for three days, for cool reflection and impartial
conversation among the members respecting their conflicting
views and opinions, that they might return to the subject
before them with more tranquil and amicable feelings. He then
concluded in the followino^ words : —

'^ ' Before I sit down, Mr. President, I will suggest another
matter ; and I am really surprised that it has not been proposed
by some other member at an earlier period of our deliberations.
I will suggest, Mr. President, the propriety of nominating and
appointing, before we separate, a chaplain to this convention,
whose duty it shall be uniformly to assemble with us, and in-
troduce the business of each day by an address to the Creator
of the universe and the Governor of all nations, beseeching
him to preside in our council, enlighten our minds with a
portion of heavenly wisdom, influence our hearts with a love
of truth and justice, and crown our labors with complete and
abundant success.'

''The doctor sat down; and never did I behold a countenance
at once so dignified and delighted as was that of "Washington,
at the close of this address ; nor were the members of the con-
vention generally less aff'ected. The words of the venerable
Franklin fell upon our ears with a weight and authority even
greater than we may suppose an oracle to have had in a
Roman Senate. A silent admiration superseded for a moment
the expression of that assent and approbation Avhich was
strongly marked on almost every countenance. The motion
for appointing a chaplain was instantly put, and carried, with
a solitary negative. The motion for an adjournment was
then put, and carried unanimously; and the convention ad-
journed accordingly.

'' The three days of recess were spent in the manner advised
by Dr. Franklin : the opposite parties mixed with each other,
and a free and frank interchange of sentiments took place. On
the fourth day we assembled again; and, if great additional
light had not been thrown on the subject, every unfriendly

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 253

feeling had been expelled, and a spirit of conciliation had been
cultivated which promised at least a calm and dispassiono.te
reconsideration of the subject.

" As soon as the chaplain had closed his prayer, and the
minutes of the last sitting were read, all eyes were turned to the
doctor. He rose, and said, in a few words, that during the recess
he had listened attentively to all the arguments, pro and con,
which had been urged by both sides of the House ; that he had
himself read much, and thought more, on the subject; he saw
difficulties and objections which might be urged by individual
States against every scheme which had been proposed, and he
now more than ever was convinced that the Constitution which
they were about to form, in order to he just and equal, must be
founded on the basis of compromise and mutual concession.
With such views and feelings, he would move a reconsideration
of the vote last taken on the organization of the Senate. The
motion was seconded, the vote carried, the former vote re-
scinded, and, by a successful motion and resohition, the Senate
was organized on the present plan."

During the deliberations of the convention to form the Con-
stitution, the 4th of July, 1787, was celebrated in Philadelphia
with great enthusiasm. The oration was delivered in the He-
formed Calvinistic Church, and Rev. William Rogers offered up
a prayer, of which the following is an extract : —

''As this is a period, 0 Lord, big with events impenetrable by
any human scrutiny, wo fervently recommend to thy fatherly
notice that august body, assembled in this city, who compose
our federal convention. Will it please thee, 0 thou Eternal I
Am ! to favor them, from day to day, with thy inspiring pre-
sence; be their wisdom and strength; enable them to devise
such measures as may prove happy instruments in healing all
divisions and prove the good of the great whole; incline the
hearts of all the [»eople to receive with pleasure, combined with
a determination to carry into execution, whatever these thy
servants may wisely recommend ; that the United States of
America may form one example of a free and virtuous govorn-
numi, which shall bo the result of human mutual deliberation,
antl which shall not, like other governments, whether ancient
or modern, spring out of more chance or be established by
force. May we trust in the cheering prospect of being a
country delivered from anarchy, and continue, under the intiu-

254 CHRISTIAN LIFE AKD CHARACTER OF THE

ence of republican virtue, to partake of all tlio blessings of
cultivated and Christian societ3\"

In Dr. Franklin's closing speecli in tlie convention, lie said, —

'' It astonishes me, sir, to find this system approaching so
near to perfection as it does ; and I think it will astonish our
enemies, who are waiting with confidence to hear that our
councils are confounded, like those of the builders of Babel."

x\fter the convention had closed its labors, and the Constitu-
tion had been adopted, Dr. Franklin acknowledged a divine
intervention, as follows : —

''I am not to be understood to infer that our G-eneral Con-
vention was divinely inspired when it formed the new Federal
Constitution ; yet I must own that I have so much faith in the
general government of the world by Providence, that I can
hardly conceive a transaction of so much importance to the
welfare of m^illions now in existence, and to exist in the posterity
of a great nation, should be sufi'ered to pass without being in
some degree influenced, guided, and governed by that omnipo-
tent and beneficent Piuler in whom all inferior spirits live, and
move, and have their being."

This Constitution, freio'hted with such rich blessins:s, and
tested by eighty-three years' trial, met at its formation with
great opposition. Dr. Franklin wrote a paper comparing the
conduct of the ancient Jews with that of the opponents of the
Constitution of the United States, in which he says that '^ A
zealous advocate for the proposed Federal Constitution, in a
certain public assembly, said that the repugnance of a great
part of mankind to good government was such, that he believed
that if an angel from heaven was to bring down a Constitution
Irom there for our use, it would nevertheless meet with violent
opposition. He was reproved for the supposed extravagance of
the sentiment.

"Probably," says Dr. Franklin, "it might not have imme-
diately occurred to him that the experiment had been tried, and
that the event was recorded in the most faithful of all histories,
the Holy Bible ; otherwise he might, as it seems to me, have
supported his opinion by that unexceptionable authority.

" On the whole, it appears that the Israelites were a people
jealous of their newly-acquired liberty, which jealousy was in
itself no fault ; but when they suffered it to be worked upon by
artful men pretending public good^ with nothing really in view

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 255

but private interest, tliey were led to oppose the establishment
of the new Constitution, whereby they brought upon themselves
much inconvenience and misfortune. From all which we may
gather that popular opposition to a public measure is no proof
of its impropriety, even though the opposition be excited and
headed by men of distinction."

'' It appears to me," writes Washington to Lafayette, Febru-
ary 8, 1788, "little short of a miracle that the delegates from so
many States, differing from each other, as you know, in their
manners, circumstances, and prejudices, should unite in forming
a system of national government so little liable to well-founded
objections. It will at least be a recommendation to the pro-
posed Constitution that it is provided with more checks and
barriers against the introduction of tyranny, and those of a
nature less liable to be surmounted, than any government
hitherto instituted among mortals. We are not to expect per-
fection in this world ; but mankind in modern times have appa-
rently made some progress in the science of government."

"We may with a kind of pious and grateful exultation,"
writes Washington to Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, July
20, 1788, " trace the finger of Providence through those dark
and mysterious events which first induced the States to appoint
a general convention, and then led them one after another, by
such steps as were best calculated to effect the object, into an
adoption of the system recommended by the general conven-
tion, thereby, in all human probability, laying a lasting founda-
tion for tranquillity and happiness, when we had too much
reason to fear that confusion and misery were coming upon us."

On his way to New York, after its adoption, to assume the
administration of the new government, processions and ovations
were frequent in honor of the adoption of the Constitution and
as a tribute to the good and great man who had presided over
the convention that formed it. At Philadelphia twenty thou-
sand people met and welcomed Washington with cries of, "Long
live George Washington ! Long live the father of his country!"
Washington, in addressing the people of that city, spoke as
follows : —

" When I contemplate the interposition of Provid»^nco, as it
has been visibly manifested in guiding us through the Povoliition,
in preparing us for the General Government, and in conciliating
the good will of the people of America towards cue another in

256 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

its adoption, I feel myself oppressed and overwlielmed with a
sense of the Divine munificence."

In that procession at Philadelphia, to honor the new Con-
stitution, ''the clergy formed a conspicuous part, manifesting by
their attendance a sense of the connection between good govern-
ment and religion. They marched arm in arm, to illustrate the
General Union. Care was taken to associate ministers of the
most dissimilar opinions with each other, to display the pro-
motion of Christian charity by free institutions. ' The rabbi
of the Jews, with a minister of the gospel on each side, was a
most delightful sight.' It exhibited the political equality, not
only of Christian denominations, but of worthy men of every
belief."

''It has sometimes been concluded," says a writer, "that
Christianity cannot have any direct connection with the Con-
stitution of the United States, on the ground that the instru-
ment contains no express declaration to that effect. But the
error of such a conclusion becomes manifest when we reflect that
the same is the case with regard to several other truths, which
are, notwithstanding, fundamental in our constitutional system.
The Declaration of Independence says that 'governments are
instituted among men to secure the rights of life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness;' and that 'whenever any form of
government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right
of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new
government.' These principles lie at the foundation of the
Constitution of the United States. No principles in the Con-
stitution are more fundamental than these. But the instru-
ment contains no declaration to this effect ; these principles are
nowhere mentioned in it, and the references to them are equally
slight and indirect with those which are made to the Christian
religion. The same may be said of the great republican truth
that political sovereignty resides in the people of the United
States. If, then, any one may rightfully conclude that Chris-
tianity has no connection with the Constitution of the United
States because this is nowhere expressly declared in the instru-
ment, he ought, in reason, to be equally convinced that the same
Constitution is not built upon and does not recognize the sove-
reignty of the people, and the great republican truths above,
quoted from the Declaration of Independence. This argument
receives additional strens!;th when we consider that the Con-.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 257

stitution of tlie United States was formed directly for political
and not for religious objects. The truth is, they are all equally
fundamental, though neither of them is expressly mentioned in
the Constitution.

"Besides, the Constitution of the United States contemplates,
and is fitted for, such a state of society as Christianity alone
can form. It contemplates a state of society in which strict
integrity, simplicity, and purity of manners, wide diffusion of
knowledge, well-disciplined passions, and wise moderation, are
the general characteristics of the people. These virtues, in our
nation, are the offspring of Christianity, and without the con-
tinued general belief of its doctrines and practice of its pre-
cepts they will gradually decline and eventually perish."

The Constitution declares that " no religious test shall ever
be required as a qualification to any ofiice or public trust under
the United States."

On this article Judge Story says, —

" The clause requiring no religious test for office is recom-
mended by its tendency to satisfy the minds of many delicate
and scrupulous persons, who entertain great repugnance to
religious tests as a qualification for civil power or honor. But
it has a higher aim in the Constitution. It is designed to cut
off every pretence of an alliance between the Church and the
State in the administration of the National Government. The
American people were too well read in the history of other
countries, and had suffered too much in their colonial state, not
to dread the abuses of authority resulting from religious bigotry,
intolerance, and persecution."

The first amendment to the Constitution is, ''That Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof."'

"The same policy," says Judge Story, "which introduced
into the Constitution the prohibition of any religious test, led
to this more extended prohibition of the interference of Con-
gress in religious concerns. Wc are not to attribute this pro-
hibition of a national religious establishment to an indifforcnco
to religion in general, and especially to Christianity (which
none could hold in more reverence than the framers of the
Constitution), but to a dread by the people of the influence of
ecclesiastical power in matters of government, — a dread which
thoir ancestors brought with them from tlic parent country, and

258 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

wMcli, unhappily for liuman infirmity, their own conduct, after
their emigration, had not in any just degree tended to diminish.
It was also obvious, from the numerous and powerful sects in
the United States, that there would be perpetual temptations
to struggles for ascendency in the national councils, if any one
might thereby hope to found a permanent and exclusive national
establishment of its own ; and religious persecutions might thus
be introduced, to an extent utterly subversive of the true inte-
rests and good order of the republic. The most effectual mode
of suppressing the evil, in the view of the people, was to strike
down the temptations to its introduction. How far any govern-
ment has a right to interfere in matters touching religion, has
been a matter much discussed by writers upon public and
political law. . . . The right of a society or government to inter-
fere in matters of religion will hardly be contested by any
persons who believe that piety, religion, and morality are in-
timately connected with the well-being of the state and indis-
pensable to the administration of civil justice.

''The promulgation of the great doctrines of religion, — the
being and attributes and providence of one Almighty God, the
responsibility to him for all our actions, founded upon moral
accountability, a future state of rewards and punishments,
the cultivation of all the personal, social,, and benevolent vir-
tues,— these never can be. a matter of indifference in a well-
ordered community. It is, indeed, difficult to conceive how any
civilized society can exist without them. And, at all events,
it is impossible for those who believe in the truth of Chris-
tianity as a divine revelation to doubt that it is the special duty
of Government to foster and encourage it among all the citizens
and subjects. This is a point wholly distinct from that of the
right of private judgment in matters of religion, and of the
freedom of public worship according to the dictates of one's
conscience.

''The real difficulty lies in ascertaining the limits to which
Government may rightfully go in fostering and encouraging
religion. Three cases may easily be supposed. One, where a
government affords aid to a particular religion, leaving all
persons free to adopt any other ; another, where it creates an
ecclesiastical establishment for the propagation of the doctrines
of a particular sect of that religion, leaving a like freedom to
all others ; and a third; where it creates such an establishment,

(CIVIL IKSTrrUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 259

and excludes all persons not belonging to it, either wholly or in
part, from any participation in the public honors, trusts, emolu-
ments, privileges, and immunities of the st-ate. For instance,
a government may simply declare that the Christian religion
shall be the religion of the state, and shall be aided and en-
couraged in all the varieties of sects belonging to it ; or it may
declare that the ik)man Catholic or Protestant religion shall be
the religion of the state, leaving every man to the free enjoy-
ment of his own religious opinions; or it may establish the
doctrines of a particular sect, as of Episcopalians, as the religion
of the state, with a like freedom ; or it may establish the doc-
trines of a particular sect as exclusively the religion of the state,
tolerating others to a limited extent, or excluding all not be-
longing to it from all pmblic honors, trusts, emoluments, privi-
leges, and immunities.

''Probably at the time of the adoption of the Constitution
and of the Amendments to it, the general, if not universal, sen-
timent in America was that Christianity ought to receive en-
couragement from the state, so far as such encouragement was
not incompatible with the private rights of conscience and the
freedom of religious worship. An attempt to level all religions,
and to make it a matter of state policy to hold all in utter in-
difference, would have created universal disapprobation, if not
universal indignation."

In a work on the Constitution, by James Bayard, of Delaware,
and which received the warm commendations of Chief- Justice
Marshall, Judge Story, Chancellor Kent, and other distinguished
civilians and jurists, the writer speaks on this fundamental law
of the Constitution thus : —

" The people of the United States were so fully aware of the
evils which arise from the union of Church and State, and so
thoroughly convinced of its corrupting influence upon both
religion and government, that they introduced this prohibition
irjto the fundamental law.

* " It has been made an objection to the Constitution, by some,
that it makes no mention of religion, contains no recognition of
the existence and providence of God, — as though his authority
were slighted or disregarded. But such is not the reason of the
omission. The convention which framed the Constitution com-
prised some of the wisest and best men of the nation, — men
who were firmly persuaded 7iot oidy of the divine orirjui of the

260 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Christian religion, but also of its importance to the temporal
and eternal welfare of men. The people, too, of this country-
were generally impressed with religious feelings, and felt and
acknowledged the superintendence of God, who had protected
them through the perils of war and blessed their exertions to
obtain civil and religious freedom. But there were reasons why
the introduction of religion into the Constitution would have
been unseasonable, if not improper.

'' In th*) first place, it was intended exclusively for civil pur-
poses, and religion could not be regularly mentioned,, because it
made no part of the agreement between the parties. They were
about to surrender a portion of their civil rights for the security
of the remainder; but each retained his religious freedom,
entire and untouched, as a matter between himself and his God,
with which government could not interfere. But, even if this
reason had not existed, it would have been difficult, if not im-
possible, to use any expression on the subject which v/ould have
given general satisfaction. The difference between the various
sects of Christians is such, that, while all have much in common,
there are many points of variance: so that in an instrument
where all are entitled to equal consideration it would be difficult
to use terms in which all could cordially join.

'' Besides, the whole Constitution was a compromise, and it
was foreseen that it would meet with great opposition before it
would be finally adopted. It was, therefore, important to restrict
its provisions to things absolutely necessary, so as to give as
little room as possible to cavil. Moreover, it was impossible to
introduce into it even an expression of gratitude to the Almighty
for the formation of the present government; for, when the
Constitution was framed and submitted to the people, it was
entirely uncertain whether it would ever be ratified, and the
government might, therefore, never be established.

"The prohibition of any religious test for office was wise,
because its admission would lead to hypocrisy and corruption.
The purity of religion is best preserved by keeping it separate
from government ; and the surest means of giving to it its proper
influence in society is the dissemination of correct principles
through education. The experience of this country has proved
that religion may flourish in all its vigor and purity without
the aid of a national establishment ; and the religious feeling of

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 261

tlie community is tlie best guarantee for tlie religious adminis-
tration of the government."

'^ Just and liberal sentiments on tliis subject," says Eawle, in
his "View of tbe Constitution of the United States," "throw a
lustre round the Constitution in which they are found, and,
while they dignify the nation, promote its internal peace and
harmony. No predominant religion overpowers another, the
votaries of which are few and humble; no lordly hierarchy
excites odium or terror; legal persecution is unknown; and
freedom of discussion, while it tends to promote the knowledge,
contributes to increase the fervor, of piety."

The following extracts from a speech made in the convention
in Massachusetts met to ratify the Constitution of the United
States, are liberal and just. Rev. Mr. Shute, who presented
these views, was a Congregational clergyman, and a member of
the convention.

" To establish," says he, " a religious test as a qualification
for office in the proposed Federal Constitution, it appears to me,
would be attended with injurious consequences to some indi-
viduals, and with no advantage to the whole.

" In this great and extensive empire, there is, and will be, a
great variety of sects among its inhabitants. Upon a plan of
a religious test, the question must be, who shall be excluded
from national trust? Whatever bigotry might suggest, the
dictates of conscience and equity, I conceive, will say, * None.'

" Far from limiting my charity and confidence to men of my
own denomination in religion, I suppose and believe, sir, there
are worthy characters among men of every denomination, —
among the Quakers, the Baptists, the Church of England,
Papists, and even among those who have no other guide in
the way to virtue and to heaven than the dictates of natural
religion.

" I must, therefore, think, sir, that the proposed plan of govern-
ment in this particular is wisely constructed; and that as
all have an equal claim to the blessings of the government
under wliich they live and which they support, so none shall
be excluded by being of any particular denomination of religion.

" The presumption is, that the eyes of the people will be upon
the faithCul in the land, and, from a regard to th«Mr own safety,
will choose for their rulers men of known abiliti«^•^, of known
I-robity, and of good moral character. The Apostle Peter tells

262- CHEISTIAIT LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

US that ' Clod is no respecter of persons, but in every naticm lie
that feareth him and worketh righteousness is acceptable to*
him ;' and I know of no reason why men of s^ch a character m
a community, of whateyer elenomin-ation of rehVion, axteris
parihiiSj with snitable qualifications, should not be acceptable
to the people, and why they may not be employed by them with
safety and advantage in the important offices of gOTornment.

'' The exclusion of a religions test in the proposed Constitu-
tion, therefore, clearly appears to me, sir, to be in favor of its
adoption."'

The Constitution itself affirms its Christian character and
purpose.

The seventh article declares it to be framed and adopted "by
the unanimous consent of the States, the seventeenth day of Sep-
tember in the year of our Loed 1787, and of the Independence
of the United States of America the twelfth." The date of the
Constitution is twofold : first it is dated from the birth of OUE Lord
Jesus Christ, and then from the birth of our independence. Any
argument which might be supposed to prove that the authority
of Christianity is not recognized by the people of the United
States, in the first mode, would equally prove that the independ-
ence of the United States is not recognized by them in the second
mode. The fact is, that the advent of Christ and the independ-
ence of the country are the two events in which, of all others,
we are most interested, — the former in common v/ith all mankind,
the latter as the birth of our nation. This twofold mode, there-
fore, of dating so solemn an instrument was singularly appro-
priate and becoming.

A second fact is the harmony of the purposes for which the
Constitution was established with the purposes and results of
Christianity as afi'ecting nations and the temporal interests of
men. The preamble st?*tes this politica.1 and moral harmony in
these words : —

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more per-
fect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillitj', provide for the
common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings
of liberty to ourselves and our jDosterity, do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America.

These fundamental objects of the Constitution are in perfect
harmony with the revealed objects of the Christian religion.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 263

Union, justice, peace, the general welfare, and the blessings of
civil and religious liberty, are the objects of Christianity, and are
always secured under its practical and beneficent reign. ''Our
National Constitution is fitted to quicken the growth of a real
manhood, to discipline the virtuous citizen for an ampler reward
in heaven than he would reach if he were not trained to think
for himself, to govern himself, to develop his own powers, to
worship his Maker according to his own conscience."

A third fact indicating the Christian character of the Consti-
tution is, that in no less than four places it requires an oath.

"No person can hold an executive or judicial office under it,
or derived from any State, who does not take an oath to sup-
port it."

An oath is defined to be ''a solemn appeal to the Supreme
Being for the truth of what is said, by a person who believes
in the existence of a Supreme Being, and in a future state of
rewards and punishments, according to that form which will
bind his conscience most." Can it with propriety be said that
a government which forbids the exercise of the slightest of its
functions by any one who cannot make and has not made such
an appeal to a supreme Being, in whom he believes, does not
recognize the authority of God? It includes other sovereign-
ties, and provides that even there no man shall be intrusted
with any power that concerns the whole people, who fails to
furnish this testimony of his religious character.

It was objected in several of the State conventions held for
the adoption of the Federal Constitution, that it contained no
religious test. It was argued that Mohammedans, pagans, or
persons of no religion at all, might be chosen into the govern-
ment. In North Carolina Mr. Iredell replied, "It was never
to be supposed that the people of America will trust their dear-
est interests to persons who have no religion at all, or a religion
materially different from their own. It would be happy for
mankind if religion was permitted to take its own course and
maintain itself by the excellency of its own doctrines. The
Divine Author of our religion never wished for its support by
worldly authority. Has ho not said, 'The gates of hell shall
not prevail against it' ? It made much greater progress for
itself than when supported by the greatest authority upon
earth."

In the convention held in Massachusetts, Picv. Mr. rayson

264 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

said, ''The great object of religion being God supreme; and
the seat of religion in man being the heart or conscience, i.e.
the reason God has given us, employed on our moral actions in
their most important consequences, as related to the tribunal
of God, — hence I infer that God alone is the God of the con-
science, and, consequently, attempts to erect human tribunals
for the consciences of men are impious encroachments upon the
prerogatives of God." Theophilus Parsons, afterwards Chief-
Justice, said, ''It has been objected that the Constitution pro-
vides no religious test by oath, and we may have in power un-
principled men, atheists, and pagans. No man can wish more
ardently than I do that all our public offices may be filled by
men who fear God and hate wickedness ; but it must remain
with the electors to give the government this security. An oath
will not do it. Will an unprincipled man be entangled by an
oath ? Will an atheist or a pagan dread the vengeance of the
Christian's God, — a being, in his opinion, the creature of fancy and
credulity? It is a solecism in expression. No man is so illiberal
as to wish the confining of places of honor or profit to any one
sect of Christians ; but what security is it to government that
every public officer shall swear that he is a Christian ? For
what will then be called Christianity ? The only evidence we
can have of the sincerity and excellence of a man's religion is a
good life ; and I trust that such evidence will be required of
every candidate by every elector."

The theory on this point upon which the Constitution was
formed was perfect. It secured the recognition of a Supreme
Being and a future retribution, and excluded all tests founded
upon distinctions of religion or sects. It found the Bible at
large among the people for whom it provided a government,
and it left among them the power of the gospel without re-
straint, free. It left it in the authority and made it the high-
est interest of the people to select the citizens to office who
believed in the Bible and acknowledged that power by con-
forming their lives to its requirements.

More than sixty years of prosperity and domestic peace,
under the practical working of this system, attest the wisdom
of the scheme on which it was, founded.

A fourth fact is its recognition of the Christian Sabbath.

Article 1, section 7, says, " If any bill shall not be returned
by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 265

shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law in
like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by
their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not
be a law."

''In adopting this provision," says Dr. Adams, "it was clearly
presumed by the people that the President of the United States
would not employ himself in public business on Sunday. The
people had been accustomed to pay special respect to Sunday
from the first settlement of the country. They assumed that
the President also would wish to respect the day. They did
not think it suitable or becoming to require him by a constitu-
tional provision to respect the day : they assumed that he would
adhere to the customary observance without a requirement.
To have enacted a constitutional provision would have left him
no choice, and would have been placing no confidence in him.
They have placed the highest possible confidence in him, by
assuming, without requiring it, that his conduct in this respect
would be according to their wishes. Every man who is capable
of being influenced by the higher and more delicate motives of
duty cannot fail to perceive that the obligation on the Presi-
dent to respect the observance of Sunday is greatly superior
to any which could have been created by a constitutional enact-
ment. The people, in adopting the Constitution, must have
been convinced that the public business intrusted to the Pre-
sident would be greater in importance and variety than that
which would fall to the share of any functionary employed in
a subordinate station. The expectation and confidence, then,
manifested by the people of the United States, that their Pre-
sident will respect their Sunday, by abstaining from public
business on that day, must extend a fortiori to all employed
in subordinate stations."

Senator Frelinghuysen said in Congress, in 1830, '' Our pre-
decessors have acted upon a true republican principle, — that the
feelings and opinions of the majority were to be consulted. And
when a collision might arise, inasmuch as only one day could
bo thus appropriated, they wisely determined, in accordance with
the sentiments of at least nine-tenths of our people, that the
first day of the week should be the Sabbath of our Government.
This public recognition is accorded to the Sabbatli in the Fede-
ral Constitution. The President of the United States, in the
discharge of the high functions of his legislative department,

266 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

is expressly relieved from all embarrassment on Sunday. Both.
Houses of Congress, tlie offices of tlie State, Treasury, War,
and Navy Departments, are all closed on Sunday.

" Long before the American Kevolution, it was decided that
the desecration of the Sabbath was an offence at common law,
which all admit recognizes Christianity. The Sabbath is re-
cognized, both by the statute and common law, by the States
which compose this Union, as a day upon which courts cannot
sit or civil process issue ; the servant, apprentice, and laborer
are exempt from worldly avocations on that day, and protected
in its enjoyment as a day of rest; and all entertainments,
exhibitions, reviews, or other things calculated to disturb the
religious observance of this day, are prohibited.

" The humanizing effect of the Sabbath, in promoting works
of benevolence, charity, schools for the instruction of those who
cannot obtain instruction elsewhere, and in strengthening the
social relations of friends and neighbors, is among its most
benign results. The principles which are then inculcated in
churches of all denominations strengthen that public morality,
good order, and obedience to the laws so essential to the security
of the state.

" The framers of the Constitution, and those who for many
years administered it, doubtless had in their eye the first day, —
the Sabbath of the Christian religion. They were legislating
not for Jews, Mohammedans, infidels, pagans, atheists, but for
Christians. And, believing the Christian religion the only one
calculated to sustain and perpetuate the government about to
be formed, they adopted it as the basis of the infant republic.
This nation had a religion, and it was the Christian religion.

" That Christianity is the religion of this country, and as
such is recognized in the whole structure of its government, and
lies at the foundation of all our civil and political institutions, —
in other words, that Christianity, as really as republicanism, is
part and parcel of our laws, — is evident from the following : —

" Such was the relation of Christianity to civil government
in the several States as they existed prior to the formation of
the present Federal Constitution; and there is no evidence that
in acceding to said Constitution they surrendered such relation
either to the general or to their own particular governments.

" The colonies from which our present States originated
were planted by decidedly Christian people, to be Christian

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 267

communities, and with sucli views of the relations between civil
government and religion as were then universal in Christendom.
The experiment of a nation without an established religion had
not then been tried, nor did they think of instituting it :
Christianity, therefore, was made part of their civil institutions,
as well in their minuter branches as in their essential founda-
tions.

^' In Massachusetts and other Northern colonies, a member-
ship in the Church established by law was necessary to citizen-
ship in the commonwealth. In Virginia and other Southern
colonies, the Church of England was by law established.

" By-and-b}^, wdien the colonial character had ceased, and
that of States been assumed, the legal establishment of any
one form of Christianity in preference to all other forms of the
same was discontinued. In the adoption of the present Federal
Constitution, it was declared, among the amendments of that
instrument, that ' Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.'
This article in the general Constitution, and the similar alter-
ations in the laws of the several States above mentioned, by
which the legal precedence of one form of Christianity over
another was done away, are all the ground on which it can be
asserted that either our General or State Governments have
disowned all connection with the Christian religion as having
any more countenance in their legislation than infidelity or
Mohammedanism. But is this a warrantable conclusion ? Is it
not perfectly conceivable that Christianity may be the religion
of the people and of the people's government, so far as that her
great principles shall be assumed as the basis of their institu-
tions and the promotion of those principles distinctly counte-
nanced in their laws and customs, at the same time that no
religion is, in the technical sense, 'established,' and no one
form of Christianity is distinguished above another ? To call
religion into connection with the government, so far as to
employ ministers of the gospel as chaplains, at the public charge,
in Congress and other public departments, is decided by long-
established practice to be not unconstitutional. And thus it is
decided that it was not intended, by the article quoted above
from the Constitution of the United States, to prevent the
Government of the United States from ho'nvjr conutH'tcxl with
religion, with some religion in preference to all others, or to

268 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE, OF THE

have its institutions based upon the principles of Christianity
instead of those of Deism or the Koran.

'' How unlikely were the several States, in acceding to the
present Constitution, to lay aside all connection with Christianity
in the general institutions to which they gave birth, may be
inferred from the consideration that in their own respective
legislation a close relation between religion and the Government
had always subsisted ; that, though a strong aversion had arisen
to the national establishment of any one form of Christianity,
none had grown up against a distinct recognition of Christianity
itself as the religion of the nation ; and that the representatives
of the States in the convention that formed the present Con-
stitution were, for the most part, men of decided Christian
principles."

Judge Wilson, a member of the convention that formed the
Constitution, in an oration at Philadelphia, July, 1788, com-
memorative of the adoption of the Constitution by the people of
the several States, depicts the future progress and glory of the
American nation under the Constitution in these glowing words,
— words of prophecy which have been fully realized. He said, —

^' The commencement of our government has been eminently
glorious : let our progress in every excellence be proportionally
great. It will — it must be so. What an enrapturing pros-
pect opens on the United States ! Placid Husbandry walks
in front, attended by the venerable plough. Lowing herds
adorn our valleys ; bleating flocks spread over our hills ; verdant
meadows, enamelled pastures, yellow harvests, bending orchards,
rise in rapid succession from East to West. Plenty, with her
copious horn, sits easy smiling, and, in conscious complacency,
enjoys and presides over the scene. Commerce next advances,
in all her splendid and embellished forms. The rivers and lakes
and seas are crowded with ships ; their shores are covered with
cities ; the cities are filled with inhabitants. The Arts, decked
with elegance, yet with simplicity, appear in beautiful variety
and well-adjusted arrangement. Around them are diffused, in
rich abundance, the necessaries, the decencies, and the ornaments
of life. With heartfelt contentment, Industry beholds her honest
labors flourishing and secure. Peace walks serene and unalarmed
over all the unmolested regions; while liberty, virtue, and reli-
gion go hand in hand, harmoniously, protecting, enlivening, and
exalting all. Happy country ! may thy happiness be perpetual!"

CIVIL IXSTITUTI0K3 OF THE UNITED STATES. 269

The people who ordained such a noble constitution of govern-
ment, and for whom it was made, are under the highest and
most solemn obligations to preserve it for themselves, their
children, and future generations.

"This constitution of government," says Justice Story,
" must perish, if there be not that vital spirit in the people
which alone can nourish, sustain, and direct all its movements.
It is in vain that statesmen shall form plans of government in
which the beauty and harmony of a republic shall be embodied
in visible order, shall be built upon solid substructions, and
adorned by every useful ornament, if the inhabitants suffer the
silent powder of time to dilapidate its w^alls or crumble its massy
supporters into dust, if the assaults from without are never
resisted and the rottenness and mininsr from within are never
guarded against. Who can preserve the rights and liberties
of a people when they shall be abandoned by themselves ?
Who shall keep watch in the temple when the watchmen sleep
at their post ? Who shall call upon the people to redeem their
possessions and revive the republic, when their own hands
have deliberately and corruptly surrendered them to the op-
pressor and have built the prisons or dug the graves of their
own friends ? This dark picture, it is to be hoped, will never
be applicable to the republic of America. And yet it affords a
warning, which, like all the lessons of past experience, we are
not permitted to disregard. America, free, happy, and en-
lightened as she is, must rest the preservation of her rights and
liberties upon the virtue, independence, justice, and sagacity of
the people. If either fail, the republic is gone. Its shadow
may remain, with all the pomp and circumstance and trickery of
government, but its vital power will have departed."

The following language fell from the lips of Alexander Hamil-
ton, on his resignation of the office of Secretary of the Treasury,
in 1795. Holding in his hand a small book containing a copy
of the Federal Constitution, he said, " Now, mark my words !
80 long as we are a young and virtuous people, this instrument
will bind us together in mutual interest, mutual wolfiiro, and
mutual happiness; but when wo becomo old and corrupt it will
bind us no longer."

This dark condition of the republic, which would be i>ro-
duccd by the general corruption of the people and the govern-
ment, can only be prevented by tlic universal belief and appli-

270 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

cation of the principles stated in Webster's address before the
New York Historical Society. He says, —

'^ If we and our posterity shall be true to the Christian reli-
gion,— if we and they shall live always in the fear of God and
shall respect his commandments, — if we and they shall main-
tain just moral sentiments, and such conscientious convictions
of duty as shall control the heart and life, — we may have the
highest hopes of the future fortunes of our country ; and if we
maintain those institutions of government, and that political
union exceeding all praise as much as it exceeds all former
examples of political association, we may be sure of one thing,
that, while our country furnishes materials for a thousand
masters of the historic art, it will be no topic for a Gibbon,
— it will have no- decline and fall. It will go on prospering and
to prosper. But if we and our posterity neglect religious
instruction and authority, violate the rules of eternal justice,
trifle with the injunctions of morality, and recklessly destroy
the political constitution which holds us together, no man can
tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us that shall
bury all our glory in profound obscurity.

*' If that catastrophe," he continues, ^' shall happen, let it
have no history ! Let the horrible narrative never be written !
Let its fate be like that of the lost books of Livy, which no
human eye shall ever read, or the missing Pleiad, of which no
man can know more than that it is lost, and lost forever."

CHAPTER XIII.

FIRST CONGRESS UNDER TKE CONSTITUTION — WASHINGTON INAUGURATED —
CHRISTIAN SCENES ATTENDING HIS INAUGURATION — PRAYER-MEETING OF ALL

DENOMINATIONS IN NEW YORK WASHINGTON'S INAUGURAL — ITS CHRISTIAN

SENTIMENTS DAY OF THANKSGIVING FOR THE CONSTITUTION AND NEW

GOVERNMENT WASHINGTON'S PROCLAMATION CHRISTIAN ORDINANCE 'OF

1787 WASHINGTON'S LETTER TO LAFAYETTE — JUDGE NASH's VIEW OF THE

MORAL ENDS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT.

The first session of Congress after the adoption of the Fede-
ral Constitution opened with distinct legislative recognitions of
the Christian religion. Washington was inaugurated and took

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 271

the oatli of office on tlie SOtli of April, 1789. Congress, the
day before the inauguration, passed the following : —

Resolved, That, after the oath shall be administered to the President,
the Vice-President, and members of the Senate, the Speaker and mem-
bers of the House of Representatives, will accompany him to St. Paul's
Chapel, to hear divine service performed by the chaplains.

Chancellor Livingston administered the oath of office, and
Mr. Otis held up the Bible on its crimson cushion. The Presi-
dent, as he bowed to kiss ita sacred page, at the same time
laying his hand on the open Bible, said, audibly, '' I swear,"
and added, with fervency, that his whole soul might be absorbed
in the supplication, '' So help me God." Then the Chancellor
said, ''It is done!" and, turning to the multitude, waved his
hand, and, with a loud voice, exclaimed, " Long live George
Washington !" This solemn scene concluded, he proceeded with
the whole assembly, on foot, to St. Paul's Church, where prayers
suited to the occasion were read by Dr. Provost, Bishop of the
Protestant Episcopal Church in New York, who had been ap-
pointed one of the chaplains of Congress.

Previous to his inauguration, on the morning of the same
day, a general prayer-meeting of the various denominations of
Christians in New York was held for the special object of pray-
ing for God's blessing to rest on the President and the new
Government. The notice of the prayer-meeting is among the
old files of the '' New York Daily Advertiser," dated Thursday,
April 23, 1789, and is as follows :—

As we believe in an overruling Providence and feel our constant
dependence ui^on God for every blessing, so it is undoubtedly our duty
to acknowledge him in all our ways and commit our concerns to his
protection and mercy. The ancient civilized heathen, from the mere
dictates of reason, were uniformly excited to this ; and we find from
their writings that they engaged in no important business, especially
what related to the welfare of a nation, without a solemn ai)peul to
Heaven. How much more becoming and necessary is such a conduct in
Christians, who believe not only in the liglit of nature, but are blessed
with a divino revelation which lias taught them more of God and of
thoir obligations to worship him than by their reason they ever could
have investigated !

It has been the wish f)f many jdous persons in our land th;it at tlie
framing of our now Constitution a solemn and particular ai^x^nl to Ilcavon
had been made; and thoy have no doubt but Congress will soon call
upon the whole nation to set apart a day for fasting and i»rayrr for the

272 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

express purpose of invoking the blessing of Heaven on our new Govern-
ment. But this, in consequence of the distance of some of the States,
cannot immediatel}'- take phice : in the meanwhile, the inhabitants of
this city are favored with the opportunity of being present on the very
day on which the Constitution will be fully organized, and have it thus
in their power to accommodate their devotions exactly to the important
season.

In this view, it gave universal satisfaction to hear it announced last
Sunday from the pulpits of our churches that, on the morning of the
day on which our illustrious President will be invested with his office,
the bells will ring at nine o'clock, when the people may go up and in a
solemn manner commit the new Government, with its important train
of consequences, to the holy protection and blessings of the Most High.
An early hour is prudently fixed for this peculiar act of devotion, and
it is designed wholly for j^rayer: it will not detain the citizens very
long, or interfere with any of the other public business of the day.

It is supposed Congress will adopt religious solemnities by fervent
prayer with their chaplains, in the Federal Hall, when the President
takes his oath of office ; but the people feel a common interest in this
great transaction, and whether they approve of the Constitution as it now
stands, or wish that alterations may be made, it is equally their concern
and duty to leave the cause with God and refer the issue to his gracious
providence. In doing this, the inauguration of our President and the
commencement of our national character will be introduced with the
auspices of religion, and our enlightened rulers and people will bear a
consistent part in a business which involves the weal or woe of them-
selves and posterity.

I have heard that the notification respecting this hour of prayer was
made in almost all the churches of the city, and that some of those
who omitted the publication intend, notwithstanding, to join in that
duty ; and, indeed, considering the singular circumstances of the day,
which in many respects exceed any thing recorded in ancient or
modern history, it cannot be suj)posed that the serious and pious of any
denomination will hesitate in going up to their respective churches and
uniting at the throne of grace with proper prayers and supplications on
this occasion. " Ivjas glad when thci/ saidunio me, Let us go into the house of
the iori.''— (David.)

The people came out from tlie cliurclies where Mason, Living-
ston, Provost, Eodgers, and other clergymen had given pas-
sionately earnest and eloquent expression to that reverent and
profound desire for God's blessing upon the President and
G-overnment which filled all hearts, so universal was a religious
sense of the importance of the occasion.

'^The scene," said one, '^was solemn and awful beyond de-
scription. It would seem extraordinary that the administration
of an oath — a ceremony so very common and familiar — should to
so great a degree excite public curiosity ; but the circumstances

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 273

of the President's election, the importance of his past services,
the concourse of the spectators, the devout fervency with which
he repeated the oath, and the reverential manner in which he
bowed down and kissed the sacred volume, — all these conspired
to render it one of the most august and interesting spectacles
ever exhibited. It seemed, from the number of witnesses, to
be a solemn appeal to heaven and earth at once. In regard to
this great and good man I may be an enthusiast, but I confess
I was under an awful and religious persuasion that the gracious
Euler of the universe was looking down at that moment with
peculiar complacency on an act which to a part of his creatures
was so very important."

After divine service had been performed, Washington and
the officers of the new Government and the members of Cono-ress

o

returned to the Federal Hall, where his inaugural was delivered.
That address contains the following Christian sentiments : —

It would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fer-
vent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe,
who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids
can supply every human defect, that his benediction may consecrate to
the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a govern-
ment instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may
enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with
success the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage
to the great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself
that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of
my fcllow-c'dlzcns at large less than either.

No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which
conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step
bj which they have been advanced to the character of an independoit nation seems
to have been distinguished by some token of his jjrovidoUial agency.

And in -tlie important revolution just accomplished in the system
of their united government, the tranquil deliberations and voluntary
consent of so many distinct communities, from which the event has
resulted, cannot be compared with the means by which most govern-
ments have been established, without some return of pious gratitude,
along with an humble anticipation of the future blessings which tlie
past seems to presage. These reflections, arising out of the ju-oscnt
crisis, have forced themselves on my mind too strongly to be sui>i)re-scd.
You will join with me, I trust, in thinking that tliere arc none under
the influences of which the proceedings of u new and a free govornniont
can more auspiciously commence.

TIhtc is no truth more thoroughly established than th;it tliere cx-
ints in the economy and course of nature an indissoluble union between
virtue and liappino>^s, between duty and advantage, between tlie genuine

18

274 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy and the sohd rewards
of public prosperity and felicity ; since we ought to be no less per-
suaded that the j^ropitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on
a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which
Heaven itself has ordained ; and since the preservation of the sacred
fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government,
are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally, staked on the experi-
ment intrusted to the hands of the American people.

Having thus imparted to you my sentiments, as they have been
awakened by the occasion which brings us together, I shall take my
present leave, but not without resorting once more to the benign Parent
of the human race, in humble supplication, that since he has been pleased
to favor the American people with opportunities for deliberating in
perfect tranquillity, and dispositions for deciding with unparalleled
unanimity, on a form of government for the security of their union and
the advancement of their happiness, so his divine blessing may be
equally conspicvoiis in the enlarged views, the temperate consultations,
and the wise measures on w^hicii the success of this government must
depend.

The first session of tlie first Congress was not suffered to
pass without a solemn act of legislation recognizing the Chris-
tian religion. It was a national thanksgiving, proclaimed by
the authority of Congress. The Journals of Congress present
the following record.

Sept. 25, 1789.
Day of Thaxksgivixg.

Mr. Boudinot said he could not think of letting the session pass
without offering an opportunity to all the citizens of the United States
of joining with one voice in returning to Almighty God their sincere
thanks for the many blessings he had poured down upon them. With
this view he w^ould move the following resolution : —

Resolved. That a joint committee of both Houses be directed to wait
upon the President of the United States, to request that he recommend to
the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer,
to be observed by acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the many signal
favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opj^ortunity
peaceably to establish a constitution of government for their safety and
happiness.

Mr. Sherman justified the practice of thanksgiving on any signal
event, not only as a laudable one in itself, but as warranted by prece-
dents in Holy "Writ: for instance, the solemn thanksgiving and rejoicing
which took place in the time of Solomon after the building of the
temple was a case in point. This example he thought worthy of imi-
tation on the present occasion.

The resolution was unanimously adopted, and in pursuance
thereof Washington issued the following —

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 275

Proclamation for a National Thanksgiving.

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence
of Almighty Grod, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and
humbly to imj^lore his protection and favor; and whereas both Houses
of Congres-s, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to
the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and
prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many
signal favors of Almighty God, especially by afibrding them an oppor-
tunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and
happiness :" — -

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the twenty-
sixth day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these
States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the benefi-
cent -author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be ; that we
then may all unite unto him our sincere and humble thanks for his
kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their
becoming a nation ; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favor-
able interpositions of his providence in the course and conclusion of
the late war ; for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty
which we have since enjoyed ; for the peaceable and rational manner
in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of govern-
ment for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one
now lately instituted ; for the civil and religious liberty with which we
are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diflTusing useful
knowledge, and, in general, for all the great and various favors which
he has been pleased to confer upon us.

And, also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our
prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and
beseech liim to pardon our national and other transgressions ; to enable
us all, wiiether in public or in private stations, to perform our several
relative duties properly and punctually ; to render our national govern-
ment a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a government of
wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly executed and obeyed ; to
protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as havo
sliown kindness to us) and to bless them witli good governments, ]>eaco,
and concord : to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion'
and virtue, and the increase of science, among them and us ; and gene-
rally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity
as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the third ilay of
October, in the year of our Lord one thousan<l seven hundr<Ml and
eighty-nine. George AVasiungtov.

A memorable act of freedom and roliL>ion was pass.^d by
Congress, two years previous to the ado[)tion of the national
Constitution, which is here recorded as belonginL; to the Chris-
tian legislation of those earlier days of the reiiublio. It was
passed on the 13th day of July, 1787, and is iw follows : —

276 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Be it ordained by the United States in Congress assembled, that for
extending the fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty
which form the basis whereon these republics, their laws and consti-
tutions, are erected, to fix and establish those principles as the basis of
all laws, constitutions, and governments which forever hereafter shall
be formed in the said territories, it is hereby ordained and declared, by
the authority aforesaid, that —

Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good govern-
ment and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of educa-
tion shall forever be encouraged ; and that " No person demeaning him-
self in a peaceable and orderly manner shall ever be molested on
account of his mode of worship or religious sentiments;" and "There=
shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said Territory
(the Northwest), otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof
the parties shall be duly convicted."

Writing to Lafayette, Washington alludes to this ordinance
as follows : —

'' I agree with you cordially in your views in regard to negro
slavery. I have long considered it a most serious evil; both
socially and politically, and I should rejoice in any feasible
scheme to rid our States of such a burden. The Congress of
1787 adopted an ordinance prohibiting the existence of involun-
tary servitude in our Northwestern Territory forever. I consider
it a wise measure. It met with the approval and assent of
nearly every member of the States more immediately interested
in slave labor. The prevailing opinion in Virginia is against
the spread of slavery in the new Territory ; and I trust we shall
have a Confederacy of Free States."

The Christian sentiments and acts in this chapter confirm the
views of Judge ISTash, of Ohio, who, in his work on the Morality
of the State, says : —

" The mission of a civil state is no political expediency
organized to create offices and furnish employments and salaries
for the venal, and a field of action for the aspiring. The state
is an institution of God, as much as the church and the family ;
and duties are laid upon it which it must fulfil. Its ends are
man's mortal and immortal interests; it has to do with mate-
rials only so far as those subserve and advance the spiritual.
The state is a part of God's machinery, of God's instrumen-
talities, which he has appointed for the education, instruction,
moral culture, and perfection of the human soul. Man is
enthralled to nature ; God has organized this world with the
view of emancipating him from nature, and restoring him to

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 277

that spiritual freedom wliich lie himself rejoices in, — the free-
dom of acting in conformity to the Divine law, which is the law
of man's own being. Truth is the great agent of this emanci-
pation : it is this, acting in his own spirit, that alone can make
man free and elevate him to the dignity of a son of God. The
8tate has an important part to act in this great work of human
elevation and puriiic9.tion ; its aim must ever be in this direction,
its action should be guided and shaped so as to bear onward
and co-operate in this holy work."

''And let us remember," says Webster, ''that it is only reli-
gion, and morals, and knowledge, that can make men respect-
able and happy under any form of government. Let us hold
fast the great truth that com.munities are responsible, as well
as individuals, and that without unspotted purity of public
faith, without sacred public principle, fidelity, and honor, no
mere forms of government, no machinery of laws, can give
dignity to political society. In our day and generation let us
seek to raise and improve the moral sentiment, so that we may
look, not for a degraded, but for an elevated and improved,
future."

CHAPTER XIV.

THE ARMY OF THE REVOLUTION — WAR A PROVIDENTIAL AGENCY FOR GOOD — VIEWS

OF THE PURITANS — EXTRACT FROM A SPEECH IN THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

RELIGION SANCTIONS A JUST WAR — ITS RELATIONS TO AN ARMY — WASHINGTON'S

VIEWS^-CHRISTIAN LEGISLATION OF THE COLONIAL CONGRESS ON THE WAR

CHRISTIAN RULES FOR THE ARMY — WASHINGTON A CHRISTIAN COMMANDER

HIS CHRISTIAN ORDERS — HABITS OF PRAYER SCENE AT VALLEY FORGE

PRAYER RECORDED — HIS RECOGNITION AND DEPENDENCE ON GOD DURING
THE WAR — VIEWS OF DR. STILES OP- THE PRESENCE AND GUIDANCE OF GOD
IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR — DR. LADD's ADDRESS BEFORE THE GOVERNOR
OF SOUTH CAROLINA IN 1785 — DR. RAMSEY's VIEWS — FORM OF AN OATH OF
LOYALTY.

"War," says Dr. Bacon, "has a place among the agencies
through which God's providence is working from ago to ago in
the interest of that Divine kingdom which is righteousness and
peace. In the sacred books of the Old Testament we have not
only the record of the wars in which the chosen people fulfilled
their destiny, but the prayers in which holy men commended
their country to the God of Hosts in time of l>eril, and the

278 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

songs in -wliicli they acknowledged tbat his right hand had
given them the victory.

'^ Under the providence of God, then, and in the n^ethods by
which he governs tlie world, war, with its dreadful train of
evils, is sometimes an inevitable incident in the world's progress.
Conflicts attendant on the birth or the attempted subjugation
and extinction of nationalities, — conflicts arisina; out of the
growth and collision of irreconcilable systems of civilization, or
the collision of civilization with barbarism, — conflicts between
right and wrong, between liberty and despotic power, or
between progressive and repressive forces, — sometimes involve
the necessity of war.

'' It was well for the interests of civilization and of humanity
that the men who had undertaken to enlarge the kingdom of
Christ by planting themselves here in this wilderness were not
embirrassed at such a crisis by any doubts about the lawfulness
of bearing arms in a righteous cause. The sentimentalism
which would surrender the whole earth to the dominion of law-
less violence, rather than resist force by force, had not yet been
born, and was not likely to be engendered in minds like theirs.
Hence one of the moral maxims of the New England Puritans
was that ' they may lawfully, under the Xew Testament, wage
war upon just and necessary occasions.' For this end, they
kept up, for generations, the most rigid military discipline, and
were ready at all times to repel invaders. In the first age of
Puritan history, their rigid Christian polity and progress had a
military as well as a moral force to make it eff'ective and certain.
Freedom and expansion over the wild domains of the savage
were secured by the successful wars which the Puritans waged
to secure a foothold and a progress to Christianity. This union
of the military and Christian spirit was transmitted to their
descendants, and was ready for earnest action, when the great
war of the Revolution broke out.

'^Our fathers, when that question arose, did not initiate a
rebellion against an established Constitution ; they stood simply
for their hereditary English rights, their legal and chartered
rights ; and when those rights were assailed with armed invasion,
they stood in arms for the defence of their inheritance and
their political existence. They did not begin the war, rushing
to take up arms before any demonstration in arms had been
made against them: they waited in the hope that justice would

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. • 279

prevail in the councils of the king ; they offered no resistance,
but by remonstrance and petition, till their king made war on
them. They did not commence with an act of secession from
the British Empire, nor with renunciation of their allegiance
to the British crown. Their declaration of independence was
not made till after the king and Parliament had begun the
attempt to establish, by military power, new methods of govern-
ment over them.

" Then war had become to them an inevitable necessity ; for
they could not tamely surrender their own birthright and the
lawful inheritance of their children. Then, in the spirit of the
generations which had preceded them, they girded themselves
for the struggle to which they were summoned."

The following fragment of a speech made in the General Con-
gress of America, by a member whose name is unknown, in 1775,
presents a just view of the results of war as an agency of good
to freedom and the final glory of a nation. The war of the
Bevolution, about to open when the speech was made, grandly
illustrated its views.

" The great God, sir, who is the searcher of all things, will
witness for me that I have spoken to you from the bottom
and purity of my heart. The God to whom we appeal must
judge us.

*' There are some people who tremble at the approach of war.
They feel that it must put an inevitable stop to the further
progress of these colonies, and ruin irretrievably those benefits
which the industry of centuries has called forth from this once
savage land. I may commend the anxiety of these, without
praising their judgment.

" War, like other evils, is often wholesome. The waters that
stagnate corrupt; the storm that works the ocean into rage
renders it salutary; heaven has given us nothing unmixed ; the
rose is not without its thorn. War calls forth the great virtues
and efforts which would sleep in the gentle bosom of Peace.
^ Faullum sepultce distal inerticc. celata virtus.' It opens re-
sources which would be concealed undi'r the inactivity of
tranquil times; it produces a people of animation, onorgy,
adventure, and greatness. Let us consult history. Did not
the Grecian republics pros[)er amid continual warfare? Their
prosperity, their power, their splendor, grow from the all-ani-
luating spirit of war. Did not the cottages of shepherds rise

280 . CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHABACTER OF THE

into imperial Eome, the mistress of tlie world, the nurse of
heroes, the delight of gods, through the invigorating operation
of unceasing wars? ^ Fer damna, fer ccedes, ah ipso ducit ojms
animumque fcrro!

'' How often has Flanders been the theatre of contending
powers, conflicting hosts, and blood ! Yet what country is more
fertile and flourishing ? Trace back the history of our parent
state. Whether you view her arraying Angles against Danes,
Danes against Saxons, Saxons against Normans, the barons
against usurping princes, or in the civil wars of the Eed and
White Eoses, or that between the people and the tyrant Stuart,
you see her in a state of almost continual warfare. In almost
every reign to the commencement of that of Henry VII. her
peaceful bosom (in her poet's phrase) was gored with war. It
was in the peaceful reigns of Henry VII., Henry VIII., and
Charles II. that she suffered the severest extremities of tyranny
and oppression. But, amid her civil contentions, she flourished
and grew strong : trained in them, she sent her hardy legions
forth, which planted the standard of England upon the battle-
ments of Paris, extending her commerce and her dominion.

'' The beautiful fabric of her constitutional liberty was reared
and cemented in blood. From this fulness of her strength those
scions issued which, taking deep root in this delightful land,
have reared their heads and spread abroad their branches like
the cedars of Lebanon.

'' Why fear we, then, to pursue, through apparent evil, real
good? The war upon which we are about to enter is just and
necessary. ^ Justum est helium, uhi necessarium; et pia arma,
quihus nulla, nisis in armis, relinquiter spesj It is to protect
these regions, brought to such beauty through the infinite toil
and hazard of our fathers and ourselves, from becoming a prey
of that more desolating and more cruel spoiler than war, pesti-
lence, or famine, — absolute rule and endless extortion.

^' Our sufferings have been great, our endurance long. Every
effort of patience, complaint, and supplication has been ex-
hausted. They seem only to have hardened the hearts of
ministers who oppress us and double our distresses. Let us
therefore consult only how we shall defend our liberties with
dignity and success. Our parent state will then think us worthy
of her, when she sees that with her liberty we inherit her rigid

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 281

resolution of maintaining it against all invaders. Let us give
her reason to pride herself in the relationship.

" 'And thou, great Liberty! inspire our souls:
Make our lives happy in thy pure embrace,
Or our deaths glorious in thy just defence/ *"

'' Eeligion supports valor by inspiring faith in the providence
of God. Every Christian believes that the purposes and plans
of God include, either directly or permissively, all the events of
time, and that such are the resources of Divine power, wisdom,
and goodness, that all things will be overruled to the final
triumph of right. This is one of the reasons why those Chris-
tians whose theology lays great stress on the Divine purposes
appear in history as such sturdy soldiers; in Switzerland,
France, Scotland, England, and America. The Huguenots, the
Covenanters, the Puritans, — who have dared or sacrificed more
than these ? They felt that they were in God's hands, wdth
the place of their lives and the hour and mode of their death
marked out, and they had no other concern than to go forward
under the guidance and protection of Divine Providence. The
saint is bold in war because he has faith in God as pledged to
sustain the right. He strikes hard, he takes aim coolly and
accurately, because his strength has been summoned forth and
his nerves steadied by fervent prayer and a conviction that God
is with him. He kneels before he fires ; he deals no blow with-
out faith that God will make it efi'ectual ; he carries a rifle in
his hand and a Bible in his pocket ; and, like Cromwell's army,
he ' trusts in God and keeps his powder dry.' Fighting in a
good cause being part of his religion, he scruples not, but is
zealous, rather, to do it well, that it may not need to be done
again.

" This trust in God as the defender of right is conspicuous in
the conduct and words of the warriors mentioned in the Bible.
The general of the forces of Israel, in the battle with the Am-
monites, made this address to the troops : — ' Be of good courage,
and let us play the men for our people and for the cities of our
God; and the Lord do that which scemcth him right.' "

The appointment of Washington as comraandor-in-cliiof of
the American armies was, as John Adams beautifully said, '*a
providential inspiration;" and his Christian character and prin-

282 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

ciples, in liarmon}^ witli tlie righteousness of the cause at stake,
gave the happiest auspices of final victory.

He had no taste for war or desire for military glory. '^ My
first wish," said he, ''is to see the whole world in peace, and
the inhabitants of it as one band of brothers, strivina; who
should contribute most to the happiness of mankind. For the
sake of humanity, it is devoutly to be washed that the manly
employments of agriculture and the humanizing benefits of
commerce should suspend the wastes of war and the rage of
conquest, and that the sword may be turned into the plough-
share."

But peace, the desire of all good men and the gift of Chris-
tianity, comes through conflict and war. Freedom and truth,
in a world where wrong and tyranny reign, must win their way
by the sword and conquer peace from the enemies of liberty
and right. In these great conflicts the armies of freedom and
righteousness receive an invincible spirit through the practical
adoption of Christianity. Christian soldiers in a good cause
are the most reliable and the most ardent. They go into battle
with deep convictions that Cod is with them and will lead them
to final victory. Hence the duty of a Christian nation to infuse
and educate its armies into the spirit of Christianity. They
should be girded with its power, clothed with its armor, and so
be the warriors of Cod and liberty. This was the desire and
efi'ort of Washington and Congress during the Eevolutionary
War, as the following ofiicial facts will show.

The Colonial Congress incorporated Christianity in the organ-
ization of the Revolutionary army, where from the beginning
of the Government till now it has been maintained. In the
Act " for establishing rules and articles for the government of
the armies of the United States," we have these articles : —

Art. 2. — It is earnestly recommended to all officers and soldiers
diligently to attend divine service ; and all officers who shall behave
indecently at any place of divine worship shall, if commissioned officers,
be brought before a general court-martial, there to be publicly and
severely reprimanded by the president ; if non-commissioned officers or
soldiers, every person so offisnding shall, for the first offisnce, forfeit one-
sixth of a doUar, to be deducted out of his next pay ; for the second
offence, he shall not only forfeit a like sum, but be confined twenty-
four hours, and for every like offence shall suffer and pay in like
manner.

Art. 3. — Any non-commissioned officer or soldier who shall use any

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 283

profane oath or execration shall incur the penalties expressed in the
foregoing ai'ticle ; and a commissioned officer shall forfeit and pay, for
each and every such ofience, one dollar. In both cases the money to
go to the sick soldiers of the company or troop to which the offender
may belong.

Art. 4. — Every chaplain commissioned in the army or armies of the
United States who shall absent himself from the duties assigned
(except in cases of sickness or leave of absence) shall, on conviction
thereof before a court-martial, be fined not exceeding one month's pay,
besides tlie loss of his pay during his absence, or be discharged, us the
said court shall adjudge proper.

The Act ''for the better government of the navy of the
United States" is of similar tone : —

Art. 1. — Tlie commanders of all ships and vessels of war belonging
to the navy are strictly enjoined and required to show hi themselves a
good example of virtue, ii< nor, patriotism, and subordination; and to
be vigilant in inspecting the conduct of all such as are placed under
their command, and to guard against and suppress all dissolute and
immoral practices, and to correct all such as are guilty of them accord-
ing to the usages of the sea-service.

Art. 2. — The commanders of all ships and vessels in the navy, having
chai)lains on board, shall take care that divine service be performed
in a solemn and reverent manner twice a day, and a sermon preached
on Sunday, unless bad weather or other extraordinary accidents pre-
vent it ; and tliat they come all, or as many of the ship's company as
can be spared from duty, to attend every performance of the worship
ol' Ahnighty God.

Art. .j. — Any officer or other persons in the navy who sliall bo
guilty of oi>pression, cruelty, fraud, profane swearing, or any other
scandalous c<)ndu(t tending to the destruction of good morals, shall, if
an ofiicer, be casliicred, or suffer such other punisliment as a court-
martial shall adjudge ; if a private, shall be put in irons or flogged, at
the discretion of the captain, not exceeding twelve lashes ; Ijut if the
otleiice rc'iuire severer punisliment. he shall be tried by a court-martial
and suii'cr such inuiishment as said court-martial shall inflict.

The proper discipline for those who are to be intrusted with
tlie safety and honor of the country, the greatest of all trusts,
is thus adjudged to be a discipline not only of good morals, but
of regular, pious observance and instruction, of daily worship,
of reverence for God's name and institutions, of Sabbath-koep-
ing, hearing the gospel preached, learning and practising tho
whole lesson of the cross.

Washington, in his first campaign as a military oiXn'or during
the war of Great Britain against France, in our colonial history,

284 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND . CHAEACTER OF THE

developed his cTiaracter as a Christian commander. Tlie follow-
in o; is one of his earliest orders : —

Colonel Washington has observed that the men of his regiment are
very profane and reprobate. He takes this opportunity to inform them
of his great displeasm^e at such practices, and assures them that, if they
do not leave them off, they shall be severely punished.

A most affecting instance of "Washington's early Christian feel-
ings, as a military man, was displayed at the death and burial of
Braddock, in 1756. After that unfortunate battle, Washington
bore the body of the fallen hero, after night, to his final place
of burial. In a slow and solemn march the spot was reached,
and, around the open grave, the young chieftain, by the light
of blazing torches, read the beautiful burial-service of the Epis-
copal Church, and, having committed '' ashes to ashes," returned
to his camp. How prophetic this of his future career as a
Christian commander of the American army !

When Washington proceeded to Cambridge after his appoint-
ment as commander-in-chief, the Provincial Congress of Massa-
chusetts appointed a committee to meet the general and escort
him to Boston. That committee was Kev. Dr. Benjamin Church
and Moses Cill, who, at Waterton, presented to Washington a
formal congratulatory address, in which they said, —

The Congress of the Massachusetts colony, impressed with every sen-
timent of gratitude and respect, beg leave to congratulate you on your
safe arrival, and to wish you all imaginable happiness and success in
the execution of the important duties of your elevated station.

While we applaud the attention to the public good manifested in
your appointment, we equally admire that disinterested virtue and dis-
tinguished patriotism which alone could call you from those enjoyments
of domestic life which a sublime and manly taste joined with a most
affluent fortune can afford, to hazard your life and to endure the
fatigues of war in the defence of the rights of mankind and the good of
your country.

We most fervently imjilore Almighty God that the blessings of Divine
Providence may rest on you ; that your head may be covered in the day
of battle ; that every necessary asyistance may be afforded, and that you
may be long continued in life and health, a blessing to mankind.

A graphic description of the American camp is given by Eev.
William Emerson, a chaplain in the army, written a few days
after the arrival of the commander-in-chief. He says, —

'' There is great overturning in the camp, as to order and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 285

regularity. New lords, new laws. The generals, Washington
and Lee, are up and down the lines every day. New orders
from his Excellency are read to the respective regiments every
morning after prayers. The strictest government is taking
place. Every one is made to know his place and keep in it."

The following extract from the journal of a chaplain in the
American army presents an interesting and instructive view of
Washington's appearance and religious character at the open-
ing of the Eevolutionary War, when, in obedience to Congress,
he took command of the armies: —

''July 4ith, 1775. — I have seen the new general appointed by
Congress to command the armies of the colonies. On seeing
him I am not surprised at the choice. I expected to see an
ardent, heroic-looking man ; but such a mingled sweetness,
dignity, firmness, and self-possession I never before saw in any
man. The expression ' born to command' is peculiarly appli-
cable to him. Day before yesterday, when under the great elm
in Cambridge he drew his sword and formally took command
of the army of seventeen thousand men, his look and bearing
impressed every one, and I could not but feel that he was re-
served for some great destiny.

" I have heard much of his religious character, and henco
looked with a great deal of anxiety for liis first order to see if
there was any thing more than a more formal recognition of the
Supreme Being. To-day he issued it; and it was with a heart
overflowing with gratitude to God that I read the following
passage in it: —

" ' The general most earnestly requires and expects the due
observance of those articles of war established for the o:ovorn-
ment of the army which forbid cursing, swearmg, and drunken-
ness, and in like manner he requires and expects of all otficers
and soldiers, not engaged on actual duties, a punctual attend-
ance on divine service to implore the blessing of Heaven upon
the means used for safety and defence.'

"Truly God is with us, and, though the way bo dark and
dreary, I will believe he will carry us through safely at Inst."

In a general order, July, 1776, Washington says, —

Tlio fato of uiiIm^i-h millions will now <lt'iHMi«l, under fiod, on tho ron-
ra;;.' and cou(lu<!t of tlio army. Our cruel and unrelenting *'nomy loaves
us only t)»o choice of l»ravo resistaneo or the most ahjeet suhmission.
Lot us. tljon, relv on tlio <'oodness of our cause an<l the aid of the Su-

286 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

preme Being in whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage us to
noble action.

An army order, July 9, 1776, from Washington, says, —

The Honorable Continental Congress having been pleased to allow
a chaplain to each regiment, the colonels or commanding officers of
each regiment are directed to procure chaplains, persons of good cha-
racter and exemplary lives, and to see that all inferior officers and
t^oldiers pay them suitable respect. The blessing and protection of
Heaven are at all times necessary, but especially so in time of public
distress and danger. The general hopes and trusts that every officer
and man will endeavor to live and act as a Christian Soldier defending
the dearest rights and liberties of his country.

The folloAving order is eminently Christian : —

Head-Quarters, New York, May 15, 1776.
The Continental Congress having ordered Friday, the 17th instant,
to be observed as a day of "Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer, humbly
to supplicate the mercy of Almighty God, that it would please him to
pardon all our manifold sins and transgressions, and to prosper the arms
of the United Colonies, and finally establish the i^eace and freedom of
America upon a solid and lasting foundation,'' the general commands
all officers and soldiers to pay strict attention to the orders of the Conti-
nental Congress, and, by the unfeigned and pious observance of their
religious duties, incline the Lord and Giver of victory to prosper our
arms.

The following is a letter to the ministers, elders, and deacons
of the Dutch Preformed Church at Earitan : —

Camp Middlebrook, 2 June, 1779.
In quartering an army, and in supplying its wants, distress and incon-
venience will often occur to the citizens. These have been strictly
limited by necessity, and regard to the rights of my fellow-citizens. I
thank you for the sense you entertain of the conduct of the army. I
trust the goodness of the cause and the exertions of the people, under
Divine protection, will give us that honorable peace for which we are
contending. Suffer me to wish the Reformed Dutch Church at Earitan
all the blessings which flow from piet}-^ and religion.

Congress appointed the 18th of December, 1777, as a day of
public thanksgiving and praise. Washington, with his army,
were on the march from Whitemarsh to Valley Forge, where
they were to go into winter quarters. They paused that day to
wait upon God in prayer and praise, as the following order
of December 17, 1777, shows :—

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 287

To-morrow being the day set apart by the Honorable Congress for
public thanksgiving and praise, and duty calling us all devoutly to ex-
press our grateful acknowledgments to God for his manifold blessings
he has granted to us, the general directs that the army remain in its
present quarters, and that the chaplains perform divine service with'
their several regiments and brigades, and earnestly exhorts all officer
and soldiers, Avhose absence is not indispensably necessary, to attend
with reverence the solemnities of the day.

How sublime and suggestive this Christian scene ! A patriot
army, led by a Christian commander, stopping amid the snows
and cold of winter, to worship Grod before going into winter
quarters ! These services were wisely preparatory to the hard-
ships of that long and dreary winter at Valley Forge.

Profaneness is a common vice of an army. Congress and
Washington labored hard to correct this shameful habit. Con-
gress passed the following resolutions on the subject.

Thursday, February 25, 1777.

It being represented to Congress that profaneness in general, and par-
ticularly cursing and swearing, shamefully prevail in the army of tlie
United States :

Resolved, That General Wasliington be informed of this ; and th-it he
be requested to take the most proper measures, in concert witli his
general officers, for reforming this abuse.

Washington issued the following order in 1776 : —

That the troops may have an opportunity of attending puhlic worship, as well as
to take some rest after the great fatigue they have gone through, the general, in
future, excuses them from fatigue dxUy on Sundays, except at the shipyards
or on special occasions, until further orders. The general is sorry to be
informed that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and
swearing, a vice hitherto little known in an American army, is growing
into fashion. He hopes the officers will, by example as well as influence,
endeavor to check it, and that both they and the men will reflect that
we can have little liope of the blessing of Heaven on our arms if wo
insult it by our impiety and folly. Added to this, it is a vice so mean
and low, without any temptation, that every man of sense and cha-
racter detests and despises it.

In ^lay, 1777, Washington sent to the brigadier-generals of
the army the following instructions : —

Lot vice and immorality of every kind bo discouraged as nuu-h as
possi}>lo in your l)rigade ; and, as a chaplain is allowed to each regiment,
see that the men regularly attend during worshii). CiaTuin;,' of every
kind is expressly forbidden, as being the foundation of evil, and the
cause of many a bravo and gallant officer's and soldier's ruin.

288 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

The following order presents the character of a Christian
superior to that of a patriot or soldier : —

Head-Quarters, Valley Forge, May 2, 1778.

The commander-in-chief directs that divine service be performed
every Sunday at ten o'clock in each brigade with a chaplain. Those
brigades which have none will attend the places of worship nearest
them. It is expected that officers of all ranks will, by their attendance,
set an example to their men. While w^e are duly performing the duty
of good soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher
duties of religion. To the distinguished character of a patriot it should
be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of a
Christian.

The signal instances of providential goodness which we have experi-
enced, and which have almost crowned our arms Avith complete success,
demand from us, in a peculiar manner, the warmest returns of grati-
tude and piety to the Supreme Author of all good.

Congress, on the 17th of March, appointed the 22d of April,
1778, as a day of religious solemnities. Washington, in pur-
suance thereof, issued to his army the following order : —

Head-Quarters, Valley Forge, April 12, 1778.

The Honorable the Congress having thought proper to recommend
to the United States of America to set apart Wednesday, the 22d instant,
to be observed as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, that at one
time, and with one voice, the righteous dispensations of Providence
may be acknowledged, and his goodness and mercy towards our arms
be supplicated and implored,

The general directs that the day shall be most religiously observed in
the army ; that no work shall be done thereon ; and that the several
chaplains do prepare discourses suitable to the occasion.

In 1778, the independence of the United States was acknow-
ledged by France, and a treaty of friendship formed at Paris.
Washington and his army were at Valley Forge when the news
reached him. On the 7th of May, shortly after the news
reached him, he issued the following order : —

It having pleased the Almighty Euler of the iiniverse to defend the
cause of the United American States, and finally to raise up a powerful
friend among the princes of the earth, to establish our liberty and inde-
pendence upon a lasting foundation, it becomes us to set apart a day
for gratefully acknowledging the Divine goodness and celebrating the
important event which we owe to his Divine interposition. The several
brigades are to be assembled for this purpose at nine o'clock to-morrow
morning, when their chaplains will communicate the intelligence, and
offer up thanksgiving, and deliver a discourse suitable to the occasion.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 289

The surrender of Cornwallis, at Yorktowu, on the 21st of
October, 1781, closed the war of liberty and revolution.
General Washington immediately ordered religious ceremonies
commemorative of the joyful event: —

Divine service is to be performecl to-morrow in the several brigades
and divisions. The commander-in-chief earnestly recommends that the
troops not on duty should universally attend, with that seriousness of
deportment and gratitude of heart which the recognition of such reite-
rated and astonishing interpositions of Providence demands of us.

The following general order was issued by General Washing-
ton on the restoration of peace : —

IIead-Quarters, Chatham, April 18, 1783.
The commander-in-chief orders the cessation of hostilities between
the United States of America and the King of Great Britain to be pub-
licly proclaimed to-morrow at twelve o'clock at the new buildings ; and
that the proclamation which will be communicated herewith be read
to-morrow evening at the head of every regiment and corps of the army ;
after which, the chaplains, with the brigades, will render thanks to
Almiglity God for all his mercies, particularly for his overruling the
wrath of man to his own glory, and causing the rage of war to cease
among the nations.

Signed, April 18, 1783.

At twelve o'clock, the large log temple which had been
erected on the camp-ground for the meeting of the officers was
thronged, and the joyful intelligence communicated amid deafen-
ing plaudits. At evening, the chaplains, in accordance with
the orders of the commander-in-chief, offered up thanksgiving
and prayer at the head of the several brigades.

As a military commander, Washington constantly and de-
voutly acknowledged the special interposition of a Divine Pro-
vidence throughout the entire war, and habitually ascribed the
victories and the final results to God's intervention and good-
ness. This fundamental doctrine of the Christian religion is
the key of all historic events, giving confidence in auspicious,
final results, and had a firm and deep hold on the fiiith and life
of Washington. In the midst of disasters, defeats, and the dark-
ness which sometimes clouded the prospects of the struggling
colonies, his soul, in serene and sublime trust, rested on this
great doctrine with h(jpo and assurance, and it animated Lis
courage and efforts in the great cause to which he wan devoted.
His thankful and reverential acknowledgments of the provi-

10

290 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

dence and presence of God are full of instruction, and present
the brightest evidences of his Christian faith and piety. The
following allusions to this great doctrine, in connection with
himself and the events of the w^ar, are here recorded.

When but twenty-three years of age, in a letter to Governor
Dinwiddle, June 10, 1754, he acknowledges a striking inter-
position of a special Providence in reference to a supply of
provisions for his troops. ''If Providence," says he, ''had not
sent a trader from the Ohio to our relief, we should have been
four days without provisions."

After the defeat of Braddock he w^rote, " By the all-powerful
dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all
human probability or expectation." His perfect preservation,
during the eight years of the Pbevolutionary War, though often
exposed and in danger, confirms his OAvn declarations in refer-
ence to his providential protection.

Writing to Governor Trumbull, from Cambridge, 18th of
July, 1775, he says, —

"As the cause of our common country calls us both to an
active and dangerous duty, I trust that Divine Providence will
enable us to discharge it with fidelity and success."

He wrote to General Gage, of the British army, in the same
year, and said, —

"May that God to whom you appeal judge between America
and you. Under his providence, those who influence the
councils of America, and all the other united colonies, at the
hazard of their lives, are determined to hand down to posterity
those just and invaluable privileges which they received from
their ancestors."

In a circular to his officers, September 8, 1775, in reference
to an attack on the British at Boston, he said, —

" The success of such an enterprise depends, I well know,
upon the all-wise Disposer of events."

After the evacuation of Boston by the British troops, March
17; 1776, Washington, in answer to an address of the General
Assembly of Massachusetts, wrote as follows : —

"It must be ascribed to the interposition of that Providence
which has manifestly appeared in our behalf through the wdiole
of this important struggle."

In May, 1776, referring to expected battles in New York,
and the feeble preparations for them, he said, —

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 291

" However, it is to be hoped that if our cause is just, a.? I do
most religiously believe it to be, the same Providence which
has in many instances appeared for us will still go on to afford,
as aid."

On the 2d of July of the same year, in an order to his army,
on the eve of an expected attack, he said, " The fate of unborn
millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and con-
duct of this army. Let us rely upon the goodness of our cause
and the aid of thai Supreme Being in whose hand.s victory
is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble actions."

To the officers and soldiers of the Pennsylvania Association
he writes, the 8th of August, 1776, " We must now determine
to be enslaved or free. If we make freedom our choice, wo
must obtain it by the blessing of Hcaxeii on our united and
vigorous exertions. I beg leave to remind you that liberty,
honor, and safety are all at stake ; and I trust Providence will
smile u[X)n our efforts, and establish us once more the inhabit-
ants of a free and happy country."

In writing to General Armstrong, from Morristown, New
Jersey, 4th July, 1777, he says, —

"The evacuation of Jersey by the British troops, at this tirae,
is a peculiar mark of the favor of Providence, as the inhabit-
ants have an opportunity of securing their harvests of hay and
grain."

When Washington received from Governor Clinton a despatch
announcing the surrender of Burgoyne's army at Saratoga, in
1777, his first words were, "I most devoutly congratulate my
country and every well-wisher to the cause on this signal stroke
of Providence. Should Providence be pleased to crown our
arms in the course of the campaign with one more fortunate
stroke, I tliink we shall have no great cause for anxiety respect-
ing tlie future designs of Great Britain. I trust all will bo
well in his good time."

Alluding to the ])risoners taken by the Northern arnues,
" including tories in arms against us," Washington wrote, —

" This sigjial instance of Providence, and of our good Ibriuno
under it, exhibits a striking proof of the advantagoM which
result from unanimity and a spirited conduct in th«' militia."

In reference to the disaffection of a portion of the ix'ople of
New York to the cause, and the embarrassments thereby caused
to his campaign in that State, Washington said, " I do not

292 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

mean to complain. I flatter myself that a superintending Pro-
vidence is ordering every thing for the best^ and that, in due
time, all will end well."

From Valley Forge, May 30, 1778, he wrote as follows : —

"Providence has a just claim to my humble and grateful
thanks for its protection and direction of me through the many
difficult and intricate scenes which this contest has produced,
and for its constant interposition in our behalf when the clouds
were heaviest and seemed ready to burst upon us."

Eeferring to the distresses of the army at Valley Forge, and
its sufferings during the previous eventful winter, he said,
'^ Since our prospects have miraculously brightened, shall I
attempt the description of the condition of the army, or even
bear it in remembrance, further than as a memento of what is
due to the great Author of all, the care and good that have been
extended in relieving us in difficulties and distresses?"

The battle of Monmouth, 28th of June, 1778, which threat-
ened to prove disastrous from the mismanagement of General
Lee, affords the occasion to Washington to say, '' Had not that
bountiful Providence which has never failed us in the hour of
distress enabled me to form a regiment or two (of those who
were retreating) in the face of the enemy, and under their fire,
by which means a stand was made long enough to form the
troops that were advancing upon an advantageous piece of
ground in the rear, where our affairs took a favorable turn."

From ISTewport, Khode Island, in March, 1781, Washington
wrote to William Gordon, and said, "We have, as you very
justly observe, abundant reasons to thank Providence for its
many favorable interpositions in our behalf. It has at times
been my only dependence, for all other resources seemed to
have failed us."

To General Armstrong, in 1781, Washington expressed his
faith in Providence as follows : —

" Our affairs are brought to a perilous crisis, that the hand
of Providence, I trust, may be more conspicuous in our deliver-
ance. The many remarkable interpositions of the Divine
government, in the hours of our deepest distress and darkness,
have been too luminous to suffer us to doubt the issue of the
present contest."

To the President of Congress, in November, 1781, referring
to " the success of the combined armies aoiainst our enemies at

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 293

Yorktown and Gloucester," and the "proclamation for a day of
public prayer and thanksgiving," Washington wrote, —

'^ I take a particular pleasure in acknowledging that the
interposing hand of Heaven, in the various instances of our
extensive preparations for this operation, have been most con-
spicuous and remarkable."

"The great Director of events," he addressed in 1781 the
citizens of Alexandria, " has carried us through a variety of
scenes, during this long and bloody contest in which we have
been for seven campaigns most nobly struggling."

In a circular to the States, dated Philadelphia, January 31,
1782, Washington said, —

*' Although we cannot, by the best-concerted plans, absolutely
command success ; although the race is not always to the swift,
nor the battle to the strong ; yet, without presumptuously wait-
ing for miracles to be wrought in our favor, it is our indispensa-
ble duty, with the deepest gratitude to Heaven for the past, and
humble confidence in its smiles on our future operations, to
make use of all the means in our power for our defence and
security."

At the close of the war he said, " I must be permitted to con-
sider the wisdom and unanimity of our national councils, the
firmness of our citizens, and the patience and bravery of our
troops, which have produced so happy a termination of the war,
as the most conspicuous effects of the Divine interposition and
the surest presage of our future happiness. To the great Ruler
of events — not to any exertions of mine — is to be ascribed the
favorable termination of our late contest for liberty. I never
considered the fortunate issue of any event in another light
than the ordering of a kind Providence."

In his farewell address to the armies of the United States, he
.says,—

"The singular interpositions of Providence, in our feeMo
condition, were such as could scarcely escape the attention of
the most unobserving; while the unparalleled perseverance of
the armies of the United Stati's, through almost every pos.>il>lo
suffering and discouragement, for the space of eight long years,
was little short of a standing miracle. And being now about
to bid a final adieu to the armies he has so long had the honor
to command, he can only again offer, in their behalf, his recora-
mcndations to their grateful country, and his prayei*3 to the

294 CHRISTIAN LIFE AKD CHARACTER OF THE

God of armies. May ample justice be done them liere, and
may the choicest of Heaven's favors, both here and hereafter^,
attend those Avho, under the Divine auspices, hi^ve secured
innumerable blessings for others. With these wish^, and
this benediction, the commander-in-chief is about to retire from
the service."

To General Xelson^ of Virginia, in August, 1778^ Washington
■svrote, — ■

''It is not a little pleasing, nor less vronderful, to contemplate,
that after two years' manoeuvring and undergoing the strangest
vicissitudes that ever attended any one contest since the crea-
tion, both armies are brought back to the very point they set
out from, and that the offendiaig p^arty at the beginning is now
reduced to the use of the spade and pickaxe for defence. The
hand of Providence has been so consjyic-uous in all this, that
he must he ivorse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more
than U'ieked that has not gratitude enough to ac]<mowledge
his ohligoAions. I shall add no more on the doetrine of Pro-
vidence."

In December, 1778, Washington w\as in Philadelphia, at the
request of Congress, for a personal conference res-pecting the
next campaign. From that city he wrote to Benjamin Harrison,
of Virginia, and, after giving a gloomy picture of the times
and the financial condition of the country, and the '* idleness,
dissipation, extravagance, speculation, peculation, and insatiable
thirst for riches, and the party disputes and personal quarrels,
which seem to have got the better of every other consideration,'^
Washington closed as follows : —

'' I feel more real distress on account of the present appear-
ance of things than I have done at any one time since the com-
mencement of the dispute. Providence has heretofore taken us
up when all other means and hopes seemed to be departing from
11 s . In this IV ill I confide. ' '

To Joseph Reed, President of Congress, referring to the con-
dition of the currency and the smallness of the army, Wash-
ington, in July, 1779, wrote, "And yet, Providence having so
often taken us up when bereft of every other hope, I trust we
shall not fail even in this."

Washington, in his instructions to Colonel Arnold, in Septem-
ber, 1775, when that officer was about to march against Quebec,
shows the spirit of a Christian commander, and the scrupulous

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 295

regard he had to the rights of conscience. His instructions
were as follows : —

" As the contempt of the religion of a country by ridiculing
any of its ceremonies, or affronting its ministers or votaries, has
ever been deeply resented, you are to be particularly careful to
restrain every officer and soldier from such imprudence and
folly, and to punish every instance of it. On the other hand,
you are to protect and support the free exercise of the religion
of the country, and the unobstructed enjoyment of rights in
religious matters, with your utmost influence and authority."

In a private communication to the same officer and of the
same date, Washington says, —

'' I also give it in charge to you to avoid all disrespect of the
religion of the country and its ceremonies. Prudence, policy,
and a true Christian spirit will lead us to look with compassion
on their errors, without insulting them. While we are contend-
ing for our own liberty, we should be very cautious not to violate
the rights of conscience in others, ever considering that God
alone is the judge of the hearts of men, and to him only in this
case they are answerable."

General Washington, having triumphantly led the armies of
the Eevolution to victory, and closed the war with glory and honor
to his country and himself, repaired, on the 23d of December, 1783,
to Annapolis, Maryland, where Congress was in session, and
surrendered his military command in the following address : —

Tlio great event on wliicli my resignation dependccl having at
length taken phice, I now liave the opportunity of offering my sincere
congratulations to Congress, and of presenting myself before them to
surrender into their hands the trust committed to mo, and to claim the
in<lulgence of retiring from the service of my country. Happy in the
confirmation of our independence and sovereignty, and pleased with
the o})portunity allorded the United States of becoming a respfctablo
nation, I resign with satisfaction tlie ai>pointment I accepted witli dif-
fidence,— a diflUlenco in my abilities to accomj^lisli so arduous a task,
wliich, however, was superseded by a confideiice in the ri*etitu<le of <^ur
cause, tlie suj)i)ort of tlio supreme ))owcr of the Union, and tlio patron-
age of Heaven.

The successful termination of the war has verified the most sanguine
expectations. My gratitude for the interpositions of Providmee and
the assistance I have received from my countrymen increa>^es with
every review of the momentous crisis. While I repeat my obligations
to the army, I should do injustice to my own feelings not to nckiiow-
lodgo in this place the peculiar services and the distinguished merits

296 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OP THE

of the gentlemen who have been attached to my person during the
war. It was imj^ossible that the choice of confidential officers to com-
pose my family should have been more fortunate. Permit me, sir, to
recommend in particular those who have continued in the ser\'ice to
the present moment as worthy of the favorable notice and patronage
of Congress.

I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last act of my offi-
cial life by commending the interests of our dearest country to the
protection and care of Almighty God. Having now finished the work
assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of action, and, bidding an
affectionate farewell to this august bod}^ under whose orders I have so
long acted, I here offer my commission and take my leave of all the
employments of public life.

President Mifflin replied as follows : —

Sir: — The United States, in Congress assembled, receive with emo-
tions too affecting for utterance the solemn resignation of the authori-
ties under which you have led their troops with success through a peril-
ous and a doubtful war. Called upon by your country to defend its
invaded rights, you accepted the sacred charge before it had formed
alhances, and while it was without friends or a government to support
you. You have conducted the great military contest with wisdom and
fortitude, invariably regarding the rights of the civil power through
all disasters and changes. You have, by the love and confidence of
your fellow-citizens, enabled them to display their military genius and
transmit their fame to posterity. You have persevered until the United
States, aided bj^ a magnanimous king and nation, have been enabled,
under a just Providence, to close the war in freedom, safety, and inde-
pendence,— in which happy event we sincerely join you in congratula-
tions. Having defended the standard of liberty in this new world, —
having taught a lesson useful to those afflicted and to those who felt
oppression, — you retire from the great theatre of action with the blessings
of your fellow-citizens. But the glory of your virtue will not terminate
with your military command : it will continue to animate remotest ages.
"We feel with you our obligations to the army in general, and will par-
ticularly charge ourselves with the interests of those confidential officers
who have attended your person to this affecting moment.

•We join you in commending the interests of our dearest country to
the protection of Almighty God, beseeching him to dispose the hearts
and minds of its citizens to imjDrove the opportunity afforded them of
becoming a happy and a respectable nation ; and for you, we address to
him our earnest prayers that a life so beloved may be fostered with all
his care, that your days may be as happy as they have been illustrious,
and that he will give you that reward which the world cannot give.

One of the most liopeful and inspiring scenes of the Eevolu-
tion was to see this great hero, with the interests of a nation
on his soul, retire for prayer unto the God in whom he trusted.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 297

The winter at Valley Forge witnessed the retirement of
Washington rlaily to somp sechided gl©n in the surrounding
forest for prayer. Though gloom covered his desponding country
and army, yet '' a cloud of doubt seldom darkened the serene
atmosphere of his hopes. He knew that the cause was just
and holy, and his faith and confidence in God, as a defender
and helper of right, steady in their ministrations of divine vigor
to his soul."

While the American army was at Valley Forge, Isaac Potts
strolled up a creek that ran through his farm, and, walking
quietly through the woods, he heard the tones of a solemn voice,
and, looking round, saw Washington's horse tied to a sapling.
In a thicket near by was Washington, on his knees, in earnest
prayer. Like Moses, Mr. Potts felt he was on holy ground, and
retired unobserved. He returned home, and, on entering the
room of his wife, burst into tears, and informed her what he had
seen and heard, and exclaimed, '' If there is any one on earth
whom the Lord will hearken to, it is George Washington ; and
I feel a presentiment ..that under such a commander there can
be no doubt of our eventually establishing our independence,
and that God in his providence has willed it so."

" Oh, who shall know the might
Of the words he utter'd there ?
The fate of nations there was turn'd.
By the fervor of his prayer.

" But woLildst thou know his name
Who wander'd there alone ?
Go read cnroll'd in Heaven's archives
The prayer of Washington.''

Chester.

The following note from an octogenarian who had seen Wash-
ington when a boy is an incident illustrating Washington's
habit of prayer : —

"New ITaven, February 18, 18G0.

" To the Editors of the Evening Post.
" ^Ir. Printer : — In 179G, I heard the farmer referred to
narrate the following incident. Said ho, 'When the British
troops held possession of New York, and the American army
lay ill tho neighborhood of West Point, one morning at sunrisn
I wont forth to bring home the cows. On jnissing a chunp of

298 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

brusliwood, I heard a moaning sound, like a person in distres?.
On Hearing tlio spot^ I Keard tL.e words of a man at prayer. I
stood behind a tree. The man came forth : it was George
Washington, the captain of the Lord's host in North America.'

" This farmer belonged to the Society of Friends, who, being
opposed to war on any pretext, were lukewarm, and, in some
cases, opposed to the cause of the country. However, having
seen the general enter the camp, he returned to his own house.
' Martha,' said he to his wife, ' we must not oppose this war
any longer. This morning I heard the man George Washing-
ton send up a prayer to Heaven for his country, and I know it
will be heard.'

" This farmer dwelt between the lines, and sent Washington
many items concerning the movements of the enemy, which did
good service to the good cause.

''From this incident we may infer that Washington rose
with the sun to pray for his country, he fought for her at
meridian, and watched for her in the silent hours of night.

" Every editor of a newspaper, magazine, or journal between
Montauk Point and Oregon, if he has three drops of Amierican
blood in his veins, should publish this anecdote on the 22d of
February (Washington's birthday) while woods grow and waters
run. This day I enter on my eighty-eighth year.

" Geant Thoebuen, Se."

In the summer of 1779, Washington, exploring alone one day
the position of the British forces on the banks of the Hudson,
ventured too far from his own camp, and was compelled by a
sudden storm and the fatigue of his horse to seek shelter for
the night in the cottage of a pious American farmer, who, greatly
struck with the manners and language of his guest, after he re-
tired to rest, listened at the door of Washington's chamber, and
overheard the following prayer from the father of his country : —

Almighty Father, if it is thy holy will that we should obtain a place
and a name among the nations of the earth, grant that we may be
enabled to show our gratitude for thy goodness by our endeavors to fear
and obey thee. Bless us with wisdom in our councils and success in
battle, and let all our victories be tempered w^ith humility. Endow also
our enemies with enlightened minds, that they may become sensible of
their injustice and willing to restore our liberties and peace. Grant the
petition of thy servant for the sake of Him whom thou hast called thy
beloved Son. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done. Amen."

CIVIL IKSTITUTIOKS OF THE U?nTED STATES. 299

An officer wlio served under General Washington through
the eight years of the E,evokition says that on every practica-
ble occasion he sought God's blessing upon the contest ; and,
when no chaplain was present, he often called his staff-officers
around him and reverently lifted his heart and voice in prayer.
He described the scenes as of unusual solemnity, and he carried
the vivid impressions of them to the grave. Just before the
battle of Monmouth, Washington was seen by one of his officers
alone beneath a tree, supplicating the throne of grace. He
knew that God was his ''refuge and strength."

The God of the Bible and his providential presence and power
during the whole Eevolutionary War are gratefully recognized
by Washington on various occasions.

ISTo one could express more fully his sense of the Providence
of God and the dependence of man. His faith in Providence
was the anchor of his soul at all times.

''Ours is a kind of struggle," said he, "designed by Provi-
dence, I dare say, to try the patience, fortitude, and virtue of
men. None, therefore, who is engaged in it will suffer himself,
I trust, to sink under difficulties or be discouraged by hard-
ships."

"Providence having so often taken us up when bereft of every
other hope, I trust we shall not fail even in this."

"To that good Providence which has so remarkably aided u.^
in all our difficulties, the rest is committed."

" We have abundant reasons to thank Providence for its many
favorable interpositions in our behalf. It has at times been my
only dependence, for all other resources seemed to have failed
us, . . . Our affairs are brought to a perilous crisis that the
hand of Providence, I trust, may be more conspicuous in our de-
liverance. The remarkable interpositions of the Divine govern-
ment in the hours of our deepest distress and darkness have been
too luminous to suffer me to doubt the happy issue of the pre.-^ent
contest."

The same sentiments were expressed on many occasions after
the war. In a letter to General Armstrong, !March 11, 1792,
he wrote, —

" I am sure there never was a i)eople who had more rc;ison to
acknowledge a Divine interposition in their affairs, than tha^o
of the United States ; and I should be jjained to believo
that they had forgotten that agency whi'jh was so often mani-

300 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

fostod during our devolution, or tliat tliey failed to consider tlie
ornnipoLeiice of tliat God wlio is alone able to protect tliem."

The following extracts are from his circular letter to the
Governors of the several States on the disbanding of the army,
June 8, 1783. They are full of the sentiment and spirit of
Christianity which he had developed during the war.

'' I now make my earnest prayer that God would have you
and the States over which you preside in his holy protection :
that he would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate the
spirit of subordination and obedience to government, to enter-
tain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their
fellow-citizens of the United States at large, and particularly
for their brethren who have served in the field ; and, finally,
that he would be most graciously pleased to dispose us all to do
justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity,
humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the character'
istics of the divine Author of our blessed religion, and without
an humble imitation of whose example in these things we can
never hope to be a happy nation.

'^ We have all been encouraged to feel the guardianship and
guidance of that Almighty Being whose power regulates the
destiny of nations, whose blessings have been so conspicuously
displayed to this rising republic, and to whom we are bound to
address our devout gratitude for the past, as well as our fervent
supplications and best hopes for the future."

A very suggestive instance of the prevailing Christian spirit
and habits of the American people and the American army was
the universal and explicit recognition of God's providence in
every event and battle of the Eevolution. The following pass-
age will illustrate this point.

^'A variety of success and defeat," said Dr. Stiles, in 1783,
*'hath attended our warfare both by sea and land. In our
lowest and most dangerous estate, in 1776 and 1777, we sustained
ourselves against the British army of sixty thousand troops,
commanded by Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton, and other of the
ablest generals Britain could procure throughout Europe, with
a naval force of twenty-two thousand seamen in above eighty
British men-of-war. These generals we sent home, one after
another, conquered, defeated, and convinced of the impossibility
of conquering America. While oppressed by the heavy weight
of this combined force, Heaven inspired us with resolution to

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 301

cut tlie Gordian knot when the die was cast irrevocably in the
glorious Act of Independence. This was sealed and confirmed
by God Almighty in the victory of General Washington at
Trenton, and in the surprising movement and battle of Princeton,
by which astonishing efi'orts of generalship, General Howe, and
the whole British army, in elated confidence and in open-mouthed
march for Philadelphia, w^ere instantly stopped, remanded back,
and cooped up for a shivering winter in the little borough of
Brunswick. Thus God ' turned the battle to the gate,' and this
gave a finishing to the foundation of the American republic.

" This, with the Burgoynade at Saratoga by General Gates,
and the glorious victory over the Earl of Cornwallis in Virginia,
together with the memorable victory at Eutaw Springs and the
triumphant recovery of the Southern States by General Greene,
are among the most heroic acts and brilliant achievements
which have decided the fate of America. And who does not
see the indubitable interposition and energetic influence of Di-
vine Prov'idence in these great and illustrious events? Who
but a Washington, inspired by Heaven, could have struck out the
great movement and manoeuvre at Princeton ? To whom but to
the P\.uler of the winds shall^we ascribe it that the British rein-
forcement in the summer of 1777 was delayed on the ocean three
months by contrary winds, until it was too late for the confla-
grating General Clinton to raise the siege at Saratoga ?

''What but a providential miracle detected the conspiracy of
Arnold, even in the critical moment of that infernal j-tlot, in
which the body of the American army then at West Point, wnth
Lis Excellency General Washington himself, were tohavebeen ren-
dered into the hands of the enemy ? Doubtless inspired by the
Supremo Illuminator of great minds were the joint councils of
a Washington and a Rochambeau in that grand effort of gene-
ralship with which they deceived and astonished a Clinton and
eluded his vigilance, in their transit by Now York and rapiil
marches for Virginia. Was it not of God that both the navy and
army should enter the Chesapeake at the same time ? Who
V)Ut God could have ordained the critical arrival of the Gallic
fleet, so as to prevent and defeat the British, and assist and
c^o-opcratc with the combined armies in the siege and reduction
of Yorktown ?

"Sliould we not ever admire and ascribe to a Supreme energy
the wise and firm generalship displayed by General Greene,

302 CHRISTIAN LIFE AXD CHARACTER OF THE

%vhen, leaving the active and roving Cornwallis to pursue liis
helter-skelter, ill-fated march into Virginia, he coolly and steadily
went onwards, and deliberately, judiciously, and heroically re-
covered the Carolinas and the Southern States ?

" How rare have been the defections and apostasies of our
capital characters, though tempted with all the charms of gold,
titles, and nobility ! Whence is it that so few men of our armies
have deserted to the enemy ? Whence that our brave sailors
have chosen the horrors of prison-ships and death, rather than to
fight against their country ? Whence that men of every rank
have so generally felt and spoken alike, as if the cords of life
struck unison through the continent? What but a miracle
has preserved the union of the States, the purity of Congress,
and the unshaken patriotism of every G-eneral Assembly ? It
is God who has raised up for us a great and powerful ally, — an
ally which sent us a chosen army and a naval force. It is God
who so ordered the balancing interests of nations as to pro-
duce an irresistible motive in the European maritime Powers
to take our part.

''So wonderfully does Providence order the time and coin-
cidence of the public national mo,tives co-operating in effecting
great public events and revolutions. But time would fail me
to recount the wonder-working providences of God in the events
of this war. Let these serve as specimens, and lead us to hope
that God will not forsake this people, for whom he has done such
marvellous things, whereof we are glad and rejoice this day,
having at length brought us to the dawn of peace.

'' O Peace, thou welcome guest, all hail ! Thou heavenly
visitant, calm, the tumult of nations, and wave thy balmy wing
perpetually over this region of liberty. Let there be a tran-
quil period for the unmolested accomplishment of the raagnalia
Dei, — the great events in God's moral government designed from
eternal ages to be displayed in these ends of the earth.

'' May this great event excite and elevate our first and highest
acknowledgments to the Sovereign Monarch of universal na-
ture, to the Supreme Disposer and Controller of all events !
Let this our pious, sincere, and devout gratitude ascend in one
general effusion of heartfelt praise and hallelujah, in one united
cloud of incense, even the incense of universal joy and thanks-
giving, to God, from the collective body of the United States."

''The special interposition of Providence," said Dr. Ilamsey,

of South Carolina, July, 1777, in an oration on the advantages
of American independence, '^ in our behalf makes it impious to
disbelieve the final establishment of our Heaven-protected in-
dependence. Can any one seriously review the beginning, pro-
gress, and present state of the war, and not see indisputable
evidence of an overruling influence on the minds of men, pre-
paring the way for the accomplishment of this great event ?

^'As all the tops of corn in a waving field are inclined in
one direction by a gust of wind, in like manner the Governor
of the world has given one and the same universal bent of
inclination to the whole body of our people. Is it the work of
man that thirteen States, frequently quarrelling about bound-
aries, clashing in interests, difi'ering in politics, manners,
customs, forms of government, and religion, scattered over an
extensive continent, under the influence of a variety of local
prejudices, jealousies, and aversions, should all harmoniously
agree as if one mighty mind inspired the whole ?

" Our enemies seemed confident of the impossibility of our
union; our friends doubted it; and all indiflerent persons, who
judged of things present by what has heretofore happened,
considered the expectation thereof as romantic. But He who
sittcth at the helm of the universe, and who boweth the hearts
of a whole nation as the heart of one man, for the accomplish-
ment of his own purpose, has eff'ccted that which to human
wisdom and foresight seemed impossible."

''When I trace," said Henry Lee, of Virginia, "the heroes
of Seventy-Six tlirough all their countless difliculties and hard-
ships,— when I behold all the dangers and plots which encom-
passed them, their 'hair-breadth escapes,' and final glorious
triumphs, — I am as strongly impressed with the belief that
our cause was guided by Heaven as that Moses and the Israelites
were directed by the finger of God through the wilderness."

The following extract, from an address by Dr. Ladd, of
Charleston, South Carolina, <lolivered before the Governor of the
State, and a large number of other gentlemen, on the -Itli of
July, 1785, being the anniversary of American independence,
will present the views of tho patriots of that day in reference
to tho special presence of Almighty God through tho scene«
and triumplis of tho Revolution, and their desire to enthrone
God as tho Governor of the nation. Tho motto of bis oration
warf, —

304 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

" 'Tell ye your cliildren of it, and let j'^our children tell
Their children, and their children another generation/

^' A propliet divinely inspired, and deeply impressed witli tlie
importance of tlie event wliicli had just taken place, breaks into
tkis exclamation, — an exclamation happily adapted to the present
occasion, tending to perpetuate the remembrance of an event
written upon the heart of every true xlmerican, of every friend
to his country.

" The eventful history of our great Revolution is pregnant
with many a source of sublime astonishment. Succeeding ages
shall turn to the historic page and catch inspiration from the
era of 1776: they shall bow to the rising glory of America;
and Rome, once mistress of the world, shall fade on their re-
membrance.

''The commencement of our struggles, their progress and
their periods, will furnish a useful lesson to posterity : they
will teach them that men desperate for freedom, united in
virtue, and assisted by the God of armies, can never be sub-
dued. The youthful warrior, the rising politician, will tremble
at the retrospect and turn pale at the amazing story. Ame-
rica,— the infant America, — all defenceless as she is, is invaded
by a most powerful nation, her plains covered by disciplined
armies, her harbors crowded with hostile fleets. Destitute of
arms, destitute of ammunition, with no discipline but their
virtue, and no general but their God, — threatened with the
loss of their liberties (liberties which were coeval with their
existence and dearer than their lives), they arose in resistance
and were nerved in desperation. What was the consequence ?
The invaders were repulsed, their armies captured, their strong
works demolished, and their fleets driven back. Behold, the
terrible flag of the glory of Great Britain, dropping all tar-
nished from the mast, bewails its sullied honors.

''This, my countrymen, by assistance superhuman have we at
length accomplished, — I say superhuman assistance, for one of
us has ' chased a thousand, and tioo put ten thousand to flight.
The Lord of Hosts was on our side, the God of the armies of
Israel;' and at every blow we were ready to exclaim, with glo-
rious exultation, ' The sivord of the Lord and of Washington J'

" Yet how did even America despair when the protecting hand
of our Great Leader (God) was for one moment withheld!
Witness our veteran army retreating through the Jerseys; an

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 305

almost total witlieriDg to our liopes, while America trembled
with expectation, — trembled ! though shielded and protected by
the King of kings and her beloved Washington.

''And now, having in some measure paid our debt of ac-
knowledgment to the visiljle authors of our independence, let
us lay our hands on our hearts in humble adoration of that
Monarch who (in place of George the Third) was this day
chosen to reign over us : let us venerate the great generalissimo
of our armies, from whom all triumph flows ; and be it our glory,
not that George the Third, but Jehovah, the first and the last,
is King of America, — he who dwelleth in the clouds, and ivhose
palace is the heaven of heavens ; for, independent as lue are
with respect to the political systems of this world, we are still a
province of the great kingdom, and fellow -subjects with the
inhabitants of heaven."

The following form of an oath, exacted by General Lee of the
people of Pvhode Island in December, 1775, illustrates the
Christian tone of the military orders and requirements of the
Eevolutionary era : —

I, , here, in the presence of Almighty God, as I hope for ea;&e,

lionor, and comfort in this world and happiness in the world to come,
most earnestly and devoutly and religiously swear that I will neither
directly nor indirectly assist the wicked instruments of ministerial
tyranny and villany, commonly called the king's troops and navy, by
furnishing them provisions and refreshments of any kind, unless au-
tliorized by the Continental Congress, or Legislature at present esta-
blished in this particular colony of lihode Island : I do also swear, by
the Tremendous and Abnighty God, that I will not directly or indirectly
convey any intelligence, nor give any advice, to the aforesaid enemies
described, and that I pledge myself, if I should by any accident get
knowledge of such treasons, to inform immediately the Committee of
Safety ; and, as it is justly allowed that when the rights and sacred
liberties of a nation or community are invaded, neutrality is not less
criminal than open and avowed hostility, I do further swear and
pledge myself, as I hope for eternal salvation, that I will, whenever
<:ulled upon by the voice of the Continental Congress, or by that of this
particular colony under their authority, to take arms and subject my-
self to n\ilitary discipline in dofence of the common rights and liberties
v)f America. So help me God.

20

SOS CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

CHAPTEE XV.

government chaplains — government declared christian — views of bishop
moilvaine — history of the office op chaplains — their importance —
early history of chaplains — chaplains of the continental congress
— Washington's views — correspondence of Washington with a church
in connecticut — chaplains in the army and navy — at west point —
appointed by congress — petitions to abolish the chaplaincy — reports
op congress — resolution op congress — views of secretary cass on
the importance op christian services at west point — extract from
the report op the board of visitors in 1862 — report of chaplains in

the army in 1862 views op the dignity and position of chaplains in

congress, by dr. stockton — lesson of these christian facts.

" The appointment of clergymen to official positions," says
Headley, " in the army and navy, under the designation of
chaplains, is a custom of long standing, and at the present
day, among Christian nations, is considered necessary to their
complete organization. It would have been natural, therefore,
for Congress, as a mere matter of custom, and in imitation of
the mother-country, to appoint chaplains in the American army.
They did so ; and chaplains, at the present time, form a part of
our military organization, and rank as officers and draw pay
like them. The propriety of this custom is recognized by all ;
for the sick, the suffering and dying need spiritual advisers as
much as they do hospitals and surgeons."

The chaplains of the army of the Eevolution, as well as those
of the civil service, were eminent for their talents, learning,
eloquence, and piety. All were ardent and active patriots, and
many of them became distinguished in the pulpit, in theological
literature, and in the departments of education and science.
Their influence and labors are thus stated by Headley : — "■ It is
difficult in these days, when chaplains in the army are looked
upon simply as a necessary part of its methodical arrangement,
— a set of half-officers, half-civilians, who are not allowed to
fight, and often cannot preach, — to get a proper conception of
those times when their (the chaplains of the Revolution)
appeals thrilled the ranks and made the hand clutch its weapon
with a firmer grasp, and when their prayers filled each heart

CIVIL IKSTITUTIOXS OF THE UNITED STATES. SO?

with a lofty enttiiisiasni. Then the people composed the army,
and when the man of God addressed the crowding battalion he
addressed the young men and old men of his flock, who looked
up to him with love and reverence and believed him almost as
they did the Bible, The enthusiasm kindled by the pastor's
address, the courage imparted by his solemn parting blessing
and assurance that God smiled on them, would be a revolu-
tionary page that would thrill the heart.

*' The history of our chaplaincy is, to religious men at least,
a subject of no inconsiderable interest. Going back thirty
years before the American Revolution, to that memorable event
in our colonial history, ^ the siege of Louisburg,' we shall see
that the selection of a chaplain to accompany the army in their
hazardous expedition was a matter of no small importance.
No sooner was Mr. Pepperell appointed commander of the land-
forces than he applied to the renowned George Whitefield, then
on his third visit to America, and at that time preaching in ISTew
England, not only for his sanction of the expedition, but
with a request that he would a.ccept the position of chaplain.
Although Whitefield declined that offer, he favored the under-
taking. . In order, therefore, to give it the air of a religious
crusade, Mr. Whitefield selected for their banners the motto,
* Nothing is to be despaired of with Christ for our leader.' "

A clergyman distijiguished for piety and learning — qualities
at that time deemed necessary for so important a station — re-
ceived the appointment.

The history of Braddock's defeat furnishes another striking
illustration of the importance then given to the service of a
chaplain. In that dii^astrous battle, the chaplain, as well as
that brave general himself, were wounded. Three days after,
when General Braddock died, a young American colonel, then
about twenty-five years of age, would not suifer his deceased
commander to be buried like a savage in the wilderness, but
acted the part of a chaplain himself, by reading the solemn anJ
impressive burial-service of the Church of EngUmd at the iiit-r-
mcut. This young ofilcer was George Washington.

After this event, when Washington was appointed commaudei
of ihe Virginia forces, wlioso great work was to protect tho
frontier settlements from the incursions of the French and
Indians, in what was called the " French War," he wrote to
Governor Dinwiddle of Virginia iis follows : — " Tho want of a

308 CHPJSTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

cliaplain, I humbly conceive, reflects dishonor on the regiment.
The gentlemen of the corps are sensible of this, and propose to
support one at their own expense. But I think it would have
a more graceful appearance were he appointed as other officers
are." At another date, Washington wrote, *' As to a chaplain,
if the Government will grant a subsistence, we can readily get a
person of merit to accept the place, without giving the commis-
sary any trouble on that point/'

In the Governor's reply to this letter, he thus wi^ites : — " In
regard to a chaplain, you should know that his qualifications,
and the bishop's letter of license, should be produced to the
commissary and myself."

ISTo chaplain was then appointed. About two years after this
(.'orrespondence, Washington wrote to the President of the Vir-
ginia Council as follows : — "■ The last Assembly, in their ' Supply
Bill,' provided for a chaplain to our regiment. I now flatter
ro.yself that your Honor will be pleased to appoint a sobeo
serious man, of piety and merit, to this duty."

When Washington assumed com^mand of the army at Cam-
bridge, in 1775, he found chaplains attached to the different
regiments sent from various colonies, — some of them volunteers
without pay, and others regularly appointed by the Provincial
Congress. As the organization of the army was perfected,
measures w^ere adopted for their provision by the General
Congress, and their number and the regiments to which, they
belonged formed a part of the regular army returns of
Washina;ton.

At first they were not numerous, as the Government had
taken no action on the subject; but its attention was soon called
to it, and on May 25, 1775, a committee of the Provincial Con-
gress of Massachusetts reported : —

Whereas it has been represented to this Congress that several minis-
ters of the religious assemblies within this colony have expressed their
willingness to attend the army in the capacity of chaplains, as the}'- may
be directed by Congress : therefore,

liesolved, That it be, and is hereby, recommended to the ministers of
the*several religious assemblies within the colony, that, with the leave
of their congregations, they attend said army in their several towns, to
the number of thirteen at one time, 'during the time the army shall be
encamped ; and that they make known their resolution to the Congre^
thereon, or to the Committee of Safety, as soon as may be.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 309

"Washington, wlio in tlie Frencli and Indian "War had more
than once requested the Governor of Virginia to allow him a
chaplain for his regiment, saw with the deepest gratification
this early determination of the New England colonies to supply
their regiments with regular chaplains, and encouraged it in
every way he could. In the month of December, 1775, he
wrote to the Continental Congress as follows : —

I have had it in my mind to mention it to Congress that frequent
applications have been made to me respecting the chaplains' pay, which
is too small to encourage men of abilities. Some of them who have left
their flocks are obliged to j^ay the parson acting for them more than
they receive. I need not point out the great utility of gentlemen whose
lives and conversation are unexceptionable, being employed in that
service in this army. There are two ways of making it worthy the
attention of such. One is an advancement of their pay ; the other,
that one chaplain be appointed to two regiments. This last, I think,
can be done without inconvenience. I beg leave to recommend this
matter to Congress, whose sentiments hereon I shall impatiently
expect.

The policy of having one chaplain for two regiments did not
seem to work well; and on the 1st of July, 1776, Washington
wrote to Congress on the subject as follows : —

I bog leave to mention to Congress the necessity there is of some new
regulation being entered into respecting the chaplains of the army.
They will remember that applications were made to increase their pay,
which was conceived to be too low for their support, and that it was
proposed, if it could not be done for the whole, tliat the number should
be lessoned, and one be appointed to two regiments, with an additional
allowance. This latter expedient was adopted, and, while the army
<jontinu<'d all together at one encampment, answered well, or at least did
not produce many inconveniences ; but the army being now ditferontly
circumstanced from what it then was, part hero, part in Boston, and
a third part dotaohod to Canada, has introduced much confusion and
disorder in this instance ; nor do I know that it is possible to remedy
the evil but by uffixing one to each regiment, with salaries compotont to
tlieir suj^port. No shifting, no changing from one to the other, can
answer the ])urpose ; antl in many cases it could not bo done although
the regiments would consent, as wlion dotaohments are ooni]>osod ct"
unequal numbers or ordered from diflV-ront posts. ^Many more inoon-
vonionoos might be pointed out, but those, it is presunuMl, will sulli-
oi.-ntly show the defects of the present ostablislmiont and tlu' pr«q)ri.'ty
of an alteration. What tluit alteration shall be, Congress will ploiwo to
deterniino.

Congress immediately adopted his views, an<l Wii.^hington,

310 CHEISTIAX LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

having received a de?}3atcli to that effect^ eight days after issued
the followinc!; ereneral order : —

New York, July 9, 1776.
The Honorable Continental Congress having been pleased to allow a
chaplain to each regiment, with the pay of thirty-three and one-third
dollars per month, the colonels or commanding officers of each regiment
are directed to procure chai)lains accordingly, — ^persons of good cha-
racter and exemplary lives, — and to see that all inferior officers and
soldiers pay them a suitable respect and attend carefully upon religious
exercises. The hlessing and protection of Heaven are at all times necessary,
but especially is it in times of public distress and danger. The general
hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor to live and
act as becomes a Christian soldier defending the dearest rights and liber-
ties of his country.

In 1776, Washington gave the following order to the chap-
lains : —

The situation of the army frequently not admitting of the regular
performance of divine service on Sundays, the chaplains of the army
are forthwith to meet together and agree on some method of performing
it at other times, which method they will make knoAvn to the com-
mander-in-chief.

Washington deemed the services of religion so important in
the army that, in the absence of a chaplain, he would perform
divine service himself. ''He has been frequently known," says
Weems, '' on the Sabbath to read the Scriptures and pray with
the regiment in the absence of a chaplain."

On the 27th of May, 1777, Congress passed the following
order : —

JResoloed, That for the future there be only one chaplain for each brigade
of the army, and that such be appointed by Congress ; that each brigade
chaplain be allowed the same pay, rations, and forage allowed to a
colonel in the said corps ; that each general be requested to nominate
and recommend a proper person for chaplain to his brigade ; and that
they recommend none but such as are men of experience and esta-
blished character for piety, virtue, and learning.

The chaplains of the army of the Eevolntion were, in general,
not only distinguished for ''piety, virtue, and learning, but
w^ere," says Headley, "bold and active patriots, stirring up
rebellion, encouraging the weak and timid by their example as
well as by their teachings, and inspiring the brave and true
with confidence by their heroism and lofty trust in the right-
eousness of the cause they vindicated."

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 811

Chaplains were also appointed for the hospitals, as the fol-
lowing record of Congress shows : —

Septemher 18, 1777.
Besolved, That chaplains be appointed to the hospitals in the several
departments, and that their pay be sixty dollars a month and three
rations a day, and forage for one horse.

Congress was also mindful that chaplains were faithful in the
discharge of their duties. The following is on the records of
Cono;ress : —

o-"

Every chaplain commissioned in the army or armies of the United
States who shall absent himself from the duties assigned him, excepting
in case of sickness or on leave of absence, shall, on conviction thereof
before a court-martial, be fined not exceeding one month's pay, besides
the loss of his pay during his absence, or be discharged, as the said
court-martial shall judge proper.

The commission of chaplains varied somewhat in the different
colonies, but the following form, adopted in Connecticut; will
answer as a sample of all : — ^

To Rev. , greeting:

Reposing special trust and confidence in your piety, ability, fidelity,

and good conduct, I do hereby appoint you, the said , a chaplain

of the — regiment, and do hereby authorize and empower you to exer-
cise the several acts and duties of your office and station as chaplain of
the said regiment, which you are faithfully to perform in a due and
religious discharge thereof, according to the important trust reposed in
you, for which this is your warrant.

Given under my hand and seal-at-arms, in the colony aforesaid, this
— day of , 177G.

The following correspondence between the Congregational
Church of Woodstock, Connecticut, and Generals Washington
and Putnam, is instructive and interesting : —

Woodstock, Connecticut, April 22, 1776.

"Whereas the inhabitants of the United Colonies of America are now
engaged in the most important of causes or controversies with tlio
greatest human Power ui)on earth, — contending with Great Britain for
the continuance and enjoyment of all their rights, privileges, and liber-
ties, both civil and sacred;

And whereas it has been judged to bo greatly advantageous to tho
camp, by the commander-in-chief of tho forces of tlie United Colonies,
an<l otlHM-s in general command, that the U«>v. Abicl Leonard, minister
of the First Society in Woodstock, should still continue in the army as
chaplain, as by their letters to the church and congregation in ^iiid

312 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

society signified, now under consideration, which letter is in the words
following : — ■

*To the Church and Congregation at WoodstocJc.

" Mr. Abiel Leonard is a man whose exemplary life and conversation
must make him highly esteemed by every person who has the pleasure
of being acquainted with him. The congregation of Woodstock know
him well. It therefore can be no surprise to us to hear that they are
loath to part with him. His usefulness in the army is great. He is
employed in the glorious work of attending to the morals of a brave
people who are fighting for their liberties, — the liberties of the people
of Woodstock, the liberties of all America. We therefore hope that,
knowing how nobly he is employed, the congregation of Woodstock
will cheerfully give up to the jDublic a gentleman so very useful. And
when, by the blessing of a kind Providence, the glorious and unparal-
leled struggle for our liberties is at an end, we have not the least doubt
but Mr. Leonard will, with redoubled joy, be received in the open arms
of a congregation so very dear to him as the good people of Woodstock
are. This is what is hoped for, this is what is expected, by the congre-
gation of Woodstock's sincere well-wishers and very humble servants.

George Washington,
^ Israel Putnam.

"Head-Quarters, Cambridge, March 24, 1776.'

'Signed I

At a meeting of the inhabitants of the First Society in Woodstock,
regularly warned and assembled, on the 22d day of April, 1776, Dr.
William Skinner was chosen Moderator for said meeting. After some
consultation upon the foregoing letter, and also with the Eev. Mr.
Leonard respecting his continuance in the army for a longer time, the
following vote was put, namely : —

" Considering that it is desired by some gentlemen of distinction in the
Continental army that the Kev. Mr. Leonard, minister of the society,
should still continue in said army, and he apprehending it to be his
duty, we hereby manifest our consent to his being absent from this
society from the 9th of May next to the 1st day of January, 1777, with the
expectation, if God spares his life (which we earnestly and humbly
implore of His great goodness), that he then return to us and go on in
the discharge of the duties of his ministerial connections with us ; and
doing this we act solely with the view to the public good.^^

Jedidah Morse, Society Clerk.

Notice, therefore, is hereby given to all the inhabitants of the First
Society of Woodstock, qualified by law to vote in society meeting, to
meet at the meeting-house in said First Society on Monday, the 22d of
April instant, at two of the clock, after noon, there to consult and come
unto some agreement with the Eev. Mr. Leonard respecting the pulpit's
being supplied in his absence.

William Skinner,
Jedidah Morse, \- Soc. Com.
Benjamin Lyon,
"Woodstock, April 12, 1776.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 313

The policy of the Government, in securing the services of
chaplains, has always been the same in the civil as in the mili-
tary departments of the Government.

The first meeting of the Continental Congress took place in
Philadelphia, September o, 1774. The record for the 6th of.
September contains the following : —

Resolved, That Eev. Mr. Duche be desired to open Congress to-mor-
rovj morning with prayers.

Sept. 7, 1774. — The meeting was opened with prayer by Eev. Mr.
Duche. Voted that the thanks of Congress be given to Mr. Duche
for performing divine service.

This Congress adjourned on the 26th of October, 1774, and
reassembled the 10th of May, 1775. The Journal of that day
shows the following : —

Agreed, that the Rev. Mr. Duche be requc/ted to open the Congress
with prayers to-morrow morning.

May 11, 1775. — Agreeable to the order of yc^sterday, the Congress was
opened with prayers by Rev. Mr. Duche.

July 9, 177G. — Resolved, That Rev. Mr. Duche be appointed chaplain
to Congress, and that he be desired to attend every morning at nine
o'clock.

Oct. 17, 1770. — Mr. Duche, having by letter informed the President
that the state of his health and his parochial duties were such as obliged
him to decline the honor of continuing chai3lain to Congress : — Resolved,
That the President return the thanks of this House to the Rev. Mr.
Duche for the devout and acceptable manner in which he discharged
his duty during the time he officiated as chaplain to it ; and that one
hundred and fifty dollars be presented to him as an acknowledgment
from the House for his services.

Oct. 30, 177G. — Mr. Duche writes to Congress, and requests that, as
he became their chaplain from motives perfectly disinterested, the one
hundred and fifty dollars voted to him may be applied to the relief of
the widows and children of such of the Pennsylvania officers as have
fallen in })attle in the service of their country. In consequence. Congress
orders the money to be deposited with the Council of Safety of Penn-
sylvania, to be appHed agreeably to his request.

Uec. 23, 1770. — Agreeable to the order of the day, Congi*ess elected
the Rev. P. Allison and the Rev. W, White chaplains.

Tho old Colonial and Confederate Congresses paid respect to
religion by system and on princi})le. If they were ever with-
out a chaplain performing daily religious services, it was but for
a short time; and it may well be presumed that Mr. Withcr-
epoon then performed the stated divine service.

314 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF TEE

In the first Congress, after the adoption of the Constitution
(1789), soon after a quorum had come together, Oliver Ellsworth
was appointed to confer with a committee of the House ''on
rules and the appointment of chaplains." The House chose five
men, — Boudinot, Bland, Madison, Sherman, and Tucker. The
result was a recommendation to appoint two chaplains of differ-
ent denominations, on© by each House, to interchange weekly.
The Senate appointed an Episcopal clergyman, and the House
a distinguished Presbyterian minister, both of New York, the
city in which Congress was then holding its session. Thus
began the practice of appointing chaplains to our national legis-
lature,— a practice continued without interruption to the pre-
sent time.

The first chaplain appointed under the Constitution w^as the
Eight Px,ev. Dr. Provost, Bishop of ISTew York. The next was
Bishop White, whose memory is cherished as the father of the
Protestant Episcopal Church in America, — the man who at the
call of the Continental Congress took his life in his hand and
followed it as their chaplain. The service of these two chap-
lains to the Senate extended through eleven years, from 1789
to 1800, at which time the seat of government was removed to
Washington.

The House elected, as colleagues of Provost and AVhite, three
distinguished Presbyterian divines, William Linn, of New York,
and Blair and Green, of Philadelphia, the latter of whom was
subsequently president of Princeton College. AYe need only
look over the list of the earlier chaplains to Congress, to find
the names of men Avho were lights in their day, and who made
their mark, which has not been obliterated by time.

On this list we find, besides those who have been mentioned,
the names of Breckenridge, Campbell, and Post, from the Pres-
byterians ; Claggett, Mcllvaine, and Johns, from the Episcopa-
lians. From among the Methodists, we meet with the names
of Bascom, Stockton, and Cookman; from the Baptists, Alli-
son, Staughton, and Cone ; and from the Congregationalists, Dr.
Dwight, Jared Sparks, and President Bates.

To hear some of these men preach in the Capitol, one had to
go early to secure a place to stand, even, in the crowded hall.
Most of these men were able representatives of the religion of
Christ, men who could with a force of character as well as of
argument set before members of Congress its claims to their

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 315

consideration, in such a manner as to command respect, even
when it was urged uj^on their individual acceptance.

The navy as well as the army of the United States has a
Christian record, confirming the uniform policy of the Govern-
ment in the appointment of chaplains. The establishment of a
navy was recommended by Washington, the first President, but
the recommendation was not carried out until the administration
of his successor, John Adams, began. From the earliest history
of the navy till the present, the Government has recognized the
need of chaplains, and has always had them on Government
ships.

Cruising on every ocean, our sailors pass through the extremes
of heat and cold, and the unhealthy climates of every latitude,
in which some sicken and die and are buried in the sea, and but
for a chaplain they would hear no prayer when sick, nor hardly
have a Christian burial when dead. Long months, yea, years
even, would pass without their hearing a sermon in a language
they could understand. Who will deny that the navy opens
many an important field for the labors of a faithful Christian
teacher ? One who has an aptness to teach and a love for doing
good might find in the American navy a great work to do.

In view of this Christian work, Congress passed the follow-
ing; order : —

The commanders of all ships and vessels in the ntivj having chap-
lains on board shall take care that divine service be performed in an
orderly and reverent manner twice a day, and a sermon preached on
Sunday, except bad weather or other extraordinary accident prevent it,
and that they cause all, or as many of the ship's company as can be spared
from duty, to attend every performance of the worship of Almighty God.

CuAP. 204. — An Act for the letter government of the navy of the United States.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Hepresentatives of the United States
of America in Congress assembled, That, from and after the first day of
September next, the following articles be adopted and put in force for
the government of the navy of the United States.

Art. 1. The commanders of all fleets, squadrons, naval stations, and
vessels belonging to the navy are strictly enjoined and required to
show in themselves a good example of virtue, honor, patriotism, and
subordination; to bo vigilant in inspecting the conduct of all who may
be place<l under their command; to guard against and suj>press all
di'soluto and imnioial practices, and to correct all who may be guilty
of tliem, according to the laws aii<l regulations of tlie navy, upon pain
of such punishment as a general court-martial may think proper to
inflict.

316 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Art. 2. The commanders of vessels and naval stations to which
chaplains are attached shall cause divine service to be perfoiTiied on
Sunday, whenever the weather and other circumstances will allow it to
be done ; and it is earnestly recommended to all officers, seamen, and
others in the naval service diligently to attend at every performance
of the worship of Almighty God. Any irreverent or unbecoming be-
havior during divine service shall be punished as a general or summary
court-martial shall direct.

In 1838, Congress passed the following : —

An Act to increase the jpresent military estahlisJmient of the United States, and for

other purposes.

Sec. 18. And he it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the officers
composing the council of administration at any post, from time to time,
to employ such person as they may think i')roper to officiate as chaplain,
who shall also perform the duties of a schoolmaster at such post ; and the
person so employed shall, on the certificate of the commanding officer
of the post, be paid such sum for his services, not exceeding forty dol-
lars per month, as may be determined by the said council of adminis-
tration, with the approval of the Secretary of War. In addition to his
pay, the said chaj^lain shall be allowed four rations per diem, with quar-
ters and fuel.

Approved, July 5, 1838.

This Act was extended, in 1849, by

An Act to provide for the increase of the Medical Staff, and for an additional
number of Chaplains of the Army of the United States.

Sec. 3. And he it further enacted, That the provisions of the Act of
eighteen hundred and thirty-eight be, and hereby are, extended so as to
authorize the employment of ten additional chaplains for military posts
of the United States.

Approved, March 2, 1840.

At different times within the last twenty years a very small
portion of the American people have petitioned Congress to
abolish the office of chaplain. The petitions were respectfully
received, and referred to the Committees on the judiciary, in
both Houses of Congress, who made very able reports against
granting the request of the petitioners. The doctrines of these
reports are in harmony with the entire Christian policy of the
Government, and are official records to prove that the Christian
religion is the basis of the civil institutions of the United
States. They are placed in this chapter in full, and will amply
repay a careful perusal.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 317

CHAPLAINS IN CONGRESS AND IN THE AEMY AND NAVY.

March 27, 1854. Mr. Meacham, from the Committee on the Judiciary,
made the following report : — '

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom were referred the memo-
rials of the citizens of several States, praying that the office of chaplain
in the army, navy, at West Point, at Indian stations, and in both Houses
of Congress, be abolished, respectfully report : —

That they have had the subject under consideration, and, after care-
ful examination, are not prepared to come to the conclusion desired by
the memorialists. Having made that decision, it is due that the reason
should be given. Two clauses of the Constitution are relied on by the
memorialists to show that their prayer should be granted. One of these
is in the sixth article, that " no religious test shall ever be required as a
qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. '^ If
the whole section were quoted, we apprehend that no one could suppose
it intended to ajjply to the appointment of chaplains.

"Art. 6, Sec. 3. The senators and representatives before mentioned,
and the members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive
and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several States,
shall be bound, by an oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution ;
but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office
or public trust under the United States,''

Every one must perceive that this refers to a class of persons entirely
distinct from chaplains.

Another article suj^posed to be violated is Article 1st of Amendments:
— " Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."
Does our present practice violate that article ? What is an establish-
ment of religion ? It must have a creed, defining what a man must
believe ; it must have rites and ordinances, which believers must ob-
serve ; it must have ministers of defined qualifications, to teach the doc-
trines and administer the rites ; it must have tests for the submissive
and penalties for the non-conformist. There never was an estabUshed
religion without all these. Is there now, or has there ever been, any
thing of this in the appointment of chaplains in Congress, or army, or
navy? The practice before the adoption of the Constitution is much
tlie same as since : the adojition of that Constitution does not seem to
have changed the principle in this respect. We ask the memorialists to
look at the facts. First, in the army : chaplains were appointed for the
Revolutionary army on its organization ; rules for their regulation arc
found among the earliest of the articles of war. Congress ordered, on
!May 27, 1777, that there should be one cliaplain to each brigade of the
army, nominated by the brigadier-general, and appointed by Congress,
with the same pay as colonel, and, on the 18th of September following,
ordered chaplains to be appointed to the hospitals in the several depart-
ments, with the pay of $G0 per month, three rations per day, and forago
for one horse.

When tlie Constitution was formed, Congress had power to raise nnd
buppoit armies, and to provide for and support a navy, and to make
rules and regulations for the governm-^nt and regulation of land and

318 CHEISTIAN LIFE AIsD CHARACTER OF THE

naval forces. In the absence of all limitations, general or special, is it
not fair to assume that they were to do these substantial!}^ in the same
manner as had been done before? If so, then they were as truly em-
powered to appoint chaplains as U) appoint generals or to enlist soldiers.
Accordingly, we find provision for chaplains in the acts of 1791, of 1812,
and of 1838. By the last there is to be one to each brigade in the army ;
the number is limited to thirty, and these in the most destitute places.
The chaplain is also to discharge the duties of schoolmaster. The
number in the navy is limited to tv»'enty-four. Is there any violation
of the Constitution in these laws for the appointment of chaplains in
the army and navy ? If not, let us look at the history of chaplains
in Congress. Here, as before, we shall find that the same practice was
in existence before and after the adoption of the Constitution. The
American Congress began its session September 5, 1774, On the second
day of the session, Mr. Samuel Adams proposed to open the session
with prayer. I give Mr. Webster's account of it: — "At the meeting
of the first Congress there was a doubt in the minds of many about the
propriet}^ of opening the session with prayer ; and the reason assigned
was, as here, the great diversity of opinion and religious belief; until,
at last, Mr. Samuel Adams, with his gvsij hairs hanging about his shoul-
ders, and with an impressive venerableness now seldom to be met with
(I suppose owing to different habits), rose in that assembly, and, with
the air of a perfect Puritan, said it did not become men professing to
be Christian men, who had come together for solemn deliberation in
the hour of their extremity, to say there was so wide a difference in
their religious belief that they could not, as one man, bow the knee in
prayer to the Almighty, whose advice and assistance they hoped to
obtain ; and. Independent as he was, and an enemy to all prelacy as
he was knoAvn to be, he moved that Rev. Mr. Duche, of the Episcopal
Church, should address the throne of grace in prayer. John Adams,
in his letter to his wife, says he never saw a more moving spectacle.
Mr. Duche read the Episcopal service of the Church of England ; and
then, as if moved by the occasion, he broke out into extemporaneous
prayer, and those men who were about to resort to force to obtain their
rights were moved to tears ; and floods of tears, he says, ran down
the cheeks of pacific Quakers, who formed part of that interesting
assembly ; and, depend upon it, that where there is a spirit of Christian-
ity, there is a spirit which rises above form, above ceremonies, inde
pendent of sect or creed and the controTersies of clashing doctrines.''
That same clergyman was afterwards appointed chaplain of the Ameri-
can Congress. He had such an appointment five days after the decla-
ration of independence.

On December 22, 1776, on December 13, 1784, and on February 29,
1788, it was resolved that two chaplains should be appointed. So far
for the old American Congress. I do not deem it out of place to notice
one act, of many, to show that Congress was not indifferent to the reli-
gious interests of the peoj^le ; and they were not peculiarly afraid of the
charge of uniting Church and State. On the 11th of September, 1777,
a committee having consulted with Dr. Allison about printing an edi-

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOXS OF THE UXITED STATES. 319

tion of thirty thousand Bibles, and finding that they would be com-
pelled to send abroad for type and paper, with an advance of £10,272
IO5., Congress voted to instruct the Committee on Commerce to import
twenty thousand Bibles from Scotland and Holland into the different
jDorts of the Union. The reason assigned was that the use of the book was
so universal and important. Now, what was passing on that day ? The
army of Washington was fighting the battle of Brandywine ; the gallant
soldiers of the Revolution were displaying their heroic though unavail-
ing valor ; twelve hundred soldiers were stretched in death on that
battle-field ; Lafayette was bleeding ; the booming of the cannon was
heard in the hall where Congress was sitting, in the hall from which
Congress was soon to be a fugitive. At that important hoiir Congress
was passing an order for importing twenty thousand Bibles: and yet
we have never heard that they were charged by their generation of any
attempt to unite Church and State, or surpassing their powers to legis-
late on religious matters.

There was a convention assembled between the old and new forms
of government. Considering the character of the men, the work in
which they were engaged, and the results of their labors, I think them
the most remarkable body of men ever assembled. Benjamin Franklin
addressed that body on the subject of employing chaplains ; and cer-
tainly Franklin will not be accused of fanaticism in religion, or of a
wish to unite Church and State.

[Franklin's speech is omitted, as it is inserted in another chapter.]

There certainly can be no doubt as to the practice of employing chap-
lains in deliberative bodies previous to the adoption of the Constitution.
We are, then, prepared to see if any change was made in that respect
in the new order of affairs.

The first Congress under the Constitution began on the 4th of March,
1789 ; but there was not a quorum for business till the 1st of April. On
the 0th of that month, Oliver Ellsworth was appointed, on the part of
the Senate, to confer with a committee of the House on rules, and on
the appointment of chaplains. The House chose five men, — Boudinot.
Bland, Tucker, Sherman, and Madison. The result of their consulta-
tion was a recommendation to appoint two cliaplains of diftorent deno-
minations, one by the Senate and one by the House, to interchange
weekly. The Senate appointed Dr. Provost on the 25th of April.

On the 1st day of May, Washington's first speech was read to tlie
House, and ihajirst business after that speech was the appointm<^nt of
Dr. Linn as chaplain. By whom was this plan made? Three out of six
of that joint committee were members of the convention that iVninod
the Constitution. Madison, Ellsworth, and Sherman passed directly
from the hall of the convention to the hall of Congress. Did the;/ not
know what was constitutional? The law of ITS'J was passed in coin]>li-
anco with their plan, giving chaplains a salary of $o(K). It was re-
enacted in 1810, and continues to the present time. Chaplains liavo
been apiminted from all the leading denominations, Methodist. Bai>tist,
Ei)isfopaliaa, Presbyterian, Congrcgationulist, Catholic, Unitarian, and
others.

320 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CnAEACTER OF THE

I am aware that one of our petitioners might truly reply that the
article was not in the body of the Constitution, but was one of tLe
amendments recommended by Virginia. This does not weaken the
argument in favor of chaplains. In the convention of Virginia, which
proposed amendments, James Madison, James Monroe, and John Mar-
shall were members. All these men were members closely connected
with the Government. Madison and Monroe were members of Congress
when the first amendment was adopted and became a part of the Con-
stitution. Madison was a member of the convention framing the Con-
stitution, of the convention proposing the amendment, and of Congress
when adopted ; and yet neither Madison nor Monroe ever uttered a
word or gave a vote to indicate that the appointment of chaplains was
unconstitutional. The Convention of Virginia elected on its first day a
chaplain. Rev. Abner Waugh, who every morning read prayers imme-
diately after the ringing of the bell for calling the convention. No one
will suppose that convention so inconsistent as to appoint their chap-
lain for their own deliberative assembly in the State of Virginia, and
then recommend that this should be denied to the deliberative bodies
of the nation.

The reason more generally urged is the danger of a union of Church
and State. If the danger were real, we should be disposed to take the
most prompt and decided measures to forestall the evil, because one of
the worst for the religious and political interests of this nation that
could posaibty overtake us. But we deem this apprehension entirely
imaginary ; and we think any one of the petitioners must be convinced
of this on examination of the facts. Now look at that score of differ-
ent denominations, and tell us, do you believe it possible to make a
majority agree in forming a league to unite their religious interests with
those of the State ? If jou take from the larger sects, you must select
some three or four of the largest to make a majority of clergy, or laity,
or worshippers. And these sects are widety separated in their doctrines,
their religious rites, and in their church discipline. How do you expect
them to unite for any such object ? If jou take the smaller sects, you
must unite some fifteen to make a majority, and must take such dis-
cordant materials as the Quaker, the Jew, the Universalist, the Uni-
tarian, the Tunker, and the Swedenborgian. Does any one suppose it
possible to make these harmonize ? If not, there can be no union of
Church and State. Your committee know of no denomination of Chris-
tians who wish for such union. They have had their existence in the
voluntary system, and wish it to continue. The sentiment of the whole
body of American Christians is against a union with the State. A great
change has been wrought in this respect. At the adoption of the Con-
stitution, we believe every State — certainly ten of the thirteen — pro-
vided as regularly for the support of the Church as for the support of
the Grovernment : one, Virginia, had the system of tithes. Down to the
Eevolution, every colony did sustain religion in some form. It was
deemed peculiarly proper that the religion of liberty should be upheld
by a free people. Had the people, during the Revolution, had a suspi-
cion of any attempt to war against Christianity, that Revolution would
have been strangled in its cradle. At the time of the adoption of the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 321

Constitution and the amendments, the universal sentiment was that
Christianity should be encouraged, not any one sect. Any attempt to
level and discard all religion would have been viewed with universal
indignation. The object was not to substitute Judaism, or Mohammed-
anism, or infidelity, but to prevent rivalry among sects to the exclusion
of others. The result of the change above named is, that now there is
not a single State that, as a State, supports the gospel. In 1816 Con-
necticut repealed her law which was passed to sustain the Church ; and
in 1833 Massachusetts wiped from her statute-book the last law on the
subject that existed in the whole Union. Every one will notice that
this is a very great change to be made in so short a period, — greater than,
we believe, was ever before made in ecclesiastical affairs in sixty-five
years, without a revolution or some great convulsion. This change has
been made silently and noiselessly, with the consent and wish of all
parties, civil and religious. From this it will be seen that the tendency
of the times is not to a union of Church and State, but is decidedly and
strongly bearing in an opposite direction. Every tie is sundered ; and
there is no wish on either side to have the bond renewed. It seems to
us that the men who would raise the cry of danger in this state of
things would cry fire on the thirty-ninth day of a general deluge.

If there be no constitutional objection and no danger, why should
not the office be continued? It is objected that we pay money from
the treasury for this office. That is certainly true ; and equally true in
regard to the sergeant-at-arms and doorkeeper, who, with the chaplain,
are appointed under the general authority to organize the House.
Judge Thompson, chairman of this committee in the Thirty-First Con-
gress, in a very able report on this subject, said, that if the cost of
chaplains to Congress were equally divided among the people, it would
not be annually more than the two-hundredth part of one cent to each
person. That being true, a man who lives under the protection of this
Government and pays taxes for fifty years will have to lay aside from
his hard earnings two and a half mills during his lialf-century for the
purf)Ose of supporting chaplains in Congress ! This is the weight of
pecuniary burden which the committee are called to lift from off tlie
neck of the pcoi:)le.

If there be a God who hears prayer, — as we believe there is, — wo
submit that there never was a deliberative body that so eminently
needed the fervent prayers of righteous men as the Congress of tlie
United States. Then^ never was another representative assembly that
had so many and so widely different interests to protect and to harmo-
nize, and so many local passions to subdue. One member feels charged
to defend the rights of the Atlantic, another of the Pacific, coast; one
urges the claims of constituents on the borders of the torrid, another
on the borders of the frigid, zone; while hundreds have the dofonco of
local and varied int<'rosts stretching across an entire continent. If per-
sonal selfishness or ambition, if party or sectional views alone, boar rule,
all attempts at legislation will b(» fruitless, or bear only bitter fruit. If
wisdom from above, that is profitable to direct, bo given in answer to
the ]>rayors of the pious, then (.'ongress neetl thoso devotions, as thoy
surely need to have their views of i)ersonal importance daily chastened

21

322 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND GHAEACTER OF THE

by the reflection that they are under the government of a Supreme
Power, that rules not for one locality or one time, but governs a world
by general laws, subjecting all motives and acts to an omniscient
scrutiny, and holds all agents to their just awards by an irresistible
power.

In the provisions of the law for chaplains in the army, the number is
limited, and these not to be granted unless for " most destitute places;"
and then for a very small salary they are to perform the double service
of clergymen and schoolmasters. While every political office under all
administrations is filled to overflowing, while the ante-chambers of the
departments are crowded and crammed with anxious applicants, wait-
ing for additions, or resignations, or death, to make for them some
vacant place, it is of recent occurrence that only fourteen of the twenty
posts for chaplains were supplied.

We presume all will grant that it is proper to appoint physicians and
surgeons in the army and navy. The power to appoint chaplains is just
the same, because neither are expressly named, but are aj)pointed under
the general authority to organize the army and navy, and we deem the
one as truly a matter of necessity as the other. Napoleon was obliged
to establish chaplains for his army, in order to their quiet, while making
his winter quarters in the heart of an enemy's country ; and that army
had been drenched in the infidelity of the French Kevolution. The
main portion of our troops, though not in a foreign land, are stationed
on the extreme frontiers, the very outposts of civilization ; and if the
Government does not furnish them moral and religious instruction, we
know, as a practical fact, that they will go without it.

It is said that thej'- can contribute and hire their own chaplains. Cer-
tainly they can, — and their own physicians and surgeons ; but if we
throw on them this additional burden, are we not bound to increase
their pay to meet these personal expenses? We may supply them
directly with more economy and efiect than we can do it indirectly.
We trust that the military force of the United States will never be
engaged in a contest, unless in such a one that devout men can
honestly invoke the God of battles to go with our armies. If so, it will
inspire fortitude and courage in the soldier to know that the righteous
man is invoking the Supreme Power to succeed his eflforts. If our
armies are exposed to pestilential climates or to the carnage of the
battle-field, we believe it the duty of Government to send to the sick
and wounded and dying that spiritual counsel and consolation de-
manded by the strongest cravings of our nature.

The navy have still stronger claims than the army for the supply of
chaplains : a large portion of the time our ships-of-war are on service
foreign from our own shore. If they are in the ports of other nations,
the crews cannot be disbanded to worship with the people of those
nations ; and, if they could, the instances are rare in which the sailors
could understand the language in which the devotions are conducted.
If you do not afford them the means of religious service while at sea,
the Sabbath is, to all intents and purposes, annihilated, and we do not
allow the crews the free exercise of religion.

In that important branch of service the Government is educating a

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 32-3

large number of youth who are hereafter to have the control of our
navy. They are taken from their homes at a very early age, when their
minds are not generally instructed or their opinions formed on religious
iiffaii-s. If the mature men can be safely deprived of such privileges, is
it wise or just to dej^rive the youth of all means of moral and religious
culture? Naval commanders have often desired to have their crews
unit^ in devotitjns before commencing action. They have sometimes
done it when tliere was no chaplain on board. One striking instance
of this was in the naval action on Lake Champlain. On Sunday morn-
ing, September 11, just as the sun rose over the eastern mountains, the
American guard-boat on the watch w-as seen rowing swiftly into the
harbor. It rejDorted the enemy in sight. The drums immediately
beat to quarters, and every vessel was cleared for action. The prepara-
tions being compl-eted, young McDonough summoned his officers around
him, and there, on the deck of the Saratoga, read the prayers of the
ritual before entering into battle ; and that voice, which soon after rang
like a clarion amid the carnage, sent heavenward, in earnest tones,
*' Stir up thy strength, 0 Lord, and come and help us ; for thou givest
not always the battle to the strong, but canst save by many or by few.''
It was a solemn, thrilling sight, and one never before witnessed on a
vesselof-war cleared for action. A young commander who had the
courage thus to brave the derision and sneers which such an act was
sure to provoke would fight his vessel while there was a plank left to
stand on. Of the deeds of daring done on that day of great acliieve-
ments, none evinced so bold and firm a h'-art as this act of religious
worship.

While your committee believe that neither Congress nor the army or
navy should be deprived of the service of cluii)hiins, they freely con-
cede that tlie ecclesiastical and civil powers liave been, and should con-
tinue to be, entirely divorced from each other. But we beg leave to
rescue ourselves from the imputation of asserting that religion is not
need(Kl to the safety of civil society. It must be considered as the
foundation on which the whole structure rests. Laws will not have
permanence or power without the sanction of religious sentiment, —
without a firm belief that there is a Power above us tliat will rewanl our
virtues and punish our vices. In this age there can be no substitute
for Christianity : tliat, in its general i>rinciples, is the great conservative
elem«'nt on wliicli we must rely for the purity and pciinancnct^ of free
institutions. That was tlie religion of the founders of the republic, and
they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants. TJiore
is a great and veiy prevalent error on tliis subjoct in the opinion that
those wlio organized this Government did not legislate on leligion.
They did legislate oji it, by making it free to all, "to the .Jew and the
Greek, to the learned and unlearned." 'I'h.- eri'or has arisen from the
V)elief tliat there is no higislation ujdess in j)ermissive or re^irictin^
♦MiactnuMits. But making a thing free is as truly a part of l<gi-lation
a." confining it by limitaticjus ; and wliat the Covernm.nt ha> ni.d- free
it is bound to ke<j) fr»e.

Your coniniittee re. onunend the followinir resolution: —

324 CHPJSTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

Hcsolved, That the Committee be discharged from the further considera-
tion of the subject.

The Senate of the United States adopted the following
report : —

In Senate of the United States, January 19, 1853, Mr. Badger made
the following report: —

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom were referred sundry
petitions j)raying Congress to abolish the office of chaplain, have had
the same under consideration, and submit the following re^Dort : —

The ground on which the petitioners found their prayer is, that the
provisions of law under which chaplains are appointed for the army
and navy, and for the two Houses of Congress, are in violation of the
first amendment of the Constitution of the United States, which
declares that " Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.''

If this position were correct, — ^if these provisions of law do violate
either the letter or the spirit of the constitutional prohibition, — 'then,
undoubtedly, they should be at once repealed, and the office of chap-
lain abolished. It thus becomes necessary to inquire whether the posi-
tion of the petitioners be correct.

The clause speaks of " an establishment of religion." What is meant
by that expression ? It refen-ed, without doubt, to that establishment
which existed in the mother-country, and its meaning is to be ascer-
tained by ascertaining what that establishment was. It was the con-
nection, with the state, of a particular religious society, by its endow-
ment at the public ^expense, in exclusion of, or in preference to, any
other, by giving to its members exclusive political rights, and by com-
pelling the attendance of those who rejected its communion upon its
worship or religious observances. These three particulars constituted
that union of Church and State of w^hich our ancestors were so justly
jealous and against which they so wisely and carefully provided. It is
true that, at the time our Constitution was formed, the strictness of
this establishment had been, in some respects, and to a certain extent,
relaxed in favor of Protestant dissenters ; but the main character of
the establishment remained. It was still, in its spirit, inconsistent with
religious freedom, as matter of natural right to be enjoyed in its full
latitude, and not measured out by tolerance and concession from the
civil rulers. If Congress has passed, or should pass, any law which,
fairly construed, has in any degree introduced, or shoiild attempt to
introduce, in favor of any church, or ecclesiastical association, or system
of religious faith, all or any one of these obnoxious particulars, — endow-
ment at the .public expense, peculiar privileges to its members, or
disadvantages or penalties upon those who should reject its doctrines
or belong to other communions, — such luw would be a "law respecting
an establishment of religion," and, thereloio, in violation of the Consti-
tution. But no law yet passed by Congress is justly liable to such an
objection. Take, as an example, the chaplains to Congress. At every
session two chaplains are elected, — one by each House, — whose duty is

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 325

to offer prayers daily in the two Houses, and to conduct religious
services weekly in the Hall of the House of Representatives. Now, in
this no religion, no form of faith, no denomination of religious pro-
fessors, is established in preference to any other, or has any peculiar
privileges conferred ui:)on it. The range of selection is absolutely free
in each House among all existing professions of religious faith. There
is no compulsion exercised or attempted upon any member or ofhcer
of either House to attend their prayers or religious solemnities. No
member gains any advantage over another by attending, or incurs any
penalty or loses any advantage by declining to attend. The chaplain
is an officer of the House which chooses him, and nothing more. He
owes his place not to his belonging to a particular religious society
or holding a particular faith, but to the voluntary choice of the mem-
bers of the House, and stands, in this respect, upon the same footing
with any other officer so elected. It is not seen, therefore, how the
institution of chaplains is justly obnoxious to the reproach of invading
religious liberty in the widest sense of that term.

It is said, indeed, by the petitioners, that if members of Congress
wish any one to pray for them, they should, out of their own means,
furnish the funds wherewith to pay him, and that it is unjust to tax the
petitioners with the expense of his comj)ensation. It has been shown
that there is no establishment of religion in creating the office of chap-
lain, and the present objection is to the injustice of putting uijon the
public this charge for the personal accommodation of members of Con-
gress. Let it be seen, then, to what this objection leads. If carried
out to its fair results, it will equally apply to many other accommo-
dations furnished to members of Congress at the public expense. We
have messengers who attend to our private business, take checks to the
bank for us, receive the money, or procure bank drafts, and discharge
various other offices for our personal ease, and benefit, unconnected
with the despatch of any public function. Why might it not be said
that members, if they wish these services performed in their behalf,
should employ and pay their own agents ? Members of Congress come
here to attend uj^on the business of the public. Many of them are
professed members of religious societies ; more are men of religious
fientiment: and those desire not only to have the blessing of God
invoked u])on them in their legislative capacities, but to attend the
public worship of Cod. P>ut how are all to be accommodated in the
churches of the city ? And of those who belong to either House of
Congress some have not the means to procure such accommodations for
themselves. Where, then, is the impropriety of liaving an ofiie»'r to
discharge these duties ? And how is it more a subject of just coniiilaiiit
than to have oflicei's wl>o attend to the private secular business of tho
members? The ]»ctitioners say, "A natiomd chaplaincy, no less than a
national Church, is considin-ed by us emphatically an e.s'tahli.thntrnt of
rcliqion.*' In no fair sense of tho phrase have wo a national chaplaincy;
in no Honso in which tliat phrase must be understooil wlun coujieeted,
as it is by the i)ctitioncis, with a "national Church." A national Cluirch
imi)lios n particular ( 'hureh selected as the Church of th<' nation, endowed
with peculiar privileges, or sustained or favored by the public in prefer-

62b CEPJSIIA^x' LIFE A2vD CnAEACTEE OF mil

ence to other Churches or religious societies. Of sueb a Chureh we hare
no semblance, nor have we any such chaplaincy. We hays chaplains
in the army and na\'y, and in Congress ; but these are officers chosen
with the freest and widest range of selection, — the law makmg no dis-
tinction whatever between any of the religions, Ch^i^ehes, or professions
of faith knoAAm to the world. Of these, none by law is excluded, none
has any priority of legal right. True, selections, in point of fact, are
always made from some one of the denominatioDS into which Chris-
tians are distributed ; but that is not in consequence of any legal right
or privilege, but by tlie voluntary choice of those who have the power
of appointment.

This results from the fact that we are a Christian people, — from the
fact that almost our entire population belong to or sj^mpathize with some
one of the Christian denominations which compose the Christian worlds
And Christians will of coui'se select, for the performance of religious
services, one who professes the faith of Christ. This, however, it should
be carefully noted, is not b}'- virtue of provision, but voluntaiy choice.
We are Christians, not because the law demands it, not to gain exclusive
benefits or to avoid legal disabilities, bui: from choice and education ;
and in a land thus universally Christian, what is to be expected, what
desired, but that we shall pay a due regard to Christianity, and have a
reasonable respect for its ministers and religious solemnities?

Tlie principle on which the petiiionei-s ask for the abolition of the
office of chapTainj if carried out to its just consequences, will lead u&
much further than they seem to s-dipi>ose. Hoat comes it that Sunday^
the Christian Sabbath, is recognized and respected by ail the depart-
ments of the Government ? In the law, Sunday is a " dies nsn;" it can-
not be used for the service of legal process, the return- of writs, oif other
judicial purposes. The executive departments, the public establish-
ments, are all closed on Sundays,- on that day neither House of Con-
gress sits.

Here is a nearer approach, according to the reasoning of the peti-
tioners, to an establishment of religion than is furnished by the official
corps to which they object. Here is a recognition by law, and by uni-
versal usage, not only of a Sabbath, but of the Chiisiian Sabbath, in ex-
clusion of the Jewish or Mohammedan Sabbath. Why, then, do not
the petitioners exclaim against this inA^asion of their religious rights ?
Why do they not assert that a national Sabbath, no less than a national
Cliurch, is an establishment of religioa ? 5t is liable to all the obligations
urged against the chaplaincy in at least an equal, if not in a greater,
degree. The recognition of the Christian Sabbath is eorriplete and per-
fect. The officers who receive salaries, or per-diem compensation, are
discharged from dufv' on this day, he/^aruse it is the Cknstian Sahhath, and yet
suffer no loss or diminution of pay on that account. Why, then, do not
these petitioners denounce this invasion of their religioits rights, and
violation of the Constitution, by which their money is applied to pay
public officers while engaged in attending on their religious duties, and
not in the discharge of any secular function ?

The whole view of the petitioners seems founded upon mistaken con-
ceptions of the meaning of the Constitution. This is evident, — ^if not

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 327

from what we have said, — from this consideration, that from the begin-
ning our Government has had chaplains in its employment. If this
had been a violation of the Constitution, — an establishment of religion,
— why was not its character seen by the great and good men who were
coeval with the Government, were in Congress and in the Presidency
when this constitutional amendment was adopted ? They were wise to
discover the true character of the measure ; they, if any one did, under-
stood the true purport of the amendment, and were bound, by their
duty and their oaths, to resist the introduction or continuance of chap-
lains, if the views of the petitioners were correct. But they did no such
thing ; and therefore we have the strongest reason to suppose the notion
of the petitioners to be unfounded. Unfounded it no doubt is. Our
fathers were true lovers of liberty, and utterly opposed to any constriiint
upon the rights of conscience. They intended, by this amendment, to
prohibit "an establishment of religion" such as the English Church
presented, or any thing like it. But they had no fear or jealousy of
religion itself, nor did they wish to see us an irreligious people ; they
did not intend to prohibit a just expression of religious devotion by the
legislators of the nation, even in their public character as legislators ;
they did not intend to send our armies and navies forth to do battle for
their country without any national recognition of that God on whom
success or failure depends ; they did not intend to spread over all the
public authorities and the whole public action of the nation the dead
and revolting spectacle of atheistical apathy. Not so had the battles
of the Revolution been fought and the deliberations of the Revo-
lutionary Congress been conducted. On the contrary, all had been done
with a continual appeal to the Supreme Ruler of the world, and an
habitual reliance upon his protection of the righteous cause which they
commended to his care.

What has thus been done, with modifications, indeed, to suit external
circumstances and particular exigencies, but in substance always the
same from the beginning of our existence as a nation ; what mot the
approval of our Washington, and of all the great men who have suc-
ceeded him ; what commands the general commendation of the people ;
what is at once so venerable and so lovely, so respectable and respected,
— ought not, in the opinion of the committee, now to be discontinued.

The committee, therefore, pray to be discharged from the further con-
sideration of the petitions.

The House of Representatives of tlie Thirty-Fourtli Congress,
1854, wore for two months unable to organize by the election
of a Speaker. The contest was protracted and exciting, and
resulted in the election of Nathaniel P. Banks, of Massachu-
setts. In the midst of that long and fierce struggle for political
ascendency, the House paused and passed the following proaniblo
and resolutions : —

Whereas, The people of those United States, from their earliest history

328- CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

to the present time, have been led by the hand of a kind Providence, •
and are indebted for the countless blessings of the past and present,
and dependent for continued prosperity in the future upon Almighty
God ; and whereas the great vital and conservative element in our
system is the belief of our people in the pure doctrines and divine
truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it eminently becomes the repre-
sentatives of a people so highly favored to acknowledge in the most
public manner their reverence for Grod : therefore,

1. Resolved. That the daily sessions of this body be opened with
prayer.

2. Resolved, That the ministers of the gospel in this city are hereby
requested to attend and alternately perform this solemn duty.

♦

The pastors of various cliurclies in Washington City sent to
the Senate of the United States the following proposition : —

Gentlemen : — The undersigned, ministers of the different denomina-
tions of Christians in Washington, respectfully submit to you the fol-
lowing statements and consequent proposal.

During the long delay in the organization of the present House of
Representatives, several of our number were invited to officiate in
prayer at the opening of the daily sessions. The suggestion was then
made that the various clergymen of the city might discharge this duty
permanently, in the place of a single chaplain, but doubt was expressed
as to the readiness of the ministers of "Washington to render such
service.

An expression on our part seeming therefore to be called for, we beg
leave to state to you our conviction that the established election of a
chaplain from abroad by your honorable bodies had its origin in a
necessity now no longer existing ; that the plan adopted by many of
our State legislatures, of inviting neighboring pastors to act as their
chaplains, thus removing all objection to the associating religious devo-
tion with their deliberations, would reflect more credit on Christian
ministers, would conduce more to their individual acceptableness and
general usefulness among members of Congress and their families, and
would in every way i)romote the end had in view in the election of
chaplains.

"We therefore respectfully tender our services, offering to alternate in
the weekly service of opening the two Houses with morning prayer,
and in conducting divine service on Sabbath morning, with the distinct
understanding that we decline receiving any remuneration for these
services.

George "W. Samson, Pastor of E Street Baptist Church.

Byron Sunderland, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church.

Jas. R. Eckard, Pastor of Second Presbyterian Church.

T. A. Haskell, Pastor of Western Presbyterian Church.

P. D. GuRLEY, Pastor of F Street Presbyterian Church.

Geo. Hildt, Pastor of McKendree Chapel, M. E. Church.

Geo. D. Cummins, Rector of Trinity Church.

J. George Butler, St. Paul Lutheran Church.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 329

J. jMorsell, Hector of Christ Church.

Samuel D. Fixkel, Pastor of G. E. Church.

P. Light Wilson, Pastor of Methodist Protestant Church.

An act of Congress, passed and approved July, 1861, contains
the following sections in relation to chaplains : —

Sec. 8. And le it further enacted, That no person shall be appointed a
chaplain in the United States army who is not a regularly ordained
minister of some religious denomination, and who does not present
testimonials of his jDresent good standing as such minister, with a re-
commendation for his appointment as an army chaplain, from some
authorized ecclesiastical body, or not less than five accredited ministers
belonging to said religious denomination.

Sec. y. And he it further enacted, That hereafter the compensation of all
chaplains in the regular or volunteer service or army-hospitals shall be
one hundred dollars per month and two rations a day when on duty;
and the chaplains of the permanent hospitals, appointed under the
authority of the second section of the act approved May twentieth,
eighteen hundred and sixty-two, shall be nominated to the Senate for
its advice and consent, and they shall, in all respects, fill the require-
ments of the preceding section of this act relative to the appointment
of chaplains in the army and volunteers ; and the appointments of
chaplains to the army-hospitals, heretofore made by the President, are
hereby confirmed ; and it is hereby made the duty of each oflicer com-
manding a district or port containing hospitals, or a brigade of troops,
within thirty days after the reception of the order promulgating this
act, to inquire into the fitness, efficiency, and qualifications of the
chaplains of hospitals or regiments, and to muster out of service such
chaplains as were not appointed in conformity with the requirements
of this act, and who have not faithfully discharged the duties of chap-
lains during the time they have been engaged as such. Chaplains em-
ployed at the military posts called "chaplain-posts" shall be required
to reside at tlie posts, and all chaplains in the United States service
shall be subject to such rules in relation to leave of absence from duty
as are prescribed for commissioned officers of the United States army
stationed at such jiosts.

West Point, the military school of the nation, has from its
organization had the services of a Government chaplain. Some
of the most distinguished ministers of the nation have recoivoJ
ajipointments, among whom has been the venerable Bishop
Mcllvaino. The importance of religious instruction and of
the public worship of God in that national military school is
thus stated by the venerable Christian statesman Lewis Ca.^'S. »^
In 1832, Mr. Cass, as Secretary of War, in his annual report
to Congress, says, —

330 cnrjSTiAN life and cnAr.ACTEr. of the

Especially am I impressed with the importance of a place of public
worship, where all the persons attached to the institution, amounting,
with their families, to more than eight hundred individuals, can assem-
ble and unite in the performance of religious duties. In a Christian
community the obligation upon this subject will not be questioned ;
and the expense of providing a suitable place of worship, especially as
a chaplain is maintained there, cannot be put in competition with the
permanent advantages of a course of religious instruction to such a
number of persons, a large portion of whom are in that critical period
which determines whether the future course of life shall be for evil or
for good.

The report of the Board of Visitors at "West Point for the
year 1862 urged the same views of religious instruction at the
Academy. They say, —

The moral element of the nation, by far the most important of all,
receives far less attention than it deserves at the Academy. Moral and
religious teaching is of supreme importance at all times to the young.
How much more important is it to young men, associated as they are
at the Academy, far from all the influences of domestic affections and
the counsel and examples of parents and friends ! We desire to see
the moral and intellectual powers cultivated simultaneously, believing
we should desire as much at least that the cadet should be a good
man as a good officer.

The following remarks in reference to the history and labors
of chaplains are taken from a report made at a meeting of the
chaplains of the army held in AVashington City, in the month
of November, 1862: —

The office of chaplain in the army and navj'^ is one of the oldest in
the Grovernment of the United States. In the early stages of the Ame-
rican Revolution and through to its glorious close, in the convention
that framed the Constitution of our Union, in the subsequent wars of
this country, on the land and the sea, chaplains have ever been a neces-
sary and useful class of men. When engaged in negotiating treaties
abroad, when making discoveries by means of exploring expeditions,
when sending out ships to convey provisions and arms to suffering and
struggling nations, when promoting the high purposes of commerce and
science by means of electric oceanic communication, when preparing
the way for the establishment of distant colonies that have become
powerful and profitable auxiliaries to civilization and good government,
competent and truly Christian army and navy chaplains have taken a
consioicuous part. Their books and reports on these subjects are with
the country, while the record of their faithful Christian labors is on
high.

On the breaking out of the present wicked and futile rebellion,
ministers of the gospel of all the denominations of Christianity were at

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 331

once found among the most devoted and active supporters of the Union
and its flag. They caused that honored standard to be suspended over
their puipits and from the towers of their churches. They addressed
their congregations in the stirring aj>peals of Christian patriotism.
Tliey gave their sons and grandsons, by thousands, to the ranks of
the Union army and navy. Some of them, with gray hairs on their
brows, were among the first to volunteer as privates and march to
the field of battle. As opportunity offered, they have borne themselves
bravely in the fight, rising from the ranks to be acting generals, colo-
nels, majors, captains, and lieutenants. They have borne all the priva-
tions of camp-life, side by side with their comrades in arms. Not a few
of them have been borne down by exposure and fatigue, until the hand
of death has interposed to translate them from the weary march, the
sickly camp, the dangerous battle-field, to the rest and victory and
peace of heaven.

A wide and effectual door of usefulness has been opened to truly
devoted chaplains in the military and naval hospitals of the United
States. Never was there a more inviting field presented to self-denying
and laborious men. Peculiar obstacles exist at times in the way of its
successful cultivation, but this has always been and always will be the
case in the prosecution of every good word and work. Right-minded
chaplains have constantly endeavored to overcome these obstacles.
Prejudice, sometimes more invincible than strong men armed, has to
be conquered. Passion has to be subdued. The schemes of peculators
on public and private rights have to be ferreted out and thwarted.
Facilities for holding public worship have frequently to be obtained
uncK}r great difficulties.

The character and qualifications of a chaplain for Congress
are presented in the following view, given by Rev. Thomas H.
Stockton, himself having occupied that responsible position for
several years. He says, —

"The Congressional chaplaincy is not (or ought not to be) a
sectarian ministry, but a great American representative of a
pure Bible Christianity, above all parties, all glowing with the
divinest energies of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, — arresting
and commanding attention and exerting saving influences
by its heavenly loftiness and majesty, — something worthy of
the sublimost Christian position on the face of the earth.
Wc want evangelical ministers who represent the immense
majority of American Christians, noble witnesses for Christ,
orators of the Spirit, worthy to chalhnige heaven and earth to
hoar their 'Thus naith the Lord.' It is a glorious thing rightly
managed."

Thus explicit and uniform has been tlie course of our legis-
lative councils on the subject of rcbgion. Their enactuienta

66'Z CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

have all been on the side of Christianity, — taking its truth for
granted, acknowledging its obligations, magnifying its import-
ance, treating it as in fact the religion of the Governme'nt, and
as worthy to be made the rule of action for public bodies and
for States no less than for individuals.

CHAPTER XVI.

CHRISTIAN MINISTERS — THEIR INFLUENCE IN FORMING OUR CIVIL INSTITUTIONS

VIEWS OF BANCROFT AND OTHERS — THE PULPIT THE MEDIUM OF REACHING

THE PEOPLE — PREACHING OF MATHEW WRITINGS OF WISE HOWARD — CLARK

CHAMPIOX — WEBSTER — ADDRESS OP THE PROVINCIAL CONGRESS OF MASSA-
CHUSETTS TO THE CLERGY DR. LANGDON — JOURNAL OP A REVOLUTIONARY

CHAPLAIN CALDWELL DUFFIELD WOODHULL THE DUTCH REFORMED

CHURCHES OF NEW YORK LIVINGSTONE'S SERMON SMITH's SERMON IN PHI-
LADELPHIA IN 1775 — GREEN — BEATTY ROGERS DWIGHT BISHOP WHITE —

REV. DAVID JONES ADDRESS TO THE ARMY — SERMON TO THE ARMY — SERMON

ON DUELLING REV. JACOB TROUTE ADDRESS OF THE CLERGY OF NEWPORT

TO WASHINGTON HIS REPLY ADDRESS OF THE CLERGY OF PHILADELPHIA TO

WASHINGTON ON HIS RETIREMENT FROM THE PRESIDENCY REPLY ADDRESS

OF THE CONGREGATIONAL MINISTERS OF MASSACHUSETTS TO JOHN ADAMS

REPLY — WEBSTER'S STATEMENT OF AMERICAN MINISTERS.

In the civil and Christian institutions which the providence
of God directed to be established on the North American
continent, ministers of the gospel acted a distinguished and
leading part. As teachers of religion, Christian educators,
assistants and often leaders in the great work of framing civil
governments, they were by our Puritan fathers regarded as
essential. Every band of colonists, for a century or more,
beginning with the settlement at Jamestown and Plymouth,
brought in their company one or more ministers of the gospel.
They were in many cases the leaders in the emigration from
Europe to the jSTew World, and pioneers in the colonization of
this continent. The legislation of the colonies, their '' godly
frames" of government, and the whole structure of society
received their moulding influence and finish from ministers.
The people looked up to them for counsel, legislators sought
the aid of their learning and piety, and in every crisis to the
civil liberties of the colonies ministers stood firm to freedom

CIVIL INSTITUTIOXS OF THE UNITED STATES. 333

and animated tlie people by tlieir patriotic sermons and fervent
prayers.

" The earliest constitution of government in New England
was a theocracy ; under it the clergy had peculiar powers and
privileges, which, it is but fair to say, they turned to the ad-
vantage of the commonwealth more than has generally been
the case with any privileged order. Eeligion w^as the deep,
underlying stratum on which their whole life was built. Like
the granite frame-work of the world, it sunk below all and rose
above all else in their life. They were always governed by the
most profound reverence for God and his word ; and they con-
stituted the strong mental and moral discipline needed by a
people who were an absolute democracy."

''The Puritan preachers," says Lossing, ''promulgated the
doctrine of civil liberty, that the sovereign was amenable to
the tribunal of public opinion and ought to conform in practice
to the expressed will of the people. By degrees their pulpits
became the tribunes of the common people, and on all occasions
the Puritan ministers were the bold asserters of that freedom
which the American Kevolution established." They deduced
from the Bible the true doc1f ine of popular sovereignty, — that
government is from the people as well as for the people. They
proclaimed that God is the Supreme Pbuler in government, and
that the people are to exercise their power " not according to
their humors, but according to the blessed will and law of God."
And so influential and authoritative were their teachings, that
it is said of one of the Puritan ministers, John Cotton, " that
what he preached on the Lord's day was followed by the synod,
and that what he preached in the Thursday lecture was followed
by the General Court."

" From the sermons of memorable divines," says Bancroft,
" who were gone to a heavenly country, leaving their names
precious among the people of God on earth, a brief collection of
testimonies to the cause of God and his New England people
was circulated by the press, that the hearts of the rising gene-
ration might know what had been the great end of the planta-
tions, and count it their duty and their glory to continue in
thoflo right ways of the Lord wherein their fathers walked
before them. Tlieir successors in the ministry, with the people
and of the people and true ministers to the i)eoplc, unsurpassed
by the clergy of an equal population in any pai't of the globo

S34 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

for learning, ability, and virtue, and for metapliysical acuteness,
familiarity with the principles of political freedom, devotedness,
and practical good sense, were heard, as of old, with reverence
by their congregations in their meeting-houses on every Lord's
day, and on special occasions of fasts, thanksgiving, lectures,
and military musters. Their exhaustless armory was the
Bible, whose scriptures were stored with weapons for every
occasion, furnishing sharp swords to point their appeals, apt ex-
amples of resistance, prophetic denunciations of the enemies
of God's people, and promises of the Divine blessing on the
defenders of his law."

The ministers of the Eevolution w^ere, like their Puritan pre-
decessors, bold and fearless in the cause of their country. No
class of men contributed more to carry forward the Eevolution
and to achieve our independence than did the ministers of that
grand era of liberty. They esteemed the cause just and right,
and by their prayers, patriotic sermons, and services rendered
the highest assistance to the civil government, the army, and
the country.

''Ministers nursed the flame of piety and the love of civil
liberty. On Sundays they discoursed on them, and poured out
their hearts in prayer for the preservation of their precious
inheritance of liberty." '' They harangued the people, during
the E^evolutionary struggle, ardently and patriotically. Many
of them went into the armies as chaplains ; some, more zeal-
ous, even took up temporal arms ; while the greater number
of them showered the enemy with sermons, tracts, and pam-
phlets."

''As a body of men the clergy w^ere pre-eminent in their
attachment to liberty. The pulpits of the land rang 'with the
notes of freedom. The tongues of the hoary-headed servfouts of
Jesus were eloquent upon the all-inspiring theme, while the
youthful soldier of the cross girded on the whole armor of his
country, and fought wdth weapons not carnal."

" The Christian ministers," said another, "did as much as the
civilian or the soldier to prepare the way for the American E,evo-
lution, and to sustain its spirit. If Christian ministers had not
preached and prayed, there might have been no revolution as
yet ; or had it broken out, it might have been crushed. The
deep, dauntless, uncompromising, truthful, hopeful, religious
spirit of our fathers, who revered and whose love gathered

CIVIL i:n\3tittjtions of the united states. ooD

around their ministers, imparted to the Eevolution its most
striking characteristic."

Trumbull, the historian of Connecticut, bears this honorable
testimony to the patriotism and labors of the clergy: — '''Many
of the clergy had good estates, and assisted their poor brethren
and parishioners. The clergy possessed a very great proportion
of the literature of the colonies. They were the principal
instructors of those who received an education for public life.
For many years they were consulted by the legislature in all
affairs of importance, civil or religious. They were appointed
committees with the governor and magistrates to assist them in
the most delicate concerns of the commonwealth. They taught
their hearers to reject with abhorrence the divine right of
kings, passive obedience and non-resistance, and to hold that all
civil power is originally with the people."

" The clergymen of New England," said Thatcher, in his
'' Military Journal," May, 1775, ''are, almost without exception,
advocates of Whig principles ; there are few instances only of
the separation of a minister from his people in consequence of:
a disagreement in political sentiment. The tories censure, in a
very illiberal manner, the preacher who speaks boldly for the
liberties of the people, while they lavish their praises on him
who dares to teach the absurd doctrine that magistrates have a
divine right to do wrong, and are to be implicitly obeyed. It
is recommended by our Provincial Congress that, on other occa-
sions than the Sabbath, ministers of parishes adapt their dis-
courses to the times, and explain the nature of civil and reli-
gious liberty, and the duties of magistrates and rulers. Accord-
ingly, we have from our pulpits most fervent and pious effusions
to the throne of grace in behalf of our bleeding and afflicted
country."

" To the clergy," says Charles Francis Adams, " as the foun-
tains of knowledge and possessing the gifts most prized in iho
community, all other ranks in society most cheerfully gave
place. If a festive entertainment was meditated, the minister
was sure to bo the first on the list of those to bo invited. If
any assembly of citizens was held, he must be there to ojicn the
business with prayer. If a political question was in agitiition,
ho was among the first whose oj)inion was to l;o consulted.
Even the civil rights of the other citizens, for a long time, de-
pended, in some degree, on his decision ; and, after that rigid

336 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

rule was laid aside, lie yet continued, in tlie absence of technical
law and lawyers, to be the arbiter and judge in tlie differences
between his fellow-men.

^' The vast body of the ministry of the country advocated
the Eevolution, in public and private, on Christian principles.
They justified the war on religious grounds. They believed
that human rights and liberties would be gainers by its success.
Among the most faithful of religious men, modest and pains-
taking in their parishes, there was no concealment of their
sympathy. Scarcely was there a battle-field in the Eevolution-
ary War where the clergy were not present, as chaplains, or
surgeons, to cheer and bless. Their patriotism was a thing of
general admiration. They reasoned themselves and the country
out of all hesitancy and scruples, as they knew how to reason.
They abounded in what Sir John Hawkins calls 'precatory
eloquence,' calling down the blessings of the Almighty upon
the country; and the depth and sway of their influence in
achieving the independence of the colonies cannot be too highly
extolled. Withal, it was with them a time of grea^t personal
privation and hardship. They shared in the largest measure
the calamities of the country. They practised the extremes of
frugality to eke out their scanty subsistence. They were ex-
posed to violent opposition in their distracted parishes. But
they were, as a body, brave, patient, meek, pious, patriotic, and
learned, — an honor to any land. Under God, we owe it to the
ministry of that day that the morals of the country were
not hopelessly wrecked in the convulsions of the Eevolution."

^' They extended the aegis of a Divine religion over the battered
and exhausted form of the colonial confederation, and inspired
fortitude in all who were faint. They were agitated with a
lofty inspiration, as the earth is shaken with the convulsions of
an earthquake, not by the assaults of external power, but by
the irresistible fires of freedom and piety which burned within
their patriotic hearts.

'' Then the people assembled in their churches to invoke the
blessing of God on their arms, while their pastors preached to
them under the frowns of power and in prospect of martyrdom.
This gave fervor to their thoughts, depth to their sympathies,
earnestness a-nd solemnity to their daring resolutions. They
seemed more like prophets than priests, master-spirits raised
up "to mould the destinies of mankind. Each one of those

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 63 i

moral lieroes wlio glorified tlie era of 1776 was a colossus among
ordinary men, and stood forth, in native majesty, indomitable,
unmoved, sublime."

" It is manifest in tlie spirit of our history, in our annals, and
by the general voice of the fathers of the republic, that in a
very great degree to the pulpit — the Puritan pulpit — we owe
the moral force that won our independence."

The clergy, in all the colonies, were buld and frequent in
their pulpit enunciations of the great principles of civil and
religious liberty, and in rebuking despotism and the evils of
the time. John Adams, writing to his wife, from Philadelphia,
at the first meeting of the Continental Congress, 1774, says, —

" Does Mr. Willibrand [pastor at Quincy] preach and pray
against oppression and the cardinal vices of the times ? The
clergy here, of all denominations, thunder and lighten every
Sabbath. They pray for Boston and Massachusetts. They
thank God explicitly and fervently for our remarkable successes.
They pray for the American army : they seem to feel as if they
were among you."

The clergy of ISTew England, and of all the colonies, from
Puritan times to the Eevolutionary era, were men not only of
t.^minent piety and of profound Biblical learning, but were
ardent lovers of liberty and thoroughly versed in the history
and science of civil government. The peculiar circumstances
in which they were })laccd, and the great reverence in which
they were held by all classes, qualified them to be leaders of
liberty and government, as they were of religion. "The pro-
found thought and unanswerable arguments," says Headley, in
his work on the chaplains and clergy of the Ptevolution, ''found
in their sermons, show that the clergy were not a whit behind
Ihe ablest statesmen of the day in their knowledge of the greafc
science of human government. In reading them, one gets at.
the true pulse of the people, and can trace the. progress of tho
I>ublic sentiment."

The election sermons, preached by the special appointment of
the civil authorities, were especially full of the grandest ideas
of freedom, and of thorough and just views of the rights of
mm and the nature and workings of civil government. ''The
pul)Hcatiou of these sermons," says Ueadloy, "in a }>am})hh't
form was a part of tho reguhir proceedings of the Assembly,
and, being scattered abroad ovrr tho land, clothed them with

338 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

the double weight of their high authors and the endowment of
the legislature, became the text-books of human rights in every
parish. They were regarded as the political pamphlets of the
day. The pulpit was the most direct and effectual way of
reaching the masses. The House of Representatives of Massa-
chusetts knew this, and passed resolutions requesting the clergy
to make the question of the rights of the colonies, and the
oppressive conduct of the mother-country, the topic of the
pulpit on weekdays. They thus proclaimed to all future time
their solemn convictions of their dependence on the pulpit for
that patriotic feeling and unity of action which they knew to
be indispensable to success. Here is the deep, solid substratum
that underlaid the Revolution.

'' The preachers did not confine themselves to a dissertation
on doctrinal truths or mere exhortation to godly behavior.
They grappled with the great questions of the rights of man,
and especially the rights of colonists in their controversy Avith
the mother-country. In reading their discourses one is struck
with the thorough knowledge these divines possessed of the
origin, nature, object, character, and end of all true govern-
ment. They went to the very foundations of society, showed
what the natural rights of man were, and how those rights
became modified when men gathered into communities, — how all
laws and regulations were designed to be for the good of the
governed, — that the object of concentrated power was to protect,
not invade, personal liberty, and when it failed to do this and
oppressed instead of protected, assailed instead of defending
rights, resistance became lawful, nay, obligatory. They also
showed the nature of compacts and charters, and applied the
whole subject to the case of the colonies."

A brief sketch of the character and labors of some of these
patriotic preachers, who swept the great heart of the country
with their electric eloquence and power, and caused it to re-
spond to the calls of liberty and the Revolution, will give the
reader the highest admiration of the preachers of those days
of Christian ideas and heroic action.

Rev. Dr. Mayhew gave the key-note, on the part of the clergy
of New England, to the great cause of liberty and of revolution.
Robert Treat Paine called Mayhew '' the father of civil and reli-
gious liberty in Massachusetts and America." On the 25th of
August, 1765, he preached in his own church, in Boston, a

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 339

sermon against the Stamp Act, from the text, ''/ would they
were even, ciU off which trouble you. For, brethren, ye have been
called U7hto liberty ; only use not liberty for an occasion to the
flesh, hu/. by love serve one another.'' (Gal. v. 12, 13.) This
sermon, full of the noblest sentiments and of thorough views of
the nature of civil government, was by Jolm Adams called
^Hhe m.orning gun of the Revolution." '^ He was," says Adams,
*'a clergyman equalled by very few of any denomination in
piety, virtue, genius, and learning. Tliis transcendent genius
threw all the weight of his great fame into the scale of his
country." '' Whoever," says Bancroft, " repeats the story of
the Revolution will rehearse the fame of Mayhew. He spent
whole nights in prayer for the dangers of his country. Light
dawned on his mind on a Sabbath morning of July, 1766,
and he wrote to Otis, saying, ' You liave heard of the com-
munion of the churches : while I was thinking of this in my
bed, the great use and importance of the communion of the
colonies appeared to me in a striking light. Would it not be
decorous in our Assembly to send circulars to all the rest, ex-
pressing a desire to cement a union among ourselves ? A good
foundation has been laid by the Congress of New York. It may
be the only means of perpetuating our liberties.' This sugges-
tion of a ' more perfect union' for the common defence, origin-
ating with Mayhew, was the first public expression of that
future Union which has been the glory of the American re-
public; and it came from a clergyman, on a Sabbath morning,
under the inspiration of Heaven."

. " It is my fixed resolution," said Mayhew, as earlv as
1764, " to do all I can for the service of my country, that
^ieith(!r the ropublic nor the churches of New Englan.l may
sustain injury." " Having," says he, "been initiated in youth in
the doctrines of civil liberty, as they were taught by such men
as riato, Demosthenes, CiCero, and other renowned pt'rsons
among the ancients, and such as Sidney and ^lilton, lynkc
and Hoadly, among the moderns, I liked them : they seemed
rational. And having learned from the Holy Si-riptures that
wise, brave, and virtuous men were always friends to lilx rty;
that God gave the Israelites a king in his anger, because they
Ijiul not sense and virtue enough to like a froe commonwealth;
that where the S[>irit of the Lord is, there is lihorty : this made
me conclude that freedom was a i^reat blessin;'."

o •..>--^....Q.

340 CHEISTIAN LIFE AXD CHAEACTER OF THE

In the year 1766, Thomas Hollis, of a distinguished Baptist
family, in England, wrote to the Kev. Dr. Mayhew, " More
books, espeoially on government^ are going to Xew England.
Should those go safe, it is hoped that no principal book on that
FIRST subject will be w^antiDg in Harvard College, from the days
of Moses to these times. Men of jSTew England, brethren, use
them for yourselves and for others ; and God bless you."

Expressing most fervent feelings for the purity and liberties
of New England, and that the '^ spirit of luxury which was con-
suming us to the very marrow may be kept from the people of
New England," Hollis said, again, —

" One likeliest means to that end wall be, to watch well over
their youth, by bestov;ing on them a reasonable, manly educa-
tion, and selecting thereto the wisest, ablest, most accomplished
of men that art or wealth can obtain ; for nations rise and fall
by individuals, not numbers, — as I think all history proveth.
AVith ideas of this kind have I worked for the public library
at Cambridge, New England."

" The books he sent," says a w^^iter, '^ were often political,
and of a republican stamp. And it remains for the perspicacity
of our historians to ascertain what influence his benefactions
and correspondence had in kindling that spirit which emanci-
pated these States from the shackles of colonial subserviency, by
forming 'high-minded men,' who, under Providence, achieved
our independence."

'' There were extant American reprints of Locke, Hoadly,
Sidney, Montesquieu, Priestley, Milton, Price, Gordon's Tacitus,
or of portions of their works issued prior to and during the
Pvevolution, in a cheap form^, for popular circulation, addressing
not passion, but reason, diffusing sound principles and begetting
right feelings. There could hardly be found a more impressive,
though silent, proof of the exalted nature of the contest on the
part of the Americans, than a complete collection of their pub-
lications during that period.

''Who can limit the influence exerted over the common mind
by these volumes of silent thought, eloquent for the rights of
man and the blessings of liberty, fervid against wrong, the
miseries of oppression and slavery, — teaching that resistance to
tyrants is obedience to God? These books and libraries were
the nurseries of ' sedition ;' they were as secret emissaries, pro-
pagating in every household, in every breast, at morning, in

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 341

the noonday rest, by the evening light, in the pulpit, the
forum, and the shop, principles, convictions, resolves, which
sophistry ooiild not overthrow nor force extinguish. This was
the secret of the strength of our fLithers. Let us cherish it, as
worthy sons of noble sires."

Kev. John Wise, pastor of the Congregational church of
Ipswich, Massachusetts, published in 1705 a work on the vindi-
cation of the government of the Xew England churches. This
work, abounding in sentiments of freedom and liberal ideas
and profound views on civil government, was studied by the
statesmen and the people during the Eevolution; and ''some of
the most glittering sentences in the immortal Declaration of
Independence are almost literal quotations from this essay of
John Wise. And it is a significant fact that in 1772, only four
years before that declaration was made, a large edition of his
works was published, by subscription, in one duodecimo volume.
It was used as a political text-book in the great struggle for
freedom then opening. Distinguished laymen in all parts of
New England, who were soon to be heralded to the world as
heroes in that great struggle, are on the list of subscril^ers for
fiix, twelve, twenty-four, thirty-six, and two of them for a hun-
dred, copies each."

This author, after discussing the various kinds of govern-
ments, and their principles and workings, says, —

"A democracy, — This is a form of government which the
light of nature does highly value, and directs to as most agree-
able to the just and natural prerogatives of human beings.
This was of great account in the early times of the world. And
not only so, but, upon the experience of several thousand years,
after the world had been troubled and tossed from one species
of government to another, at a great expense of blood and trea-
fiure, many of the wise nations of the world have sheltered
themselves under it again, or at least have blended and balanced
their governments with it.

"It is certainly a great truth, namely, that man's original
liberty, aftor it is resigned (yet under due restrictions), ought
to be cherished in all wise governments ; or, otherwise^ a man in
Tnaking him.st^lf a subject, alters himself from a fr.'fman into
a slav(*, which to do is repugnant to the laws of nature. Also
the natural ecpiality of men amongst men must be duly favored;
in that government was never established by God or nature to

342 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND (JEIARACTER OF THE

give one a prerogative to insult over another : therefore, in a
civil as well as in a natural state of being, a just equality is to
be indulged so far as that every man is bound to honor every
man, which is agreeable boih to nature and religion, (1 Pet, ii.
17) : Honor all men. The end of all good government is to
cultivate humanity, and promote the happiness of all, and the
good of every man, in all his rights, his life, liberty, estate,
honor, &c., without injury or abuse done to any one/'

-" Eev. Me. Howaed,

A Puritan preacher and patriot, before the legislative council
of Massachusetts, in 1780, presented the following views on the
duties and influence of civil rulers : —

'"'' Our political fathers and civil rulers will not fail to do all
they can to promote religion and virtue through the community,
as the surest means of rendering their government easy and
happy to themselves and the people. For this purpose they
will watch over their morals with the same afiectionate and
tender care that a pious and prudent parent watches over his
children, and, by all methods which love to God and man can
inspire and wisdom point out, endeavor to check and suppress
all impiety and vice, and lead the people to the practice of that
righteousness which exalteth a nation. They will render them-
selves a terror to evil-doers, as well as an encouragement to such
as do well. They will promote to places of trust men of piety,
truth, and benevolence. Nor will they fail to exhibit in their
own lives a fair example of that piety and virtue which they
wish to see practised by the people. They will show that they
are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, by paying a due
regard to his sacred institutions, and to all the laws of his
kingdom. Magistrates may probably do more in this way than
in any other, and perhaps more than any other order of men,
to preserve or recover the morals of a people. The manners of
a court are peculiarly catching, and, like the blood in the heart,
quickly flow to the most distant members of the body. If,
therefore, rulers desire to see religion and virtue flourish in a
nation over which they preside, they must countenance and
encourage them by their own examples."

Jonas Claek,
The pastor of the Congregational Church of Lexington, Massa-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 343

cliusetts, was among the foremost and ablest champions of
liberty and the Eevolution. His field of spiritual labor is im-
mortalized in American history as the field where the first
battle for independence was fought, and Lexington is as noble
and memorable as Bunker Hill in the annals of freedom. The
pastor of this Christian flock had early indoctrinated his people
into an ardent love for civil and religious liberty.

" His congregation," says Headley, '' were ripe for revolution,
ready to die rather than to yield to arbitrary force." " The
people had become so thoroughly indoctrinated in his views, and
been so animated by his appeals from the pulpit and in public
meetings, that the ' General Court' had them embodied in
instructions to their delegate to the Provincial legislature, as
the expression of their wishes and determination." " This
document," says Edward Everett, " in which the principles and
opinions of the town are embodied, has few equals, and no
superiors, among the productions of that class. Mr. Clark was
of a class of citizens who rendered services second to no others
in enlightening and animating the popular mind on the great
questions at issue: I mean the j^cctriotic clergy of New England.'*

"It was to a congregation educated by such a man," says
Headley, 'Hhat Providence allowed to be intrusted the momen-
tous events of the 19th of April, — events which were to decide
more than the fate of a continent, — that of civil liberty the
world over. In surveying the scenes of carnage after the battle
of Lexington, Mr. Clark, who had been an active participator,
exclaimed, ' From this day will he dated the liberty of the world.'
He believed the war to be as just a one as ever was waged by
the Israelites of old, and as much under the direction of God.
The teachings of the pulpit of Lexington caused the first blow
to be struck for American Independence^'

JuDAH Champion,

Of Litchfield, Connecticut, was one of the most earnest and
eloquent advocates of the Eevolution, and during the whole of
those eventful times was active and intliiential in the cause of
hitt country. He was remarkable for the fervor and power of
his prayers for the success of the great cause of liberty. On
one occasion a regiment of cavalry reached Litchfudd on Satur-
day night, and remained over the Sabbath. The presence of
the military raised the devotions of the patriotic pastor to the

344 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

liigliest ardor, and in liis prayer he spoke of ''the hostile inva-
sion, the cruel purpose for which it was set on foot, — of their
enmity to the American Church, and the ruin to religion which
their success would accomplish, — of congregations scattered,
churches burned to the ground, and the Lord's people made a
hissing and a by-word among their foes," till his own feelings
and those of his hearers were roused into intense excitement in
view of the great wrongs and sufferings designed for them and
the Church of God, and he burst forth as follows : —

*' 0 Lord, we view with terror and dismay the enemies of our
holy religion : wilt thou send storm and tempest to toss them
upon the sea, to overwhelm them in the mighty deep, or scatter
them to the uttermost parts of the earth. But, peradventure
should they escape thy vengeance, collect them together again,
0 Lord, as in the hollow of thy hand, and let thy lightnings
play upon them. We beseech thee, moreover, that thou do gird
up the loins of these thy servants who are going forth to fight
thy battles. Make them strong men, that one shall chase a thou-
sand, and two put ten thousand to flight. Hold before them
the shield with which thou wast wont in the old time to protect
thy people. Give them swift feet, that they may pursue their
enemies, and swords terrible as that of thy destroying angel,
that they may cleave them down. Preserve these servants of
thine. Almighty God, and bring them once more to their homes
and friends, if thou canst do so consistently with thy high
purpose. If, on the other hand, thou hast decreed that they
shall die in battle, let thy Spirit be present with them, that they
may go up as sweet sacrifices into the courts of thy temple,
where habitations are prepared for them from the foundation of
the world."

Samuel "Webstee,

In the spring of 1777, preached the election sermon before the
House of Eepresentatives of Massachusetts. It was delivered
''after the successive disasters that had overtaken the American
army, the defeat on Long Island, the fall of New York and
Fort Washington, and the flight of Washington and his dis-
organized army through the Jerseys, — a year wrapped in
gloom and fraught with sad forebodings, with only one gleam
of sunshine — the battle of Princeton — to cheer the desponding
hearts of the patriots." The sermon was full of the fire and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. '64.5

patriotism of the times, and closed witli the following remark-
able prayer : —

"Awake, 0 Lord, for our help, and come and save us.
Awake, 0 Lord, as in ancient times. Do with them, 0 Lord,
if it be thy will, as thou didst unto the Midianites and their con-
federates, and to Sisera, and to Jabin, when they invaded thy
people, and make their lords and nobles and great commanders
like Oreb and Zeeb, and like Zeba and Zalmunna. Though these
angry brethren profess to worship the same God with us,
yet because it is in a som(?what different mode they seem to
have said. Come, let us take the houses of God in possession.
Accordingly they have vented a peculiar spite against the
houses of God, defaced and defiled thy holy and beautiful
sanctuaries where our fathers worshipped thee, turning them
into houses of merchandise and receptacles of beasts, and some
of them they have torn in pieces and burned with fire. There-
fore we humbly pray that thou wilt hedge up their way, and not
suffer them to proceed and prosper. Put them to flight speedily,
if it be thy holy will, and make them run fast as a wheel down-
ward, or as far as stubble and chaff is driven before the furious
whirlwind. As the fire consumes the wood, and sometimes lays
waste whole forests on the mountains, so let them be laid waste
and consumed if they obstinately persist in their bloody designs
against us. Lord, raise a dreadful tempest and affright them,
and let thy tremendous storms make them quake with fear ;
and pursue them with thy arrows, till they are broughl^to see
that God is with us of a truth, and fighteth for us, and so
return unto their own land, covered with shame and confusion,
and humble themselves before thee and seek to appease thine
anger by a bitter repentance for their murderous designs. And
let them have neither credit nor courage to come out any more
against us. That so all nations, seeing thy mighty power and
thy marvellous works, may no more call themselves suproine,
but know and acknowledge that thou art God alone, the oidy
supreme Governor among men, doing whatsoever plea.<eth
theo."

In 1774 the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts ao-know-
ledged their public obligation to the ministry, as fi-i^nds of i-ivil
and religious liberty, and invoked their aid, in the ibllowiug
address : —

346 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Eeverexd Sirs : — When we contemplate the friendship and assistance
our ancestors, the first settlers of this province, while overwhelmed
with distress, received from the pious pastors of the churches of Christ,
who to enjoy the rights of conscience fled with them into this land,
then a savage wilderness, we find ourselves filled with the most grateful
sensations. And we cannot but acknowledge the goodness of Heaven
in constantly supplying us with preachers of the gos^Del, whose concern
has been the temporal and spiritual happiness of the people.

In a day like this, when all the friends of civil and religious liberty are
exerting themselves to deliver this country from its present calamities, we
cannot but place great hopes in an order of men who have ever distin-
guished themselves in their country's cause ; and do, therefore, recom-
mend to the ministers of the gospel in the several towns and other places
in the colony, that they assist us in avoiding that dreadful slavery with
which we are now threatened, by advising the people of their several
congregations, as they wish their prosperity, to abide by and strictly to
adhere to the resolutions of the Continental Congress, at Philadelphia,
in October, 1774, as the most peaceable and probable method of pre-
venting confusion and bloodshed, and of restoring that har'mony
between Great Britain and these colonies on which we wish might be
established not only the rights and liberties of America, but the opu-
lence and lasting happiness of the whole British empire.

Resohed, That the foregoing address be presented to all the ministers
of the gospel in this province.

Samuel Langdon, D.D., President of Harvard College,
preached before tlie Honorable Congress of Massachusetts Bay,
in May, 1775, on the theme '^ Government corrupted by vice
and recovered by righteousness."

'' Let us consider," says he, " that for the sins of a people God
may suffer the best government to be corrupted or entirely
dissolved, and that nothing but a general reformation can give
good ground to hope that the public happiness will be restored
by the recovery of the strength and perfection of the state, and
that Divine Providence will interpose to fill every department
with wise and good men.

'^ When a government is in its prime, the public good en-
gages the attention of the whole ; the strictest regard is paid to
the qualifications of those who hold the offices of state ; virtue
prevails; every thing is managed with justice, prudence, and
frugality ; the laws are founded on principles of equity rather
than mere policy, and all the people are happy. But vice will
increase with the riches and glory of an empire ; and this gene-
rally tends to corrupt the Constitution and in time bring on its
dissolution. This may be considered not only as the natural

CIVIL INSTITUTIOls'S OF THE UNITED STATES. 347

I effect of vice, but a righteous judgment from Heaven, especially
upon a nation which has been favored with the blessings of
religion and liberty and is guilty of undervaluing them and
eagerly going into the gratification of every lust.

''We have rebelled acrainst God. We have lost the true
spirit of Christianity, though we retain the outward profession
and form of it. We have neglected and set light by the glo-
rious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and his holy commands
and institutions. The worship of many is but mere compliment
to the Deity, while their hearts are far from him. By many
the gospel is corrupted into a superficial system of moral philo-
sophy, little better than ancient Platonism ; and, after all the
pretended refinements of moderns in the theory of Christianity,
very little of the pure practice of it is to be found among those
who once stood foremost in the profession of the gospel.

''But, alas ! have not the sins of America, and of ISTew Eng-
land in particular, had a hand in bringing down upon us the
righteous judgments of Heaven? Wherefore is all this evil
come upon us ? Is it not because we have forsaken the Lord ?
Can we say we are innocent of crimes against God? No,
surely. It becomes us to humble ourselves under his mighty
hand, that he may exalt us in due time. However unjustly
and cruelly we have been treated by man, we certainly deserve
at the hand of God all the calamities in which we are now
involved. Have we not lost much of that spirit of genuine
Christianity which so remarkably appeared in our ancestors, for
which God distinguished them by the signal favors of his pro-
vidence when they fled from tyranny and persecution into
Western deserts ? Have we not departed from their virtues ?
Have we not made light of the gospel of salvation, and too
much affected the cold, formal, fashio/iable rdiyion of countries
grown old in vice and overspread with infidelity ? Do not our
follies and iniquities testify against us ? Have we not, especially
in our seaports, gone much too far into the pride anci hixurios
of life ? Is it not a fact, open to common observation, that
profanencHs, intemperance, unchastity, the lovo of pleasure,
fraud, avarice, and other vices, are increasing among us from
year to year? And liavo not even these young govt^rnments
been in some measure infected with the corruptions ot Eu-
ropean courts? Hiia there been no flattery, no bribery, no
artifices practised to get into places of honor ami profit or to

348 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

carry a vote to secure a j^ccrticiUar interest ivithout regard to
right or wrong f Save our statesmen always acted with inte-
grity, and every judge with impartiality, in the fear of God?
In short, have all ranks of men showed regard to the Divine
commands, and joined to promote the Redeemer's kingdom and
the public welfare? I w^ish we could more fully justify our-
selves in all these respects. We must remember that the sins
of a people who have been remarkable for the profession of god-
liness are more aggravated by all the advantages and favors
they have enjoyed, and will receive more speedy and signal
judgments, as God says of Israel : — ' You only have I known of
all the families of the earth : therefore w^ill I punish you for all
your iniquities.'

" Let me address you in the words of the prophet: — ' 0 Israel,
return unto the Lord thy God, for thou hast fallen by thine
iniquity.' Let us repent, and implore the Divine mercy; let us
amend our ways and our doings, reform every thing which
has been provoking to the Most High, and thus endeavor to
obtain the gracious interposition of Providence for our deli-
verance,

^' If true religion is revived by means of these public calami-
ties, and again prevails among us,- — if it appears in our reli-
gious assemblies, in the conduct of our civil affairs, in our
ARMIES, in owe families , in all our business and conversation,
— we may hope for the direction and blessing of the Most High,
while w^e are using our best endeavors to preserve the civil
government of this colony and defend America from slavery.

" And may we not be confident that the Most High wnll vin-
dicate his own honor, and plead our righteous cause against
such enemies to his government as well as our liberties ?
Oh, may our camp be free from every accursed thing ! May
our land be purged from all its sins ! May we be truly a holy
people, and all our towns cities of righteousness ! Then the
Lord will be our refuge and strength, a very present help in
trouble, and we shall have no reason to be afraid, thoua;h thou-
sands of enemies set themselves ao-ainst us round about, thou2;h
all nature should be thrown into tumults and convulsions. He
can command the stars in their courses to fight his and our
Itattles, and all the elements to wage war wdth his and our ene-
mies. He can destroy them with innumerable plagues, or send
faintness into their hearts, so that the men of might shall not

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 349

find their hands. In a variety of methods he can work salva-
tion for us, as he did for his people in ancient days, and accord-
ing to the many remarkable deliverances granted in former
times to New England.

• ^' May the Lord hear us in this day of trouble, and the name
of the God of Jacob defend us, send us help from his sanctuary,
and strengthen us out of Zion ! We will rejoice in his salvation,
and in the name of our God will we set up our banners. Let
us look to him to fulfil our petitions."

The following is an interesting and solemn scene of the Revo-
lution, published in a religious newspaper of 1858 : —

^' June 10, 1775. — This has been one of the most important and trying
days of my life. I have taken leave of my people for the present, and
shall at once proceed to the American camp at Boston and ofter my
gcrvices as chaplain in the army. Ever since the battle of Bunker Hill
my mind has been turned to this subject." " God's servants are needed
in the army to pray with and for it. This is God's work ; and his minis-
ters should set an example that will convince the people that they
believe it to be such. But the scene in the house of God to-day has
tried me sorely. How silent, how solemn, was the congregation I and
wlien they sang the sixty-first Psalm, commencing, —

* When, OTcrwhelm'd with grief,
My heart within mc dies,' —

sobs were lieard in ovory jiart of the building. At the close, I was asto-
nished to see Deacon S., now nearly sixty years of age, arise and address
the congregation. 'Brethren,' said he, 'our minister has acted right.
This is God's cause ; and as in days of old the priests bore the ark into
the midst of the battle, so must they <lo it now. We should be un-
worthy of the fathers and mothers who landed on Plymoutli Rock, and
suffered privations and dangers to secure freedom for us, if we did not
cjieerfully bear wliat Providence shall put upon us in the great conflict
now before us. I had two sons at Bunker Hill, antl one of them, you
know, was slain. The other did his duty, and for the future God must
do with him what seemeth him best. I otler him to liberty. I Iiad
tliought I was getting too old to offer myself, and that I would stay
here with the church. But my minister is going, and I will sliouUler
my musket and go too.' In this strain he continued for some time, till
the wliole congregation was bathed in tears. Oii, God nuist be with this
people in this unequal struggle: else how could they enter upon it with
such solemnity and prayer, with such strong reliance on his assistance,
and siieh a i)rof()und sense of their \\vot\ of it? Just before separating,
the whole congregation joined in singing, —

*0 flod, our help in njjps past.
Our hope for yoara to cuiuo.' "

350 christian life and chaeacter of the

Eev. James Caldwell,

Pastor of tlie Presbyterian church of Elizabethtown, New
Jersey, was a martyr for liberty. His church was burned by
the British, and he and his family were murdered, in 1780.
Eev. Nicholas Murray, pastor of the same church for many
years, in a memorial to Congress, in 1840, for payment of the
church property destroyed by the British, said, —

'^ When the glorious war of our Eevolution commenced which
resulted in our independence, the Eev. James Caldwell was
then pastor of this church. His name and fame are inter-
woven with the history of his country, and are as dear to the
State as to the Church. He became early and deeply interested
in the conflict, and devoted all his powers no less to the freedom
of his country than to the service of his Cod. Such was his
influence over his people that, with few exceptions, they became
one with him in sentiment and feeling ; and thenceforward he
and they were branded as the rebel parson and parish. To the
enemies of his country he was an object of the deepest hatred;
and such was their known thirst for his life, that, while preach-
ing the gospel of peace to his people, he was compelled to lay
his loaded pistols by his side in the pulpit."

''In the exciting scenes," says Headley, ''that immediately
preceded the Eevolution, he bore a prominent and leading part.
His congregation upheld him, almost to a man ; and when we re-
member that such patriots as Elias Boudinot, William Living-
ston, Francis Barber, the Daytons and Ogdens, composed it,
we cannot wonder that both pastor and people were looked upon
as head rebels of the province, and became peculiarly obnoxious
to the loyalists. In intelligence, ardor, and patriotism they
had no superior, and formed a band of noble men of which New
Jersey is justly proud.

"At the first call to arms, the State offered its brigade for
the common defence, and Mr. Caldwell was elected its chaplain.
His immense popularity gave him an influence that filled the
tories with rage and made his name common as a household
word among the British troops. They offered a large reward
for his capture. For his personal safety, he went armed.

"So entire was the confidence of the* people in his integrity
that, when the array became greatly reduced, and both pro-
visions and money were hard to be obtained, he was appointed

CIVIL IX3TITUTI0NS OF THE UNITED STATES. 351

Assistant Commissary- General. He not only was earnest and
eloquent in his pulpit for the cause of his country, but was
active and brave in battle. In one of the engagements near
Springfield; iSTew Jersey, Mr. Caldwell was in the hottest of the
fight, and, seeing the fire of one of the companies slacken for
want of wadding, he galloped to the Presbyterian meeting-
house near by, and, rushing in, ran from pew to pew, filling his
arms with hymn-books. ^Hastening back with these into battle,
he scattered them about in every direction, saying, as he pitched
one here and another there, ^' Now, hoys, put Watts into them.''

^' The unselfish and entire devotion of this gifted man to his
country was of the Washington type, — a devotion in which life
itself and all its outward interests were forgotten, or re-
membered only as an ofi'ering ever ready to be made to her
welfare. The cause of freedom, and especially the State of
New Jersey, owe him a large debt of gratitude."

A monument to Dr. Caldwell stands in the burial-ground of
the First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethtown, New Jersey,
where sleep many of the heroes of the Eevolution. The inscrip-
tion is as follows : —

East Side. — "This monument is erected to the memory of the Rev.
.James CuUhvell, the pious and fervent Christian, the zealous and laitli-
ful minister, tlie eloquent preaclier, and a prominent leader among the
worthies who secured the indei)('ndence of his country. His name will
be cherished in the Clnn'ch and in the State so long as virtue is esteemed
and patriotism rewarded."

"West Side. — " Hannah, wife of the Rev. James Caldwell, and daughter
of Jonathan Ogden, of Newark, was killed at Connecticut Farms, by a
shot from a British soldier, June 24th, 1780, cruelly sacrificed by the
enemies of her husband and of her country."

North Side. — '"The memory of the just is blessed.' 'Be of good cou-
rage, and let us behave ourselves valiantly for our i)eoi)le, and for the
cities of our God, and let the Lord do that which is good in his sight.'
'The glory of children are their fathers.'"

Soi.Tii Side. — ".lames Caldw<'ll, born in Charlotte County, in X'iigiuia,
April, 17o4. Graduated at rrineeton College, ITaO. Ordained j)astor of
the First Presbyterian Church of Elizalietlitown, 17r»2. After serving
aH chaplain in the army of the !{. 'volution, an<l acting as commissary to
the troops in New Jersey, he was killed by a shot from a seniiiul at
Elizabethtown Point, November '24th, 17S1.

"The Memokv or the .Fist is Blessed."

George Duffikld,
Of Philadolphia, was an eminent proaohcr ami patriot of the

OOZ CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Eevolutioii, and devoted to tlie cause of his country. He was
among the first chaplains to the Colonial Congress, and did
good service to the civil council as well as to the armies of
his country. Dr. Sprague, in his "Annals of the American
Pulpit," says of this pious and patriotic preacher, —

''He was a bold and zealous assertor of the rights of con-
science, an earnest and powerful advocate of civil and religious
liberty. During the pending of tlje measures which were
maturing the Declaration of Independence, while the prospects
of the colonies seemed most gloomy, his preaching contributed
greatly to encourage and animate the friends of liberty. So
much did he value prayer, and so important did he feel it to be
to excite and encourage the men that had left their homes and
perilled their lives in the cause of freedom, to look to God and
put. their trust in Him, that he would, occasionally, in the
darkest hour of the Kevolution, leave his charge, and repair to
the camp, where the fathers and sons of many of his flock were
gathered, and minister to them in the public preaching of the
word and personal service." ''He was with the army in their
battles and retreats through Jersey, during that dark and nearly
hopeless period of the Pvevolution."

The patriots of the first Congress attended his church; and
l"ohn Adams and his compeers were often his hearers.

His soul could inftise conrage in the hour of danger, and
-^heer the disheartened in disaster, by example, precept, and
prayer. He was well known in camp; and his visits were
always welcome, for the soldiers loved the eloquent, earnest,
fearless patriot.

The following is a fine specimen of the eloquence and fervor
of Dr. Duffield's piety and patriotism, and a precious relic of
Eevolutionary times, taken from a discourse preached

At Pine Street Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, March 17, 1776, by
Rev. George DufRelcl, D.D., Pastor. Isaiah xxi. 11, 12: — " The burden of
Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night ?
A\''atchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning
cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: return,
come.''

•X- -^ ^ -H- -K- -H- * -X-

The instruction afforded in these words is as follows : —

I. That it is the duty of a people, under a pressure of trouble and
distress, to be earnest in applying to God respecting their affairs.

II. That such a people have encouragement to expect God will answer
them, and with the afiliction administer comfort to them.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 353

I. What is implied in applying to God in such circumstances ?

1. A generous concern for the public good.

Idumea's watchman, representing all those of the inhabitants of that
country suitably exercised in that day of trial (and every true patriot
in our day), seems to have abandoned every meaner consideration, to
have lost every thought of private concern for himself or his own pecu-
liar interest, in an ardent glow of zeal for the good of the common
cause, by which, while others indulge in repose, his eyes slumber not :
lie watches for his country's good ; his thoughts are all on this; and
his busy, laboring mind is consulting, planning, and inquiring for its
good.

View him a moment on his watch-tower on Mount Seir: his looks are
the picture of deep concern ; anxious care dwells seated on his brow ;
painful study for his country's good has emaciated his frame, spread a
solemn composure over his countenance, and hastened his age faster far
than hurrying time itself would roll away his years !

Such a patriot was good Hezekiah, who lived only to serve his country,
whose days were measured by diligence for its good and planning for
its greatest benefit, and whose constitution was so enfeebled by unre-
mitting care that ere he had reached his fortieth year he had sunk
before the first attack of disease, had not a miracle interposed for his
deliverance.

kSuch patriots of old were Samuel and Ezra, and, in the field, the
brave Uriah. Such may thy councils, 0 America, and such thine armies,
ever contain.

2. A sense of the overruling government of God determining the
aftairs of men.

Without this, the Idumean patriot had never called with such ardor
to the watchman God had appointed to observe and declare his will.
So intimately is a reverence for God connected with the proper dis-
charge of every duty we owe to our fellow-men, as individuals, or the
community at largo, — botli proceeding from the same good principle
within, — that never can there be a proper and sincere discharge of the
latter where the former is neglected. True patriotism is founded i.v
TRUE RELIGION ; and where the latter is not, there is great danger of the
former being Long lit or bribed by an adequate price, or in some way blasted,
like the seed sown in stony ground, that pcrishe<l tljrough want of root.

',i. A diligent attention to the use of means.

God has so determined, in the ordinary course of his providential dis-
I)onsations, that the blessings he designs to bestow are yet to bo sought
aftor and obtained in the use of the proper means. Eden itself was not
to nourish Adam without dressing. The same God that fed Elijali by
the b ook could have coinniand(.'d the ravens to feed the family of
.lucob, but tlicy nmst travel to Egypt for bread. Canaan was given to
Isra.l. but they nmst manh and liglit and toil to subchit- and possess
il. I'aul was assuroil that the sliip's crew would all be saved, but the
niarinors must stay aboard and ply their endeavors, or not a soul would
br safe. And who tliat oonsidrrs the engagodnoss of this oiirn«>.'*t Edom-
ile. ** calling from Seir," can doubt his diligence in every measure adai)lcd
to obtuin the end?

23

604: CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OP THE

4. The true patriot must be earnestly engaged in prayer.

In the common affairs of life, as well as in religion, we may adopt the
language of the apostle, and, whether Paul plant or Apollos water, it is
Grod must give the increase. This is the Psalmist's idea (Ps. cxxvii. 1),
" Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it,'' &c.
It is this blessing that makes prosperous as well as rich, &c. To him,
therefore, with great propriety does the pious Idumean look, and ar-
dently pray, in our text ; and it will generally be found that when God is
about to bestow any remarkable favor on a person or people, he pre-
viously pours upon that peo^Dle or j^erson a spirit of earnest supplication
to God for his favor.

That it is the incumbent duty of a people, and especially when in-
volved in calamitous circumstances, thus to pray ; consider —

1. God has commanded it, and to his injunction added great encou-
ragement. Ps. 1. 15 : " Call upon nje in the day of trouble ; I will deliver
thee, and thou slialt glorify me." Ps. xxxviii. 5 : " Commit thy way
unto the Lord ; trust also in him ; and he shall bring it to pass." Joel
ii. 32: "Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be deli-
vered ; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the
Lord has said." Hence, —

2. Prayer is one of the most probable means of obtaining deliverance
from trouble.

As the calamities of a people are the chastening of God for their sins,
and one end designed therein is to bring them back to Him from whom
they have departed, the more they are brought to a sense of their de-
pendence on God, and engaged in returning and making supplication
to him, the greater is their prospect not only of being delivered, but of
having their calamities converted into blessings. Micah iv. 6 : And
•' I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted, and
I will make her that was cast off a strong nation."

3. Prayer brings down the perfections of God to the assistance of those
who are thus exercised. Ps. xvi. 1 : " Preserve me, 0 God ; for in thee do
I put my trust." Ps. cxviii. 5-12: " I called upon the Lord in distress :
the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place. The Lord is on
my side ; I will not fear : what can man do unto me ? The Lord taketh
my part with them that help me : therefore shall I see my desire upon
them that hate me. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confi-
dence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence
in princes. All nations compassed me about : but in the name of the
Lord will I destroy them. They compassed me about ; yea, they com-
passed me about ; but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
They compassed me about like bees : they are quenched as the fire of
thorns : for in the name of the Lord 1 will destroy them."

II. Let us now consider the answer, and point out some signs that
promise a morning of deliverance to a people afflicted.

Known unto God are all his ways from the beginning ; and from the
perfections of Deity we may safely assert that all moral and natural evil
will finally be rendered subservient to the perfection of the Divine plan ;
but in what manner this shall be done surpasses the contracted power of
the feeble mind of man to determine, and rests perhaps among the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. oOO

mysteries of heaven that Gabriel himself has not explained, but waits
for the finishing scene to explain the mysterious drama. Yet so it is.
As day and night succeed each other in the natural, so both the natural
and the moral world have their nights and their days in successive inte-
resting periods, since the memorable hour when Adam forsook his God,
and introduced moral evil, and its inseparable attendant, natural evil,
into this small province of the Great Creator's kingdom. The whole
world throughout is as of the Jews in our text, '* The morning cometh,
and also th-e night," and so shall contiiiue u)itil night and day be
blended no moi>e.

Eternal day and eternal night will i)0>sess their eternally-separated
regions, and st^parate the inhabitants in endless happiness and joy, or
everlasting horror and despair.

The particular time of the Jewish state, d<^signod in our text by tlie
morning and tlie night here mentioned, may be hard to determine ; but
it will with great propriety apply to various periods.

It was, at the time of the pro^jhecy, a night of sore impending distress
from Sennacherib the Assyrian king. A morning of deliverance came
in the destruction of Rabshakeh's army. (2 Kings xix.)

The troubled state of affairs for a series of years before and through
the Babylonish captivity was a season of night. A morning came in the
return under Cyrus.

It was a long night, in respect of religion, through the whole of their
ceremonial service : this was still darker before the coming of Christ,
but in him arose a bright morning.

"A dayspring from on high visited them, to give light to those that
were in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide tlieir feet
into the way of peace." (Luke i. 78, 70.)

Night came on thorn in the dcstructioii of thfir rity and nation, nnd
has continued now 1700 years ; but the prophets and the Apostle Paul
(Rom. xU 15, 2G) promise them a glorious morning in the latter days of
the world.

The Christian Church has had its nights and its mornings.

An<l the like has been the case with every natioji in a measur<\

P)Ut it more especially concerns us to attend to the improvement of
this <loftrine, both with respect to indivi<luals and to the present state
of our own public affairs.

Lujtrnrrwnd. — I. In tho Way of comfort to the people of r,o<l : f<-»r —

(a.) All their affairs are onlered by God, who is tlunr (iod, and to
whom they have u right to go as their God and imiuire.

(A.) Though they have! a night, there is an eternal morning in ri-^
serve. Hut — ,

2. Our subject i^ fidl of gloom to sinnrvs out of Ghri-;t. Xow they
have a niglit of spiritual darkness and death ; an eternal night of
dreadful tnisery and des]iair awaits you — very shortly — hereafter.

3. The inij.rovement of our subject natinally leads oiu- thought"* to
the «tato of our i>ublic affairs.

It I.? nt prrnnit a i>'ujl,t scene o>',r t/ds va.><t uortfirrn prrf nf ihf X.w Worfd.
God, to ohastise \\a for our offences, and f<^r wise and important pur-
poses, has suffe-rud darU clouds to envelope our ^kv. It beeoincs every
#

35G CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAFwACTER OF THE

one, who wishes his own or his country's good, to inquire, " Watch-
man, w^hat'of the night?" It is a time for earnest prayer, joined with
diUgent endeavor. There is in store an answer of mercy ! There i& a
morning in reserve, though the night may continue some time.

Reasons to expect a Morning. — 1. God never has cast off and de-
stroyed a nation so soon, as it would be to deliver America now to ruin.
Look at the antediluvian world, — the Amorites, and other nations of
Canaan — the Jews, &f.

2. The western world, appears to have been retained for that purpose,
and designed by an ordinance of Heaven as an Asylum for Liberty, civil
and religious. Our forefathers, who first inhabited yonder eastern
shores, fled from the iron rod and heavy hand of tyranny. This it was,
and no love of earthly gain or prospect of temporal grandeur, that urged
them, like Abraham of old, to leave their native soil and tender connec-
tions behind, to struggle through winds and waves, and seek a peaceful
retreat in a then howling Wilderness, w^here they might rear the banner
of liberty and dwell contented under its propitious shade, esteeming
tliis more than all the treasures of a British Egypt, from whence they
were driven forth. Methinks I see them on the inhospitable shore
they were hastening to leave, and hear them adopt the sentiment of the
Psalmist, Iv. 6, 7, to gi\ e it in the expressive language of Watts, with a
small variation : —

'* Oh, were I like a feather'd dove.
And innocence had wings ;
I'd Qy, and make a far remove,
Yrom persecutinj Icings."

Nor was it the fostering care of Britain produced the rapid populating
of these colonies, but the tyranny and oppression, both civil and eccle-
siastical, of that and other nations, constrained multitudes to resign
every other earthly comfort, and leave their country and their friends,
to enjoy in peace the fair possession of freedom in this western world.
It is this has reared our cities, and turned the wilderness, so far and
wide, into a fruitful field. America's sons, very few excepted, were all re-
fugees,— the chosen spirits of various ^rations, that could not, like Issachar, hour
down between the two burdens of the acojrsed cruelty of tyranny in Church and
State. And can it be supposed that the Lord has so far forgot to be gra-
cious, or shut up his tender mercies in his wrath, to favor the arms of
oppression and to deliver up this asylum to slavery and bondage ? Can
it be supposed that the God who made man free, and engraved in inde-
feasible. characters the love of liberty in his mind, should forbid free-
dom, already exiled from Asia, Africa, and under sentence of banishment
from Europe, — that he should forbid her to erect her banner here, and
constrain her to abandon the earth ? As soon shall he reverse creation,
and forbid yonder sun to shine ! To the Jews he preserved their cities
of refuge ; and while sun and moon endure, America shall remain a
CITY OF REFUGE FOR THE WHOLE EARTH, Until shc hcrsclf shall play the
tyrant, disgrace her freedom, and provoke her God! When that day shall
come, if ever, then, and not till then, shall she also fall, "slain with
those that go down to the pit.''

%

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 357

3. The spirit and ardent love of liberty that has possessed those
colonics so wide and far, is a strong evidence of a morning, a bright morning,
hastening on. It is the same spirit that inspired our forefathers' breasts
when first they left their native shores and embarked for this then
howling desert. Their mortal part has mingled with the dust, but the
surviving spirit has triumphed over doath and the grave, and descended
to their sons ; and it is this spirit, beating high in the veins of their ott-
spring, has roused them so unanimous and determined in the present
struggle. 'Tis this spirit has formed our extensive Union, and inspired
our councils with tliat magnanimity and lustre that astonishes half the
world. 'Tis this spirit hAs enrolled your Congresses and conventions iu
the annals of immortal fame. 'Tis this spirit has enabled your dear,
suffering brethren in yonder once flourishing city [Boston], now almost
a ruinous heap, to endure joyfully the spoiling of their goods, glorying
to be accounted worthy to suffer in the honorable cause ! 'Twas this
spirit that ranked a Warrex, a Montgomerv, and others, upon the list of
protomartyrs for American liberty. And this same spirit has led you
forth, ye patriot bands, associated in your country's cause, and will, I
trust, still urge you on to noble deeds, and bravely to prefer a glorious
death to slavery and chains !

And this — what shall I call it less than a divine afflatus so gene-
rally prevailing througli all ranks, in the cabinet and in the field — is
an argument from heaven that America shall rise triumphant over the
proud waves and raging billows that now threaten her ruin I When a
nation is to be destroyed, she is, as described by Hosea vii. 11, "like a
silly dove without heart ;" but when this divine afflatus comes upon a
nation, and it is refreshed like a giant with new wine, the omen is sure
and the victory inevitable.

4. There is great reason to believe that the Church of Christ is yet to
have a glorious day in America.

Religion, like the sun, rose in the ea-st, and has continued its pro-
gress in a western direction. Once it flourished in Asia. Now it is
idmost total darkness thei-e. From thence it came to Euroi>e, and
there shone bright for a season : but scenes of persecution harassed it,
and the shadows of a dark ev«'ning have long be«'n gathering r<^un«l it.
America seems to have been prepared as the wilderness to which the
woman should fly from the face of the dragon and be nourished for a
long series of time. (Rev. xii. C.) God has here planted his Church ; he
has hedged it round, and made it to flourish ; and though there have
been some few, some very few remains of a mistaken zeal for piety, in
attempting to fetter the minds of men with ]>ains and penalties, yet it
may with grout Justice be said, xn no part of the earth does religious
liberty ermally ]trevail, and just sentiments of the riglits of conscience
obtain, as in this land. Ilei>« has pure and un<letiled religit)n h-ngthene*!
her eordrt and strengthened her stakes. Yonder to-<lny are the praiseu
of God siiigin;r, and the word of his graee j.roclaimed, where but a few
yours back his name wjvs not known, nor any thing heard but the yells
of Kftvuge bea.'*ts, or poor indarkened Iii<lian tribes, e<|ually ignorant of
the true God as the beasts t hi«rn«'lves.

How large an addition to the kingdom of <'hrisi has b.en nia<le in

353 CHRISTIAN LIFE AXI> CHARACTER O-F THE

this land I The King of glory has here indeed gone fortli, with hi'?*
sword on his thigh, riding prosperously in state, conquering and to con-
quer 1 The progress of this kingdom is still continued with a rapid
career ; and shall his foes tear the laurels from the brow of the great
Eedeemer, and deliver his victory and glorious prospects into slavery
and thraldom ? Forbid it, Jesus, from thy throne ! It shall not take
place I The Church shall flourish here and hold on her v^^j triumphanty
in spite of kings, lords, Commons, and devils, until yonder vast unex-
[)lored western regions shall all resound the praises- of God, and the un-
enlightened tribes of the wilderness shall know and adore our ImmanueL
And as civil and religious liberty live or languish together,, so shall the
civil liberty of America hold pace vfith the triumphs of the gospel
throughout this extensive land.

Though we are wicked enough. God kr/ows, and have much need of
repentance and returning to our God, as we would wish and hope for his
favor, yet we are not arrived to that degree of impiety, or that so gene-
rally prevailing as is usually, and, I may say, always,, the case before God
gives up and delivers a land into the hand of their enemies ; and this
is an argument why we may yet hope for a morning and a further
day.

5. The peculiar hand of Providence that has evidently led us hitherto,
and the remarkable smiles of Heaven on our attempt.'^ thus far for our
defence, and his frowns upon those that have risen up against us, afford
also a pleasing prospect. "Had not the Loi-d," now may America saj*,.
" had not the Lord been on our side. . . . the proud waters had gone over
our soul.'"' "Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven
and earth." (Psalm cxxiv.)

In all these things I have mentioned, to which more might be added,
God speaks clearly in his providence, as on Sinai out of the cloud ; and
to us is the watchman's reply. The morning cometh, though a space of
night may intervene. How long before it may arise, or in what manner
the clouds shall break before it, or wdiat connection America then shall
have with any other nation (Britain going down to the deep,) or whether
with an}- at all, that God who directs her counsels will determine !

At the conclusion of the war, Dr. Dtiffield delivered a sermon
in the Pine Street Presbyterian Church, on the thanksgiving-
day appointed for the peace of 1783, in which he said^ —

'' The establisliment of America in the peaceable possession
of her rights stands an instance of the Divine favor tuiexampled
in the records of time. Who does not remember the general
language when the war commenced, cheerfuUi/ to jmy one-half
of our property to secure our rights? But even half of this
has not been required. Taken on a national scale, the price of
our peace, when compared with the advantages gained, scarce
deserves the name.

"In whatever point of light we view this great event.

CIVIL IlTSTITUTIOJsS OF THE UNITED STATES. 359

we are constrained to say, ' It is the doing of tlie Lord, and
marvellous in our eyes.' And to liim be rendered thanks and
praise. Not unto us, not unto us, but to thy name, 0 Lord,
be the glory. Both success and safety come of thee. And thou
reignest over all, and hast wrought all our works, in us and
for us. Praise, therefore, thy God, 0 Arnerica; praise the Lord,
ye his highly favored. United States. JSTor let it rest in the fleet-
ing language of the lip, or the formal thanksgiving of a day.
But let every heart glow with gratitude, and every life, by a
devout regard to his holy law, proclaim his praise. It is this
our God requires, as that wherein our personal and national
good and the glory of his great name consist, and without
which all our professions will be but an empty name. It is that
we love the Lord our God, to walk in his ways and keep his
commandments, to observe his statutes and judgments, — that
we do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.
Then shall God delight to dwell amongst us, and these United
States shall long remain a great, a glorious, and a happy
people."

Eev. John Woodhull, D.D.,
Pastor of the Freehold Presbyterian Church of Xew Jersey,
was distinguished for his devotion to the cause of freedom.
" He was one of the most active patriots of his day, and his
zeal in the cause of his country was largely infused into his
congregation. On one occasion every man in his parish went
out to oppose the enemy, except one feeble old invalid, who bade
them God-speed. The zealous minister went with them as
pastor."

PtEv. Dr. John II. Livingston
Was a distinguished patriot and preacher of the Dutch Kcformed
Church of New York. Shortly after the War of the Rovohition
began, the British gained possession of the city, and those who
were favorable to the American cause, with their families, sought
refuge and sojourned during the war in different places in the
country. The congregation of the Dutch Eofornied Church
was strongly united in the cause of independence. During the
occupation of the city by the British, several of the (churches,
especially where the congregations generally espoused the cause
of freedom, were sadly desecrated and abused. Conspicuous

360 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

among these were the Middle and North Keformed Dutch
Churches, where Dr. Livingston preached. The Middle Church
was used as a prison, and afterwards as a riding-school for the
British officers and soldiers, and became the scene of habitual
ribaldry, profanity, and dissipation. The Avhole of the interior,
galleries and all, was destroyed, leaving the bare walls and roof.

The treaty of peace was concluded in 1783, and the British
forces left the city on the 25th of November. On the 2d of
December the Consistory of the Dutch churches met, and by
resolution expressed their gratitude to God for his 'blessing,
which had granted success in the struggle for independence
and returned them in peace to their homes and to the house of
God. Whilst they rejoiced in this long-desired reunion, they con-
templated with sadness the desolations which had taken place,
but at once arose unitedly, with prayer and in faith, to build
again the waste places. The Middle Dutch Church was re-
opened for divine service on the 4th of July, 1790, when Dr.
Livingston preached an eloquent and patriotic sermon. It
closed as follows : —

'^ To these great purposes this building was formerly devoted,
and for these important ends it is now raised from its ruins.
But the mention of ruins calls back our thoughts to past scenes,
and presents disagreeable ideas to our minds. When destruction
is caused by the immediate hand of Heaven, by earthquakes,
storms, or fire, we are silent before God, and dare not reply.
But when men have been the instruments, it is difficult, although
proper, to look up to the overruling Power and to forget the
interposition of the means. I dare not speak of the wanton
cruelty of those who destroyed this temple, nor repeat the
various indignities which have been perpetrated. It would be
easy to mention facts which would chill your blood ! A recol-
lection of the groans of dying prisoners which pierced this
ceiling, or the sacrilegious sports and rough feats of horseman-
ship exhibited within these walls, might raise sentiments in
your mind, that would, perhaps, not harmonize with those reli-
gious affections which I wish at present to promote and always
to cherish.

'' The Lord has sufficiently vindicated our cause and avenged
us of those who rose up against us. He girded our Joshua
(Washington) for the field, and led him, with his train of
heroes, to victory. Heaven directed our councils and wrought

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 361

deliverance. Our enemies themselves acknowledged an inter-
posing Providence, and were obliged to say, The Lord hath
done great things for them ; while we repeat the shout of
praise, The Lord hath done groat things for us, whereof we are
glad. Through the long avenue of danger and perplexity,
while discouragements like dark clouds were hovering all around,
who could penetrate the gloom and foresee that God would soon
bring order out of confusion, — so soon dismiss the horrors of
war and grant an honorable peace, — perfect revolution? Where
was it ever seen, excepting only in Israel, that God took a
nation out of the midst of another nation, with such a mighty
hand and a stretched-out arm ?

'' Who could have predicted that from such indigested mate-
rials, with such short experience, and within so few years, an
efficient, liberal, and pervading government would have been
formed? A station and a rank are now obtained aniong the
nations of the earth; and if the full enjoyment of civil and reli-
gious liberty is a constitutional part of social happiness, if the
prospects of the rising importance, strength, and greatness of
our new empire are of any weight in the scale, we may safely
pronounce ourselves on this day to be the happiest nation in
the world, — a nation where all the rights of man are perfectly
secured, — without a monarchy, without hereditary nobility, and
without an hierarchy.

" Hail, happy land ! A lan<l of liberty, of science and reli-
gion ! Here an undisturbed freedom in worship forms the first
principle of an equal government, and is claimed as a birth-
right which none of our rulers dare call in question or control.
Here no sect is legally professed with exclusive prerogatives,
the chief magistrate worships as a private citizen, and legis-
lators by their influential example, not by penal laws, prove
nursing fathers to the Church of Christ. In this happy and
elevated situation, the ruins of our temples and all we have
sustained appear a price too small to mention. Wo arc nior.i
than compensated. We have forgiven, and we forget, p;ist inju-
ries. God has abundantly made up all our former griefs.
When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, wo were
like them that dream. Then was our mouth filUd with laugh-
ter, and our tongue with singing.

" We are a happy people ; we feel and know that we are so.
The lal)orrt of the husl landman prosper, and there is plenty in

3G2 CHKISTIAX LIFE AND CHARACTEE, OF THE

all our Lorders. Commerce is enlarged, and public credit esta-
blished. The education of youtli is universally patronized, and
there is no complaining in our streets. In safety we sit every
man under his own vine and fig-tree, and there are none to
make us afraid. With sufficient room to accommodate nations,
and a government adequate to all the important purposes of
society, we are not only at ease ourselves, but extend our arms
and cordially invite an oppressed world to come under our shade
and share in our happiness. Happy is that people that is in
such a case ! Yea, happy is that people whose God is the Lord.
Whether we shall continue thus happy will greatly depend upon
our wisdom and justice, our industry and manners, but princi-
pally upon our faithfully remembering the name of the Lord.
According to the measure in which the religion of the blessed
Jesus is honored and prevails, our land will be truly happy and
our liberty secure. This holy religion establishes the purest
morality, and inculcates the reciprocal obligations which members
of society are under to each other. It engages men of all ranks,
by the highest sanctions, conscientiously to fulfil the duties of
their stations, and it is, without controversy, the surest pledge
of Divine protection.

'^The maintenance of this in its purity will most eff"ectually
establish our invaluable blessings, and as this declines our ruin
will hasten. See the rule of Providence with respect to nations
(Jer. xviii. 9, 10) : ' At what instant I shall speak concerning a
nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it.
If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will
repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them.'

" While others, at our political anniversary, in their animated
orations, employ all the powers of eloquence to confirm your
title of liberty, and by enraptured views of civil blessings touch
with transport all the springs of life, I desire, with plainness
of speech, but with a zeal becoming a minister of the gospel, to
raise your views to heaven and persuade you wisely to improve
your present privileges. Seven years are not elapsed since we
returned to this city in peace. And, lo ! in less than seven
years two ruined churches have been repaired. The Lord hath
strengthened our hands, and given success to our efibrts. Let
an humble sense of our dependence upon him, and recollection
of his numerous mercies, call forth lively gratitude upon this
occasion. Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and all that is within

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 363

me bless liis lioly name ! Bless the Lord, 0 ray soul ! and for-
get not all his benefits. It is, my brethren, a circumstance
which upon our part is altogether fortuitous, but it deserves
your notice, that, in the direction of Providence, you have more
than one object upon this memorable Fourth of July that
claims your attention.

'' While you glow with patriotic ardor for your country, and
pour out fervent prayers for its rising honor and happiness,
you are also exulting that the gates of this house are opened to
you. Eater into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his
courts with praise; be thankful unto him, and bless his name."

William Smith, D.D., Provost of the College at Philadelphia,
preached, June 23, 1775, at the request of the officers of the
third battalion of that city, and the district of Southwark,
a sermon on American affairs, from which the following are
extracts : —

You are now engaged in one of the greatest struggles to which free-
men can be called. You are contending for what you conceive to be
your constitutional rights, and for a final settlement of the terms upon
wliich tins country may be perpetually united to the parent state.

Look back, therefore, with reverence. Look back to the times of
ancient virtue and renown. Look back to the mighty puri»oses which
your fathers had in view when they traversed a vast ocean and jdanted
tliis land. Rscall to your minds their lahors, their toils, their jjcrse-
vcrance, and let a divine sjnrit animate you in all your actions.

Look forward also to a distant posterity. Figure to yourselves millions
and millions to spring from your loins, who may be born freemen or
slaves, as Heaven shall now approve or reject our councils. Think tliat
on you it may depend whether this great country, in ages hence, shall
be tilled and adorned with a virtuous and enlightened i)eople, enjoying
liberty and all its concomitant blessings, together with the religion of
Jesus as it flows uncorrui>tcd from his holy orach-s, or covered witli ;k
race of men more contemptible than the savages that roam tlie wildtM-
ness, ])ecause they once knew the things which belong to their hai>pi-
ness and jx'ace, but suffered them to be hid from tlicir eyes.

And, whih; you thus look back to the i)ast and forward to the future,
fail not, I beseech you, to look up to "the (Jod of gods, the rock of your
salvation." As " tlie clay in the ])ott»'r's hands," so are the nations of l\ui
<'urth in the lian<ls (A' him. the everlasting .Ikiiovaii. II«' lifletli up, an<l
ho eusteth down. He resisteth the |)rou<l, and giveth grace to the
humble. Ho will kc.|. the fe.t <.| his s;iints. The wieke«l .'^hall be
silent in (hirkness, and by strength shall no man prevail.

The bright prospects of the gospel, a thorough veneration of the
Saviour of the world, a conscientious obedience to his divine laws,
faith in his promises, Hn<l the steadfast liope of immortal life througli
him, — these only can supi>orl a man in all times of adversity as well as

obri: CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

prosperity. You might more easily "strike fire out of ice" than
stability or magnanimity out of crimes. But the good man, he who is
at peace with the God of all peace, will know no fear but that of oftend-
ing Him whose hand can cover the -righteous, "so that he needs not
fear the arrow that flieth by day, nor the destruction that wasteth at
noonday ; /or a thousand shall fall beside him, and ten thousand at his
right hand; but it shall not come nigh to him, for he shall give his
angels charge over him to keep him in all his ways."

On the omnipotent God, therefore, through his blessed Son, let your
strong confidence be placed ; but do not vainly expect that every day
will be to you a day of prosperity and triumph. Tiie ways of Provi-
dence lie through mazes too intricate for human penetration. Mercies
may often be held forth to us in the shape of sufferings ; and the vicissi-
tudes of our fortune, in building up the American fabric of happiness
and glory, may be various and checkered.

But let not this discourage you. Yea, rather let it animate you with
a holy fervor, a divine enihiisiasm, ever persuading yourselves that the
cause of virtue and freedom is the cause of God upon the earth, and that
the whole theatre of human nature does not exhibit a more august
spectacle than a number of freemen, in dependence upon Heaven,
mutually binding themselves to encounter every difficulty and danger
in support of their native and constitutional rights and for transmitting
them holy and unviolated to their posterity.

It was this principle that inspired the heroes of ancient times, — that
raised their names to the summit of renown and filled all succeeding
ages with their unspotted jDraise. It is this principle, too, that must
animate your conduct if you wish your names to reach future gene-
rations, conspicuous in the roll of glory; and so far as this principle
leads you, be prepared to follow, — whether to life or to death.

While you profess yourselves contending for liberty, let it be with the
temper and dignity of freemen, undaunted and firm, but without wrath
or vengeance, so far as grace may be obtained to assist the weakness of
nature. Consider it as a happy circumstance, if such a struggle must
have happened, that God hath been pleased to postpone it to a period
when our country is adorned with men of enlightened zeal, — when the
arts and sciences are planted among us to secure a succession of such men,
— when our morals are not much tainted by luxury, profusion, or dissi-
pation,— when the principles that withstood oppression, in the brightest
era of the English history, are ours as it were by peculiar inheritance, —
and when we stand upon our own ground, with all that is dear around
us, animating us to every patriotic exertion. Under such circumstances
and upon such principles, what wonders, w^hat achievements of true
glory, have not been performed !

For my part, I have long been possessed with a strong and even
enthusiastic persuasion that Heaven has great and gracious purposes
towards this continent, which no human power or human device shall
be able finally to frustrate. Illiberal or mistaken plans of policy may
distress us for a while, and perhaps sorely check om' growth ; but if we
maintain our own virtue, if we cultivate the spirit of liberty among
our children, if we guard against the snares of luxury, venality, and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 3G5

corruption, the gexius of America will still rise triumi)liaiit, and tliat
with a power at last too mighty for opposition. This country will be free,
— nay, for ages to come, a chosen seat of freedom, arts, and heavenly
knowledge ; which are now either drooj^ing or dead in most countries
of the Old Wqrld.

To conclude, since the strength of all public bodies, under God, con-
sists in their uniox, bear with each other's infirmities, and even varieties
of sentiment, in things not essential to the main point. The tempers
of men are cast in various moulds. Some are quick and feelingly alive
in all their mental operations, especially those which relate to their
country's weal, and therefore are reaidy to burst forth into flame upon
every alarm. Others, again, with intentions alike pure, and a clear un-
(juenchable love of their country, too steadfast to be damped by the
mists of prejudice or worked up into conflagration by the rude bla,sts
of passion, think it their duty to weigh consequences, and to deliberate
fully upon the probable means of obtaining public ends. Both these
kinds of men should bear wdth each other, for both are friends to their
country.

One thing further let me add: that without order and ]\ii>i subordination
there can be no union in public bodies. However much you may be
equals on other occasions, yet all this must cease in a united and asso-
ciated capacity, and every individual is bound to keep the place and
duty assigned him, by ties far more powerful over a man of virtue and
honor than all the other ties which human policy can contrive. It
had been better never to have lifted a voice in your country's cause
tlian to betray it by want of union, or to leave worthy men, who
have embarked their all for the common good, to suft'er or stand un-
assisted.

Lastly, by every method in your jjijwer, and in every possible case,
support the laws of your country. In u contest for liberty think what
a rj-ime it would be to sutler one freeman to be insulted, or wantonly
injured in his liberty, so far as by your means it may be prevented.

Thus animated and thus acting, we may then sitig, with the prophet, —

" Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great
things. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field, for the ]ja.-;tures of the
wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig-tree and tlie
vine do yield their strength."

Thus animated and thus acting, we may likewise trav, with the pro-
phet,—

"O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee. Be thou (Mir
arm every morning, our hulvation also in the time of trouble. Sonic trust
in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the
liOnl our Ootl. O thou hope of Lsracl, the Saviour thereof in time of
need, thou art in the midst of us, and we are called by tliy name;
i.KAVE us NOT. (livc US one heart and one way, that we may fear llie*- for-
mer, for tlio good of ourselves and our children after us. Wc looked
for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healtli, but bihold wo
are in trouble. Yet will we trust in the Lord forev«'r : for in the Lord
Jehovah is everlasting Htrcngth. lie will yet bind up th»' broken-liearted,
ftn<l comfort those that mourn.'' Even so, O our God, do thou comfort

rSbb CHRISTIAN LIFE AKD CHARACTER OF THE

and relieve them, that so the bones which thou hast broken may yet
rejoice. Inspire us with a high and commanding sense of the vahie of
our constitutional rights ; may a spirit of wisdom and virtue be poured
down upon us all, and may our representatives, those who are delegated
to devise and appointed to execute public measures, be dij-ected to such
as thou in thy sovereign goodness shalt be pleased to render effectual
for the salvation of a great empire and reuniting all its members in one
sacred bond of harmony and public happiness ! Grant this, 0 Father,
for thy Son Jesus Christ's sake, to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit,
one God, be glory, honor, and power, now and forever. AMEN.

PbEv. Jacob Green, D.D.,

Was a distinguished Presbyterian divine, and among the earliest
defenders of his country. ''He was," says Dr. Sprague, ''an
earnest advocate for independence. He published a pamphlet
to show its reasonableness and necessity at a period wdien such
an opinion was very extensively brandecl as a political heresy.
He was elected a member of the Provincial Congress of New
Jersey, which set aside the royal Government of that province
and formed the present Constitution of the State; and he was
Chairman of the Committee that drafted the Constitution."

PvEv. Dr. Beatty

Gave four sons to the Pvevolutionary army, — men of learning
and true courage, who served their country with patriotism and
marked ability. Their father was an earnest and able friend to
his country, and prayed and preached patriotism in his pulpit.

PiEv. John PvOgers, D.D.,
For many years a Presbyterian pastor of the city of New York,
was distinguished as a patriot in the Revolution. He and Drs.
Mason and Laidlie, of the Associate Reformed Church, with
others, instituted a weekly prayer-meeting, to invoke God's
blessing on the country and to counsel the best means to aid it.
Rogers was on intimate terms with Washington, and the com-
mander-in-chief often consulted the patriot minister on subjects
connected with the war. In 1776 he was appointed chaplain in
General Heath's brigade, the duties of which he performed
"with great zeal and fidelity, exhibiting at once a spirit of
earnest piety and glowing patriotism." At the close of the war,
on the day of national thanksgiving, he preached a sermon,
which was published, on " The Divine Hand displayed in the

CIVIL IXSTITUTIONS OF THE UXITED STATES. 3o7

American Revolution." In that sermon, alluding to tlie de-
struction of the churches by the British, he says, —

'' It is much to be lamented that the troops of a nation who
have been considered one of the bulwarks of the Eeformation
should act as if they had waged war with the God whom Christians
adore. They have, in the course of this war, utterly destroyed
more than fifty places of worship in these States. Most of
these they burned ; others they levelled with the ground, and in
some places left not a vestige of their former situation ; while
they have wantonly defaced, or rather destroyed, others, by con-
verting them into barracks, jails, hospitals, riding-schools, &c.
Boston, Newport, Philadelphia, and Charleston all furnished
melancholy instances of this prostitution and abuse of the houses
of God ; and of nineteen places of public worship in this city,
W'hen the war began, there were but nine fit for use when the
British troops left it. It is true, Trinity Church, and the old
Lutheran, were destroyed by fire, that laid ^vaste so great a
part of the city, a few nights after the enemy took possession of
it. The fire w^as occasioned by the carelessness of theii'- people,
and they prevented its extinguishment. But the ruinous situa-
tion in which they left two of the Low Dutch Reformed
churches, the three Presbyterian churches, the French Protest-
ant church, the Anabaptist church, and the Friends' new meet-
ing-house, was the eftect of design, and strongly marks their
enmity against those societies."

Rev. Timothy Dwight,

An eloquent and learned minister, and for many years a distin-
guished and learned President of Yale College, was a fearless
patriot and preacher. " He entered," says Goodrich, in his
"Recollections of a Lifetime," "the American Revolutionary
army as chaplain to General Putnam's regiment, with the ardor
of a youthful Christian patriot, — preached with energy to -the
troops in the camp, sometimes with a pile of the regiment's
drums before him instead of a desk. One of his sermons,
intended to raise the drooping courage of his countiy when
Burgoyno had come down from Canada witli his army and was
carrying all before him, was pul)lishod, and a copy read to the
garrison in Fort Stanwix, on i\w Mohawk River, when 8ir John
Johnson had cut off thfir <'r)inmunicalion with Albany and
threatened their destruction. The venerable Colonel Piatt, many

368 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

years after, affirmed that it was owing to this sermon that the
garrison determined to hold out to the last extremity, and made
the sally in which they routed and drove off their besiegers,
delivered Albany from imminent danger, and contributed
materially to the defeat of the British in their campaign of
1777."

Previous to the Declaration of Independence, Mr. Dwight
urged that act before the public. He says, '' I urged, in con-
versation with several gentlemen of great respectability, firm
Whigs and my intiniate friends, the importance, and even the
necessity, of a declaration of independence on the part of the
colonies. For myself, I regarded the die as cast and the hope
of reconciliation as vanished, and believed that the colonists
would never be able to defend themselves, unless they renounced
their dependence on Great Britain."

In 1777 he was licensed as a minister of the gospel, and in
the same year offered himself as a chaplain, and rendered
important services to his country as a preacher and an active
patriot. He became a great favorite with the army, and espe-
cially with General Putnam.

On the 7th of October, 1777, the surrender of Burgoyne
took place, which thrilled the American army with new hope
and joy. GeneraPPutnam, overjoyed at the news, immediately
spread it through the army, and shouts and firing of cannon
signalized the glorious event. The Pi.ev. Timothy Dwight, a
chaplain in the army, preached a sermon at head-quarters the
next day, from the text, ''I will remove far off from you the
northern army." jSTever was a sermon so listened to before by
the officers and troops. Putnam could not refrain from nodding,
winking, and smiling during the discourse at the happy hits
with which it was filled, and at its close was loud in his praises
of Mr. Dwight and the sermon, — though, to be sure, he said,
there was no such text in the Bible, the chaplain having coined it
to meet the occasion. When shown the passage, he exclaimed,
"Well, there is every thing in that book; and Dwight knows
just where to lay his finger on it."

The victory at Saratoga filled Dwight's mind with the
brightest anticipations of the future glory of the country, and,
under the inspiration of the memorable victory, he wrote the
popular American song, commencing, —

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 3G9

Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise,

The queen of the world, and child of the skies !

Thy genius commands thee : with rapture behold,

While ages on ages thy splendors unfold.

Thy reign is the last and the noblest of time,

Most fruitful thy soil, most inviting thy clime ;

Let the crimes of the East ne'er encrimson thy name ,

Be freedom, and science, and virtue thy fame.

Mr. Dwight also wrote several other patriotic songs, which
became great favorites, not only in the army, but throughout
the country. During the war he wrote an extended poem on
*^ The Conquest of Canaan," reciting the patriotic scenes of the
wars of Joshua, and by permission dedicated it to ''George
Washington, Esq., commander-in-chief of the American armies,
— the savior of his country, the supporter of freedom, and the
benefactor of mankind."

Washington, in answer to Dwight's letter, wrote him as
follows : —

Head-Quarters, Valley Forge, March 18, 1778.
Dear Sir : — Nothing can give me more pleasure than to patronize the
essays of genius, and a laudable cultivation of the arts and sciences,
which had begun to flourish in so eminent a degree before the hand of
oppression was stretched over our devoted country ; and I shall esteem
myself happy if a poem which has employed tlie labors of years will
derive an advantage, or bear more weight in the world, by making its
appearance under a dedication to me.

% G. Wasiiin'gton'.

The fame of Dwight as a theologian, his eloquence as a
preacher, his success as President of Yale College, and his ex-
cellence as a man and Christian, are known throughout the land.
A devoted patriot and faithful preacher, his brilliant talents
and best efforts were given to God and his country.

Bishop William White,
The father of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United
States, was a fast and firm friend of liberty. Ho had carefully
Htudied the reasons for the rebellion, espoused the American
iu\use, and placed himself in the attitude of a rebel to his king;
so that when the British army was advancing towards Phila-
del|»liia ho deemed it prudent to retire with his family to the
house of his brother-in-law, Mr. Aquila Uall, in Harford county,
Maryland. *' At this eventful crisis/' ho writes, "I received

24

370 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

notice tliat Congress, wliich had fled to Yorktown, had chosen
me their chaplain, and with me the Eev. Mr. Duffield, of the
Presbyterian communion. JSTothing could have induced me to
accept the appointment at such a time, even had the emolument
been an object, — as it was not, — but the determination to be
consistent in my principles and in the part taken. Under this
impression, I divided my time between Congress and my family,
which the double chaplaincy permitted^ until the evacuation of
Philadelphia, the June following." '' The acceptance of this
chaplainship," writes his biographer, " was a few days before
the arrival of the news of the surrender of Burgoyne. It was
at one of the gloomiest periods of the American Revolution that
he entered upon this duty. Philadelphia was soon in possession
of the British. Burgoyne was marching, without having
received any serious check, so far as was then known, through
the northern parts of ISTew York, the success of whom would
have cut off all intercourse between the Eastern and Southern
States. Having removed his family to Maryland, he was on a
journey between Harford county and Philadelphia, when he
was met by a courier from York town, informing him of his
appointment and requesting his immediate attendance. The
courier found him at a small village where he had stopped for
refreshment. He thought of it only a short time, when, with
all the ill-forebodings of the non-success of the American cause,
but with confidence in the right, and with a trust in God, he
turned his horses' heads and travelled immediately to York-
town, to encourage by his presence that little Congress, which
was then deliberating as to how they should against such fear-
ful odds maintain their cause. Such, then, was the adherence
to principle and decision of character in the chaplain who fol-
lowed that Congress as it was driven a fugitive, from place to
place, while directing the Revolutionary War. The services of
those chaplains could not have been without their effect in
strengthening the hearts of the men who marked out our
American independence."

One of the most thrilling reminiscences in the annals of the
American Revolution is related of General Peter Muhlenberg,
whose ashes repose in the burying-ground of ''The Old Trappo
Church," in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. When the
war broke out, Muhlenberg was the rector of a Protestant.
Episcopal Church in Dunmore county, Virginia. On a Sunday

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 371

morning he administered the communion of the Lord's Supper
to his charge, stating that in the afternoon of that day he
would preach a sermon on " the duties men owe to their coun-
try." xlt the appointed time the building was crowded with
anxious listeners. The discourse was founded upon the text
from Solomon, — ^' There is a time for every purpose and for
overy work." The sermon burned with patriotic fire; every
sentence and intonation told the speaker's deep earnestness in
what he was saying. Pausing a moment at the close of his
discourse, he repeated the words of his text, and then, in tones
of thunder, exclaimed, " The time to preach has passeA; the
TIME TO FIGHT HAS COME !" and, Suiting the action to the word,
he threw from his shoulders his episcopal robes and stood before
his congregation arrayed in military uniform. Dramming for
recruits was commenced on the spot; and it is said that almost
every male of suitable age in the congregation enlisted forth-
with.

In defending his course in leaving the pulpit for the army,
he said, '' I am a clergyman, it is true, but I am also a member
of society as well as the poorest layman, and my liberty is as
dear to me as to any man. Shall I then sit still, and enjoy
myself at home, when the bast blood of the continent is spill-
ing? Heaven forbid it! Do you tldnk if America should be
conquered I should be safe ? Far from it. And ivould you
7iot sooner figJit like a ??ia/i than die like a dor/? The cause is
just and noble. Were I a bishop, even a Lutheran one, I should
obey without hesitation; and, so far from thinking that I am
wrong, I am convinced it is my duty so to do, — a duty I owe
to my God and to my country."

Rev. John Blair Smith

Was President of Hampden Sidney College, Virginia, and
afterwards of Union College, New York, and for many y<'ars
pastor of the Pine Street Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia.

" His influence was great in the cause of lil)erty. Wlu-n the
war of the Ke volution spread terror and desolation through tho
regions in which he lived, and interrupted the regular exercise.s
of the college, instead of finding an apology in his j»rof«'i:sion
for remaining inactive at home, he raised a company of volun-
teers from among bis students and marched at their head as
captain; joined the army, and performed a tour of miliUu'y

372 CHEISTIA]!s LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

duty in pursuit of the British legions who were carrying deso-
lation through the seaports and lower counties of Virginia.
He subsequently set out to join a company of volunteers to
assist General Morgan in a probable encounter with Cornwallis ;
but when he overtook the company his feet were blistered by
travelling, and he was, though not without great difficulty^
persuaded by Colonel Martin, one of his elders, to abandon the
expedition and return home.

'^The Federal Constitution was warmly opposed by Patrick
Henry. He appointed a day on which to meet the people of
Prince Edward's county to show the defects of the Constitution
and the reasons why it should not be adopted. Dr. Smith
designed to meet the great orator and answer him, but was pre-
vented by a providence. He sent a student, however, who took
down Henry's speech in short-hand. Afterwards, before a
numerous audience in college, among whom was Henry, one
of the students delivered Henry's speech, and another followed
with one prepared by Dr. Smith, in which he put forth all his
energies in defence of the Constitution."

Eev. David Jones
Was an eminent minister of the Baptist denomination, and
pastor of the church in Freehold, New Jersey. His life was
threatened by the tories on account of his active ser\dces for
his country, and he moved to Chester county, Pennsylvania, in

1775, and took charge of the Great Valley Baptist church. He
preached a sermon on the Continental fast-day, before a divi-
sion of the army, entitled " Defensive War in a Just Cause
Sinless." It was printed and circulated through the colonies,
producing a powerful influence.

In 1776 he was chaplain to a regiment under Colonel Arthur
St. Clair. He was with St. Clair at Ticonderoga, October 20,

1776, when the enemy was hourly expected from Crown Point.
He was in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, was
with Wayne in the battle of Monmouth, and in all his subse-
quent campaigns, until the surrender of Cornwallis. He was so
active in the cause of freedom and independence that a reward
was offered for him by General Howe, and a detachment was
sent to the Great Valley to arrest him. He was a fearless
patriot, and ardently devoted to his country. The following
address is a noble illustration of his love of country, as well as

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 373

of his views and eloquence as a minister of the gospel. He
seems to have had the mantle of some old prophet, as he poured
out his fiery words of truth.

ADDRESS
To General St. Clair's Brigade at Ticoxderoga, when the Enemy was

hourly expected, october 20, 1776.
My Countrymen, Fellow-Soldiers and Friends: —

I am sorry that during this campaign I have been favored with so few
opportunities of addressing you on subjeot.s of the greatest importance
both with respect to this life and that which is to come. But what is
past cannot be recalled, and now time will not admit of enlargement,
as we have the greatest reason to expect the advancement of our ene-
mies as speedily as Heaven will permit. (The wind blew to the north
strongly.) Therefore, at present, let it suffice to bring to your remem-
brance some necessary truths.

It is our common faith, and a very just one too, that all events are under
the notice of that Grod in whom we live, move, and have our being:
therefore we must believe that, in this important contest with the worst
of enemies, he has assigned us our post here at Ticonderoga. Our situji-
tion is such, that, if properly defended, we shall give our enemies a fatal
blow, and in a great measure prove the raeans of the salvation of America,

Such is our present case, that we are fighting for all that is near and
dear to us, while our enemies are engaged in tlie worst of causes, their
design being to subjugate, plunder, and enslave a free peoi>le that have
done them no harm. Their tyrannical views are so glaring, their cause
so horribly bad, that tliere still remains too much goodness and hu-
manity in Great Britain to engage unanimously against us: therefore
they have been obliged (and at a most amazing expense, too) to hire
the assistance of a barbarous, mercenary people, that would cut your
throats for the small reward of sixpence. No doubt these liave hopes
of being our taskmasters, and wouhl rejoice at our calamities.

Look, oh, look, therefore, at your respective States, and anticipate
the consequences if these vassals are suffered to enter ! It would fail
the most fruitful imagination to represent, in a i)ro}>er light, what
aiiguiwh, wliat horror, what distress, wouhl spi>ead over the whole lanil I
See, oh, see tlie dear wive^ of your bosoms forced from their i)eaceful
liabitations, and perhaps used witli such indecency tliat modesty wouhl
forbid the description. Behold the fair virgins of your lan<l, whose
benevolent souls are now filled with a thousand good wishes and hopc«
of seeing their admirers return home crowned with victory, would not
only meet with a doleful disappointment, but also with insults and
abuscH that wouhl induce their tender hearts to jiray for the shatles of
<leath. See your children exposed us vagaboiKls to all the eahnnitiej* of
tluB life. Then, oh, then, adieu to all felicity this side of the grave!

Now. all these calamities may b*^ prevented, if <»jir (Jod Ikj for
us, — and who can doubt this who olxerves the point in whieh the
wind now blows? — if you will only acMHiit yourselves like m«Mi. and
with firmne«.»< of mind go lorth iigainst your en.tiiies, resolving either

374 CIIEISTIAN LIFE AXD GHAEACITR OF THE

to return with victory or to die gloriously. Every one who may falT in
this dispute will be jii&tly esteemed a marti/r to liberty, and his name
will be had in precious memory while the love of freedom remains in
the breasts of men. All whom God will favor to see a glorious yictory
will return to their respective States with every mark of honor, and be
received Avith joy and gladness of heart by all friends to liberty and
lovers of mankhid.

As our present crisis is singular, I hope, therefore, that the candid
will excuse me if I now conclude with an unconimon address, in sub-
stance principally extracted from the writings of the servantf^of God
in the Old Testament ; though, at the same time, it is fFeeiy acknow-
ledged that I am not possessed of any similar power either of bl€>ssing
or cursing.

1. Blessed be the man who is possessed of true love of liberty ; ancj
let all the people say, Amen.

2. Blessed be the man who is a friend to the common rights of man-
kind ; and let all the people say, Amen.

3. Blessed be il\.e man who is a friend io the United States of America ;
and let all the people say. Amen.

4. Blessed be the man who will use his utmost endeavor to oppose the
tyranny of Great Britain, and to vanquish all her forces invading North
America ; and let all the people say. Amen.

5. Blessed be the man who resolves never to submit to Gre-at Bntain ;
and let all the people say, Amen.

6. Blessed be the man who in the present disj^ute esteems not his
life too good to fall a sacrifice to his country : let his posterity, if he has
any, be blessed with riches, honor, virtiie, and true religion ; and let all
the people say. Amen.

Now, on the other hand, as far as is consistent with the Ho)y Scrip-
tures, let all these blessings be turned into curses to him who deserts
the noble cause in which we are engaged, and turns his back to the
enemy before he receives proper orders to reti-eat ; and let all the people
say. Amen.

Let him be abhorred by all the United States of America,

Let faintness of heart and fear never forsake him.

Let him be a major mueraUle, a ten-or to himself and all around hin'r.

Let him be accursed in his outgoing, and cursed in his incoming :
cursed in lying down, and cursed in uprising ; cursed in basket, and
cursed in store.

Let him be accursed in all his connections, till his vnetehed head with
dishonor is laid low in the dust ; and let all the soldiers say, Amen.

And may the God of all grace, in whom we live, enable us, in defence
of our countiy, to acquit ourselves like men, to his honor and praise-
Amen, and Amen.

Extract from a Discourse delivered by the Chaplain of General
Poor's Brigade, October 17, 1779.

The fashionable gentleman thinks it an affront to delicacy and refine-
ment of taste to observe that day set apart by the law of God and man
for religious worship. The sublime truths of Christianity, the pure and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 375

simple manner of the gospel, are despised and insulted even where
decency and policy, reason and virtue apart, they ought to hold them in
the most profound veneration. How, then, can liberty exist, when
neither supported by purity of manners, the principles of honor, nor the
influence of religion ? From this unhappy prospect I am led in imagi-
nation to symj^athize with America drowned in tears and overwhelmed
with distress. Methinks I hear her pathetically addressing her sons, and
venting the anguish of her heart in this mournful language : — " Am I
not the only friend to liberty on all this peopled globe? And have I
not, when she was excluded from every other region of the earth, opened
the arms of my protection and received the persecuted stranger to my
friendly and virtuous shores? But when the tyrant of Britain, not
satisfied with expelling her from his dominions, pursued her with hostile
rage even to those shores, did I not rouse you, my sons, in her defence,
and make you the honorable protectors of insulted Liberty ? Inflamed
with love of this friend of mankind, you armed in her defence, you
made a brave and successful resistance to her persecutors, and have
rescued her from the vindictive malice of all her foreign foes. Thus
far have you merited the titles of guardians of liberty, and deserve to
be enrolled the heroes of the present age. But ah, my sons and citi-
zens of the United States, whither is fled that patriotic zeal which first
warmed your disinterested breasts ? Whither that j^ublic spirit which
made you willing to sacrifice not only your fortunes, but also your lives,
in defence of Liberty? Whither is fled that happy union of sentiment
in the great service of your country ? And whither is fled that honor-
able love and practice of virtue, and that divine and generous religion,
Avhich cherishes the spirit of liberty and elevates it to an immortal
heiglit?" Slie paused and wept, nor gained an answer; and then, in a
suppliant posture, again renewed her address : — "I entreat you to re-
kindle that public and generous zeal which first blazed forth in the
defence of that liberty which you have now too long slighted. I beseech
you to banish from your breasts that lust of gain which is the baneful
murderer of a generous and public spirit, I entreat you to silence the
demons of discord and animosity, and to banish them from the shores
of America, and let them find no place to set their foet, but in tlie
assemblies of the enemies of this country.

" I conjure you, l)y the spirit of heaven-born Liberty, tliat you invite
her to your bosom and kindle your love for her in a never-dying flame.
By the blessing of posterity I conjure you, by the precious blood of tho
heroes, who have nobly slied it in the cause of their country, I conjure
you, to practise and encourage that private and ])ublic virtue which
ennobles the soul and erects the temi)le of Liberty on an everlasting
foundation, not to be shaken by the threatening storms of war nor the
imi)otfnt rage of tyrants. I conjure you, by the toils and dangers, by
tho Hullering and poverty, of my brave armies now in the field, not to
doflert them in their defence of freedom, but to support them with that
ajBHistancc which will save you and yours from intenud and public ruin.
.Stirve your country according to your abilities, and with tho sumo zeal
with which my persevering soldiery servo you. Then will a haj)j>y con-

376 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

elusion crown the war, and your independence be established immo-
vable as the everlasting mountains/'

The following pithy and ironical discourse on duelling will
be read with interest, as a relic of the Eevolution. It is
entitled a

SERMON ON THE COMBAT OF THE DUEL.

BY THE REV. WILLIAM MACFEE, A CHAPLAIN IN THE ARMY. PREACHED AT THE
CAMP AT VALLEY FORGE, FEBRUARY, 1778.

"Two men of the Hebrews strove together." — Exodus i.

The sacred books have several instances of duels. The first that we
read of is that of Cain and Abel, where the elder brother sent a chal-
lenge to the younger because his sacrifice had been more accej^table to
the Lord. They met, and Abel fell, having received the end of a club,
as is generally supposed, somewhere above his right temple.

The second instance of which we read is that of the text, where two
young Hebrews had met, with their seconds, to decide a small differ-
ence; but what it was, has perplexed all commentators. Moses, like a
young man as he was, endeavored to quiet their resentment to each
other, or to overcome it by putting them in mind that they were
brethren. The conduct of the young man was indiscreet, and he re-
ceived a proper check, by the rebuke of the two bricklayers.

The next instance we read of is that of a young officer of a bear who
sent a challenge to young David, who reported that he was fond of eat-
ing sheep ; which calumny, true or false, it behooved him, as a bear of
honor, to resent. David met him, and, having discharged their pistols,
they took to the points, and in the scuflSe, while the bear had thrown
himself too far forward, in attempting a lunge, David caught him by
the beard and smote him through the body.

Having given these few instances from the Scriptures, I shall go on to
show the necessity of the duel, and then to press it a little on my
audience.

It is necessary, for it is not every man that has command of his
passions ; and these, unless they are suffered to evaporate in some
manner, will burst out into robberies and burglaries, and do damage to
society. The passion of pride is one of the most troublesome among men,
and to this there is nothing so powerful an antidote as fear, which never
fails to be excited when the challenge comes to hand. The man who
this moment was boiling hot with pride and every haughty passion
is now calm and moderate; for somebody has sent him a challenge. It
is the only misfortune that this very principle of fear prevents the
certainty of execution, for, by giving a trembling to the hand, it comes
to pass that very few are wounded, and still fewer fall, in the combat.
To remedy this, I would propose that the duellists should stand nearer,
and put their noses into each other's hands, while the pistols are dis-
charged. Swift says " he should be sorry to see the legislatures mako
any more laws against duelling ; for if villains and rascals will dis-
patch one another, it is for the good of the community." But the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 377

misfortune is, they will not dispatch one another ; for this principle of
fear, and the distance at which they stand, prevents any shot being
effective.

The philosophers of the former times, and the ecclesiastics of the
present, are against duelling, forsooth, because, by studying and think-
ing, their Avarm passions are rendered tame, and they have no need of
blood-letting; but they do not consider that there are many others
who, if they were not suffered to give themselves vent in this way,
would rage and roar like mad bears, and set the world on fire.

Having now seen the necessity of this excessive passion, it remains
that I press it a little on my audience. Who is there among you that did
not praise the corporal the other day, who, having observed something
like a smile on the countenance of his neighbor, and not being able to
assign the cause of it, sent him a challenge? The corporal, it is true,
received a ball through the rim of his belly, and was buried that even-
ing ; but it is his consolation that he is now with the angel Michael in
Abraham's bosom.

When I mention the angel Michael, it brings to my mind the circum-
stance of the devil sending him a challenge. But, according to the
Apostle Jude, he (that is, Michael) durst not accept of it, or, as it is in
the translation, "bring a railing accusation,'' but said, "The Lord
rebuke thee." I do not know what to say for Michael, for certainly
it must be granted that in this instance he did not act like an angel
of honor.

The only objection I know of against the practice of the duel, is tliat
in the Xew Testament it is considerably discouraged, by the spirit of
forl^earance inculcated in these words: — " If any smite thee on the riglit
cheek, turn to him the other also." But to this it is to be said that
" the pilot of the Galilean lake," as Milton calls him (for I know my
business better than to speak plainly out and to say "Christ" in an
army), the pilot of the Galilean lake, I say, and his apostles, among
whose discourses and writings sentiments like these are found, were
not what we call men of honor. Bred up' about the Sea of Tiberias,
they had not the best opportunity, by travelling, to become acquainted
with the world. Nay, our Saviour himself plainly tells you so : — " Verily,
1 say unto you, my kingdom is not of this world." Now, as men of
honor never propose to go into his kingdom, why should they frame
themselves agreeably to its customs? It is absurd ; and while they live
in tliis world, let them live as becomes men that know the world ; and
when they go to the devil, let them senil challenges, as he has done, aiul
figlit duels according to his dictates.

The following interesting document was recently found among
the papers of Major John Shaefmyer, a deceased patriot of the
Revolution. It is a discourse delivered on the eve of the battle
of Brandywine, by Kev. Jacob Troute, to a large portion of tho
American soldiers, in presence of General Washington, General
Wayne, and other otlicors of the army.

378 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEH OF THE

'^ They that take the sword shall perish by the sicord."
i%lt>it:es and Cotjxtiit:.iex:—

We have met this evening perhaps for the last time. We have shared
the toils of the march, the j^eril of the fight, and the dismay of the re-
treat, alike. We have endured the cold and hunger, the contumeh' of
the internal foe, and the scourge of the foreign oppressor. We have sat
night after night by the camp-fire, we have together heard the roll of
the reveille which calls us to duty, or the beat of the tattoo which gave
the signal for the hardy sleep of the soldier, with the earth for his bed
and the knapsack for his pillow.

And now, soldiers and brethren, we have met in this peaceful valley,
on the eve of battle, in the sunlight that to-morrow morn will glimmer
on the scenes of blood. We have met amid the whitening tents of our
encampments ; in the time of terror and gloom we have gathered to-
gether. God grant that it may not be for the last time.

It is a solemn moment ! Brethren, does not the solemn voice of
nature seem to echo the sympathies of the hour ? The flag of our coun-
try droojDS heavily from yonder stafl:'; the breeze has died away along the
green plain of Chadd' s Ford ; the plain that spreads before us glitters
in the sunlight ; the heights of Brandywine arise gloomy and grand
beyond the waters of yonder stream ; all nature holds a pause of solemn
silence on the eve of the uproar and bloody strife of to-morrow.

" They that take the sword shall perish by the sword."

And have they not taken the sword ?

Let the desolate plain, the blood-sodden valley, the burned farm-
houses, blackening in the sun, the sacked village and the ravaged
town, answer ; let the withered bones of the butchered farmer, strewed
along the fields of his homestead, answer ; let the starving mother,
with her babe clinging to the withered breast that can afford no suste-
nance, let her answer,^-with the death-rattle mingling with the murmur-
ing tones that marked the last moment of her life ; let the mother and
the babe answer. •

It was but a day past, and our land slept in the quiet of peace. War
was not here. Fraud and woe and want dwelt not among us. From
the eternal solitude of the green woods arose the blue smoke of the
settler's cabin, and golden fields of corn looked from amid the waste of
the wilderness, and the glad music of human voices awoke the silence
of the forest.

Now, God of mercy, behold the change. Under the shadow of a pre-
text, under the sanctity of the name of God, invoking the Redeemer
to their aid, do these foreign hirelings slay our people. They throng
oui* towns, they darken our plains, and now they encomi3ass our posts
on the lonely plain of Chadd's Ford.

"They that take the sword shall perish by the sword."

Brethren, think me not unworthy of belief when I tell you the doom
of the British is sealed. Think me not vain when I tell you that,
beyond the cloud that now enshrouds us, I see gathering thick and fast
the darker cloud and thicker storm of Divine retribution.

They may conquer to-morrow. Might and wrong may prevail, and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 379

wo moy be driven from the field; but the hour of God's own vengeance
will come !

Ay, if in the vast solitudes of eternal space there throbs the being
of an awful God, quick to avenge and sure to punish guilt, then the
man George Brunswick, called king, will feel in his brain and heart the
vengeance of the eternal Jehovah. A blight will light upon his life, — a
withered and an accursed intellect ; a blight will be upon his children
and on his people. Great God, how dread the punishment! A
crowded populace, peopling the dense towns where the men of money
thrive, where the laborer starves ; want striding among the i3eople in
all forms of terror ; an ignorant and God-defying priesthood chuck-
ling over the miseries of millions; a proud and merciless nobility adding
wrong to wrong, and heaping insult upon robbery and fraud ; royalty
corrupt to the very heart, and aristocracy rotten to the core ; crime
and want linked hand in hand, and tempting men to deeds of woe and
death : — these are a part of the doom and retribution that shall come
upon the English throne and English peoj^le.

Soldiers, I look around upon your familiar faces with strange interest I
To-morrow morning we go forth to the battle, — ^for need I tell you that
your unworthy minister will march with you, invoking the blessing of
God's aid in the fight? — we will march forth to the battle. Need I ex-
hort you to fight the good figlit, — to fight for your homesteads, for your
wives and your children ?

My friends, I urge you to fight, by the galling memories of British
wrong. Walton, I might tell you of your father, butchered in the
silence of the night on the plains of Trenton ; I might picture his gray
hairs dabbled in blood ; I might ring liis deatli-slirieks in your ears.
Sliaefmyer, I miglit tell you of a butchered mother and sister outraged,
the lonely farm-house, the niglit assault, the roof in flames, the shouts
of the troops as they dispatched their victims, the cries for mercy, and
the pleadings of innocence for pity. I might paint this all again, in
the vivid colors of the terrible reality, if I thought courage needed
such wild excitement.

But I know you are strong in the might of the Lord. You will marcli
fortli to battle to-morrow with light hearts and determined spirits,
though the solemn duty — the duty of avenging the dead — may rest
heavy on your souls.

And in the hour of battk^, wlu'n all aromi<l is darknt\<s, lit by the
hirid cannon-glare and tlie j)iercing musket-flasli, when the wounded
strew th<' ground and the dead litter your path, then remember. soUlioi-s.
lliat God is with you. The eternal (Jod fights for you: he rides on the
battle-cloud, he sweeps onward with tlie march of a liurrieane charge.
God. the awful and infinite, fights for you, and you will triumj^h.
•• They that take the sword sliall pi-rish by the sword."
You have taken the sword, but not in the spirit of wronger revongo:
y(»u have taken the sword for your honws, for your wives and your little
onoK. You liavo taken the swonl f«n* truth, justice, and riglit, and to
you the proiniso is, be of good che«>r, for your Iocs have tak»'ii the Hword
in d.<Hanee of all that men hold dear, in blasphemy of God: they shall
periah by the .sword.

380 ~ CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

And now, brethren and soldiers, I bid you all farewell. Many of us
will fall in the battle of to-morrow, and in the memory of all will ever
rest and linger the quiet scene of this autumnal eve.

Solemn twilight advances over the valley ; the woods on the opposite
height fling their long shadows over the green of the meadow ; around
us are the tents of the Continental host, the suppressed bustle of the
camp, the hurried tramp of the soldiers to and fro, and among the tents
the stillness and awe that mark the eve of battle.

"When we meet again, may the shadows of twilight be flung over the
peaceful land. God in heaven grant it ! Let us i^ray.

The following is the address of the clergy of the town of
Newport, in the State of Khode Island, to George Washington,
President of the United States.

Sir : —

With salutations of the most cordial esteem and regard, permit us,
the clergy of the town of Newport, to approach your person, entreating
your acceptance of our voice, in conjunction Avith that of our fellow-
citizens, to hail your welcome to Rhode Island.

Shielded by Omnipotence during a tedious and unnatural war, you
were as a messenger sent from Heaven, in conducting the counsels of the
cabinet, and under many embarrassments directing the operations of the
field. Divine Providence croAvned your temples with unfading laurels,
and put into your hand the peacefully waving olive-branch.

Long may you live, sir, highly favored, of God and beloved of men,
to preside in the grand council of our nation, which we trust will not
cease to supplicate Heaven that its select and Divine influences may
descend and rest upon you, endowing you with grace, wisdom and
understanding, to go out and in before this numerous and free people,
to preside over whom Divine Providence has raised you up.

And therefore, before God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in
whom all the families both in heaven and earth are named, according
to the law of our office, and in bounden duty, we bow our knee, beseech-
ing him to grant you every temporal and spiritual blessing, and that,
of the plenitude of his grace, all the families of these wide-extended
realms may enjoy, under an equal and judicious administration of
government, peace and prosperity, -with all the blessings attendant on
civil and religious liberty.

(Signed) Samuel Hopkins,

Pastor of the First Congregational Church,
and hy other ministers.

ANSWER.
Gentlemen : —

The salutations of the clergy of the town of NcAvport on my arrival in
the State of Rhode Island are rendered the more acceptable on account
of the liberal sentiments and just ideas which they are known to enter-
lain respecting civil and religious liberty.

CIVIL IX3TITUTI0NS OF THE UNITED STATES. 381

I am inexpressibly bappj'- that, by the smiles of Divine Providence,
my weak but honest endeavors to serve my country have hitherto been
crowned with so much success, and apparently given such satisfaction to
those in whose cause they were exerted. The same benignant influ-
ence, together with the concurrent support of all real friends to their
country, will still be necessary to enable me to be in any degree useful
to this numerous and free people over whom I am called to preside.

Wherefore I return you, gentlemen, my hearty thanks for your
solemn invocation of Almighty God that every temporal and spiritual
blessing may be dispensed to me, and that under my administration
the families of these States may enjoy peace and prosperity, with all the
blessings attendant on civil and religious liberty. In the participation
of which blessings may you have an ample share.

G-. Wasiiingtox.

"VVasliington closed his public life, as President of the United
States, on the 4:th of March, 1797. The day before this event
the ministers of the gospel, of all denominations, in and near
Philadelphia, sent him the following paper : —

To George Washington, President of the United States.
Sir:—

On a day which becomes important in the annals of America, as
marking the close of a splendid public life, devoted for near half a cen-
tury to the service of your country, we the undersigned, clergy of
diit't-rent denominations in and near the city of Philadelphia, beg leave
to join the voice of our fellow-citizens in expressing our deep sense of
your public services in every department of trust and authority com-
mitted to you. But, in our special characters as ministers of the gospel
of Christ, we arc more immediately bound to acknowledge the counte-
nance which you have universally given to his holy religion.

In your public character we have beheld the edifying example of a
civil ruler always acknowledging the superintendence of Divine Provi-
dence in the ati'airs of men, and confirming that example by tlio
powerful recommendation of religion and morality as the firmest basis
of social hai)piness, — more particularly in the following language of
your affectionate parting address to your fellow-citizens: —

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to jmlitical prosperity,
religion and morality arc indisi>ensable sujtports. In vain would that
man claim the tribute of patriotism wlio should labor to subvert these
great pillars of human happiness, — the firmest props of the duties of
men and citizens. The mere politician, eipuilly with the pious man,
ought to respect and cherish them. A volume could not trace all their
connections with private and public felicity. Let us with caution
in(hilge the supjiosition that morality can bo maintained without reli-
gion. Reason and experience forbid us to expect that national mo-
rality can i)revail in exclusion of religious ))rincij»les."

Should the importance of these just and pious sentinionta be duly
ni»preciated and regarded, wo contitlently trust that the prayers you

382 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

have offered for the prosperity of our common country will be answered.
In these prayers we most fervently unite, and with equal fervor in
those which the numerous public bodies that represent the citizens of
these States are offering for their beloved chief. We most devoutly
implore the Divine blessing to attend you in your retirement, to render
it in all respects comfortable to you, to satisfy you with length of days,
and finally to receive you into happiness and glory infinitely greatei*
than this world can bestow.
Philadelphia, March 3, 1797.

Thomas Ustick, Samuel Jones,

Andw. Hunter, Wm. Frendel,

Jno. Dicking, Nicholas Collin,

Joshua Jones, Robert Annan,

Joseph Turner, AVilliam Marshall,

Ezekiel Cooper, John Meder,

Andw. J. Rhees, John Andrews,

Jam. Abercrombie, F. Henry Ch. Helmith,

Wm. White, Sam. Morgan,

Ashbel Green, J. Frederick Schmidt,

William Smith, Robt. Blackwell,

John Ewing, Wm. Rogers.

ANSWER.
Gentlemen : —

Not to acknowledge with gratitude and sensibility the affectionate
addresses and benevolent wishes of my fellow-citizens on my retirement
from public life, would prove that I have been unworthy of the con-
fidence which they have been pleased to repose in me. And among
those public testimonials of attachment and approbation, none can be
more grateful than that of so resj^ectable a body as yours.

Believing as I do that religion and morality are the essential pillars
of society, I view with unspeakable pleasure that harmony and bro-
therly love which characterizes the clergy of different denominations
as well in this as in all parts of the United States, exhibiting to the
world a new and interesting spectacle, at once the pride of our country
and the surest basis of universal harmony. That your labors for the
good of mankind may be crowned with success, that your temporal
enjoyments may be commensurate with your merits, and that the
future rewards of good and faithful servants may be yours, I shall not
cease to supplicate the Divine Author of life and felicity.

George Washington.

The following correspondence of the Congregational ministers
of Massachusetts with John Adams, President of the United
States, refers to a very critical era in the history of the Govern-
ment, and finely illustrates the patriotism and piety of i\.meri-
can ministers. The atheism of France in 1795 had encrulfed

o

that empire in anarchy and blood. It was the first experiment

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 080

in the history of the world, of the national reign of infidelity,
and its results shocked the civilized world with horror, and
demonstrated its terrific nature and evils on civil government
and society. '' God permitted," said Robert Hall, of England,
in his masterly sermon on Modern Infidelity Considered, '^ the
trial to be made. In one country — and that the centre of Chris-
tendom— revelation underwent a total eclipse, while atheism, per-
forming on a darkened theatre its strange and fearful tragedy,
confounded the first elements of society, blended every age,
rank, and sex in indiscriminate proscription and massacre, and
convulsed all Europe to its centre ; that the imperishable
memorial of these events might teach the last generations of
mankind to consider religion as the pillar of society, the safe-
guard of nations, the parent of social order, which alone has
power to curb the fiery passions and to secure to every one his
rights.

" Those who prepared the minds of the people for that great
change, and for the reign of atheism, were avowed enemies to
revelation ; in all their writings the diflfusion of skepticism and
revolutionary principles went hand in hand ; the fury of the
most sanguinary parties was especially pointed against the Chris-
tian priesthood and religious institutions, without once pretend-
ing, like other persecutors, to execute the vengeance of God
(whose name they never mentioned) upon his enemies ; their
atrocities were committed with a wanton levity and brutal mer-
riment ; the reign of atheism was avowedly and expressly the
reign of terror ; in the full madness of their career, in the
highest climax of their horrors, they shut up the temples of God,
abolished his worship, and proclaimed death to be an eternal
sleep, — as if by pointing to the silence of the sepulchre and the
sleep of the dead these ferocious barbarians meant to apologize
for leaving neither sleep, quiet, nor repose to the living. No
sooner were tlie speculations of atheistical philosopli}' matured
than they gave birth to a ferocity which converted the most
])olislicd people in Europe into a horde of assassins, — tlio scat of
vohiptuous refinement and of arts, into a theatre of blood.
Atheism is an inhuman, bloody, ferocious system, equally hostile
to every useful restraint and to every virtuous aflbction; that,
leaving nothing above us to excite our awe, nor round us to
awaken our tenderness, wages war with heaven and with earth.
Its first object is to dethrone God, its next to destroy man."

384 CHEISTIAX LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

The Frencli rulers, under the reign of atheism, during the
Administration of John Adams, plied every art to bring the
G-overnment of the United States into political alliance with the
French nation, and we were on the eve of a war with our
ancient ally and friend. So imminent was the danger that
Washington was appointed again commander-in-chief of the
American armies, and .accepted the appointment, with the un-
derstanding that he was not to take the field till actual war had
begun. The President, during this crisis of our nation, received,
from all parts of the country, numerous addresses, urging him
to resist all influences and machinations, either at home or
abroad, which aimed to make the United States an ally with
atheistical France, wdio was ^' grasping at universal domination,
had abandoned every moral and religious principle, trampled on
sacred faith, sported w^ith national laws, and demanded pecu-
niary exactions which would bankrupt our nation and render
us slaves instead of a free, sovereign, and independent people."
Among other addresses was the following : —

We, the Congregational ministers of Massachusetts, met in annual
Convention,ifeel ourselves called upon, as men, as American citizens,
and as public professors and teachers of Christianity, to address you at
this solemn and eventful crisis.

While the benevolent spirit of our religion and office prompts our
fervent wishes and prayers for the universal extension of rational liberty,
social order, and Christian piety, we cannot but deeply lament and
firmly resist those atheistical, licentious, and disorganizing principles
which have been avowed and zealously propagated by the philosoj^hers
of France, — which have produced the greatest crimes and miseries in
that unhappj^ country, and, like a moral pestilence, are diffusing their
baneful influence even to distant nations. From these principles, com-
bined with boundless avarice and ambition, have originated, not only
schemes of universal plunder and domination, but insidious attempts
to divide the American people from their rulers and involve them in a
needless, unjust, and ruinous war ; arbitrary and cruel depredations on
their unoffending commerce ; contemptuous treatment of their respected
messengers and generous overtures of peace ; rapacious demands and
insulting threats in answer to the most fair and condescending pro-
jDOsals.

In this connection, we offer to you, sir, our tribute of affectionate
esteem and gratitude, and to Almighty God our devout praise, for the
wise, temperate, and benevolent policy which has marked your conduct
towards the offending Power, and which has given a new and splendid
example of the beauty and dignity of the Christian spirit contrasted
with the base and profligate spirit of infidelity. We also bless God for
your firm, patriotic, and important services to your country from the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 385

dawn of its glorious Bevolution, and for the conspicuous integi^ity and
wisdom which have been constantly displayed both by you, sir, and
your excellent and beloved predecessors.

As ministers of the Prince of peace, we feel it our duty both to in-
culcate and exemplify the pacific spirit which adorns his character and
doctrine. We remember his injunction to forgive and love our most
injurious enemies. But neither the law of Christianity nor of reason
requires us to prostrate our national independence, freedom, prosperity,
and honor at the feet of proud, insatiable oppressors, — especially of a
Government which has renounced the gospel and its sacred institutions
and has transferred to imaginary heathen idols the homage due to the
Creator and Redeemer of the world. Such a prostration would be
treason against the Being who gave us our inestimable privileges, civil
and religious, as a sacred deposit to be defended and transmitted to pos-
terity. It would be criminal unfaithfulness and treachery to our coun-
try, our children, and the whole human race.

The fate of Venice, and other countries subdued by France, though
held up to intimidate us to degrading submission, shall teach us a far
different lesson-: it shall instruct us to shun that insidious embrace
which aims not only to reduce us to the condition of tributaries, but to
strip us of the gospel, the Christian Sabbath, and every pious institu-
tion. These privileges we consider the chief glory of our country, the
main pillars of its civil order, liberty, and happiness ; as, on the other
hand, we view its excellent political institutions as, under God, the
guardians of our religious and ecclesiastical privileges. This intimate
connection between our civil and Christian blessings is alone sufficient
to justify the decided part which the clergy of America have uniformly
taken in supporting the constituted authorities and political interests
of their country. While we forgive the censure which our order has
received from some persons on this account, we will still, by our prayers
and examples, by our public and private discourses, continue the same
tenor of conduct which has incurred this malevolent or misguided
abuse.

Amidst the fashionable skepticism and impiety of the age, it is a
matter of consolation and gratitude that we have a President who, both
in word and action, avows liis reverence for the Christian religion, his
beli«?f in tiie Redeemer and Sanetifier of the world, and his devout trust
in the Providence of God. May that Being, whose important favor you
recently led us to implore, graciously answer our united prayers in be-
half of our common country. May lie preserve your valuable life and
health, your vigor, firmness, and integrity of mind, and your conse-
quent public usefulness, and at length transfer you, full of days and
honor, to the possession of an eminent and everlasting reward.

The President replied as follows : —

This rospoctful and afTectionato address from the Convontiou of the
clergy of MaHsuchusctts, not less distinguished for science and learning,
can«lor, moderation. lil)t«rality of Hontiment and conduct, and for the
mo«*t amiable urbaiiitv of manners, than for unblemished morals and

386 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Christian piety, does me great honor, and must have the most beneficial
efifects upon the public mind at this solemn and eventful crisis.

To do justice to its sentiments and language, I could only repeat it
sentence by sentence and word for word : I shall therefore confine my-
self to a mere return of my unfeigned thanks. Jonx Adams.

These facts, so honorable to the patriotism, piety, learning,
and zealous labors of ministers of all denominations during the
era of the Eevolution, and subsequently, fully justify the decla-
ration of Mr. "Webster, in the Supreme Court of the United
States, expressed in his celebrated argument on the Girard Will
Case, in 1844 :—

'^I take upon myself to say that in no country in the world,
upon either continent, can there be found a body of ministers
of the gospel who perform so much service to men, in such a
free spirit of self-denial, under so little encouragement from
Government of any kind, and under circumstances almost ?dways
much straitened and often distressed, as the ministers of the
gospel in the United States, of all denominations. They form
no part of an established order of religion ; they constitute no
hierarchy ; they enjoy no peculiar privileges. And this body
of clergymen has shown, to the honor of our country and the
admiration of the hierarchies of the Old World, that it is
practicable in free governments to raise and sustain, by volun-
tary contributions alone, a body of clergymen which, for de-
votedness to their calling, for purity of life and character, for
learning, intelligence, piety, and that wisdom which cometh
from above, is inferior to none, and superior to most others.

'' I hope that our learned men have done something for the
honor of our literature abroad. I hope that the courts of justice
and members of the bar have done something to elevate the
character of the profession of law. I hope that the discussions
above [in Congress] have done something to ameliorate the con-
dition of the human race, to secure and strengthen the great
charter of human rights, and to strengthen and advance the
great principles of human liberty. But I contend that no literary
efforts, no adjudications, no constitutional discussions, nothing
that has been done or said in favor of the great interests of uni-
versal man, have done this country more credit, at home and
abroad, than the establishment of our body of clergymen, their
support by voluntary contributions, and the general excellence
of their character, their piety and learning."

CIVIL INSTITUTION'S OF THE UlN'ITED STATES. 387

These views of Mr. Webster are confirmed by Dr. Gardiner
Spring, for more than forty years a Presbyterian pastor of the
city of Kew York, and whose father, Dr. Samuel Spring, of
Massachusetts, wa.s an able and patriotic preacher of the E,evo-
lution. In his work on ^' The Power of the Pulpit," Dr. Gardiner
Spring says, —

'^ The office of relierious teacher amono; the Jews was a noble
office. Without them the Hebrew State had been an irreligious,
ignorant, disjointed community. The nation was exalted or
debased as their religious teachers were honored or dishonored,
and as they exerted or failed to exert their appropriate influ-
ence. So long as the nation was in its glory, its religious
teachers were the glory and strength of the nation. . . .

''The voice of the pulpit," Dr. Spring continues, ''has been
often heard on subjects of high_p^'y6^ic interest. Its influence has
been felt in scenes which ' tried men's souls.' That great event
in the history of the world, the American Eevoiution, never
would have been achieved without the influence of the pulpit.
Political society ' moved on the axis of religion. The religious
movement gave its character to the social movement.' "

The fiicts in this chapter fully vindicate the patriotism and
piety of the American clergy, and reveal one of the great
sources of the Christian life and character of the civil insti-
tutions of the United States. They prove the mighty and
beneficent power of the pulpit on the progress, prosperity, and
true glory of the republic, and their essential relations to its
very life and perpetuity. Tlie pulpit, in every age, and in
the battles and conflicts of truth and liberty with error and
despotism, has always been on the side of the right. It has
stood forth as the champion of the oppressed, and lias ever been,
with all the darkness that, has enveloped the nations, the edu-
cator of the world in all the arts, refinements, and charities
which adorn Cliristian civilization, and has, during the course
of these ages, diffused the spirit and i)recepts of the Chri>tian
religion into the science of politics and the government and
legislation of nations.

388 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

CHAPTER XVII.

THE INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIAN WOMEN ON LIBERTY — AGENCY IN F0RIVIINi3 OUB

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS THE ORIGIN OP THE REVOLUTION IN AMERICAN HOMES

VIEWS OF ADAMS — HER0IS3I OF THE WOMEN OF THE REVOLUTION THEIR PIETY

AND FAITH FORM FREEDOM-ASSOCIATIONS PLEDGES NOT TO DRINK TEA

MEET TO SPIN FOR THE ARMY SUPPLY THE ARMY WITH CLOTHING LAFAY-
ETTE IN BALTIMORE — A BALL-ROOM TURNED INTO A SEWING-ROOM WOMEN

OF PHILADELPHIA THEIR CORRESPONDENCE WITH WASHINGTON HIS TRIBUTE

TO THEIR PATRIOTISM — LETTER OF A PHILADELPHIA LADY TO A BRITISH
OFFICER — ADDRESS OF THE AMERICAN WOMEN TO THE FEMALES OF THE COUN-
TRY CONCERTS OF PRAYER AN INTERESTING INCIDENT CHRISTIAN WORK

OF THE WOMEN OF THE REVOLUTION ABIGAIL ADAMS HER LABORS, CHA-
RACTER, AND INFLUENCE THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON THE WIFE OF WASH-
INGTON A MODEL president's WIFE REQUEST OF CONGRESS FOR THE RE-
MAINS OF WASHINGTON — MRS. WASHINGTON'S ANSWER PIETY HER CROWNING

EXCELLENCE TRIBUTE OF WASHINGTON TO THE FEMALES OF TRENTON HIGH

CHARACTER AND USEFULNESS OF AMERICAN WOMEN.

Among the Cliristian as^encies that commenced and com-

o

j>leted the work of American civilization and freedom, that of the
influence of woman was pre-eminent and controlling. Her piety,
home-culture, prayers, and personal labor and sacrifices, were
among the chief causes that contributed to the progress and
elevation of the nation, and which assisted largely in the tri-
umphs of liberty and the results of the Eevolution. They have
ever been the most eifective and polished workmen on the edi-
fice of society and on the temple of human freedom. " All his-
tory, both sacred and profane, both ancient and modern, bears
testimony to the efficacy of female^ influence and power in the
cause of human liberty. From the time of the preservation
by the hands of women of the great Jewish lawgiver in his
infantile hours, and who was preserved for the purpose of free-
ing his countrymen from Egyptian bondage, has woman been
made a powerful agent in breaking to pieces the rod of the
oppressor. With a pure and uncontaminated mind, her actions
spring from the deepest recesses of the human heart/'

In an address to the ladies of Eichmond, at a public reception
which they gave to Mr. Webster, on the 5th of October, 1840,
he said, —

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 389

" It is by the promulgation of sound morals in the commu-
nity, and more especially by the training and instruction of the
young, that woman performs her part towards the preservation
of a free government. It is generally admitted that public
liberty and the perpetuity of a free constitution rest on the
virtue and intelligence of the community which enjoys it. How
is that virtue to be inspired, and how is that intelligence to be
communicated ? Bonaparte once asked Madame de Stael in
what manner he could best promote the happiness of France.
Her reply is full of political wisdom. She said, ' Instruct the
mothers of the French people.' Mothers are indeed the
afifectionate and effective teachers of the human race. The
mother begins her process of training with the infant in her
arms. It is she who directs, so to speak, its first mental and
spiritual pulsations. She conducts it along the impressible years
of childhood and youth, and hopes to deliver it to the stern con-
flicts and tumultuous scenes of life armed by those good princi-
ples which her child has received from maternal care and love.

" If we draw," says Mr. Webster, '' within the circle of our
contemplation the mothers of a civilized nation, what do we
see ? We behold so many artificers, working, not on frail and
perishable materials, but on the immortal mind, moulding and
fashioning beings who are to exist forever. We applaud the
artist whose skill and genius present the mimic man upon the
canvas ; we admire and celebrate the sculptor who works out
that same image in enduring marble; but how insignificant
are these achievements, though the highest and fairest in all
<Iepartments, iu comparison with the great vocation of human
mothers ! Thoy work, not upon the canvas that shall fail, or
the marble that shall crumble into dust, but upon mind, spirit,
which is to last forever, and which is to bear the impress of a
mother's plastic hand.

"The attainment of knowledge does not comprise all whicli
is contained in the larger term of education. The feelings ar<!
to be discijdined, the j^assions are to be restrained, true au«l
worthy motives are to be inspired, a profound religious fooling
is to be instilled, and pure morality inculcated, under all cir-
<;umstancc3. All thin is com|)ris(;Hl in education, ^fother* who
are faithful to this great duty will tell their children that neither
in political nor in any other concerns of life can man ever with-
draw himself from the perpetual obligations of conscience andof

390 CHEISTIAK. LIFE A5D CHASACTEE OF THE

duty ; tliat in every act, whether public or private, lie incure a
just responsibility ; and that in no condition is he warranted in
trifling w^ith important rights and obligations. They will im-
press upon their children the truth that the exercise of the
elective franchise is asocial duty^of as solemn nature as man can
be called to perform ; that a man cannot innocently trifle with
his vote; that every free elector is a trustee as well for others
as himself; and that every man and every measure he supports
has an important bearing on the interests of others, as well as
on his own. It is in the inculcation of high and pure morals^ such
as these, that in a free republic v;omaii performs her sacred
duty and fulfils her destiny,"

''It is of great importance/' says Charles Francis Adams,
" not only to understand the nature of the superiority of the
individuals who have made themselves a name above their fellow-
beings, but to estimate the degree in w^hich the excellence for
which they were distinguished was shared by those among whom
they lived. Inattention to this duty might present Patrick
Henry and James Otis, Washington,. Jefferson, and Samuel
Adams, as the causes of the American Kevolution, w^hich
they were not. There was a moral principle in the field, to the
power of which a great majority of the whole population of
the colonies, whether male or female, old or young, had been long
and habitually trained to do homage. The individuals named,
with the rest of their celebrated associates, were not the origin-
ators, bnt the spokesmen, of the general opinion, and instru-
ments for its adaptation to existing events. Whether fighting in
the fielder deliberating in the senate, their strength against Great
Britain was not that of numbers, nor of wealth, nor of genius;
but it drew its nourishment from the sentiments that pervaded
the dwellings of the entire population,

"How much this home-sentiment did then, and does ever,
depend on the character of the female portion of the people,
wdll be too readily understood by all, to require explanation.
The domestic hearth is the first of schools and the best of lecture-
rooms ; for there the heart will co-operate with the mind, the
affections with the reasoning powers. And this is the scene for
the almost exclusive sway of woman. Yet, great as the influ-
ence thus exercised undoubtedly is, it escapes observation in
S''ch a manner that history rarely takes much account of it.

'' In every instance of domestic convulsions, when the pruning-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 391

hook is deserted for the sword and the musket, the sacrifice of
feelings made by the female sex is unmixed with a hope of
worldly compensation. With them there is no ambition to
gratify, no fame to be gained by the simple negative virtue of
privations sufi"ered in silence. The lot of woman in times of
trouble is to be a passive spectator of events which she scarcely
hopes to make subservient to her own fame and control."

^' The heroism of the females of the Ee volution has gone from
the memory with the generation that witnessed it, and but little
remains upon the ear of the young of the present day but the
faint echo of an expiring tradition." '' Instances of patience,
perseverance, fortitude, magnanimity, courage, humanity, and
tenderness," says the wife of John Adams, which " would have
graced the Roman character, were known only to those who
were themselves the actors, and whose modesty could not suffer
them to blazon abroad their own fame."

And yet enough of the noble deeds and influence of the women
of the Eevolution remains to show their piety, their patriot-
ism, and their self-denying efforts in the cause of their country.
Their piety and labors are thus referred to by Mrs. Ellet, the
historiographer in this field of the Eevolution. ^' I have been
struck,'' says she, " by the fact that almost all were noted for
piety. The spirit that exhibited itself in acts of humanity,
courage, patriotism, and magnanimity was a deeply religious
one. May we not with reason deem this an important source
of the strength that gave success to the American cause ? To
inflame the fires of freedom by mutual interchanges of feelings,
and to keep them burning in the hearts of all around, they
formed freedom-associations, and entered into written pledges to
make every sacrifice they could for their country."

In Edenton, North Carolina, on the 25th of October, 1774,
the women made the following covenant : —

As we cannot be indifterent on any occasion that appears to affect
the peace and happiness of our country, and it has been thought neces-
aary for the public good to enter into secret i)articuhir resolves by a
meeting of the members of the Deputies from the whole Province, it is
a duty wo owe not only to our near and dear connections, but to our-
selves who are severally interested in tlieir welfare, to do every thing, as
far as lies in our i>ower, to testify our sincere adherence to the same ;
and we do therefore accordingly subscribe this paper as a witness of our
fixed intention and solemn determination to do so.

(Siijnctl by lifty-ono ladies.)

392 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

This patriotism was displayed in tlie willing sacrifices they
made in their favorite beverage, tea. A tax being laid upon tea
for the purpose of revenue to the British Government, its use
was generally abandoned.

Three hundred heads of families in Boston, in a written cove-
nant, resolved that they '^ would totally abstain from the use of
tea till the revenue acts were repealed." The young ladies of
Boston followed the example of their mothers, as the following
pledge indicates : —

Boston, February 12, 1770.
We, the daughters of those patriots who have and do now appear for
the public interest, — and in that principally regard their posterity, — as
such do with pleasure engage with them in denying ourselves the drinking
of foreign tea, in hopes to frustrate a plan which tends to deprive a
whole community of all that is valuable in life.

This pledge was signed by women throughout ITew England.

In an afternoon's visit of ladies in Newport, PJiode Island, it
was resolved that those who could spin should be employed in
that way, and those who could not should sew. When the time
arrived for drinking tea, bohea and hyperion were provided ; and
every one of the ladies patriotically rejected the bohea, and
unanimously, to their gr^t honor, preferred the balsamic hype-
rion,— the dried leaves of raspberry -plants.

In Boston, some fifty young ladies, enrolled as '^ The Daugh-
ters of Liberty," met at a minister's house (Rev. Mr. More-
head) and in a single day spun ''two hundred and thirty-two
skeins of yarn. Numerous spectators came to admire them,
and the whole was concluded with many stirring tunes, anthems,
and liberty songs, which were animated in their several parts
by a number of the Sons of Liberty."

At Mecklenburg and Eowan, North Carolina, the young
ladies entered into a written pledge not to receive the attentions
of young men who would not volunteer in defence of their
country. They declared they " were of opinion that such per-
sons who stay loitering at home when the important calls of
their country demand their military service abroad, must cer-
tainly be destitute of that nobleness of sentiment, that brave
and manly spirit, which would qualify them to be the defenders
and guardians of the fair sex."

An interesting incident, illustrative of female patriotism and
activity, is given by Mr. Headley as occurring in the church at

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 393

Litclifield, Connecticut. The pastor, Judah Champion, was an
ardent patriot, and on a certain Sabbath was earnestly preach-
ing and praying for the success of the American arms. During
the service a messenger arrived, announcing that St. Johns —
which had been besieged six weeks, and was regarded as the key
to Canada — was taken. " Thank God for the victory !" exclaimed
the patriot preacher, and the chorister, clapping his hands,
vigorously shouted, "Amen, and amen !"

The communication of the messenger announced that our
army was in a suffering condition, destitute of clothing, without
stockings or shoes. " Sorrow and pity took the place of exulta-
tion, and generous sympathetic eyes filled with tears on every
side. There was scarcely a dry eye among the females of the
congregation. As soon as the audience was dismissed, they
were seen gathered together in excited groups, and it was evi-
dent that some scheme was on foot that would not admit of
delay. The result was that, when the congregation assem-
bled in the afternoon, not a woman roas to he seen. The. men
had come to church, but their earnest, noble wives and daughters
had taken down their hand-cards, drawn forth their spinning-
wheels, set in motion their looms, while the knitting and sewing
needles "were plied as they never were before. It was a strange
spectacle to see that Puritan Sabbath turned into a day of
secular work. The pastor was at the meeting-house, performing
those duties belonging to the house of God, and the voice of
prayer and hymns of praise ascended as usual from devout and
solemn hearts ; but all through the usually quiet streets of Litch-
field the humming sound of the spinning-wheel, the clash of the
shuttle flying to and fro, were heard, making strange harmony
with the worship of the sanctuary. But let it not be supposed
that these noble women had gone to work without the know-
ledge of their pastor. They had consulted with him, and he had
given them his sanction and blessing.

"Swimming eyes and heaving bosoms were over their work,
and lips moved in prayer for the destitute and suffering soldier.
The pastor's wife contributed eleven bhuikets from her own
stores to the collection."

The women of the Iv volution were active in ili-ir s.^vues
of relief and comfort to the armies of the country. "The supply
of domestic cloth designed for families was in a short time, by the
labor of the females, convcrtod into coats for the soldiers ; sheets

394 CHEISTIAN LIFE AXD CHAEACTER OF THE

and blankets were fasliioned into shirts ; and even the flannels
ah'eady made up were altered into men's habiliments. Such aid
was rendered by many whose deeds of disinterested generosity
were never known beyond their own immediate neighborhood."
Weights of clocks, pans, dishes, pewter services of plate, then
common, were melted by the women and given to the army to
be used in defence of freedom.

In 1776, Lafayette passed through Baltimore, and was honored
with a public reception. In the gayeties of the scene he was
seen to be sad. " Why so sad ?" said a gay belle. '^ I cannot
enjoy these festivities," said Lafayette, ''while so many of the
poor soldiers are without shirts and other necessaries." " They
shall be supplied," responded the fair ladies; and the scenes
of the festive hall were exchanged for the service of their needles.
They immediately made up clothing for the suffering soldiers, — ■
one of the ladies cutting out five hundred pairs of pantaloons
with her own hands and superintending their making.

In 1780, a cold and dreary winter, when the soldiers greatly
suffered, the ladies of Philadelphia formed an Industrial Asso-
ciation for the relief of the American army. They solicited
money, sacrificed their jewelry, and labored with their own
hands. Mrs. Bache, daughter of Dr. Franklin, was a leading
spirit in these patriotic efforts. " She conducted us," said a
French nobleman, in describing the scene, '' into a room filled
with work lately finished by the ladies of Philadelphia. It was
shirts for the soldiers of Pennsylvania. The ladies bought the
cloth from their own private purses, and took a pleasure in
cutting them out and sewing them together. On each shirt
was the name of the married or unmarried lady who made it ;
and they amount to twenty-two hundred." ''During the cold
winter that followed, thousands of poor soldiers in Washington's
camp had occasion to bless the women of Philadelphia for these
labors of love."

Mr. Eeed, President of Congress, wrote to Washington,
saying,—

The ladies have caught the contagion, and in a few days Mrs. Reed
will have the honor of writing you on the subject. It is expected she
will have a sum equal to one hundred thousand pounds to be laid out
according to your Excellency's direction, in such a way as may be
thought most honorable and gratifying to the brave old soldiers who
have borne so great a share of the burden of this war. I thought it
best to mention it in this way to your Excellency for your consideration,

CIVIL IX3TITUTI0X3 OF THE UXITED STATES. 395

as it may tend to forward tlie benevolent scheme of the donors with
diipaioa. I must observe that the ladies have excepted such articles
of necessity as clothing, which the States are bound to provide.

We have just heard that Mrs. Washington is on the road to this city,
so that we shall have the benefit of her advice and assistance here, and,
if nece-sary, refer afterwards to your Excellency.

A further account of this contribution was communicated in
a lettfjr from Mrs. Eeed to General Washington, in which she
wrote as follows : —

Tlio sii1j>cription set on foot by the ladies of tliis city for the use of
tlie soldiers is so far completed as to induce me to transmit to your
Excellency an account of the money I have received, which, although
it has answered our expectations, does not equal our wishes. But I am
persuaded it will be received as a proof of our zeal for the great cause
of America, and of our esteem and gratitude for those who so bravely
defend it. The amount of the subscription is 200,580 dollars, and
s625 G.§. 8r/. in specie, which make in the whole, in paper money,
300,034 dollars. The ladies are anxious for the soldiers to receive the
benefit of it, and wait your directions how it can be best disposed of.
We expect considerable additions from the country ; and I have also
written to the other States in hopes that the ladies there will adopt
a similar plan to render it more general and beneficial.

PuiLADELI'niA, July 4.

The reply of General Washington is as follows : —

IIead-Qlarters, Whippany, 25 July, 17S0.
I very much admire the patriotic spirit of the ladies of Philadel})hia,
and shall with great pleasure give them my advice as to the application
of their benevolent and generous donation to the soldiei-s of the army.
Although the terms of the Association seem in some measure to pre-
clude the purchase of any article which the ])ublic is bound to find, I
would nevertheless recommend a provision of shirts, in preference to
any thing else, in case the funds should amount to a sum equivalent to
a sui)i)ly of eight or ten thousand. The soldiery are exceedingly in
want of them, and the public have never, for several years past, been
able to i>rocuro a sufficient quantity to make them comfortable. They
are, besides, more capable of an e(pial and satisfactory distribution than
almost any other article. Should the sum fall short of a supply of tho
number of shirts I have mentioned, jierhaps there could bo no better
api)li»'ation of the money than laying it out in the ])urehase of refresh-
ments for the hosi»itals. These are my ideas at present.

This example was followed by the ladies in Xew Jersey.
Mi.s3 Mary Dag^verthy wrote to the commauder-in-chief, —

By ordor of Mrs. Dickinson and the other ladies of the committoo, I
hiiv«» tranHniiited to your Exoellmcy fifteen thousan<l four hundred and
eighty-eight dollars, being the suV»scrii)tion received at this place, to he

oyb CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

disposed of in such manner as your Excellency shall think proper for
the benefit of the Continental soldiers. As the other subscri]3tions
come in, they will be forwarded without delay.

Trenton, July 7.

The ladies of Maryland emulated tlieir sisters in Pennsyl-
vania and New Jersey and the other colonies. Washington, in
writing to the ladies of Maryland, says, —

I cannot forbear taking the earliest moment to express the high
sense I entertain of the patriotic exertions of the ladies of Maryland in
favor of the army.

"Amid all the distress and sufferings of the army," said Washington,
" from whatever source they have arisen, it must be a consolation to
our virtuous countrywomen that they have never been accused of
withholding their most zealous efforts to support the cause we are
engaged in, and encourage those who are defending them in the field.

"It embellishes the American character with a new trait, by proving
that the love of country is blended with those softer domestic virtues
which have always been allowed to be more peculiarly your own. You
have not acquired admiration in your own country only ; it is paid to
you abroad, and, you will learn with pleasure, by a part of your own
sex, whose female accomplishments have attained their highest perfec-
tion, and who from the commencement have been the patronesses of
American liberty.''

The patriotic sacrifices of the women were made with deep
enthusiasm. Their firmness and intrepidity supplied every
persuasive that could animate to perseverance and secure fide-
lity. So ardent were they in the cause of liberty, that a
British ofiicer said to Mrs. Pinckney, wife of Charles Pinckney,
a distinguished orator of the Revolution, '' It is impossible not
to admire the intrepid firmness of the ladies of your country.
Had your men but half their resolution, we might give up the
contest. America would be free."

The following is a letter from a lady of Philadelphia to a
British ofiicer in Boston, written immediately after the battle
of Lexington, and previous to the Declaration of Independence-
It fully exhibits the feelings of those times. A finer spirit
never animated the breasts of Eoman matrons than the letter
breathes : —

Sir: —

We received a letter from you, wherein you let Mr. S. know that you
had written after the battle of Lexington particularly to me, — knowing
my martial spirit, that I would delight to read the exploits of heroes.
Surely, my friend, you must mean the New England heroes, as they

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 397

alone performed exploits worth}' of fame, while the regulars, vastly supe-
rior in numbers, were obliged to retreat with a rapiditj- unequalled,
except by the French at the battle at Minden. Indeed, General Gage
gives them due praise in his letter home, where he says Lord Percy
was remarkable for his activity. You will not, I hope, take offence at
any expression that in the warmth of my heart should escape me, when
I assure you that, while we consider you as a public enemy, we regard
you as a private friend, and while we detest the cause you are fighting
for, we wish well to your own personal interest and safety. Thus far by
way of apology.

As to the martial spirit you suppose me to possess, you are greatly
mistaken. I tremble at the thoughts of war, but of all wars a civil one.
Our all is at stake, and we are called upon, by every tie that is dear and
sacred, to exert the spirit that Heaven has given us in this righteous
struggle for liberty. I will tell you what I have done. My only brother
I have sent to the camp with my prayers and blessings. I hope he will
not disgrace me. I am confident he will behave with honor, and emu-
late the great example he has before him. Had I twenty sons and
brothers, they should go. I have retrenched every superfluous expense
in my table and family. Tea I have not drunk since last Christmas, nor
bought a new cap or gown since your defeat at Lexington, and, what I
never did before, have learned to knit, and am now making stockings
of American wool for my servants ; and in this way do I throw in my
mite to the public good. I have the pleasure to assure you that these
are the sentiments of all my sister Americans. They have sacrificed
assemblies, parties of pleasure, tea-drinking, and finery, to that great
si»irit of patriotism that actuates all degrees of people throughout this
extensive continent.

If these are the sentiments of females, what must glow in the breasts
of our husbands, brothers, and sons? They are as with one heart de-
termined to die or be free. It is not a quibble in politics — a science
which few understand — which we are contending for ; it is this plain
truth, which the most ignorant peasant knows, and is clear to the weakest
capacity, that no man has a right to take their money without their con-
sent. The supposition is ridiculous and absurd, as none but highway-
men and robbers attempt it. Can you, my friend, reconcile with your
own good sense that a body of men in Great Britain, who have little
intercourse with America, and of course know nothing of us, nor are
supposed to know or feel the misery they would inflict upon us, shall
invest themselves with a power to command our lives and properties
at all times and in all cases whatsoever?

You say you are no politician. Oh, sir, it requires no Maohiavolian
hoa<l to develop this and to discover this tyranny and oppression. It
is written with a sunbeam. Every one will see and know it, beoause it
will make them feel, and we shall be unworthy of the blessing of
Heaven if we ever submit to it.

All ranks of men among us are in arms. Xotliing is lieartl now in our
atroots but the trumpet and the drum ; and the univoi*sal cry is, ** Ame-
rican**, to arms!" All your friends are ollieors ; there are Captain S. D.,
laeutonant B., and Captain J. S. We have live regiments in thfc city

398 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

and county of Philadelphia, comi^lete in arms and uniform, and very-
expert at their military manoeuvres. We have companies of light
horse, light infantry, grenadiers, riflemen, and Indians, several com-
panies of artillery, and some excellent brass cannon and field-pieces.
Add to this that every county in Pennsylvania and the Delaware govern-
ment can send two thousand men to the field. Heaven seems to smile
on us ; for in the memory of man were never known such quantities of
flax, and sheep without number. We are making powder fast, and do
not want for ammunition. In short, we want for nothing but shij^s of
war to defend us, which we could procure by making alliances ; but
such is our attachment to Great Britain that we sincerely wish for
reconciliation, and cannot bear the thought of throwing off all depend-
ence on her, which such a step would assuredly lead to. The God of
mercy will, I hope, open the eyes of our king, that he may see, while
seeking our destruction, he will go near to complete his own. It is my
ardent prayer that the effusion of blood may be stoj)ped. We hope yet
to see you in this city, a friend to the liberties of America, which will
give infinite satisfaction to Your sincere friend,

C. S.
To Captain S., in Boston.

Mrs. Wilson, of ISTortli Carolina, was a noble illustration of the
patriotism of the women of the Pvevolution. Cornwallis, in his
march through that State, had encamped his army on her hus-
band's plantation. He tried by flattery to win her over to the
royal cause. Her heroic reply to Cornwallis was, ^'I have
seven sons who are now, or have been, bearing arms : indeed,
my seventh son, Zaccheus, who is only fifteen years old, I yester-
day assisted to get ready to go and join his brothers in Sumter's
army. Now, sooner than to see one of my family turn back
from the glorious enterprise, I should take my boys (pointing
to three small sons), and with them would enlist under Sumter's
standard, and show my husband and sons how to fight and, if
necessary, to die for their country."

Another Christian mother had also the sacred number of
seven sons in the army of freedom. " She has seven sons in
the rebel army," was the reason given by the British officer for
plundering the farm and burning the house of Widow Brevard,
in Centre Congregation, while Cornwallis was in pursuit of
Morgan and Greene after the victory of the Cowpens. What a
mother ! seven sons in the army at one time ! and for this
glorious fact the house of the widow plundered and burned
and her farm pillaged !

Everywhere fife and drum were heard, and the fathers and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 300

sons, inspired by the patriotic women, took lessons together
in the art of war. Such was the prevalent and inspiring spirit
of patriotism inspired by liberty-loving women, that General
Gage, the British commander, wrote, " The very children here
draw in liberty from the air they breathe."

Mrs. Ellet, in her '' Domestic History of the Eevolution,"
says, ''Throughout the war, the influence and exertions of
women in all parts of the country contributed to impart a spirit
of patriotism. They animated the courage and confirmed the
self-devotion of those who ventured all in the common cause.
They frowned upon instances of coldness or backwardness, and
in the period of deepest gloom cheered and urged on the
desponding. They willingly shared inevitable dangers and
privations, relinquished without regret prospects of advantage
to themselves, and parted with those they loved better than
life, not knowing when they were to meet again. It is almost
impossible now to appreciate the vast influence of woman's
patriotism upon the destinies of the infant republic. Wo have
no means of showing the important part she bore in maintain-
ing the struggle, and in laying the foundation on which so
mighty and majestic a structure has arisen. To her we are
not less indebted for national freedom than to the swords of
the patriots who poured out their blood."

The pen of woman was gracefully wielded for freedom, as the
sword was by the patriots and heroes. The following address,
signed "An American Woman," written, it was supposed, by
Mrs. Washington, in 1780, will present a delightful proof of
woman's patriotism and her intellectual culture. It was printed
and scattered throughout the country.

On tlio commonccnK'nt of tlic actiiul war, tlio womoii of AiiuM-it-a
munilcsted a firm rosolution to contribute as nuich as conhl (l»"'j)t'n(l on
tlieni to the deliveranco of their country. Animaterl by the ]^in-est
patriotism, tliey are full of sorrow at this day in not otlrrinir nion* than
barren wishes frjr the success of so <;lorious a rtn'olution. They a^piro
to n'ndt'r themselves more really us<«rul. and this s»>ntiment is univeival
from the north to the south of tin- thirteen United States. Our ambi-
tion is kindled by the fame of those heroines of anti(|uity wh<> have
rendered their sex illustrious, and hav«' ])roved to the worM that, if tlio
weakness of our constitution, if opinion and manner^. di<l not forbid
us to marcli to glory by the same path as the m«'n. we sbouM at least
ecjual and sometimes surpass then in our lovi« for the ]niblic good. I
glory in all my sex have done that i-« '.'r<'at and oouimendablo. I call

400 CHRISTIAX LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

to mind with enthusiasm and admiration all those acts of courage, of
constancy, and of patriotism which historj^ has transmitted to us : the
people favored by Heaven preserved from destruction by the virtues,
the zeal, and the resolution of Deborah, of Judith, of Esther; the
fortitude of the mother of the Maccabees, in giving uj) her sons to vlie
before her eyes ; Rome saved from the fury of a victorious enemy by
the efforts of Volumnia and other Roman ladies ; so many famous
sieges where women have been seen, forgetting the weakness of their
sex, building new walls, digging trenches with their feeble hands,
furnishing arms to their defenders, they themselves darting the missile
weapons on the enemy, resigning the ornaments of their aj)parel, and
their fortune, to fill the public treasury and to hasten the deliverance
of their country ; burying themselves under its ruins, throwing them-
selves into the flames, rather than submit to the disgrace of humiliation
before a proud enemy.

Born for hberty, disdaining to bear the irons of a tyrannical govern-
ment, we associate ourselves to the grandeur of those sovereigns,
cherished and revered, who have held with so much splendor the sceptre
of the greatest states, — the Matildas, the Elizabeths, the Marys, the
Catharines, who have extended the empire of liberty, and, contented to
reign by sweetness and justice, have broken the chains of slavery,
forged by tyrants in the times of ignorance and barbarity. The
Spanish women, do they not make, at this moment, the most patriotic
sacrifices to increase the means of victory in the hands of their sove-
reign? He is a friend to the French nation. They are our allies. We
call to mind, doubly interested, that it Avas a French maid who kindled
up amongst her fellow-citizens the flames of patriotism buried under
long misfortunes. It was the maid of Orleans who drove from the
kingdom of France the ancestors of those same British whose odious
yoke we have just shaken ofi"; and when it is necessary, we drive them
from this continent.

But I must limit myself to the recollection of this small number of
achievements. Who knows if persons disposed to censure, and some-
times too severely, with regard to us, may not disapprove our appearing
acquainted even with the actions of which our sex boast ?

We are at least certain he cannot be a good citizen who will not
applaud our efibrts for the relief of the armies which defend our lives,
our possessions, our liberty. The situation of our soldiery has been
represented to me ; the evils inseparable from war, and the firm and
generous spirit which has enabled them to support these. But it has
been said that they may apprehend that in the course of a long war
the view of their distresses may be lost, and their services forgotten.
Forgotten ! never ; I can answer, in the name of all my sex. Brave
Americans, your disinterestedness, your courage, and your constancy
will always be dear to America, so long as she shall preserve her virtue.

We know that, at a distance from the theatre of war, if we enjoy
any tranquillity, it is the fruit of your watchings, your labors, your
dangers. If I live happy in the midst of my family, — if my husband
cultivate his fields and reap his harvest in peace, — if, surrounded by my
children, I myself nourish the youngest and press it to my bosom with-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 401

out being afraid of seeing myself separated from it by a ferocious
enemy, — if the houses in which we dwell, if our barns, our orchards, are
safe at the present time from the hands of the incendiary, — it is to you
that we owe it. And shall we hesitate to evince to you our gratitude ?
Shall we hesitate to wear a clothing more simple, hair dressed less ele-
gantly, while at the price of this small privation we shall deserve
your benedictions ? Who among us will not renounce with the highest
2)leasure those vain ornaments, when she shall consider that the valiant
defenders of America will be able to draw some advantage from the
money which she may have laid out in these ? that they will be better
defended from the rigors of the season ? that after their painful toils
they will receive some extraordinary and unexpected relief? that
these presents will perhaps be valued by them at a greater price when
they will have it in their power to say, This is the offering of the
ladies !

The time is arrived to display the same sentiments which animated
us at the beginning of the Revolution ; when we renounced the use of
teas, however agreeable to our taste, rather than receive them from our
persecutors ; when we made it appear to them that we placed former
necessanes in the rank of superfluities when our liberty was interested;
when our republican and laborious hands spun the flax and prepared
the linen intended for the use of our soldiers; when, exiles and
iugitives, we supported with courage all the evils which are the con-
comitants of war. Let us not lose a moment ; let us be engaged to offer
the homage of our gratitude at the altar of military valor; and you,
our brave deliverers, while mercenary slaves combat to cause you to
ehare wifh them the irons with which they are loaded, receive with a
free liand our offering, the purest which can be presented to your
virtue.

The piety and patriotism of tlie women of the Eevolution
had an appropriate development in the preparation and pre-
sentation of flags; and on them were inscribed Christian
symLols and mottoes. The Moravian Sisters at Bethlehem,
Maryland, presented to Pulaski, the Polish patriot who assisted
our llevolutionary fathers in their struggle for independence, a
beautiful banner of crimson silk.

This banner bore on one side the letters U.S., and on a
' ircle round them the words, Unitas virtus fortiori — ''Union
makes valor stronger." On the other side, in the centre, an
emblem, ref>resenting the all-seeing eye, with the words, Non
alius rer/it, — "No other governs." This banner, symboHcixl of
woman's faith in God and her devotion to the Ciiuse of liberty,
w;ls borne by the brave Polander, in all his battles, till ho fell,
in 1779, on the field, a martyr to liberty.

A Pennsylvania paper of June, 1775, contains the following

20

402 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OP THE

incident illustrative of the enthusiasm of the females in the
cause of the Eevolution : —

" The ladies in Bristol township have evidenced a laudable
regard to the interests of the country. At their own expense
they have furnished the regiment of that county with a suite of
colors and drums, and are now making a collection to supply
muskets to such of the men as are not able to supply them-
selves. The lady who was appointed to present the colors to
the regiment gave in charge to the soldiers never to desert the
colors of the ladies, if they ever wished that the ladies should
enlist under their banners."

Another source of woman's influence during the Eevolution
was in her constant devotions and prayers. She had power with
God, and made her influence felt through all hearts and over all
interests. Prayer does avail with God; and the women of the
E-evolution were almost all praying women, and hence their
powerful and beneficent influence during the scenes of the
Eevolution. One cheering fact during those trying times was
the surprising union of feeling among all the colonies and people
in reference to the common cause of liberty.

''AH America," said John Adams, in 1775, ''is united in
sentiment. One understanding governs, one heart animates, the
whole. This is as if it had been a revelation from above."
" Call me an enthusiast," said Samuel Adams, " this union
among the colonies, and warmth of affection, can be attributed
to nothing less than the agency of the Supreme Being." "The
surprising union of the colonies," said Congress, "affords
encouragement. It is an inexhaustible source of comfort that
the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." And who can doubt that
this "surprising union" was the result of prayer? In every
family, almost, as in all the pulpits, prayer was going up to God
for this union and harmony among the defenders of freedom.

"In every trying hour of the Eevolution, women would
hold conferences for prayer, that God would be with the armies
and give them the victory. During the battle at Guilford
Court-House, North Carolina, March 15, 1781, two companies
of Christian women were gathered from Dr. Caldwell's congre-
gation, for prayer. Whilst the two armies met, the British
under Cornwallis and the i^merican under General Greene, these
pious women were in prayer to Almighty God for his protection
■and aid. In many places the solitary voice of a pious woman

c!:V3:l institutions of the united states. 403

vrent up to tlie Divine ear, witli the earnest pleadings of faith,
for the success of the Americans. The battling hosts were sur-
rounded by a cordon of praying women during those dreadful
hours of contest." Mr. Caldwell, in reply to the taunts of a
British officer, said, *' Wait and see what the Lord will do for
us." The results of the battle were '^ highly beneficial to the
cause of the patriots,"

A Christian mother in ISTew Eochelle, after m.elting all the
Devder she had for bullets for her two sons, sent them forth to
join the Continental army. As she stood in the door to bid
them farewell, one turned back, saying he had no gun ; but she
said, Go on, for he would find a gun to spare in the army.
When she had lost sight of them both, she went back weeping
into the house, to pray for their safety and her country.

In the struggles of the Eevolution and in gaining our inde-
pendence, '' who can tell how much availed the prayers of those
righteous women?" They had continual audience with Heaven,
and blessings on civil councils and on the armies of freedom
descended to inspire and to guide to the auspicious and glorious
results that followed the Eevolution and crowned it with a
system of free government.

During the winter of 1777, when the British had possession
of Philadelphia, and Washington was passing a gloomy winter
at Valley Forge, with' his soul still resting with hope in God,
the ladies of Philadelphia formed an association for the pur-
pose of conveying important information to Washington re-
specting the plans of the British. Many of the British officers
were quartered with patriotic families in the city, and, in a
free and familiar way, would unfold to each other their future
campaigns to capture our armies and sul)due the colonists.
The ladies listened with eager attention and siluice to their
statements, and then would delegate one of their number to
convey the intelligence to a certain point, where anotlier
patriotic woman would carry it to another point, and tlius
these female couriers went from point to point, until the inform-
ation reached Washington at his lioad-(|uarters. These jour-
neys were all performed on foot, and made under pretence of
visits of friendship and affection. The valuable information
thus conveyed puzzled the British officers to know how it was
communicated, and baflled some of their best-concerted plans.
Among the heroic women of that noble band of p itriots was a

404 CHEISTTAIT LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Mrs. Kedman; wlio for many years, with the enthusiasm of
woman's heart in a good cause^ was accustomed to narrate these
incidents of the female patriotism of Eevolutiqjaary times.

The ahove incident was narrated to the compiler of this
volume, in April, 1863, by Mrs. Lydia E. Bailey, a venerable
Christian lady of Philadelphia, now eighty-five years of age,
who often heard it from the lips of Mrs. Eedman and other
female friends. She also remarked, with tearful emotion, that
the present generation did not seem to realize the sacrifices
which the blessings of liberty and good, government cost, and
that in the pride of their hearts they had forgotten the God of
their fathers, and acted as if all their prosperity had come, not
from the goodness of God, but from their own hands and efforts.
How full of faith and piety were the Christian women of the
Eevolution, and those who caught the flame of patriotism and
piety from such noble Christian ancestors !

Pre-eminent among the patriotic women of the Eevolution
was Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams. She was the daugh-
ter of a New England minister, Eev. Mr. Smith, and as dis-
tinguished for her intellectual accomplishments as for piety and
patriotism. Her influence and activity were great and un-
wearied during the Eevolution and in the opening scenes of
the civil administration of the new government. She vv^as
polished with her pen, and self-sacrificing in her devotion to
her country.

In 1770, when her husband returned home from a town-
meeting in Boston, in v/hich he had been chosen a Eepresenta-
tive, he said to his wife, *' I have accepted a seat in the
House of Eepresentatives, and thereby have consented to my
own ruin, to your ruin, and the ruin of our children. I give
you this warning, that you may prepare yourself for your fate."
She burst into tears, but instantly cried out, in a transport of
magnanimity, '' Well, I am willing in this cause to run all risks
with you, and be ruined with you, if you are ruined." *' These
were times," said John Adams, ''which tried women's souls as
well as men's."

Bancroft says that when the king's proclamation reached this
country, '' Abigail Smith, the wife of John Adams, was at the
time in their home near the foot of Penn Hill, charged with the
sole care of their little brood of children, managing their farm,
keeping house with frugalit}^, though opening her doors to the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 405

houseless and giving with a good will a part of her scant por-
tion to the poor; seeking work for her own hands, and ever
busily occupied, now at the spinning-wheel, now making
amends for having never been sent to school, by learning
French, though with the aid of books alone. Since the depart-
ure of her husband for Congress, the arrow of death has sped
near her by day, and the pestilence that walks in the darkness
had entered her humble mansion. She herself was still weak
after a violent illness. Her house was an hospital in every part ;
and, such was the distress of the neighborhood, she could hardly
find a well person to assist in looking after the sick. Her
youngest son had been rescued from the grave by her nursing.
Her own mother had been taken away, and, after the austere
manner of her forefathers, buried without prayer. Woe followed
woe, and one affliction trod on the heels of another. Winter
was hurrying on ; during- the day family affairs took off her
attention, but her long evenings, broken by the sound of the
ocean, and of the enemy's artillery at Boston, were lonesome and
melancholy. Ever in the silent night ruminating on the love
and tenderness of her departed parent, she needed the conso-
lation of her husband's presence ; but when, in November, she
read the king's proclamation, she willingly gave up her nearest
friend exclusively to his perilous duties, and sent him her cheer-
ing message, 'This intelligence will make a plain path for
you, though a dangerous one. I could not join to-day in the
petitions of our worthy pastor for a reconciliation between our
no longer parent State, but tyrant State, and these colonies.
Let us separate : they are unworthy to be our brethren. Let
us renounce them, and instead of supplications, as formerly,
for their prosperity and happiness, let us beseech the Almighty
to blast their counsels and bring to naught all their devices."

Mrs. Adams's correspondence with her husband during the
Revolutionary War, and his absence from the country in Europe,
forms one of the most interesting chapters in our history. The
following, after the battle of Bunker Hill, is full of i)ioty and
patriotism : —

Siinduy, ISth .Iuii.\ 1775.
Dearest Friend: —

Tho day — pcrljups the docisivo day — is como, on wliirli tin* fati* of
Amorica depends. My biirsiin^ lioart must find vent at my j'en. 1 have
just lu'iird that our dear fri<nd Dr. Warron is no mor«'. I'ut fell glori-
ously fighting for his country, saying, "Better to die honoruhly in the

406 CnEISTIAN LIFE AXD CHAEACTER OF TEE

field than ignominiously hang upon the gallows." Great is our loss. M<?
has distinguished himself in eveiy engagement by his courage and forti-
tude, by animating the soldiers and leading them on by his own ex-
ample. A particular account of those dreadful but, I hope, glorious days,
will be transmitted you, no doubt, in the exactest manner.

" The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong ; but the God
of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Trust;
in him at all times, ye people, pour out yom- hearts before him : God is
a refuge for us." The battle began upon our intrenchments upon Bun-
ker's Hill, Saturday morning about three o'clock, and has not yet ceased,
and it is now three o'clock Sabbath afternoon-.

It is expected they will come out over the E'eck to-nigM> and a dread-
ful battle must ensue. Almighty God, cover the beads of our country-
men and be a shield to our dear friends ! How many have fallen we
know not. The constant roar of the cannon is so distressing that we can-
not eat, drink^ or sleep. May you be supported and sustained in this
dreadful conflict ! I shall tarry here till it is thought unsafe by my
friends, and then I have secured myself a retreat at your brother's, who
has kindly offered me a part of his hoi'ae. I ca.nnot compose myself to
write an}' further at present. I will add more as I hear further.

Mrs. Adams was in London in 178T, and received a letter
from Iier sister (Mrs. Cranch) in the United States, giving her
an account of some insun^ectionary movements in Massachusetts.
In reply she writes as follows : —

LoxDox, 25tli February, 1787.
My dear Sister : —

The thoughts that naturally occurred to me were, " For what have w©
been contending against the tyranny of Britain, if we are to become the
sacrifice of a lawless banditti?'^ Must our glory be thus shorn and our
laurels thus blasted? Is it a trifling thing to destroy a Government? Will
my countrymen justify the maxim of tyrants, that mankind are not
made for freedom ? I will, however, still hope that the majority of our
fellow-citizens are too wise, virtuous, and enlightened to permit these
outrages to gain ground and triumph. Solon, the wise lawgiver of Athens,
published a manifesto rendering infamous all persons who in civil
seditions should remain spectators of their country's danger by a crimi--
nal neutrality. More energy in Government wmld have prevented the evil froixk
spreading as far as it has done.

" Mercy but gives Sedition time to rally.
Erery soft, pliant, talking, busy rogue.
Gathering a flock of hot-brained fools together.
Can preach up new rebellion.
Spread false reports of the Senate, working up
Their madness to a fury quick and desperate,
Till they run headlong into civil discords,
And do our business with their own destruction."

This is a picture of the civil dissensions in Eome, and, to our mortifi-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 407 '

cation, we find that human nature is the same in all ages. Neither the
dread of tyrants, the fall of empires, nor the more gloomy picture of
civil discord, are sufficient to deter mankind from pursuing the same
steps which have led others to ruin. Selfishness, and spite, and avarice,
and ambition, pride, and a levelling principle, are very unfavorable to
the existence of ci"vil liberty.

It is a very just observation, that those who have raised an empire
have always been grave and severe, they who have ruined it have been uni-
formly distinguished for their dissipation.

In this same letter she says, —

Disagreeable as the situation of my native State appears, I shall quit
Europe with more pleasure than I came into it, uncontaminated, I hope,
with its manners and vices. I have learned to know the world and its
value ; I have seen high life ; I have witnessed the luxury and pomp of
state, the power of riches, and the influence of titles, and have beheld
all ranks bow before them as the only shrine worthy of worship. Not-
withstanding this, I feel that I can return to my little cottage and be
happier than here ; and, if we have not wealth, we have what is better, —
integrity.

In the War of 1812, Mrs. Gushing, an intimate friend of Mrs.
Adams, lost a brother on the field of battle. Mrs. Adams writes
as follows : —

QuiNcr, 18th February, 1813.
My dear Mrs. Gushing : —

The voice of friendship bids me sympathize with the bereaved sisters
and relatives over the brave youth who has fallen in defence of the
injured rights and honor of his country.

" How beautiful is death when earn'd by virtue !
Who would not be that youth ? What is it
That we can die but once to serve our country ?"

So spoke the Roman from the mouth of Cato. So said the father over
the dead body of his son. " It is,'' said Ossian, "when the foes fly before
them that fathers delight in their sons. But their siglis burst forth in
secret when their young warriors yield.'' In the agony of grief for the
loss of those most dear, it is an alleviation to the wounded bosom to
know that they died, covered with glory, in the arms of victory. Long
will young Aylwin be remembered and regretted, "by all his country's
wishes blest."

To all of you, my aflflicted friends, I wish consolation and support
from a higher source than the honor and fame which man can bestow,
And am your sympathizing friend,

Ahkjail Adams.

The following views are wise, and always timely to American
females : —

408 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Qtjincy, 5th June, 1809.
My dear Sister : —

You know, if there be bread enough and to spare, unless a prudent
attention manage that sufficiency, the fruits of diligence will be scattered
by the hand of dissipation. No man ever prospered in the world with-
out the consent and co-operation of his wife. It behooves us who are
parents or grandparents, to give our daughters and grand-daughters,
when their education devolves upon us, such an education as shall qua-
lify them for the useful and domestic duties of life, that they should
learn the proper use of time, since time " was given for use, not waste.''
The finer accomplishments, such as music, drawing, and painting, serve
to set off and embellish the picture ; but the ground-work must be
formed of more durable colors.

I consider it as an indispensable requisite that every American wife
should herself know how to order and regulate her family, — how to
govern her domestics and train up her children. For this purpose the
all-wise Creator made woman an help-meet for man ; and she who fails
in these duties does not answer the end of her creation.

*' Life's cares are comforts, — sucli by Heaven design'd;
They that have none must make them, or be wretched.
Cares are employments, and without employ
The soul is on a rack, the rack of rest."

I have frequently said to my friends, when they have thought me
overburdened with care, I would rather have too much than too little.
Life stagnates without action. I could never bear merely to vegetate.

"Waters stagnate when they cease to flow."

Mrs. Adams, like all tlie female patriots of that era of
liberty, felt deeply on the subject of slavery. Writing to her
husband on the 22d of September, 1774, who was in the first
Congress of the United Colonies, at Philadelphia, she says, —

I wish, most sincerely, that there was not a slave in the province : it
always seems a most iniquitious scheme, to me, to fight ourselves for
what we are daily robbing and plundering from those who have as good
a right to freedom as ourselves. You know my mind on this subject.

In another letter to a friend, she says, —

Is it not amazing, when the rights of humanity are defined with pre-
cision, in a country above all others fond of liberty, that in such an
age and in such a country we find men professing a religion the most
humane and gentle, adopting a principle as repugnant to humanity as
it is inconsistent with the Bible and destructive to liberty ? Believe me,
I honor the Quakers for their noble efforts to abolish slavery. It is a
debt we owe the purity of our religion, to show that it is at variance
with that law which warrants slavery.

CIVIL Institutions of the ukited states. 409

Her piety and patriotism have a beautiful development in tlie
following letter whicli she addressed to her husband when he
was elected President of the United States : —

QuiNCY, 8th February, 1797.
" The sun is drest in brightest beams
To give thy honors to the day."

And may it prove an auspicious prelude to each ensuing season ! You
have this day to declare yourself head of a nation. "And now, 0 Lord
my God, thou hast made thy servant ruler over the people. Give unto
him an understanding heart, that he may know how to go out and come
in before this great people ; that he may discern between good and bad.
For who is able to judge this thy so great a people?" were the words of a
royal sovereign, — and not less applicable to him who is invested with the
chief magistracy of a nation, though he wear not the crown nor the
robes of royalty.

My thoughts and my meditations are with you, though personally
absent, and my petitions to Heaven are that the things which make for
peace may not be hidden from j'our eyes. My feelings are not those of
pride or ostentation upon the occasion : they are solemnized by a sense
of the obligations, the important trusts and numerous duties, connected
with it. That you may be enabled to discharge them with honor to
yourself, with justice and impartiality to your country, and with satis-
faction to this great people, shall be the daily prayer of your

A. A.

Mrs. Adams rendered an eminent service to the country in
the maternal training of her son.

Edward Everett, in his eulogy on John Quincy Adams, before
the • Legislature of Massachusetts, in x\pril, 1848, says, " I may
be permitted to pause for a moment, to pay a well-deserved
tribute of respectJ to the memory of the excellent mother to
whose instructions so much of the subsequent eminence of the
son is due. No brighter example exists of auspicious maternal
influence ia forming the character of a great and good man.
Her letters to him might almost be called a Manual of Wise
Mother's Advice. The counsels of the faithful and affectionate
mother followed him beyond the sea."

The following are among the Christian counsels Mrs. Adams
inculcated upon her son, and by which she formed his character
and prepared him for his eminent usefulness.

"The only sure and i)ermancnt foundation of virtue," says
she to her young son, ''is religion. Let this important truth
be engraven on your heart, and also that the foundation of
religion is the belief of one only <iod, as a Being infinitely wise,

410 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

just, and good, to wliom you owe tlie liigliest reverence, grati-
tude, and adoration. Placed as we are in this transitory scene
of probation, drawing niglier and still niglier, day after day, to
that important crisis which must introduce us to a new system
of things, it ought to be our principal concern to become quali-
fied for our expected dignity. Great learning and superior
abilities, should we even possess them, will be of little value and
small estimation, unless virtue, honor, truth, and integrity are
added to them. Adhere, then, to those religious sentiments
which were early instilled into your mind, and remember that
you are accountable to your Maker for all your words and
actions.

'' Dear as you are to me, I w^ould much rather you should have
found your grave in the ocean you have crossed, or that an un-
timely death should crop you in your infant years, than to see
you an immoral, profligate, or graceless child."

Mr. Adams acknowledged his indebtedness to his mother, when
Governor Briggs, of Massachusetts, meeting him on the streets
of Washington, both being members of Congress, said, '' I have
just found out who made you, Mr. Adams. I have been reading
the letters of 3^our mother ; and she made you what you are."
" Yes," replied the old man : '' all I have been, and all I am, I
owe to my mother."

Mr. Adams said, only a short period before his death, that he
never retired to rest without repeating the simple prayer which
his mother taught him in childhood : —

Here I lay me down to sleep:
I pray the Lord my soul to keep ;
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

A beautiful and tender exhibition of Mrs. Adams's piety and
sense of Christian propriety w^as displayed on the occasion of
the death of Washington. His sudden departure, amidst the
quiet scenes of Mount Vernon, on the 13th of December, 1799,
touched with universal grief the national sensibilities, and
every household and heart felt it as a deep personal bereave-
ment.

Mrs. Adams, when Washington died, w^as the wife of the
President of the United States, and presiding with dignity in
the court-circles of Philadelphia. The evening subsequent to

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOXS OF THE UXITED STATES. 411

the doatli of Washington Mrs. Adams had appointed for a
public reception; but as soon as the intelligence reached the
city she pubHshed the following notice : —

''In consequence of the afflictive inteUigence of the death of
General Washington, Mrs. Adams's drawing-room reception is
deferred to Friday, the 27th, when the ladies are respectfully
requested to w^ear white trimmed wdth black ribbon, black
gloves and fans, as a token of respect to the memory of the
late President of the United States. The ladies of the officers
of the General Government will please wear black."

Mary, the Mother of Washington,

Has, through her son, exerted a larger and more beneficent
influence on the American nation than any other woman. Her
faith, piety, and good sense gave to the nation and the race this
peerless man. '' She was eminently qualified, by nature and re-
ligion, to fulfil all her duties to her family. She possessed a
strong mind and sound judgment, united with great simplicity
of manners, energy, honesty, and truthfulness. She w^as a strict
disciplinarian, and obtained over her children an uncompromising,
but benign, control. She was deeply interested in forming the
minds and hearts of her children according to the teachings of
the gospel; and she daily taught them select parts of Sir Mat-
thew Hale's * Contemplations, Moral and Divine,' wonderfully
plain and simple, but exquisitely Christian, abounding in golden
maxims of sound wisdom and pure piety. It was the lot of
Washington to receive from his father, as well as his mother,
the advantages of a sound religious education ; but, in common
with the worthies who have adorned our race, he points the
world to the chief earthly source of his successes, — home in-
fluences DIRECTED BY A MOTHER."

Washinnrton reiscarded his mother as the source of all his
fortunate success and exalted greatness, and paid her the
most profound and heartfelt veneration and obedience. The
secret of his greatness, as well as his mother's influence, are
Been in the memorable reply she made to Lafayette wliou ho
hastened to her homo in Frederick.sl>urg, Virginia, after the
victory at Yorktown, to announce to her the great achievement
of her fortunate son. She listened to the words of Lafayette,
an ho described tlie victory and spoke of the honor and fame
which would thereby accrue to her son. She simply replied.

412 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

"It is nothing more than I expected; as George was always a
good boy."

His farewell visit to her, before he set out to assume the re-
sponsibilities of the Presidency, is one of the most beautiful
scenes recorded in the annals of history. He said, —

The peoj^le, honored madam, have been pleased, with the most flatter-
ing unanimity, to elect me to the chief magistracy of the United States ;
but, before I can assume the functions of that office, I have come to bid
you an afiectionate farewell. So soon as the public business which
must necessarily be encountered in arranging a new government can be
disposed of, I shall hasten to Virginia, and

Here his mother interrupted him, with —

You will see me no more. My great age, and the disease which is
fast approaching my vitals, warn me that I shall not be long in this
world. I trust to God I am somewhat prepared for a better. But go,
George, fulfil the destiny which Heaven appears to assign you. Go, my
son ; and may Heaven's and your mother's blessing be with you.

On the death of his mother, which took place at Fredericks-
burg, August 25, 1789, in the eighty-third year of her age,
Washington wrote to his sister, Mrs. Lewis, as follows : —

Awful and affecting as the death of a parent is, there is consolation
in knowing that Heaven has spared ours to an age beyond which few
attain, and favored her with the full enjoyment of her mental facul-
ties, and as much bodih^ strength as usually falls to the lot of four-
score. Under these considerations, and a hope that she is translated to
a happier place, it is the duty of her relatives to yield due submission
to the decrees of the Creator. When I was last at Fredericksburg, I
took a final leave of my mother, never expecting to see her more.

There is no fame in the world more pure than that of the
mother of Washington, and no woman since the mother of
Christ has a better claim to the affectionate reverence of man-
kind.

Martha, the wife of Washington, was a woman of fine accom-
plishments, eminently qualified for the exalted station she was
called, in the providence of God, to fill. Her piety and patriot-
ism were equal to every trial, and were constantly exerted in
behalf of her country. She often left the comforts and ele-
gancies of Mount Vernon and spent months with Washington
and his armies, cheering them by her presence and encouraging
the soldiers by her words.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 413

Mrs. Wasliington accompanied tlie general to the line before
Boston, and witnessed its siege and evacuation. At the close
of each campaign, an aide-de-camp repaired to Mount Vernon
to escort her to the head-quarters. Her arrival at the camp
was an event much anticipated, and was always the signal for
the ladies of general officers to repair to the bosoms of their
lords. The arrival of Mrs. Washington at Valley Forge,
Morristown, and West Point diffused a cheering influence amid
the gloom that hung over those scenes. She always remained
at head-quarters till the opening of the campaign, and often
remarked, in after-life, that it had been her good fortune to hear
the first cannon at the opening and the last at the closing of
every campaign of the E,evolutionary War. During the whole
of the period when we struggled for independence, Mrs. Wash-
ington preserved her equanimity, together with a degree of
cheerfulness that inspired all around her with the brightest
hopes of ultimate success.

The love of the old soldiers for Mrs. Washington had a tinge
of romantic tenderness. They were welcomed by her on all
occasions, after the war, and, while she was at Philadelphia, as
the wife of the President of the United States. ''They came,
they would say, to head-quarters, just to inquire after the
health of his excellency and Lady Washington. They knew
his excellency was, of course, much engaged, but they would
like to see the good lady. All were ' kindly bid to stay,' and
were conducted to the steward's apartments and refreshments
set before them ; and, after receiving some little token from the
lady, with her best wishes for the health and happiness of an
old soldier, they went their way, with blessings upon their
revered commander and the good Lady Washington uttered by
many a war-worn veteran of the Eevolution.

^'She had an inveterate habit of knitting. It had been
acquired, or at least fostered, in the wintry encampments of the
Revolution, where she used to set an example to her lady-
visitors by diligently plying her needles, knitting stockings for
the poor destitute soldiery."

Mrs. Washington presided with graceful dignity and Chris-
tian propriety over the rei)ublican court of tho Government.
As tho wife of the President of the United States, her elegant
manners, elevated example, and tho charms of her social and
Christian character, exerted an cnnobHng influence on society,

414 CHr.STIAN LIFE AKD CHARACTER OF THE

and won for her universal admiration and praise. As Washing-
ton was a model President and a finished gentleman, so Provi-
dence had given him a model wife and a Christian woman,
whose influence was genial, and whose example Avas worthy of
universal imitation by her countrywomen, a^nd especially by
all who should succeed her in the high position she occupied.

The following letter, written to a friend after the President
had returned from his tour to the North and East, is a fine
development of her feelings, taste, and character : —

New York, December 26, 1789.

Mt dear Madam : — Your very friendly letter of the 27th of last
month has afforded me much more satisfaction than all the formal
compliments and empty ceremonies of mere etiquette could possibly
have done. I am not apt to forget the feelings that have been inspired
by my former society with good acquaintances, nor to be insensible to
their expressions of gratitude to the President of the United States ;
for you know me w^ell enough to do me the justice to believe that I am
only fond of what comes from the heart. Under a conviction that the
demonstrations of respect and affection which have been made to the
President originate from that source, I cannot deny that I have taken
some interest and pleasure in them. The difficulties which presented
themselves to view upon entering upon the Presidency seem thus to be,
in some measure, surmounted. It is owing to this kindness of our
numerous friends, in all quarters, that my new and unwished-for situa-
tion is not indeed a burden to me-.

When I was much younger, I should probably have enjoyed the inno-
cent gayeties of life as much as most of my age. But I had long since
placed all the prospects of my future worldlj'- happiness in the still
enjoyments of the fireside at Mount Vernon.

I little thought, when the war was finished, that any circumstance
could possibly have happened which would call the general into public
life again. I had anticipated that from that moment we should have
been left to grow old, in solitude and tranquillity, together. That was,
dear madam, the first and dearest wish of my heart ; but in that I have
been disappointed. I will not, however, contemplate with too much
regret disappointments that are inevitable.

Though the general's feelings and my own wore perfectly in unison,
with respect to our predilection for private life, yet I cannot blame him
for having acted according to his ideas of duty in obeying the voice of
his country. The consciousness of having attempted to do all the good
in his power, and the pleasure of finding his fellow-citizens so well satis-
fied with the disinterestedness of his conduct, will doubtless be some
compensation for the great sacrifices which I know ho has made. Indeed,
in his journey from Mount Vernon to this place, in his late tour through
the Eastern States, by every public and by every private information >
which has come to him, I am persuaded he has experienced nothing to
make him repent his having acted from what he conceived to be alone

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOXS OF THE UNITED STATES. 415

a sense of indispensable duty. On the contrary, all his sensibilities have
been awakened in receiving such repeated and unequivocal proofs of
sincere regard from all his countrymen.

With respect to myself, I sometimes think the arrangement is not
quite as it ought to have been, — that I, who had much rather be at home,
should occupy a place with which a great many younger women would
be i^rodigiously pleased. As my grandchildren and domestic connec-
tions make up a great portion of the felicity which I looked for in this
world, I shall hardly be able to find any substitute that would indemnify
me for the loss of a part of such endearing society. I do not say this be-
cause I am dissatisfied with my present station. No : God forbid ! For
everybody and every thing conspire to make me as contented as possible
in it. Yet I have seen too much of the vanity of human affairs to
expect felicity from the splendid scenes of public life. I am still
determined to be cheerful and hapi^y in whatever station I may be, for
I have also learnt that the greater part of our happiness or misery de-
pends upon our disposition, and not upon our circumstances. We carry
the seeds of the one or the other about us, in our minds, whithersoever
we go. I have two of my grandchildren with me, who enjoy advan-
tages in point of education, and who, I trust, by the goodness of Provi-
dence, will continue to be a great blessing to me. My other two grand-
children are with their mother in Virginia.

The President's health is quite restored by his late journey. Mine is
much better than it used to be. I am sorry to hear that General War-
ren has been ill ; I hope before this time that he may be entirely
recovered. We should rejoice to see you both. To both I wish the best
of Heaven's blessings, and am, dear madam, with esteem and regard,
your friend and humble servant. M. Wasuington.

" What chiefly won old and young was a bland cheerfulness, —
the silent history of the soul's happiness, — and an expressive
smile, inspiring every beholder with confidence, like a beam
from the Temple of Truth. There was about her in youth a
womanly dignity which chastened the most forward admiration
into respect." Her public life was in beautiful correspondence
with her youthful accomplishments and graceful conduct. In
the first republican court of America she formed the social
etiquette of the Government on the rules of Christian dii^nity
and propriety, and the example was pure and ennobling in its
national influence's.

Piety gave the crowning finish to her cliaracter, and adorned
her public and private life with its virtues. Her Christian
resignation at the death of her illustrirnis husband has all tho
humility and beauty of submission to the Divine will. When
the great man breathed his last, she said, " 'Tis well : all is now
over. I soon shall follow him; I have no more trials to pass

416 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

through." ''That piety," says Mrs. Sigourney, "which had so
long been her strength, continued its support, but her heart
drooped. Cheerfuhiess did not forsake her; yet she discharged
the habitual round of duties as one who felt that the 'glory
had departed.' "

"In the life of this model woman," says a writer, "we perceive
that it was neither the beauty with which she was endowed,
nor the high station she attained, that gave enduring lustre to
her character, but her Christian fidelity in those duties which
devolve upon her sex. These fitted her to irradiate the home,
to lighten the cares, to cheer the anxieties, to sublimate the en-
joyments, of him who was her exalted and illustrious husband.
Christian fidelity marked her whole public life ; and her influence,
like that of Washington, has been beneficent upon the interests
of the nation."

" I had," said a female relative who was twenty years an
inmate of the family, " the most perfect model of female excel-
lence ever with me as my monitress, who acted the part of a
tender and devoted parent, loving me as only a mother can love,
and never extenuating or approving in me what she disapproved
in others. She never omitted her private devotions or her public
duties ; and she and her husband were so perfectly united and
happy, that they must have been Christians. She had no doubts,
no fears, of him. After forty years of devoted affection and
uninterrupted happiness, she resigned him, without a murmur,
into the arms of his Saviour and his God, with the assured
hope of his eternal felicity."

Her Christian duties, public and private, she never omitted.
During the Presidency of Washington in Philadelphia, Bishop
White testifies to her habitual and devout attendance, with her
husband, on the public services of the sanctuary, and that she
was a constant communicant at the table of the Lord, in his
church.

Among the resolutions of Congress, in session at Philadelphia,
on the death of General Washington, were the following : —

December 24, 1799.

Resolved, hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Staies of

America, in Congress assembled. That a marble monument be erected by

the United States, in the Capitol, in the city of Washington, and that

the family of General Washington be requested to permit his body

CIVIL IIsSTITUTIOXS OF THE UNITED STATES. 417

to be deposited under it ; and that tlie monument be so designed as to
commemorate the great events of his military and poHtical life.

Ayid be it further resolved, That the President of the United States be
requested to direct a copy of these resolutions to be transmitted to Mrs.
Washington, assuring her of the profound respect Congress will ever
bear to her person and character, of their condolence on the late
afflictive dispensation of Providence, and entreating her assent to the
interment of the remains of General George Washington in the manner
expressed in the first resolution.

The following message was received from the President : —

Gentlemen of the Senate, and

Gentlemen of the House of Eefresentatives : —

In compliance with the request in one of the resolutions of Congress
of the 21st of December last, I transmitted a copy of those resolutions,
by my secretary, Mr. Shaw, to Mrs. Washington, assuring her of the
l)rofound respect Congress will ever bear to her person and character,
of their condolence in the late afflictive dispensation of Providence,
and entreating her assent to the interment of the remains of General
George Washington in the manner expressed in the first resolution.
As the sentiment of that virtuous lady, not less beloved by this nation
than she is at present greatly afflicted, can never be so well expressed
as in her own words, I transmit to Congress her original letter.

It would be an attempt of too much delicacy to make any comment
upon it ; but there can be no doubt that the nation at large, as well as
all the branches of the Government, will be highly gratified by any
arrangement which may diminish the sacrifice she makes of her indi-
vidual feelings. John Adams.

Mes. Washington's Letter.

Mount Vernon, December 31, 1799.
Sir: — While I feel, with keenest anguish, the late disi:)ensation of
Divine Providence, I cannot be insensible to the mournful tributes of
respect and veneration which are paid to the memory of my dear
deceased husband ; and, as his best services and most anxious wishes
were always devoted to the welfare and happiness of his country, to
know that they wore truly appreciated and gratefully remembered
ul!brdrf no inconsiderable consolation.

Tauglit, by tliat great example which I have so long Iiad before mo,
never to oppose my i>rivate wishes to the public will, I must consent
to the request made by Congress, which you have had the goodness to
transmit to mo ; and in doing this I need not — I canniit^ — say what a
sacrifice of individual fooling I make to a sonso of i»u))lio duty.

With grateful a(;UnowK'dgmonts and unfeigned thanks for the per-
Honal re8])eot and evidences of conilolonco expressed by Congress and
you:--. If, I r.-main, very respectfully, sir,

Your most obedient servant,

M.VKTllA Wa.'^iiington.
S7

418 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Tlie following historical scene is thus described by Chief-
Justice Marshall : —

'' At Trenton, Washington was welcomed in a manner as new
as it was pleasing. In addition to the usual demonstrations of
respect and attachment which were given by the discharge of
cannon, by military corps, and by private persons of distinction,
the gentler sex prepared, in their own taste, a tribute of applause
indicative of the grateful recollection in which they held their
deliverance, twelve years before, from a formidable enemy. On
the bridge over the creek which passes through the town w^as
erected a triumphal arch, highly ornamented with laurels and
flowers, and supported by thirteen pillars, each entwined with
wreaths of evergreen. On the front arch was inscribed, in large
gilt letters.

The Defenders of the Mothers

will be the

Protectors of the Daughters.

^' On the centre of the arch, above the inscription, was a dome
or cupola of flowers and evergreens, encircling the dates of the
two memorable events which were peculiarly interesting to the
people of New Jersey. The first was the battle of Trenton, and
the second the bold and j udicious stand taken by the American
troops at the same creek, by which the march of the British
army was arrested on the evening preceding the battle of
Princeton. At this place Washington was met by a party of
matrons leading their daughters dressed in w^hite, w^ho carried
baskets of flowers in their hands, and sang, with exquisite sweet-
ness, an ode composed for the occasion. It is as follows : —

Welcome, mighty chief, once more
Welcome to this grateful shore !
iN'ow no mercenary foe
Aims again the fatal blow, —
Aims at thee the fatal blow.

Virgins fair and matrons grave,
Those thy conquering arm did save,
Build for thee triumphal bowers ;
Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers, — •
Strew your hero's way with flowers !

""The beauty of the scene, and its lovely exhibition of grati-
tude and patriotism, touched the heart of the great hero, and

CIVIL IKSTITUTIOKS OF THE UNITED STATES. 419

tears testified to his deep emotion. Before he left Trenton, lie
sent the following note to the ladies : —

"Greneral Washington cannot leave this place without expressing his
acknowledgments to the matrons and young ladies who received him in
so novel and grateful a manner at the triumphal arch in Trenton, and
for the exquisite sensation he experienced in that affecting moment.
The astonishing contrast between his former and actual situation at the
same spot, the elegant taste with which it was adorned for the present
occasion, and the innocent appearance of the white-robed choir who
met him with tlie congratulatory song, have made such an impression on
his i-emembrance as he assures them will never be effaced.

"Trexton, April 21, 1789."

'^ The merit of these appropriate and classical decorations is
due," says Custis, " to the late Mrs. Stockton, of Princeton, a
lady of superior literary acquirements and refined tatse. She
was familiarly called duchess, from her elegance and dignity of
manners. She was a most ardent patriot during the War of
the Eevolution, and, with the Stockton :^mily, was marked for
persecution on the ruthless invasion of the Jerseys. Her hus-
band was accustomed to call her ' the best of women.' Piety
and patriotism, as in the life and character of her husband,
were her crowning excellencies."

Female life and influence durino; the heroic aQ;e of the re-
public were in harmony with the precepts of religion, and gave
grace and purity and dignity to their public and private
character. " The domestic life of that period," says a writer,
"revealed in all we know of its refinement and elegance,
its dignified courtesy and inflexible morality, can be contem-
plated only with a respectful admiration. It was in keeping
with the frankness and sincerity of ascendant politics. "Women
unhesitatingly evinced their sympathies with whatever was gene-
rous and honorable in public conduct, but rarely, if ever, in for-
gctfulness of feminine propriety. Though i»atriotic, they were
content to be women still, and were anxious for the distinct ions
of delicacy and grace. They perceived it was their nobility not
to be men, but to be women worthy of men. In possession of
every right with which they were endowed by nature, thoy had
no desire to usurp men's prerogatives."

420 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

CHAPTEE XVIII.

CHRISTIAN CHURCHES — FORM OF GOVERNMENT INFLUENCE ON THE COLONIES

CHURCHES IN THE REVOLUTION UNITE IN FAVOR OF LIBERTY VIEWS OF

GRAHAME — DR. STILES WASHINGTON WEBSTER MISSION OP AMERICA TO

WELCOME ALL SECTS CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES OF NEW ENGLAND JEF-

FERSOn's IDEA OF A REPUBLICAN F0R3I OF GOVERNMENT SUGGESTED BY
THE CONGREGATIONAL FORM OF GOVERNMENT — BOSTON PORT CLOSED — COR-
RESPONDENCE OF CONGREGATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS— OFFERINGS OP CHURCHES

ODE SUNG IN THE NEW ENGLAND CHURCHES — ADDRESS OF MINISTERS IN NEW

HAVEN TO WASHINGTON HIS REPLY ADDRESS OF A CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

TO WASHINGTON HIS REPLY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH FORM OF GOVERNMENT

ITS EARLY ACTION IN THE REVOLUTION PASTORAL LETTER OP THE SYNOD

OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY IN 1775 — PASTORAL LETTER IN 1783

ADDRESS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO WASHINGTON HIS REPLY PRO-
TESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH ITS POSITION IN THE REVOLUTION BISHOP

WHITE ADDRESS OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION TO WASHINGTON — HIS REPLY.

The American Cliristian Cliurcli, in all its forms of govern-
ment, has m its colonial and national history produced two great
results. Each form, while it has represented the faith of those
who have adopted it, has at the same time developed the senti-
ments of freedom and of a true civilization. The religious
sentiment which colonized the American continent, and in-
corporated itself into the life and character of the American
government and people, assumed such a church-organization as
gave to it its fullest power in favor of freedom.

" By giving a welcome to every religious sect," says Grahame,
'' America was safe from narrow bigotry. At the same time,
the moral unity of the forming nation was not impaired. Of
the various parties into which the Eeformation divided the
people, each, from the proudest to the most puny sect, rallied
round a truth. But, as truth never contradicts itself, the
collision of sects could but eliminate error ; and the American
mind, in the best and largest sense eclectic, struggled for uni-
versality, whilst it asserted freedom." Each Church thus
blended its spirit of liberty with that of every other Church,
and all co-operated to sustain freedom and to build up free
institutions.

'' The United States," said Dr. Stiles, in 1783, ^Svill embosom

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 421

all religious sects or denominations in Cliristendom. Here tliey
may all enjoy their whole respective systems of worship and
church-government complete; and, having on account of reli-
gion no superiority as to secular powers and civil immunities,
they will cohabit together in harmony and with a most gene-
rous Catholicism and benevolence, — the example of a friendly
cohabitation of all sects in America proving that men may
be good members of civil society and yet differ in religion.
Keligion may here receive its last, most liberal and impartial
examination."

"In our nation," says Washington, ''however different the
sentiments of citizens on religious doctrines, they generally
concur in one thing ; for their political professions and practices
are almost universally friendly to the order and happiness of
our civil institutions."

"It seems," said Webster, "to be the American destiny, the
mission which has been intrusted to us here on this shore of
the Atlantic, the great conception and the great duty to which
we were born, to show that all sects and all denominations, pro-
fessing reverence for the authority of the Author of our being
and belief in his revelations, may be safely tolerated without
prejudice either to our religion or to our liberties."

In the work of creating civil institutions on a Christian
basis, and in achieving the liberties and independence of the
United States, history places pre-eminent

The Congregational Churches of New England.

This form of church-government is democratic. It was of
Puritan birth, and, like the faith of the Puritans, it came fresh
and vigorous from the word of God. • It is the embodiment
and practice of the American doctrine of popular sovereignty,
applied to church-government, as it is to all the civil affairs of
the nation. P]ach Church is an independent Christian demo-
<^.racy, where all the members have a right to a voice in the
government of the Church, and whose decisions are subject to
no reversal by any other ecclesiastical tribunal. The P»iMo
is regarded as the text-book in theology and politics, in Church
and State, as it is in its form of church-government; and, hold-
ing the Bible as the standanl of form as well as of faith, the
Puritans and their descendant.^ coiistituti^l their ecclesiastic

422 CHKISTIAN LIFE AXD CHAEACTEE OF THE

form after the pattern set tliem in tlie Bible. The fruits of
their faith and polity everywhere abound.

^' The principles of their religious system have given birth
and vigor to the republican habits and republican virtue and
intelligence of the sons of New England." The Congregational
churches were not only schools of Christian faith, but of free-
dom, in which the ministers were the teachers and the people
the pupils, and whence came the men and women to fight and
pray for freedom and the battles of the Pvevolution. During the
Eevolution there were in New England five hundred and seventy-
five ministers and seven hundred Congregational churches, almost
all of which were in active sympathy with the cause of liberty.
In every possible way they gave manifold proofs of their
patriotism. It is no violence to truth to affirm that without
the devotion and earnest activity of these churches the Revo-
lution never could have been effected. Their faith and form of
church-government were in harmony with the reigning spirit
of liberty, and energized all the eff'orts of patriots with piety
and ardor, and infused into that great conflict those Christian
ideas and principles which im^Dart a divine dignity and grandeur
to a people struggling to be free.

The Congregational form of church-government suggested to
the philosophic mind of Mr. Jefferson our present republican
form of government. Near his residence, in Virginia, several
years previous to the Revolution, there existed a Baptist church
on a congregational basis of government, whose monthly meet-
ings Jefferson often attended. Being asked how he was pleased
with their church-government, he replied that it struck him
wdth great force, and interested him very much ; that he con-
sidered it the only form of pure democracy that then existed in
the world, and had concluded that it would be the best plan of
government for the American colonies.

If Jefferson confessed himself indebted to the business meet-
ings of a church in his neighborhood, substantially Congre-
gational in government, for his best ideas of a democracy,
much more were John Adams and his New England com-
patriots beholden to their ecclesiastical surroundings for the
republican tendencies of their politics.

The churches of New England had been for a century and a
half educating their people, in their Christian and political demo-
cracies, to love liberty, so that when the trial of their faith came

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOXS OF THE UNITED STATES. 423

at the Revolution, they were ready to enter with, soul and energy
into the great conflict, and to carry it to a happy consummation.

The act of the British Parliament, closing the port of Boston,
the news of which reached the city on the 9th of May, 1774,
was the tocsin of liberty to New England, and acted as a cord of
sympathy that bound all the colonies more closely together. Three
days after the news, — on the 12th of May, 1774, — a large number
of the patriots of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts assem-
bled to consider the crisis. '' The lowly men who now met,"
says Bancroft, " were most of them accustomed to feed their own
cattle, to fold their own sheep, to guide their own ploughs ; all
trained to public life in the little democracies of their towns ;
some of them captains in the militia, and officers of the church
accordiDg to the discipline of Congregationalists ; nearly all of
them communicants under a public covenant with God."

The Boston port bill became the telegraphic medium of liberty
and of universal sympathy between the Congregational churches
of ISTew England and patriots throughout the colonies. The fol-
lowing paper will not only disclose this fact, but wiU show how
sensitive and ready the churches were to respond to the calls
of patriotism and humanity. It is but a specimen of the piety
and patriotism of the New England churches.

Letter from the General Association of Congregational Ministers
IN Connecticut to tue Clergymen in Boston.

Mansfield, June 22, 1774.
Reverend AND Dear Sirs: —

We, your brethren of the Colony of Connecticut, met by delegation
from the several counties in General Association at our annual meeting,
cannot but feel deeply impressed with the present melancholy threat-
ened situation of America in general, and the distressed state of the
town of Boston in particular, suffering the severe resentment of tho
British Parliament, by which the subsistence of thousands is taken
away. We readily embrace this opportunity to manifest our hearty
sympathy with you in your present distresses. Wo consider that you
are suffering in tho common cause of ylwmm, — the cause of liborty;
which, if taken away, we fear would involve the ruin of religious liberty
also. Gladly would we contribute every thing in our power for your
encouragement and relief: liowever, our situation enables us to ilo little
more than to exi)ress our sincere and affectionate concern, and with
fervent addresses to conmiend your cause, and tho cause oi Ami-rica,
tlio causo of liberty, and, above all, tho cause of religion, to tho Father
of Mercies, who can easily afford effectual relief, — who has the hearts of
all at his disposal, and can turn them as lie i)leases. We feel deeply
sensible what a heavy load must lie upon tho minds of the ministers of

424 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Boston, — enough to sink their spirits, unless armed with vigorous Chris-
tian fortitude and resolution. In hopes it may afford you some conso-
lation, we assure you of our sincere condolence and unremitting prayers
in your behalf, and that we shall, in every way suitable to our character
and station, use our influence with the good people of this colony to
concur in every pro23er measure calculated to afford relief to America in
general, and to the distressed town of Boston in particular.

"We pray that the ministers of the gospel may be inspired by the great
Head of the Church with wisdom sufficient for direction in such a criti-
cal daj^ as the present, and that God would give them and their people
firmness, unanimity, patience, ]3rudence, and every virtue which they
need to support them under their heavy trials, and enable them to stand
firm in the glorious cause of liberty and express such a temper and
exhibit such an example as shall be well pleasing to Grod and recom-
mend them to the favor and compassion of their fellow-men. "We
earnestly pray- that God would humble us all under a deep sense of
our numerous transgressions and criminal declensions, show us the
absolute necessity of repentance and reformation, humble us under his
mighty hand, and pour out a spirit of fervent supplication upon you,
on us, and all his people in this land ; and we cannot but hope the
united prayers of America may obtain that audience in heaven which
will bring salvation to us.

Signed by order of the General Association.

Benjamin Throop, Moderator.

To the Eeverend Charles Chauncy, D.D., and the other ministers of
the town of Boston.

The answer was prepared, but not sent, through the confusion
of the timeS; and is as follows : —

Boston, 1774.
Reverend and Dear Brethren: —

Your very afiectionate and obliging letter of June 22, 1774, was com-
municated to us at a time when we greatly needed the encouragement
of our Christian friends .

You justly suppose that when Boston is treated with such unprece-
dented cruelty, and involved in the deepest distress, a heavy load must
be upon the ministers of religion in that unhapjiy town. "We have con-
soled ourselves with the thought that we are suffering in the common
cause of America,— in the cause of civil liberty, with which religious liberty
hath a very close connection. All circumstances seem to make it evi-
dent that we are not mistaken in this view of things. It gives us the
highest satisfaction to find that the sentiments of others are conforma-
ble to our own ; especially to know that this is the opinion of so wise
and venerable a body as the General Association of Connecticut.

"We sincerely thank you for your tender sympathy with us unaer our
sufi'erings, and the very kind and obliging manner in which you ex-
press it.

"We present our particular acknowledgments for the great consolation
you afford in the assurance you give us of your sincere condolence and

CIVIL IXSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 425

unremitting prayers in our br4ialf, and that you will, in every way suit-
able to your character and station, use your influence with the good
people of your colony to concur in every proper measure calculated Xas
afford relief to America in general, and to the distressed town of Bos
ton in particular. We trust God hath heard your prayers and th*
prayers of other friends to religion and to America, and by his all-
powerful influence hath supported our brethren in this town unde'/
their heavy trials, enabled them to stand firm in the glorious cause of
liberty, and hath given some degree of that firmness, unanimity,
patience, and prudence which you so fervently implore for them in thiv
critical day.

We owe much to our brethren in other colonies for the very generous
assistance we have received. Such were the difficulties to which great
numbers were reduced by the almost total stagnation of our trade, tha^
it must have been impossible for this town to have subsisted to this day,
if the inhabitants had not been favored with such kind and gcneroui
relief from abroad.

The colony of Connectiad distinguished themselves, not only by the
largeness of their donations, but by the seasonableness of their supplies,
which were received and applied for the purpose of supporting those
who were suffering by means of the cruel bill that shut up our port,
while the other colonies, by reason of their distance, were not able to
afford such immediate relief.

We think ourselves obliged on this occasion to testify that your chari-
ties have been most faithfully ajjplied to the purpose for which they
were sent. The gentlemen who have undertaken this trust are of the
first character for probity and universal goodness. They generously
employ a very great part of their time in this benevolent work, without
the prospect of any reward but what ariseth from the pleasure of doing
good, and of tlio approbation of their great Master and Lord.

While we think we have a right to complain to Heaven and earth of
the cruel oppression we are under, we ascribe righteousness to God. Wo
deserve every thing from him, and he punishes us less than our iniquities
deserve. We earnestly entreat the continuance of your addresses to
Him who heareth prayer, that he would humble, pardon, and bless us.

Our own distresses by no means employ all our attention. We are
more deeply affected with the general danger of our country than with
our own ditticulties. We encourage ourselves in that glorious Being
who hath ever been tlie liope of his hrael and the Saviour tlioroof in
time of trouble, and who hath so often and so wonderfully apix-arod for
this people. We are sinful and degenerate, but we trust there arc
many who have not forsaken God, and for wlioso sake he will not for-
Huke us. If there hud been ten rightt;ous found in iSodom, the eity had
not been destroyed. And will not Gml liavo regard to the many th«m-
bands in this land, who walk ui>rightly before him, and who continually
implore his favor to their distressed country?

The surprising union of the colonies at this day affords the strongest
grouuils of encouragement; and their 8i)irited measures cimnot, accord-
ing to a human view tif things, fail of success sooner or lator. Wo
are sensible, at the same time, that all depends on Him who is the great

426 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OP THE

G-overnor of the world. It is an inexhaustible source of comfort thai
the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. To him we refer all, in full confi-
dence that he will do all things well. We devoutly wish you the presence
of the great Head of the Church in all your labors for the honor of God
and the good of men, and are,

With the sincerest gratitude and respect, your brethren, &c,,

Signed Andrew Elliot.

The cliurclies and congregations made the most liberal offer-
ings and contributions to the cause of liberty. The " Connecticut
Gazette," of January, 1778, published in New London, says, in
reference to the churches, —

'^ On the last Sabbath of December, 1777, a contribution was
taken up in the several parishes of Norwich for the benefit of
the officers and soldiers who belonged to said town, when they
collected 386 pairs of stockings, 227 pairs of shoes, 118 shirts,
78 jackets, .48 pairs of overalls, 208 pairs of mittens, 11 buff
caps, 15 pairs of breeches, 9 coats, 22 rifle frocks, 19 handker-
chiefs, and £258 17s. ^d. (about $1295), which was forwarded to
the army. Also collected a quantity of pork, cheese, wheat, rye,
Indian corn, sugar, rice, flax, wood, &c. &c., to be distributed
to the needy families of the officers and soldiers. The whole
amounted to the sum of £1400, or about $7000."

The key to the patriotism, offerings, and sacrifices of the
New England churches and people is found in such sentiments
as the following, uttered in Massachusetts, January, 1773 : —

'' Death," said they, ^' is more eligible than slavery. A free-
born people are not required by the religion of Jesus Christ to
submit to tyranny, but to make use of such power as God has
given them to recover and support their laws and liberties. We
implore the Euler above the skies that he would make bare his
arm in defence of his Church and people, and let Israel go."

The following ode, entitled ''The American Hero," was writ-
ten by Nathaniel Niles, of Norwich, Connecticut, on hearing of
the battle of Bunker Hill and the burning of Charlestown. It
first appeared in the '^ Connecticut Gazette and Universal Intelli-
gencer," February 2, 1776. The words were set to music by Kev.
Mr. Ripley, father of General Eipley, who preached patriotism
in his pulpit, composed music for the heroic odes of the Revo-
lution, and furnished sons to lead^the armies of the Revolution
to the field of battle. This ode ''was almost universally sung
in the churches and religious assemblies of the Eastern and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 427

Xortliern States^ and became the war-song of the New England
soldiery :" —

THE america:n' hero.

A SAPPHIC ODE.

Why should vain mortals tremble at. the sight of
Death and Destruction in tlie field of battle,
Where blood and carnage clothe the ground in crimson,
Sounding with death-groans ?

Death will invade us bj^ the means appointed,
And we must all bow to the king of terrors ;
Nor am I anxious, if I am prepared,

What shape he comes in.

Infinite Goodness teaches us submission,
Bids us be quiet under all his dealings,
Never repining, but forever praising

God our Creator.

Well may we praise him ; all his ways are perfect ;
Though a resplendence infinitely glowing
Dazzles in glory on the sight of mortals,

Struck blind by lustre !

Good is Jehovah in bestowing sunshine ;
Nor less his goodness in the storm and thunder:
Mercies and judgment both proceed from kindness, —
Infinite kindness !

Oh, then, exult, that God forever reigneth !
Clouds which, around him, hinder our perception,
Bind us the stronger to exalt his name, and

Shout louder praises !

Then to the wisdom of my Lord and Master
I will commit all that I have or wish for ;
Sweetly as babes sleep will I give my life ui~>

When caird to yield it.

Now, Mars, I dare thee, clad in smoky pillars,
Bursting from bomb-shells, roaring frf)m the cannon,
Kattling in grape-shot, like a storm of liail-stones,
Torturing vEther !

Up tlio bleak hi'iivons let lht» spreading flames rise,
Breaking liko yEtna through the smoky columns,
Lowering like Egypt o'er the falling city

Wantonly burnt down.

While all their hearts quick palj>itato for liavoc,
Lot slip your bloud-hounds, named the British lions:

428 CHRISTIAN LIFE AXD CHARACTER OF THE

Dauntless as death stares, nimble as the whirlwind,
Dreadful as demons !

Let oceans waft on all your floating castles,
Fraught with destruction, horrible to nature,
Then, with your sails fiU'd by a storm of vengeance,
Bear down to battle !

From the dire caverns made by ghostly miners,
Let the explosion, dreadful as volcanoes,
Heave the broad town, with all its wealth and people,
Quick to destruction !

Still shall the banner of the King of Heaven
Never advance where I^m afraid to follow:
While that precedes me, with an open bosom,

War, I defy thee !

Fame and dear freedom lure me on to battle,
While a fell despot, grimmer than a death's head,
Stings me with serpents, fiercer than Medusa's,
To the encounter.

Life for my country and the cause of freedom
Is but a trifle for a worm to part with ;
And, if preserved in so great a contest,

Life is redoubled.
Norwich, Coxn., Oct. 1775.

The following correspondence between President Washington
and the Congregational ministers of New Haven and vicinity
affords a fine illustration of the patriotism and piety of New
England. At the time it transpired, Washington was on a tour
of inspection through New England, to see for himself the
fruits of that freedom which he and the people had so nobly
won by the Eevolution. The originals of the letters are pre-
served in the archives of Yale College : —

To the President of the United States.
Sir : —

The Congregational ministers of the city of New Haven beg leave to
make their most respectful address to the President of the United
States. We presume that we join Avith the whole collective body of the
Congregational pastors and Presbyterian ministers throughout these
States, in the most heartfelt joj' and the most cordial congratulation, of
themselves, of their country, and of mankind, on your elevation to the
head of the combined American Republic. As ministers of the blessed
Jesus, the Prince of Peace, we rejoice and have inexpressible pleasure
in the demonstrations you have given of your sincere assertion toward
that holy religion which is the glory of Christian States, and will become

CIVIL INSTITUTIOjS^S OF THE UNITED STATES. 429

tlie glory of the world itself, as that happy period -when liberty, public
right, and the veneration of the Most High, who presides in the uni-
verse with a most holy and benevolent sovereignty, shall triumph
among all the nations, kingdoms, empires, and republics on earth. We
most sincerely rejoice in tlie kind and gracious providence of Almighty
God, who hath been pleased to preserve your life during your late dan-
gerous sickness, and to restore you to such a degree of health as gives us
this opportunity to express our joy, and affords us the most pleasing
hopes that your health may be firmly established. We pray the Lord
of Hosts, by whose counsels and wisdom you have been carried triumph-
antly and gloriously through the late war, terminating in the estaljlish-
ment of American liberty, and perhaps in the liberty of all nations, that
he would be pleased ever to have you under his holy protection, con-
tinue to render you a blessing to Church and State, support you under
your arduous cares, and perpetuate that estimation and honor which
you have justly acquired of your country. And may the new and rising
republic become, under your auspices, the most glorious for poj^ulation,
perfection of policy, and happy administration of government, that
ever appeared on earth ; and may you, sir, having finished a course of
distinguished usefulness, receive the rewards of public virtue in the
kingdom of eternal glory.

(Signed) Ezra Stiles,

James Dana,
JoxATHAX Edwards,
Samuel Wales,
Samlel Alstin, Jr.
City op New Ha vex, Oct. 17, 1789.

■ To the Congregational Ministers of the Cltg of X^eiv Jlaccn.

Gentlemen: —

Tlie kind congratulations contained in your address claim and receive
my grateful and affectionate thanks. Resi)ecting, as I do, the favorable
opinions of men distinguished for science and piety, it would be false
delicacy to disavow the satisfaction which I derive from their approbation
of my public services and private conduct.

Regarding that deportment which consists with true religion as the
best security of temporal jjcace and the surest means of attaining etermvl
felicity, it will be my earnest endeavor (as far as human frailty can
resolve) to inculcate the belief and practice of opinions which lead K)
the consummation of those desirable objects.

The tender interest which you have taken in my personal happiness,
and the obliging manner in which you express yourselves on tlio restora-
tion of my healtli, are so forcil)ly imjtressed on my mind as to render
hin).'uage inade(iuato to the utterance of my feelings.

It' it shall please the Great Disposer of events to list«Mi to the pious
snpplieat^jii which you have preferred in my belialf, I trust that tho
remainder of my <lays will evince the gratitude of a heart devoted to
tlio advancement of those objects which r«'eeiv«» tho approbation of
Heaven and promote tlie happiness of our feUow-niou.

430 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

My best prayers are offered to the Throne of Grace for your happiness
and that of the congregations committed to your care.

(Signed) G<*. Washington.

City op New Haven, Oct. 17, 1789.

Address of the Coxgregational Church and Society at Medway
(formerly St. John^s Parish), State of Georgia.

To the President of the United States.
Sir:—

We feel ourselves happy in the opportunity of expressing our attach-
ment to your person, and our peculiar pleasure in your election, by the
unanimous voice of your country, to the Presidency of the United
States.

Though situated in the extreme part of the Union, we have gratefully
to acknowledge that we already experience the i:)ropitious influence of
your wise and parental administration. To the troops stationed on our
frontiers by your order, and to the treaty lately concluded with the
Creek nation under your auspices, we are indebted, under Providence,
for our perfect tranquillity. The hatchet is now buried, and we smoke
with our Indian neighbors the calumet of peace. This, while it affords
us a happy presage of our future protection, gives us, at the same time,
a recent proof how justly you have secured, in your civil as well as mili-
tary capacity, the glorious title of Father of your country. With the
laurel, then, be pleased to accept the civic wreath from a grateful
IDeople.

We can readily conceive how arduous must be the duties, how weighty
and complicated the cares, of office in the government of so extensive a
republic as that over which you preside. Impressed with a deep sense
of this, we will not fail to implore the Divine blessing in your behalf.
May you continue to be directed by that wisdom from above which is
necessary to the successful discharge of the duties of your high and
responsible position ! and may you be preserved the favored instrument
of Heaven to secure to a free people those invaluable rights which you
so eminently contributed to rescue from the hand of oppression !

Distant as our situation is from the seat of government, permit us to
assure you that our influence, however inconsiderable in the national
scale, shall not be wanting in encouraging submission to the laws of the
United States, and thus, under God, perpetuating the blessings of our
efficient Federal Government, now so happily established.

James Maxwell,
Danl. Stewart,
Abiel Holmes,
Henry Wood,
Jno. p. Mann.
Committee of the Church and Society.
Medway, Liberty County, May 12, 1791.

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOXS OF THE UNITED STATES. 431

ANSWER.
Gentlemen : —

I learn with gratitude proportioned to the occasion your attachment
to my person, and the pleasure you express on my election to the Pre-
sidency of the United States.

Your sentiments on the happy influence of our equal government
impress me with the most sensible satisfaction. They vindicate the
great interests of humanity, they reflect on the liberal minds that en-
tertain them, and they promise the continuance and improvement of
that tranquillity which is essential to the welfare of nations and the
hapi^iness of men.

You overrate my best exertions when you ascribe to them the bless-
ings which our country so eminently enjoys. From the gallantly and
fortitude of her citizens, under the auspices of Heaven, America has
derived her independence. To their industiy and the natural advan-
tages of the country she is indebted for her prosperous situation. From
their virtue she may expect long to share the protection of a free and
equal government, which their wisdom has established and which expe-
rience justifies as admirably adapted to our social wants and individual
felicity.

Continue, my fellow-citizens, to cultivate the peace and harmony
which now subsist between you and your Indian neighbors : the
happy consequence is immediate ; the reflection which arises in justice
and benevolence will be lastingly grateful. A knowledge of your hap-
piness will lighten the cares of my station, and be among the most
pleasing of their rewards.

G. "Wasuington.

The Presbyterian Church

In the United States lias a noble history in the annals of civil
and religious liberty. Its American origin began in 1703. Its
form of Chnrch-government is that of a representative repub-
lican government. Each church has its representatives, clerical
and lay, in all its ecclesiastical courts, and the members are the
source of all power, from the lowest to the highest judicatory.
It resembles in its Church-government the civil government
of the nation; and it is supposed that the framers of the
Federal Constitution had before them the written manual of tho
Presbyterian Church and consulted and studied its ecclo.-iastical
structure.

The first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church met
in 1789, in Philadelphia, the same year, and tho same month but
one, in which tho Constitution went into operation ; and both
forms of government had a contemporaneous origin. George
Washington was President of tho civil government, and Kov.

432 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

John Eoclgers, a distinguislied patriot; and an intimate friend
and adviser of Washington, was Moderator of the General As-
sembly of the Presbyterian Church. At the close of the war,
there were one hundred and forty ministers and three hundred
Presbyterian churches in the United States. The history of
that grand era of freedom bears ample testimony to the patriot-
ism of the Presbyterian Church and the distinguished part
which it took in the cause of liberty and in achieving the inde-
pendence of the nation.

'^ The first public voice in America," says Bancroft, '' for dis-
solving all connection with Great Britain, came not from the
Puritans of ISTew England, the Dutch of New York, nor from
the planters of Virginia, but from the Scotch-Irish Presbyte-
rians." The Convention of Mecklenburg county, North Caro-
lina, met in Charlotteville, May, 1775, and was composed
mainly of Presbyterian ministers, elders, and members. A
committee was appointed to draft a declaration of independence
for North Carolina, which was prepared and adopted on the
31st of May, 1775, more than a year before that declared by
the united colonies. The two following were the main resolu-
tions of that convention of Christian patriots : —

Resolved, That we do hereby declare ourselves a free and independent
people, — are, and of right ought to be, a sovereign and self-governing
association, under the control of no power other than that of our God
and the General Government of the Congress, to the maintenance of
vrhich independence we solemnly pledge to each other our mutual
co-operation, our lives, our fortunes, and our most sacred honor.

Resolved, That every member present of this delegation shall be a
" committee-man, to preserve peace and union and harmony and to
use exertions to spread the love of country and fire of freedom through-
out America, until a more general organized government be established
in this province.^'

^' To these men," says Dr. Piddle, '' we are indebted for the
germs of our civil liberties and institutions. The spark of
liberty, afterwards fanned to a flame in the halls of Congress,
came first from these altars. In origin it was a sacred fire,
more sacred than the vestal fires of old. It is now shining as
the guiding light of bewildered nations in their perilous path-
way to their predestinated privileges."

The Presbyterians of North Carolina were valiant and
devoted in the cause of freedom. Descended from the Cove-

CIVIL IXSTITUTI02sS OF THE UNITED STATES. 433

nanters of Scotland and Ireland, they possessed in their fulness
and purity the principles of their noble ancestors, "and planted
deeply in the interior of that ^province the acorns of civil
freedom, which had grown to unyielding oaks, strong and
defiant, when the Eevolution broke out." Those noble Chris-
tian men, "having first learned the lessons of freedom from the
Bible, had its life and power freshened from the pure mountain
air, and learned lessons of independence from the w^orks and
creatures of God around them."

In the route traversed by General Greene and his army
when retreating from Cornwallis in 1778, " there were above
twenty organized churches, with large congregations, and a
great many preaching-places. All of these congregations,
where the principles of gospel independence had been faithfully
preached by McAden, Patillo, Caldwell, McCorkle, Hall, Craig-
head, Batch, McCaule, Alexander, and Richardson, were famous,
during the struggle of the Eevolution, for skirmishes, battles,
prowess, individual courage, and heroic women. In no part of
our republic was purer patriotism displayed than here."

The Presbytery of Hanover, in a memorial presented to the
Legislature of Virginia, in 1776, subsequent to the adoption of
the Declaration of Independence, expressed their patriotism as
follows : —

" Your memoriahsts arc governed by the same sentiments
which have inspired the United States of America, and are
determined that nothing in our power or influence shall be
wanting to give success to the common cause. We would also
represent that dissenters from the Church of England, in this
country, have ever been desirous to conduct themselves as
peaceable members of the civil government, for which reason
they have hitherto submitted to several ecclesiastical burdens
and restrictions that are inconsistent with equal liberty. But
now, when the many and grievous oppressions of the mother-
country have laid this continent under the necessity of casting
off the yoke of tyranny and of forming independent govern-
ments upon equitable and liberal foundations, we flatter our-
pelvea we shall bo freed from all the encumbrances wliich a
spirit of domination, prejudice, or bigotry hath interwoven with
our political systems. This wo are the more strongly encouraged
to expect by the Declaration of Rights, so universally applauded
for tho dignity, firmness and precision with which it delineates

2S

434 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

and asserts tlie privileges of society and the prerogatives of
human nature, and which we embrace as the magna charta of
our commonwealth, that cannot be violated without endanger-
ing the grand superstructure it was destined to sustain."

The following pastoral letter from the Synod of New York
and Philadelphia to the congregations under their ,care, read
in every pulpit on the 20th of July, 1776, being the day ap-
pointed by the Honorable Congress for a general fast, presents
the patriotism of the American Presbyterian Church in a noble
attitude : —

Very Dear Brethren: —

The Synod of New York and Philadelphia, being met at a time when
publick affairs wear a threatening asjDect, and when (unless God in his
sovereign providence speedily prevent it) all the horrours of a civil war
throughout this great continent are to be apprehended, were of opinion
that they could not discharge their duty to the numerous congregations
under their care without addressing them at this important crisis.

As the firm belief and habitual recollection of the power and pre-
sence of the living God ought at all times to possess the minds of real
Christians, so in seasons of public calamity, when the Lord is known
by the judgements which lie executeth, it would be an ignorance or an
indifference highly criminal, not to look up to him with reverence, to
implore his mercy by humble and fervent prayer, and, if possible, to
j)revent his vengeance by unfeigned repentance.

We do, therefore, brethren, beseech you, in the most earnest manner,
to look beyond the immediate authors either of your sufferings or fears,
and to acknowledge the holiness and justice of the Almighty in the pre-
sent visitation. He is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his
works. Affliction springeth not out of the dust. He doth not afflict
willingly, nor grieve the children of men ; and therefore it becometh
every person, family, city, and province, to humble themselves before
his throne, to confess their sins, by which they have provoked his
indignation, and entreat him to pour out upon all ranks a spirit of re-
pentance and prayer. Fly, also, for forgiveness to the atoning blood of
the great Redeemer, — the blood of sprinkling which speaketh better
things than that of Ahel. Remember and confess not only your sins in
general, but those prevalent national offences which may justly be con-
sidered as the procuring causes of publick judgements, particularly pro-
faneness and contempt of God, his name, sanctuary, sabbath, — pride,
luxury, uncleanness, and neglect of family religion and government,
with the deplorable ignorance and security which certainly ought to be
imputed to this as their principal cause. All these are among us highly
aggravated by the inestimable privileges which we have hitherto enjoyed,
without interrui)tion, since the first settlement of this country. If in
the present day of distress we expect that God will hear our suppli-
cations and interpose for our protection and deliverance, let us re-
member what he himself requires of us is, that our prayers should be

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 435

attonded with a sincere purpose and thorough endeavour after personal
and family reformation. "If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch
out thine hand towards him: if iniquity be in thy hand, put it far
away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.'' Job xi. 13, 14.

The Synod cannot help thinking that this is a proper time for press-
ing all, of every rank, seriously to consider the things that belong to
their eternal peace. Hostilities, long feared, have now taken place ; the
.sword has been drawn in one i:)rovince, and the whole continent, with
hardly any exception, seem determined to defend their rights by force
of arms. If, at the same time, the British ministry shall continue to
enforce their claims by violence, a lasting and bloody contest must be
expected. Surely, then, it becomes those who have taken up arms, and
profess a willingness to hazard their lives in the cause of liberty, to be
prepared for death, which to many must be the certain, and to every
one is a possible or probable, event.

We have long seen with concern the circumstances which occasioned,
and the gradual increase of, this unhappy difference. As ministers of
the gospel of peace, we have ardently wished that it could, and often
hoiked that it would, have been more easily accommodated. It is well
known to you (otherwise it would be imprudent, indeed, thus publickly
to profess) that we have not been instrumental in inflaming the minds
of the jjeople or urging them to acts of violence and disorder. Per-
haps no instance can be given on so interesting a subject, in whicli poli-
tical sentiments have been so long and so fully kept from the pulpit;
and even malice itself has not charged us with laboring from the press.
But things are now come to such a state that we do not wish to conceal
our opinions as men and citizens ; so the relation we stand to you seemed
to make the si)ecial improvement of it to your spiritual improvement
an indispensable duty. Suffer us, then, to lay hold of your present
temper of mind, and to exhort especially the young and vigorous, by
assuring them that there is 7iO sohlirr so iindaunU'd as the pious 7na7i, no armt/
so formidaU.c as those xoho are superior to the fear of death. There is nothing
more awful to think of than that those whose trade is war should be de-
spiscrs of tlie name of the Lord of Hosts, and that they should expose
themselves to the imminent danger of being immediately sent from
cursing and cruelty on earth to the blasjjhcming rage an<l despairing
horroiir of the infernal pit. Let, therefore, every one who. from a
generosity of spirit or benevolence of heart, offers himself as a chamj»ion
in his country's cause, l)e j)ersua<led to revirence tiie name and walk
in the fear of the J'rinee of the kings of the earth: and then lie may
with the most unshaken linnness expect the is.sue either in victory or
death.

Let it not be forL'otten that tliough, for th<' wise en<l<of his pnn-idence,
it may please (ioti for a season to sutler liis pe«)ple to lie under un-
merited oppression, yet, in general, we may expect that those who
fear nnd serve him in sincerity and truth will be favored with his
rounteminco nnd strength. It is both the eharacter and ti»e juivilego
of tlie <-hildren of (i>d that tliey call upon him in tho day of trouble,
and lie, who keepeth eovenant and truth for.'Ver, has sai«i that his oars
an; always (.pen to their ( ry. W»< neeil not nieution to y<iU in how

436 CimiSTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

many instances the event of battles, and success in war, have turned
upon circumstances which were inconsiderable in themselves, as well as
out of the power of human prudence to foresee or direct ; because we
suppose you firmly believe that, after all the counsels of men, and the
most probable and jiromising means, the Lord will do that which seemeth
him good. Nor hath his promise ever failed of its fvill accomplishment.
" The Lord is with you while ye be with him ; and if ye seek him,
he will be found of you ; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you."
2 Chron. xv. 2.

After this exhortation, Avhich we thought ourselves called upon to give
you at this time, on your great interest, — the one thing needful, — we shall
take the liberty to offer a few advices to the societies under our charge, as
to their publick and general conduct. And, first, in carrying on this im-
portant struggle, let every opportunity be taken to express your attach-
ment and respect to our Sovereign King George, and the Eevolution
principles by which his august family was seated on the British throne.
We recommend, indeed, not only allegiance to him from duty and
principle, as the first magistrate of the empire, but esteem and reve-
rence for the person of the prince, who has merited well of his subjects
on many accounts, and who has probably been misled into the late and
present measures by those about him. Neither have we any doubt that
they themselves have been in a great degree deceived by false inform-
ation from interested persons residing in America. It gives us the greatest
pleasure to say, from our own certain knowledge of all belonging to our
communion, and from the best means of information of \h.e far greatest part
of all denominations in this country, that the present opposition to the mea-
sures of the Administration does not in the least arise from disaffection
to the king, or a desire of separation from the parent State. We are
happy in being able with truth to affirm that no part of America would
either have approved or permitted such insults as have been offered to
tlie sovereign of Great Britain. We exhort you, therefore, to continue
m the same disposition, and not to suffer oppression or injury itself
easily to provoke you to any thing which may seem to betray contrary
sentiments. Let it ever appear that jon only desire the preservation
and security of those rights which belong to you as freemen and Britons,
and that reconciliation upon these terms is your most ardent desire.

Secondly, Be careful to maintain the union which at present subsists
through the colonies. Nothing can be more manifest than that the
success of every measure depends on its being inviolably preserved ;
and therefore we hope that you will leave nothing undone that will
promote that end. In particular, as the Continental Congress, now sit-
ting in Philadelphia, consists of delegates chosen in the most free and
unbiased manner bj^ the body of the peoi)l«'. let them not only be treated
with respect, but encouraged in their difficult service ; let not only your
prayers be offered up to God for his direction in their proceedings, but
adhere firmly to their resolutions, and let it be seen that they are able
to bring out the whole strength of this vast country to carry them into
execution. We would also advise, for the same purpose, that a spirit
of candour, charity, and mutual esteem be preserved and promoted
towards those of different religious denominations. Persons of probity

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 437

and principle of every profession should be united together as servants
of the same Master ; and the experience of our happy concord hitherto
in a state of liberty should engage all to unite together in support of
the common interest ; for there is no example in history in which civil
liberty was destroyed, and the rights of conscience preserved entire.

Thirdly, We do earnestly exhort and beseech the societies under our
care to be strict and vigilant in their private government, and to watch
over the morals of their several members. It is with the utmost plea-
sure we remind you that the last Continental Congress determined to
discourage luxury in living, public diversions, and gaming of all kinds,
which have so fatal an influence on the morals of the people. If it is
undeniable that unusual profligacy makes a nation rijje for divine
judgments and is the national means of bringing them to ruin, reforma-
tion of manners is of the utmost necessity in our present distress. At
the same time, as it has been observed by many eminent writers that
the censorial power, which had for its object the manners of the pub-
lick in the ancient free states, was absolutely necessary to their continu-
ance, we cannot help being of opinion that the only thing which we
have now to supply the place of this is the religious discipline of the
several sects with respect to their own members ; so that the denomi-
nation or profession which shall take the most effectual care of the
instruction of its members, and maintain its discipline in its fullest
vigour, will do the most essential service to the whole body. For the
very same reason, the greatest service which magistrates or persons in
authority can do with respect to the religion or morals of the j^eople, is
to defend and secure the rights of conscience in the most equal and
impartial manner.

Fourthhj, We cannot but recommend, and urge in the warmest man-
ner, a regard to order and public peace; and as, in many cases, during
the confusions that prevail, legal proceedings have become dillicult, it i«
hoped that all jiersons will conscientiously pay their just debts, and to
the utmost of their power serve one another, so that the evils insepar
rable from a civil war may not be augmented by wantonness and irre-
j/ularity.

FijVihj, We think it of imiwrttmce at this time to recommend to all
of every rank, but especially to those who may be called to action, a
bpirit of humanity and mercy. ''Every battle of the warrior is with
confused noise, and garments rolled in bloo<l," It is impossible toajtpeal
to the sword without being exposed to many scenes of cruelty and
slaughter; but it is often observed that civil wars are carried on with a
lancour and sj)iiit of revenge much greater than those between inde-
pendent states. The injuries received or supposed in civil wars woun<l
more decjjly than those of foreign enemies ; it is therefore tlie more
necessary to guard against this abuse, and recommend that meeknesa
and gonth-ness of spirit which is the noblest attentlant of true valor.
That man will fight most bravely who never fights until it is ntM<ossary,
and who ceases to tight when the nrcossity is over.

[Atsthj, Wo wouhl rt'comnKiid to all the societies inidor our care, not
to ront<?nt thiMnsrlv.s with attinding di'voutly on giiirral fasts, but to
continue habitually in the exercise of prayi-r, and to J»uve fretjucut

438 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

occasional voluntary meetings for solemn intercession with God on tlie
important trial. Those who are immediately exposed to danger need!
your sympathy ; and we learn from the Scriptures that fervency and
^nportunity are the very characteristics of that prayer of the righteous
man which availeth much.

We conclude with our most earnest prayer tfcat the G(yd of heaven
may bless you in your temporal and spiritual concerns, and that the
present unnatural dispute may be speedily terminated by an equitable
and lasting settlement on constitutional principles.

Signed in the name, presence, and by appointment of the Synod.

Benjamix Hait, Moderator,

New York, Maj- 12, 1T75.

After peace was concluded, the Synod of New York and
Philadelphia addressed a pastoral letter to the people under
their charge^ as follows : —

Vert Dear Brethren : —

You will remember that in May, 1775, the Synod thought proper to
address a pastoral letter to the jjeople under their inspection, on the
state of public affaii^. At that interesting period, hostilities had just
commenced between Great Britain and America, and a long and bloody
conflict was to be expected. Now that conflict is over, and we have the
best reason to suppose (the preliminaries being signed and ratified) that
a happy and honorable peace will be speedily settled by a definite treaty.
We could not, therefore, longer delay addressing to you the following
letter, which will contain our sentiments on this happy occasion, and our
advice as to the duty incumbent upon all ranks in return for so great a
mercy.

We cannot help congratulating you on the general and almost uni-
versal attachment of the Presbyterian body to the cause of liberty and
the rights of mankind. This has been visible in their conduct, and has
been confessed by the comi:)laints and resentments of the common
enemy. Such a circumstance ought not only to afford us satisfaction in
the review, as bringing credit to the body in general, but to increase
our gratitude to God for the happy issue of the war. Had it been
unsuccessful, we must have drank deeply of the cup of suffering. Our
burnt and wasted churches and our plundered dwellings, in such places
as fell under the power of our adversaries, are but an earnest of what
we must have suffered had they finally prevailed.

The Synod, therefore, request you to render thanks to Almighty God
for all his mercies, temporal and spiritual, and, in a particular manner,
for establishing the indej)endeiice of the United States of America. He
is the Supreme disposer of all events, and to him belong the glory, the
victory, and the majesty. We are persviaded you will easily recollect
many circumstances in the course of the struggle which point out his
special and signal interposition in our favor. Our most remarkable
successes have generally been when things had just before worn tlie
most unfavorable aspect ; as at Trenton and Saratoga at the beginning.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 439

in South Carolina and Virginia toward the end, of the war. It pleased
God to raise up for us a powerful ally in Europe ; and when we con^
sider the unwearied attempts of our enemies to raise dissensions by
every topic that could be supposed inflammatory and popular, the har-
mony that has prevailed, not only between the allied powers, but the
troops of different nations and languages, acting together, ought to be
ascribed to the gracious influence of Divine Providence. Without men-
tioning many other instances, we only further put you in mind of the
choice of the commander-in-chief of the armies of the United States,
who is alike acceptable to the citizen and soldier, to the State in which he
was born, and to every other on the continent ; whose character and in-
fluence, after so long a service, are not only unimpaired, but augmented.
Of what consequence this has been to the cause of America, every one
may judge ; or, if it needs any illustration, it receives it from the oppo-
site situation of our enemies in this respect. On the whole, every pious
person, on a review of the events of the war, will certainly be disposed
to say, with the Psalmist, " The Lord hath done great things for us,
whereof we are glad."

Suffer us to put you in mind of the duty you owe to God in return for
this great national deliverance. You ought to testify your gratitude by
living in his fear. This is the only way by which public jDrosperity can
become a real mercy to you. It were to be wished, indeed, that, in our
contests about the most important interests of a temporal nature, we
could still remember not only that eternity is of greater moment than
any thing that relates merely to the present life, but that all outward
things, even civil liberty, ought to be considered as subordinate and
subservient to everlasting happiness. It would not be an honor to us to
be wholly unconcerned about the rights of ourselves and others, as men
and as citizens ; yet the great part of our duty, and we hope of our de-
sires, is to watch for your souls as those that must give an account to God.
We therefore earnestly beseech every one who is nominally of our com-
munion, not to be satisfied with the form of godliness, denying the
power thereof. The substance of religion is the same to all denomina-
tions ; neither is there any preference due to one before another but in
so far as it has superior advantages in leading men to the saving know-
ledge of the only living and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath
sent, whom " to know is life eternal."

There is no doubt that you look upon it as a happy circumstance in
the late Revolution, that the rights of conscience are inalienably secured,
and even interwoven with the very constitutions of the several States.
The duty which you owe to the community at largo for this inestimablo
blessing is to support civil authority, by being subject not only " for
wrath, but also for conscience' sake," and by living " cjuiet and j»t'aooablo
lives in all godliness and honesty." It is a truth of nuuli moment, and
particularly to be remembered at this time, not only that the virtue of
the people in general is of more conscciuence to the stability of republic^*,
or free Htatos, than those of a ditt'erent kind. In monarchies, a sense
of honor, th«^ subordination of rank in society, and the rigor of des-
potic authority, supply in some measure the place of virtue, in pro-
ducing public order; but in free states, where the power is ultimately

440 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

lodged in the body of the people, if there is a general corruption of
the mass, the government itself must speedily be dissolved.

You cannot but have observed that the war has occasioned great
irregularity and relaxation as to the observance of the Sabbath and
attendance on public ordinances. In some places congregations are
broken up ; in some places, for a considerable time, attendance was
difficult, dangerous, or impossible. The public service, also, which
made some things really necessary, was often made a i^retence for irre-
gularity when no necessity existed. It is, therefore, your duty, now
that peace and harmony have returned, to revive and restore the re-
spect due to the Sabbath and the worship of God's sanctuary. The
regular administration of divine ordinances is a blessing that cannot be
too highly valued or purchased at too great a price. We hope, there-
fore, that you will in general exert yourselves and do every thing in
your power that will serve to promote so noble a purpose.

Be cheerful and liberal in assisting to educate pious youth for the
ministry. Let vacant congregations be active and diligent to supply
themselves with fixed pastors, and let those who have fixed pastors
strengthen their hands in their Master's work, not onl}^ by obedience
in the Lord, but by making such provision for their comfortable sub-
sistence as that their duty may be practicable. We make this demand
clearly and explicitly, because it is founded upon the plainest reason, —
upon the word of God, — upon general or common utility, and your own
interest, — and make no doubt that wherever there is true religion it
will be heard and complied with.

We look upon it as a very happy circumstance in the political revolution
that has happened in America, that neither in its rise nor progress was
it intermixed with or directed by religious controversy. No denomination
of Christians among us have any reason to fear oppression or restraint,
or any power to oppress others. We therefore recommend charity, for-
bearance, and mutual service. Let the great and only strife be, who
shall love the Redeemer most, and who shall serve him with the greatest
zeal. We recommend the strict exercise of discipline to the societies
under our care. Let us not seek to increase our numbers by relaxation,
but to justify the excellence of our principles by the inoffensive exam-
ple and holy conversation of those who embrace them. The ultimate
trial of religious truth is by its moral influence : therefore, as he is
undoubtedly the best husbandman who raises the richest crops, so
those are the best principles which make the best men. This is the
great rule laid down by our Saviour, — " By their fruits ye shall know
them.'^ By order.

Philadelphia, May, 1783. Johx McCrery, Moderator.

Address of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the
United States.

To the President of the United States.
Sir:—

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United
States of America embrace the earliest opportunity in their power to

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 441

testify the lively and unfeigned pleasure which they, with the rest of
their fellow-citizens, felt on your appointment to the first office in the
nation.

We adore Almighty God, the author of every perfect gift, who hath
endued you with such a rare and happy assemblage of talents as hath
rendered you equally necessary to your country in war and in peace.
Your military achievements insured safety and glory to America in
the late arduous conflict for freedom, whilst your disinterested conduct
and uniformly just discernment of the public interests gained you the
entire confidence of the people ; and, in the present interesting period
of public aflairs, the influence of your personal character moderates
the divisions of political parties and promises a permanent establish-
ment of the civil government. From a retirement more glorious to
you than thrones and sceptres, you have been called to your present
elevated station by the voice of a great and free people, and with an
unanimity of suffrages that has few, if any, examples in history. A
man more ambitious of fame, or less devoted to his country, w^ould
have refused an office in which his honors could not be augmented and
where they might possibly be subject to a reverse.

We are happy that God hath inclined your heart to give yourself
once more to the public ; and we derive a favorable presage of the
event from the zeal of all classes of the people and their confidence in
your virtues, as well as from the knowledge and dignity with which the
sacred councils are filled. But we derive a presage even more flattering
from the piety of your character. Public virtue is the most certain
mean of public felicity, and religion is the surest basis of virtue. We
therefore esteem it a peculiar happiness to behold in our Chief Miv-
gistrate a steady, uniform, avowed friend of the Christian religion, who
has commenced his administration in rational and exalted sentiments
of piety, and who in his private conduct adorns the doctrines of the
gospel of Christ, and on the most public and solemn occasions devoutly
acknowledges the government of Divine Providence.

The example of distinguished cliaracters will ever possess a powerful
and extensive influence on the public mind; and when we see in such
a conspicuous station the amiable example of piety to God, of bene-
volence to men, and of a pure and virtuous patriotism, we naturally
hope it will diffuse its influence, and that eventually the most haj^py
consequences will result from it. To the force of imitation we will
endeavor to add the wholesome instructions of religion. Wo sliull
consider ourselves as doing an acceptable service to God in our pn>-
fession when we contribute to render men sober, lionest, and indus-
trious citizens, and the obedient subjects of a lawful governmoiit. In
tlieso pious labors we hope to imitate the most worthy of our brethren
of otlier Christian denominations, and to be imitated by tht^n. jissured
that, if we can, by mutual and generous enuilation. i>n>ni<)te tnilh Jiud
virtue, we shall rmder «-s>««ntial service to the roi>ublic. wo sludl receive
encouragement from i'vrvy wise and good citizen, and, above all, meet
tho approltiition of our hiviiio Master.

We pray Almighty Gud to have y<tu always in his holy keeping. May
he i)rolong your valuabl.' Wfv un oruaiiKut and a blessing to your coun-

44:2 CHRISTIAN LIFE AXD CHARACTEPw OF THE

try, and at last bestow on you the glorious reward of a faithful
servant.

JBy order of the General Assembly.

JoHx RoDGERS, Moderator.
Philadelphia, May 26, 1789.

ANSWER.

To the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States.
Gentlemen : —

I receive with great sensibility the testimonial given hj the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
of the lively and unfeigned pleasure experienced by them on my ap-
pointment to the first office of the nation.

Although it will be my endeavor to avoid being elated by the too
favorable opinion which your kindness for me may have induced you
to express of the importance of my former conduct and the effect of
my future services, yet, conscious of the disinterestedness- of my motives,
it is not necessary for me to conceal the satisfaction I have felt upon
finding that my compliance with the call of my country, and my de-
pendence on the assistance of Heaven to support me in my arduous
undertakings, have, so far as I can learn, met the universal approbation
of my countrymen.

While I reiterate the professions of my dependence upon Heaven, as
the source of all public and private blessings, I will observe that the
general prevalence of piety, philanthropy, honesty, industry, and
economy, seems, in the ordinary course of human affairs, particularly
necessary for advancing and confirming the happiness of our country.
While all men within our territories are protected in worshipping the
Deity according to the dictates of their consciences, it is rational to be
expected of them in return that they all will be emulous of evincing
the sincerity of their professions by the innocence of their lives and
the beneficence of their actions ; for no man who is profligate in his
morals, or a bad member of the civil commonwealth, can possibly be a
true Christian or a credit to his own religious society.

I desire you to accept my acknowledgments for your laudable endea-
vors to render men sober, honest, and good citizens and the obedient
subjects of a lawful government, as well as for your prayers to Almighty
Ood for his blessing on our country and the humble instrument he has
been pleased to make use of in the administration of its government.

G. Washington.

Address of the First Presbytery Eastward, in Massachusetts and
New Hampshire.

To George Washington, President of the United States.
Sir:—

We, the ministers and ruling elders delegated to represent the
churches in Massachusetts and New Hampshire which compose the
First Presbytery Eastward, now holding a stated session in this town,
beg leave to approach your presence with genuine feelings of the
deepest veneration and highest esteem.

CIVIL I^'STITUTIOXS OF THE U^s'ITED STATES. 443

In union with rejoicing millions, we felicitate our country and our-
selves on your unanimous election to the highest office a nation can
bestow, and on your acceptance of the trust with every evidence which
a citizen can give of being actuated thereto by the purest principles of
patriotism, of piety, and of self-denial.

Great was the joy of our hearts to see the late tedious and destructive
war at length terminated in a fair and honorable peace, — to see the
liberty and independence of our country happily secured, — to see wise
constitutions of civil government peaceably establish^ in the several
States, — and especially to see a confederation of them all finally agreed
on by the general voice.

But, amid all our joys, we ever contemplated with regret the want of
efficiency in the Federal Government: we ardently wished for a form
of Natioxal Un'iox which should draw the cord of amity more closely
around the several States, — which should concentrate their interests,
and reduce the freemen of America to one great body, ruled by one head
and animated by one soul.

And now we devoutly offer our humble tribute of praise and thanks-
giving to the all-gracious Father of Lights, who has inspired our public
councils with a wisdom and firmness which have effected that desirable
purpose in so great measure by the National Coyisiituiion, and who has
fixed the eyes of all America on you, as the worthiest of their citizens
to be intrusted with the execution of it.

Whatever any have supposed wanting in the original phm, we are
happy to see so wisely provided in its amendments ; and it is witli pecu-
liar satisfaction that we behold how easily the entire confidence of the
people in the man who sits at the helm of government has eradicated
every remaining objection to its form.

Among these we never considered the want of a religious test, that
grand engine of persecution in every tyrant's hand ; but we should not
liave been alone in rejoicing to have seen some explicit acknowledgment
of THE ONLY TRUE GoD, AND Jesus Christ ivhom he has sent, inserted some-
where in the Magna Charta of our country.

Under the nurturing liand of a Ruler of such virtues, and one so
deservedly revered by all ranks, we joyfully indulge the hope that virtue
and religion will revive and flourish, that infidelity and the vices ever
attendant in its train will be banished every polite circle, and that
national piety will soon become fasliionable there, and from thence be
dirtused among all ranks in the community.

Newui KV l'i»UT, Oct. 28, 178U.

THE ANSWER.
Gknti.emkv : —

The afi'.'ctionate welcome which you are ])loased to give um- to the
KiistiM-n parts of the Uniofi would leave nie without excu:>o did 1 fail to
ueknowledgo the sensibility which it awakens, and to express the mo6t
Bineero returns that a grateful sense of your goodness can suggest.

To bo approved by the praiseworthy, is a wish as becoming to the
ambitiou.s as its conscrjuenco is fluttering to our self-love.

444 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEE OF THE

I am, indeed, much indebted for the favorable sentiments which j^ou
entertain towards me, and it will be my study to deserve them.

The tribute of thanksgiving which you offer to the gracious Father op
Lights, for his inspiration of our public councils with wisdom and
firmness to complete the National Constitution, is worthy of men who,
devoted to the pious purposes of religion, desire their accomplishment
by such means as advance the temporal haj)i3iness of their fellow-men.
And here, I am persuaded, you will j)ermit me to observe that the path
of true piety is m plain as to require but little political direction.

To this consideration we ought to ascribe the absence of any regula-
tion respecting religion from the Magna Charta of our country. To the
guidance of the ministers of the gospel this imi)ortant object is, per-
haps more properly, committed. It will be j^our care to instruct the
ignorant and to reclaim the devious. And in the progress of morality
and science, to which our Grovernment will give every furtherance, we
may confidently expect the advancement of true religion and the com-
pletion of our happiness.

I pray the munificent Eewarder of Virtue that your agency in this
good work may receive its compensation here and hereafter.

Gr. Washington.

The Peotestakt Episcopal Church

Sliares honorably in tlie labors of liberty during the Eevolution.
Many of the earlier emigrants in various colonies were from the
Church of England; and in Virginia it had been the State
religion. Being under the Episcopal jurisdiction of England,
some of the ministers and churches in the colonies sympathized
with the mother-country ; yet the most distinguished ministers
and influential Episcopal churches were loyal to freedom and
aided in the work of achieving the independence of the nation.
Bishop William White, the father and founder of the Church,
early espoused the cause of the country, and was prominent in
national affairs. He was the first chaplain to Congress, and
was. fearless in his defence of freedom and independence. The
civil councils of the country during the whole period of the
great conflict were represented by eminent and able men from
the Episcopal Church, among whom, as chief, was the pure-
minded and patriotic John Jay. Washington, the great leader
in the Revolution and in the civil councils of his country,— of
whose influence it has been justly said that '^ the tone and cha-
racter of the Revolutionary struggle on the part of the Ameri-
cans were elevated and dignified by the exalted virtue that
Washington brought into association with it," — was a member
and a vestryman of the Episcopal Church. At the time of the

CIVIL IKSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 445

Ke volution there were two hundred and fifty ministers and
three hundred Episcopal churches in the country. As a Pro-
testant Church, their main influence was on the side of liberty.
The following correspondence gives pleasing evidence of this
fact : —

Address of the Co.vventiox of tue Protestant Episcopal Church in
THE States of Ne^v^ York, New Jersev, Pexnsylvania, Delaware,
Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina, held at Philadelphia.

To the President of the United States.
Sir:—

We, the bishops, clergj'', and laity of the Protestant Episcopal Cliurch
in the States of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Mary-
land, Virginia, and South Carolina, in General Convention assembled,
beg leave, with the highest veneration and the most animating national
considerations, at the earliest moment in our power to express our
cordial joy on your election to the chief magistracy of the United
States.

When we contemplate the short but eventful history of our nation, —
when we recollect the series of essential services rendered by you in the
course of the Revolution, the temperate yet efficient exercise of the
mighty powers with which the nature of the contest made it necessary
to invest you, — and especially when we remember the voluntary and
magnanimous relinquishment of those high authorities at tlio moment
of peace, we anticipate the happiness of our country- under your luture
administration.

But it was not alone from a successful and virtuous use of those
extiaor<linary powers that you were called from your honorable retire-
ment to the first dignities of our government. An affectionate admira-
tion of your private character, the impartiality, the persevering forti-
tu<le, and the energy with which your public duties have been per-
formed, and the paternal solicitude for the happiness of the American
poople, together with the wisdom and consummate knowledge of our
atVuirs, manifested in your last military communication, have directed
to your name the universal wi.^, and have produc*'d, for the first time
in the history of mankind, an example of unanimous consent, in the
aj»pointrnent of a governor of a free and enlightened nation.

To these considerations, inspiring us with the most i)leasing expecta-
tions as private citizens, permit us to add that, as the representatives of
a numerous and ext('n<lod Cluirch, we most thankfully rejoice iji the
8«!b*ction of a civil ruler deservedly beloved and eminently distiugnisiuHl
among the friends of genuine religion, who has happily united a tender
regard for otlier Churches with an inviolable attachment to liis own.

With unfeigned satisfaction we congratulate you on the establishment
of tho new constitution of government for tlie United States: tho
miM yet ofllcient operation of" which we eonH«lently trust will remove
every remaining apprehension of those with whose opinions it may not
entirely coincide, and will confirm tho hopes of its numerous frieniLj.
Nor do these expectations appear too sanguine when the moderation.

446 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

patriotism, and wisdom of the honorable members of the federal legis-
lature are duly considered. From a body thus eminently qualified, har-
moniously co-operating with the executive authority in constitutional
concert, we confidently hope for the restoration of order and our
ancient virtues, the extension of genuine religion, and the consequent
advancement of our respectability abroad and of our substantial hap-
piness at home.

We devoutly implore the Supreme Ruler of the Universe to preserve
you long in health and prosj^erity, an animating example of all public
and private virtues, the friend and guardian of a free, enlightened, and
grateful people, and that you may finally receive the reward which will
be given to those whose lives have been spent in promoting the happi-
ness of mankind.

William White,
Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Commonvjealth of
Pennsylvania, and President of the Convention.
Samuel Provost, D.D.,
Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of Nev) YorJc.
(Though prevented by indisposition from attending the late General
Convention, he concurs sincerely in this particular act, and subscribes
the present address with the greatest pleasure.)

Kew York :

Bexjamix Moore, D.D.,

Assistant Minister of Trinity Church, in the City of New York.

Abraham Beach, D.D.,
Assistant Minister of Trinity Church, in the City of New York.
Moses Rogers.
August 1, 1789.

ANSWER.
Gentlemen : —

I sincerely thank you for your affectionate congratulations on my
election to the Chief Magistracy of the United States.

After having received from my fellow-citizens in general the most
liberal treatment, — after having found them disposed to contemplate in
the most flattering jioint of view the performance of my services and
the manner of my retirement at the close of the war, — 1 feel that I
have a right to console myself in my present arduous undertakings
with a hope that they will still be inclined to put the most favorable
construction on the motives which may influence me in my future
public transactions. The satisfaction arising from the indulgent opinion
entertained by the American people of my conduct will, I trust, be
some security from preventing me from doing any thing which might
justly incur the forfeiture of that opinion, and the consideration that
human happiness and moral duties are inseparably connected will
always continue to prompt me to promote the progress of the former
by inculcating the practice of the latter.

On this occasion it would ill become me to conceal the joy I have felt
in perceiving the fraternal aSection which appears to increase every

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOXS OF THE UNITED STATES. 447

day among the friends of genuine religion. It a^brds edifying pros-
pects, indeed, to see Christians of different denominations dwell toge-
ther in more charity, and conduct themselves, in respect to each other,
with a more Christian-like spirit, than ever they ha^'e done in any
former age or in any other nation.

I receive with the greater satisfaction your congratulations on the
establishment of the new constitution of government, because I believe
its mild yet efficient operations will tend to remove every remaining
apprehension of those Avith whose ojtinions it may not entirely coincide,
as well as to confirm the hopes of its numerous friends, and because
the moderation, the patriotism, and the wisdom of the present federal
legislature seem to promise the restoration of order and our ancient
virtues, the extension of genuine religion, and the consequent advance-
ment of our respectability abroad and of our subsequent happiness at
home.

I request, most reverend and respectable gentlemen, that you will
accept my cordial thanks for your devout supplications to the Supreme
Ruler of the universe in behalf of me. May you and the people whom
you represent be the happy subjects of the Divine benedictions both
here and hereafter ! G. "VVasuingtox.

CHAPTER XIX.

BAPTIST CHURCHES — AMEUICAN BAl'TIST CHIRCH FOUXDEP BY ROCER WILLIAMS —
NOBLE RECORD FOR FREEDOM — ADDRESS TO THE CONVENTION OF VIRGINIA IN

1775— Jefferson's tribute to their patriotism — six baptist associations

ADDRESS JEFFERSON — ADDRESS OF THE BAPTIST CHURCHES OF VIRGINIA TO

WASHINGTON — HIS ANSWER METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH — FORM OF

CHURCH-GOVERNMENT AMERICAN ORIGIN OF THE METHODIST CHURCH — COKK

— ASBURY — WESLEY FIRST CONFERENCE IN NEW YORK — ITS ADDRESS TO

WASHINGTON — HIS ANSWER — RILE OF DISCIPLINE CONCERNING CIVIL GOVERN-
MENT— METHODIST MEN IN THE CONVENTION THAT FORMED THE CONSTITUTION
— QUAKERS — HISTORY — THEIR CONDUCT IN THE REVOLUTION — ADDRESS OP
YEARLY MEETING TO WAS1IIN(JT0N.

The Baptist Church

Ilaa in its American and English liistory a iii*i'i*' r.> aJ in
favor of freedom and free in.stitiitions. The great conllicts of
the Reformation under Luther brought them into existence as
an ecclesiastical body, and at all times and in all nations they
have been loyal to civil and religious liberty. In England,
their faith and fi*cedom-loving principles led them, with the

448 CHEISTIAX LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Puritans and Independents, to separate from the Cliurcli of
England, and to seal, as many did, their devotion to truth
by a martyr's death.

Eoger Williams, of Ehode Island, was the founder of the
Baptist Church in America. In 1638 he formed a church in
Providence : so that the labors of this denomination date from
the first era of the Christian history of the country. He had
the honor first in this country to enunciate and incorporate into
a civil constitution the principle that ''the civil power has no
jurisdiction over the conscience. The civil magistrate should
restrain crime, but never control opinion, — ^should punish guilt,
but never violate the soul." " It became his glory," says Ban-
croft, " to found a state on that principle ; and its application has
given religious peace to the American world." A writer in the
" Baptist Eeview," January, 1856, says that '^ the great prin-
ci-ple of freedom of conscience in religious matters did not,
however, originate with the Baptists of Ehode Island. In the
religious conflicts of the Old AYorld, this denomination enun-
ciated this fundamental law in civil and religious matters. Their
Confession of Faith, in 1614, declares ' that the magistrate is
not to meddle with religion or matters of conscience, nor compel
men to this or that form of religion, because Christ is the King
and Lawgiver of the Church.' "

Educated in these first principles of Christianity and civil
liberty, the Baptist churches were fully prepared to enter the
arena of freedom and to maintain, in all their integrity, the
great principles of the Eevolution. There, were at the time
of the Eevolution three hundred and fifty ministers and three
hundred and eighty Baptist churches in this country, all of
whom were loyal to the cause of freedom. Cotton Mather says
of the Baptist churches in Massachusetts that they were " as
holy, watchful, fruitful, and heavenly people as perhaps any in
the world."

The following address occurs in the annals of the Virginia
Convention of August, 1775 : —

Wednesday, August 16, 1775.
An address from the Baptists of this colony was presented the Conven-
tion, and read ; setting forth that, however distinguished from the body
of their countrymen by appelatives and sentiments of a religious nature,
they nevertheless consider themselves as members of the same commu-
nity in respect to matters of a civil nature, and embarked in the same
common cause j that, alarmed at the opj)ression which hangs over

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 449

America, they had considered what part it would be proper to take in
the unhai3py contest, and had determined that in some cases it was lawful
to go to war, and that they ought to make a military resistance against
Great Br'Uain in her unjust invasions, tyrannical oppression, and repeated
hostilities ; that their brethren were left at discretion to enlist, without
incurring the censure of their religious communities, and, under these
circumstances, many of them had enlisted as soldiers, and many more
were ready to do so. Who had earnestly desired their ministers should
preach to them during the campaign : they, therefore, had appointed
four of their brethren to make api)lication to the Convention for the
liberty of preaching to the troops at convenient times, without molesta-
tion and abuse, and praj^ing the same may be granted them.

Rcsolcol, That it be an instruction to the commanding officers of the
regiments or troops to be raised, that they permit Dissenting clergymen
to celebrate divine worshij), and to preach to the soldiers, or exhort,
from time to time, as the various operations of the military service may
permit, for the sake of such scrui)ulous consciences as may not choose
to attend divine service as celebrated by the chaplains. — American
Archives, vol. iii. p. 38.

Jefferson pays the following tribute to tlie patriotism of tlie
Baptist churches, in 1809, in a reply to an address from a Bap-
tist church in Virginia: — "We have acted together from the
origin to the end of the memorable Revolution, and we have
contributed, each in the line allotted us, our endeavors to render
its issue a permanent blessing to our country."

A general meeting of six Baptist Associations was held in
Chesterfield, Virginia, October 7, 1808, who sent a congratu-
latory address to Jefferson. He replies, that, "in reviewing
the history of the times through which we have passed, no
portion of it gives greater satisfaction, on reflection, than that
which presents the efforts of the friends of religious freedom
and the success with which they have been crowned. We have
solved the fair experiment, the great and interesting question,
wliether freedom of religion is compatible with order in govern-
ment and oVicdience to the law." Eeference is here made to
Jefferson's efforts in abolishing State religion in Virginia, and
,tho co-operation of the Baptist churches, — a Christian and
patriotic work on the part of both.

TlIF, AhURF.SS OF THE IJmTI;I) BaI'TIST ClUKtllKS IN ViKiMMA, .\SSEM-
lil.ED I.V TIIK CiTV OF KkhMO.ND, AluIST 8, 17M'.

To (he. Picsiilrnt of thr United States of Anurit\t.

Amonji the many shouts of congratulation that y<^u roceivo from
cities, societies, States, and the wliolo world, we wish lo take an active

2U

450 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

part in the universal chorus, in expressing our satisfaction in your
appointment to the first office in the nation. When America, on a former
occasion, was reduced to the necessity of appealing to arms to defend
her natural and civil rights, a Washington was found fully adequate to
the exigencies of the dangerous attempt, who, by the 23hilanthropy of his
heart and the prudence of his head, led forth her untutored trooj)s into
the field of battle, and by the skilfulness of his hands baffled the pro-
jects of the insulting foe, and pointed out the road to independence,
even at a time when the energy of the cabinet was not sufficient to bring
into action the natural aid of the confederation from its resiDective
sources.

The grand object being obtained, the independence of the States
acknowledged, free from ambition, devoid of sanguine thirst for blood,
our hero returned with those he commanded, and laid down the sword
at the feet of those who gave it him. Such an example to the world
is new. Like other nations, we experience that it requires as great valor
and wisdom to make an advantage of the conquest as to gain one.

The want of efficacy in the confederation, the redundancy of laws,
and their partial administration in the States, called aloud for a new
arrangement of our systems. The wisdom of the States, for that pur-
pose, was collected in a grand convention, over which you, sir, had the
honor to j^reside. A national Government in all its parts was recom-
mended, as the only preservative of the Union, — which plan of govern-
ment is now in actual operation.

When the Constitution first made its appearance in Virginia, we, as a
society, had unusual strugglings of mind, fearing that the liberty of
conscience (dearer to us than property or life) was not sufficiently
secured. Perhaps our jealousies were heightened on account of the
usage we received in Virginia under the regal government, when mobs,
bonds, fines, and prisons were our frequent repast, — convinced, on the
one hand, that without an effective national Government the States
"would fall into disunion and all the consequent evils, and, on the
other hand, fearing we should be accessory to some religious oppres-
sion should any one society in the Union preponderate over all the
rest. But, amidst all the inquietudes of mind, our consolation arose
from this consideration : — the plan must be good, for it bears the signa-
ture of a tried, trusty friend ; and if religious liberty is rather insecure
in the Constitution, the Administration will certainly prevent all
oppression, for a Washington will i)reside. According to our wishes, the
unanimous voice of the Union has called you, sir, from your beloved
retreat, to launch forth again into the faithless sea of human affairs, to
guide the helm of the States. May that Divine munificence which
covered your head in battle make you a yet greater blessing to your
admiring country in time of peace.

Should the horrid evils that have been so pestiferous in Asia and
Europe — faction, ambition, war, perfidy, fraud, and persecution for
conscience' sake — ever approach the borders of our happy nation, may
the name and administration of our beloved President, like the radiant
source of day, scatter all those dark clouds from the American hemi-
sphere.

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOKS OF THE UNITED STATES. 451

And, 'vliile we speak freely the language of our hearts, we are satisfied
that we express the sentiments of our brethren that we represent. The
very name of Washington is music in our ears ; and although the great
evil in the States is want of mutual confidence between rulers and
people, yet Ave all have the utmost confidence in the President of the
States ; and it is our fervent prayer to Almighty God that the Federal
Oovernment, and the Governments of the respective States, without
rivalship, may so co-operate together as to make the numerous people
over whom you preside the happiest nation on earth, and you, sir, the
happiest man, in seeing the people who, by the smiles of Providence,
you saved from vassalage by your martial valor and made wise by your
maxims, sitting securely under their vines and fig-trees, enjoying the
perfection of human felicity. May God long preserve your life and
health for a blessing to the world in general, and the United States in
particular ; and when, like the sun, you have finished your course of
great and uni^aralleled services, and you go the way of all the earth, may
the Divine Being, who will reward every man according to his works,
grant unto you a glorious admission into his everlasting kingdom,
through Jesus Christ. This, sir, is the praj'-er of your happy admirers.

By order of the Committee, Samuel Harris, Chairman,

Reuben Ford, Clerk,

ANSWER,
Oextlbmex : —

I request you will accept my best acknowledgments for your congratu-
lation on my appointment to the first office of the nation. The kind
manner in wliich you mention my past conduct equally claims the
expression of my gratitude.

After we had, by the smiles of Heaven on our exertions, obtained the
object for which we contended, I retired, at the conclusion of the war,
with an idea that my country could have no further occasion for my
services, and with the intention of never again entering into public life;
but, when the exigencies of my country seemed to require me once
more to engage in public affairs, an honest conviction of duty superseded
my former resolution, and became my apology for deviating from the
hajtpy i)lan which I had adopted.

If I ^-ould ijave entertained the slightest apprehension that the Con-
stitution fianu'd in the Convention, where I had the honor to preside,
might po^sibly endanger the religious rights of any ecclesiastical society,
certainly I sliould never have placed my signature to it: and, if 1 could
now conceive that the General Government might ever bo so adminis-
tered as to render the liberty of conscience insecure, I beg you will be
persuaded that no one would be more zealous than myself to establish
oflectual barriers against the liorrors of spiritual tyranny an«l every
8i>ecies of religious iK^rsecution. Vov you doubtless reniembci" that 1
have often expressefl my sentiments that oveiy num. conducting him-
Helf as a good citizen, and being accoiintablo toinxl alone for his reli-
gioius opinions, ought t(» be protected in worshipping the Deity accord-
ing to the dictates of lijs own consciejire.

Whih- I re>-,.lh.{'t with sati.slaclion that the i-elii;ious >ocicty of which

452 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

you are members have been throughout America, uniformly and almost
unanimously, tlie firm friends of civil liberty and the persevering pro-
moters of our glorious Kevolution, I cannot hesitate to believe that they
will be the faithful supporters of a free yet efficient General Government,
Under this pleasing expectation, I rejoice to assure them that they
may rely on my best wishes and endeavors to advance their prosperity.
In the mean time, be assured, gentlemen, that I entertain a proper
sense of your fervent supplications to God for my temporal and eternal
happiness.

George Washington.

The Methodist Episcopal Chuech

Has an active^ Christian economy, eminently adapted to the
spirit and energy of the free institutions of a Christian repub-
lic. Its form of government, infused with the vital and earnest
power of its evangelical doctrines, is efficient and practical in
its administrative functions, and one of the most beneficent and
powerful agencies for good in the nation. ISTo denomination of
Christians has exerted a more extensive and benign influence
on all the interests of the American nation and Government
than this numerous body. It has put into operation a systetn
of intellectual, moral, and spiritual forces, which have worked
mightily for freedom and all the interests which belong to a
Christian republic. In England, where this denomination was
first founded by John Wesley, it was said by John Newton, an
eminently pious minister of the Established Church, that " before
the rise of Methodists the doctrines of grace in England were
seldom heard from the pulpit, and the life and power of religion
but little known."

The Methodist Episcopal Church in America dates its dis-
tinct organization during the P^evolution. In 1.784 the first
official act towards its organization in the United States took
place in England. Mr. "Wesley's account of it is as follows.
''In America," says he, ''there are but few parish ministers; so
that for some hundred miles together there is none either to
baptize or administer the Lord's Supper. Here, therefore, I am
at full liberty to appoint and send laborers into the harvest to
feed and guide the poor sheep in the wilderness. Know all men,
that I, John Wesley, therefore, under the protection of Almighty
God and with a single eye to his glory, have set apart, by the
inspiration of my hands and prayer, Thomas Coke, Doctor of
Civil Law and a presbyter of the Church of England, for this
great work."

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 453

Francis Asbury came witli Dr. Coke to America, and in Balti-
more, at a Conference of sixty ministers, the latter ordained
Asbury as Bishop; and thus the Methodist Episcopal Church
in the United States was formally and officially instituted. But
the influence and fruits of this a;reat denomination be2;an their
development in this country in 1736. John and Charles "Wesley
came that year from England to Georgia, and devoted them-
selves to building up the kingdom of Christ. " They returned
to England in less than two years, and designed to return again,
but were providentially prevented." They preached and esta-
blished Sunday-schools in Savannah, and so began an organized
influence which has spread over the nation and the world. The
"American Methodist Church has now " a million of members,
with thousands of churches and preachers, spreading from age
to age and nation to nation, until the name of Wesley and the
tenets of Methodism are known and cherished in every Chris-
tian land, and the earth has been almost girdled with the love-
feasts of its disciples."

'^ The introduction of Sunday-schools into America, in an
efficient form, is due to Francis Asbury, first Bishop of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, — a man whose labors for the evan-
gelization and civilization of this country are among the marvels
of Christian history. In 1786 he established a Sunday-school
in Hanover, Virginia, which was the parent of a multitude. It
is clear, from a statement in Bishop Asbury 's Journal (vol. ii.
p. 65), that he set up such schools in many other parts of the
country about the same time. So far as we can learn, no other
denomination of Christians shared the labors or the reproach of
this enterprise at that early period. Beproach there was, and
it often took the severe form of persecution. In 1787 George
Daughaday, a Methodist preacher in Charleston, South Carolina,
was drenched with water pumped from a public cistern * for the
crime of conducting a Sunday-school for the benefit of tho
African children of that vicinity.' Nothing daunted by such
rebukes, the pioneers of Methodism went on with their work.
The Minutes of 1790 contain the first of church Icgiskition on the
Bubject known, perhaps, either in Europe or America. . . .
The path opened by the Methodists was soon entered by other
laborers. In December, 1790, a meeting was held in tho city
of Philadi.'lphia, ' for the ])urpose of taking into consideration
the establiihuiont of Sunday-schools fur that city,* On tho

454 CHEISTIAN LIFE AXD CHAEACTEE OF THE

26tli of that month a constitution was adopted for the '^First-
Day or Sunday School Society.' On the 11th of Januptrv, 1791^
the officers of the Society were elected, and in March of the
same year their first school was opened for the admission of
children. If we are rightly informed, these schools were taught
by paid teachei^, and were devoted exclusively to the instruction
of poor children. It was not until 1816 that the system of un-
paid teaching was introduced by the Philadelphia Society. This
valuable organization was the parent of the American Sunday-
School Union. In the mean time the Methodist schools were
going on under the gratuitous system ; and in the notes to the
Discipline of 1790 the bishops urge the ' people in cities, towns,
and villages to establish Sunday-schools, wherever practicable,
for the benefit of the children of the poor.' "

A Conference of the Church met in New York, May 28, 1789,
the same year, and almost at the same time, that the Consti-
tution of the United States went into operation. Congress
was in session during the sittings of that Conference, and, as
Washington had just been inaugurated and the new Government
gone into practical operation, the Conference gave expression to-
their loyalty and patriotism in an official act. Bishop Asbury,
a few days after its sessions commenced, offered a proposition
to Conference, " whether it would not be proper for ns, as a
Church, to present a congratulatory address to General Wash-
ington, who had been lately inaugurated President of the United
States, in which should be embodied our approbation of the
Constitution, and professing our allegiance to the Government.'*
The Conference unanimously approved of the measure ; and the
bishops, Coke and Asbury, drew up the address on the same
day. Eev. Thomas Morrell, a member of Conference, and who
had been a commissioned officer in the American army, was
appointed to wait on President Washington with a copy of the
address, and to request him to designate a day when he would
publicly receive the bishops. " This address was not intended,''
says a writer in the " National Magazine," " to court popular
favor by a servile fawning at the feet of a great man, but was
intended as a tribute to God for favoring the American people
with such a noble monument of his wisdom and goodness in the
person of the illustrious chief, and in that admirable Constitu-
tion which his hands helped to frame and which he was now called
upon to administer and carry into effect. It was natural to

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 455

rejoice in beholding the adoption of a Constitution which gua-
ranteed to all denominations their rights and privileges equally,
and to see this Constitution committed to the hands of men who
had ever manifested an impartial regard for each religious sect
and for the inalienable rights of all mankind."

Address of the Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

To the President of the United States.
Sir:—

We, the Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, humbly beg
leave, in the name of our Society, collectively, in these United States, to
express to you the warm feelings of our hearts and our sincere congra-
tulations on your appointment to the Presidentship of these States.
We are conscious, from the signal proofs you have already given, that
you are a friend of mankind, and under this established idea place as
full confidence in your wisdom and integrity for the preservation of
those civil and religious liberties which have been transmitted to us by
the providence of God and the glorious Eevolution, as we believe ought
to be reposed in man.

We have received the most grateful satisfaction from the humble and
entire dependence on* the great Governor of the Universe which you
have repeatedly expressed, acknowledging him the source of every
blessing, and particularly of the most excellent Constitution of these
States, which is at present the admiration of the world, and may in future
become its great exemplar for imitation ; and hence we enjoy a holy
expectation that you will always prove a faithful and impartial patron of
genuine, vital religion, — the great end of our creation and present pro-
bationary existence. And we promise you our fervent jirayers to the
throne of grace that God Almiglity may endue you with all the graces
and gifts of his Holy Spirit, — that he may enable you to fill your im-
portant station to his glory, the good of his Church, the happiness and
prosperity of the United States, and the welfare of mankind.

Signed in behalf of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Thomas Coke,

Francis Asburv.
Nkw York, May 29, 1789.

ANSWER.
To the Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States of

America.
Gentlemen' : —

I return to you individually, and tlirougli you to the Sooioty colloct-
ively in the United States, my thanks for tlio demonstrations of atVoc-
tion and the expressions of joy ottered in their brhalf on my lute
ai)pointment. It sliall ])o my endeavor to manifest the i)urity of my
inclinations for promoting the happiness of mankind, as well as the sin-
cerity of my desire to contribute whatev.'r may }»e in my i)OW(»r t<nvards
the civil and religious welfare of the American people. In pursuing this
lino of conduct, I hope, by the uasistanco of Divine Providence, not

456 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OP THE

altogether to disappoint the confidence which you have been pleased to
repose in me.

It always affords me satisfaction when I find a concurrence of senti-
ment and practice between all conscientious men, in acknowledgments
of homage to the great Governor of the Universe and in professions of sup-
port to a just civil government. After mentioning that I trust the people
of every denomination, who demean themselves as good citizens, will have
occasion to be convinced that I shall always strive to prove a faithful and
impartial patron of genuine, vital religion, I must assure you in parti-
cular that I take in the kindest part the promise you make of present-
ing your prayers at the Throne for me, and that I likewise implore the
Divine benediction upon yourselves and your religious community.

, George Washington.

The loyalty and patriotism of tlie Methodist Churcii are
displayed in the following article in their Church Constitution,
adopted at the first Conference in Philadelphia, in 1784: — •

Article 33. — Of the Kulers of the United States or America.
The Congress, the General Assemblies, the Governors, and councils of
States, as the delegates of the people, are the rulers of the United States
of America, according to the division of power made to them by the
general Act of Confederation and by the Constitutions of their respective
States. And the said States ought not to be subject to any foreign power.

Subsequently the following was added : —

As far as it respects civil affairs, we believe it is the duty of Christians,
and especially of Christian ministers, to be subject to the supreme
authority of the country where they may reside, and to use all laudable
means to enjoin obedience to the jjowers that be ; and therefore it is expe-
dient that all our preachers and people who may be under the British
Government, or ' any other Government, will behave themselves as
peaceable and orderly subjects.

" These declarations/' says a Methodist author, ^' embrace
the doctrine of the Church in regard to civil government ; and
whoever is not governed by this doctrine, and is not loyal to the
Government where he may reside, cannot be a Methodist of the
American stamp."

In the Convention that formed the Constitution of the United
States, the Methodist Church was represented by Richard Bas-
sett, of Delaware, a distinguished lawyer, and a confidential
friend of Bishop Asbury. He, with other influential Methodists
of Delaware, George Read, John Dickinson, and their associates,
urged the people of Delaware to adopt the Constitution, which
they did in 1787.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 457

The Quakers,

As a Christian denomination, have exerted no unimportant in-
fluence on the religious character and sentiments of the nation.
They took their rise in Enghmd about the middle of the seven-
teenth century, and called themselves at first Seekers, from the
fact that they professed to seek pure truth ; afterwards, how-
ever, from their peace principles and conduct, they assumed the
name of Friends.

George Fox was the founder of the Friends' Society, in
1648. In 1669 he visited America, and, spending two years in
this country, he formally organized the denominatign on this
continent. It was, however, left for Penn to give system and
vigor to the Society. In March, 1681, he obtained from Charles
II. a grant of all the territory which now bears the name of
Pennsylvania, where he desired to '' spread the principles and
doctrines of the Quakers, and to build up a peaceful and virtuous
empire in the new land, which should diffuse its examples far
and wide to the remotest ages." In 1682 Penn set sail for this
country, and in the following year founded Philadelphia, and laid
the permanent basis of a civil and religious society in accord-
ance with the principles of the Quakers.

They rapidly rose to prominence, and their influence for good
has been extended over the continent. During the Pevolution,
many of this denomination declined to take up arms against
George III., because forbidden by a fundamental article of
their faith. Stephen Ho[)kins, of Rhode Island, a signer of the
Declaration of Independence, was a member of the Friends'
Society and labored zealously for its prosperity. This body of
Christians, by their principles and the example of their peaceful
lives, have done much to give a higher moral tone to our
national chanicter. Their patriotism and attachment to the
new Government were evinced in the following congratulatory
address to Washington on his being inaugurated President of
the United States.

The Addrkss of the REi-inious Society called Qfakeks, from their
Yearly Meeting for Pennsylyama, New Jersey, J>ela\vare, and

THE western I'ART OF MARYLAND AND VlkCINIA.

Ti> thr PrrsidciU of the United State's.
Being mc^t in tliis <nir nnnuiil a.>isonibly, for tho welUinloring the
aflairs of our r.-li-^lous s()ci<'ty aiul tlio pioniotioii of imiYcrsul ri^^ht-

458 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

eousness, our minds have been drawn to consider that the Almighty, who
ruleth in heaven and among the kingdoms of men, having permitted
a great revolution to take place in the government of this country, we
are fervently concerned that the rulers of the people may be favored
with the counsels of Grod, — the only sure means of enabling them to
fulfil the important trusts committed to their charge, and in an especial
manner that Divine wisdom and grace vouchsafed from above may
qualify thee to fill up the duties of the exalted station to which thou
art appointed.

We are sensible thou hast obtained a great place in the esteem and
affection of the people of all denominations over whom thou presidest ;
and, many eminent talents being committed to thy trust, we much desire
they may be fully devoted to the Lord's honor and service, that thus
thou mayest be an happy instrument in his hands for the suppression
of vice, infidelity, and irreligion, and every species of ojDpression on the
persons or concerns of men, so that righteousness and peace, which
truly exalt a nation, may prevail throughout the land, as the only solid
foundation that can be laid for prosperity and happiness.

The free toleration which the citizens of these States enjoy in the public
worship of the Almighty agreeably to the dictates of their consciences,
we esteem among the choicest of blessings ; and we desire to be filled with
fervent charity for those w^ho differ from us in matters of faith and prac-
tice,— believing that the general assembly of saints is composed of the sin-
cere and upright-hearted of all nations, kingdoms, and people, so we trust
we may justly claim it in others. In full persuasion that the divine prin-
ciple we profess leads into harmony and concord, we can take no part
in warlike measures on any occasion or under any power, but we are
bound in conscience to lead quiet and peaceable lives in godliness and
honesty among men, contributing freely our proportion to the indigencies
of the poor and to the necessary support of the civil government;
acknowledging those that rule to be worthy of double honor, having
never been chargeable from our first establishment as a religious society
with fomenting or countenancing tumult or conspiracies, or disresjDect
to those who are placed in authority over us.

We wish not improperly to intrude on thy time and patience ; nor is it
our practice to offer adulation to any. But, as we are a people whose
principles and conduct have been misrepresented and traduced, we take
the liberty to assure thee that we feel our hearts affectionately drawn
towards thee, and those in authority over us, with prayers that thy
Presidency may, under the blessing of Heaven, be happy to thyself and
to t^e people,, that through the increase of morality and true religion
Divine Providence may condescend to look down upon our land with a
propitious eye, and bless the inhabitants with the continuance of peace,
the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and enable us grate-
fully to acknowledge his manifold mercies.

And it is our earnest concern that he may be pleased to grant thee
every necessary qualification to fill thy weighty and important station to
his glory, and that finally, w^hen all terrestrial honors shall pass away,
thou and thy respectable consort may be found worthy to receive a

CIVIL IXSTITUTI0X3 OF THE UNITED STATES. 459

crown of unfading righteousness in the mansions of peace and joy for-
ever.

Signed in and on behalf of the said meeting, hekl at Philadelphia, by-
adjournment, from the 28th of the 9th month to the 3d of the lUth
month inclusive, 1780.

Signed, Nicholas Waln, Clerk.

ANSWEE.
To the Religious Society called Quakers, at their Yearly Meeting for Pennsyl-
vania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the western part of Maryland and Virginia^
Gentlemen" : —

I receive with pleasure your affectionate address, and thank you for
the friendly sentiments and good wishes which you express for the
success of my administration and for my personal happiness.

We have reason to rejoice in the prospect that the present national
Government, which, by the favor of Divine Providence, was formed by
the common counsels and peaceably established with the common cpri-
sent of the people, will prove a blessing to every denomination of them.
To render it such, my best endeavors shall not be wanting.

Government being, among other purposes, instituted to protect the
persons and consciences of men from oppression, it certainly is the duty
of rulers not only to abstain from it themselves, but, according to their
Btations, to prevent it in others.

The liberty enjoyed by the people of these States of worshipi>ing
Almighty God agreeably to their consciences, is not only among the
choicest of their blessings, but also of their rights. While men perform
their social duties faithfully, they do all that society or the state can
with propriety demand or expect, and remain responsible to their Maker
for the religion or modes of faith which they may prefer or profess.

Your principles and conduct are well known to me ; and it is doing
the people called Quakers no more than justice to say that (except tlieir
declining to share with others the burthen of the common defence) there
is no denomination among us who are more exemplary and useful
citizens.

I assure you, very explicitly, that, in my opinion, the conscientious
scruples of all men should be treated with great delicacy and tender-
ness; and it is my wish and desire that the laws may always be as
extensively accommodated to them as a due rt^gard to the protection
and interests of the nation may justify and i^ermit.

(jeorge Wasuingtox.

460 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

CHAPTER XX.

DUTCH KEFORMED CHURCH TRIBUTE OF CHANCELLOR KENT ADDRESS OF THEIR

SYNOD TO WASHINGTON — HIS REPLY — GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH — EARLY
HISTORY — ADDRESS TO WASHINGTON — HIS REPLY — CONVENTION OF THE UNI-

VERSALIST SOCIETY ADDRESS TO WASHINGTON — HIS REPLY ADDRESS OF THE

SWEDENBORGIAN CHURCHES TO WASHINGTON HIS REPLY ADDRESS OF THE

HEBREW CONGREGATION TO WASHINGTON — HIS ANSWER — UNITED BRETHREN

CHURCH EARLY HISTORY ADDRESS TO WASHINGTON HIS REPLY— THE

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH ADDRESS IN A ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH OF PHILA-
DELPHIA IN 1779 — ARCHBISHOP CARROLL — ADDRESS OF THE CATHOLIC CHAP-
LAIN ON THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS ADDRESS OF ROMAN CATHOLIC

CLERGYMEN AND LAITY TO WASHINGTON HIS ANSWER.

The Dutch Reformed Church
In the United States lias an ancient and honorable origin, and a
history replete with the achievements of piety and patriotism.
It is the oldest branch of the great Presbyterian family in
America, its ecclesiastical history beginning in New York as
early as 1626, — almost cotemporaneous with that of the Puritans.
The State of New York and its great commercial metropolis
were both colonized by emigrants from Holland of this Chris-
tian faith. The Dutch Reformed was the established Church
of the colony until it passed under the jurisdiction of the
British in 1664, when, by an act of Parliament, the Episcopal
Church was established, to whose support the Dutch Reformed
and English Presbyterians, and all others, were, for almost a
century, compelled to contribute.

This Church has ever been the zealous promoter of learn-
ing and the champion of civil and religious liberty. Her
history is adorned with some of the brightest and most honor"
able names in the Christian and civic annals of the country,
who, in the persons of the Livingstons and others, largely shared
in the work of building up a Christian empire and establishing
a free government.

The Christian, catholic spirit of the Dutch Reformed Church,
in all the works of piety and patriotism, is well expressed in
the Church motto, ^^Eendragt maaJct Magt" (Union creates

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOXS OF THE U^'ITED STATES. 461

Strength). ''Let," said Dr. De Witt, ''tins motto liancled down
to us be inscribed on all our banners and lodged in our hearts,
and then let us enlist under the common banner of the Captain
of our salvation, with the tribes of Israel. The word eendragtj
which we translate union, is a compound one, literally signifying
one pv.ll. So let it be 'a long pull, a steong pull, and a

PULL all together.'"

" The character of the Church," says Dr. De Witt, "has been,
throughout her history, conservative and catholic, steadfastly
adhering to her faith and order, and dwelling in quietness and
kindness by the side of other evangelical denominations. The
history of our State [New York] shows the pervading spirit of
patriotism among her members, in adherence to popular rights
and civil liberty, throughout the colonial annals and the Eevo-
lutionary contest."

The tribute paid by Chancellor Kent to the early Dutch
settlers of the State, in his address before the New York
Historical Society in 1828, will be found characteristic and
just: — "The Dutch discoverers of New Netherlands (New
York) were grave, temperate, firm, persevering men, who
brought with them the industry, the economy, the simplicity,
the integrity, and the bravery of our Belgic sires ; and with
those virtues they also imported the lights of the Koman civil
law and the purity of the Protestant faith. To that period we
are to look with chastened awe and respect for the beginning
of our city, and the works of our primitive fathers, our Alhani
patres, atque altce Mcenia Romce.''

After Washington's inauguration, the Synod of this Church
presented to him the following address : —

Nkw York, October '.). ITS!'.
To the President of the United States.
Sir : —

Tho Synod of tho lleformod Dutch Cliurcli in North America embrace
the occasion of their annual session, being the first since your aj>point-
ment, to present you their sincere congratulations, and to join in that
great and general joy testified by all descriptions of citizens on your
ucceptancf of tlio liighest ollico in the nation.

We cannot forbear expressing our gratitude to God for preserving your
valuable life amidst so many dang(Ms till tliis time : for inspiring you
with a largo portion of the martial spirit, an<l forming you also for tho
mihhu' and more agreeable arts of goviM-nm<nt and poact^ ; for endow-
ing you with great virtues, and calling them into exercise by great
events; for distinguishing you with honors, and giving you remarkable

462 CHRISTIAN LIFE A^^D CHARACTER OF THE

prudence and moderation ; and for making your extraordinary talents
the more conspicuous, useful, and durable, by superinducing the noble
ornament of humility. Your country has, with one voice, attested your
excellency by inviting you again to public life, and you have confirmed
its judgment by returning to fresh scenes and toils after j^ou had retired
to the shade from the burden and heat of a long day.

Among the many signal interpositions of Divine Providence, we re-
mark the late important change in the Greneral Government, — a change
neither effected by accident nor imposed by force, but adopted in the
bosom of peace, after a free and mature deliberation, and in which a
people widely extended, and various in their habits, are united beyond
the most raised expectations. In these respects the United States of
America stand single among all the nations of the earth. Other revo-
lutions may have been more diversified and splendid, but none more
honorable to human nature, and none so likely to produce such happy
efiects. This government being now completely organized, and all its
def)artments filled, -we trust that God will give wisdom to its councils
and justice to its administration, and that we shall at length realize
those blessings which animated our hojDCs through a difficult and ruinous
war.

To our constant prayers for the welfare of our country and of the
whole human race, we shall esteem it our duty and happiness to unite
our earnest endeavors to promote the pure and undefiled religion of
Christ ; for as this secures eternal felicity to men in a future state, so we
are persuaded that good Christians will always be good citizens, and that
where righteousness prevails among individuals the nation will be great
and happy. Thus, while just government protects all in their religious
rights, true religion affords to government its surest support.

We implore the Lord God to be your sun and shield. May your
administration be prosperous. May the blessings of millions come uj^on
you, and your name be grateful to all posterity. Above all, may you
finish your course with joy, be numbered among the redeemed of the
Lord, and enter into everlasting rest.

In the name and by the order of Synod.

John H. Livingston, Dirck Lefferts,

William Linn, Isaac Eoverett,

Geradus a. Kuypers, Eichard Varick,

Peter Louw, Henry Egome.

Gentlemen : —

I receive with a grateful heart your pious and affectionate address, and
with truth declare to you that no circumstance in my life has affected
me more sensibly, or produced more pleasing emotions, than the friendly
congratulations and strong assurances of support which I have received
from my fellow-citizens of all descriptions upon my election to the Pre-
sidency of these United States.

I fear, gentlemen, your goodness has led you to form too exalted an
opinion of my virtues and merits. If such talents as I possess have been
called into action by great events, and those events have terminated
happily for our country, the glory should be ascribed to the manifest

CIVIL IN3TITUTI0XS OF THE UNITED STATES. 463

interposition of an overruling Providence; My military services have
been abundantly recompensed by the flattering approbation of a grateful
peoj^le ; and if a faithful discharge of my civil duties can insure a like
reward, I shall feel myself richly compensated for any personal sacrifice
I may have made by engaging again in public life.

The citizens of the United States of America have given as signal a
proof of their wisdom and virtue, in framing and adopting a consti-
tution of government without bloodshed or the intervention of force,
as they on a former occasion exhibited to the world of their valor, forti-
tude, and perseverance ; and it must be a pleasing circumstance to every
friend of good order and social happiness to find that our new govern-
ment is gaining strength and respectability among the citizens of this
country in proportion as its operations are known and its effects
felt.

You, gentlemen, act the part of pious Christians and good citizens by
your prayers and exertions for that harmony and good will towards men
which must be the basis of every political establishment ; and I readily
join with you, " that, while just government protects all in their religious
rights, true religion affords to government its surest support."

I am deeply impressed with your good wishes for my present and
future happiness, and I beseech Almighty God to take you and yours
under his sDecial care.

George Washingtox.

The German Lutheran Chuech,

Bearing the name of the great Eeformer, was a zealous cohiborer
in the cause of freedom during the Revokition. In Europe,
particularly in Germany, they wield a commanding influence,
and in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Prussia, Belgium, and
many of the smaller States of Germany, it is the established
religion. This denomination has ever been distinguished for
its zeal in learning and its devotion to the cause of civil and
religious liljerty. They have a greater number of colleges and
universities under their care than any other Protestant denomi-
-nation, and are devoted to Bible and missionary operations in
every part of the world.

Among the first emigrants to Pcnn-^ylvania and the adjoining
colonics, they took an active part in the great work of Chris-
tian colonization, and have since spread through ahnost all
parts of our extending country ; and wherever they have gone,
schools, and all llic vitalizing forces of a Christian civilization,
have sprung into being. They now number a thousand congre-
gations, with a hundred thousand members.

464 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Address of the Ministers, Church- Wardens, and Vestrymen of the
German Lutheran Congregations in and near the City of PhilA'
delphia, to his Excellency George Washington, President of the
United States.
Sir :—

It is Avith inexpressible satisfaction that we, the ministers, church-
wardens, and vestrymen of the German Lutheran Congregations in and
near the city of Philadelphia, address your Excellency on the present
occasion. The entire esteem, the exalted consideration, with which we
view your character, delightfully combine with the duty we owe to this
our country and the love we bear to every fellow-citizen throughout these
States, in exciting us to announce the joy we entertain in your appoint-
ment to the station of President-in-Chief.

The affairs of America, in which your Excellency bore so illustrious a
part from the very beginning of a most arduous contest, all along ex-
hibited more than the symptoms of a great and general prosperity to be
at length completed. The most clouded portions of our time were not
without some ray of hope, and numerous occurrences, through the
blessing of Divine Providence, were brilliant and eminently fortunate.
The present happy crisis sheds a lustre on the past events of our Union,
and it seems to be the presage of every thing desirable to come.
Pleasingly do we anticipate the blessings of a wise, efiBcient government,
equal freedom, perfect safety, a sweet contentment spreading through
the whole land, irreproachable manners, with pure religion, and that
righteousness which exalteth a nation.

Though as individuals we can be but very little known to you, yet as
representatives, in some respect, of a numerous peoj^le in this city, and
being so situated as to know well the minds of our German brethren
nearly through this State, we can with some propriety come forward in
this manner. It is, therefore, with assurance and pleasure we affirm
that there is no body of people whatsoever that can, or ever shall, exceed
those with whom we are connected, in affection for your person, confi-
dence in your abilities, patriotism, and distinguished goodness. You
are the man of their bosoms and veneration. On this ground may we
be entitled to some excuse for what might seem to be intrusion in the
midst of your numerous weighty engagements. And here permit us to
subjoin that we shall never cease to address the throne of grace with
the same warmth and sincerity of heart for your present and everlasting
happiness as for our own.

ANSWER.
Gentlemen : —

While I request you to accept my thanks for your kind address, I must
profess myself highly gratified by the sentiments of esteem and con-
sideration contained in it. The approbation my past conduct has received
from so worthy a body of citizens as that Avhose joy for my appointment
you announce, is a proof of the indulgence with which my future trans-
actions will be judged.

I could not, however, avoid apprehending that the partiality of my

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 4G5

countrymen in favor of the measures now pursued, had led them to
expect too much from the present government, did not the same Provi-
dence which has been visible in every stage of our progress to this
interesting crisis, from a combination of circumstances, give us cause to
hope for the accomplishment of all our reasonable desires.

Thus partaking with you in the pleasing anticipation of the blessings
of a wise and efficient government, I flatter myself that opportunities
will not be wanting to show my disposition to encourage the domestic
and public virtues of industry, economy, patriotism, philanthropy, and
that righteousness which exalteth a nation.

I rejoice in having so suitable an occasion to testify the reciprocity of
my esteem for the numerous people whom you represent. From the
excellent character, the diligence, sobriety, and virtue, which the Ger-
mans in general who are settled in America have ever maintained, I
cannot forbear felicitating myself on receiving from so respectable a
number of them such strong assurances of their affection for my person,
confidence in my integrity, and zeal to support me in my endeavors for
promoting the welfare of our common country.

So lon^ as my conduct shall merit the approbation of the wise and the
good, I hope to hold the same place in your affections which your friendly
declarations induce me to believe I possess at j)resent ; and, amidst all
the vicissitudes that may await me in this mutable existence, I shall
earnestly desire the continuance of an interest in your intercessions at
the throne of grace.

George Wasuixgtox.

The Convention of tlie Universalist Church assembled in
Philadelphia, in 1790, sent the following address to Washing-
ton: —

^0 the President of the United States.
Sir:—

Permit us, in tlie name of the Society whom we represent, to concur
in the numerous congratulations which have been offered to you since
your accession to the government of the United States.

For an account of our principles we beg leave to refer you to the
pamphlet we have now the honor to put into your hands. In this pul>-
lication it will appear that the peculiar doctrine whicli wo hold is not
loss friendly to the ordor and happiness of society than it is essential to
the perfection of the Deity.

It is a singular circumstance in the histoiy of this doctrine, that it
has been preached and defended in every ago since the promulgation of
the gospi'l; but we represent the first society jjrofessing this doctrino
that have formed themselves into an independent Churcli. Posterity
will hardly fail of conn«^cting this memorable event with the ausi>iciou.«»
years of peace, liberty, and free inquiry in the United Slates which dis-
tinguishod the administration of General Washington.

We join thus publicly with our affectionate frllow-citizcns in tlianka
to Almighty God for tho la.'*t of his numerous signal acU of goodness to
our country, in preserving your valuable life in a lato dangerous India-

30

466 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

position ; and we assure you, sii', that duty will not prompt us more than
affection to pray that you may long continue the support and ornament
of our country, and that you may hereafter fill a higher station, and
enjoy the greater reward of being a king and priest to om' Grod.
Signed in behalf and by order of the Convention.

John Murray.
Wm. Eugene, Secretary.

ANSWER.
Gentlemen : —

I thank you cordially for the congratulations which j'-ou offer on my
appointment to the office I have the honor to hold in the Grovernment
of the United States.

It gives me the most sensible pleasure to find that in our nation, how-
ever different are the sentiments of citizens on religious doctrines, they
generally concur in one thing ; for their political professions and j)ractices
are almost universally friendly to the order and happiness of our civil
institutions. I am also happy in finding this disposition particularly
evinced by your Society. It is, moreover, my earnest desire that all the
members of every association or community throughout the United
States may make such use of the auspicious years of peace, liberty, and free
inquiry with which they are now favored, as they shall hereafter find
occasion to rejoice for having done.

With great satisfaction I embrace this opportunity to express my
acknowledgments for the interest my affectionate fellow-citizens have
taken in my recovery from a late dangerous indisposition ; and I assure
you, gentlemen, that, in mentioning my obligations for the effusions of
your benevolent wishes in my behalf, I feel animated with new zeal that
my conduct may ever be worthy of your favorable opinion, as well as
such as shall in every respect best comport with the character of an
intelligent and accountable being. George Washington,

Address from the Members of the New (Swedenborgian) Church at

Baltimore.

To George Washington, Esq.
Sir:—

While the nations of the earth, and the people of the United States
especially, have in their various denominations paid the tribute of respect-
ful deference to the illustrious President thereof, permit, sir, a Society,
however small in numbers, yet sincere, they trust, in their attachment,
to offer up, in the dawn of their institution, that mark of dutiful esteem
which well becometh new associations, to the Chief Magistrate of
America.

We presume not^ sir, to enter into any reiterated panegj^ric of match-
less virtues or exalted character, but, assuming causes with effects, we are
led to believe that you were a chosen vessel for great and salutary pur-
poses, and that both in your actions and in your conduct you justly
stand one of the first disinterested and exemplary men upon the earth.
Neither in this address can we, were it expected, enter into a detail of
the profession of our faith ; but we are free to declare that we feel our-

CIVIL INSTITUTIOKS OP THE UNITED STATES. 467

Reives among the number of those who have occasion to rejoice that the
word literally is spiritualh^ fulfilling ; that a new and glorious dispen-
sation, or fresh manifestation of Divine Love, hath commenced in our
land, when, as there is but one Lord, so is his name becoming one
throughout the earth ; and that the power of Light, or truth and
righteousness, is in an eminent degree universally prevailing, and even
triumphing over the power of darkness ; when priestcraft and kingcraft,
those banes of human felicity, are hiding tlieir diminished heads, and
equality in State, as well as in Church, propoi-tionably to merit, are con-
sidered the true criterion of the majesty of the people.

Oh, sir, could we, without being charged with adulation, pour out the
fulness of our souls to the enlightened conduct of him who stands chief
among the foremost of men, what a volume of truth might we deservedly
offer to the name of Washington on the altar of liberty uncircum-
scribed! Allow us, by the first opportunity, to present to your Excellency,
among other tracts, the Compendium of the New Church, signified by
the New Jerusalem in the Revelation, as the readiest means to furnish
you with a just idea of the heavenly doctrines.

That the Lord Jesus, whom alone we acknowledge as ** the true God
and eternal life/' will preserve you long to reign in the hearts of the
people, and lastingly to shine as a gem of the brightest lustre, a star of
the first magnitude, in the unfading mansions above, is the fervent aspi-
ration of your faithful citizens and affectionate brethren.

Done, in behalf of the members of the Lord's New Church, at Balti-
more, the 22d day of January, 1703,

Teste, W. Y. DiDiER,

iSccy pro tern.

ANSWER.
To tlie Members of the Sicedcnhorglan Church, Baltimore.

Gentlemen': —

It has ever been my pride to merit the apjn-obation of my fellow-citi-
zens by a faitliful and honest discharge of tlie duties annexed to those
stations in wliirh they have been pleased to place me; and the dearest
rewards of my services have been those testimonies of esteem and confi-
dence with winch tlioy have honored me. But to the manifest inter-
position of an overruling Providi-nce, and to the patriotic exertions of tlie
citizens of United America, are to l>c ascribed those events which have
given us a respectable rank among the nations of earth.

Wo have abundant reason to rejoice tliat in this land the light of
tinith and reason has triumi)hed over the power of bigotry and su}H'j-sti-
tion, and that every person may here worship God according to the
dictates of his own heart. In tliis enlightened age, and in tliis land of
equal liberty, it is our boast that a man's religious tenets will not forfeit
the protection of the laws, nor deprive him of the right of attaining and
lioldiug the highest offices that are known in the Fnited States.

Your prayers for my })reseut and future felicity are received with
gratitude ; and I niucerely wish, gentlemen, tliat you may, in your social

468 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

and individual capacities, taste those blessings which a gracious God
bestows upon the righteous.

George Washington.

Address of the Hebrew Coxgregatiox in J^Tewport, Rhode Island, to»

THE President of the United States of America.
Sir: —

Permit the children of the stock of Abraham to approach you with
the most cordial affection and esteem for your person and merit, to join
with our fellow-citizens in welcoming yon to Newport.

With pleasure we reflect on those days of difficulty and danger when
the God of Israel, Avho delivered I>avid from the peril of the sword,
shielded your head in the day of battle ; and we rejoice to think that
the same spirit that rested in the bosom of the greatly beloved Daniel,
enabling him to preside over the provinces of the Babylonish empire,
rests, and ever will rest, upon yo.u, enabling you to discharge the arduous
duties of Chief Magistrate of these States.

Deprived as we have heretofore been of the invaluable rights of free
citizens, we now (with a deep sense of gratitude to the Almighty Dis^
poser of all events) behold a government erected by the Majesty of
THE People, — a government which to bigotry gives no sanction, to perse-
cution no assistance, but generously affording to all liberty of conscience
and immunities of citizenship, deeming every one, of whatever nation,
tongue, or language, equal parts of the great governmental machine.
This so ample and so extensive federal union, who^e base is philanthropy,
mutual confidence, and j^ublic virtue, we cannot but acknowledge to be
the work of the great God who ruleth in the armies of heaven and among
the inhabitants of the earth, doing whatsoever seemeth him good.

For all the blessings of civil and religious liberty which vre enjoy under
a benign administration, we desire to send up our thanks to the Ancient
of Days, the great preserver of men, beseeching him that the angel
who conducted our forefathers through the wilderness into the promised
land may graciously conduct you through all the difficulties and dangers
of this mortal life. And when, like Joshua, full of days and full of
honors, you are gathered to your fathers, may you be admitted into the
heavenly paradise, to partake of the water of life and the tree of im-
mortality.

Done and signed by the order of the Hebrew Congregation in New-
port, Rhode Island.

Signed, Moses Seixas, Warden^

Neavport, August IT, 1790.

ANSWER.
Gentlemen : —

While I receive with much satisfaction \ our address, replete with ex-
pressions of affection and esteem, I rejoice in the opportunity of assuring
you that I shall always retain a grateful remembrance of the cordial
welcome I experienced in my visit to Newport, from all classes of citizens.
The reflection on the days of difficulty and danger which are past is
rendered the more sweet from a consciousness that they are succeeded
by days of uncommon prosperity and security.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF TEE UNITED STATES. 469

If we have wisdom to make the best use of the advantages with which
we are now favored, we cannot fail, under the just administration of good
government, to become a great and happy people.

The citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud
themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and
liberal policy, — a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty
of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that
toleration Ls spoken of as if it was by the indulgence of one class of
the people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural
rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives
to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that
those who live under its protection should demean themselves as good
citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effect'oal support.

It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my character not to
avow that I am pleased with your favorable opinion of my administration
and fervent wishes for my felicity. May the children of the stock of
Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and to enjoy the good
will of the other inhabitants, while every one shall sit in safety under
his own vine and fig-tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.

May the Father of ail mei'cies scatter light, and not darkness, in our
paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and, in Iiis
own due time and way, everlastingly happy.

O. WAsniXGToy.

Address of the Hebrew CoxGREGATiONr of the €itv of Savaxnau to the

President of the United States.
Sir:—

We have long been anxious to congratulate you on your a])pointment
by unanimous approbation to the Presidential dignity of this country,
and of testifying our unbounded confidence in your integrity and un-
blemished virtue. Yet, however exalted the station you now fill, it is
iitill not equal to the merit of your heroic services through an arduous
and dangerous conflict, which has embosomed you in the hearts of her
citizens.

Our eccentric situation, added to a diffidence bounded on the most
j»rofound respect, has thus long prevented our address ; yet the delay
has realized ajiticipation, giving us an opportunity of presenting our
most grateful acknowledgments for the benedictions of Heaven tlirough
the energy of federal influence and the equity of your administration.

Your unexampled liberality and extensive philanthropy have dis-
pelled that cloud of bigotry and superstition wliich has long, as a veil,
thaded religion, unrivete<l the fetters of enthusiasm, enfranchiscti us
with all the privileges and imnmnities of free citizens, and initiated us
into the grand mass of legislative mechanism. By exanii)le you have
taught UK to endure the ravages of war witli manly fortitude, and to
fm'oy the blessings of p(»ace with rev<>rence to the Deity and benignity
and love to our fellow-creatures.

May (he great Author of worlds grant you all happine<<. an iniinter-
rupted series of liealth, addi'ion of vmis to (lie number of your days,

470 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

and a continuance of giiardiansliip to that freedom which, under ihe
auspices of Heaven, your magnanimity and wisdom have given these
States. Levi Sheftal, President,

In behalf of the Hebrew Congregation.

To tlie Hebrew congregation of the city of Sayannah, May,
1790; Washington sent the following address : —

Gentlemen : —

I thank you with great sincerity for your congratulations on my ap-
pointment to the office which I have the honor to hold by the unani-
mous choice of my fellow-citizens, and especially for the expressions
which you are pleased to use in testifying the confidence that is reposed
in me by your congregation.

As the delay which has naturally intervened between my election and
your address has afforded an opportunity for appreciating the merits
of the Federal Government and for communicating your sentiments of
its administration, I have rather to express m}^ satisfaction than regret
at a circumstance which demonstrates (upon experiment) yom* attach-
ment to the former, as well as approbation of the latter.

I rejoice that a spirit of liberality and philanthropy is much more
prevalent than it formerly was among the enlightened nations of the
earth, and that your brethren will benefit thereby in proportion as it
shall become still more extensive. Happily, the peoj)le of the United
States of America have in many instances exhibited examples worthy
of imitation, the salutary influence of which will doubtless extend much
farther, if, gratefully enjoying those blessings of peace which, under the
favor of Heaven, have been obtained bj^ fortitude in war, they shall con-
duct themselves with reverence to the Deity and charity towards their
fellow-creatures .

May the same wonder-working Deity who long since delivered the
Hebrews from their Egyptian oppressors, and planted them in the pro-
mised land, whose providential agency has lately been conspicuous in
establishing these United States as an independent nation, continue to
water them with the dews of Heaven, and to make the inhabitants of
every denomination participate in the temporal and spiritual blessings
of that people whose God is Jehovah.

George Washington.

The Moeavian Chuech, — Unitas Feateum — United
Beetheen,

Deserve an honorable record in the story of the labors and
achievements of American freedom. Rising into denominational
existence at the time of the Reformation under Luther, and
corresponding with him and Calvin, and other Reformers, the
great apostles of religious liberty, the Moravian Church was as
notable for its steadfast devotion to freedom as it has ever been

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 471

for the simplicity of its Christian faith and the fervor of its piety.
The various colonies, transplanted to America and principally
settled in North Carolina, brought with them their ardent love
of liberty, and bore an honorable part in praying and fighting
for independence and freedom. They, ''with other German Pro-
testants, were firmly attached, from the commencement, to the
principles which gave vitality to our Declaration of Inde-
pendence" and formation to our free institutions. Evangelical
and enlightened, their Church not only watered the tree of
liberty with their tears, prayers, and blood, but, in their grow-
ing influence and importance as a spiritual and active body of
Christians, they aided in the great work of preserving our free
institutions and in perfecting our Christian civilization.

Address of the United Brethrex to President "WAsniNGTOX.
To his Excellency George Washington, President of the United States of
America. The Address of the Directors of the United Brethren for Pro-
pagating the Gospel among the Heathen,

Sir:—

The Directors of the Society of the United Brethren for Propagating
the Gospel among the Heathen, do, in the name of this Society, and in
the name of all the Brethren's congregations in these United States,
most cordially congratulate you on being appointed President of the
United States of America.

Filled with gratitude towards God and our Saviour, unto whose good-
ness and kind interposition we ascribe this great and joyous event, we
rely on his mercy and on the influence of his good Spirit, when we ex-
pect that your adminLstration will prove salutary and a blessing to that
nation wliose unanimous voice has called you to preside over it.

"We embrace this opportunity to present you a small treatise which
contains an account of the manner in which the Protestant Church of
the Unitas Fratrum, or United Brethren, preach the gospel and carry
on their missions among the heathen. You will be pleased, sir, to
accept it as a token of our affection and reverence, and of the confidence
we repose in you to patronize all undertakings for propagating Chris-
tianity among the heathen. Permit us at tlie present time to recom-
mend in a particular manner tlie Brethren's mission among the Indians
in the territory of the United States, wliich is at present at Petquotting,
on Lake Erie, and in a very dangerous situation, to your kind notice and
protection, and to lay before you the ardent wish and anxious desire of
Beeing the light of the glorious gospel spread more and more over this
country, and great multitudes of poor, benighted heathen brought by
it to the saving knowledge of Christ our Saviour, who gave himself a
ransom for all, and who will liavo all men to be savid and to come to
the knowledge of the truth.

Wc fervently pray the Lord to strengthen your health, to support

472 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CEAEACTER OF THE

you daily by his Divine assistance, and to be himself your shield and
great reward.

Signed in behalf of the Society of the United Brethren for Propa-
gating the Gospel among the Heathen, and in behalf of all the Congre-
gations in the United States.

John Abner Aubner, Charles Gotthold Eeichel,

Hans Chrn Schweinin, Paul Minster,

Frederick Peter, David Zeirlerger, Junior.

Bethlehem, July 10, 1789.

To the Directors of the Society of the United Brethren for Propagating the Gospel

among the Heathen.
Gentlemen : —

I receive with satisfaction the congratulations of your Society, and of
the Brethren's Congregations in the United States of America. For
you may be persuaded that the approbation and good wishes of such a
peaceable and virtuous community cannot be indifferent to me.

You will also be pleased to accept my thanks for the treatise [mission-
ary paper] you presented, and be assured of my patronage in your laud-
able undertakings.

In proportion as the General Government of the United States shall
acquire strength by duration, it is probable that they may have it in
then' power to extend a salutary influence to the aborigines in the ex-
tremities of their territory. In the mean time, it will be a desirable
thing for the protection of the Union to co-operate, as far as circum-
stances may conveniently admit, with the disinterested endeavors of
your Society to civilize and Christianize the savages of the wilderness.

Under these impressions, I pray Almighty God to have you always in
his holy keeping.

George Washington.

The Address of the Ministers and Elders of the German Eeformed
. Congregations in the United States, at their General Meeting
held at Philadelphia on the 10th Day of June, 1789.

To the President of the United States.

Whilst the infinite goodness of Almighty God, in his gracious provi-
dence over the American people of the United States of America, calls
for sincerest and most cordial gratitude to Him that ruleth supremely
and ordereth all things in heaven and on earth in unerring wisdom and
righteousness, the happy, the peaceful establishment of the new Govern-
ment over which you so deservedly preside cannot fail but inspire our
souls with new and most lively emotions of adoration, praise, and
thanksgiving unto his holy name.

As it is our firm purpose to support in our persons a Government
founded injustice and equity, so it shall be our constant duty to impress
the minds of the people intrusted to our care with a due sense of the
necessity of uniting reverence to such a Government and obedience to its
laws with the duties and exercises of religion. Thus we hope, by the
blessing of God, to be in some measure instrumental in alleviating the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 4/d

burden of that weighty and important charge to which j'ou have been
called by the unanimous voice of your fellow-citizens, and which your
love to your country has constrained you to take upon you.

Deeply possessed of a sense of the goodness of God in the appoint-
ment of your person to the highest station in the national Government,
we shall continue in our public worship, and in all devotions before the
throne of grace, to pray that it may please God to bless you, in your per-
son, your family, and your Government, with all temporal and spiritual
blessings in Christ Jesus.

Signed by order of the meeting,

T". Hendel, p. t. Pr(Es.

F. Dellikex, p. t. Scrila.

ANSWER.
Gentlemen : —

I am happy in concurring with you in the sentiments of 'gratitude and
piety towards Almighty God which are expressed with such fervency
of devotion in your address, and in believing that I shall always find
in you, and the German Reformed congregations of the United States,
a conduct correspondent to such worthy and pious sentiments.

At the same time, I return you my thanks for the manifestation of
your firm purpose to support in your persons a Government founded in
justice and equity, and for the promise that it will be your constant
study to impress the minds of the people intrusted to your care with o.
due sense of the necessity of uniting reverence to such a Government
and obedience to its laws with the duties and exercises of religion. Be
assured, gentlemen, it is by such conduct very much in the power of
the virtuous members of the community to alleviate the burden of the
important office which I have accepted, and to give me the occasion to
rejoice in this world for having followed therein the dictates of my
conscience.

Be pleased also to accept my acknowledgments for the interest you
so kindly take in the prosperity of my person, family, and adminis-
tration. May your devotions before the throne of grace be effectual in
calUng down the blessings of Ileaven upon yourselves and your country.

George Washington.

The Eoman Catholic Church

Contributed largely to the success of the cause of lil^erty and
the Revolution.

"It is a curious faot," says Ileadley, "that in our first
struggle for liberty, and in all the wars that the republic haa
since waged, even till now, when the North is struggling ngainst
a monstrous rebellion, Roman Catholic chaplains have sent up
their prayers side by side with Protestant ones." Thoy have
presented the delightful spectacle of working together to sup-
port free institutions. The following ad<lri'.-s, doliverod in a>

474 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Eoman Catholic cliurcli in Philadelphia, July 4, 1779, is a fair
illustration of the spirit they exhibited throughout. After a Te
Deum was chanted, the chaplain spoke as follows : —

GrENTLEMEX : — We are assembled to celebrate the anniversary of that
day which Providence has marked in his eternal decrees to become the
epocha of liberty and independence to the thirteen United States of
America. That Being, whose almighty hand holds all existence beneath
its dominion, undoubtedly produces in the depth of his wisdom those
great events which astonish the universe, and of which the most pre-
sumptuous, though instrumental in accomplishing, dare not attribute to
themselves the merit. But the finger of Grod is still more peculiarly
evident in the hapj)y, the glorious Eevolution which calls forth this
day's festivity.

He hath struck the oppressors of a free people — free and j^eaceable —
with the spirit of delusion, which always renders the wicked the arti-
ficers of their own proper misfortunes.

Permit me, my dear brethren, citizens of the United States, to address
you on this occasion. It is God, the all-powerful God, who hath directed
your steps when you knew not where to apply for counsel ; who, when
you were without arms, fought for you with the sword of eternal justice ;
who, when you were in adversity, poured into your hearts the spirit
of courage, of wisdom, and of fortitude ; and who at length raised up
for your support a youthful sovereign, whose virtues bless and adorn a
sensible, a faithful, and a generous nation. This nation has blended her
interests with your interests and her sentiments with yours. She partici-
■psites in all your joys, and this day unites her voice to j'^ours at the foot
of the altars of the eternal God to celebrate that glorious Eevolution
which has placed the sons of America among the free and independent
nations of the earth.

We have nothing to apprehend but the anger of Heaven, or that the
measure of our guilt should exceed the measure of his mercy. Let us,
then, prostrate ourselves at the feet of the immortal God, who holds the
fate of empires in his hands, and raises them up at his pleasure or
breaks them to the dust. Let us implore him to conduct us by the way
which his providence has marked out for arriving at so desirable an end ;
let us offer unto him hearts imbued with sentiments of love, consecrated
by religion, by humanity and patriotism. Never is the august ministry
of his altars more acceptable to his Divine majesty than Avhen it lays at
his feet homages, offerings, and vows so pure, so worthy of the common
Parent of mankind. God will not reject our joy, for he is the author of
it, nor will he reject our prayers, for they ask but the full accomplishment
of his decrees that he hath manifested. Filled with this spirit, let us,
in concert with each other, raise our hearts to the Eternal ; let us im-
plore his infinite mercy to be pleased to inspire the rulers of both
nations with the wisdom and force necessary to perfect what it hath
begun. Let us, in a word, unite our voices to beseech him to dispense
his blessings upon the councils and arms of the allies, that we may soon
enjoy the sweets of a peace which will cement the union and establish

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 475

the prosperity of the two empires. It is with this view we shall cause
the canticle to be performed which the custom of the Cathohc Church
hath consecrated to be at once the testimonial of public joy, a thanks-
giving for benefits received from Keaven, and a prayer for the continu-
ance of its success.

Archbisho]) Carroll, brother of Charles Carroll, who signed the
Declaration of Independence, was able and eloquent in defence
of the American cause. Those who heard him say " that when
he recited the terrors, the encouragements, the distresses, and
the glories of the struggle for independence," he was moved
with intense emotion, and swayed the feelings of his audience
with the strains of his patriotic and pious eloquence.

November, 1781.
Address delivered by M. Paul Bardole to Congress, the Supreme Exe-
cutive Council, and the Assembly of Pennsylvania, &c. &c., who
were invited by his Excellency the Minister of France to attend in
the Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia, during the Celebration
OF Divine Service and Thanksgiving for the Capture of Lord Corn-
tvallis.

G-entlemen : —

A numerous people assembled to render thanks to the Almighty for
his mercies is one of the most affecting objects, and worthy the atten-
tion of the Supreme Being. While camps resound with triumplial
acclamations, while nations rejoice in victory and glory, the most honor-
able office a minister of the altar can fill is to be the organ by which
public gratitude is conveyed to the Omnipotent.

Those miracles which he once wrought for his chosen people are
renewed in our favor ; and it would ])e equally ungrateful and impious
not to acknowledge that the event which lately confounded our enemies
and frustrated their designs was the wonderful work of that God who
guards our lil>erties.

And who but he could so combine the circumstances which led to
success ? We have seen our enemies push forward amid perils almost
innumerable, amid obstacles almost insurmountable, to the spot that
was destined to witness their disgrace ; yet they eagerly sought it as the
theatre of their triumph! Blind as they were, they bore hunger, tliirst,
and inclement skies, poured their blood in battle against brave rei)ub-
licans, and crossed immense regions to confine themselves in another
Jericho, wlioso walls were fated to fall ])efore another Joshua. It is Ho
whoso voice commands the winds, the seas, and the seasons, who formed
a junction on the same day, in the same hour, ])ot ween a forniidabl.' tloet
from the south, ami an army rusliing from the north like an impetuous
torrent. Who but lie in whoso hands are the hearts of mon could
inspire tlio allied troops with the friendsliip, the confulence, the tender-
ness, of brothers? How \n it that two nations, once tlivided, jealous,
inimical, and nursed in reciprocal prejudices, are now become so

476 CHEISTIAN LIFE AKD CHAEACTER OF THE

closely united as to form but one ? Worldlings ^YOuld say tliat it is the
wisdom, the virtue and moderation of their chief, it is a great national
interest, which has performed this jjrodigy. They will say, to the skill of
the generals, to the courage of the troops, to the activity of the whole
army, we must attribute this splendid success. Ah ! they are ignorant
that the combining of so many fortunate circumstances is an emanation
from the All-perfect Mind, — that courage, that skill, that activity, bear
the sacred impression of Him who is divine.

For how many favors have we not to thank him during the course of
the present year ! Your union, which was at first supported by justice
alone, has been consolidated by your courage, and the knot which ties
you together is indissoluble by the accession of all the States and the
unanimous voice of all the confederates. You present to the universe
the noble sight of a society which, founded in equality and justice,
secures to the individuals who compose it the most happiness which can
be derived from human institutions. This advantage, which so many
other nations have been unable to procure, even after ages of efibrts and
misery, is granted by Divine Providence to the United States ; and his
adorable decrees have marked the present moment for the completion of
that memorable happy revolution which has taken place on this conti-
nent. While your councils were thus acquiring new energy, rapid and
multiplied successes have crowned your arms in the Southern States.

On this solemn occasion we might renew our thanks to the God of
battles for the success he has granted to the arms of your allies and
your friends, by land and by sea, through the other parts of the globe.
But let us not recall those events, which too clearly prove how much the
hearts of our enemies have been hardened. Let us prostrate ourselves
at the altar, and implore the Grod of mercy to suspend his vengeance,
to spare them in his wrath, to inspire them with sentiments of justice
and moderation, to terminate their obstinacy and error, and to ordain
that your victories be followed by peace and tranquillity. Let us beseech
him to shed on the councils of the king, your ally, that spirit of wisdom,
of justice, and of courage which has rendered his reign so glorious. Let
us entreat him to maintain in each of the States that intelligence by
which the United States are inspired. Let us return him thanks that
a faction whose rebellion he has corrected, now deprived of support, is
annihilated. Let us offer him pure hearts, unsoiled by private hatred
or public discussion ; and let us with one will and one voice pour forth
to the Lord that hymn of praise by which Christians celebrate their
gratitude and his glory.

This eloquent address was followed by a solemn anthem of
praise to God.

Address of the Roman Catholics to George Washington, President
OF THE United States.

Sir :—

We have been long impatient to testify our joy and unbounded confi-
dence on your being called by a unanimous voice to the first station of

CIVIL I^'STITUTIOXS OF THE UXITED STATES. 477

a country in which that unanimity could not have been obtained Avith-
out the previous merit of unexampled services, of eminent wisdom,
and unblemished virtue. Our congratulations have not reached you
sooner because our scattered situation prevented our communication,
and the collecting of those sentiments which warmed every breast.
But the delay has furnished us with the opportunity, not merely of pre-
saging the happiness to be exjoected under your administration, but of
bearing testimony to that which we experience already. It is your pe-
culiar talent, in w^ar and in peace, to afford security to those who com-
mit their protection into your hands. In war you shield them from the
ravages of armed hostility ; in peace you establish public tranquillity by
the justice and moderation, not less than by the vigor, of your govern-
ment. By example, as well as by vigilance, you extend the influence of
laws on the manners of our fellow-citizens. You encourage respect for
religion, and inculcate, by words and actions, that principle on which
the welfare of a nation so much depends, — that a superintending Provi-
dence governs the events of the world and watches over the conduct
of men. Your exalted maxims, and unwearied attention to the moral
and physical improvement of our country, have produced already the
happiest efifects.

Under your administration, America is animated with zeal for the
attainment and encouragement of useful literature ; she improves her
agriculture, extends her commerce, and acquires with foreign nations a
dignity unknown to her before. From these happy events, in which none
can feel a warmer interest than ourselves, we derive additional pleasure
by recollecting that you, sir, have been the principal instrument to effect
so rapid a change in our political situation. This prosjiect of national
prosi)crity is peculiarly pleasing to us on another account, — because
whilst our country preserves her freedom and independence we shall
liave a well-founded title to claim from her justice the equal ri</h(s of citi-
zenship, as the price of our blood spilt under your eyes, and of our common exertions
for her defence under your auspicious conduct, — rights rendered more dear to us
by the remembrance of former hardships. When we pray for the pre-
servation of them where they have been granted, and expect the full
extension of them from the justice of those States which still restrict
them, — when we solicit the protection of Heaven over our common
country, — we neither omit, nor can omit, recommending your preser-
vation to the singular care of Divjne Providence ; because we conceive
that no human means are so available to promote the welfare of the
United States as the prolongation of your health and life, in which luo
included the energy of your example, tlie wisdom of your councils, an<l
the persuasive clo(iucnce of your virtues.

.lollV (JAKIJOI.r.,

7/1 behalf of the lioman Catholic Clcrjy.
Charles Carroll, of CarroUton, \ j^^ ^^.^^^^ ^y ^^
Dan. KL Carroll, 1^^,,,^,,^ ^^^^^^

I HUM AS Imtzsimons, )

478 CHRISTIAN LIFE AXD CHAEACTER OF THE

ANSWER.
Gextlemex : —

While I now receive with much satisfaction your congratulations on
my being called by a unanimous vote to the first station of my country,
I cannot but duly notice your politeness in offering an apology for the
unavoidable delay. As that delay has given you an opportunity of
realizing, instead of anticij^ating, the benefits of the Greneral Govern-
ment, you will do me the justice to believe that your testimony to the
increase of the public prosjDcrity enhances the pleasure which I should
otherwise have experienced from your affectionate address.

I feel that my conduct in war and in peace has met with more gene-
ral approbation than I could have reasonably expected ; and I feel dis-
posed to consider that fortunate circumstance as in a great degree result-
ing from the able support and extraordinary candor of my fellow-citizens
of all denominations.

The prospect of national i)rosperity now before us is truly animating,
and ought to excite the exertions of all good men to establish and
secure the happiness of their country in the permanent duration of its
freedom and indej)endence. America, under the smiles of Divine Pro-
vidence, the protection of a good Government, the cultivation of man-
ners, morals, and piety, can hardly fail of attaining an uncommon
degree of eminence in literature, commerce, agriculture, improvements
at home, and respectability abroad.

As mankind become more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that
those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community
are equally entitled to the protection of civil government. I hope ever
to see America among the foremost nations in examples of justice and
liberality. And I presume that your fellow-citizens will not forget your
. patriotic part in the accomplishment of their Eevolution and the esta-
blishment of their Government, or the important assistance which they
received from a nation in which the Eoman Catholic religion is professed.

I thank you, gentlemen, for your kind concern for me. While my
life and my health shall continue, in whatever situation I may be, it
shall be my constant endeavor to justify the favorable sentiments you
are pleased to express of my conduct. And may the members of your
society in America, animated alone by the pure spirit of Christianity,
and still conducting themselves as the faithful subjects of our free
Government, enjoy every temporal and spiritual fehcity.

George Washington.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 479

CHAPTER XXL

CHRISTIAN CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON — -WEBSTER's VIEW OF WASHINGTON —

henry's — Jefferson's — fox's — lord erskine's — lord brougham's — ban-
croft's — IRVING' 3 christian PRINCIPLES THE BASIS OF WASHINGTON'S LIFE

AND CHARACTER — EARLY CHRISTIAN TRAINING BY HIS MOTHER HER LIBRARY

HALe's RELIGIOUS WORK — EXTRACTS FROM IT AVASHINGTON's MAXIMS

WHEN A BOY HIS FILIAL REVERENCE WASHINGTON A 5I0DEL FOR YOUNG MEN

ATTENDS CONSTANTLY THE PUBLIC WORSHIP OF GOD HIS REVERENCE FOR

THE SABBATH — HIS RESPECT FOR MINISTERS — HIS HABITS OF PRAYER

COMMEMORATES THE LORD's SUPPER — LIBERAL TO THE POOR A PRACTICAL

EMANCIPATOR — HIS LIBERAL CHRISTIAN SPIRIT — HIS ACCURATE BUSINESS
HABITS WASHINGTON A CHRISTIAN HERO, A CHRISTIAN STATESMAN, A CHRIS-
TIAN POLITICIAN, A CHRISTIAN MAGISTRATE — HIS DEVOTION TO THE UNION

HIS CHRISTIAN PATRIOTISM HIS LOVE OF ACKICULTURE HIS CHRISTIAN

HOME — THE DEATH OF WASHINGTON — PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS — ADDRESS
OF THE SENATE — REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT — LEE'S ORATION ON WASHINGTON
— APOSTROPHE TO WASHINGTON.

Washington gives to American annals and institutions their
chief historic grandeur. His genius was impressed on the
organic formation of the republic, and his spirit and principles
are its highest political and moral power. In a model republic
it was providentially ordained that he who was its founder
and father should be a model character, worthy of universal
imitation. Washington is that model. Like a finished and
faultless piece of painting, the more his life is studied the
more will he be admired and the brighter will his virtues
shine. He is one of the few men whose fame and influence
constitute the common inheritance of the race and will live
through all time. The impersonation of every great and true
virtue, ho gathers around him the afi"ections of the good and
commands the admiration of the world. In the republic which
he founded, and over which ho presided with singular integrity
and felicity, he has enthroned his influence and enibahned his
memory. Its annals speak his praise, proclaim liis illustrious
labors, and enshrine his genius and his works. Whatevor con-
stitutes the true and lasting glory of the n^public, or is excellent
and exalted in human character, finds a happy exemplification
in the life and character of Washington. The republic will die

480 CHELSTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

only wlien tlie princi23les and spirit impressed upon it by Wash-
ington shall have ceased to animate it ; and it will live in
replenished purity and vigor in proportion as they are applied
and transfused through the civil institutions of the nation.

'' The character of Washington," said Webster, '' is a fixed
star in the firmament of great names, shining without twinkling
or obscurity, with clear, steady, beneficent light. It is associated
and blended with all our reflections on those things which are
near and dear to us. If we think of the independence of our
country, we think of him who was so prominent in achieving it;
if we think of the Constitution which is over us, we think of
him who did so much to establish it, and whose administration
of its powers is acknowledged to be a model for his successors.
If we think of glory in the field, of wisdom in the cabinet, of
the purest patriotism, of the highest integrity, public and pri-
vate, of morals without a stain, of religious feelings without
intolerance and without extravagance, the august figure of
Washington presents itself as the personation of all these ideas."

He adorned and dignified every station which he filled, and
left the impress of his greatness upon all with whom he acted.
As a member of the Continental Congress of 1774, Patrick
Henry said, " If you speak of solid information and of sound
judgment, Washington was unquestionably the greatest man of
them all."

" There is something charming to me," said John Adams, " in
the conduct of Washington, — a gentleman of one of the first
fortunes upon the continent, leaving his delicious retirement, his
family and friends, sacrificing his ease, and hazarding all in the
cause of his country. His views are noble and disinterested."

"On the whole," said Jefi'erson, ''it may be truly said that
never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a
great man, and to place him in the same constellation with what-
ever worthies have merited from man an everlasting remem-
brance. His integrity was the most pure, his j ustice the most
inflexible, I have ever known."

''I cannot, indeed, help admiring," says Fox, in the British
Parliament, January 31, 1794, " the wisdom and fortune of
this great man. Notwithstanding his extraordinary talents and
exalted integrity, it must be considered as singularly fortunate
that he should have experienced a lot which so seldom falls to
the portion of humanity, and have passed through such a variety

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 481

of scenes without stain and without reproach. It must, indeed,
create astonishment that, placed in circumstances so critical and
filling for a series of years a station so conspicuous, his charac-
ter should never once be called in question, — that he should in
no instance have been accused either of improper insolence or
of mean submission in his transactions with foreign nations.
For him it was reserved to run the race of glory without
experiencing the smallest interruption to the brilliancy of his
career. Illustrious man ! deserving honor less from the splendor
of his situation than from the dignity of his mind, — before
whom aU borrowed greatness sinks into insignificance, and all
the potentates of Europe become little and contemptible."

Lord Erskine, in writing to Washington, expressed his reve-
rence for him in these words : — " I have a large acquaintance
among the most valuable and exalted classes of men ; but you
are the only human being for whom I ever felt an awful reve-
rence. I sincerely pray God to grant a long and serene evening
to a life so gloriously devoted to the universal happiness of the
world."

Lord Brougham says, ''In Washington we may contemplate
every excellence, military and civil, applied to the service of his
country and of mankind : — a triumphant warrior, unshaken in
confidence when the most sanguine had a right to despair ; a
successful ruler in all the difficulties of a course wholly untried,
directing the formation of a new government for a great people,
the first time so rash an experiment had ever been tried by man ;
voluntarily and unostentatiously retiring from supreme power,
with the veneration of all parties, of all nations, of all mankind,
that the rights of men might be conserved and that his example
might never be appealed to by vulgar tyrants. It will be the
duty of the historian and the sage, in all ages, to omit no
occasion of cornmerno rating this illustrious man; and until time
shall be no more will a test of the progress which our race has
made in wisdom and in virtue be derived from the veneration
paid to the immortal name of Washington.''

Bancroft draws the following true and beautiful portraituro
of Washington: —

*' Courage was so natural to him that it was hartlly .^]»ukon of
to his praise. No one over at any moment of his life discovered in
him the lea.st shrinking in danger; and ho had a hardihood of
daring which escaped notice because it was so enveloped by supe-

31

482 . CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

rior calmness and wisdom. He was as clieerful as lie was spirited,
frank and communicative in the society of friends, fond of the
fox-chase and the dance, often sportive in his letters, and liked
a hearty laugh. This joyousness of disposition remained to the
last, though the vastness of his responsibilities was soon to take
from him the right of displaying the impulsive qualities of his
nature, and the weight which he was to bear up was to overlay
and repress his gayety and openness.

" His hand was liberal, giving quietly and without observation,
as though he was ashamed of nothing but being discovered in
doing good. He was kindly and compassionate, and of lively
sensibility to the sorrows of others; so that if his country
had only needed a victim for its relief, he would willingly have
offered himself as a sacrifice. But, Avhile he was prodigal of
himself, he was considerate for others, — ever parsimonious of the
blood of his countrymen.

'• He was prudent in the management of his private affairs,
purchased rich lands from the Mohawk valley to the flats of the
Kanawha, and improved his fortune by the correctness of his
judgment ; but as a public man he knew no other aim than
the good of his country, and in the hour of his country's poverty
he refused personal emolument for service.

'' His faculties were so well balanced and combined, that his
constitution, free from excess, was tempered evenly with all the
elements of activity, and his mind resembled a well-ordered
commonwealth; his passions, which had the intensest vigor,
owned allegiance to reason ; and, with all the fiery quickness of
his spirit, his impetuous and massive will was held in check by
consummate judgment.

''He had in his composition a calm which gave him in
moments of highest excitement the power of self-control, and
enabled him to excel in patience even when he had most cause for
disgust. Washington was offered a command when there was little
to bring out the unorganized resources of the continent but his
own influence, and authority Avas connected with the people by
the most frail, most attenuated, scarcely discernible, threads ; yet,
vehement as was his nature, impassioned as was his courage, he
so restrained his ardor that he never failed continuously to exert
the attracting power of that influence, and never exerted it so
sharply as to break its force.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 483

** In socrecy lie was unsurpassed ; but liis secrecy had tlie cha-
racter of prudent reserve, not of cunning or concealment.

■'^ His understanding was lucid, and his judgment accurate: so
that his conduct never betrayed hurry or confusion. No detail
was too minute for his personal inquiry and continued super-
vision ; and, at the sa.me time, he comprehended events in their
widest aspects and relations. He never seemed above the object
which engaged his attention, and he was always equal without
an effort to th^e -solution of the highest questions, even when
there existed no precedents to guide his decision,

'' In this way he never drew to himself admiration for the pos-
session of any one quality in excess, never made in council any
one suggestion that was sublime but impracticable, never in
action took to himself the praise or the blame of undertakings
astonishing in conception but beyond his means of execution.
It was the most wonderful accomplishment of this man, that,
placed upon the largest theatre of events, at the head of the
greatest revolution in human affairs, he never failed to observe
all that was possible, and at the same time to bound his aspira-
tions by that which was possible.

"A slight tinge in his character, perceptible only to the
observer, revealed the region from which he sprung; and he
might be described as the best specimen of manhood as developed
in the south ; but his qualities were so lixultlessly proportioned
that his whole country rather claimed him as its choicest repre-
sentative, the most complete expression of all its attainments
and aspirations. He studied his country, and conformed to it.
His countrymen felt that he was the best type of America,
and rejoiced in it and were proud of it They lived in his
life, and made his success and his praise their own.

" Profoundly impressed with confidence in God's providence,
and exemplary in his respect for the forms of public worship,
no philosopher of the eighteenth century was more firm in tho
support of freedom of religious opinion, none more tolerant
or more remote from bigotry; but belief in God and tru-t in
his overruling j)Ower formed the essence of his (h.ir.h'ter.
Divine wisdom not only illumines the spirit, it inspires tho will.

"Wa.shington w;us a man of action, and not of tlu-Dry or
words; his creed appears in his life, not in his jTol^ssions,
which bur.st from him v<'ry rarely, and only at thasc great
moments of crisis in the furtuncs of his countrv wh*m earth

484 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

and licavon seemed actiTallj^ to meet, and his emotions became
too intense for suppression ; but his whole being was one con-
tinued act of Mth in the eternal, intelligent, moral order of the
universe. Integrity was so completely the law of his nature
that a planet would sooner have shot from its sphere than he
have departed from his uprightness, which was so constant that
it often seemed to be almost impersonal.

''They say of Giotto that he introduced goodness into the
art of painting. Washington carried it with him to the
camp and the cabinet, and established a new criterion of human
greatness. The purity of his will confirmed his fortitude, and,
as he never faltered in his faith in virtue, he stood fast by that
which he knew to be just, free from illusions, never dejected by
the apprehension of the difficulties and perils that went before
him, and drawing the promise of success from the justice of his
cause. Hence ho was persevering, leaving nothing unfinished, —
free from all taint of obstinacy in his firmness, seeking and gladly
receiving advice, but immovable in his devotedness to right.

''Of a 'retiring modesty and habitual reserve,' his ambi-
tion was no more than the consciousness of his power, and was
subordinate to his sense of duty ; he took the foremost place,
for he knew from inborn magnanimity that it belonged to him,
and he dared not withhold the service required of him : so that,
with all his humility, he was by necessity the first, though never
for himself or for private ends. He loved fame, the approval
i)f coming generations, the good opinion of his fellow-men of his
own time, and he desired to make his conduct coincide with
their wishes; but not fear of censure, not the prospect of
applause, could tempt him to swerve from rectitude; and the
praise which he coveted was the sympathy of that moral senti-
ment which exists in every human breast and goes forth only
to the welcome of virtue.

'' Tliero have been soldiers who have achieved mio-htier

o

victories in the field and made conquests more nearly corre-
sponding to the boundlessness of selfish ambition; statesmen
who have been connected with more startling upheavals of
society; but it is the greatness of Washington that in public
trusts he used power solely for the public good; that he was the
life and moderator and stay of the most momentous revolution
in human alihirs, its moving impulse and its restraining power.
C'ombining the centripetal and the centrifugal forces in their

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 485

utmost strength and in perfect relations, witli creative grandeur
of instinct lie held ruin in check and renewed and perfected
the institutions of his country. Finding the colonies discon-
nected and dependent, he left them such a united and well-
ordered commonwealth as no visionary had believed to be possi-
ble. So that it has been truly said, ' he was as fortunate as
great and good.' "

*' It is the harmonious union of the intellectual and moral
powei-s, rather than the splendor of any one trait," says Sparks,
" which constitutes the o;randeur of Washim^-ton's character. If
the title of a gr«at man ought to be reserved for him who can-
not be charged with an indiscretion or a vice, who spent his life
in establishing the independence, the glory and durable pros-
perity of his country, who succeeded in all ho undertook, and
whose successes were never won at the expense of honor, justice,
integrity, or by the sacrifice of a single principle, this title will
not be denied to Washington.'*

"The character of Washington," says Irving, ''may want
some of those poetical elements which dazzle and delight the
multitude, but it possessed fewer inequalities and a rarer union
of virtue than perhaps ever fell to the lot of one man. Pru-
dence, firmness, sagacity, moderation, an overruling judgment,
an immovable justice, courage that never faltered, patience that
never wearied, truth that disdained all artifices, magnanimity
without alloy. It seems as if Providence had endowed him in
a pre-eminent degree with the qualities requisite to fit him for
the high destiny he was called upon to fulfil, — to conduct a
momentous revolution which was to form an era in the history
of the world, and to inaugurate a new and untried government,
which, to use his own words, was to lay the foundation ' for the
onjoyment of much purer civil liberty and greater public haj^pi-
ness than have hitherto been the portion of mankind.'

**Thc fame of Washington stands apart from every other in
history, — shining with a truer lustre and a more benignant
glory. With us his name remains a national proportv, where
all sympathies throughout our widoly-extenilcd and diversitied
empire meet in unison. Under ;j11 dissejisions and amid all tho
Btorms of party, his precepts and example speak to us from the
grave with a perpetual apj»eal ; and his name, by all rovere«i,
forms a universal tie of brotherhood, — a watch woi*d of our
Union."

486 CHRISTIAI^ LIFE A^D CHAEACTEE OF TEE"

"In what," says Wintlirop, "did the power of Waslirngton
consist ? I hazard nothing in saying that it was the high moral
elements of his character which imparted to it its preponde-
irating force. His incorruptible honesty ^ his nn compromising
truth, his devout reliance on God^ the purity of his life, the
scrupulousness of his conscience, the disinterestedness- of his pur-
pose, his humanity, generosity, justice, — these were the ingre-
dients which, blended harmoniously with solid information and
sound judgment and a valor only equalled by his m^odesty, made
up a character for which the world m^ay be fearlessly challenged
for a parallel.

" Of him. we feel it to be no exaggeration ta say,,

' All tlie ends he aimed at
Were his countiy^s, his Good's, and Truth's/'^

"The splendor of his character," said Professor Tappan, in
1800, " arose not so much from the striking predominance of
any one virtue, as from the singular union and culture of all,,
and the wonderful adaptation of his leading moral qualities to
his peculiar and arduous situations.

" This brif^ht ass-embla2;e of virtues strikes us with less
astonishment when we add that their possessor was, both in
faith and practice, a Christian. Whatever influence we ascribe
to the peculiar structure of his mind and his polished education^
yet, as Christian principles were early interwoven with this
structure and education, they must, under the Divine blessing,,
have principally contributed to his excellent character."

Washington receive-d the rudiments and foundation of his
great life and character in a Christian household and training.
He was blessed with pious parents, who were members of the
Episcopal Church, under the ecclesiastical establishm.ent of the
Church of England, which v/as then almost the only denomi-
nation of Christians known in the colony of Virginia. He was
consecrated to God in faith and prayer, and in the rite of bap-
tism according to the creed of that Church. The record of
this religious act is found in the family Bible of his parents.

His father not only instructed his son in the obligations of
morality, but that " the fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom." Piety, as the source of all goodness and the element-
ary basis of all true greatness, was the cherished aim and the chief
effort of Washington's father: and from him and his mother

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 487

lie received the inestimable blessing of a sound religious educa-
tion; but, in common with, most illustrious men wbo have
adorned our race, Washington points, as the chief earthly
source of his successes and greatness, to home influence directed
hy a Christian mother,

" Tradition," says Irving, ^' gives an interesting picture of
the widow, with her flock gathered round her, as was her daily
wont, reading to them lessons of religion and morality out of
some standard work. Her favorite volume was Sir Matthew
Hale's ' Contemplations, Moral and Divine.' The admirable
maxims therein contained for outward actions, as well as self-
government, sank deep into the mind of George, and doubtless
had a great influence in forming his character. They certainly
were exemplified in his conduct throughout life."

His mother, being an eminently Christian woman, constantly
inculcated the fear of God and the strict observance of the
moral virtues. It was her habit not only to pray for her chil-
dren, but to urge this duty upon them with maternal earnest-
ness. '' My son, neglect not the duty of secret prayer," was
the injunction she was accustomed to give to her children and
grandchildren as they surrounded her domestic altar or left
the maternal mansion.

A volume entitled '' Contemplations, Moral and Divine, by
Sir Matthew Hale, Knight, late Chief-Justice of the King's
Bench," and which his mother so frequently read to him, passed
into the hands of General Washington, and was found, after
his death, in the library at Mount Vernon. It bears marks of
frequent use, and the tradition in the family is that " it was a
counsellor of past days." As this book had doubtless a large
influence in forming the character and guiding the conduct of
Washington, some of its leading truths are transcribed.

In this work Chief-Justice Hale represents the good steward
as giving his account to God as follows : —

"As to all the blessings and talents wherewith thou hast
intrusted me, I have looked up to thee with a thankful heart,
as the only Author and Giver of them. I have looked upon
myself as unworthy of them. I have looked upon them as
committed to my trust and stewardship to manage them for
the ends that they were given, — the honor of my Lord and
Mastor. I have therefore been watchful and sober in the use
and exercise of them, lest I should be unfaithful in them. If

488 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

I have at any time; through, weakness, or inadvertence, or
temptation, misemployed any of them, I have been restless till
I have in some measure rectified my miscarriage by repentance
and amendment.

'^As touching my conscience and the light thou hast given
me in it, it hath been my care to improve that natural light and
to furnish it with the best principles I could. Before I had the
knowledge of thy word, I got as much furniture as I could
from the writings of the best moralists and the examples of the
best men ; after I had the light of thy word, I furnished it with
those pure and unerring principles that I found in it.

" Concerning my speech, I have always been careful that I
offend not with my tongue : my words have been few, unless
necessity or thine honor required more speech than ordinary.
My words have been true, representing things as they were,
and sincere, bearing conformity to my heart and mind.

"I have esteemed it the most natural and excellent use of
my tongue to set forth thy glory, goodness, power, wisdom, and
truth ; to instruct others, as I had opportunity, in the knowledge
of thee, in their duty to thee, to themselves and others; to
reprove vice and sin, to encourage virtue and good living ; to
convince errors ; to maintain the truth ; to call upon thy name,
and by vocal prayers to sanctify my tongue and to fix my
thoughts to the duty about which I was ; to persuade to peace
and charity and good works.

" I have always observed that honesty and plain dealing in
transactions, as well public as private, is the best and soundest
prudence and policy, and commonly, at the long run, over-
matcheth craft and subtlety (Job xii. 16) ; for the deceived and
deceiver are thine, and thou art privy to the subtlety of the
one and the simplicity of the other; and thou, as the great
Moderator and Observer of men, dost dispense success and dis-
appointment accordingly.

^^ Touching my eminence of place or power in this world,
this is my account. I never sought or desired it, and that for
these reasons. 1. Because I easily saw that it was rather a
burden than a privilege. It made my charge and my accounts
the greater, my contentment and rest the less. I found enough
in it to make me decline it in respect of myself, but not any
thing that could invite me to seek or desire it.

*' The external glory and splendor that attended it I esteemed

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 489

as vain and frivolous in itself, a bait to allure vain and incon-
siderate persons to affect and delight, — not valuable enough to
invite a considerate judgment to desire or undertake it. I
esteemed them as the gilt that covers a bitter pill, and I looked
through this dress and outside, and easily saw that it covered a
state obnoxious to danger, solicitude, care, trouble, envy, dis-
content, unquietness, temptation, and vexation.

" When I undertook any place of power or eminence, — First, I
looked to my call thereunto to be such as I might discern to be
thy call, not my own ambition. Second, that the place were
such as might be answered by suitable abilities in some measure
to perform. Third, that my end in it might not be the satis-
faction of any pride, ambition, or vanity in myself, but to serve
thy providence and my generation honestly and faithfully. In
all which, my undertaking was not an act of. my choice, but of
my duty.

*' In the holding or exercising of these places, I kept my heart
hicmhle: I valued not myself one rush the more for it. First,
because I easily found that that base affection of pride, which
commonly is the fly that haunts such employments, would rendtn'
me dishonorable to thy Majesty and disserviceable in thy em-
ployment. Second, because I easily saw great places were slip-
pery places, the mark of envy. It was, therefore, always my
care so to behave myself in it as I might be in a capacity to
leave it, and so to leave it as that when I had left it I mio;ht have
no scars or blemishes stick upon me. I carried, therefore, the
same evenness of temper in holding it as might become me if I
were without it. Third, I found enough, in great employ-
ments, to make me sensible of the danger, troubles, and cares
of it ; enough to make me humble, but not enough to make me
proud and haughty.

" I never made use of my power or greatness to serve my oirn
turns, either to hea|) up riches, or to oppress my neighbor, or to
revenge injuries, or to uphold or bolster out injustice. For,
though others thought me great, I knew myself to be still the
same; and, in all things besides the due execution of my place,
my deportment was just the same as if I had been no such man.
For, first, I knew that I was but thy steward and minister, and
placed there to serve thee and those ends which tliou proposedst
in my preferment, and not to serve myself, much less my
passions or corruptions. And, further, I very well and practi-

490 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

cally knew tliat place and honor and preferment are tilings
extrinsical, and have no ingredience into the man. His value
and estimate before, and under, and after his greatness, is
still the same in itself; as the counter that now stands for a
penny, anon for six-pence, anon for twelve-pence, is still the
same counter, though its place and extrinsical denomination
be changed.

'' I improved the opportunity of my place, eminence, and great-
ness to serve thee and my country in it, with all vigilance, dili-
gence, and fidelity. I protected, countenanced, and encouraged
thy worship, name, day, and people. I did faithfully execute
justice, according to that station I had. I rescued the oppressed
from the cruelty, malice, and insolence of their oppressors. I
cleared the innocent from unjust calumnies and reproaches. I
was instrumental to place those in offices, places, and employ-
ments of trust and consequence, that were honest and faithful.
I removed those that were dishonest, irreligious, false, or unjust.

^' Touching my reputation and credit. 1. I never affected
the reputation of being rich, great, crafty, or politic; but I
esteemed much a deserved reputation of justice^ honesty, integ-
rity, virtue, and piety.

'' 2. I never thought that reputation was the thing primarily
to be looked after in the exercise of virtue ; for that were to
affect the substance for the sake of the shadow, which had been
a kind of levity and impotence of mind ; but I looked at virtue
and the worth of it as that which was the first desirable, and
reputation as a handsome and useful accession to it.

'^ 3. The reputation of justice and honesty I was always
careful to keep untainted, upon these grounds. First, because
a blemish in my reputation would be dishonorable to thee.
Second, it would be an abuse of a talent which thou hadst com-
mitted to me. Third, it would be a weakening of an instru-
ment which thou hadst put into my hands, upon the strength
whereof much good might be done by me.

^' I will use all fidelity and honesty, and take care that it
shall not be lost by any default of mine ; and if, notwithstand-
ing all this, ony reputation he soiled hy evil or envious men or
angels, I will patiently hear it, and content myself with the
serenity of my own conscience. Hie murus ahenius esto.

" When thy honor or the good of my country was concerned,
I then thought it was a seasonable time to lay out my reputation

CIVIL INSTITUTIOJS^S OF THE UNITED STATES. 491

for the advantage of either ; and to act it, and by and upon it,
to the highest, in the use of all lawful means. And upon
such an occasion the counsel of Mordecai to Esther was my
encouragement (Esther iv. 14) : — ' Who knoweth whether God
hath given thee this reputation and esteem for such a time
as this ?' "

The treatise on " Eedeemino; Time" contains the following
admirable maxims : —

*' How time is to be redeemed. The particular methods of
husbanding time, viz. in relation to opportunity, and in rela-
tion to our time of life, shall be promiscuously set down. Now,
the actions of our lives may be distinguished into several kinds ;
and in relation to those several actions will the employments of
our times be diversified. 1. There are actions jiatural, such as
are eating, drinking, sleep, motion, rest. 2. Actions civil, as
provision for families, bearing of public offices in times of peace
or war, moderate recreations and divertisements, employments
in civil vocations, as agriculture, mechanical trades, liberal pro-
fessions. 3. Actions morale . . . whether relating to ourselves, as
sobriety, temperance, moderation, or relating to others, as acts
of justice, charity, compassion, liberality. 4. Or, lastly, actions
religious, relating to Almighty God, as invocation, thanksgiv-
ing, inquiring into his works, will, obedience to his law and
commands, observing the solemn seasons of his worship and
service, and — which must go through and give a tincture to all
the rest — a habit of fear of him, love to him, humility and integ-
rity of heart and soul before him ; and, in sum, a habit of religion
towards God in his Son Jesus Christ, which is the magnum opor-
tet, the one thing necessary, and overweighs all the rest.

" Be obstinately constant to your devotions at certain set
times, and be sure to spend the Lord's day entirely in those
religious duties proper to it; and let nothing but an inevitable
necessity divert you from it.

" Whatever you do, be very careful to retain in your heart a
habit of religion, that may bo always about you, and keep your
heart and life always as in h'ln presence and tending towards
him. This will be continually with you, and put itself into
acts, even though you arc not in a solemn posture of religious
worship, and will lend you multitudes of religious applications
to God, upon all occasions and interventions, which will not at all
hinder you in any measure in your secular occasions, but better

492 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

and further you. It will make you faithful in your calling,
through reflection on the presence and command of Him you
fear and love. It will make you thankful for all successes and
supplies ; temperate and sober in all your natural actions ; just
and faithful in all your dealings ; patient and contented in all
your disappointments and crosses; and actually consider and
intend his honor in all you do ; and will give a tincture of
religion and devotion upon all your secular employments, and
turn those very actions w^hich are materially civil or natural,
into the very true and formal nature of religion, and make your
whole life to be an unintermitted life of religion and duty to
God. For this habit of piety in your soul will not only not lie
sleeping and inactive, but almost in every hour of the day
will put forth actual exertings of itself in applications of short
occasional prayers, thanksgivings, dependence, resort unto that
God that is always near you and lodgeth in a manner in your
heart by his fear and love, and habitual religion towards him.
And by this means you do effectually and in the best and rea-
diest manner imaginable doubly redeem your time.

'' Now, the fear of God, being actually present upon the soul,
and exerting itself, is the greatest motive and obligation in the
world to consideration and attention touching things to be done
or said. It mightily advanceth and improveth the worth and
excellency of the most humane actions in the world, and makes
them a nobler kind of thing than otherwise without it they
would be.

'' Take a man that is employed as a statesman or politicia.n :
though he have much wisdom and prudence, it commonly de-
generates into craft and cunning and pitiful shuffling, without the
fear of God ; but mingle the fear of Almighty God with that kind
of wisdom, it renders it noble, and generous, and staid, and
honest, and stable. Again, take a man that is much acquainted
with the subtler kind of learning, as philosophy, for instance;
without the fear of God upon his heart, it will carry him over
to pride, arrogance, self-conceit, curiosity, presumption ; but
mingle it with the fear of God, it will ennoble that knowledge,
carry it up to the honor and glory of that God who is the
Author of nature, to the admiration of his power, wisdom, and
goodness; it will keep him humble, modest, sober, and yet
rather with an advance than detriment to his knowledge."

The lessons of such a volume so early impressed upon the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 493

mind and heart of Wasliington laid the foundation of his future
fame, and finished his finely-formed character in the mould of
Christian virtues. When thirteen years of age, he wrote for
his self-government and conduct many moral rules, from which
the following are selections : —

1. Every action in company ought to be with some sign of
respect to those present.

2. Be no flatterer.

3. Let your countenance be pleasant, but in serious matters
somewhat grave.

4. Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another,
though he were your enemy.

5. Let your conversation with men of business be short and
comprehensive.

6. Wherein you reprove another, be unblamable yourself; for
example is more prevalent than precept.

7. Be not hasty to believe flying reports to the disparage-
ment of any.

8. Associate yourself with men of good quality, if you esteem
your own reputation ; for it is better to be alone than in bad
company.

9. Be not apt to relate news, if you know not the truth
thereof.

10. Be not curious to know the affairs of others; neither
approach to those that speak in private.

11. Undertake not what you cannot perform; but be careful
to keep your promise.

12. Speak not evil of the absent; for it is unjust.

13. Be not angry at the table, whatever happens ; and if you
have reason to be, sliow it not. Put on a cheerful countenance,
especially if there be strangers ; for good humor makes one dish
of meat a feast.

14. When you speak of God or his attributes, let it be seri-
ously, in reverence.

15. Honor and obey your natural parents, though thry bo
poor.

16. Let your recreations be manly, not sinful.

17. Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of
celestial fire called " conscience."

18. Avoid gaming. This is a vice whirh in j>roductive of
every possible evil, equally injurious to morals and hciilth.

494 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

19. Mock not nor jest at any thing of importance.

20. Use no reproachful language against any one, neither
curse nor revile.

21. Be not forward, but friendly and courteous ; the first to
salute, hear, and answer.

22. Detract not from others, neither be excessive in com-
mending.

23. A good moral character is the first essential in a man.
It is, therefore, highly important to endeavor not only to be
learned but to be virtuous.

24. Let your conversation be without envy, for it is a sign
of a tractable and commendable nature ; and in all causes of
passion, admit reason to govern.

Among the most beautiful Christian elements of Washington's
character was his filial love and reverence for his mother. Ke
afiectionately and conscientiously through all his life obeyed
the Divine precept, '^ Honor thy father and thy mother;'' and
he realized the promised blessing, — '^ that it may he well with
thee, and that thy days may he long in the land ivhich the Lord
thy God giveth thee."

He cheerfully relinquished, at the age of fifteen, his purpose
to enter the naval service of Great Britain, saying to his mother,
with tears, '' My dear mother, I did strongly desire to go, but I
could not endure being on board the ship and knowing you
were unhappy." His letter to his mother, in July, 1755, imme-
diately after the defeat of Braddock, to relieve her anxiety
about his safety, and giving her an account of the battle, closes
with, " I am, honored madam, your dutiful son." In his letter
to her, in August, 1755, commencing, ''Honored Madam,"
he says, in reference to accepting the command to Ohio, "If
the command is pressed upon me by the general voice of
the country, it would reflect dishonor on me to refuse it;
and that, I am sure, must or ought to give you greater un-
easiness than my going into an honorable command." In
his diary, in 1760, after his marriage, appears this record
of his visit to his mother : — " Pv^eached my mother s, and then
went to Fredericksburg. Pteturned in the evening to my
mother's : all alone with her." After this, he was in the habit-
of regularly visiting his mother once or twice a year, as long as
she lived, travelling about fifty miles to perform this filial duty.
The last visit he paid his venerable mother was just preceding

CIVIL IXSTITUTI0X3 OF THE UXITED STATES. 495

his departure from Mount Vernon to assume the Presidency at
Philadelphia. The Fredericksburg newspaper of March 12,
1789, has the subjoined notice: — "On Saturday evening last
his Excellency General "Washington arrived in town from
Mount Vernon, and early on Monday morning he set out on
his return. The object of his Excellency's visit was to take
leave of his aged mother, previous to his departure for the new
Congress, over the councils of which the united voice of Ame-
rica had called him to preside." That solemn and parting
interview — the last they ever had — is one of the most affecting
instances of filial affection recorded in history.

As a pattern to young men, Washington is worthy of con-
stant study and imitation. His youthful character was moulded
into the finest form of virtue, and at a very early age he
attracted public notice and was called into active service. His
disinterested devotedness to serve his country was early exem-
plified in his seeking an appointment in Braddock's expedition
to the Ohio, which proved so disastrous to that British ofiicer
and so fortunate for the fame of W^ashington. " The sole
motive," wrote Washington to the Speaker of the House of
Delegates, under date of Mount Vernon, 20th April, 1755,
'Svhich invites me to the field, is the laudable desire of serving
my country, not the gratification of any ambitious or lucrative
plans"

Having no sons of his own to educate, he adopted two grand-
children of his wife at the death of their father, one of whom
was George Washington Parke Custis, in whose education and
welfare he manifested a paternal solicitude. His counsels to
him at college are full of practical wisdom and contain advice
worthy the attention of all young men. W'ashington writes to
him, as follows : — •

" The assurances you give me of applying diligently to your
studies, and fulfilling those obligations which are enjoined by
your Creator and due to his creatures, are highly pleasing and
satisfactory to me. I rejoice in it on two accounts: first, lus it
is the sure means of laying the foundation of your own happi-
ness, and rendering you, if it should please God to spare your
life, a useful member of society. You are now entering into
that stage of life when good or bad habits will bo formed, — when
the mind will be turned to things useful and praiseworthy, or
to dissipation and vice. Fix on whiohovor it may, it will stick

496 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

by you ; for you know it has been said, and truly, tliat ' as the
twig is bent, so it will grow.' This in a strong point of view
shows the propriety of letting your inexperience be directed by
mature advice, and of placing guard upon the avenues which
lead to idleness and vice. The latter will approach like a thief,
working upon your passions, encouraged, perhaps, by bad
examples. Virtue and vice cannot be allied, nor can idleness
and industry. It is the nature of idleness and vice to obtain
as many votaries as they can.

'' Endeavor to conciliate the good will of all your fellow-stu-
dents, rendering them every act of kindness in your power. But,
above all, be obedient to your tutors. Let it be your pride to
demean yourself in such a manner as to obtain the good will of
your superiors and the love of your fellow-students.

'' I would guard you against imbibing hasty and unfavorable
impressions of any one. Let your judgment always balance
well before you decide; and even then, when there is no occa-
sion for expressing an opinion, it is best to be silent, for there
is nothing more certain than that it is at all times more easy to
make enemies than friends. And, besides, to speak evil of any
one, unless there is unquestionable proof of their deserving it,
is an injury for which there is no adequate reparation. For,
as Shakspeare says, ' He that robs me of my good name en-
riches not himself, but renders me poor indeed,' or words to
that effect."

In Washington's counsels to his young ward in reference to
reading, he remarked that he was particularly gratified to hear
that the young man was about to commence a course of solid
reading under the direction of the President of Princeton
College, Dr. Samuel Stanhope Smith, and says, '' Light reading
(by this I mean books of little importance) may amuse for a
moment, but leaves nothing solid behind."

His advice to young Custis on the early marriage of students
is worthy of attention. On this point "Washington wrote,
'' I have with much surprise been informed of your devoting
much time and paying much attention to a certain young lady
of that place [Annapolis]. Eecollect the saying of the wise
man, ' There is a time for all things ;' and sure I am this is not
a time for a boy of your age to enter into engagements which
might end in sorrow and repentance."

'' Enter upon the grand theatre of life with the advantages

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 497

of a finished education, a higlily-cultivated mind, and a proper
sense of your duties to Grod and man."

In a letter to his nepliew, Bushrod Washington, who was
a student of law in Philadelphia, Washington, under date of
'•' Newburgh, 15th Jan., 1783," wrote as follows: —

''The last thing which I shall mention is first in import-
ance ; and that is, to avoid gaming. This is a vice productive
of every possible evil, equally injurious to the morals and
health of its votaries. It is the child of avarice, the brother
of iniquity, and father of mischief. It has been the ruin of
many worthy families, the loss of many a man's honor, and the
cause of suicide."

These and all other vices were offensive to Washincrton's

o

''sense of moral and religious propriety, and therefore discou-
raged from principle, through every period of his life. His
example was in harmony with his precepts."

The obligations and duties of a Christian life had in
Vv'ashino'ton a conscientious and constant fulfilment in his
private and public life.

He was a member of a Christian Church (the Episcopal), into
which he was baptized, and under the influence of which he grew
up to manhood, and of which he lived and died an active and
consistent member. His mother was a member of the church at
Fredericksburg, where Washington's youth was spent, and the
family Bible of his mother contains, in her own handwriting,
the date of his birth, his baptism, and the names of his religious
sponsors. After his location at Mount Vernon and marriage,
he was a member and a vestryman of the Pohick church, in
whose temporal and spiritual welfare he manifested a constant
interest and care, and where ho habitually worshipped till the
commencement of the Eevolutionary War. After the close of
the war, and his return to Mount Vernon, in December, 1783,
his place of worship was in Alexandria, where, in Christ's
Church, he had a pew, and constantly attended. For the sup-
port of the ministry and the perpetual mahitenancc of religious
institutions and services, he drew up a paper subjecting the
pews of the church to an annual rent, the first clause of which
is as follows : — " We, the subscribers, do hereby agree that tho
pews we now hold in the Episcopal church at Alexandria shall
be forever charged with au annual rent of five pounds, Virginia
money, each. In witness whereof wo have hereunto set our

32

498 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

hands and seals, this 25 th day of April, in the year of our Lord
1785." This pew-rent "Washington when President, and resi-
dent a large portion of the year at Philadelphia, directed his
steward regularly to pay.

He was through his whole life, private and public, a con-
stant and reverential attendant on the public worship of God.

The Eev. Lee Massey, the rector of the parish in which
Pohick Church was located, and who shared largely in the
esteem of Washington, was heard often to say, " I never
knew so constant an attendant on church as Washington; and
his behavior in the house of God was ever so deeply reverential
that it produced the happiest effects on my congregation, and
greatly assisted me in my pulpit-labors. No company ever
withheld him from church. I have often been at Mount
Vernon on the Sabbath morning, when his breakfast-table was
filled with guests; but to him they furnished no pretext for
neglecting his God and losing the satisfaction of setting a good
example ; for, instead of staying at home out of false complai-
sance to them, he used constantly to invite them to accompany
him."

The same habit was kept up during his military life. One of
his secretaries, Judge Harrison, often said that " whenever the
general could be spared from camp on the Sabbath, he never
failed riding out to some neighboring church to join those w^ho
were publicly worshipping the great Creator." This was done
when there was no public w^orship in the camp.

After Washington was chosen President, he chiefly resided at
Philadelphia, and during the eight years of his administration
he was punctual in his attendance on public worship. He had
a pew^ in Christ Church, of which the venerable Bishop "White
was rector ; and it was seldom vacant when the weather would
permit him to attend. Mrs. Custis, of Arlington, bears this
testimony to the habit of W^ashington in attending public wor-
ship at Philadelphia : —

" On Sundays, unless the weather was uncommonly severe,
the President and Mrs. W^ashington attended divine service at
Christ Church ; and in the evenings the President read to Mrs.
Washington, in her chamber, a sermon, or some portion of the
sacred writings."

Bishop "White, of the Episcopal Church, says, " The Father
of his Country, as well during the Pi^evolutionary War as in his

CIVIL nTSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 499

Presidency, attended divine service in this city [Pliiladelpliia].
During liis Presidency our vestry provided him with a pew. It
was habitually occupied by himself, by Mrs. Washington, who
was a regular communicant, and by his secretaries. His be-
havior was always serious and attentive."

After he retired from the Presidency, he continued the same
habit. The church in Alexandria w^as again his place of worship.
The distance was nine miles ; yet his pew w^as seldom uno<:cupied
on the Lord's day. Neither in the parade of military life, nor
in the eagres of civil administration, nor in the retired circle of
home, did Washington ever forget to worship God in a reveren-
tial and public manner.

Washington obeyed the Divine injunction, ''Thou shalt reve-
rence my Sabbath," and " remember it to keep it holy."

The wisdom and piety of Washington combined to render
him a strict observer of the Sabbath and a jealous advocate
of its authority and sanctity. Of this his conscientious and
habitual attendance on the services of the sanctuary would be
sufficient testimony. There seemed to be, during his Presi-
dency, an increased regard and reverence for the Sabbath, and
the discipline of his house was strictly conformed to its obliga-
tions and pi-oprieties. It was an cstablishe^I rule of his man-
sion, during the eight years of his administration, that visitors
could not be admitted on Sundays. " No visitors," says Custis,
*' were admitted to the President's house on Sundays, with the
exception of Mr. Speaker Trumbull," who was one of the most
pious men of the age.

An ij\cidont while travelling in Connecticut vrill illustrate his
regard for the Sabbath and the laws which })rotect its sacredness.
Being unable, on account of the roughness of the roads, to roach
the town on Saturday night where he designed to spend tho
Sabbath, on Sunday morning he proceeded on his journcv t-") ar.
inn near the place of worship which he proj)Osed to attend. His
coachman was accosted by a plain man from a cottap\ who
inquired if there wa.s any urgent reason for his travelling
on the Lord's day. General Washington explainol the oiroum-
stancos to the officer, and said " nothing was furtlu^r from his in-
tention than to treat with disresjiect the laws and usages of
Connecticut relative to the Sabbath, which met with hif mott
cordial approbation."

It is not known that he ever wantonly vi'.>lat''(l the Lord's

500 CHPJSTIAN LIFE AKD CHAEACTER OF THE

i£iy in a single instance. In no one duty of his life can a more
fixed purpose of obedience be traced than in reference to this
obligation.

"Washington^ at every period of his life, had a special respect for
the office and persons of the ministers of the Christian religion.

*' He honored the calling as one of IXvine appointment, and
him who filled it as the living representative of the Divine
Author of Christianity. This was the combined result of his
good sense, pious afi'ections, and faith in the gospel of Christ.'^
Through every stage of his illustrious career, the marks of this
wise and patriotic course can be distinctly traced. He knew
their piety and patriotism, and saw their aiaspicious and power-
ful influence on society, on the army, and on the affairs of
government, and sought their counsels and entreated their
prayers. Among his most cherished and confidential advisers
during the war, and his civil administration, were ministers of
the gospel. In his first youthful military campaign he earnestly
laljored for the appointment of chaplains, and frecjuently during
the war of the Ee volution he called the attention of Congress to
their appointment, pay, and character, and wrote to churches
requesting them to grant permission to their pastors to labor as
chaplains in the army. His estimate of the infiiience and
labors of pious and intelligent ministers of the Christian religion,,
and his high respect for them, may be found in the correspond-
ence of Washington with the churches, in another chapter of
this volume, to which the reader's attention is directed for fur-
ther information on this point.

"Washington was a man of prayer, and had faith in ite divine
efficacy.

He was no less punctual and constant in the duties of secret
prayer than in those of the public sanctuary. In the French
and Indian War, Colonel B. Temple testified to his habit of reading
the Scriptures and praying with his troops on Sunday, in the
absence of the chaplain, and "■ that on sudden and unexpected
visits into Washington's marquee he has more than once found
him on his knees at his devotions."

His private devotions during the gloomy winter of 1777, at
Valley Forge, are a matter of authentic history. '' He was fre-
quently observed to visit a secluded grove," and General Knox
and others were fully apprized that jprayer was the object of
his frequent visits to that consecrated spot. Other instances

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. oOl

occurred during the war, in wliicli Washington Avas heard, as
he tarried for a night, engaged in his private religious worship.

During his residence at Philadelphia, as President of the
United States, it was the habit of Washington to retire winter
and summer, at nine o'clock, and he was seen "upon his knees
at a small stand, with an open Bible upon it." This habit was
conscientiously and constantly observed in the French and
Indian War, and through the Eevolutionary War, and during his
Presidential terms, and no doubt till the end of his life.

It was in reference to this trait in the Christian character of
Washington that Dr. Mason, of JSTew York, on the occasion of
his death, said, in a sermon, " That invisible hand which guided
him at first continued to guard and guide him through the suc-
cessive stages of the Ptevolution. Nor did he account it a weak-
ness to bend the knee in homage to its supremacy, and prayer
for its direction. This was the armor of Washington, this the
salvation of his country.

" The example of Washington," continues Dr. Mason,
"teaches a poignant reproof to those who think, or act as if
they thought, that religion is incompatible with greatness. The
majesty of his character forbids a suspicion that his reverence
for the worship of God, and his solicitude for the prevalence of
religious principles, were either a tribute to prejudice or a
stratagem of state.

" But every possible doubt is removed by the fact that it was
his uniform pjractice to retire at a certain hour for the devotion
of the closet"

''He was not one of those," said his adopted daughter, "who
act and pray that they may be seen of men. He communed
with God in secret. When my aunt, Miss Custis, died suddenly
at Mount Vernon, before they could realize the event he knelt
by her and prayed most fervently, most affectionately, for her
recovery."

In thn month of Novombor, 1820, I was in Fifdoiicksbur;:, Va., ami
iu the laniily of the K»n'. Mr. Wilson, pastor of the rrcshyti'rian elauvh
in that i)]uce. Ileocouiiieil the house in which tlie mother of Wasliing-
ton lived and died. Mr. Wilson informed me that a m-phew of Wa>h-
ington. Captain Lewis, who Inul Iwen liis eli«rk, and liad the charge of
his hooks and papers, and was (hiily in his library until his <hM-ea.se. re-
lated to him the following occurrence. It wa.s the custom of Washing-
ton to retire to hiH library every evening precisely at nine o'clock, and,
although he had visitors, ho invariably left at that liotir, and did not

502 CHEISTIAN LIFE A^D CHAEACTES OF TIiE

return. He remained alone in his library till ten o'clock, and passed
into his bedchamber by an inner door. Captain Lewis had long won-
dered how he silent that hour, knowing that he wrote nothing, and that
the books and papers were as he himself left them tlie preceding day.
During a violent stoi-ni of wind and rain, and whei* there ';?ere no visitors,
he crept in his- stocking-feet to the door, and through the key-bole
he beheld him on his knecS'^with. a la.rge book open before him, which he
had no doubt was a Bible, — a large one being constantly in the room.

In ATH. Hewit.

Bridgeport, January 10, 1859;

'' Tlie commander-in-cliief/' says Eev. Al'bert Barnes, " of
tlie American armies^ was observed constantly to retire for the
purpose of secret devotioru He went alone and sought guid-
ance of the God of armies and of li^ht/^

" These incidents perfectly accord with that humble and
devout spirit which steadily marked his visible conduct, and
distinguished even his political addresses. His inaugural speech
to Congress in 1789 is a signal display of this spirit. It
strongly expresses his sense of his owa deficiencies, his faith in
Divine communications to the human mind,, and his prayerful
dependence upon them. Sound philosophy, as well as Chris-
tianity, justify a belief that his wisdom and virtue as a man, his
conduct and success as a hero and statesman,, were eminently
indebted to his habitual devotion. If any admirers of our
departed sage despise or neglect prayer and other offices of
piety, they pour contempt on his past precepts and example on
earth and his present employments in heaven."

Washington commemorated the love of the Saviour of the
world, by frequently observing the sacrament.

This act of obedience to the Saviour was, according to the
testimony of many residing in the neighborhood of Mount
Yernon, frequently performed at Pohick Church previous to
the B,evolutionary War, of which he was a member and a com-
municant. " General Washington," said Mrs. Washington's
grand-daughter, " always received the sacrament with my
grandmother, before the Revolution."

Washington at the ComroNioN-TABLE in the Peesby-

TEEIAN ChUECH AT MOEPJSTOWN, NeW JeESEY.

It is the Sabbath. The congregation are assembled in the
house of worship ; and among their number is the commander-
in-chief of the American army. With a mlling and devout

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 503

Spirit he unites with the people of God in the ordinances of
religion. After a solemn sermon from a venerable minister, a
hymn is sung, and the invitation given to the members of sister
Churches to unite in the celebration of the Lord's Supper. A
well-known military form rises in response to the invitation.
With solemn dignity and Christian meekness he takes his seat
with Christ's people and partakes of the bread and wine. It is
Washington at the communion-table in a Presbyterian church.

The Eev. Dr. Cox, of Brooklyn, New York, first gave to the
public the circumstances attending this interesting event, which
he received from Dr. Hillyer, who had them from the lips of
Eev. Dr. Timothy Johnes himself, the latter being the pastor of
the church at Morristown at the time : —

'' While the American army, under the command of Washing-
ton, lay encamped in the environs of Morristown, New Jersey,
it occurred that the service of tK(5 communion, then observed
semi-annually only, was to be administered in the Presbyterian
church of that village. On a morning of the previous week, the
general, after his accustomed inspection of the camp, visited the
house of the P^ev. Dr. Johnes, then pastor of that church, and,
after the usual preliminaries, thus accosted him : — ' Doctor, I
understand that the Lord's Supper is to be celebrated with you
next Sunday. I would learn if it accords with the canons of
your Church to admit communicants of another denomination.'
The doctor rejoined, 'Most certainly: ours is not the Presby-
terian table, general, but the Lord's Table; and we hence
give the Lord's invitation to all his followers, of whatever name.'

*' The general replied, ' I am glad of it : that is as it ought to
be : but, as I was not quite sure of the fact, I thought I would
ascertain it from yourself, as I propose to join with you on that
occasion. Though a member of the Church of England, I have
no exclusive partialities.'

"The doctor reassured him of a cordial welcome, and the
general was found seated with the communicants the next
Sabbath."

This incident in the life of Washington shows, in the first
place, his own impression that he wius a religious vian, entitled
to the privileges of the household of faith; an<l, in the second
place, that he understood the spirit and principles of the Thirty-
Kine Articles, which recognize members of all evangelical
Churches iia belonging to the true Catholic Church. The ancc-

504i CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

dote in either aspect commends itself to thouglitful considera-
tion.

'' From the lips of a lady of undoubted veracity/' says Eev.
Dr. Chapman; '^ I received the interesting fact that soon after'
the close of the Eevolutionary War she saw Washington par- •
take of the consecrated symbols of the body and blood of Christ,
in Trinity Church, New York."

Washington was liberal in his charities to the poor and in his
Christian benefactions.

The traditions of Mount Yernon, still fresh in the memories
of many in that region, rehearse the story of Washington's
benevolence, and keep in remembrance his numerous and dis-
interested deeds of kindness. Almsgiving — a beautiful orna-
ment and an excellent evidence of the presence of real piety
— was not an impulse, but a principle, in the Christian character
of Washington. '*

From his head-quarters at Cambridge, 26th of November,
1775, he wrote as follows to the manager of his estates, during
the Eevolutionary War : —

'^Let the hospitality of the house with respect to the poor be
kept up. Let no one go hungry away. If any of this kind of
people should be in Avant of corn, supply their necessities, pro-
vided it does not encourage them in idleness ; and I have no
objection to your giving my money in charity to the amount
of forty or fifty pounds a year, when you think it is well
bestowed. What I mean by having no objection is that it is
my desire it should be done. You are to consider that neither
myself nor wife is now in the way to do these kind offices."

'^ I had orders," said Mr. Peake, one of his managers after
the war, " from General Washington to fill a corn-house every
year for the sole use of the poor in my neighborhood, to whom^
it was a most seasonable and precious relief, saving numbers of
poor women and children from extreme want, and blessing them
with plenty."

He also provided for the poor around him in other ways.
^' He owned several fishing-stations on the Potomac, at which
excellent herring were caught, which when salted proved an
important article of food to the poor. For their accommo-
dation he appropriated a station, one of the best he had, and
furnished it with all the necessary apparatus for taking herring.
By this means all the honest poor around him had the means of

CIVIL IX3TITUTI0XS OF THE UNITED STATES. 505

procuring, free of expense, a competent stock of this valuable
food for their families."

His benefactions to persons in pecuniary embarrassments
were timely and liberal, amounting sometimes to many thousands
of dollars ; and the recipients '' never laid down their heads at
night without presenting their prayers to Heaven for their
'beloved Washington.' "

In his will he bequeathed four thousand dollars " towards the
support of a free school in Alexandria, for the purpose of edu-
cating orphan children, or the children of such other poor and
indigent persons as are unable to accomplish it with their own
means."

Besides this annuity secured by him to the Alexandria free
school, he also endowed Washington College with ten thousand
dollars, of which he was elected the honorary President.

This constant liberality, which he practised himself, he in-
culcated and urged upon others. In his paternal counsels to
young Custis when at college, Washington writes from Phila-
delphia in 1793, ''Never let an indigent person ask without
receiving something, if you have the means, — always recollect-
ing in what light the widow's mite was viewed."

To his nephew Bushrod Washington, afterwards a distin-
guished Christian judge of the Supreme Court of the United
States, when a student of law in Philadelphia, Washington, in
1783, wrote :—

" Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distresses of every
one, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse, re-
membering always the estimation of the widow's mite, but that
it is not every one that asketh that deserveth charity : all, how-
ever, are worthy of the inquiry, or the deserving may sulfor."

Washington was a practical lover of liberty for all men, and
declared his faith by an act of emancipation to all his slaves.

In an interview with the two bishops of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, Asbury and Coke, at Mount Vernon, on tho
26th of May, 1785, Washington " gave them his opinion on
that institution [slavery] ; expressed his wishes for its al>olition,
and said that he had already delivered his sentiments upon the
subject to some loading men of tho State, and that in c;i8o any
movement should bo niado for that purpose his sullVage should
not be wanting."

His last will and testament, signed only a f'W day.-? before

506 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

liis deatli, December, 1799, declares the emancipation of his
slaves : —

I, GrEORGE "WASHINGTON, of Mount Vemoii, a citizen of the United
States, and lately President of the same, do make, ordain, and declare
that instrument, which is written with my own hand, and every page
thereof subscribed by my own hand, to be my last will and testament.
. . . Upon the decease of my wife, it is my will and desire that all the
slaves whom I hold in wy own right should receive their freedom. And
I do most pointedly and most solemnly enjoin it upon my executors to
see that this clause respecting slaves, and every j)art thereof, be reli-
giously fulfilled.

'^Kead his last will,'' says Professor Tappan, of Cambridge
University, '^ and see his anxious, tender, and effectual provision
for the liberation of all his African servants, for the comfort of
such of them as are aged or infirm or united by the sacred ties
of marriage, and for the useful education of their infant off-
spring. This provision, added to his corresponding humanity
while living, and the filial tears shed by his domestics on his
tomb, erect one of the noblest monuments to his fame. These
are monuments infinitely superior to those loud but hypocritical
clamors for liberty and equality which distinguish many nominal
patriots and real tyrants of the present day."

Washington constantly manifested a Christian spirit towards
all religious denominations.

'^ A friend to our holy religion," said an officer in the United
States army, January, 1800, '' he was ever guided by its pious
doctrines, and had embraced the tenets of the Episcopal Church ;
yet his charity, unbounded as his immortal mind, led him
equally to respect every denomination of the followers of Jesus.
Meek and distrustful of himself, he was liberal and candid to
others. Superior to the little prejudices which subsist among
different sects, — prejudices which deform the beauty and destroy
the harmony of the religious world, — he loved and wept and
prayed for all."

This spirit of Christian union and love was peculiarly pleasing
to Washington, and on his final withdrawal from public life, in
answer to an address of the ministers of various denominations
in and around Philadelphia, he especially congratulated them
and the country on its growing prevalence and happy influence.

Washington was exact and thoroughly honest in all his
business transactions.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. o07

'' In the management of liis private affairs," says Chief-
Justice Marshall, " he exhibited an exact yet liberal economy.
His accounts were all made in his own handwriting, and every
entry made in the most particular manner." He kept his
financial matters in such perfect order that, though his estate
was large, little trouble was found by the executors, after his
death, in settling it.

His pecuniary transactions with the Government were cha-
racterized by the same honesty and accuracy, and his original
account, on file in the Treasury Department, is an honorable and
suggestive memorial of his exact business habits and sterling
integrity. In accepting the command of the American army^
in June, 1775, Washington, in an address to Congress, said, —

"xis to pay, sir, I beg leave to assure the Congress that, as no
^pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to accept this
arduous employment at the expense of my domestic ease and
happiness, I do not wish to make any profit from it. Iiuill keep
an exact account of my expenses. These, I doubt not, they
will discharge; and that is all I ask."

His integrity in business is exemplified by the incident that
every barrel of flour which bore the brand '' George Washington,
Mount Vernon," was exempted from the customary inspection
in the West India ports, that name being regarded i\s an ample
guarantee of the quality and quantity of any article to which
it was afiixed. His vast business transactions illustrated the
sentiment in his farewell address, that ''Honesty is always the
best jjolicy."

" His exact and exemplary method of transacting all his
business enabled him to accomplish more, and in a more perfect
and advantageous manner, than pcrliai)s any other man of the
age."

The military life and character of Washington have an
authentic record in the chapter in this volume on the Chris-
tianity of the American army. The splendor of his military
campaigns, and that which crowned them with moral glory and
final victory, consisted in the pn^siding and guiding presence of
the Christian religion. Ho invoked constantly the blessing of
the God of battles, i)rofoundly and constantly recognized tho
providence of God in all tho occurrences and conflict.s of tho
war, discouraged and prohibited the vices so prevalent in an
army, and enjoined his troops to act as Christiiui soldici*s, and

508 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

issued orders to liis army declaring that it was in vain to hope
for success in the glorious struggle for liberty and independence
unless they received the guidance and blessing of Almighty
God. As a Christian hero he stands in solitary grandeur, and
in contrast to most of the leading warriors of the world.

''In Washington/' says Lord Brougham, in his remarks on
Napoleon and Washington, '' we truly behold a marvellous con-
trast to almost every one of the endowments and the vices
which we have been contemplating. This is the consummate
glory of the great American : a triumphant warrior, but a
warrior whose sword only left its sheath Avhen the first law of
our nature commanded it to be drawn ; and, dying, he bequeathed
to his heirs the sword he had worn in the war for liberty,
charging them 'never to take it from the sheath but in self-
defence, or in defence of their country and her freedom ;' and com-
manding them that when it should be thus drawn they should
never sheathe it, nor ever give it up, but prefer falling with it in
their hands to the relinquishment thereof; words the majesty
and simple eloquence of which are not surpassed in the oratory
of Athens and Eome. To his latest breath did this great
patriot maintain the noble character of a captain the patron of
peace, and of a statesman the friend of justice."

The military character and conduct of Washington have a
noble illustration in his tribute of praise to the patriotism of
the soldiers of the army, and in his Christian sympathy for
their sufi'erings. His cheeks were wet with manly tears at the
hardships and trials they endured, and on every occasion he
urged the justice of their claims upon the authorities of the
land, and vindicated their valor and heroic labors.

The following passage from his general orders, issued at
Newburgh, New York, April 18, 1783, on the cessation of
hostilities, displays the admirable traits of a humane man and
of a Christian military chieftain. He says, —

While the general recollects the almost infinite variety of scenes
through which we have passed, with a mixture of pleasure, astonish-
ment, and gratitude, and while he contemplates the prosj^ects before us
with rapture, he cannot help wishing that all the brave men, of whatever
condition they may be, who have shared in the toils and dangers of
effecting this glorious Eevolution, of rescuing millions from the hand
of oppression, and of laying the foundations of a great empire, might
be impressed with a proper idea of the dignified part they have been
called to act (under the smiles of Providence) on the stage of human

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 509

affiiirs; for haj^pj^ tlirice happy, shall they be pronounced hereafter
Tvho have contributed any thing, who have performed the meanest
office, in erecting this stupendous fabric of Freedom and Empire on the
broad basis of independency ; who have asserted, in protecting, the
rights of human nature, and established an asylum for the poor and
oppressed of all nations and religions.

The glorious task for which we flow to arms being thus accomplished,
the liberties of our country being fully acknowledged and firmly secured
by the smiles of Heaven on the purity of our cause and the honest
exertions of a free people against a powerful nation disposed to oppress
them, and the character of those who have persevered through every
extremity of hardship, suffering, and danger being immortalized by
the illustrious appellation of the patriot army, nothing now remains but
for the actors of this mighty scene to preserve a perfect unvarying con-
sistency of character through the very last act, — to close the drama with
applause, and to retire from the military theatre with the same appro-
bation of angels and men which has crowned all their former virtuous
actions.

The Statesmanship of Washington

"Was pre-eminently Christian. This feature of his public life
and character grew out of his inward religious life, and
was impressed with the purity and immutability of the princi-
ples of piety. '' In him religion was a steady principle of
action. He was a firm believer in the Christian religion ; and
at his first entrance on the civic administration he made it
known. He brought it with him into office, and he did not
lose it there."

" To excel," says Dr. John M. Mason, of New York, February
22, 1800, "equally in military and political science, has been
the praise of a few chosen spirits, among whom, with a proud
preference, we enroll the Father of our counjtry. When he
entered on his first Presidency, all the interests of the continent
were vibrating through the arch of political uncertainty. The
departments of the new Government were to be marked out and
filled up, foreign relations to be regulated, the physical and
moral strength of the nation to be organized, and this at a time
when skepticism in politics, no less than in r dig ion and morals,
was preparing througliout Europe to spring the mine of revolu-
tion and ruin."

In the midst of innumerable difficulties ho began the admi-
nistration of the new Government; and the sequel showed that he
gave it a moral and Christian impress, and eauaciatcd iu his

510 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

political principles and governmental acts tlie just and true ideas
of a Christian Government.

As a statesman lie at all times recognized God as the Ruler
and Governor of nations. This ultimate fact in the science and
wants of civil government Washington carried out in his whole
civil career. The success of the Government, the harmony
of political interests, the conciliation of party prejudices, the
suppression of vices that tend to the destruction of republican
institutions, the spread of the virtues that give strength and
life and moral glory to a state, and the sources of lasting pros-
perity and greatness to the republic, as existing in the Christian
religion, Washington uniformly and fully ascribed to God. He
affirmed, in every variety of official enunciation, that the nation
could not live and prosper without recognizing the presence and
supremacy of God. " It is impossible" he said, " to govern the
universe without God," and, '^ a fortiori, impossible to govern a
nation without him."

This great Christian truth shines out in luminous brightness
in his official state papers, which all have the moral impress of
this great fact and are transparent with its purity and majesty.
'' It is the duty of all nations," said he, among his first official
declarations, '' to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God,
to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to
implore his protection and favor."

His address to the Governors of the several'States, in 1783,
contains the following admirable thoughts on the same point.
He says, —

'' I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you,
and the State over which you preside, in his holy protection ;
that he would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate
a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government; to
entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for
their fellow-citizens of the United States at large, and particu-
larly for their brethren who served in the field; and, finally,
that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to
do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that
humility and pacific temper of mind which w^ere the character-
istics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without
an humble imitation of whose example in these things we can
never hope to be a happy nation."

In the same address he refers to education, commerce, refine-

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOXS OF THE UXITED STATES. 511

ment of manners, and liberality of sentiment, as promising a
favorable influence, and then adds, '' But, above all, the pure
and benign light of revelation has had a meliorating influence on
mankind and increased the blessings of society."

During the close of his administration, and after his retire-
ment from the Presidency, the atheistic convulsions of France
were upheaving her foundations of state and society. The mind
of Washington was at times saddened by the contemplation of
the scenes of anarchy and blood which that unhappy country
presented to the world, and by the knowledge that efforts were
being made by misguided sympathizers in this country to
entangle the American republic with France in her suicidal
career. But, with a sublime moral courage, he stood firm, and,
with his usual trust in God, said, —

'"' I cannot but hope and believe that the good sense of the
people will ultimately get the better of their prejudices. I do
not believe that Providence has done so much for nothing.

" The great Governor of the Universe has led us too long
and too far on the road to happiness and glory to forsake us in
the midst of it. By folly and improper conduct, proceeding
from a variety of causes, we may now and then get bewildered ;
but I hope and trust that there is good sense and virtue enough
left to recover the right path before we shall be entirely lost.

" The rapidity of national revolutions appears no less asto-
nishing than their magnitude. In what they will terminate is
known only to the great Euler of events ; and, confiding in his
wisdom and goodness, we may safely trust the issue to him,
without perplexing ourselves to seek for that which is beyond
human ken, — only taking care to perform the part assigned to
us in a way that reason and our own consciences approve."

The following tribute to the administration and Christian
principles of Washington, as displayed in his acts as a politi-
cian and a statesman, is extracted from the funeral oration
delivered before Congress, by Puchard Henry Lee, on the 2Gth
of December, 1709: —

"Commencing with his administration: what heart is not
charmed with the recollection of the pure and wise principles
announced by himself as the basis of his political life? II*^ b -t
understood the indissoluble union between virtue and happin --,
between duty and advantage, between the genuine maxims of
an honest and magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of

512 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

public prosperity and individual felicity. Watching with an
equal and comprehensive eye over this great assemblage of
communities and interests, he laid the foundation of our national
'policy in the unerring and immutable princiiDles of moeality
based on eeligion, exemplifying the pre-eminence of free
government by all the attributes which win the affections of its
citizens or command the respect of the world."

'^ AVe derive a presage," said a body of Christian ministers
and laymen (Episcopalians), ^' from the piety of your character.
Public virtue is the most certain means of public felicity, and
religion is the surest basis of virtue. We therefore esteem it a
peculiar happiness to behold in our Chief Magistrate a steady,
uniform, avowed friend of the Christian religion, who has com-
menced his administration in rational and exalted sentiments
of 2yi(^ty, and who in his private conduct adorns the doctrines
of the gospel of Christ."

His Farewell Address contains among its Christian axioms
and sentiments the following statements, which cannot be too
often repeated, or too profoundly pondered by the American
people. He says, —

The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation
that disregards the eternal rules of right and order which Heaven itself
has ordained.

Observe good faith and justice towards all nations : cultivate peace
and harmony with all. Eeligion and morality enjoin this conduct.

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, re-
ligion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man
claim the tribute of j)atriotism who should labor to subvert these great
pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men
and citizens. The mere politician equally with the pious man ought to
respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace out all their
connections with private and public felicity.

Let us with caution indulge the .supposition that moralit}' can be
maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influ-
ence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and
experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail
in exclusion of religious j^rinciples. It is substantially true that virtue or
morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule,
indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free govern-
ment. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference
upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric ?

It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a
great, nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel exam-
ple of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence.
Who can doubt that in the course of time and things the fruits of such

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 513

a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages which might be
lost by a steady adherence to it ? Can it be that Providence has not
connected the permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue ? The ex-
periment at least is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles
human nature. Alas ! is it rendered impossible by its vices ?

" The conduct of President Washington," says David Tappan,
Professor of Divinity in Cambridge University, '' was a humble
and visible representation of the Divine government, in the uni-
form purity of its principles, measures, and objects. He ap-
proved himself the vicegerent of God by his profound wisdom,
impartial justice, unsuspected uprightness, and steady consist-
ency,— by his disinterested and universal love, his intense, un-
wearied, and successful exertions for the common good."

As A Christian Politician,

Washington, in his principles and action, is a model to public
men. " He was the only man," says Jefferson, '' in the United
States that possessed the confidence of all : there was no other
man who was considered any thing else than a party leader."
His unselfish patriotism, the outgrowth of the Christian reli-
gion, comprehended all the great and true interests of the coun-
try, and harmonized with its permanent and progressive pros-
perity. No selfish interest ever prompted a single public act ;
and he was one of the few men in the world who rose above all
party bias and prejudice and consecrated himself to the good
of his country.

*' No man," says Chief-Justice Marshall, '' ever appeared upon
the theatre of public action whose integrity was more incor-
ruptible, or whose principles were more perfectly free from the
contamination of those selfish and unworthy passions which find
their nourishment in the conflicts of party. Having no views
which required concealment, his real and avowed motives were
the same ; and his whole correspondence does not furnish a
single case from which even an enemy would infer that ho was
capable, under any circumstances, of stooping to the emi)l()ynient
of duplicity. No truth can be uttered with more confidence than
that his ends were always uprigh* and his means always pure.
Ho exhibits the rare example of a politician to whom wiles
were absolutely unknown, and whose professions to foreign
Governments and to his own countrymen wore always sincere.
In him was fully exemplified the real distinction which forever

514 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEH OF THE

exists between wisdom and cunning, and the importance as well
as truth, of the maxim that ' honesty is the best policy.' "

In reference to parties he said, ''If we mean to support the
liberty and independence which it has cost us so much blood
and treasure to establish, we must drive far away the demon of
party spirit.

'' It is devoutly to be wished that faction was at an end, and
that those to whom every thing dear and valuable is intrusted
would lay aside party views and return to first principles.
Happy, happy, thrice happy country, if such were the govern-
ment of it ! But, alas ! we are not to expect that the path is
to be strewed with flowers. That great, good Being who rules
the universe has disposed matters otherwise, and for wise pur-
poses, I am persuaded."

'' There is an opinion that parties in free countries are
useful checks upon the administration of the Government, and
serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty.

'' This, within certain limits, is Jirobably true, and in Govern-
ments of a monarchical cast patriotism may look with indul-
gence, if not with favor, upon the spirit of party ; but in those
of the popular character — in Governments purely elective — it is
a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it
is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every
salutary purpose ; and, there being constant danger of excess,
the effort ought to be by force of public opinion to mitigate
and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uni-
form vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest instead
of warming it should consume."

The political character of Washington has its noblest illus-
tration '' in the pure and sublime maxims on which he founded
his auspicious administration, and the steady magnanimity
which marked his adherence to them. While such maxims and
conduct reflected equal honor on his understanding and heart,
while they illustrated the transcendent beauty and dignity
of a Christian policy, they gave, at a critical period, the most
salutary direction to our new political machine, and aff'orded a
precious example to all succeeding patriots."

As A Christian Euler,
Washington was firm and inflexible in the administration of the
Government. The rigid and impartial enforcement of the Con-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 515

st-itution and the laws lie regarded as vital to the very existence
of the nation, and never for a moment did he relax the reins of
government v/hile he held them in his hands. On this point he
says,—

'' The very idea of power, and the right of the people to
establish government, presupposes the duty of every individual
to obey the estahlished Government All obstructions to the exe-
cution of its laws, all combinations and associations, under
whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, con-
trol, counteract, or awe the regular deliberations and action of
tJie constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental
principle, and of fatal tendency.''

During the administration of Washington a practical test of
these views and principles of the supreme power of the Govern-
ment was applied. A portion of a sovereign State (Pennsyl-
vania), in 1793, rebelled against the Greneral Government, in
resistance to an excise-law for revenue-purposes, Washington
took immediate steps to vindicate the supremacy of law and to
suppress the rebellion. He declared the insurrection to be
""subversive of the just authority of the Government," and
that " the efforts of misguided or designing men were to
substitute their misrepresentations in the place of truth, and
their discontents in the place of stable government." He
earnestly entreated, in an official form, all " to call to mind
that, as the people of the United States have been permitted,
under the Divine favor, in })erfect freedom, after solemn deli-
beration, and in an enlightened age, to elect their own govern-
ment, so will their gratitude for this inestimable blessing be
best distinguished by firm exertion to maintain tlic Constitution
and tlie laws,"

" WJK'M, tlit'i-cforo," hr» contimir's, 'Winy fi*nii of ('on<'iliatii>n. not
incon.sistfiit witli tho beinr; of the (iov**rniiit'iit, has hoon adoptod witli-
out otiect, — whou, th«Mvfort', (fovt'nniHMit is <:<.'t at dotiaiieo, — iho context
being whctlKT a snjall portion of tlio United Stat»'S shall dirttfr /.) M<!
whoU Union, and. at the expense of those who <lesire peace, iiuhilite a
desperate ambition ;" "now, tln^refor, I, (MMtrize Wasliin^'ton. rrc-^i-
dt'nt of tho L'nite«l States, in oheU'un/'e to thai fwfh nixl inwsisfifJf </ufi/ ron-
si,jn,d tome bi/ thr. ( on.stitution, 'to take care tiiat th<' laws bo faithfully
fxeeuted,* deploring that the Amerioin name should hr suUird Ay thr- ontrag^s
!•/ rllizi'na on ihnr turn (torrmtiu'nt, but coniniis.Matinj; such as remain
o>>stinate from d^'bi-^inn, have Reaolvid, in perfect reliance on that gra-
cious I*rovid<n<«i wlii<'h so sij/nally «lisplays its po«vlijess towards thin
country, to * ac/kcy tkf rrf'nwtmy to a </uc subordination totAt law ;' and. withal,

516 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

the most solemn convictions of the essential interests of the Union demand
it, that the very existence of the Government and the fundamental principles of
social order are materially involved in the issue, and that the patriotism
and firmness of all good citizens are seriously called upon, as occasion
may require, to aid in the effectual suppression of so fatal a spirit."

The rebellion was effectually suppressed ; and Washington, in
view of the great triumph of constitutional government and
the vindication and establishment of the supremacy of the
lawS; says, in his Message to Congress in 1794, —

It has been a spectacle displaying to the highest advantage the value
of republican government, to behold the most and the least wealthy of
our citizens standing in the same ranks as private soldiers, pre-eminently
distinguished by being the army of the Constitution. ... To every description
of citizens let praise be given ; but let them persevere in their affec-
tionate vigilance over that precious deposit of American happiness, — the Constitu-
tion of the United iSiates. Let them cherish it, too, for the sake of those
who, from every clime, are daily seeking a dwelling in our land. And
when, in the calm moments of reflection, they [the instigators of the
rebellion] shall have retraced the origin and progress of the insurrec-
tion, let them determine whether it has not been fomented by combi-
nations of men, who, careless of consequences, and disregarding the
unerring truth that those who originate cannot always appease a civil
convulsion, have disseminated, from an ignorance or perversion of facts,
suspicions, jealousies, and accusations against the whole Government.

In 1786, a rebellion broke out in Massachusetts, headed by
Daniel Shays, but was soon suppressed. In reference to this
Washington expressed himself to Heniy Lee as follows : —

You talk, my good sir, of employing influence to appease the pre-
sent tumults in Massachusetts. (I) I know not where that influence is
to be found, or, if attained, that it would be a proper remedy for the
disorders. Influence is not government. Let us have a government, by
which our lives, liberties, and properties will be secured, or let us know
the worst at once, — know precisely what the insurgents aim at. If
they have real grievances, redress them, if possible ; if they have not,.
employ the force of Government against them at o^ice. These are my senti-
ments. Let the reins of g-overnment, then, he braced, tvith a steady hand, and
every violation of the Constitution be reprehended.

To the same import Washington wrote, March 31, 1787, to
Madison : —

I have my doubts whether any system, without the means of coer-
cion in the sovereign, will enforce due obedience to the ordinances of
the General Government, without which every thing else fails.

civil' institutions of the united states. 517

Washington's Devotion to the Union

Grew out of his love for liberty and a strong government. He
had a profound sense of the value of the Union to constitutional
governmejit and the blessings of freedom, and always felt that
the destruction of the Union would be the destruction of the
Government, the loss of liberty, and to establish the reign of
civil anarchy. He says, —

The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also noio
clear to you. It is justly so ; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your
real independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace
abroad, — of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very liberty which
you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, from different causes
and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices
employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth ; as this is
the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal
and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often
covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment that you
tihould properly estimate the immense value of your national union to
your collective and individual happiness ; that you should cherisli a
cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming your-
tjelves to think and speak of it as of the palladium of your political safety
and prosperity, watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety, dis-
countenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in
any event be abandoned, and indignantly frowning upon the first
♦lawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from
the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the
various parts.

He consecrates and commits the Government, with all its pre-
cious interests, to God, in the following solemn and suggestive
words : —

May that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides
in the councils of nations, and whose providential aid can supply every
<lefect, consecrate to the liberties and liappincss of the American
people a Oovernment instituted by themselves, for public and jirivate
r^ecurity, upon tlie basis of law and equal administration of justice, pre-
r<orving to every individual as much civil and i>olitical freedom as in
consistent with the safety of tlie nation.

While just government protects all in tlieir riglits, true reVujkm ghfs to
government its sureAt nuj)/>t)rt. . . . The general prevalence of ;»'<('/, pljilan-
thropy, honesty, industry, and economy seems, in the ordinary c«>urse
of liunum affairs, particularly necessary for advancing and confirming
the happiness of our country. . . . liefitjlon and morafiN ■•'•'■ ""'■"''■'^ ''">'>^'f*
to tociety.

518 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE:

As A Christian Pait.igt,

Washington earnestly nrged the Christian ed'Ti cation of the
people. He was a liberal patron of science and literature; and
popular education under Christian auspices, he believed, was
the only guardian of liberty and constitutional government.

In reply to an address from the President and Fellows of
Harvard University, October 27, 1789, Washingtc-n says,^ —

It gives me sincere satisfaction to learn the flourishing state of your
literary republic. Assured of its action in the past events of our poli-
tical system, and of its further influence on those means which make
the best support of good government, I rejoice that the direction of its'
measures is lodged with men whose approved knowledge, integrity,
and patriotism give unquestionable assm-ances oftheir success.

That the Muses may long enjoy a tranquil residence within the
walls of your university, and that you, gentlemen, may be happy
in contemplating the progress of improvement through the various
branches of your important departments, are among the most pleasing-
of my wishes and expectations. You will do me the justice of believing-
confidently in my disposition to promote the interests of science and!
true religion.

In answer tO' an address from the Corporation of Rhode IslancK
College, August 17,. 1790, Washington again gave his testimony
to the influence of learning in the cause o-f liberty and the
Revolution, in the- followi-ng vfords : —

In repeating thus publicly my sense of the zeal you displayed for the
success of the cause svf your country, I only add a single suffrage to- the
general testimony, which all who were acquainted with you in the most
adverse and doubtful moments of our struggle for liberty and inde-
pendence have constantly borne in your favor.

While I cannot remain insensible to the indulgence with which yott
regard the influence of my example and the tenor of my conduct, I
rejoice in having so favorable an opportuaiity of felicitating the State
of Ehode Island on the co-operation I am sure to find in the measures
adopted by the guardians of literature in this pbice for improving the
morals of the rising generation, and inculcating upon their minds
principles peculiarly calculated for the preservation of our rights and
liberties. You may i*ely on whatever protection I may be able to afford
ill so important an object as the education of our youth.

The President and Faculty of the University of Pennsyl-
vania, in April, 1789', presented an address of congratulation to
Washington, to which he replied,. —

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 619

I am not a little flattered by being considered by the patrons of lite-
rature as one of their number. Fully apprized of the influence which
sound learning has on religion and manners, on government, liberty,
and laws, I shall only lament my want of abilities to make it still more
extensive.

I conceive hopes, however, that we are at the eve of a very enlight-
ened era. The same unremitting exertions which, under all the blast-
ing storms of war, caused the arts and sciences to flourish in America,
will doubtless bring them nearer to maturity, when they shall have been
suflBciently invigorated by the milder rays of peace.

I return you my hearty thanks for your devout intercession at the
throne of grace for my felicity both here and hereafter. May you also,
gentlemen, after having been the happy instruments of diftusing the
blessings of literature and the comforts of religion, receive the just
compensation for your virtuous deeds.

George Washingtox.

" Promote," lie says, " as an object of primary importance,
institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In propor-
tion as the structure of a government gives force to public
opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlight-
ened."

The Puesuits of Agriculture

Had for Washington a delightful charm, and harmonized with
his Christian taste and culture.

"The life of a husbandman," says he, '' of all others is the
most delightful. It is honorable, it is amusing, and, with judi-
cious management, it is profitable." " For the sake of human-
ity, it is devoutly to be wished that the manly employment of
agriculture and the humanizing benefit of commerce should
supersede the waste of war and the rage of conquest; that the
swords might be turned into ploughshares, the spears into
pruning-hooks, and, as the Scriptures express it, ' the nations
learn war no more.' "

*'At the age of sixty-five," he writes, in 1797, "I am now
recommencing my agricultural and rural pursuits, which were
always more congenial to my temper and disposition than the
noise and bustle of public employment."

A Christian Home
At Mount Vernon was the crowning glory and happiness of
Washington's private life. He was blessed with one of the
happiest homes on earth. Intelligence, tiidte, wealth, books,

O20 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

literature, friends, the picturesque scenes of surrounding nature,
a wife wlio ''was the most perfect model of female excellence,"
who never omitted her private devotions or domestic or public
duties, and with whom "Washington " was perfectly united and
happy," these, crowned and beautified with the genial presence
of piety, constituted the Christian home at Mount Vernon a
model for loveliness and happiness. And such a home Wash-
ington most dearly loved. He says, —

" I am now, I believe, fixed at this seat, with an agreeable
partner, for life; and I hope to find more happiness in retire-
ment than I ever experienced in the wide and bustling world!"
" I can truly say, I had rather be at Mount Vernon, with a
friend or two about me, than to be attended at the seat of
government by the ofiicers of state, and the representatives of
every Power in Europe." '' I should enjoy more real happi-
ness," he writes to his wife, '' in one month with you at home
than I have the most distant prospect of finding abroad if my
stay were to be seven times seven years." "The great Searcher
of hearts is my witness that I have no wish but which aspires to
the humble and happy lot of living and dying a private citi-
zen on my own farm." " The scene is at last closed. I feel
myself eased of a load of public care. I hope to spend the re-
mainder of my days in cultivating the affections of good men,
and in the practice of the domestic virtues." '' Freed from the
clangor of arms and the bustle of camp, from the cares of public
employment and the responsibility of office, I am now enjoying
domestic ease under the shadow of my own vine and my own fig-
tree. And in a small villa, with the implements of husbandry
and lambkins around me, I expect to glide down the stream
of life till I am entombed in the mansions of my fathers."

Washington died December 14, 1799, aged sixty-eight years.
'' Great as he was in life, he was also great in death. He had
fought the good fight, and death to him had no terrors." His
death was worthy of his Christian faith and character. '' I die
hard," said he; ''but I am not afraid to die. I should have
been glad, had it pleased God, to die a little easier; hut I doubt
not it is for my good. ' Tis ivell! Father of mercies, take me,
to thyself." On his dying bed lay an open Bible, the book of
God, which he had read in the family circle and in his private
devotions, and in the light of its heavenly truths his great
soul passed, doubtless, into the light and immortality of heaven.

civil institutions of the united states. 521

His Funeral

Presented a solemn scene of sorrow. ''A multitude of persons,"
says an eye-witness, '' assembled, from many miles around, at
Mount Vernon, the choice abode and late residence of the illus-
trious chief. There were the groves, the spacious avenues, the
beautiful and sublime scenes, the noble mansion ; but, alas ! the
august inhabitant was now no more. That great soul was gone.
In the long portico, where oft the hero walked in all his glory,
now lay the shrouded corpse. The countenance, still composed
and serene, seemed to express the dignity of the spirit which
lately dwelt in that lifeless form."

The mortal remains were laid to rest at the bottom of the
elevated lawn, on the banks of the Potomac, where the family
vault was then placed. On the ornament at the head of the
coffin was inscribed the Christian sentiment. Surge ad Judi-
cium; about the middle of the coffin, Gloria Deo; and on the
silver plate, his name, age, and the day of his death. The
vault, in which now rest his remains, bears the inscription of
that glorious doctrine of the gospel, —

" I AM THE PtESURRECTION AND THE LiFE."

On the death of Washington, appropriate and solemn services
were directed and observed by Congress, then in session at
Philadelphia. The Senate presented the following address : —

To THE President of the United States.

The Senate of tlie United States respectfully take leave, sir. to
express to you tlieir dc<^p regret for the loss the country has sustaine«l
in tlie death of (Jeneral George Wasiiixgto.v.

This event, so distressing to all our fellow-citizens, must be peculiarly
heavy to you, who have been long associated with him in dct-ds of
patriotism. Permit us, sir, to mingle our tears with yours: on iliis
occasion it is manly to w»'ep. To lose such a man, at such a crisis, is
no common calamity to the world. Our country mourns her father.
The almighty Disposer of human events has taken from us our greatest
benefactor and ornament. It becomes us to submit to Him who
** rnakcth darkness his jiavilion."

With patriotic j)rid(» we rcvit'W th(i life of our Washington, and com-
pare him with those, of other countries who liave Ixu-n pre-eminent in
fame. Ancient and moilern times are <liminislied before liim. (Jroat-
ness and guilt have too often been aUi«Ml: l)ut lii** fame is whiter than
it is brilliant. The d<stroyers of nati.ms stood nbasheti at the majesty
of his virtues. It reproved the intemperance of their ambition, and

522 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

darkened the splendor of victory. The scene is closed ; and we are no
longer anxious lest misfortune should sully his glory : he has travelled
on to the end of his journey, and carried with him an increasing
weight of honor; he has deposited it safely where misfortune cannot
tarnish it, where malice cannot blast it. Favored of Heaven, he de-
parted without exhibiting the weakness of humanity. Magnanimous
in death, the darkness of the grave could not obscure his brightness.

Such was the man whom we deplore. Thanks to God, his glory is
consummated. Washington yet lives on earth in his spotless exam-
ple; his spirit is in heaven.

Let his countrymen consecrate the memory of the heroic general,
the patriotic statesman, and the virtuous sage. Let them teach their
children never to forget that the fruits of his labors and his example
are their inheritance.

Samuel Livermore,
President of the Senate ino tempore.

The President of tlie United States made the following
reply:—

(tentlemex of the Senate : —

I receive with the most respectful and afifectionate sentiments, in
this impressive address, the obliging expressions of your regard for the
loss our country has sustained in the death of her most esteemed,
beloved, and admired citizen.

In the multitude of my thoughts and recollections on this melan-
choly event, you will permit me only to say that I have seen him in
the days of adversity, in the scenes of his deej)est distress and most
trying perplexities, I have also attended him in his highest elevation
and most prosperous felicity, with uniform admiration of his wisdom,
moderation, and constancy.

Among all our original associates in that memorable League of the
Continent, in 1774, which first exj^ressed the sovereign will of a free
nation in America, he was the only one remaining in the General
Government. Although with a constitution more enfeebled than his,
at an age when he thought it necessarj' to i^repare for retirement, I feel
myself alone, bereaved of my late brother, yet I derive a strong conso-
lation from the unanimous disposition which appears in all ages and
classes to mingle their sorrow with mine on this common calamity to
the world.

The life of our "Washixgtox cannot suffer by a comparison with
those of other countries who have been most celebrated and exalted in
fame. The attributes and decorations of royalty could only have
served to eclipse the majesty of those virtues which made him, from
being a modest citizen, a more resplendent luminary. Misfortune, had
he lived, could hereafter have sullied his glory only with those super-
ficial minds who, believing that characters and actions are marked by
success alone, rarely deserve to enjoy it. Malice could never blast his
honor, and envy made him a singular exception to its universal rule.
For himself, he had lived enough to life and to glory. For his fellow-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 523

citizens, if their prayers could have been answered, he would have
been immortal. For me, his departure is at a most unfortunate
moment. Trusting, however, in the wise and righteous dominion of
Providence over the passions of men and the results of their councils
and actions, as well as over their lives, nothing remains for me but
humble resignation.

His example is now complete ; and it will teach wisdom and virtue to
magistrates, citizens, and men, not only in the present age, but in
future generations, as long as history shall be read. If a Trajan found
a Plinj, a Marcus Aurelius can never want biographers, eulogists, or
historians.

JoHX Adams.

UxiTED States, December 23, 1799.

Major-General Lee, at tlie request of Congress, prepared and
delivered on the 26th of December, 1799, a funeral oration, of
which the following are the closing sentences : —

Methinks I see his august image, and hear falling from his venerable
lips these deep-sinking words : —

"Cease, sons of America, to lament our separation ; go on and con-
firm by your wisdom the fruits of our joint councils, joint efforts, and
common dangers; reverence religion'; patronize the arts and sciences;
let liberty and order be inseparable companions ; control party si)irit,
the bane of free government ; observe good faith to, and cultivate peace
with, all nations ; shut up every avenue to foreign influence ; contract
rather than extend national connection ; rely on yourselves only ; be
American in thought, word and deed. Thus will you give immortality
to that union which was the constant object of my terrestrial labors ;
thus will you preserve undisturbed to the latest posterity the felicity
of a people to me most dear ; and thus will you supply (if my happi-
ness is aught to you) the only vacancy in the round of pure bliss high
Heaven bestows."

524 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

The following comprehensive and eloquent apostrophe was
written at Mount Vernon, by an English traveller, as is sup-
posed, on the back of a mirror which hung in the public room
of the mansion : —

WASHINGTON,

The Defender of his Country, the Founder of Liberty,

The Friend of Man.

History and Tradition are explored in vain

For a Parallel to his Character.

In the Annals of Modern Greatness

He stands alone,

And the noblest Names of Antiquity

Lose their Lustre in his Presence.

Born the Benefactor of Mankind,

He united all the Qualities necessary

To AN Illustrious Career.

Nature made him Great ;

He made himself Virtuous.

Called by his Country to the Defence of her Liberties,

He triumphantly vindicated the Rights of Humanity,

And on the Pillars of National Independence

Laid the Foundations of a Great Republic.

Twice invested with Supreme Magistracy

By the Unanimous Voice of a Free People,

He surpassed in the Cabinet

The Glories of the Field,

And, voluntarily resigning the Sceptre and the Sword,

Retired to the Shades of Private Life.

A Spectacle so New and so Sublime

Was contemplated with the Profoundest Admiration ;

And the Name of Washington,

Adding new Lustre to Humanity,

Resounded to the Remotest Regions of the Earth.

Magnanimous in Youth,

Glorious through Life,

Great in Death.

His Highest Ambition the Happiness of Mankind,

His Noblest Victory the Conquest of Himself,

Bequeathing to Posterity the Inheritance of his Fame,

And building his Monument in the Hearts of his Countrymen

He lived the Ornament of the Eighteenth Century,

He died regretted by a Mourning World.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 525

CHAPTEB XXIL

FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS — DIVINE IN THEIR ORIGIN THE PRACTICE OF

THE PURITANS — FAST-DAY IN VIRGINIA IN 1774 IN MASSACHUSETTS IN

1775 — FAST AND THANKSGIVING DAYS APPOINTED BY THE CONTINENTAL CON-
GRESS— THE PROCLAMATIONS OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS — PROCLAMATIONS
BY PRESIDENT WASHINGTON BY PRESIDENT ADAMS BY PRESIDENT MADI-
SON ACTS OF CONGRESS AUTHORIZING THEM DEATH OF PRESIDENT HARRI-
SON RECOMMENDATION OF VICE-PRESIDENT TYLER RECOMMENDATION BY

PRESIDENT TAYLOR IN VIEW OF THE CHOLERA DEATH OF PRESIDENT TAYLOR

— MESSAGE OF VICE-PRESIDENT FILLMORE ON HIS DEATH ACTION OF CON-
GRESS REMARKS OF MEJIBERS ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT TAYLOR — DR.

butler's prayer — PROCLAMATION OF PRESIDENT BUCHANAN ON THE EVE OF
THE REBELLION ACT OF CONGRESS IN 1861 REQUESTING PRESIDENT LIN-
COLN TO APPOINT A FAST-DAY — THE PRESIDENT'S PROCLAMATION RESOLU-
TION OF THE SENATE IN 1803 APPOINTING A DAY OF FASTING AND PRAYER —
THE president's PROCLAMATION — THESE STATE PAPERS PROVE THE CHRIS-
TIANITY OF OUR CIVIL INSTITUTIONS.

Civil Governments in all ages have consecrated sj^ecial clays
to prayer and the public worship of God. This national custom
has a Divine origin and sanction, and was designed, and is emi-
nently adapted, to give religious culture to the national heart
and conscience and to exert a beneficent influence on the civil
and religious interests of a people. The Hebrew common-
wealth had three great annual religious festivals, besides days
of special prayer and worship, occasioned by national exigen-
cies and the judgments and marked interventions of God.

The Puritans of New England, from their earliest history,
were distinguished for similar observances. Thanksgiving and
fast days constitute an instructive and important part of their
Christian history, and were observed with great solemnity and
})rofit. They were seasons of special praise for the smiles or of
prayer under the frowns of Providence, and became regular
civil and religious ordinances of the colonies, which wore uni-
versally observed. The custom ext^Mided to the other American
colonists under the English Government; and thus it became a
distinctive American Christian service, evincing the high and
universal Christian tone of all the Colonies.

o26 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

The fathers of the republic, in the earliest period of the
Eevolution, adopted the custom of consecrating, by acts of legis-
lation, days of thanksgiving and prayer for special religieus
worship ; and thus the public mind received a higher religious
culture through the civil authorities of the country.

At the beginning of the great conflict for liberty and an
independent nationality and government, Mr. Jefferson, —
who, whatever were his peculiar views of the Christian system,
always acknowledged the government and providence of God in
national affairs — recommended in Virginia the appointment
and observance of a day of public prayer and humiliation. In
June, 1774, when the news of the Boston Port Bill reached Vir-
ginia, the Colonial Legislature, then in session, appointed such a
fast-day for that colony. Mr. Jefferson's account of it is as
follows : —

We were under the conviction of the necessity of arousing our people
from the lethargy into which they had fallen as to passing events, and
thought that the appointment of a day of general fasting and prayer
would be most likelj^ to call up and alarm their attention. Xo example
of such solemnities had existed since the days of our distresses in the
war of '55, — since which a new generation had grown uj). With the
help, therefore, of Eushworth, whom we rummaged over for the reso-
lutionarj^ precedents and forms of the Puritans of that day, preserved
by him, we made up a resolution, somewhat modernizing their phrases,
for appointing the 1st day of June, on which the Port Bill was to
commence, for a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, to imj^lore
Heaven to avert from us the evils of civil war, to inspire us with firm-
ness in support of our rights, and to turn the hearts of the king and
Parliament to moderation and justice.

To give greater emphasis to our proposition, we agreed to wait the
next morning on Mr. Nicholas, Avhose grave and religious character was
more in unison with the tone of our resolution, and solicit him to move
it. We accordingly went to him in the morning. He moved it the
sa,me day. The 1st of June was projoosed, and it passed without oppo-
sition. The Governor dissolved us. We returned home, and in our
several counties invited the clergy to meet the assemblies of the people
on the 1st of June, to perform the ceremonies of the day and to
address them in discourses suited to the occasion. The people met
generally, with anxiety and alarm in their countenances ; and the effect
of the day through the whole colony was like a shock of electricity,
arousing every man and placing him erect and solidly on his centre.

Washington, then a member of the House of Burgesses, sent
a special message to his family and constituents to observe
this day; and Mason, a distinguished patriot, also a member,

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOXS OF THE UNITED STATES. 527

" cTiarged his household to keep the day strictly, and to attend
church clad in mourning."

TTiLLiAMSBrRG, IMay 30, 1774.

The House of Burgesses of Virginia, on the 24th of May,
adopted the following resolution, which was directed to be forth-
with printed and published : —

Tuesday, 25th of May, 14th George III., 1774.

This House, being deeply impressed with apprehension of the great
dangers to be derived to British America from the hostile invasion of the
city of Boston, in our sister colony of Massachusetts Bay, whose commerce
and harbor are on the 1st day of June next to be stopped by an armed
force, deem it highly necessary that the said 1st day of June be set
ajiart by the members of this House as a day of fasting, humiliation, and
prayer, devoutly to implore the Divine interposition for averting the
heavy calamity which threatens destruction to our civil rights, and the
evils of civil war, to give us one heart and one mind firmly to oppose,
by all just and proper means, every injury to American riglits, and that
the minds of his Majesty and his Parliament may be insj)ired from
above with wisdom, moderation, and justice, to remove from the loyal
people of America all cause of danger from a continual pursuit of mea-
sures pregnant to their ruin.

Ordered, therefore, That the members of this House do attend in tlieir
places, at the hour of ten in the forenoon, on the said 1st day of June
next, in order to jiroceed, with the Speaker and mace, to the church in
tlie city, for the purpose aforesaid ; and that the Reverend Mr. Price
be appointed to road prayers and to preach a sermon suitable to the
occasion.

By the House of Burgesses,

Georije "NVvthe, C. II. B.

'' The Journals of the Continental Conc-ress contain numerous

o

appointments of thanksgiving and fast days, and the resolu-
tions expressing the wishes of Congress upon this subject w^erc
in the form of recommendations to the executive lieads^ of the
State Governments, reciting in appropriate terms the occa-
sions which prompted the o])Scrvance, and the favors which a
benign Providence had conferred upon them a.s a |)Oople.
With one exception. Congress suspended business upon the days
it had appointed for thanksgiving ;" and the army undiU" Wash-
ington observed tliem with devout reverence. These official stato
papers arc rich in Christian doetrines, and confirm the great
truth that the religion of tlie fathers of the riovolution and
the foun<lers of our civil Governments was the religion of the
Bible. Tho proclamations issued by Congress make known the

528 CHEISTIAN LIFE AXD CHAEACTER OF THE

religious sentiments and feelings of tlie members of Congress,
and constitute a ricli part of tlie 23olitical Christian literature
of the republic. These papers, in their regular chronology
and historical incidents, will form the contents of the present
chapter, and may be found in the annals of the Continental
Congress.

Monday, June 12, 1775.
The committee appointed for preparing a resolve for a fast reported
as follows : —

As the great Governor of the world, by his supreme and universal
providence, not only conducts the course of nations with unerring wis-
dom and rectitude, but fi^equently influences the minds of men to serve
the wise and gracious purposes of his providential government, and it
being at all times our indispensable duty devoutly to acknowledge his
superintending providence, especiallj^ in times of impending danger
and publick calamity, to reverence and adore his immutable justice, as
well as to implore his merciful interposition for our deliverance :

This Congress, therefore, considering the present critical, alarming,
and calamitous condition of these colonies, do earnestly recommend the
twentieth day of July next to be observed by the inhabitants of all the
English colonies on this continent as a day of publick humiliation, fast-
ing, and prayer ; that we may with united hearts and voices unfeign-
edly confess and deplore our many sins, and offer up our joint sup^^lica-
tions to the all-wise, omnipotent, and merciful Disposer of all events ;
humbly beseeching him to forgive our iniquities, to remove our present
calamities, to avert those desolating judgments ^vith which we are
threatened, and to bless our rightful sovereign King George the Third
and inspire him with wisdom to discern and pursue the true interests
of all his subjects; that a speedy end may be put to the civil discord
between Gi'eai Britain and the American Colonies, without further effusion
of blood ; and that the British nation may be influenced to regard the
things that belong to her peace, before they are hidden from her eyes ;
that these colonies may be ever under the care and protection of a
kind Providence and be prospered in all their interests ; that the
Divine blessings may descend and rest upon all civil rulers and upon
the representatives of the j)eople, in their several assemblies and con-
ventions ; that they may be directed to wise and effectual measures for
preserving the union and securing the just rights and privileges of the
colonies ; that virtue and true religion may revive and flourish through-
out the land ; and that America may soon behold a gracious interposi-
tion of Heaven for the redress of her many grievances, the restoration
of her invaded rights, a reconciliation with the parent state, on terms
constitutional and honorable to both, and that her civil and religious
privileges may be secured to the latest posterity:

Ordered, That a copy of the above be signed by the President and
attested by the Secretary, and published in the newspapers and in
handbills.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 529

In Massachusetts this proclamation was read in all the
churches and distributed throughout the colony : —

Saturday, March 16, 1776.

Mr. W. Livingston, pursuant to leave granted, brought in a resolution
for appointing a fast, Avliich, being taken into consideration, was agreed
to, as follows : —

In times of impending calamity and distress, when the liberties of
America are imminently endangered by the secret machinations and
open assaults of an insidious and vindictive administration, it becomes
the indispensable duty of these hitherto free and happy colonies, with
, true penitence of heart and the most reverent devotion, publicly to
acknowledge the overruling providence of God, to confess and deplore
our offences against him, and to supplicate his interposition for averting
the threatened danger and prospering our strenuous efforts in the
cause of freedom, virtue, and posterity.

The Congress, therefore, considering the warlike preparations of the
British ministry to subvert our invaluable rights and privileges, and to
reduce us by fire and sword, by the savages of the wilderness, and our
own domestics, to the most abject and ignominious bondage, — desirous,
ut the same time, to have people of all ranks and degrees duly im-
l>ressed with a solemn sense of God's superintending providence, and
of their duty devoutly to rely, in all their lawful enterpri>=es, on his aid
and direction, — do earnestly recommend that Friday, the 17th day of
May next, be observed by the said colonies as a day of humiliation,
fasting, and prayer; that we may, with united hearts, confess and
l)ewail our manifold sins and transgi'essions, and, by a sincere repent-
ance and amendment of life, appease his rigliteous displeasure, and
througli the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ obtain his pardon
and forgiveness ; liumbly imploring his assistance to frustrate the cruel
purposes of our unnatural enemies, and, by inclining their hearts t^
justice and benevolence, prevent the further effusion of kindred blood.
But if, C(jntinuing deaf to the voice of reason and inhumanity, and
inflexibly bent on desolation and war, they constrain us to repel
their hostile invasions by open resistance, that it may please the Lord
of hosts, the God of armies, to animate our officers and soldiers with
invincible fortitude, to guard and protect them in the day of battle, and
to crown the Continental arms, by sea and land, with victory and suc-
cess. Earnestly beseeching him to bless our civil rulers, and the rejire-
sontatives of the people, in tlieir several assemblies and conventions:
to preserve and strengthen tlieir union ; to inspire tlu-m with an
' ardent, disinterested hjvo of thoir country ; to give wisdom and .sta-
bility to thfir councils, and direct them to the most efTicariouH mcu-
suros Ibr establishing the rights of America on the most lionorablo hhcI
jMMinanont basis ; that he wouhl be gnuiously j»leasi-<l to bloss uU his
|.«"Ople in thcKo colonies with health and plenty, and grant that ii .'Spirit
(»r incorruptible patriotism and of i)uro, undifih'd ri'ligion may uni-
vcr.sally prevail, and this continent be speedily restore<l to the ble.H.s-
ings of peace and liberty, and enabled to trant<mit them inviolate to

31

530 CHRISTIAN LIFE AXD CHARACTER OF THE

the latest posterity. And it is recommended to Christians of all deno-
minations to assemble for public worship, and abstain from servile
labor, on said day.

Monday, December 9, 1776.

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to prepare an
address to the inhabitants of America, and a recommendation to the
several States to appoint a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer.

The members chosen, Mr. Witherspoon, Mr. E. H. Lee, and Mr.
Adams.

Wednesday, December 11, 1776.

The committee appointed to prepare a resolution for appointing a
day of fasting and humiliation brought in a report, which was read
and agreed to, as follows : —

Whereas the war in which the United States are engaged with
Great Britain has not only been prolonged, but is likely to be carried
to the greatest extremity, and whereas it becomes all public bodies, as
well as private persons, to reverence the providence of God, and look
up to him as the Supreme Disposer of all events and the arbiter of the
fate of nations : therefore,

Resolved, That it be recommended to all the United States, as soon as
possible, to appoint a day of solemn fasting and humiliation, to implore
of Almighty God the forgiveness of the many sins prevailing ainong all
ranks, and to beg the countenance and assistance of his providence in
the prosecution of the present just and necessary war.

The Congress do also, in the most earnest manner, recommend to all
the members of the United States, and particularly the officers, civil
and military, under them, the exercise of repentance and reformation ;
and, further, require of them the strict observation of the articles of
war, and particularly that part of the said articles which forbids pro-
fane swearing and all immorality, of which ail such officers are desired
to take notice.

It is left to each State to issue out proclamations fixing the day that
appears most proper within its bounds.

Ordered, That the above be published by the committee who brought
in the report.

Thaxxsqiving-Days for Victory over Burgoyne.
The Annals of Congress record the following : —

Friday, October 31, 1777.

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to prepare a recom-
mendation to the several States to set apart a day for thanksgiving for
the signal success lately obtained over the enemies of these United
States. The members chosen were Mr. S. Adams, Mr. E. H. Lee, and
Mr. Eoberdeau.

Saturday, November 1, 1777.

The committee appointed to prepare a recommendation to the
several States to set apart a day of public thanksgiving, brought in a
report, which was taken into consideration and agreed to, as follows : —

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 531

Forasmuch as it is the indispensable duty of all men to adore the
superintending providence of Almighty God, to acknowledge with
gratitude their obligations to him for benefits received, and to implore
such further blessings as they stand in need of; and it having pleased
him in his abundant mercy not only to continue to us the innumerable
bounties of his common providence, but also to smile upon us in the pro-
secution of a jtist and necessary war for the defence and establishment
of our inalienable rights and liberties, particularly in that he hath
been pleased in so great a measure to prosper the means used for the
support of our troops and to crown our arms with most signal success :
it is, therefore, recommended to the legislative or executive powers of
these United iStates to set apart Thursday, the 18th day of December,
for solemn thanksgiving and f>raise ; that with one heart and one voice
the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts and
consecrate themselves to the service of their Divine Benefactor, and
that together with their sincere acknowledgments of kind offerings
they may join the penitent confession of their manifold sins, whereby
they had forfeited every favor, and their humble and earnest supplica-
tion that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, merci-
fully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance ; that it may please
liim graciously to afford his blessing on the Governments of these States
respectively, and prosper the public councils of the whole ; to inspire
our commanders both by land and sea, and all under them, witli that
wisdom and fortitude which may render tliem fit insti'uments, under
the providence of Almighty God, to secure for these United States the
greatest of all blessings, — independence and peace; tliat it may j)lease
him to prosper the trade and manufactures of the people and the
labor of the husbandman, that our land may yield its increase; to take
schools and seminaries of education, so nec«»ssary for cultivating the
principles of true liberty, virtue, and piety, under iiis nurturing hand,
and to prosper the means of religion for tlie in-omotion and enlarge-
ment of that kingdom which consisteth in righteousness, peace, and
Joy in the jrr)ly Ghost.

And it is further recommended tliat servile labors and such recrea-
tions as, tliough at other times innocent, may be unbecoming the pur-
pose of this appointment, be omitted on so solemn an occasion.

Fr'ulay, Nuveinbcr 7, 1777.
Ordered, That a duplicate of tlie recommendation to the sovor.il
States to set apart a day of thanksgiving, signed by the rresid.nt. bo
sent to the several States and to General Washington and (Jeneral
^'rates.

The proceed i 11 ixs of Congress were sent to all the Statos by
Henry Laurens, President in Congress, with an official request
that each Governor would be plcixsed to take the nec.-.<^;iry
measures for carrying the resolve into etTect in the State over
which he presided.

Washington, when the above proclamation reached him, was

532 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

on his march to Valley Forge, and halted his whole army
during the day, and the chaplains held religions services with
their several corps and brigades, upon which the commander-
in-chief exhorted all officers and soldiers to " attend with reve-
rence the solemnities of the day."

Saturday, Tsovember 7, 1778.
Ordered, Tliat i\\e chaplains of Congress prepare and report a recom-
mendation to the several States to set apart the 30th day of December
next, as a day of general thanksgiving throughout the United States.

Tuesday, Navember 17, 1778.

Congress resumed the consideration of the recommendation to the
States for setting apart a day of thanksgiving, which, being amended, is
as follows : —

It having pleased Almighty God, through the course of the present
year, to bestow many gi-eat and manifold mercies on the people of these
United States, and it being the indispensable duty of all men grate-
fully to acknowledge their obligations to him for benefits received ;

Resolved, That it be, and is hereby, recommended to the legislative
or executive authority of each of the said States to appoint Wednesday,
the 30th of December next, to be observed as a day of public thanks-
giving and praise, that all the people may, with united hearts, on that
day, express a just sense of his unmerited favors ; particularly in that it
hath pleased him, in his overruling providence, to support us in a just
and necessary war for the defence of our rights and liberties, by aftbrd-
ing us seasonable supplies for our armies, by disposing the heart of a
powerful monarch to enter into an alliance with us and aid our cause,
by defeating the councils and evil designs of our enemies and giving us
victory over their troops, and by the continuance of that union among
these States which, by his blessing, will be their future strength and
glory.

And it is further recommended that together with devout thanks-
givings may be joined a penitent confession of our sins, and humble
supplication for pardon, through the merits of our Saviour; so that,
under the smiles of Heaven, our public councils may be directed, our
arms by land and sea prosperetl, om- liberty and independence secured,
our schools and seminaries of learning floui'ish, our trade be restored,
our husbandly and manufactures be increased, and the hearts of all
be impressed witli undissembled piety, with benevolence and zeal for
the public good.

And it is also recommended that recreations unsuitable to the purpose
of such a solemnity may be omitted on that day.

Done in Congress, the 17th day of November, 1778, and in the third
year of the independence of the United States of America.

Henry Laurens,

President in Congress,

Attest: Charles Tiiojison, Secretary.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 533

Saturday, March 20, 1779.

Whereas, Almighty God, in the righteous dispensation of his provi-
dence, hath permitted the continuation of a cruel and desolating war
in our land ; and it being at all times the duty of a people to acknow-
ledge Grod in all his ways, and more especially to humble themselves
before him when evident tokens of his displeasure are manifested, to
acknowledge his righteous government, confess and forsake their evil
ways, and implore his mercy ;

Resolved, That it be recommended to the United States of America
to set apart Wednesday, the 22d day of April next, to be observed as a
day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer ; that at one time and with one
voice the inhabitants may acknowledge the righteous dispensations
of Divine Providence, and confess their iniquities and transgression?,
for which the land mourneth ; that they may implore the mercy and
forgiveness of God, and beseech him that vice, profaneness, extortion,
and every evil may be done away, and that we may be a reformed and
a happy people; that they may unite in humble and earnest suppli-
cation that it may please Almighty God to guard and defend us against
our enemies, and give vigor and success to our military oj^erations by
sea and land : that it may please him to bless the rulers and people,
strengthen and perpetuate our Union, and in his own good time
establish us in the peaceable enjoyment of our rights and liberties ;
that it may please him to bless our schools and seminaries of learning,
and make them nurseries of true piety, virtue, and useful knowledge ;
that it may please him to cause the earth to yield its increase and to
crown the year with his goodness-
March 20, 1779.

Whereas, in just punishment for our mauifold transgressions, it hath
pleased the Supreme Disposer of all events to visit these United States
with a calamitous war, through which iiis Divine PixDvidonce hath
hitherto in a wonderful manner conducted us, so tliat we might acknow-
b'dgo that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong;
and whereas, notwithstanding the chastisement received and benefits
bestowed, too few have been sufficiently awakened to a sense of their
guilt, or warmed with gratitude, or tauglit to amend their lives and turn
from their sins, so he might turn from his wrath ; and whereas, from a
consciousness of what we have merited at his hands, and an ajtprc-
hension that the malevolence of our disapjK)inted enemies, like tlie
incredulity of Pharaoh, may be used as the scourge of Omnipotence
to vindicate his sliglitcd majesty, there is reason to fear that lie may
]>ormit much of our land to become a prey of the spoiler, our borders to
be ravaged, and our habitations destroyed ;

Jiesoh'cd, That it be recommended to the several States to a)>point
the Hrst Thursday in May next to be a day of fasting, liuniilialion,
and prayer to Almighty God that he would bo pleased to avert tliese
impending calamities, which we liave but too Wi-U deserved: tluit ho
will grant us his grace to repent of our sins antl amend our lives
nccording to his hnl,/ ,n,rd; that lu; will continue that wondiTful pro-
tection wliitli hath 1<m1 u^ through the paths of danger and distress;

534 CHEISTIAX LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

that he will be a husband to the widow and a father to the fatherless
children who weep over the barbarities of a savage enemy; that he
will grant us patience in suffering and fortitude in adversity; that hq
will insj^ire us with humility, m(^deration, and gratitude in prosperous
circumstances ; that he will give wisdom to our councils, firmness to
our resolutions, and victory to our arms; that he will bless the labors
of the husbandman, and pour forth abundance, so that we may enjoy
the fruits of the earth in due season; that he will cause union, har-
monj', and mutual confidence to prevail throughout these States; that
he will bestow on our great ally all those blessings which may enable
him to be gloriously instrumental in protecting the rights of mankind
and in promoting the hajipiness of his subjects; that he will bounti-
fully continue his paternal care to the commander-in-chief and the
officers and soldiers of the United States; that he will grant the
blessings of peace to all contending nations, freedom to those who are
in bondage, and comfort to those who are afflicted ; that he will diffuse
usefvil knowledge, extend true religion, and give us that peace of mind
which the world cannot give; that he will be our shield in the day
of battle, our comforter in the hour of death, and our kind parent and
merciful judge through time and through eternity.

Done in Congress, this 20th day of March, in the year of our Lord
one thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine, and in the third year
of our independence.

JoHX Jay, President,

Attest: Charles Thomson, Serretary,

Thursday, October 14, 177&.

Besolved, That it will be proper to set apart the second Thursday of
December next as a day of general thanksgiving in these United
States, and that a committee of four be aj)pointed to prepare a recom-
mendation to the said States for this purpose.

The members chosen were Mr. Root, Mr. Holter Mr. Muhlenberg,
and Mr. Gouverneur Morris.

Wednesday, October 20, 1779.

The committee reported as follows : —

Whereas it becomes us humbly to approach the throne of Almighty
God with gratitude and praise for the wonders which his goodness has
wrought in conducting our forefathers to this Western world, for his
]>rotection to them and to their posterity amidst difficulties and dangers,
for raising us, their children, from deep distress, to be numbered among
the nations of the earth, and especially for that he hath been pleased
to grant us the enjoyment of health, and so to order the revolving
seasons that the earth hath jd reduced her increase in abundance,
l^lessing the labors of the husbandman and spreading plenty through
the land ; that he hath prospered our arms and those of our ally, been
a shield to our troops in the hour of danger, jiointed their SAvords to
victory, and led them in triumph over the bulwark of the foe ; that he
has gone with those who went out into the wilderness against the
savage tribes ; that he hath stayed the hand of the spoiler, and turneJ

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOXS OF THE UNITED STATES. 535

back his meditated destruction ; tliat he hath jirospered our commerce,
and given success to those who fought the enemy on the face of the
deep; and, above all, that he hath diffused the glorious light of the gospel,
whereby, through the merits of our gracious Redeemer, we may become the heirs
of his eternal glory : therefore,

Resoloed, That it be recommended to the several States to appoint
Thursday, the 9th of December next, to be a day of public and solemn
thanksgiving to Almighty God for his mercies, and of prayer for the
continuance of his favor and protection to these United States; to
beseech him that he would be graciously pleased to influence our
public councils, and bless them with wisdom from on high, with una-
nimity, firmness, and success; that he would gcf forth with our hosts
and crown our armies with victory ; that he icould grant to his Church the
plentifid effusions of Divine grace, and pour out his Holy Spirit on all ministers
of the gospel; that he would bless and prosper the means of education,
and spread the light of Christian knowledge through the remotest corners of the
earth; that he would smile upon the labors of his people, and cause the
earth to bring forth her fruits in abundance ; that we may with gratitude
and gladness enjoy them; that he would take into his holy protection
our illustrious ally, give him victory over his enemies, and render him
signally great, as the father of his people, and the protector of the
rights of mankind ; that he would be graciously pleased to turn the
hearts of our enemies, and to dispense the blessings of peace to contend-
ing nations ; that he would in mercy look down upon us, pardon our
sins, and receive us into his fcivor ; and, finally, that he would establish
the independence of these United States upon the basis of religion and
virtue, and support and protect them in the enjoyment of peace, liberty,
and safety.

Done in Congress, the 20th day of October, one thousand seven
hundred and seventy-nine, and in the fourth year of the independence
of the United States of America,

Samuel IIlxtinctox, President.

Attest: Charles Thomson*, Secretary,

A rROCLAMATlOX FOR A FaST.

Saturday, March 11, 17S0.
It having pleased the righteous Governor of the world, for the
punishment of our manifold offences, to permit tlie sword of war still
to harass our country, it becomes us to endeavor, by liumMing our-
Belves before him and turning from every evil way, to avert his anger
and obtain his favor and blessing: it is, tlierefore, recommended to the
several States

That Wednesday, the twenty-sixth day of Aj»ril next, bo sot a|>art
and observed as a day of fasting, liumiliation, and j)rayer, tluit we may
with one heart and one voito implore tlio sovereign Lord of heaven
and earth to remember mercy in his judgments; to make us sincerely
penitent for our transgressions; to prepare us for deliveranco, and to
remove the evil with wliieh ho hath btM'u plejusfd to visit us; to banish
vice and irrcligion from among u^, and estal)li.-h virtue and piety by

536 CHPJSTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

his Divine grace; to bless all public councils throughout the United
States, giving them wisdom, firmness, and unanimity and directing
them to the best measures for the public good ; to bless the magistrates
and people of every rank, and animate and unite the hearts of all to
promote the interests of their country; to bless the pubhc defence,
insjDiring all commanders and soldiers with magnanimity and perse-
verance, and giving vigor and success to the military operations by sea
and land; to bless the illustrious sovereign and the nation in alliance
with these States, and all who interest themselves in support of our
rights and liberties ; to make that alliance of extensive and perpetual
usefulness to those immediately concerned, and mankind in general;
to grant fruitful seasons, and to bless our industry, trade and manu-
factures; to bless all schools and seminaries of learning, and every
means of instruction and education; to make wars to cease, and to
establish peace among the nations.

Tuesday, March 20, 1780.

The United States, in Cono^ress assembled, as:reed to ttie
following

Proclamation.

At all times it is our duty to acknowledge the overruling providence
of the Great Governor of the universe, and devoutly to implore his
Divine favor and protection. But in the hour of calamity and impend-
ing danger, when, by fire and the sword, by the savages of the wilder-
ness, and by our own domestics, a vindictive enemy pursues a war of
rapine and devastation with unrelenting fury, we are peculiarly excited
with true penitence of heart to prostrate ourselves before our great
Creator, and fervently to supplicate his gracious interposition for our
deliverance.

The United States in Congress assembled, therefore, do earnestly
recommend that Thursday, the third day of May next, may be observed
as a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer, that we may with united
hearts confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions, and by
sincere repentance and amendment of life appease his righteous dis-
pleasure, and, through the merits of our blessed Saviour, obtain pardon
and forgiveness; that it may please him to inspire our rulers with
incorruptible integrity, and to direct and j^rosper their councils; to
inspire all our citizens with a fervent and a disinterested love of their
country, and to preserve and strengthen their union; to turn the
hearts of the disaffected, or to frustrate their devices ; to regard with
Divine compassion our friends in captivity, affliction, and distress, to
comfort and relieve them under their sufferings, and to change their
mourning into grateful songs of triumph ; that it may j^lease him to
bless our ally, and to render the connection formed between these
United States and his kingdom a mutual and a lasting benefit to both
nations; to animate our officers and forces, by sea and land, with
invincible fortitude, and to guard and protect them in the day of
battle, and to crown our joint endeavors to terminate the calamities
of war with victory and success; that the blessings of liberty and peace

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOXS OF THE UNITED STATES. 537

may be established on an honorable and permanent basis, and trans-
mitted inviolate to the latest posterity; that it may please him to
prosper our husbandry and commerce, and bless us with health and
plenty ; that it may jjlease him to bless all schools and seminaries of
learning, and to grant that truth, justice, and benevolence and pure
and undefiled religion may universally prevail.

TTednesday, October 18, 1780.

Congress took into consideration the resolution reported for setting
apart a day of thanksgiving and prayer, and agreed to the following
draft :—

Whereas it hath pleased Almighty God, the Father of all mercies,
amidst the vicissitudes and calamities of war, to bestow blessings on
the people of these States, which call for their devout and thankful
acknowledgments, more especially in the late remarkable interposition
of his watchful providence in rescuing the person of our commander-
in-chief and the army from imminent danger at a moment when trea-
son was ripened for execution ; in prospering the labors of the husband-
man, and causing the earth to yield its increase in plentiful harvests ;
and, ahocc all, in continuing to us the gospel of peace :

It is, therefore, recommended to the several States to set apart
Thursday, the 7th day of December next, to be observed as a day of
puMic thanksgiving and prayer ; that all the people may assemble on
that day to celebrate the praises of our Divine Benefactor, to confess
our unworthiness of the least of his favors, and to offer our fervent
supplications to the God of all grace, that it may please him to pardon
our heinous transgressions and incline our hearts in the future to keep
all his laws; to comfort and relieve our brethren who are anywise
afflicted or distressed; to smile upon our husbandry and trade; to
direct our public councils, and lead our forces, by land and sea, to
victory; to take our illustrious ally under his sjjecial protection, and
favor our joint councils and exertions for the establishment of speedy
and permanent peace; to cherish all schools and seminaries of edu-
cation, and to cause the knowledge of Christianity to sjM'cad over all
the earth.

Done in Congress, this l')th day of October, ITsO, and in the fifth
year of the independence of the United States of America.

Friday. October 2«. USl.
The committee, consisting of Mr. Witherspoon, Mr. Montgonit-ry,
Mr. Vurnum, Mr. Sherman, appointed to prepare a recomm«'nd;iti«)n
for setting apart a day of j)ublie thanksgiving and prayer, r«|>orlod the
draft of a proclamation, which was agreed to, as follows: —

PlKX I.VMMION'.

Whoroas it liath ph-ascMl Almighty God. tlio Fatlu'r of mercies,
ftMiuirkably to assist and support the United States of Anirrica in
th«'ir important struggK* for liberty against the long-oontinued effort
of a powerful nation, it is tlie duty of all ranks to observe and thank-
fully to aoknowledgo the interpositions of his providence in their

538 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

behalf. Through the whole of the contest, from its first rise to this
time, the influence of Divine Providence may be clearly perceived in
many signal instances, of which we mention but a few.

In revealing the councils of our enemies, when the discoveries were
seasonable and important and the means seemingly inadequate or for-
tuitous ; in preserving, and even improving, the union of the several
States, on the breach of which our enemies place their greatest
dependence ; in increasing the number and adding to the zeal and
attachment of the friends of liberty ; in granting remarkable deliver-
ances, and blessing us with the most signal success, when affairs
seemed to have the most discouraging appearance ; in raising up for
us a generous and most powerful ally in one of the first of European
Powers; in confounding the councils of our enemies, and suffering
them to pursue such measures as have most directly contributed to
frustrate their own desires and expectations; above all, in making
their extreme cruelty to the inhabitants of these States when in their
power, and their savage devastation of property, the very means of
cementing our union and adding vigor to every effort in opposition to
them.

And as we cannot help leading the good people of these States to a
retrospect on the events which have taken place since the beginning of
the war, so we recommend in a particular manner to their observation
the goodness of God in the year now drawing to a conclusion ; in Avhich
the confederation of the United States has been completed ; in which
there have been so many instances of prowess and success in our armies,
jDarticularly in the Southern States, where, notwithstanding the difficul-
ties with which they had to struggle, they have recovered the whole
country which the enemy had overrun, leaving them only a port or two
on or near the sea ; in which we have been so powerfull)'- and effectually
assisted by our allies, while in all the conjunct operations the most
perfect harmony has subsisted in the allied army ; in which there has
been so plentiful a harvest, and so great abundance of the fruits of the
earth of every kind, as not only enables us easily to supply the wants of
our army, but gives comfort and happiness to the whole people ; and
in which, after the success of our allies by sea, a general of the first
rank, with his whole armj^ has been captured by the allied forces under
the direction of our commander-in-chief.

It is therefore recommended to the several States to set apart the 13th
day of December next, to be religiously observed as a day of thanks-
giving and prayer ; that all the people may assemble on that day, with
grateful hearts, to celebrate the praises of our gracious Benefactor ; to
confess our manifold sins, to offer up our most fervent supi^lications to
the God of all grace that it may please him to pardon our offences, and
incline our hearts in the future to keej) all his laws ; to comfort and
relieve all our brethren who are in distress or captivity ; to prosper our
husbandmen, and give success to all engaged in lawful commerce ; to
impart wisdom and integrity to our councillors, judgment and fortitude
to our officers and soldiers ; to protect and prosper our illustrious all}'',
and favor our united exertions for the speedy establishment of a safe,
honorable, and lasting peace ; to bless all seminaries of learning, and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 539

cause the knowledge of God to cover tlie earth as the waters cover the
sea.

Done in Congress, this twenty-sixth day of October, 1781, and in the
sixth year of the independence of the United States of America.

Thomas McKean, President.

Attest: Charles Thomson, Secretary.

General Washington, in reply to a letter from the President
of Congress, enclosing this proclamation, thus wrote from
Mount Vernon, November 15, 1781 : —

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of the 31st
ult., covering the resolutions of Congress of the 26th, and a Proclama-
tion for a day of public prayer and thanksgiving, and have to thank
you, sir, for the very polite and attectionate manner in which these
enclosures have been conveyed. The success of the combined arms
against our enemies at York and Gloucester, as it affects the welfare and
independence of the United States, I viewed as a most fortunate event.

In performing my part towards its accomplishment, I consider myself
to have done only my duty, and in the execution of that I ever feel my-
self happy ; and at the same time, as it augurs well to our cause, I take
a particular pleasure in acknowledging that the interposing hand of
Heaven in the various instances of our extensive preparations for this
operation has been most conspicuous and remarkable.

Tucs.lay, March 19, 1782.
Proclamatio.v.

The goodness of the Supreme Being to all his rational creatures de-
mands their acknowledgments of gratitude and love ; his absolute
government of this world dictates that it is the interest of every nation
and people ardently to suj)plicate his favor and implore his protection.

When the lust of dominion or lawless ambition excites arbitrary i>ower
to invade rights or endeavor to wrest from a peoi)le their sacred and
inalienable privileges, and comi)els them, in defence of the same, to en-
counter all the horrors and calamities of a bloody and vindictive war,
then is tliat people loudly called u})on to fly unto that (Tod for i)rotoction
wlio hoars the cries of the distressed and will not turn a deaf ear to the
sui)plications of the oj)i)rossed.

Great Britain, hitherto left to infatuated councils and to })ursue
measures repugnant to her own interest and distressing to this coun-
try, still persists in the design of subjugating these United States ;
which will compel us into another activi- and perhaps bloody cam-
paign.

The United States in Congress assembled, therefore, taking into con-
hi'lt-ration our pn-Si-nt situation, our nuiltiplii'd transgressions of the
lioly laws of our (Jod, and his ])ast acts of kinibjess and goodness
towards us, wliich we ought to record witli the liveli«>st gratitude, think
it their indispensable duty to call ujjon the several Staites to set apart
the bust Thursthiy in April next as a day of fasting, humiliation, an«l
prayer, that our joint suitplications may then ascencl to the throne ol*

540 CHRISTIAN LIFE AKD CHAEACTER OF THE

the Ruler of the universe, beseeching him to diffuse a spirit of univer-
sal reformation among all ranks and degrees of our citizens, and make
us a holy, that we may be a happy, people ; that it would please him to
impart wisdom, integrity, and unanimity to our counsellors ; to bless
and jDrosjDer the reign of our illustrious ally, and give success to his
arms employed in the defence of the rights of human nature ; that he
would smile upon our military arrangements by land and sea, adminis-
ter comfort and consolation to our prisoners in a cruel captivity, pro-
tect the health and life of our commander-in-chief, grant us victory
over our enemies, establish peace in all our borders, and give happi-
ness to all our inhabitants ; that he would prosper the labor of the hus-
bandman, making the earth yield its increase in abundance, and give a
projDer season for the ingathering of the fruits thereof; that he would
grant success to all engaged in lawful trade and commerce, and take
under his guardianshij) all schools and seminaries of learning, and make
them nurseries of virtue and piety ; that he would incline the hearts of
all men to peace, and fill them w^ith universal charity and benevolence,
and that the religion of our Divine Redeemer, with all its benign influ-
ences, Toaaj cover the earth as the waters cover the seas.
Done by the United States in Congress assembled, &c. &c.

Friday, October 11, J.782.

On tlie report of tlie committee, consisting of Mr. Wither-
spoon, Mr. Montgomery, and Mr. Williamson, appointed to pre-
pare a recommendation to the States setting apart a day for
thanksgiving and prayer. Congress agreed to the following act : —

It being the indispensable duty of all nations not only to offer up
their supplications to Almighty God, the Griver of all good, for his gra-
cious assistance in time of distress, but also in a solemn and public
manner to give him praise for his goodness in general, and especially
for great and signal interiDOsitions of his providence in their behalf ;
therefore the United States in Congress- assembled, taking into consi-
deration the many instances of Divine goodness to these States in the
course of the important conflict in which they have been so long
engaged, the hajjpy and promising state of public affairs, and the
events of the war in the course of the year now drawing to a close,
particularly the harmony of the public councils, wdiich is so necessary
to the success of the public cause ; the perfect union and good under-
standing which has hitherto subsisted between them and their allies,
notwithstanding the artful and unwearied attempts of the common
enemy to divide them ; the success of the armies of the United States
and those of their allies, and the acknowledgment of their indej^end-
ence by another European Power, whose friendship and commerce
must be of great and lasting advantage to these States ; do hereby re-
commend it to the inhabitants of these States in general, to observe,
and request the several States to interpose their authority in appointing
and commanding the observation of, Thursday, the 28th day of Novem-
ber next, as a day of solemn thanksgiving to God for all his mercies ;

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOXS OF THE UXITED STATES. 541

and they do further recommend to all ranks to testify their gratitude
to God for his goodness, by a cheerful obedience to his laws, and by pro-
moting, each in his station and by his influence, the practice of true
and undefiled religion, which is the great foundation of public prosperity
and national happiness.
Done in Congress, &c. &c.

Saturday, October 18, 1783.

The committee, consisting of Mr. Duane, Mr. S. Huntington,
and Mr. Holter, appointed to prepare a proclamation for a day
of thanksgiving, reported a draft, whicli was agreed to as fol-
lows : —

Bi/ the United States in Congress assembled,
A Proclamation.
Whereas it has pleased the Supreme Euler of all human events to
dispose the hearts of the late belligerent Powers to put a period to the
effusion of human blood, by proclaiming a cessation of all hostilities by
sea and land, and these United States are not only happily rescued from
the dangers and calamities to which they have been so long exposed, but
their freedom, sovereignty, and independence are ultimately acknow-
ledged ; and whereas, in the progress of a contest on whicli the most
essential rights of human nature dejiended, the interposition of Divine
Providence in our favor liath been most abundantly and most graciously
manifested, and the citizens of these United States have every reason
lor praise and gratitude to the God of their salvation: impressed, there-
f< >ro, with an exalted sense of the blessings witli whicli we are surrounded
and of entire dependence on that Almi.L'hty Being from whose goodness
and bounty tliey are derived, the United States in Congress assembled
<lo recommend it to the several States to set apart the second Thursday
in December next as a day of public thanksgiving, that all the people
may then assemble to celebrate, with grateful hearts and united voices,
tlic praises of their supreme and all-bountiful Benefjictor for his num-
berless favors and mercies ; that he hath been pleased to conduct us in
safety through all the vicissitudes of the war; that he hath given us
unanimity and rcsohition to adhere to our just rights ; that he hath
raised up a powerful ally to assist in supporting them, and liath so far
crowned our united efforts witli success that in the course of the present
year hostilities liave ceased, and we are left in the undisputed possession
of our lib<'rty and independence, anil of the fruits of our lan»l, and in
the free participation of tlie treasures of tlie sea; that ho liath pros-
pered tho labors of our husbandmen witli plentiful liarvests ; and, above
itff, that he hath been phaard to rontinuc unto lis the light of the blessed gospel,
and Hccured to us in the fullest extent the rights of conscionco in faith
and worship; and while our hearts overflow witli gnititiido, and our
lipdset forth the praises of our groat Creator, that wo also olVor up fervent
supplications that it may ploaso him to ])artlon all our otfoncos, to pivo
wisdom and unanimity to our public couiuils, to comont all our citizens
in tho bond of atlcction, an«l to ins].iro th<'in with an earnest regard for

542 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

the national honor and interest, to enable us to improve the days of
prosperity by every good work, and to be lovers of peace and tranquillity ;
that he may be pleased to bless us in our husbandry, our commerce and
navigation ; to smile upon our seminaries and means of education, to
cause 2)ure religion and virtue to flourish, to give peace to all nations,
and to fill the world with his glory.

Done by the United States in Congress assembled. Witness his Ex-
cellency Elias Boudixot, our President, this 18th day of October, in the
year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three, and
of the sovereignty and independence of the United States of America
the eighth. Elias Boudixot, President.

Charles Williamsox, Secretary.

Thanksgiving for Peace.

A committee of the Committee of the States, consisting of Mr. Read,
Mr. Dana, and Mr. Hand, to whom was referred the motion of Mr.
Read of the 2d instant, " That a committee be api^ointed to prepare a
proclamation for a day of solemn prayer and thanksgiving to Almighty
Grod, to be observed throughout the United States of America, on the
exchange of the instruments of ratification of the definite treatj^ of
peace between the United States of America and his Britannic Majesty,
and the happy completion of the great work of indei^endency and
peace to these United States," reported the following form of a pro-
clamation : —

By the United States of America in a Committee of the States assembled.
A Proclamatiox.
Whereas it has pleased the Supreme Ruler of the universe, of his
infinite goodness and mercy, so to calm the minds and do away with
the resentment of the Powers lately engaged in a most bloody and de-
structive war, and to dispose their hearts towards amity and friendship,
that a general pacification hath taken place, and particularly a definitive
treaty of peace between the United States of America and his Britannic
Majesty was signed at Paris, on the third day of September, in the year
of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three ; the instru-
ments of the final ratification of which were exchanged at Passy, on the
12th day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred
and eighty-four, whereby a finishing hand was put to the great work of
peace, and the freedom, sovereignty, and independence of these States
fully and completely established ; and whereas, in pursuit of the great
work of freedom and independence, and the progress of the contest in
which the United States of America have been engaged, and on the
success of which the dearest and most essential rights of human nature
depended, the benign interposition of Divine Providence hath, on
many occasions, been most miraculously and abundantly manifested ;
and the citizens of the United States have the greatest reason to return
their most hearty and sincere praises and thanksgiving to the God of
their deliverance, v:hose name be praised. Deeply impressed, therefore, with
a sense of his mercies manifested to these United States, and of the

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOXS OF THE UNITED STATES. 543

blessings which it hath pleased God to shower down on us, of our future
dependence at all times on his power and mercy, as the only source from
•which so great benefits can be derived : —

We the United States of America, in the Committee of the States
assembled, do earnestly recommend to the Suj)reme Executive of the
several States to set ajjart Tuesday, the nineteenth day of October
next, as a day of public prayer and thanksgiving, that all the j^eople of
the United States may then assemble in their respective churches and
congregations, to celebrate with grateful hearts and joyful and united
voices the mercies and praises of their all-bountiful Creator, most holy
and most righteous, for his innumerable favors and mercies vouchsafed
unto them, — more especially that he hath been graciously pleased so to
conduct us through the perils and dangers of the war as finally to
establish the United States in freedom and independency, and to give
them a name and a place among the princes and nations of the earth,
— that he hath raised great captains and men of war from amongst us
to lead our armies, and in our greatest difficulties and distresses hath
given us unanimity to adhere and to assert our just rights and privi-
leges,— and that he hath been most graciously pleased also to raise up
a most powerful prince and magnanimous people as allies to assist us
in effectually supporting and maintaining them ; that he hath been
pleased to prosper the labor of our husbandmen ; that there is no
famine or want seen throughout our land ; and, above all, that he hath been
pleased to continue to vs the light of gospel truth, and secured to us in the
fullest manner the rights of conscience in faith and worship.

And while our hearts overflow with gratitude and our lips pronounce
the praises of our great and merciiul Creator, that we may also ofier up
our joint and fervent supplications that it may please him of his infinite
goodness and mercy to pardon all our sins and offences : to inspire with
wisdom and a true sense of the public good all our public councils ; to
Ftrengtlion and cement the bonds of love and affection between all
our citizens; to impress them with an earnest regard for the public
good and national faith and honor, and to teach them to im])rove the
days of })eace by every good work ; to pray that he will in a more espe-
cial manner shower down his blessings on Louis, the most Christian
king, our ally, to prosper liis house, tliat his son's sons may long sit on
the throne of their ancestors a blessing to the people intrusto<l to his
charge ; to bless all mankind, an<l inspire the princes and nations of
the earth with the love of peace, that the sound of war may bo hcinl
of no more; that he may be pleased to smih^ upon us and bitss our
husbandry, fishery, our commerce, and especially our schools and semi-
naries of learning; and to raise up from among our youth men miinrnt /or
virtue, learning, ami pirty, to his service in Church athl State : to causr virtue and
true religion to fourish ; to giv<« to all nations amity, jm^ico, an*! oncord,
and to fill the world with his glory.

Done by the United States in the Coininittce f)f th«' States as>;.'niblod.
Witness tho Honorable Sanuul Hardy, Chairman, this third day of
August, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven humlred and
eighty-sevon, and in tho ninth of the sovereignty and indei)endcnce
of tho United States of America.

5-14 cheistiax life and chaeacter of the

National Thanksgiving under Washington's Adminis-
tration.

A resolution was adopted in the House of Eepresentatives,
September 25, 1789, in the following words : —

On motion, —

Besolved, That a joint committee of both Houses be directed to wait
upon the President of the United States to request that he would
recommend to the people of the United States a day of thanksgiving
and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the
many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an
opportunity peaceably to establish a constitution of government for
their safety and happiness.

Ordered, That Mr. Boudinot, Mr. Sherman, and Mr. Silvester be of
the said committee on the part of this House.

Concurred in by tlie Senate the same day.

Washington, as President of the United States, on the 3d day
of October, 1789, issued a proclamation, in pursuance of the
above proceedings of Congress, wliicli may be found on page
275 of this volume.

The following proclamation, by Washington, was made, with-
out special authority from Congress, in view of the suppression
of the rebellion in Western Pennsylvania in 1795, which for a
time threatened the safety of the Union. It is invested with
new and profound interest in view of the great Southern rebel-
lion of 1863, and is a striking evidence of the prophetic vision
of Washington, foreboding good or ill to the nation according
to its adherence to, or departure from, the principles of order,
morality, and piety.

A Proclamation.
When we review the calamities which afiaict so many other nations,
the present condition of the United States affords much of consola-
tion and satisfaction. Our exemption hitherto from foreign war, an
increasing prospect of the continuance of that exem^ption, the great
dec'ree of internal tranquillity we have enjoyed, the recent confirmation
of^that tranqxdU'dy hy the suppression of an insurrection which so wantonly
threatened it, the happy course of our public affairs in general, the
unexampled prosperity of all classes of our citizens, are circumstances
which peculiarly mark our situation with indications of the Divine
beneficence towards us. In such a state, it is in an especial manner
our duty as a people, with devout reverence and affectionate.^gratitude,

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 545

to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God, and
to implore him to continue and confirm the blessings we experience.

Deeply penetrated with this sentiment, I, George Washington, Presi-
dent of the United States, do recommend to all religious societies and
denominations, and to all persons whomsoever within the United States,
to set apart and observe Thursday, the 19th day of February next,
as a day of public thanksgiving and j)rayer, and on that day to meet
together and render their sincere thanks to the Great Ruler of nations
for the manifold and signal mercies which distinguish our lot as a nation,
particularly for the possession of comtUuthns of government which unite,
and by their union establish, liberty with order; for the preservation of
our peace, foreign and domestic ; for the seasonable control which has been
given to a spirit pf disorder in the suppression of the late insurrection ;
and, generally, for the prosperous course of our affairs, public and
private ; and at the same time humbly and fervently to beseech the
kind Author of these blessings graciously to prolong them to us; to
imprint on our hearts a deep and solemn sense of our obligations to
him for them ; to teach us rightly to estimate their immense value ; to
preserve us from the arrogance of 'prosperity, and from hazarding the
advantage we enjoy by delusive pursuits; to disjDose us to inherit the
<;ontinuance of his favors by not abusing them, by our gratitude for
them, and by a corresponding conduct as citizens and as men; to
render . this country more and more a safe and propitious asylum for
the unfortunate of other countries ; to extend among us true and useful
knowledge ; to diffuse and establish habits of sobriety, order, morality,
and piety ; and, finally, to impart all the blessings we possess, or ask for our-
selves, to the whole family of man/cind.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of tlie United States
of America to be aflftxed to these presents, and signed the same with
my hand. Done at the city of Philadelj^hia, the first day of January,
one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, and of the independence
of the United States of America the nineteenth.

G. Wasuixgton.

PROCLAMATIONS UNDER AdAMS's ADMINISTRATION.

rRl>CI,AMATl(>\ FOR A NATIONAL FaST.

March 23, 1798.
As the safety and prosperity of nations ultimately and essentially
depend on the protection and blessing of Almighty Go<l. and the
national acknowledgment of this truth is not only an indisjxii^alilo
duty which the pcojile owe to liini, but a duty whoso natural influence
is favorable to tlie promotion of that morality and piety without which
M»cial happiness cannot exist nor the blessings of a free government
b<' enjoyed; and ns this duty, at all times incumltcnt, is so especially
in seasons of difficulty and of danger, when existing or threatening
calamities — the just judgments of God against prevalent iniqtiity — aro
aloud call to repentance and reformation: and a» the United States
of America are at i)rcsont placed in a hazardous and afHictivo situation

35

546 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

by the unfriendly disposition, conduct, and demands of a foreign
Power, evinced by repeated refusals to receive our messengers of recon-
ciliation and peace, by depredations on our commerce, and the inflic-
tion of injuries on very many of our fellow-citizens while engaged in
their lawful business on the seas ; under these considerations, it has
appeared to me that the duty of imploring the mercy and benediction
of Heaven on our country demands at this time a special attention
from its inhabitants.

I have, therefore, thought fit to recommend — and I do hereby re-
commend— that Wednesday, the 9th day of May next, be observed
throughout the United States as a day of solemn humiliation, fasting,
and prayer; that the citizens of these States, abstaining on that day
from their customary worldly occupations, offer their devout addresses
to the Father of mercies, agreeably to those forms or methods which
they have severally adopted as the most suitable and becoming ; that
all religious congregations do, with the deepest humility, acknowledge
before God the manifold sins and transgressions with which we are
justly chargeable as individuals and as a nation ; beseeching him at
the same time, of his infinite grace, through the Redeemer of the world,
freely to remit all our offences, and to incline us, by his Holy Si^irit,
to that sincere repentance and reformation which may afford us reason
to hope for his inestimable favor and heavenly benediction ; that it
be made the subject of particular and earnest supplication that our
country may be protected from all the dangers which threaten it ; that
our civil and religious privileges may be preserved inviolate and per-
petuated to the latest generations ; that our public councils and magis-
trates may be especially enlightened and directed at this critical
period ; that the American people may be united in those bonds of
amity and mutual confidence and inspired with that vigor and forti-
tude by which they have in times past been so highly distinguished,
and by which they have obtained such invaluable advantages ; that the
health of the inhabitants of our land may be preserved, and their
agriculture, commerce, fisheries, arts, and manufactures be blessed and
prospered; that the principles of genuine piety and sound morality
may influence the minds and govern the lives of every description of
our citizens ; and that the blessings of peace, freedom, and pure religion
may be speedily extended to all nations of the earth.

And, finally, I recommend that on the said day the duties of humilia-
tion and prayer be accompanied by fervent thanksgiving to the
Bestower of every good gift, not only for having hitherto protected
and preserved the people of these United States in the independent
enjoyment of their religious and civil freedom, but also for having
prospered them in a wonderful progress of population, and for con-
ferring on them many and great favors conducive to the happiness
and prosperity of a nation.

Given, &c. John Adams.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 547

Proclamation for a National Fast,

March 6, Iv'QO.

As no truth is more clearly taught in the volume of inspiration, nor
any more fully demonstrated by the experience of all ages, than that
a deep sense and a due acknowledgment of the governing providence
of a Supreme Being, and of the accountableness of men to him as the
searcher of hearts and righteous distributor of rewards and punishments,
are conducive equally to the happiness and rectitude of individuals
and to the well-being of communities : as it is, also, most reasonable in
itself that men who are made capable of social acts and relations, who
owe their improvements to the social state, and w^ho derive their en-
joyments from it, should as a society make their acknowledgments of
dependence and obligation to Him who hath endowed them with these
capacities and elevated them in the scale of existence by these distinc-
tions ; as it is, likewise, a plain dictate of duty, and a strong sentiment
of nature, that in circumstances of great urgency, and seasons of
imminent danger, earnest and particular supplications should be made
to Him wlio is able to defend or to destroy ; as, moreover, the most pre-
cious interests of the people of the United States are still held in jeo-
pardy by the hostile designs and insidious acts of a foreign nation, as
well as by the dissemination among them of those principles, subversive
to the foundations of all religious, moral, and social obligations, that
have produced incalculable mischief and misery in other countries ; and
as, in fine, the observance of special seasons for public religious solem-
nities is happily calculated to avert the evils which we ought to depre-
cate, and to excite to the performance of tlie duties which we ought to
discharge, by calling and fixing the attention of the people at large to
the momentous truths already recited, by attbrding opportunity to teach
and inculcate them, by animating devotion, an<l giving to it the ch:v-
racter of a national act.

For thes<; reasons, 1 iiave thought i»ropor to recommend, and I do
hereby recommend accordingly, that Thursday, the twenty-tilth day of
April next, be observed throughout the Unit«Ml States of America as a
day of solemn iiumiliation, fasting, and prayer ; that the citizens on tiiat
day abstain, as far as may be, from their secular occupations, and devote
tile time, to th(^ sacred duties of religion, in public and in private ; that
they call to niin<l our numerous ottences against the most high God,
confess them before liim with the sincerest penitence, implore his par-
doning mercy, through the (in>at Mediator and Ue<leemer, f<M- our past
transgressions, an<l that, through the grace of his Holy Spiiit. we may
bo tlisposed and enabled to yield a more suitable oltedieiice to his
rigliteotis r<'quisitions in time to come; tiiat he wouhl interpose to
arrest the progress of that impiety and licentiousness in prin«Mple and
practice so offensive to himself an<l so ruinous to mankind: that ho
wouhl make us deeply sensil)lo that "righteousness exaiteth a nation,
but that sin is the reproach of any people;*' that he wouhl turn us from
our transgressions and turn his displ(»asure from us; that he would
withhohl us from uiu-t'asonable diseotitent, from di-union. faiti»»n, sedi-
tion, and in-inreetion ; that ii«' wouhl iireserve our eountiv fr^m ihtj

548 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

desolating sword ; that he would save ovir cities and towns from a repe-
tition of those awful pestilential visitations under which they hav»
lately suffered so severely, and that the health of our inhabitants gene-
rally may be precious in his sight ; that he would favor us with fruitful
seasons, and so bless the labors of the husbandman as that there may
be food in abundance for man and beast ; that he would prosper our
commerce, manufactures, and fisheries, and give success to the peopjle
in all their lawful industry and enterprise ; that he would smile on our
colleges, academies, schools, and seminaries of learning, and make them
nurseries of sounci science, morals, and religion ; that he would bless all
magistrates from the highest to the lowest, give them the true spirit of
their station, make them a terror to evil-doers and a praise to them that
do well ; that he w^ovild preside over the councils of the nation at this
critical period, enlighten them to a just discernment of the public
interest, and save them from mistake, division, and discord ; that he
would make succeed our preparations for defence, and bless our arma-
ments by land and by sea ; that he would put an end to the eftusion of
human blood and the accumulation of human misery among the con-
tending nations of the earth, by disjDOsing them to justice, to equality,
to benevolence, and to peace ; and that he would extend the blessings
of knowledge, of true liberty, and of pure and undefiled religion through-
out the world.

And I do recommend that, with these acts of humiliation, penitence,
and prayer, fervent thanksgiving to the Author of all good be united,
lor the countless favors which he is still continuing to the people of the
United States, and which render their condition as a nation eminently
happy when compared with the lot of others.

Griven, &c. John Adams.

Proclamations under Madison's Administration.

The second war with G-reat Britain was declared by the
Government of the United States in 1812, and peace was re-
stored in 1815. The calamities of war developed the Christian
element of the Government and people in the following acts and
proclamations : —

In April; 1812, Congress passed the following resolution : —

It being a duty peculiarly incumbent, in a time of public calamity
and war, humbly and devoutly to acknowledge our dependence on Al-
mighty God, and to implore his aid and protection ; therefore,

Besoloed, by the Senate and House of Beprrscidatices in Congress assembled^
that they appoint a committee of both lioxa^^es of Congress to wait on
the President of the United States and request that he recommend
a day of public humiliation and prayer, to be observed by the people of
the United States with religious solemnity and the offering of fervent
supplications to Almighty God for the safety and welfare of these States,
his blessing on their army, and a speedy restoration of peace.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 549

President Madison immediately issued the following

Proclamation.
Whereas the Congress of the United States, by a joint resolution of the
two Houses, have signified a request that a day may be recommended to
be observed by the people of the United States witli religious solemnity,
as a day of public humiliation and prayer ; and whereas such a recom-
mendation will enable the several religious denominations and societies
so disposed to offer at one and the same time their common vows and
adorations to Almighty God, on the solemn occasion produced by the
war in which he has been pleased to permit the injustice of a foreign
Power to involve these United States ; I do therefore recommend the
third TJivTsday of August next, as a convenient day, to be set apart for the
devout purpose of rendering the Sovereign of the Universe and the
Benefactor of mankind the public homage due to his holy attributes ;
of acknowledging the transgressions which might justly provoke the
manifestations of his divine displeasure ; of seeking his merciful for-
giveness, and his assistance in the great duties of repentance and amend-
ment ; and especially of offering fervent supplications that in the present
season of calamity and war he would take the American peoj^le under
his peculiar care and protection ; that he would guide their public coun-
<iils, animate their patriotism, and bestow his blessing on their arms ;
that he would inspire all nations with a love of justice and of concord,
and with a reverence for the unerring precept of our holy religion, to do
to others as they would require that others should do to them ; and,
finally, that, turning the hearts of our enemies from the violence and
injustice which sway their councils against us, he would hasten a resto-
ration of the blessings of peace.

[l. s.] Given at Washington, the ninth day of July, in the year of
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twelve.

James Madison,
James Monroe,
By the President. Secretary of State.

THANKSGIVINa AT THE PeACE OF 1815.

The official notification of peace with Great Britain was com-
municated to the House of Representatives, by the President,
February 18, 1815, and the same day the following resolution
was introduced : —

It being a duty particularly humbly and devoutly to acknowledge our
dopendcmce on Almighty God, and to implore his aid and i»roteotion,
and in times of deliverance and prosj>erity to manifest our <l»M'p and
undissemblod gratitude to the Almighty Si^vereign of the Universe ;
therefore,

Jleftohedy hi/ the Senate and lloii^e of Jiiprexentalleex of' the I'niliti States of
America, in ConfjrejtJt astteinbled. That a joint connnittoo of both House*
wait on the President of the TTnit«'d Stat«"^, and r«'-iu«"r*t that he recom-

550 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

mend a day of thanksgiving to be observed by the people of the United
States, with religious solemnity, and the ofiering of devout acknovsr-
ledgments to God for his mercies, and in prayer to him for the continu-
ance of his blessings.

In accordance with this request, the President issued the fol-
lowing

Proclamation'.

The Senate and House of Representatives of the United States have,
by a joint resolution, signified their desire that a day may be recom-
mended to be observed by the people of the United States, with reli-
gious solemnity, as a day of thanksgiving, and of devout acknowledg-
ments to Almighty God for his great goodness manifested in restoring
to them the blessings of peace.

No i^eople ought to feel greater obligations to celebrate the goodness
of the Great Disposer of events and of the destiny of nations than the
people of the United States. His kind providence originally conducted
them to one of the best portions of the dwelling^iDlace allowed for the
great family of the human race. He protected and cherished them
under all the difficulties and trials to which they were exposed in their
early days. Under his fostering care, their habits, their sentiments, and
their pursuits prepared them for a transition in due time to a state of
independence and of self-government. In the aixluous struggle by
which it was attained, they were distinguished by multiplied tokens of his
benign interposition. During the interval which succeeded, he reared
them into strength, and endowed them with the resources which have en-
abled them to assert their national rights and to enhance their national
character in another arduous conflict, which is now happily terminated
by a peace and reconciliation with those who have been our enemies.
And to the same Divine Author of every good and perfect gift we are
indebted for all those privileges and advantages, religious as well as
civil, which are so richly enjoyed in this favored land.

It is for blessings such as these, and more especially for the restora«
tion of the blessings of peace, that I now recommend that the second
Thursday in April next be set apart as a day on Avhich the people of
every religious denomination may, in their solemn assemblies, unite
their hearts and their voices in a free-will offering to their heavenly
Benefactor of their homage of thanksgiving and of their songs of
praise.

Given at the city of Washington, on the fourth of March, in the year
M' our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifteen, and of the inde-
pendence of the United States the thirty-ninth.

James Madison.

Eecommendation of a Fast-Day by Peesident Tylee.
On the 7th day of April, 1841, Wilham Henry Harrison^
President of the United States, expired in the Presidential

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 651

mansion. By this providential visitation upon tlie nation, Jolin
Tyler, of Virginia, Vice-President, became, by the Constitution,
the acting President. After he entered upon his duties, he
issued the following

Recommendation.

AprU 13, 1841.
To the People of the United States.

When a Christian people feel themselves to be overtaken by a great
public calamity, it becomes them to humble themselves under the dis-
pensation of Divine Providence, to recognize his righteous government
over the children of men, to acknowledge his goodness in times past, as
well as their own unworthiness, and to sujoplicate his merciful protec-
tion for the future.

The death of William Henry Harrison, late President of the United
States, so soon after his election to that high office, is a bereavement
particularly calculated to be regarded as a heavy affliction, and to im-
press all minds with a sense of the uncertainty of human things, and
of the dependence of nations, as well as individuals, upon our heavenly
Parent.

I have thought, therefore, that I should be acting in conformity with
the general expectations and feelings of the community in recommend-
ing, as I now do, to the people of the United States, of every religious
denomination, that, according to their several modes and forms of
worship, they observe a day of fasting and prayer, by such religious ser-
vices as may be suitable on the occasion ; and I recommend Friday,
the fourteenth day of May next, for that jourpose ; to the end that on
that day we may all, with one accord, join in humble and reverential
approach to Him in whose hands we are, invoking him to inspire us with
a proper spirit and temper of heart and mind under the frowns of his
pi*ovidence, and still to bestow his gracious benedictions upon our
Government and our country.

John Tyler, President.

In the summer of 1849, a pestilence, in the form of the
Asiatic cholera, visited a second time the United States. The
President, in view of its general prevalence, and to seek its re-
moval, issued the following

Recommexdatiov.

At a season wlien the providence of God has manifested itself in tho
visitation of a fearful jx'stilence wliich is spreading itself tliroughout the
land, it is fitting that a people whose reliance has over been in his
protection should humble th(>niselves before his thron»\ and, while
acknowledging past transgressions, ask a continuance, of tho Divine
mercy.

It is therefore earnestly rocommended that tho first Friday in August
be observed throughout tho United States as a day of fasting, liumilia-

552 'CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

tion, and prayer. All business will be suspended in the various branches
of the public service on that day ; and it is recommended to persons of
all religious denominations to abstain as far as practicable from secular
occupation, and to assemble in their respective places of public worship,
to acknowledge the infinite goodness which has watched over our ex-
istence as a nation and so long crowned us with manifold blessings, and
to implore the Almighty, in his own good time, to stay the destroying
hand now lifted against us.

Z. Taylor.
Washington, July 3, 1849.

Zachary Taylor, President of the United States, died on
the 9tli day of July, 1850. The proceedings in Congress on
the event are as follows ; but no proclamation was issued : —

Washington, July 10, 1850.
Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Eepresentatives: —

I have to perform the melancholy duty of announcing to you that it
has pleased Almighty God to remove from this life Zachary Taylor, late
President of the United States. He deceased last evening, at the hour
of half-past ten o'clock, in the midst of his family and surrounded by
affectionate friends, calmly and in full possession of all his faculties.
Among his last words were these : — " I have always done my duty. I am
ready to die. My only regret is for the friends I leave behind me."

A great man has fallen among us, and a whole country is called to an
occasion of unexpected, deep, and general mourning.

To you, Senators and Eepresentatives of a nation in tears, I can say
nothing to alleviate the sorrow with which you are oppressed. I rely
upon Him who holds in his hands the destinies of nations, to endow
me with the requisite strength for the task, and to avert from our coun-
try the evils apprehended from the heavy calamity which has befallen
us. I shall most readily concur in whatever measures the wisdom of the.
two Houses may suggest as befitting this deeply melancholy occasion.

Millard Fillmore.

In the House of Representatives, before the session for the
day began, the Kev. Dr. Butler, Chaplain of the Senate,
made the following prayer : —

Almighty God, King of kings and Lord of lords, who only hath
immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto,
thou doest according to thy will in the army of heaven and among the
inhabitants of the earth. Just and true are thy ways, thou King of
saints. Clouds and darkness are about thy throne ; but righteousness
and judgment are the habitation of thy seat !

Thou hast seen fit, Almighty God, to take out of this world our be-
loved and honored Chief Magistrate, the President of these United
States. Thou didst cover his head in the day of battle; and thou hast
given his life to the sickness that destroy eth at the noonday. We-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 553

«;iesire to bow in resignation to tliy blessed will, and to realize that thou
doest all things well. Now that thy judgments are abroad in the land,
make us to learn and love and practise righteousness.

"We ask thy special blessing for thy servant upon whom thy providence
hath devolved the momentous duties of the Chief Magistracy of this
republic. Thou hast seen fit to summon him to the great duties of his
new position in a crisis of gloom and storm and danger. Let thy fatherly
hand ever be over him. Let thy Holy Spirit ever be with him. Give him
the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and ghostly
strength, the spirit of knowledge and true goflliness, and fill him Avith
thy holy fear now and forever. Preserve him in health and prosperity,
and so bless his administration that all the States of this vast republic,
reconciled, happy, and fraternal, may be able unitedly to adore thee for
thy goodness, and to declare that the Lord of Hosts is with us, the God
of Jacob is our refuge !

Bless the deliberations of the Senate and Representatives in Congress
assembled, to the advancement of thy glory, the good of thy Church,
the safety, honor, and welfare of thy people ; that peace and happiness,
truth and justice, religion and piety, may be established among us for
all generations.

Look with pity upon the sorrows of thy servants, the family of the
departed Chief Magistrate of this land. Remember them, 0 Lord, in
mercy ; sanctify thy fatherly correction to them ; endow their souls
with patience under their afflictions, and with resignation to thy blessed
will ; comfort them with a sense of thy goodness ; lift up thy counte-
nance upon them, and give them peace.

Grant, 0 Lord, that when we shall be summoned to go tlie way of all
the earth, we may die in the communion of thy Church, in the confi-
dence of a certain faith, in the comfort of a religious and holy hope, in
favor with thee, our God, and in charity with the world.

All which we ask and offer in the name and for the sake of Jesus
Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Amen,

The House, after the prayer, adopted tlie following : —

Whereas it liath jileased Divine Providence to remove from this life
Zacharv Taylor, late President of the United States, the House of
Representatives, sharing in the general sorrow which this mclunoholy
event must produce, is desirous of manifesting its sensibility on the
occasion.

The death of the President of the United States was ro.L?ardod
by Congress and the nation as a providential national calamity,
and Senators and Representatives, in their seats in Congress,
gave expression to this truth in their remarks on the event.

Mr. Downs, of Louisiana, said, ''The chief of a nation of more
than twenty millions of freemen is suddenly withdrawn from
the world by an act of God."

554 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Mr. Webster, of Massachusetts, said, "It has pleased Divine
Providence to visit the two Houses of Congress, and especially
this House, with repeated occasions for mourning and lamenta-
tion. Great as this calamity is, we mourn, but not as those
without hope. "VVe have seen one eminent man, and another
eminent man, and at last a man in the most eminent station, fall
away from the midst of us. But I doubt not there is a Power
exercising over us that parental care that has marked our
progress for so many years. I have confidence still that the
place of the departed will be supplied, that the kind, beneficent
favor of Almighty God will still be with us, and that we shall
be borne along, and borne onward and upward, on the wings
of his sustaining providence."

Mr. Cass, of Michigan, said, " He has been called by Provi-
dence from his high functions with his mission unfulfilled. Let
us humbly hope that this afilictive dispensation of Providence
may not be w^ithout its salutary influence upon the American
people and their representatives."

Mr. Underwood, of Kentucky, said, " The providence of
God has terminated his earthly career. He was removed by
the Euler of the universe. Whatever purposes of the Deity
the future may unfold, the present is a day of mourning."

Mr. King, of Alabama, said, "It depends essentially upon
us, and the co-ordinate branch of the Government, to improve
this afflictive dispensation of Almighty God to purposes at once
salutary and beneficial to the great interests of the country."

In the House of Eepresentatives, similar sentiments were
uttered.

Mr. Winthrop, of Massachusetts, said, "As we now behold
the late President borne away by the hand of God from our
sight, in the very hour of peril, we can hardly repress the
exclamation which was addressed to the departing prophet of
old, ' My father, my father ! the chariot of Israel, and the horse-
men thereof!' Let us hope that this event may teach us all
how vain is our reliance upon any arm of flesh. Let us hope
that it may impress us with a solemn sense of our national as
well as individual dependence on a higher than human power.
Let us remember, sir, that ' the Lord is King, be the people
never so impatient; that he sitteth between the cherubim, be
the earth never so unquiet.* Let us, in language which is now
hallowed to us all as having been the closing and crowning senti-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 555

ment of his Inaugural Address, and in wliicli lie, 'being dead,
yet speaketh/ —

*' 'Let us invoke a continuance of the same protecting care
which has led us from small beginnings to the eminence which
we this day occupy ; and let us seek to deserve that continuance
by prudence and moderation in our councils; by well-directed
attempts to assuage the bitterness which, too often unavoidable,
marks differences of opinion; by the promidgation and practice
of just and liberal principles ; and by an enlarged patriotism,
which shall acknoioledge no limits but those of our own wide-
spread republic' "

Mr. Hilliard, of Alabama, said, "It is an interposition of
Providence; and it comes to us in a trying hour. My trust in
Providence is unshaken. Our country has been delivered,
guided, and made glorious by a good Providence. It will be so
still. I remember when the prophet referred to was surrounded
by a hostile force, and all hope of escape seemed to be cut off,
that a young man who was with him cried out in great fear;
and the reply of the prophet was a prayer that the young
man's eyes might be opened. He then saw that all within the
hostile lines were * chariots and horsemen of fire,' ready to
succor and deliver the beleaguered city. So will it be with us.
The very event which we deplore will be overruled for good;
and He that sitteth on high, mightier than the water- floods,
will put forth his ])Ower and cause a great calm."

The following proclamation was issued by the President of
the United States when the nation was imperilled by the open-
ing scenes and acts of the great Southern rebellion : —

To THE Peoi'i.f of the United States, — A Recomme\d.vth>\.

Nnin^'roiis apiiOMls liave been iiiJide to iiiei by ])ious and patriotic asso-
ciations and citizens, in view of the present distracted and dangerous
condition of our country, to recommend that a day be set ajtart for
liumiliation, fasting, and i)rayer throughout the Union.

In coniplianeo with their request and my own sense of <luty. I desig-
nate Friday, the fourth day of January, iMOl, for tl»is purpose, and
recommend that the ])eople assembU; on tliat day. according to their
several forms of worship, to keep it as a soh'inn fast.

The union of the States is at the present moment tlireatened with
alarming and immediate (Umger; panic ami distress of a fearful cha-
racter prevail throughout tl>e land; our laboring i>opulalion arewitliout

556 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

employment, and consequently deprived of the means of earning their
bread. Indeed, hope seems to have deserted the minds of men. All
classes are in a state of confusion and dismay, and the wisest counsels
of our best and jjurest men are disregarded.

In this hour of our calamity and peril, to whom shall we resort for
relief but to the God of our fathers? His omnipotent arm only can
save us from the awful effects of our own crimes and follies, — our own
ingratitude and guilt towards our heavenly Father.

Let us, then, with deep contrition and penitent sorrow, unite in
humbling ourselves before the Most High, in confessing our individual
and national sins, and in acknowledging the justice of our punishment.
Let us im^Dlore him to remove from our hearts that false pride of
opinions which would impel us to persevere in wrong for the sake
of consistency rather than yield a just submission to the unforeseen
exigencies by which we are now surrounded. Let us, with deep
reverence, beseech him to restore the friendship and good will which
prevailed in former days among the people of the several States ;
and, above all, to save us from the horrors of civil war and " blood-
guiltiness.'' Let our fervent prayers ascend to his throne, that he
would not desert us in this hour of extreme peril, but remember us as
he did our fathers in the darkest days of the Revolution, and preserve
our Constitution and our Union, the work of their hands, for ages yet
to come.

An Omnipotent Providence may overrule existing evils for per-
manent good. He can make the wrath of man to praise him, and the
remainder of wrath he can restrain. Let me invoke every individual,
in whatever sphere of life he ma^' be placed, to feel a personal responsi-
bility to God and his country for keej^ing that day holy, and by contri-
buting all in his power to remove our actual and impending calamities.

James Buchanan.

Washikgton, Dee. 14, 1860.

Several months after the civil war had coinmenced, and the
Government had struggled unsuccessfully to subdue the rebel-
lion in the Southern States, Congress passed the following reso-
lution : —

Resolved,- hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the TInited States
of America in Congress assembled, That a joint committee of both Houses
wait on the President of the United States, and request that he recom-
mend a day of public humiliation, prayer, and fasting, to be observed
by the people of the United States with religious solemnity, and the
offering of fervent supplications to Almighty God for the safety and
welfare of these States, his blessings on their arms, and a speedy restora-
tion of peace.

Approved, August 5, 1861.

The President, seven days afterwards, issued the following

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 557

Proclamation.
By the President of the United Slates of America.

Whereas a joint committee of both Houses of Congress has waited on
the President of the United States, and requested him to recommend a
day of public humiliation, prayer, and fasting, to be observed by the
people of the United States with religious solemnities, and the ofiering
of fervent supplications to Almighty God for the safety and welfare of
these States, his blessing on their arms, and a speedy restoration of
peace ;

And whereas it is fitting and becoming in all people at all times to
acknowledge and revere the supreme government of God, to bow in
humble submission to his chastisements, to confess and deplore their
uns and transgressions in the full conviction that the fear of the Lord
'is the beginning of wisdom, and to j^ray with all fervency and con-
trition for the pardon of their past offences, and for a blessing upon
their present and prospective action ;

And whereas when our beloved country — once, by the blessing of
God, united, prosperous, and happy — is now afflicted with faction and
civil war, it is jDeculiarly fit for us to recognize the hand of God in this
visitation, and, in sorrowful remembrance of our own faults and crimes
as a nation and as individuals, to humble ourselves before him, and to
pray for his mercy, — to pray that we may be spared further punish-
ment, though justly deserved, that our arms may be blessed and made
etiectual for the re-establishment of law, order, and peace throughout
our country, and that the inestimable boon of civil and religious
liberty, earned, unrler his guidance and blessing, by the labors and
suff'<'ring.s of our fathers, may be restored in all it'^ original excellence, —

Therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do
appoint the last Thurstlay in September next as a day of humiliation,
prayer, and fasting lor all the people of the nation ; and I do earnestly
recommend to all the people, and especially to all ministers and
teacliers of religion of all denominations, and to all heads of families,
to observe and keep that day, according to their several . creeds and
modes of worship, in all humility, and with all religious solemnity, to
the end that the united prayer of the nation may ascend to the throne
of grace, and bring down ])lentiful blessings upon our own country.

n testimony whereof I liave hereunto set my hand, and caused the
great seal of the United States to be affixed, this twelfth day of August.
A.D. 18G1, and of the independence of tlie United States of Ann rica the
eighty-sixtli.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln.

William 1 1 . S i: \\ a r d, Scci/ of State.

At the close of tlio session of. Congress, the Senate of the
United States, Maroli 2, J SOI], pas.scil tlic following resolution: —

Rfwlved, That, dmoully reeogni/ing the supreme authority nnd ju.'»t
govornment of Almighty God in all thy atV.iii-s of men and of nations,
and Minccrely believing Uiat no i>eople, however groat in numbers and

558 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

resources, or however strong in the justice of their cause, can prosper
Tvithout his favor, and at the same time deploring the national offences
which have provoked his righteous judgment, yet encouraged, in this
day of trouble, by the assurances of his word, to seek him for succor
according to his appointed way, through Jesus Christ, the Senate of the
United States do hereby request the President of the United States, by
his proclamation, to designate and set apart a day for national prayer
and humiliation, requesting all the people of the land to suspend their
secular pursuits and unite in keeping the day in solemn communion
with the Lord of Hosts, suj)plicating him to enlighten the councils and
direct the policy of the rulers of the nation, and to support all our
soldiers, sailors, and marines, and the whole people, in the firm dis-
charge of duty, until the existing rebellion shall be overthrown and the
blessings of peace restored to our bleeding countr}' .

In pursuance of this resolution and request, the President
issued the following

Proclamation.

Whereas the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the
supreme authority and just government of Almighty God in all the
aftairs of men and nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President
to designate and set apart a day for national prayer and humiliation ;

And whereas it is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to own their
dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins
and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that
genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the
sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures, ancl proven by all
history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord ;

And insomuch as we know that, by his divine law, nations, like indi-
viduals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world,
may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil w^ar, which now
desolates the land, may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our
presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a
whole people ? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties
of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and
prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other
nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten
the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and
enriched and strengthened us ; and we have vainly imagined, in the de-
ceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by
some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with un-
broken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity
of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that
made us !

It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power,
to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Now, therefore, in compliance with the request and fully concurring
in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 559

set apart Thursday, the 30th day of April, 1863, as a day of national humi-
liation, fasting, and prayer. And I do hereby request all the people to
abstain on that day from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite,
at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in
keeping the day holy to the Lord and devoted to the humble discharge
of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in
the hope, authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the
nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings no less than
the pardon of our national sins, and restoration of our now divided and
suffering country to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal
of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington this tliirtieth day of March, in the
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three,
[l.s.] and of the independence of the United States the eighty-
seventh.

Abraham Lincoln.

By the President:

"William H. Seward, Secretary of State.

The historical and official records presented in this chapter
are cumulative and conclusive proofs of the Christian life and
character of the civil institutions of the United States, and
form a rich and an instructive part of the political Christian
literature of the nation. Their statements affirm, in unequivocal
terms, that the whole fabric of the civil Governments and the
social civilization of the nation had their origin and vigor from
the Christian religion, and that the same Divine system alone
can keep them pure and transmit them to future ages.

660 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

CHAPTER XXIII.,

THANKSGIVING FESTIVALS — PURITAN ORIGIN — BECAME NATIONAL — THEIR INFLU-
ENCE ON THE FAMILY ON THE CHURCH ON THE STATE — RELATION OF THE

FAMILY TO THE STATE AMERICAN POLICY TO SECURE HOMESTEADS SIMILAR

TO THE HEBREW POLICY DR. BEECHER'S STATEMENT VIEW OF THE EARLY

NEW ENGLAND FAMILIES — BANCROFT'S PICTURE OF NEW ENGLAND FAMILIES

THANKSGIVING-DAY OF 1862 — PR0CLA3IATI0NS OF THE VARIOUS GOVERNORS

OF THE MAYOR OF WASHINGTON CITY ABSTRACT OF PROCLAMATIONS BY

DIFFERENT GOVERNORS — THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER OF THE GOVERNMENT

DECLARED BY THESE STATE PAPERS THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION ACT OF

CONGRESS TO PROTECT IT PUNISHES POLYGAMY VINDICATES A CHRISTIAN

ORDINANCE — THE RECOGNITION OF GOD's GOVERNMENT AND OF THE CHRISTIAN
RELIGION IN PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGES — THE STATEMENT OF AN AMERICAN
JURIST THAT THE GOSPEL IS THE GLORY OF A STATE.

The annual festival of Thanksgiving originated in New Eng-
land, and was the fruit of Puritan faith and piety. It has
become national, and is commemorated with devout demon-
strations of Christian worship and of social and family remem-
brances and reunions. It is a day canonized in the Christian
and civil annals of the various State Governments, and carries
with it the authority of legislative and executive action as well
as the sanctions and solemnities of religion.

The influences of this festival are wide-spread and beneficent.
It affords to the ministers of religion a favorable opportunity
for the discussion of the great principles of civil and religious
liberty which underlie our system of government, to review the
Christian history which has marked the origin and progress of
civilization and the civil and political institutes of the nation,
and to inculcate the fundamental fact that the Christian faith
and principles of the founders of the republic alone can preserve
its life and perpetuity. Its social and family scenes and Chris-
tian services cultivate the best affections of human 'nature, and
give fresher and purer tone and strength to the three great
organic institutions of God, — the Family, the Church, and the
State.

These institutions are divinely united, and must live or perish
together. The family, first in the order of its institution, is
the source of growth and perpetuity to the Church, and of

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 561

purity and moral strengtli and beauty to the State. The State
covers with its shield of legislation the family and the Church,
and thus fosters and diffuses those Christian virtues and influ-
ences that are the only durable pillars of civil society and the
only true and lasting glory of States. These three institutions,
Divine in their origin and authority, are designed to be per-
petual, and alone can work out the social, moral, political, and
spiritual regeneration of nations and the race.

As the family is the foundation of the civil state and the
germ of its life and growth and source of its strength and
glory, the republic of North America has not only been dis-
tiuguished for the best types of the family organization, but
the legislation of the national and State Governments has given
the easiest facilities for the acquisition of family homesteads,
out of which might flow the best and strongest influences to
support and bless the State.

Congress, by an act '^ to secure Homesteads to actual settlers
on the Public Domain," passed May 20, 1862, and approved by
the President, secures a free homestead ''to any person who is
the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-
one years, and is a citizen of the United States, or who shall
have filed his declaration of intention to become such, as
required by the naturalization laws of the United States, and
who has never borne arms against the United States Govern-
ment or given aid and comfort to its enemies." It was also re-
quired in that Act that the person making application for such
homestead must declare that "the said entry is made for the
purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not, either
directly or indirectly, for the use or benefit of any person or
persons whomsoever."

This national policy in reference to securing a home and an
ownership in the soil has a beneficent influence in the culture of
all the virtues, and gives to the people who support the Govern-
ment a deeper and a stronger love of country. This feature
of our Government and institutions has a striking]: analoi^v to
the republican institutions of the Hebrew commonwoalth, which
wore established under the immediate direction and authority
of (jcmI.

Dr. Lyman Bco(*hor, an American divine of groat eminence,
eloquence, and piety, whose long life and talents were devoted
to the defence and diffusion of the fundamental doctrines of

36

562 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Christianity and to the true welfare of the American republic,
in his lecture on the republican elements of the Old Testament,
says,—

'^ The most admirable trait in the republican system of the
Jews is the distribution of land, which made every adult male
a land-holder, — not a tenant, but the owner himself of the soil
on which he lived. This is the great spring of civil liberty,
industry, and virtue. By this simple arrangement the great
body of the nation were elevated from the pastoral to the agri-
cultural state, and were at once exempted from the two extremes
most dangerous to liberty, — an aristocracy of wealth and a
sordid vicious poverty. It was the design of Heaven to secure
a state of society eminently adapted to virtue and liberty ; and,
by this distribution of the soil to each individual and family, he
made the whole nation agricultural. The single principle of
universal ownership, in fee simple, of the soil, secured at once
intense and universal patriotism, indomitable courage, untiring
industry, and purity of morals : neither an hereditary nobility,
nor a dependent peasantry, nor abject poverty, could exist.
"While the sun shone, or the streams flowed, or the hills re-
mained, liberty and equality must exist among them. The
whole land was kept in the line of family descent : no poverty
or vice on the part of a man could deprive his family of the
privilege of inheriting its portion of the soil, — thus attaching
them to the community as independent members, with all those
inducements to freedom and intelligence and virtue which apper-
tain to the owners and cultivators of the soil."

These results which were wrought out by the policy of the
Hebrew commonwealth have been in some good measure
gained under the republican institutions of the United States.
The loyalty and love of country, and the settled and solemn
purpose of the American people to maintain the unity of their
nationality and the integrity of their civil institutions, which
have had a new and sublime development in the great conflict
arising out of the Southern rebellion, have their origin and
fruitfulness in the fact that the Government, in its past and pre-
sent policy, secures, on the easiest terms, ownership in the soil
and a homestead for every family. , It is a recognition of the
vital need of the family, in its best estate, to the prosperity and
perpetuity of the republic.

What, then, can make the families of this great nation happy,

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 563

pure, moral, and orderly ? Certainly nothing else but the
power and resources of piety, and the cultivation of family
religion. Here, in the sacred sanctuary of home, must virtue
and piety exert their holy influences in the purification of these
original fountains, and then every stream that flows from them
on society and Government will be eminently healthy and
saving. For the cultivation of family religion, and the Chris-
tian education and training of children, involve the whole issues
of human happiness and the well-being of all civil Govern-
ments.

Let family religion flourish, — let the children who are to
occupy this glorious domain, and to wield the civil and political
destinies of this great republic, be trained and educated under
Christian influences, — and all fear of danger to the integrity and
perpetuation of our free institutions will be removed. This
will plant the fear of God in every heart, it will give right
principles of moral action to every citizen, and send forth those
pious and refreshing influences that will water the tree of
American liberty, cause its roots to fix themselves deep in
the rich soil, send the sap of a virtuous and a vigorous life
through all its parts, and preserve in their purity and integrity
the civil institutions of the country, and bless every intt'rest
of the nation.

"The family," says a modern divine, " is God's first institu-
tion. It was founded in Eden, and will last to tlie end of time.
All other institutions come after it, cluster round it, grow out
of it, and have the deepest roots both of their, strength and
weakness in it. The school is what the family makes it. The
state is what the family makes it. So it is with communities
and nations. So it is with universal human society, and with
the whole race of man. They are all but so many streams of
which the family is the fountain, circles of which it is the
centre, superstructures of which it is the foundation, bi-anchos
of which it is th»^ root. What it is they are and must he. Its
spirit makes their life; its fibres shape their bou,>j:hs ; its juices
feed their loaves and fill their fruits. All otlu-r institutions* of
Rociety are to be formed and reformed, gonerattYl and regene-
rated, only through the family itself."

Now England ha.s ever been distinguished (or its lovely
pictures of iiomc-lifo an<l the comforts and independence of its
families. Before the century in which the Pilgrims settled at

564 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Plymoiitli had expired, it was said of New England, by KeVr
John "Wise, that " Eeligion is placed and exercised in its prin-
ciples, virtues, and governments, through the families of the
country, as so many little sanctuaries. There is no such spot of
earth on the earthly globe so belabored with family devotion,
reading God's word, catechizing and well-instrncting youth, with
neat and virtuous examples, and divine prayers, non ex codiee,
sed ex corde, not out of books, but out of hearts, the solem-
nizing Sabbaths and family attendance on public means^ as in
New Ensfland,

o

Bancroft bears a similar testimony. " A lovely picture/' says
he, ^' of prosperity, piety, and domestic happiness was presented.
Every family was taught to look up to God, as to the fountain
of all good ; yet life was not sombre. The spirit of frolic
mingled with innocence ; religion itself sometimes wore the
garb of gayety, and the annual thanksgiving to God was, from
primitive times, as joyous as it was sincere."

The festival of Thanksgiving — the symbol of family religion
and love, and the fountain of beneficent and extensive good to
the Church and the State — mingles its songs of praise and Joy from
ocean to ocean, filling the continent with the incense of a Chris-
tian sacrifice precious to the American citizen and acceptable to
God.

The annual Thanksgiving of 1862, in the loyal States, was
observed with more than usual interest and attention. In the
midst of a great rebellion, the people paused from worldly pur-
suits, went up to the temples of God, and ''entered into
his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise."
Not a sanctuary, scarcely, in all the land but was vocal
with praise and prayer, and in them the ministers of God
reviewed the manifold blessings with which God had crowned
the year, and especially dv/elt upon the blessings of our
civil institutions, and the duty of preserving the Union
and perpetuating the integrity of the Government against the
rebellion of the Southern States. The capital of the nation —
the city founded by Washington and ]>earing his name, the seat
of civil power, and the home of the President of the United
States, his Cabinet, and of Congress — observed with great
unanimity and appropriateness the Thanksgiving of the year
1862.

A peculiar feature of the Thanksgiving of the year 1862

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 565

was its observance on tlie tented fields and in tlie numerous hos-
pitals of the Government, in different parts of the country.
The loyal States, in order to arrest and subdue the rebellion
and to maintain the unity of the republic and vindicate the
majesty and integrity of the Government, had, when the
Thanksgiving of 1862 was observed, eight hundred thousand
armed soldiers in the field. Thousands of these heroic men
were accustomed to observe Thanksgiving-day in their own
quiet homes ; and now, amidst the scenes of war, in the camp,
or in hospitals, they recalled the home-pictures of former
days, and under the happy auspices of the day, and with loyal
hearts, consecrated themselves anew to the cause of liberty and
religion and to the salvation of the imperilled republic.

This chapter will be devoted to the official recognition of the
Christian religion by the Governors of most of the States of
the Union, in their annual proclamations for thanksgiving.
Those of the year 1862, from all the loyal States except Cali-
fornia, are given in full, as they are not only state papers of a
high Christian tone, but relate also to the great rebellion of
the Southern portion of the republic. The proclamation of
Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts, for 1861, is inserted, as
it is a noble Christian paper and a model of its kind. The
proclamations of several of the Southern States for 1858 are
also given. Other proclamations by the Governors of various
States are given in brief. They will all be found interesting
and cumulative in reference to the Christian life and character
of the civil ii).stitutions of the United States.

NEW YORK.

The first appointment of a Thanksgiving day in the State of
New York, after the General Government went into operation,
was made by John Jay, Governor and commander-in-chief of
the State, lie was among the most eminent Christian states-
men of the Revolutionary and constitutional eras of the republic,
and had largely contributed to give the civil and political insti-
tutions of New York and the nation a Christian impress ; and
among his first official acts when elected Governor was to
appoint a day for thanksgiving unto God. In his proclamatioa
for that year, 1794, he says, —

Whereas the great Creator an<l Pn'sorvor of th.' Tnix .-rso is the Su-

566 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEE OF THE

preme Sovereign of nations, and does, when and as lie pleases, reward
or punish them by temporal blessings or -calamities, according as their
national conduct recommends them to his favor and beneficence or
excites his displeasure and indignation ;

And whereas in the course of his government he hath graciously
been pleased to show singular kindness to the people and nation of
which this State is a constituent member, by protecting our ancestors in
their first establishment in this then savage wilderness, by defending
them against their enemies, by blessing them with an uncommon degree
of peace, liber-ty, and safety, and with the civilizing light and influence
of his holy gospel, by leading us,, as it were by the hand, through the
various scenes of the late revolution, and crowning it with success,
by giving us wisdom and opportunity to establish governments and
institutions auspicious to order, security, and national liberty, by con-
stantly favoring us with fruitful seasons, and, in general, by giving us
a greater portion of public welfare and prosperity than to any other
people ; it appears to me to be the public duty of this State, collect-
ively considered, to render unto God their sincere and humble thanks
for all these his great and unmerited mercies and blessings, and also
to offer to him their fervent petitions to continue to us his protection
and favor ; to preserve to us the undisturbed enjoyment of our civil
and religious rights and privileges, and the valuable life and usefulness
of the President [Washington] of the United States; to enable all
our rulers, Councils, and people, to do the duties incumbent on them
respectively, with wisdom and fidelity, to promote the extension of
true religion, virtue, and learning, to give us grace to cultivate national
unity, concord, and good will, and generally to bless our nation, and
all other nations, in the manner and measure most conducive t®
our and their best interests and real welfare ; being perfectly convinced
that national prosjDerity depends, and ought to depend, on national
gratitude and obedience to the Supreme Euler of the Universe.

PROCLAMAT'ION

JBi/ Daniel D. Tompkins, Governor of the State of New York, General and C(m>-
mander-in- Chief of allthe MiUtia, and Admiral of the Navy of the same, on the
Restoratioyi of Peace^ in 1815.

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate and Assembly of this
State, I do hereby set apart the second Thursday of April next, to be
devoted to public prayer, thanksgiving, and praise ; and I do most
earnestly recommend to the good people of this State, of every denomi-
nation, to abstain from all kinds of labor and business on that day, to
meet in their respective places of worship, and there unite their hearts
in fervent prayer to the Most High, in humble acknowledgment of his
all-protecting influence, and in considei^tion of his goodness manifested
to us, a nation, in that he has been pleased to signalize our arms by so
many splendid victories, to conduct our country successfully through
the perils of the late war, to restore to us the blessings of peace, and to
preserve unimpaired our civil and religious institutions.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the privy seal of the State of

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 567

New York to be hereunto affixed [L.S.] at the city of Albany, the
seventeenth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and fifteen.

Daxiel D. Tompkins.
By his Excellency the Governor :

E-OBERT TiLLOTsox, Private /Secretary.

De Witt Clinton, as the Governor of the State of New York,
appointed Thanksgiving-day in 1817-22, 1825, 1826, and 1827.
In these prodamations he declares it

*' An obvious and solemn duty to render the obligations of
devout and grateful hearts to Almighty God for the manifold
blessings conferred upon us at all times by the gracious dispensa-
tions of his providence." In the enumeration of the blessings for
which '' the State had been greatly distinguished by the dis-
pensation of a benign Providence" in the various years of his
administration, the Governor designates '' an augmentation of
the lights of religion and knowledge." He states as his "solemn
conviction that private happiness and public prosperity are in-
dissolubly connected with the cultivation of religion, and a
deep solicitude to endeavor to merit the favor of Divine Provi-
dence ;" and that, in view of the " Divine pleasure in promoting
the diffusion of religion, advancing the interests of knowledge,
prospering internal improvements, and vouchsafing the enjoy-
ment of liberty, peace, and plenty," " demonstrations of grati-
tude are enjoined by the most impressive considerations of
patriotism and the most solemn obligations of religion."

Joseph C. Yates, as Governor of New York, in his proclama-
tions of 1823-4, says, —

" The people of this State have been highly favored with un-
merited blessing, from the protecting hand of the beneficent
Creator and Eulcr of the Universe, signally manifested by
continuing to promote the cause of religion in our land,
the diffusion of it abroad, and the dissemination of useful
knowledge among all classes of citizens ;" and " by enabling the
constituted authorities, under his superintending cai'e and
guidance, peacefully to organize a government according to a
constitution formed and adopted by the people; securing to
them the blessings of liberty, and the undisturbed fruition of
their own labor and exertions."

New York, in 1821, formed a new Constitution, which wa?
adopted by a popular vote in February, 1822, and went into fuD

568 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

operation on the 1st day of January, 1823 ; and for this Divine
blessing tlie Governor calls upon the people to render special
thanksgiving to God.

[Nathaniel Pitcher, the acting Governor of the State of New
York after the death of De Witt Clinton, in his proclamation
of 1828, calls upon the people to render thanksgiving unto Al-
mighty God.

^' In permitting us to enjoy the blessings of republican insti-
tutions, in the diffusion of moral instruction and science, by
sustaining our colleges, academies, and Sabbath and common
school institutions ; in continuing to us the light of revelation
and the consolation and toleration of religious profession and
worship."

Enos T. Throop, acting as Governor after the resignation of
Governor Van Buren, in his proclamations of 1829-30, says, — ■

" It has pleased Almighty God to give us strength and wis-
dom, and by his guidance we have become members of a
national and State Government which secures to each of us our
due civil rights and freedom of religious opinion. By his great
goodness our hearts have been disposed to cultivate the growth
of knowledge and virtue by the instrumentality of public wor-
ship, of schools, and of benevolent and charitable institutions,
and to consider them as means of individual happiness and
national prosperity."

^^ "Whereas," he continues, '^ the wisdom of man is but a small
light shining around his footsteps, showing the things that are
near, while all beyond is shrouded in darkness, manifesting our
dependence upon a God of infinite wisdom, the Creator and
Guide of all things, who directs our path through the dark and
unseen places, and to ends which human wisdom foresees not,
and evincing that our condition here, whether of good or evil,
is according to his good pleasure, operating upon our hearts,
and minds, and not according to our own wills." " Deeply im-
pressed with these truths," he recommends the people of New
York to render praise to Almighty God " for the general dif-
fusion of knowledge and learning, to the enlightenment of our
minds, and fitting us for the enjoyment of our social advantages,
and the prosecution of our inestimable privileges as a nation ;
for having cultivated in us a spirit of charity and an enlight-
ened sense of religious and moral duties, and preserved to U3
an unrestrained religious worship.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 569

''And in our aspirations let us beseecli Grod to banish from amoiig
us superstition, contention, ignorance, and ill will, and hasten
that era which we hope is within the plan of his providence,
and now dawns upon us, when the human understanding shall
be so enlarged, and the passions of men so chastened, that war
shall cease, that civil institutions, founded on the principles of
equality, shall be adopted by all nations, and that the love of
man for his fellow-creatures shall be manifested in deeds of
kindness and benevolence ;" and with united hearts renew to
God our acknowledgments of gratitude for his "remarkable
interposition in staying the desolating moral pestilence of in-
temperate drinking."

William L. Marcy, Governor of New York, issued thanks-
giving proclamations for 1833-38, in which he says, —

To acknowledge the bounties of tlie Giver of all good, and to cherish
grateful recollections of his beneficence, is eminently worthy of an in-
telligent and highly favored people. In view of the numerous favors
and blessings with which the past year has been crowned, our thoughts
should be naturally directed to our munificent Benefoctor, and our
hearts moved to expressions of gratitude and thanksgiving. The same
almighty arm which protected and sustained our foreftithers has also
been our shield of defence ; the same bountiful hand which adminis-
tered temporal and spiritual blessings to them has been more abundant,
in good gifts to us. Our civil and religious rights have been enjoyed
without molestation ; moral and intellectual improvement has rapidly
advanced; the spirit of enterprise has been active in multiplying the
means of social happiness ; and industry, in all its various branches, has
received appropriate rewards. All things essential to our prosperity
have been graciously offered for our acceptance. Surrounded as we are
by numerous and signal manifestations of the Divine goodness towards
us, as individuals, and in our social and political relations, it behooves us
to render to our beneficent Benefactor the tribute of our love and grati-
tude.

' William H. Seward, Secretary of State during the adminis-
tration of President Lincoln, when Governor of the State of
New York, issued his i)roclamation for a day of thanksgiving in
183*J, in which ho says, —

I-tt us also beseocli Clod to deliver tlio oppressed tliroughout tlio
worM.antl vouchsafe to all mankind the privileges of civil and religious
liberty, and the knowK-tlgo, influences, and blessed hopes of tho gospel
of his Son our Saviom-.

In 1840, his proclamation said, —

570 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

However much we may be separated by opinions or associations, all
the citizens of the republic have equal political rights, and have the
same motives to desire its peace, happiness, and perpetual prosj^erity.
The Church of the living God is one, and embraces all those who in
humility of sjDirit receive his holy faith and through Divine aid seek to
keep his commandments. Let us, therefore, in jDerfect harmony and
charity one with another, as patriots and Christians, implore him to
sustain and bless all our civil and religious institutions, and to dispense
to us abundantly that heavenly grace which, with faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, leads, through the ways of virtue here, to the blessed
society of the redeemed in his everlasting kingdom.

Governor William C. Bouck, in his j^roclamation of 1844, de-
clared that

The blessed gospel has been gradually but surely extending its benign
influence. Actuated by its diffusive benevolence. Christian missionaries
have not only labored among the waste and desolate places at home,
but have gone forth to proclaim "Christ and him crucified" to the
dark and benighted regions of the earth. With our thanksgiving let
us mingle our prayers for a continuance of the numerous blessings we
enjo}^ and esj)ecially that there may be an outpouring of the SjDirit of
God, to revive pure and undefiled religion among us, — the best security
of our civil and political institutions. We should always remember
that "righteousness exalteth a nation.'^

Silas Wright, as Governor of the State of New York, in his
proclamation for 1845, makes this official statement with respect
to the Christian religion : —

A Christian people should unite in a tribute of thanksgiving to Him
who tempers the seasons and blesses the earth and makes it fruitful.
Exercises such as these, entered into in the spirit and with the feelings
which these considerations should excite, cannot fail to turn the mind
to the lively remembrance of the immeasurably greater blessings of the
redemption through a Saviour, and the revelation to fallen man of the
way of salvation, — blessings for which the human heart cannot be suflfi-
ciently thankful.

"The gift of a Saviour," he says, in his proclamation for 184G, "and
the full light of Divine revelation, are spiritual blessings which should
awaken to expressions of devout thankfulness the hearts and voices of
a Christian peoi)le."

John Young, Governor of New York, in proclamations for
1847, '48, says,—

A day of public thanksgiving is due to Almighty God for blessings
bestowed upon the people of this State. The State of New York pre-
sents a gladsome picture of universal happiness and prosperity. The
blessings of free government, the means of universal education, and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 571

the supremacy of law and order have been vouclisafed to us in an emi-
nent degree. As a Christian peoi:)le, we are admonished that these
blessings are the gifts of a beneficent God, and, while we thus rejoice in
his bount}-, we should not forget the homage due from grateful hearts.

Hamilton Fisb, Governor of the State of New York, in
proclamations for 1849, '50, refers to Christianity in these
words : —

Civil and religious liberty continue to be vouchsafed to all within
our borders, and the blessings of the gospel are extended to all who de-
sire to enjoy its comforts and consolations.

And on this occasion we should not forget that, while an inscrutable
Providence has seen fit to remove the Chief Magistrate of our Union
[President Taylor died July 9, 1850J, that same Providence has preserved
us under the trial a free and a united i:>eople, has saved us from
anarchy or civil commotion, and has continued to us the mild operation
of a Government of our own adoption and rulers of our own choice,

Washington Hunt, Governor of New York, in his procla-
mations for 1851, '52, says, —

The maintenance of social order and free institutions, imparting fresh
vigor to tlie cause of civil liberty, the ditfusion of religion and learning,
and the innumerable benefits which have been conferred upon our
commonwealth, proclaim the infinite goodness and protecting care of
the Creator and Supreme lliiler of the universe.

Horatio Seymour, Governor of Now York, in proclamations
for 1853, '51, declares, —

An acknowledgment of our dependence upon God and our obliga-
tions to him is at all times the duty of a Christian people. Let us
mingle prayers for a continuance of the numerous blessings we as a
people enjoy, remembering that his wisdom alone can rightly direct,
his power support, and his goodness give strength and security.

Governor Myron II. Clark, of New York, in his procla-
mations for 1855, '5G, made the following declaration : —

Every dei)artment of lionorable human culture lias advani*.(l. The
arts that adorn a republican state luivo not languisliod. The love of
lre«'dom lias burned witli a brighter flame. Our political rights Imvo
remaine<l safe in the care of an enlightened and order-loving people.
T)i«' i>ublic morals have not degenerated; and Keligion has n<it failtnlto
clieer us by her consolations, to warn u> by her solemn ailmonitions,
uikI to inspire us by her eternal hopes.

And while wo ])ray for forgiv<'n»>ss of our sins, as eiti/eiis of the State
and subjeets of the Diviiie gf)veriiment, let us eonseerateoui^solves unow
on tluil [Thanksgiving] day to a nligiou.s lil'i-, whieh iieglectij no privuto

572 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

or public obligation on earth, while it confides in the grace of God for
the hope of an immortal life in heaven.

John A. King, Governor of New York, in his proclamations
for 1857, '58, says, —

The promise that seed-time and harvest shall never fail has been
most signally manifested during the past season. The people of this
State have been permitted to witness and enjoy during another year
the noble works of God's hands, — the fostering care of his goodness and
mercy. We are called upon to acknowledge the power and goodness
of our Almighty Father, the Lord and Giver of life, that we have re-
ceived his merciful care, and beheld the wonderful works of his provi-
dence, and enjoyed the advantages and security which freedom, the
public schools, and equal laws have established for ourselves and pos-
terity.

Proclamation by Edwix D. Morgan, Governor of the State of New

York, 1862.

From the depth of national affliction we come, with stricken hearts
and chastened spirits, to own our dependence upon the Most High,
and to render, with grateful sense, our thanksgivings for his mercies,
countless in number and infinite in extent. A year fraught with the
heaviest sorrows has yet, in the merciful plan of Providence, been dis-
tinguished by the most conspicuous blessings. Although it is num-
bered among the dark periods of history, and its sorrowful records
graven on many hearth- stones, yet the jDrecious blood shed in the
cause of our country will hallow and strengthen our love and our
reverence for it and its institutions, while the bitter sorrows of the
year will discipline us into humility. Whatever was passionate in the
earlier period of the war has given way to a deep and subdued con-
viction of duty in defending the integrity of the Union. Reflection has
made clear our obligations, and the issues of the momentous struggle
present themselves in more definite form. Our national aims have
been elevated, and our sacrifices have made us less selfish ; our Govern-
ment and institutions placed in jeopardy have brought us to a more
just appreciation of their value. Looking beyond the wicked leaders
who have precipitated this terrible calamity of civil war upon us, we
see that the people in arms against the Government possess the higher
qualities of our national character ; and though their minds have been
perverted by passion and prejudice, yet on many occasions their
prowess and devotion to their cause have been such as to win our
respect. We are permitted to see that the war is developing the man-
hood of the nation ; and, when peace shall return, we have faith that
the American rei:)ublic will be more powerful, the Government more
permanent, the elements of society more perfectly blended, and tlie
people more firmly united than ever.

We have other causes for gratitude. Disease has been averted at
home; the unacclimated armies have been protected from pestilences
which it was feared would follow them in distant latitudes. Earth's

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 573

best fruits have been lavishly bestowed, the arts have prospered, the
employments of peace have been rewarded, and the good order of
society has been fully maintained. Reverses to our arms have been
followed by successes on land and sea which specially call for thanks-
giving, and justify the most sanguine expectations as to the final result
of the contest.

That we ma}- publicly signify our deep thankfulness for these, and
countless other blessings of the past, and for the promise that his mer-
cies endure forever; that we may fully acknowledge our dependence
ui^on the Supreme Being, and hear anew from his specially chosen ser-
vants that judgments follow those nations wherein his prerogatives are
usurped, and who give not God the glory in all things ; and that, in
proper spirit, we may ask that victory shall attend our armies and pros-
perity our dwellings, that peace may be restored, and that we may
have strength to meet the trials of the future, I do appoint Thursday,
the twenty-seventh day of November next, as a day of praise, thanks-
giving, and prayer to Almighty God ; and I do recommend that, sus-
pending all ordinary business pursuits, the people of this State do meet
together, in their own chosen places of worship, and that the said day,
throughout, be appropriately observed.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and affixed the
privy seal of the State, at the city of Albany, this first day of October,
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight liundred and sixty-two.

Edwix D. Morgan'.

By the Governor :

LocKwooD L. Doty, Private Secretary.

MASSACHUSETTS.

The proclamation of Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts,
for 1861, is an important Christian state paper, and is a model
of its kind for Christian rulers : —

Proclamation for a Dav of Pldlic Tifanksgiving and Praise, November

21, 18G1.

The examplo of tlio fathers, and the dictates of pi.'ty and gratitude,
summon the people of Massachusetts at this, the liarvest-season. crown-
ing the year with the rich j>roofs of tlie wisdom and love of God, to
join in a soltMnn and joyful act of united praise and thanksgiving to
the bountiful (iiver of every good and perf«^ct gift.

I do, therefore, with the advice and consent of the Council, np|>oint
riiursday, the twenty-lirst day of November next,— the same being the
annivorrtary of that day, in the year of our Lord sixteen Imndretl and
twenty, on wliich the Pilgrims of Massachusetts, on b<iard the May-
llower, united themselves in a solemn and written compact of govern-
ment,—to be observed by the people of Massachusetts as a «l.iy of public
thanksgiving and praise. AtkI I invoke its observance by all the people
witli devout and religious joy.

674 CHEISTIAN LIFE A]S'D CHARACTER OF THE

" Sing aloud unto God our strength : make a joj-ful noise unto the
God of Jacob.

" Take a psahn, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant hari3 with
the psaltery.

"Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time ap2:'ointed, on
our solemn feast day.

" For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.''
— Ps. Ixxxi. 1-4.

"O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be
heard :

"Which holdeth our soul in life, and suflfereth not our feet to be
moved.

"For thou, 0 God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is
tried."— Ps. Ixvi. 8-10.

Let us rejoice in God and be thankful — for the fulness with w^hich he
has blessed us in our basket and in our store, giving large reward to the
toil of the husbandman, so that "our paths drop fatness;''

For the many and gentle alleviations of the hardships which, in the
present time of public disorder, have afflicted the various pursuits of
agriculture ;

For the early evidences of the reviving energies of the business of
the people;

For the measure of success which has attended the enterprise of
those who go down to the sea in ships, of those who search the depths
of the ocean to add to the food of man, and of those whose busy skill
and handicraft combine to prepare for various uses the crops of the
earth and the sea ;

For the advantages of sound learnnig, placed within the reach of all
the children of the people, and the freedom and alacrity with which
those advantages are embraced and improved ;

For the opportunities of religious instruction and worship universally
enjoyed by consciences untrammelled by any human authority ;

For the " redemption of the world by Jesus Christ, for the means of
grace, and the hope of glory."

And, with one accord, let us bless and praise God for the oneness
of heart, mind, and purpose in which he has united the people of this
ancient commonwealth for the defence of the rights, liberties, and
honor of our beloved country.

May we stand forever in the same mind, remembering the devoted
lives of our fathers, the precious inheritance of freedom received at
their hands, the weight of glory which awaits the faithful, and the
infinity of blessing which it is our privilege, if we will, to transmit to
the countless generations of the future.

And while our tears flow in a stream of cordial sympathy with the
daughters of our people, just now bereft, by the violence of the wicked
and rebellious, of the fathers and husbands and brothers and sons,
whose heroic blood has made sacred the soil of Virginia, and, mingling
with the waters of the Potomac, has made the river now and forever
ours, let our 'souls arise to God, on the wings of praise, in thanksgiving

CIVIL IXSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 575

that he has again granted us the privilege of living unselfishly and of
dying nobly in a grand and righteous cause ;

For the precious and rare possession of so much devoted valor and
manly heroism;

For the sentiment of pious duty which distinguished our fallen in
the camp and in the field ;

And for the sweet and blessed consolations which accompany the
memories of these dear sons of Massachusetts on to immortality.

And in our praise let us also be penitent. Let us " seek the truth
and pursue it/' and prepare our minds for whatever duty shall be
manifested hereafter.

May the controversy in which wo stand be found worthy, in its con-
summation, of the heroic sacrifices of the people and the precious blood
of their sons, of the doctrine and faith of the fathers, and consistent
with the honor of God, and with justice to all men. And —

" Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered : let them also that hate
him flee before him.

"As smoke is driven away, so drive them away." — Ps. Ixviii. 1, 2.

"Scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, 0 Lord, our
shield."— Ps. lix. 11.

Given at the Council-Chamber, this thirty-first day of October, in the
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixtj'-one, and the
eighty-sixth of the independence of the United States of America.

JoHX A. Andrew.

By his Excellency the Governor, with the advice and consent of the
Council.

Oliver Warxer, Secretary.

God save tue Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

A Proclamation for a Day of Public Than'ksgiving and Praise in 1802.

By and with the advice and consent of the Council, I do hereby appoint
Thursday, the twenty-seventh day of November current, to be observed
throughout this Commonwealth as a day of public thanksgiving and
praise. And I do earnestly invite and request all the people of Massa-
chusetts to set apart that day for the grateful and happy remembrance
of the boundless mercies and loving-kindness of Ilim in whose name
our fatliers }>lanted our commonwealth, and to wlioso service they con-
secrated their lives and devoted tlieir i)Osterity.

"The Lord hath establislnMl liis throne in the licavens, and his king-
dom ruleth over all." He is the " Sovereign Commander of all th.> world,
in whose liand is power and might, wliich none is able to withstand ;''
and to him only belong ascriptions of glory, who is "the only Givt-r of
victory." Let our hearts, therefore, ascend higher than all the inte-
rests thatontanglc, all the floubts that bewilder, the i)assions that ensnare,
and the prfjudices that ohsc»n-e,— consenting to ])e l<d, illumined, and
gov^TU.d by his infinite intelligence and love.

In th<' meditations of the house of praise, let us take comfort and be
thankful for the numberless manifestations of heroie and manly virtue
which, amid the distractions of war, in th" duties of iho camp, and in

576 CHEISTIAN LIFE AKD CHAEACTER OF THE

the perils of battle, have illustrated the character of the sons of MassO'
chusetts, and for the serene and beautiful devotion with which her
daughters have given the dearest offerings of their hearts to the support
of their country and for the defence of humanity.

Let us not forget the bountiful bestowments of the year, filling the
granaries of the husbandman, and rewarding the toil of the laborer, the
enterprise, thrift, and industry of all our people. No pestilence hath
lurked in the darkness of night, nor assailed us in the light of day.
Calamity hath not overwhelmed us, nor hath any enemy destroyed.

Eising to the height of our great occasion, reinforced by courage,
conviction, and faith, it has been the privilege of our country to per-
ceive in the workings of Providence the opening ways of a sublime
duty. And to Him who hath never deserted the faithful, unto Him
" who gathereth together the outcasts of Israel, who healeth the broken
in lieart,^' we owe a new song of thanksgiving. " He showeth his word
unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not
dealt so with any nation.'^

Putting aside all fear of man, which bringeth a snare, may this people
put on the strength which is the Divine promise and gift to the faithful
and obedient. " Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a
two-edged sword in their hand.'^ Not with malice and wickedness, but
with sincerity and truth, let us keep this fast; and, while we "eat the
fat and drink the sweet, forget not to send a portion to him for whom
nothing is prepared." Let us remember on that day the claims of all
who are poor or desolate or oppressed, and pledge the devotion of our
lives to the rescue of our country from the evils of rebellion, oppression,
and wrong ; and may we all so order our conduct hereafter that we may
neither be ashamed to live nor afraid to die.

Given at the Council-Chamber, in Boston, this twenty-seventh day of
October, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, and the
eighty-seventh of the independence of the United States of America.

John A. Andrew.

P>y his Excellency the Governor, with the advice of the Council.

Oliver Warner, Secretary.
God save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

PENIsSYLVANIA.

In the name and by the authority of the Commonwealth of Pennsyl-
vania, Andrew G. Curtin, Governor of the said Commonwealth.

A Proclamation.

Whereas it is a good thing to render thanks unto God for all his
mercy and loving-kindness : therefore

I, Andrew G. Curtin, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
do recommend that Thursday, the twenty-seventh day of November next,
be set apart by the people of this Commonwealth as a day of solemn
prayer and thanksgiving to the Almighty, giving him humble thanks
that he has been graciously pleased to protect our free institutions and

CIVIL IKSTITUTI0X3 OF THE UNITED STATES. 677

Government, and to keep us from sickness and pestilence, and to cause
the' earth to bring forth her increase, so that our garners are choked with
the harvest, and to look so favorably on the toil of his children that
industry has thriven among us and labor has its reward ; and also that
he has delivered us from the hands of our enemies, and filled our officers
and men in the field with a loyal and intrepid spirit, and given them
victor}^ and that he has poured out upon us (albeit unworthy) other
great and manifold blessings.

Beseeching him to help and govern us in his steadfast fear and love,
and to put into our minds good desires, so that by his continual help
we may have a right judgment in all things, and especially praying him
to give to Christian Churches grace to hate the thing which is evil, and
to utter the teachings of truth and righteousness, declaring openly the
whole counsel of God, and most heartily entreating him to bestow upon
our civil rulers wisdom and earnestness in council, and upon our mili-
tary leaders zeal and vigor in action, that the fires of rebellion may be
quenched ; that we, being armed with his defence, may be preserved
from all perils, and that hereafter our people, living in peace and quiets
ness, may from generation to generation reap the abundant fruits of
his mercy, and with joy and thankfulness praise and magnify his holy
name.

Given under my hand and the great seal of the State, at Harrisburg,
this twentieth day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and sixty-two, and of the Commonwealth the eighty •
seventh.

Andrew G, Cl'rtix.

By the Governor :

En Slifer, Secretary of the Commomcealih.

NEW JERSEY.

Proclamatiox.

It being eminently right and proper that we, as a people, should at
stated periods offer united thanks to Almighty God for his goodness to
us as manifested by suffering us to lie down and rise up in safety even
in these " troublous times," by the bestowal of health and plenty and
innumerable temporal blessings, but, above all, by the inestimable gift
of liis dear Son Jesus Christ, for all the blessings of free salvation
througli him " for tlie means of grace and the hope of glory," I recom-
mend that on Thursday, tho twenty-seventh day of November instant,
the people of this State do assemble in their wonted places for i)ublic
worship, to acknowledge tlicir entire dependence on him, to render
hearty thanks for his loving-kindness during tho bygone year, and
humbly to supplicate a continuance of liis favor.

Givi'U under my liand and i>rivy seal, tliis third day of November
A.i). eighteen hundred and sixty-two.

CuAS. S. Olden.

Attest: CiiAS. M. Herdert, Private Secretary.

87

678 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

OHIO.

Thanksgiving Proclamation.

State of Ohio, Executive Department, i
Columbus, October 25, 1862. J

The time-honored custom, adopted by the fathers of our State, of set-
ting apart one day in each year for praise, thanksgiving, and prayer to
Almighty God for his goodness and mercy to us as a people, should be
preserved. Especially at a time like the present should all good citi-
zens unite in laying aside the ordinary business of life, at least for a
day, and devote themselves to the teachings of their Maker.

The effort made by the legally constituted authorities of the land to
put down the wicked rebellion against the Federal Government, the
best ever enjoyed by any people, in which effort the gallant sons of
Ohio have borne so conspicuous and proud a part, has filled every
neighborhood with mourning. Our brave soldiers are yet exposed to
the dangers of the field of battle and to the hardships and sickness of
camp-life ; and our system of government, in form after God's own
laws, and so gentle that its reins were scarcely felt by the governed,
is yet in peril.

Our heavenly Father can console the distressed, and heal the sor-
rows of the mother's and widow's heart ; he can protect from danger
our patriotic soldiers now in the field ; he can paralyze the arm of the
enemy of our good Government.

Now, therefore, in obedience to the request of the General Assembly
of the State of Ohio, and to the end that a simultaneous petition to him
may ascend to heaven from all parts of our State, I do hereby fix upon,
and set apart, Thursday, the twenty-seventh day of November next, as a
day of praise, thanksgiving, and prayer to Almighty God. And I do
recommend that, abstaining from all business pursuits, the good and
pure-minded people of our State meet together at their usual places of
worship, and, with one voice, humbly ask the God of all nations to smile
upon the distressed of our land ; that he give wisdom and purity to those
in authority ; that he prostrate the enemies of our Government ; and
that in all things he give such wisdom to all the people of the earth
as will enable them to conform to his laws, to the end that peace and
good will shall prevail throughout the world.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the great
seal of the State of Ohio, the day and year above written. %

David Tod.
B. F. Hoffman, Private Secretary.

Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury during the ad-
ministration of President Lincohi, and Governor of the State
of Ohio during the years 1856-59, presents in his proclamations
for thanksgiving a clear and full statement of the Christian
origin of all our social and family blessings, and that our civil

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 579

and religious liberties and institutions, as well as our hopes of
immortality, are derived from the Christian religion. In his
proclamation for 1856 he uses the following language : —

Assembling in our respective places of worship, or gathering around
our domestic altars, let us devoutly acknowledge God as the gracious
Author of every blessing and every benefit. Let us gratefully thank
him especially for our prosperity and for our security ; for our institu-
tions of education, religion, and charity ; for the products of our agri-
culture and of our arts ; for the intercourse of commerce ; for the pre-
servation of health ; for homes endeared by sweet family affections ; for
the mercies of redemption, and for the hopes of immortality. Adoring
the Divine wisdom by which our fathers were guided in establishing the
foundations of united empire in North America upon the solid basis
of civil and religious freedom, and the Divine goodness by which the
institutions of government which they founded have been transmitted
to their children, let us give thanks for liberty guarded by law and de-
fended by union. Confessing humbly our uuworthiness of these in-
estimable benefits, let us fervently invoke our Father in heaven to con-
tinue them graciously to us and to our posterity forever. Nor let us
forget in our rejoicings or in our supplications our fellow-men less happy
than ourselves. Of our abundance let us give liberally to those who
need; nor let us fail to present^before the throne of infinite justice our
sincere prayers for the downfall of tyranny, for the deliverance of the
oppressed, for the enfranchisement of the enslaved, and for the esta-
blishment everywhere of human rights and just governments.

His proclamation for 1857, after a specific enumeration of the
common bounties of the Divine munificence, for which the people
are to "present sincere offerings of humble adoration and
grateful praise," and the distribution of their abundance to
those who need, says, —

And, invoking earnestly his gracious favor, that we may walk before
him (continually in the way of his commandments, to the end that his
blessing may remain upon us, and upon our children, aijd upon the
good land wliich lie hath given us, forever.

His proclamation for 1858 recommends the people of the
State to observe the day

By public an<l private ofTorings of praise and gratitude for th<^ nuiltl-
form and manifold blessings and benefits, national, social, and personal,
which God hath been graciously pleased to bestow upon us; and by for
vent j)ruyers that ho will cause his goodness to abountl yet more and
more towards protecting our whole country from foreign oneuues and
domestic <lissensions, distinguishing by his favor our State institutions
of Govemtiiont, edu-ation, au'l benevolen<e, and eonduetiiig each of

580 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

us, through the blessed ways of penitence and faith, to the glorious con-
summation of earthly hoijes in heavenly rest.

His proclamation for 1859 has tlie following Christian exhort-
ations : —

And offer unfeigned thanks to our heavenly Father for all the bless-
ings wherewith he hath blessed us as a natian, as a State, and as indr-
yiduals, and that they join to these offerings of gratitude and praise
their fervent prayers that he will continue and multij^ly his grace and
favor upon us and upon our land ; that our institutions may be esta-
blished in righteousness ; that wisdom and knowledge may be the
stability of our times ; and that peace, prosperity, and freedom may b©
the portion of our people,

William Dennison, Governor of Ohio during the years 186Q,
'61, in his proclamation for thanksgiving, ascribes all our bless-
ings, temporal and social, civil and religious, to God, and de-
clares us distinguished as a Christian people. His proclamation
for 1860 recommends that the people

Offer up their devout thanks to God for our institutions, national and
State,- civil and religious, educational and benevolent, for the peace that
prevails throughout our borders, the health with which he hath blessed
us, the abundant harvest wherewith he hath graciously rewarded the
labors of the husbandman, the prosperity of our commerce and the
mechanic arts, our social comforts and privileges, and for whatever
contributes to our happiness as a community and as individuals.

And, while thus rendering to the Supreme Author of every blessing
our grateful acknowledgments for his unbounded goodness, let us sup-
plicate a continuance of the Divine protection and favor to this people,
and to the people of all the States and Territories of our National Con-
federacy, throughout all generations ; and, fraternally remembering in
our rejoicings our fellow-men of other nations who are less happy than
ourselves, let us fervently implore him that in his benign providence
he will confer uj)on them, and their posterity forever, like blessings of
civil and religious liberty and social happiness which he hath been
graciously pleased to bestow upon us.

His proclamation for 1861 recommends the people of Ohio to
return praise to" God ''for the inestimable privileges of our civil
and religious institutions, for protecting our homes from the
ravages of war, and for the manifold blessings, individual and
social, which surround and support us," and to ''offer fervent
prayer to our heavenly Father that he may continue to remem-
ber us in his mercy, remove the calamities of civil strife which
afflict the nation ^ restore concord between the States, confirm

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 581

and perpetuate our political union, and secure to us and to our
posterity the privileges and advantages whicli distinguish a
Christian people,"

These views in the state papers of the Governors of Ohio
are in harmony with the Constitution of the State, formed in
1802, and reaffirmed in the new Constitution of 1852, which
state that

"Eeligion, morality, and knowledge, being essentially necessary
to the government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the
means of instruction shall forever be encouraged by legislative
provisions not inconsistent with the rights of conscience,"

KENTUCKY.

Proclamation,

The acknowledgment of national as well as individual dependence
upon the Supreme Ruler of the universe is the highest evidence of
refined civilization ; and no people ever prospered for any great length
of time who did not admit and invoke his power and mercy ; nor will
any such ever rise to true greatness as a nation.

The spirit of the American people has been w-ellnigh crushed by the
terrible realities of the intestine war into which the nation has been
plunged by the disappointed ambition of maddened and reckless men ;
and it is the part alike of wisdom and of duty for us all to prostrate
ourselves in humiliation before the Author of all good, and supplicate
his omnipotent arm to arrest this wicked and unjust rebellion and ro-
Ftore to a distract-ed people the blessings of peace, unity, and fraternal
affection.

But, while thus humiliating ourselves before the Almighty Di<poser
of events, we should remember that we have abundant cause to offer
the homage of grateful hearts for tlie manifold blessings he has vouch-
safed to us as a people. The seasons have been propitious ; the labor
of the husban<lman has been crowned with ample returns ; we have not
been called upon to mourn the ravages of extended disease in the
country ; the jjublic liealth has never been more marked than during
the year which is drawing to a close ; and while, therefore, wo have to
lament the terrible conse<iuences of the fratricidal war which atllicts
and desolates the land, we yet have ample reason for returning thanks
to him tha,t we are free from those awful scourges — i)estileni'o and
famine — which bo often atllict the human family, and not untVciuenlly
ttd<l their horrors to those involved in war.

It is meet, therefore, that the time-honored custom of d.ulioating on©
day in the year to devotional exereisos to Him who h«»l<ls the destinies
of nations and indivi<luals alike in his hands, slM»uld be presorved,
and, while pouring out our gratitude for the incuhulablo benefits wo
onjoy, bow ourselves in earnest supplic;ition to Almighty (»od that he
will, in his infinite men^y, interpo.s*-, liis omnipotent ami to slay the

582 CHKISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

spirit of intestine strife which is sweeping over and desolating the land,
restore i^eace and order to this hitherto Heaven-favored country, and
make all to feel that a return to the government of our fathers, which
has rendered us so powerful, prosperous, and happy, is at once the part
of patriotism and religious duty.

I, therefore, as Governor of the Commonwealth, do hereby set apart*
Thursday, November 27th instant, as a day of thanksgiving and praise
to Almighty God for all his mercies to us, and request a general ob-
servance of it, to the end that we may manifest, in a proper spirit, our
dependence upon him, and supplicate his omnipotent power to protect
and guard us from future misfortunes as a nation.

Done at the city of Frankfort, this twelfth day of November, 1862,
and the seventy-first year of the Commonwealth.

By the Governor : J. F. Robinson.

T>. C. WiCKLiFFE, Sccretctry of State.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky, the first to enter the Union
under the Constitution of the United States, began its civiliza-
tion and organic life under the auspices of the Christian re-
ligion. Its opening scenes let in the light of Divine truth ; and
the pioneers, though unpolished in the manners of courtiers,
carried with them a manly faith, which laid the foundation
of the State on a Christian basis. The first Constitution se-
cured '^ a perfect religious freedom and a general toleration.''

"Thus," says Bancroft, "the pioneer lawgivers for the West
provided for freedom of conscience. A little band of hunters put
themselves at the head of the countless hosts of civilization in
establishing the great principle of intellectual freedom. Long
as the shadows of the Western mountains shall move round with
the sun, long as the rivers that gush from those mountains
shall flow towards the sea, long as seed-time and harvest shall
return, that rule shall remain the law of the West.

"When Sunday dawned, the great tree Vv^hich had been their
council-chamber became their church. Penetrated with a
sense of the Eedeemer's love, they lifted up their hearts to God
in prayer and thanksgiving, and the forest that was wont to
echo only the low of the buff'alo and the whoop of the savage
was animated by the voice of their devotion. Thus began the
Commonwealth of Kentucky : it never knew any other system
than independence, and was incapable of any thing else."

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 583

INDIANA.

Executive Department, Indianapolis, Nor. 11.
To the People of Indiana.

The people of the State of Indiana are earnestly requested to assemble
in their respective churches, and at their family altars, on Thursday, the
twenty-seventh day of November, 1862, to return thanks to Almighty God
for the manifold blessings he has bestowed upon them during the past
year, and to pray him in his mercy to avert from our beloved country
the evils by which it is now so deeply afflicted. It is their duty humbly
to acknowledge the many favors bestowed by his hand, and their entire
dependence upon his providence for deliverance from the evils by
which they are suffering. It is their duty to pray for the success of our
armies, for the suppression of this most wicked rebellion, and the pre-
servation of our Government ; that the lives of our brave soldiers may
be spared, and that they be returned in safety to their homes ; that the
hearts of our people may be inspired with a perfect confidence in the
ultimate success of a just cause, and that the minds of all men may be
awakened to a clear comprehension of the mighty interests for which
we are struggling, not only to ourselves, but to our posterity ; and they
should especially pray that the Divine will may put it into the hearts
of the people to provide for and protect the families of our gallant
soldiers and preserve them from all want and neglect ; to cherish and
comfort with sedulous care the orphans and broken-hearted widows and
])arents of such as have fallen in the field, or perished by disease in the
camp.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and affixed the
seal of the State, at Indianapolis, this eleventh day of November, 18G2.
Signed, Oliver P. Morto.v, Governor of Indiana.

Attest: Wm. A. Peelle, Secretary of State.

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

A Proclamation for a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Praise,
Bv His Excellency the Governor.
The revolution of the seasons has brought again the period wlicn it
irt the usage to set apart a day for public thanksgiving to Ahnighty
God. In accordance with a time-honored custom, inaugurated by our
forefathers, and so much in harmony with tlie convictions of all Chris-
tian people, I do, by the advice of the Council, appoint Thursday, the
27th of Novoml>or next, to bo observed as a day of thanksgiving and
I)raisc. And I hereby invite the pooph' of this State to as-'«oinblo in
their usual places of public worship, to join in a.«?criptionsof praise, and
othor devotional exercises so suitable for dependent beings, and of
which the many mercies of our heavenly Father, at this time, are so
eminently suggestivo. Let uh all meot to give him thanks for the
bountiful harvest with which ho has gladdi'uod the heart of man ; for

584 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

peaceful homes, and the social, educational, and religious privileges
vouchsafed to us ; for the progress of civil liberty ; for the general
prevalence of health throughout our borders during the year approach-
ing its close, and in which, notwithstanding the existence of great
national calamities, there has been much to remind us of his never-
failing mercy and goodness. Let us adore and bless his holy name for
that Christian civilization which is our inheritance, and for the many
and illustrious examples which came to us with that heavenly boon,
of the patience, unfailing confidence, and heroic endurance of a .
holy ancestry in seasons of affliction and peril. Let us humbly and
gratefully thank and praise the Disposer of Events that such examples
of reliance upon his providential care have not been lost to succeeding
generations, but are now abundantly developed among a great people,
in a year the painful record of which will soon be closed ; a year when
the patriotism, courage and Christian faith of our fathers has been fully
realized in their children, who, disregarding the ties of aflection, and
the comfort of happy firesides, are bravely enduring the perils of camp
and the storm of battle, that their country may live, and the cause of
good government and free institutions be transmitted to succeeding
generations. And, above all, let us praise him for that revelation
which brings "life and immortality to light ;" for the injunctions and
promises of that Book which for our fathers was the source of reliance
and consolation in seasons of disquietude and danger, and which may
with equal certainty and efficacy be ai3propriated by ourselves in this
season of doubt and peril. And, while we thank God for his mercies,
let not a day so suggestive of good Avorks be jDermitted to pass without
the exercise of those offices of kindness for the needy which was an in-
junction of our Divine Eedeemer, who published "peace on earth and
good will to men."

Given at the Council-Chamber in Concord, this thirty-first day of
October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
sixty-two, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-
seventh.

Nathaniel S. Berry.
By his Excellency the Governor, with advice of the Council :
Allen Tenny, Secretary of State.

CONNECTICUT.

Proclamation.
In the midst of civil strife, and a rebellion which has arrayed the
enemies of our Government in hostile and deadly conflict against the
friends of national supremacy, it is wise and proper for us, as a people,
to allow our minds to dwell upon the blessings by which we are still
surrounded, and rest upon well-grounded hopes of future good: in
view of which we should lift up our hearts and voices in thanksgiving
and praise unto Him who healeth all our diseases, who redeemeth our
lives from destruction, who crowneth us with loving-kindness and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 585

tender mercies, and " executeth righteousness and judgment for all
that are oppressed."

I therefore recommend the people of this State to observe Thursday,
the twenty-seventh day of November next, as a day of public thanks-
giving and jiraise, and would urge them to such acts of benevolence and
religious worship as will manifest their heartfelt gratitude to Almighty
God.

Let us praise him for healthful seasons, for abundant harvests, for the
means of knowledge, for social blessings, for religious liberty.

Let us be grateful for the labors unostentatiously j^erformed, and the
pecuniary offerings spontaneouslj'- bestowed, to relieve the necessities,
to bind up the wounds, and to cheer the hearts of those who, with loyal
devotion to their country's weal, are battling for national unity.

Let us also be grateful for the blessed memory of the honored dead,
who in the camp and on the battle-field have cheerfully, heroically and
religiously offered their lives upon the altar of patriotism.

Let us rejoice and praise God that he holds the destinies of this
nation in his hands, that he confirms or changes the purposes of man
at his pleasure, and overrules all human designs to establish righteous-
ness, truth, and justice in the earth.

Given under my hand and the seal of the State, at the

city of Hartford, this, the thirty-first day of October, in the

[l.s.] year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two,

and in the year of the indei^endonce of the United States

of America the eighty-seventh.

William A. Buckingham.
By his Excellency's command:

J. Hammond Trumbull, Secrdai-y of State.

Governor Buckingham, in his prodamation for 1858, after
enumerating the general blessings vouchsafed to the State and
nation, closes with this explicit acknowledgment of the Chris-
tian religion and its fundamental doctrines : —

And, above all, tliat " he liath not dealt with us after our sins, nor re-
warded us according to our iniijuities," but has magnified the riches of
his grace in giving liis Holy Si)irit to revive his work and lead sinners
to repentance, and that the door of mercy is yet open, througli which
the guilty and perishing may enter and obtain eternal life, by faith in
the atonement of Jesus ('lu'ist his Son.

STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE
TLANTATIONS.

A Pkix I. VMATIoN.

In the midst of the great«'st cahiinity that luu? over b.'faUon our
country, we should not bi> unmindful of the bh-^sln^'s wliich aro show-
ereil upon us by thr all-wise Disposer of events and destinies. < >ur

5S6 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

adversities should not tempt us to forget either our dependence upon a
common Father or the multiplied mercies which accompany his chas-
tenings. In the midst of war we are enjoying many of the blessings
of peace. Our granaries are filled to overflowing; many departments
of industry bring their usual rewards to the toiling masses; neither
pestilence nor famine assails us in our households ; order reigns in our
cities and towns; our common schools prosper; domestic quiet re-
wards obedience to the laws of man and God, and the people worship
securely in their temples.

Thus blest, it is fit that we should render thanks to the Supreme
Ruler of the universe; and I therefore appoint Thursday, the twenty-
seventh day of November instant, to be observed in this State as a day
of public thanksgiving, prayer, and praise.

On that day let us assemble in our places of worship and in our family
and social circles, and render to a beneficent Creator the adoration of
grateful hearts, beseeching him, also, that he will continue to us the
unnumbered mercies of the present, and especially that he will restore
to us the national unity, peace, and prosperity of former years ; that he
will guide our rulers in the discharge of their duties; that he will
reward patriotism in the soldier and in the citizen ; that he will banish
treason, corruption, and imbecility from high places ; that he will pre-
serve our Constitution and save us from anarchy ; that he will restore
to-us hostile States and estranged hearts ; that he will prosper all our
worthy enterprises and labors; and that he will prompt those upon
whom he has bestowed temporal blessings, to bind up the wounds and
cheer the hearts of such as faint beneath the heavy burdens of adversity.

In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand and afiixed the
seal of the State, at Providence, this sixth day of November, in the
year of our Lord 1862, of independence the eighty-seventh, and of the
founding of the State the two hundred and twenty-sixth.

William Sprague.

By his Excellency the Grovernor :

John R. Bartlett, Secretary of State.

The Governor of tlie State of Ehode Island and Providence
Plantations, Elislia Dyer, in his proclamation of 1858, calls
upon the people to return thanks to God for ^' the wide-spread
manifestations and presence of the Holy Spirit," and the
'' means of grace and the hope of glory still offered us in the
religion of Jesus Christ."

MAINE.

Proclamatiox.

In times of calamity and trouble, our fathers did not neglect to cele-
brate their annual festival of Thanksgiving; and in this hour of the
country's sorest trial, when bereavement and anguish have been
brought to many hearts, their children will find strength and profit

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 587

m its beautiful rites, its hallowed associations, and its gracious influ-
ences.

By advice of the Council, I appoint Thursday, the twenty-seventh
day of November next, to be observed by the people of this State as a
day of public thanksgiving and praise.

And may they all regard it as a day consecrated to emotions of grati-
tude and good will, to deeds of benevolence and love. Abstaining from
all employments and pursuits inconsistent with a proper observance of
the occasion, I invite them to repair to their temples of religious wor-
ship ; and there, and in all places, may they be led to a devout and
cheerful recognition of the many favors and privileges which have been
lavished upon them during the year whose great, eventful history is so
nearly made up. May they be unfeignedly thankful for the blessings of
material prosperity and health which have been so largely vouchsafed
to them ; for the exhibitions of constancy, fidelity, and manly virtue in
their countrymen, which have so often illustrated the dignity of human
nature and the cajDacity of man for self-government ; for the Cliristian
charity and brotherly kindness which a better acquaintance with, and a
more sensible dependence upon, each other, growing out of a common
cause and a common danger, have developed and cultivated in their
hearts; and especially may they be moved to praise and bless their
heavenly Father, the Lord of all things, that he has put it into the
heart of the chief magistrate of the nation to promulgate, in the fulness
of time, a decree of wisdom and uprightness which shall make their
beloved land strong, united, prosperous, peaceful, just, and forever
free.

Given at the Council-Chamber at Augusta, this seventeenth day of
October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-
two, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-seventh.

Israel Washburn, Jr.

By the Governor :

JosEPU B. IIall, Secretary of State.

VERMONT.

Proclamation.

Though the Almiglity, in his providential dealings both witli nations
and indiyidiials, mingles adversity witli prosperity, discipline and sorrow
with love and mercy, and his ultimate designs are often kept in a saoreil
reserve which we cannot penetrate, still enougli is revealed to inspire u
humble trust in his providence, and we are led to feel that even in times
of trouble and calamity " it is a goo<l thing to give thanks unto tho
Lord."

In obedience to custom and tin- universal sentiment (if our p^'ople, I
do, tluTefore, ajjpoint Thursday, the foiuth day of Deeembor next, to
be observed by tho peoj»l(^ of this State as a tlay of i)ublie j)rayer, praise,
and thanksgiving; and I invite them to lay aside the ordinary employ-
ments of litV^ on that day, and to assemble in their usual places of public
worship, to render thanks to Almighty God; for the fruitfulness of the

588 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

year, and the plenty tliat everywhere abounds ; for the prosperity of our
material pursuits and interests ; for the general prevalence of health ;
for our pleasant and comfortable homes, and the endearments and trea-
sures of domestic life ; for the pleasures and comforts of good neighbor-
hood, and the advantages of intelligent, well-ordered society; for our
institutions of education, benevolence, and religion; for our freedom
from the desolations of war within our territory ; for the fervent patriot-
ism, nationality of sentiment, and unity of purpose and effort which have
characterized the people of our State, leading thousands of its citizens
to go forth voluntarily and cheerfully to fight the battles of the rejDub-
lic, and mothers and daughters to give up to country the dearest objects
of their affection ; for the devotion to country so generally manifested
by the loyal people of the Union, and for the good order, the steadi-
ness and faithfulness of purpose, and obedience to authority and law,
which have universally prevailed and been a distinctive and striking
feature in the character and conduct of free society in the loyal States,
under a Government so mild in its restraints as scarcely to be felt by the
governed.

Let it be our special prayer to Almighty God that he will, in his good
time, restore our beloved republic in peace and prosperity, in unity
and power, and that therein the blessings of civil and religious liberty
may be dispensed to mankind to the end of time ; that he will dispose
all men, everywhere, to accept the mild reign of the Redeemer, and-will
hasten the promised time when universally there shall be ''peace on
earth, good will towards men."

And though many of us, while gathered around the festive board or
the domestic hearth, must inevitably observe the vacant chair, and
direct our thoughts to him w^ho is in the tented field, or lies in the
soldier's grave, or, sick or wounded, is nursed by strange hands, yet let
our sadness be tempered by the thought of his manly and heroic jDurpose
to discharge the highest and last duty of the patriot to his country.

Given under my hand, and the seal of the State, in Executive Cham-
ber, at Montpelier, this seventeenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, and of the independ-
ence of the United States the eighty-seventh.

Frederick Holbrook.

By his Excellency the Governor :

Samuel Williams, Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs.

VIEGINIA.

The following proclamation is from the G-overnor of the State
of "Western Virginia. An act of Congress, in 1863, admitted
this portion of the "Ancient Dominion of Virginia" into a
separate and independent State : —

Proclamation.

In the midst of war and its afflictions, we are forcibly reminded of our
dependence upo^ Divine Providence ; and, while in all we suffer we

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 589

should own his chastening hand, we should be ready to acknowledge
that it is of his mercy that we are not destroyed, and that so many of
the blessings of life are preserved to us. "Seed-time and harvest"
have not failed, " the early and the latter rain" have fallen in their
season, and the toil of the husbandman has been abundantly re2;)aid.
It is, therefore, becoming that, while we earnestly pray that the days
of our affliction may be shortened, we should thankfully acknowledge
the manifold mercies of which, nationally and individually, we are still
the recipients.

Now, therefore, I, Francis H. Pierpoint, Governor of Virginia, do hereby
recommend to the good people of the Commonwealth the observance
of Thursday, the twenty-eighth instant, as a day of thanksgiving to
Almighty God for the blessings of the year, and of humble and fervent
prayer that he will, in more abundant mercy, bring to a speedy end the
heart-burnings and civil strife which are now desolating our country,
and restore to our Union its ancient foundation of brotherly love and
a just appreciation. And I do recommend that all secular business and
pursuits be, as far as possible, suspended on that day.

In testimony whereof I have here set my hand, and caused the great
Beal of the Commonwealth to be affixed, at the city of Wheeling, this
fourteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and sixty-one, and of the Commonwealth the eighty-sixth.

Francis II. Pierpuint.

By the Governor:

S. A. Hagans, Secretary of Commonwealth.

MARYLAND.

Proclamation.
To the People of the State.

The return of the season in which, in obedience to a custom well
becoming a Christian community, we have been taught to render annu-
ally to Almighty God our tribute of prayer and thanksgiving for tho
bounties received at his hand, naturally calls to mind the propriety of
again designating a day for the discharge of that expected duty.

In conformity, therefore, with this established custom, I, Augustus
W. Bradford, Governor of Maryland, do, by this my proclamation,
designate and appoint Thursday, the twenty-seventh day of November
next, to be observed by tlie people of the State as a day of general
thanksgiving and prayer.

Although the coi)ious stream of national blessings whicli hn^ so long
llowcil in upon us luis been at l(>ngth intenupt<Ml, and tlio prosperity
and p<'ace that marked our career been arrested, by u war aime<l at our
national existence, — a war all tho nior(» dejdorable, waged as it is by
tliose who have reaped with us the full share of these abundant boun-
ties.— still tho blessings that yet remain deiuan«l our profound acknow-
ledgments.

"NVe should thank (Jod that a vast nuij<uity of our people still cherish
the unfaltering purpose to preserve tlie integrity and iudividibiiity of

690 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

our nation with an earnestness and zeal that spurn all other considera-
tions. We should thank him that he has so lavishly supplied us with
the means of accomplishing this cherished object; that our country-
has everywhere teemed with such an overflowing abundance that our
own resources can feed and clothe our armies and still leave a surplus
so ample that few yet feel the wants that follow in the train of war.
We should thank him for the uninterrupted health which our whole
country, with scarcely an exception, has throughout the year enjoyed.
The pestilence that heretofore has habitually scourged certain portions
of our land seems, in despite of heartless calculations to the contrary,
to have suspended its annual visitation, as if by special providential
interposition.

More especially should we in Maryland thank him that the attempt
so recently made to invade our State and transfer to its soil the scene
of the conflict has been so successfully resisted by our defenders
and so impressively rebuked by our citizens ; and that, whilst war in
its most appalling asj^ects has for the past eighteen months raged
within sight of our borders, our own people, with^ the exception of one
memorable week, have all practically enjoyed most of the advantages
of peace.

Let us, therefore, with grateful hearts, laying aside for the time all
secular pursuits, as well as all partisan animosities, offer up, on the day
above appointed, our united thanks for these and all the other blessings
we still enjoy, accompanied with our prayers that they may be still con-
tinued. Let us implore Him who throughout our national career has
so distinguished us with his favor, not to withdraw it^now in the day
of our severest trial, but that, inspiring our rulers with the wisdom to
discern and strength to perform their responsible duties, he will cause
our Union to be re-established in all its recent power, restore peace to
our bleeding country, reunite its wrangling citizens, curb the mad am-
bition of those insanely attempting to dismember it, and the factious
spirit that would divide those offering to defend it, and allow it once
more to resume among the nations of the earth the proud position
which, through his unvarying goodness, it has been hitherto permitted
to maintain.

Given under my hand, and the great seal of the State of Maryland,
at the city of Annapolis, this twenty-seventh day of October, in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, and of the
independence of the United States the eighty-seventh.

A. W. Bradford,

By the Governor:

Wm. B. Hill, Secretary of State.

MISSOURI.

A Proclamation.

The affkirs of states and of individuals are alike under the super-
intendence of Divine Providence, and it is becoming that, as a people,
we should render to the supreme Ruler suitable acknowledgments of

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 591

our dependence upon him, and suitable expressions of our thankful-
ness for the blessings he has conferred upon us during the year.

Although man's madness may have brought incalculable evils upon
our State, we may contrast the evils thus produced with the beneficent
results of a kind Providence acting for our good.

We have heard the " confused noise" of battle, and " seen the gar-
ments rolled in blood," while he has kept still the tempest, the whirl-
wind, and the earthquake, — the ministers of his wrath.

We have seen the mother, the wife, the sister, clad in the garments
of mourning, and we knew that man had brought the woe, while he
held back the " pestilence that walketh in darkness," and tempered the
atmosphere to the i^reservation of our lives and health.

We have seen man wasting and destroying, while he points us to the
rich harvests which he has given, and calls us to praise him " for his
goodness to the children of men."

Let us, then, praise him with thankful hearts, and express our joy
that he reigns, and that he has been merciful to us amidst the calamities
which man has brought u2:>on us, and let us rejoice for the assurance
that he will even " cause the wrath of man to praise him."

In view of the multiplied blessings conferred upon us as a people by
Divine Providence, I, Hamilton K. Gamble, Governor of the State of
Missouri, do appoint Thursday, the twenty-seventh day of this present
month of November, as a day of thanksgiving to God for his goodness
manifested to us during the year; and I do earnestly recommend to
the good people of the State to assemble on that day in their respective
places of worship, and present to God the homage of grateful hearts,
in view of his abounding goodness, and invoke his protection for the
future.

In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand, and caused the great
seal of the State to be affixed, tliis sixth day of November, in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.

(Signed) II. 11. Gamble.

MINNESOTA.

Proclamation'.

Whereas it is meet, and in accordance with a good and clicrished
custom of our fathers, worthy to bo "a statute forever in all our dwell-
ings," that tlie people, "when they have gathered the fruit of the land,"
should " keep a feast unto the Lord," in commemoration of his good-
neas, and by a public act of Christian worship acknowledge their
dependence as a community upon Him in whose hands the king«loms
of the earth are but ha ditst in the balance ;

Therefore I, Alexander Ramsey, (iovernor of the State of Minne-
sota, do hereby set apart the twenty-seventh day of thf present nvMith
of November an a day of thanksgiving to Almighty GotI for his won-
derful mercy towards ua, for all the good gifts of his providence, for
health and restored domestic peace, and the m<'a-nr«' of general proc»-
perity which we enjoy.

592 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Especially let us recognize his mercy in that he has delivered our
borders from the savage enemies who rose up against us, and cast them
into the pit they had privily dug for us ; that our friends have been
rescued from the horrors of captivity, and that our homes and house-
hold treasures are now safe from the violence of Indian robbers and
assassins.

And let us praise him for the continued preservation of the Govern-
ment of our fathers from the assaults of traitors and rebels; for the
sublime spirit of patriotism and courage and constancy with which he
has filled the hearts of its defenders ; for the victories won by the valor
of our troops ; for the glorious share of Minnesota in the struggles and
triumphs of the Union cause ; for the safety of her sons who have
passed through the fire of battle unscathed, and the honorable fame
of the gallant dead ; for the alacrity and devotion with which our citi-
zens have rushed from their unharvested fields to the standard of the
nation ; and, above all, for the assurance that their toils and perils and
wounds and self-devotion are not in vain ; for the tokens, now mani-
fest, of his will that through the blood and sweat of suffering and
sacrifice the nation is to be saved from its great calamity, and the
great crime of which it is at once the effect and punishment; and that
behind the thunders and lightnings and clouds of the tempest the
awful form of Jehovah is visible, descending in fire upon the mount,
to renew the broken tablets of the Constitution, and proclaim free-
dom as the condition and the law of a restored and regenerated
Union.

Griven under my hand, and the great seal of the State, at the city of
St. Paul, this third day of November, in the year of our Lord one thou-
sand eight hundred and sixty-two.

Alexander Ramsey.

By the Governor:

James H. Baker, Secretary of State.

MICHIGAN.

Proclamation.
Another year has passed away into history. It has been a year of
great events, — a year of civil war, and all the bloody sacrifices, harassing
doubts, and alternating triumphs and defeats which surely follow in its
track. Vast armies, raised from the midst of the people, have gone
forth to fight our country's battles. With a courage and constancy
which will brighten the history of the republic forever, they have beaten
back the hosts of rebellion and despotism from the loyal States and
saved our homes from the horrors of invasion. Our liberties and laws
are still preserved to us, and the power of the Government is gradually
but surely being established over all the territory of the Union. Piebel-
lion is being punished, and upon the wicked authors of this unseemly
strife is falling the sure reward of their unparalleled sin. The war is
carried into the midst of their country, and the victorious armies of the
Union hasten on to strike them a final blow in the strongholds of the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 593

far South. There are solid grounds of hope for speedy victory and per-
manent peace.

While many of our homes are made desolate by the inevitable casual-
ties of war, and all mourn the heroic dead, there is consolation in the
faith that the blood of the true patriot is never shed in vain.

Our people, under all these trials, still cling with unflinching firmness
and fidelity to the institutions and Government of our country. Trust-
ing in God and the righteousness of our cause, they are ready to incur
greater sacrifices and bear heavier burdens, in the confidence and hof/e
that the future will more than compensate for the past, and that the
blessing of liberty will be permanently secured and greatly increased to
our posterity.

The destinies of nations and individuals are in the hand of God.
For bountiful harvests, for general health among the people, for civil
and religious liberty and the diffusion of knowledge and education, for
the continued existence of the republic and the triumphs of its arms,
and for all the great and good gifts of a benign Providence, our acknow-
ledgments and praises are due to him alone. That we may suitably
acknowledge our dependence upon Almighty God, and with reverent
thankfulness give glory to him, I do hereby set apart and appoint
Thursday, the twenty-seventh instant, as a day of public thanksgiving
and praise.

I request that upon that day the people may assemble in their places
of public worship, and in their homes, and keep this day in the spirit in
which our fathers kept it, with pure, religious, and patriotic hearts, full
of faith and hope.

Given under my hand, and the great seal of the State, at the Capitol,
in the city of Lansing, on the fifteenth day of November, in the year of
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.

Austin Blair.

Jamks B. Porter, Secretary of State.

ILLINOIS.

\ Proclamation.

To the People of the State of Illinois.

It is the sacred duty of nations, as well as individuals, to acknowledge
the manifestations of God's enduring mercy and loving-kindness.

The perils which surround us, the trials under which the nation i.s
laboring, forcibly imjtrcss upon us the necessity and proj^ricty of calling
upon Him who is able to save, for deliverance.

Nev(!rtholcss, amid pn's<iit «'vil.s and dangers, the Almighty hiu> not
left us witliout many signal evidences of his care and protecti<Mi.

Our StaU' hasb»',en blcssi-d with an abundant harvest ; the patriotism of
our poopK' is unparallrUd in the history of nations ; our soliliiTs liave
made JUS bright a record as that of the bravest of their brethren in arms,
and have been victorious on many hard-fought battle-fields ; the muni-
ficence of our citizens in administering to the sutFcrings of our troops
is worthy of a generous-hearted people ; and, above all, in the midst of

88

594: CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

an internecine war unparalleled in the history of the world, have the
l^eople of our State been allowed to j)ursue their peaceful avocations un-
disturbed.

In view, then, of these and all other evidences of his continued care
and protection, and more particularly for the purpose of giving the
people of the State an opportunity of uniting together and thanking
God for his mercies, and of beseeching him to deliver our nation from
her present great afflictions, to grant victory to our arms, a speedy sup-
pression of the rebellion, and a restoration of peace, I do hereby appoint
Thursday, the twenty-seventh day of November next, as a day of thanks-
giving and prayer, and recommend that the people on that day, laying
aside ordinary avocations, meet in their several places of worship, to
render up the tribute of grateful hearts to the Almighty Euler of the
universe.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the
great seal of the State of Illinois to be affixed, this twenty-seventh day
of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
sixty-two.

EicHAKD Yates.

DELAWAEE.

Proclamation.

The duty of a Christian people, and the observance of a long-esta-
blished custom, alike demand that a day of thanksgiving and praise
be set apart to Almighty God for his wonderful goodness and mercy
extended to us during the past year.

Although our national calamities have been great, and brethren of a
once happy and united country have been arrayed in deadly strife against
each other, whereby gloom and sorrow and mourning have saddened
many hearts and darkened many hearthstones, yet we of Delaware,
through his Divine goodness, have been spared the dread ravages of war.
While many of our sister States have experienced the terrible effect of
his chastening hand in punishment of our manifold sins and wicked-
ness, he has graciously shielded us from invasion from without and con-
vulsions within. Visible and manifest are the blessings which he has
lavishly bestowed upon us during the year now ai^proaching its close.
He has blessed us with sunshine and with rain. He has continued to
us the inestimable enjoyments of good health and sound reason. He
has spared us from disease, pestilence, and famine. He has bountifully
rewarded the industry of the husbandman, and caused the earth to bring
forth her richest fruits, storing our garners and filling the land with
plenty. He has protected our institutions of learning and religion,
prospered the arts and sciences, and repaid the labors of the mechanic
and working-man.

In view of these and countless other manifestations of his loving-
kindness so graciously vouchsafed unto us, and in grateful recognition
thereof, I, William Burton, Governor of the State of Delaware, do hereby
a^ppoint Thursday, the twenty-seventh day of November next, as a day

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 595

of public thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, and do earnestly
roque.-^t that the people of this State will on that day abstain from their
usual vocations,, and, assembling in their accustomed places of public
worship, unite in fervent prayers of thanksgiving and praise to the Giver
of all good and perfect gifts, and especially that with humble and con-
trite hearts they devoutly beseech him to restore a speedy and honor-
able peace to our distracted country.

In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand, and caused the great
eeal of the 8tat-e of Delaware to be affixed.

Done at Dover, this twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, and in the eighty-
seventh year of the independence of said State,

William Burton*.

By the Governor :

Edward Ridgley, Secretary of iState.

IOWA,

Proclamation.
Executive Office, Iowa, Iowa City, Nov. 3, 1S62.
To the People of Iowa.

In token of our dependence upon the Supreme Ruler of the universe,
the more especially in this the hour of peril to the nation : in fervent
thanksgiving to him that no pestilence has prevailed in our midst, that
the labors of the husbandman have bp«ni measiir.ibly rewardnl, and
for tlie many blessings vouclisafed us as individuals and citizens; in de-
vout acknowledgment of his sovereignty and overruling providence, and
in heartfelt gratitutle that our armies in the field have won such renown
in the great cause of the Union, that our citizens at home have been
inspired with such devoted loyalty and munifieence in relieving our brave
soldiers, and that we have been permitteil to follow in a peaceable man-
ner our usual pursuits while war is desolating the land ;

I, Samu<'l J. Kirkwood, do hereby appoitit Thursday, the twenty-
.«;eventli day of November next, as a day of thanksgiving, prayer, ami
praise, and do hereby entreat the ]»eoplo, al)st«'vining from tluir u^iial pur-
suits, to assemble together on thattlay in their chosen places of worship,
and offer up their earnest prayers to Almighty (lod, humbly aekni>wlodg-
ing their short-comings and dependi-nec upon hinj, thanking him lor tho
manifold blessings on them iiy his hand, beseei-hing him to crtnvn our
arms and cause with signal trium)>h, to confer strength upon our gallant
holdii-ry, to mitigate the sutl'erings of th(» sick, wountleil, and imprisoned,
an<l tosu<'cor and h.al the ujiguish of the b«'reft. and imploring a speedy
nxtin(!tion of the rebellit)n, a retinn of peace in his own good time to
our <listraeted land, and that we may prove our.selv«s worthy of the
institutions be.iu<athe<l us by the fathers of the republic, by becoming
once more a united, fraternal, and happy people.

In testimony whereof 1 have hereunto set my hand, and imus«' 1 tht^

596 cnmsTiAN life and chaeacter of the

great seal of the State to be hereto affixed, this first day of November,
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
By the Governor : Samuel J. Kirkwooi>.

Elijah Sells, Secretary of State.

Ealpli p. Lowe, Governor of Iowa, in his proclamation for
1858, uses this eminently Christian language : —

Let us go into our temples of worship and fill them with thank-oflfer-
ings to the God of our fathers ;

Praise him for giving to this whole land so largely of his Spirit, by
which the faces of multitudes have been turned heavenwards ;

Praise him for the Christian's faith, the spread of our holy religion,
the triumphs of science, and the progress making in the peaceful arts ;

Praise him for the moral and social improvement of the race, by
means of the intercommunication of telegraphs and railways.

Let the spirit of Divine truth be invoked to push forward all the
great enterprises of the age, and that the outgoings of the morning
and evening may still continue to rejoice over us.

KANSAS.

Proclamation.

The second year of our existence as a State is drawing to a close. The
balance-sheet for 1862 will soon be struck. From the earliest settlement
of our country the autumn months have been deemed the most appro-
priate for recounting the blessings of Providence and making public
acknowledgment therefor in thankgiving and praise.

As a State we have been highly favored during the year now closing.
The earth has yielded abundantly, and health and general prosperity
have been allotted to us. While deadly civil war has been waged upon
our border and in many of the States, comparative peace and quiet
have been our lot. While we mourn that civil war still spreads its de-
solation in our country, there is cause for thankfulness that the immu-
table law^s of God apply as well to nations as individuals, to war as well
as peace, and that there is some reason to hope that our nation is be-
ginning to understand the application of these laws to our present con-
dition as a people.

In view of the numberless blessings showered upon our State and nation,
T appoint Thursday, the twenty-seventh day of November next, as a
day of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, and earnestly invite
all good citizens to observe the same as becomes a Christian people, by
abstaining from labor and business occuj.utions, by attendance upon
public worship, by deeds of charity to the poor ;ind needy, and by a
cultivation of the domestic and social virtue:^.

Given under my hand, and the seal of the State, at Topeka, this
twenty-ninth day of October, 18G2. C. Robinson,

By the Governor :

S. R. Shepherd, Sca-etary of State.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 597

WISCONSIN.

Proclamation.
To the People of Wisconsin.

Amidst the manifold vicissitudes and calamities that have befallen
and surrounded us, threatening the life of our nation and the lives of
so many of its heroic and noble sons, it peculiarly becomes us to turn
with grateful hearts to the Supreme Being for the many blessings we
Lave enjoyed and the afflictions we have been spared.

The horrors and devastations of war, so fiercely raging around us,
have not touched the border of our State ; excepting the brave men
who have rallied around our country's flag in this time of peril, our citi-
zens have been permitted to j^ursue their peaceful avocations ; our har-
vest, though not as abundant as Providence sometimes has pleased to
grant us, has yet well compensated the labor bestowed upon it, and well
filled our houses and barns ; the savage tribes upon our border settle-
ments, so threatening at one time to our peace, have been quieted and
kept under surveillance.

The great cause of our nation, it is true, has not triumphed yet over
its enemies, but neither has it yet failed : the enemy has been driven
from the soil of the loyal States ; our army has been reinforced by hun-
dreds of thousands of brave, patriotic, and noble men, ready to do
battle, and, if necessary, to die, for the integrity of the Union ; our re-
sources and energies are unimpaired ; we have reason to be hopeful for
the future, and, therefore, thankful for the past.

The loyalty, honor, and patriotism of the State of Wisconsin have
been nobly sustained by her brave sons upon every field of battle where
they have been called upon to vindicate our national flag. The just
pride which we feel in the bravery of our noble soldiers should fill our
lieartswith gratitude to Almighty God, who ha.s sustained them in their
hour of trial.

For these and other uncounted blessings which the infinite goodness
of (Jod has vouchsafed to us during the past year, we should thank him
from the depth of our heartij!. And therefore, and in accordance with
u time-honored custom, I do hereby appoint Thursday, the twenty-
Hcventh day of November, 18G2, as a day of thanksgiving and rest, and
recommend to the people of this State on that day to abstain from
heciflar labor, and to a>;semble at their usual places of worship, to show
their grateful hearts to the beneiicent Ruler of the universe, and to pray
for tt speedy suppression of the rebellion, and for peace to our di-^traetid
country.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto 8ubs<Tibed my name, and
caused the great seal of the State t«) be allixed, this thirty-first d:iy of
October, A. I.. 1H02.

Kkward Salomon.

V.D WARD J i.s 1. K V , Assistaiii Secretary of StaU.

598 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEE OF THE

GEORGIA, 1858.

Proclamation.

Whereas it has pleased Almighty God to smile upon us as a people^
in much mercy, another year, to^ crown our labors with rich blessings,
to protect and preserve us from war,, hunger, and pestilence, and to pour
out his holy Spirit upon us in coi^ious showers ; and whereas these
manifestations of his protecting care and loving-kindness admonish us
of the debt of gratitude which we, as the people of a great State, owe to
the Giver of every good and perfect gift, and of our duty to be humble
and thankful, rendering praise to his great name " in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing and making naelody in our hearts to the
Lord, giving thanks always for all things -'^

I do therefore issue this my proclamation, setting apart Thursday^
the twenty-fifth day of the present month, as a day of thanksgiving and
prayer. And I do earnestly invite the different congregations com-
posing all the religious denominations of every name in this State, to
meet at their resi:)ective places of worship on that day, and unite ins
returning thanks and singing praises to our God for his wondrous works
in the past, and in fervent prayer for his protecting care in the future,
remembering that the Psalmist has said, " Let the people praLse thee ;
then shall the earth yield her increase, and God,, even our God, shall
bless us.^'

Given under my hand, and the seal of the Executive Department, at
the Capitol, in Milleclgeville, this fourth day of Kov ember, in the year of
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, and the independ-
ence of the United States of America the eighty-third.

By the Governor: Joseph E. Brown.

H. H. Waters, Sesretan/ Executive Deparimeni,

NOETH CAROLINA, 1858.

Proclamation.

Whereas by an act of the General Assembly it is made the duty of the
Governor of the State for the time-being " to set apart a day in every
year, and to give notice thereof by proclamation, as a day of solemn and
public thanksgiving to Almighty God for past blessings, and of suppli-
cations for his continual kindness and care over us as a State and as a
nation ;"

Now, therefore, I do, by this mj^ proclamation, appoint and set apart
Thursday, the twent3'-fifth day of November next, as such a day, and d'o
most respectfully and earnestly recommend that it be observed accord-
ingly by all the good people of this State.

Given under my hand, and attested by the great seal of the State. Done
at the city of Raleigh, this fourth day of November, Anno Domino one
thousand eight hundred and fi^fty-eight. Thomas Bragg.

By the Governor :

Pulaski Cooper, Private Secretary,

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 599

SOUTH CAROLINA, 1858.

Proclamation.

"Whereas, whilst we humbly bow before the Almighty, in meek sub-
mission to the will of his inscrutable providence, chastening us with dis-
appointment of some of our cherished hopes, with disease, with loss of
faithful and valuable citizens, it becomes us as a people, now that the
pestilence is stayed in the city, and the bright beams of the autumnal
sun, with a bracing atmosphere, have dissipated the malaria of the fruitful
country, now that the harvest-home is over, and the staple results of
the seasons, wherever diminished, are still greater than we deserve at
the hands of a bountiful Benefactor, " to assemble and meet together
to render thanks for his great benefits that we have received at his
hands, to set forth his most worthy praise, to hear his most holy word,
and to ask those things which are requisite and necessary as well for the
body as the soul ;''

Now, therefore, I deem it meet to aj^point and set apart Thursday, the
twenty-fifth of November instant, as a day of thanksgiving and prayer
Accordingly, I do invite all persons on that day to assemble at their
respective places of worship to return thanks for our numerous blessings,
past and present, and to pray for the Divine guidance and blessing in
our future life.

Given under my hand and seal of the State, at Columbia, this eleventh
day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hun-
dred and fifty-eight, and in the eighty-third year of American inde-
pendence.

Robert W. Allston.

James Patterson, Secretary of State.

FLORIDA, 1858.

Proclamation.

Whereas it is right and proper for States, as well as individuals, to
return thanks to Almighty God for his manifold blessings and mercies;
and whereas the fourth Thursday in November has been, by usage and
custom, adopted by most of the States of the Union as a day of tlianks-
giving ; and in order that said day may bo observed with uniformity
througliout the United States ; therefore

I, Madison S. Perry, do, by tliis my i)ublic proclamation, sot aside
Thursday, tlio twoiity-fifth day of November, as a day of public tlianks-
giving, and respoctfuUy a»<k the clergy of all religious denominations to
open their houses of worshijt, und deliver addresses suited to sucli an
occasion, and recjue.st tho good proph; of the State to lay aside their
usual avocations and join in the religious exercises of tho day.

In testimony whereof I have In'reunto sot my hand, and caused to be
ftffi.xcd the great seal of the State of Florida. i>ono at the Capitol, in

600 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

the city of Tallahassee, this third day of November, Anno Domini one
thousand eight hundred and jfifty-eight.

Madison S. Perry.
By the Governor :

Attest : F. L. Villipigue, Secretary of State.

TENNESSEE.

Pr0CLA31ATI0N.

Isham G. Harris, Governor of the State of Tennessee,

To all the people of said State, greeting : —

Whereas it has pleased an all- wise Providence to bestow upon our
State peace, health, and prosperity, and to continue to us our civil and
religious liberty under those free institutions vouchsafed to us by the
same power, and in conformity to a commendable usage among Chris-
tian nations, I, Isham G. Harris, Governor aforesaid, do hereby appoint
Thursday, the twenty-fifth instant, as a day of thanksgiving and praise,
and earnestly invoke the people throughout the State to observe it as
such.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the
great seal of the State to be affixed, at the office in Nashville, on the
eighth day of November, Anno Domini, one thousand eight hundred
and fifty-eight.

By the Governor : Isham G. Harris.

J. E. E. Kay, Secretary of State.

MISSISSIPPI.

Proclamation.
Executive Office, City of Jackson, October 12, 1858.
Whereas it is a time-honored custom, and is of itself right and proper
and becoming a Christian people, to observe annually a day of thanks-
giving, I do hereby appoint Thursday, the twenty-fifth day of November
next, for that purpose, and request its general observance throughout
the State ; for of all the people who have existed, none could so truly
say, " The lines have fallen to us in pleasant places, and we have a
goodly heritage.'' Then let us unite in one general thanksgiving, ex-
claiming, with the Psalmist, "Unto thee, 0 God, do we give thanks;
yea, unto thee do we give thanks."

Wm. Mc Willie.

Proclamation by the Mayor of Washington City.

Mayor's Office, Washington, November 20, 1862.

Whilst another section of our country is famine-worn, and sister cities

lie prostrate from evils dreadful to suffer and mournful to behold,

results of a blind and lawless resistance to constitutional authority and

the majesty of the law, an all-seeing Providence has averted from us-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 601

this curse of treason, and with an unreluctant hand vouchsafed us
numerous evidences of his grace.

For that manifestation and this benediction it behooves us to be
thankful ; and I therefore, and in compliance with the following joint
resolution of the City Councils, request my fellow-citizens to abstain
from secular employment, and, assembling in their respective places of
worship, on Thursday, 27th instant, unite with reverent love in grateful
expressions to Almighty God.

EiCHARD "Wallach, Mayor.

Joint Resolution appointing a Day of Thanksgiving.

Whereas it is becoming in a Christian people to return thanks to the
Giver of all good for the manifold blessings he vouchsafes them as a
comrnunity, and whereas it is peculiarly appropriate that the city of
Washington should unite with her sister cities in the observance of a
day of public thanksgiving and praise :

Be it therefore Resolved, dx., That his honor the mayor is hereby
requested to set apart, by public proclamation, Thursday, 27th November
instant, as a day of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God for the
mercies of the past year, and of prayer for the restoration of peace and
of fraternal feeling throughout the Union, inviting all citizens to abstain
from their usual secular emijloyments and to unite in a proper observ-
ance of the day.

Alex. R. Shepherd,
President of Board of Comnioyi Council.

Joseph F. Brown,
Presidiint of Board of Aldermen.
Approved November 8, 18G2.

Richard Wallach, Mayor.

These proclamations are the official papers of the sovereign
States of the republic, and as such declare that the Christian
religion is the religion of the Government and the people.
They were authorized by special acts of legislation, and heai'tily
approved and observed by the American people.

TuE Marriage Institution
lias always been a subject of careful legislation by all the States
of the American Union. This institution was the first positive
social organization constituted of God for the welfare of society
and the i)urity and happiness of nations and the race. It is not
only Divine in its origin, but it has received the solemn sanction
of the constant legislation of God. Christ, the Divine author
of the Christian religion, restored it from its partial abrogation
by the Jews to its original integrity and purpose, and shielded
it by a new and Hok-mn act of legislation. The Bible guards

602 . CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

no one of its institutes with greater vigilance than that of the
ordinance of marriasre.

o

Civil states have uniformly protected with the shield of legis-
lation the marriage institution. A Christian state recognizes
marriage as a branch of public morality and a source of civil
peace and strength. It gives dignity and harmony to a
civil state, and secures to it its highest prosperity and purity,
by the formation of families, out of which the state itself is
formed, and which are its crowns of social and moral glory, as
well as its sources of strength. The very safety and perpetuity
of a nation in its civil government and in all its organic forms
of society depend on the existence, purity, and power of the
marriage institution. Hence is it that the Christian states of
the American republic, from their first civil organization and
in all forms of legislation, have recognized marriage as a Divine
institution, and have thus affirmed the indissoluble union of the
civil state and the Christian religion.

The National Goveenment,

By a solemn act of legislation, has also protected the marriage
institution from being corrupted and destroyed by polygamy.
In the United States, a religious sect, calling themselves
^' Latter-Day Saints," or Mormons, sprung up into a mongrel
ecclesiastic and political system ; and among the various fanati-
cal and antichristian rites introduced and established by the
law of their Church was the practice of polygamy, or the
'^spiritual wife" system. The Territory in which they settled,
and which they called Utah, belonged to the United States
and was under its jurisdiction. Congress, in order to vindicate
the civil and Christian integrity and sanctity of the marriage
institution from this unlawful invasion by this antichristian
sect, passed the following act, which was approved by the Presi-
dent : —

An Ad to punish and prevent the Practice of Polygamy in the Territories of the
United States and other Places, and disap)proving and ayinullirtg certain Acts of
the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah.

Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States
of America in Congress assembled, That every person having a husband or
wife living, who shall marry any other person, whether married or
single, in a Territory of the United States or other place over which the
United States have exclusive jurisdiction, shall, except in the cases

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 603

specified in the proviso to this section, be adjudged guilty of bigamy,
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding
five hundred dollars, and by imprisonment for a term not exceeding
five years ; Provided, nevertheless, That this section shall not extend
to any person by reason of any former marriage whose husband or wife
by such marriage shall have been absent for five successive years with-
out being known to such person within that time to be living ; nor to
any person by reason of any former marriage which shall have been dis-
solved by the decree of a competent court ; nor to any person by reason
of any former marriage which shall have been annulled or pronounced
void by the sentence or decree of a competent court on the ground of
the nullity of the marriage contract.

Sec. 2. And he it further enacted, That the following ordinance of the
provisional government of the State of Deseret, so called, namely:
"An ordinance incorporating the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints," passed February eight, in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-
one, and adopted, re-enacted, and made valid by the Governor and
Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah by an act passed January
nineteen, in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-five, entitled "An act
in relation to the compilation and revision of the laws and resolutions
in force in Utah Territory, their x>ublication and distribution," and all
other acts and parts of acts heretofore passed by the said Legislative
Assembly of the Territory of Utah, which establish, support, maintain,
shield, or countenance polygamy, be, and the same hereby are, disap-
proved and annulled: Provided, That this act shall be so limited and
construed as not to affect or interfere with the right of property legally
acquired under the ordinance heretofoie mentioned, nor with the right
*' to worship God according to the dictates of conscience," but only to
annul all acts and laws which establish, maintain, protect, or counte-
nance tlie practice of polygamy, evasively called spiritual marriage,
however disguised by legal or ecclesiastical solemnities, sacraments,
ceremonies, consecrations, or other contrivances.

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, Tliat it sliall not be lawful for any
corporation or association for religious or chariUible purposes to acquire
or hold real estate in any Territory of the United States, during the exist-
ence of the territorial government, of a greater value than fifty thousand
dollars; and all real estate acquired or held by any such cori)oration or
association contrary to the i)rovisions of this act shall be forfeited and
escheat to tlie United Slat»'s: Provided, That existing vested rights in
real estate shall not be impaired by tlu; provisions of this section.

Approved, July 1, 1H02.

When tlin Territorial Legislature of Utah convenod, in De-
cember, 18G2, Governor Harding, in his Inaugural AcUlress,
said, —

Much to my astoni-hmont, I iiav«- not bi'tMi abl.> to liud any lavr
upon tho statutes of tliis Territory regulating niarriagf. I earnestly
recommend to your early consideration the passage of some law that
will meet the exigencies of the people.

604 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

I respectfully call your attention to an act of Congress, passed the
first day of July, 1862, entitled "An act to punish and prevent the prac-
tice of jDolygamy in the Territories of the United States, and in other
places, and disaj^proving and annulling certain acts of the Legislative
Assembly of the Territory of Utah," chap, cxxvii. of the Statutes at
Large of the last session of Congress, page 501. I am aware that there
is a prevailing opinion here that said act is unconstitutional, and there-
fore it is recommended by those in high authority that no regard what-
ever should be paid to the same.

And still more to be regretted, if I am rightly informed, in some
instances it has been recommended that it be openly disregarded and
defied, merely to defy the same.

The law was enforced by tlie authority of the United States,
through the Governor of the Territory, who had the head of
the Church, Brigham Young, arrested, and held amenable to
the sovereign law of the Government for disannulling the mar-
riage institution and for the practice of polygamy.

This vindication of the Divine integrity of the marriage insti-
tution in all the Territories over which the jurisdiction of the
Government of the United States extends, tends to establish the
Christian character of the American Government, and is in
harmony with the whole legislative history of the nation, as it
stands related to the Christian religion.

The Presidents of the United States,

As well as the Governors of nearly all the States, have been
explicit, in their messages, in the recognition of the Christian
religion. Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe,
John Quincy Adams, and Jackson, were more or less full in
their oificial acknowledgments of our obligations to God and
the Christian religion for national existence, preservation, and
blessings. The more modern Presidents have united in the
same acknowledgments.

President Van Buren,

When entering upon the responsibilities of his office, said, — -

" I only look to the gracious protection of that Divine Being
whose strengthening support I humbly solicit, and whom I
fervently pray to look down upon us all. May it be among
the dispensations of his providence to bless our beloved country
with honors and length of days; may her ways be ways of
pleasantness, and all her paths peace."

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 605

Similar sentiments were officially announced in all his" mes-
sages. Mr. Van Buren publicly testified to the value of the
Christian religion by joining the Dutch Eeformed Church in
the autumn of 1860. He died inspired with the immortal
hopes of the gospel, saying '' the atonement of Christ was the
only remedy and rest of the soul."

/'b'^ Pkesident Harrison

Said, in his Inaugural, —

" I deem the present occasion sufficiently important and
solemn to justify me in expressing to my fellow-citizens a pro-
found reverence for the Christian religion, and a thorough con-
viction that sound morals, religious liberty, and a just sense
of religious responsibility, are essentially connected with all
true and lasting happiness; and to that good Being who has
blessed us with the gifts of civil and religious freedom, who
watched over and prospered the labors of our fathers, and has
hitherto preserved to us institutions far exceeding in excellence
those of any other people, let us unite in fervently commending
every interest of our beloved country in all future time."

When he entered upon his duties as President, he wrote to
his Christian wife, saying, '' I retired into the presence of my
Maker, and implored his gracious guidance in the faithful dis-
charge'of the duties of my high station."

The Sabbath was observed during his brief occupancy of the
Presidential mansion. He said to visitors, "We shall be
happy to see you at any time except on the Sabbath." The
absence of a Bible at the President's house, when he occupied
it, was immediately supplied. Before his election to the Presi-
dency, General Harrison, for years, was a warm and active
friend of Sabbath-schools and Bible-classes (of which he was a
teacher), and a constant attendant on the public worship of
God. To his pastor — the pastor of the Presbyterian church
near his home on tlio banks of the Ohio — he said, '^ I think I
enjoy religion and delight in the duties of a child of God, and
have concluded to unite with the Church of God as soon ivs my
health will pernut me to go out." This purpose ho had re-
solved to carry out in Washington, after he had entered upon
his duties as President, by joining the Episcopal Church on
Easter Sunday; but his sudden death prevented. In a great
revival in the Methodist Church in Cincinnati, just previous to

606 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

liis election, lie said to the pastor, ^' I know there are some of
my political opponents who will be ready to impugn my motives
in attending this revival-meeting at this peculiar time; but I
care not for the smiles or frowns of my fellow-countrymen.
God knows my heart and understands my motives. A deep
and an abiding sense of my inward spiritual necessities brings
me to this hallowed place night after night."

President Tyler,

In his Message of 1843, said, —

^' If any people ever had cause to render up thanks to the
Supreme Being for parental care and protection extended to
them in all trials and difficulties to which they have been from
time to time exposed, we certainly are that people. From the
first settlement of our forefathers on this continent, — through
the dangers attendant upon the occupation of a savage wilder-
ness,— through a long period of colonial dependence, — through
the War of the Revolution, — in the wisdom which led to the
adoption of the existing form of republican government, — in the
hazards incident to a war subsequently waged with one of the
most powerful nations of the earth, — in the increase of our
population, — in the spread of the arts and sciences, — and in the
strength and durability conferred on our political institutions,
emanating from the people and sustained by their will, — the
superintendence of an overruling Providence has been plainly
visible. As preparatory, therefore, to entering once more upon
the high duties of legislation, it becomes us humbly to acknow-
ledge our dependence upon him as oicr guide and protector, and
to implore a continuance of his parental watchfulness over our
beloved country."

President Polk,

When inaugurated, in 1845, said, —

•' In assuming responsibilities so vast, I fervently invoke the
aid of the Almighty Ruler of the universe, in whose hands are
the destinies of nations and of men, to guard this Heaven-
favored land against the mischiefs which, without his guidance,
might arise from an unwise policy. I humbly supplicate that
Divine Being who has watched over and protected our beloved
country from its infancy to the present hour, to continue his

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 607

gracious benedictions upon us, that we may continue to be a
prosperous and happy people."

'^ No country," he said, in his message of 1847, " has been so
much favored, or should acknowledge with deeper reverence the
manifestations of the Divine protection. An all-wise Creator
directed and guarded us in our infant struggle for freedom, and
has constantly watched over our surprising progress, until we
have become one of the great nations of the earth." " The
gratitude of the nation," he says, in his annual message of 1848,
" to the Sovereign Arbiter of all human events should be com-
mensurate with the boundless blessings which we enjoy."

Mr. Polk, after his retirement from the cares of public life,
was deeply impressed with the need of a personal interest in
the Saviour. This conviction, indeed, was felt when in public
life. He said, before his death, '' that when in office he had
several times seriously intended to be baptized; but the cares
and perplexities of public life scarcely allowed time for the
requisite solemn preparation ; and so procrastination had ripened
into inaction."

About a week before his death he sent for the Eev. Dr.
Edgar, of Nashville, and said to him, with great solemnity,
^' Sir, if I had supposed, twenty years ago, that I should come
to my death-bed unprepared, it would have made me an unhappy
man; and yet I am about to die, and have not made prepara-
tion. I have not been baptized. Tell me, sir, can there be
any ground for a man thus situated to hope?" During his
illness he evinced a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures,
which he said ''he had read a great deal, and deeply reverenced
as Divine truth." A week before his death he was baptized, and
received the sacrament of the Lord's Su])per.

President Taylor,

In his Inaugural Address, remarked, —

" I congratulate you, my fellow-citizens, upon the high stato
of prosperity tb which tho goodness of Divine Providence has
conducted our common country. Let us invoke a continuance
of the same protecting care which has led us from small begin-
nings to the eminence we this day occupy; and let us seek to
deserve that continuance by prudence and moderation in our
councils, by well-directed attempts to assuage tho bitterness
which too often marks unavoidable diirerences of opinion, by

608 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE, OF THE

the promulgation and practice of just and liberal principles,
and by an enlarged patriotism, wbicli shall acknowledge no
limits but those of our own wide-spread republic."

His first and only message, 1849, says, '' During the past
year we have been blessed by a kind Providence with an abun-
dance of the fruits of the earth; and although the destroying
angel for a time visited extensive portions of our territory with
the ravages of a dreadful pestilence, yet the Almighty has at
length deigned to stay his hand, and to restore the inestimable
blessings of general health to a people who have acknowledged
his power, deprecated his wrath, and implored his merciful pro-
tection."

The cholera, in 1849, revisited the United States; and Presi-
dent Taylor issued a proclamation for a day of prayer and
fasting; and his message alludes to that, in the passage
quoted. God heard and answered prayer, in staying the march
of the destroying angel.

President Taylor, on the Fourth of July, 1849, was present
at the Sabbath-school celebration in the city of Washington,
and made an address, in which he said, '^ The only ground of
hope for the continuance of our free institutions is in the proper
moral and religious training of the children, that they may be
prepared to discharge aright the duties of men and citizens."

President Fillmore,

Becoming such by the death of President Taylor, who died July
9, 1850, says, in his first message, '' I cannot bring this com-
munication to a close without invoking you to join me in
humble and devout thanks to the Great Euler of nations for the
multiplied blessings which he has graciously bestowed upon us.
His hand, so often visible in our preservation, has stayed the
pestilence, saved us from foreign wars and domestic disturbances,
and scattered plenty throughout the land. Our liberties, reli-
gious and civil, have been maintained; the fountains have all
been kept open, and means of happiness widely spread and gene-
rally enjoyed, greater than have fallen to the lot of any other
nation. And, w^hile penetrated with gratitude for the past, let
us hope that his all-wise providence will so guide our counsels
as that they shall result in giving satisfaction to our constituents,
securing the peace of the country, and adding new strength to
the united Government under which we live."

CIVIL INSTITUTIOis^S OF THE UNITED STATES. 609

His message of 1851 says, " None can look back on the
dangers which, are passed, or forward to the bright prospect
before us, without feeling a thrill of gratification. At the same
time he must be inspired with a grateful sense of our profound
obligation to a beneficent Providence, whose paternal care is so
manifest in the happiness of this highly favored land." ''We
owe these blessings," he says, in his message of 1852, " under
Heaven, to the happy Constitution and Government which were
bequeathed to us by our fathers, and which it is our sacred duty
to transmit in all their integrity to our children."

President Fillmore gives the following testimony to the value
of the Sabbath: — ''I owe my uninterrupted bodily vigor to an
originally strong constitution, to an education on a farm, and to
life-long habits of regularity and temperance. Throughout all
my public life I maintained the same regular and systematic
habits of living to which I had previously been accustomed. I
never allowed my usual hours for sleep to be interrupted. The
fb'abbath I always kept as a day of rest. Besides being a reli-
gious duty, it was essential to health. On commencing my Presi-
dential career, I found that the Sabbath had frequently been
employed by visitors for private interviews with the President.
I determined to put an end to this custom, and ordered my door-
keeper to meet all Sunday visitors with an indiscriminate re-
fusal."

President Pierce,

In his Inaugural, 1853, says, " But let not the foundation of
our hopes rest on man's wisdom. It will not be sufiicient that
sectional prejudices find no place in the public deliberations. It
will not be sufficient that the rash counsels of human passions
be rejected. It 7nnst be felt that there is no national security
but in the nations /tw?/i6^6', acknowledged dependence upon God
and his overruling Providence.

" Standing, as I do, ahnost within view of the green slopes
of Monticello, and, as it were, within reach of the tomb of
Washington, with all the cherished memories of the past
gathering round mo, like so many eloquent voices from heaven,
I can express no better hope for my country than that the kind
Providence which smiled upon our fathers may enable their
children to preserve the blessings they have inherited."

Hid first annual message, 1853, declared that " Wc have still

39

610 CHRISTIAN LIFE AXD CHAEACTER OF THE

the most abundant cause for thankfulness to Grod, for an accu-
mulation of signal mercies showered upon us as a nation. It is
well that a consciousness of rapid advancement and increasing
strength be habitually associated with an abiding sense of de-
pendence on Him who holds in his hands the destiny of men and
of nations.

^' Kecognizing the wisdom of the broad principle of absolute
religious toleration proclaimed in our fundamental law, and re-
joicing in the benign influence which it has exerted upon our
social and political condition, I should shrink from a clear duty
did I fail to express my deepest conviction that we can place
no secif.re reliance upon any apparent progress if it he not sus-
tained hy national integrity, resting upon the grExIT truths
affirmed and illustrated by Divine Eevelation."

" Public affairs ought to be so conducted that a settled con-
viction shall pervade the entire Union that nothing short of the
highest tone and standard of public morality marks every
PART of the administration o.nd legislation of the GovernriientJ'

President Buchanan,

In his Inaugural, 1857, says, '^ In entering upon this great
office, I must humbly invoke the God of our fathers for wisdom
and firmness to execute its high and responsible duties in such
a manner as to restore harmony and ancient friendship among
the several States, and to preserve our free institutions through-
out many generations."

^ In his first annual message, 1857, he says, " And, first of all,
■our thanks are due to Almighty God for the numerous benefits
which he has bestowed upon this people ; and our united prayers
ought to ascend to him that he would continue to bless our
great republic in time to come, as he blessed it in times fast J'
In his message on Central American affairs, of January, 1858,
President Buchanan declared the Divine law to be the basis of
the law of nations. He said, '' The avowed principle which
lies at the foundation of the law of nations is the Divine com-
mand that ' all things whatsoever ye would that men should
do to you, do ye even so unto them.' Tried by this unerring
rule, we should be severely condemned if we shall not use our
best exertions to arrest such expeditions against our feeble sister
republic of Nicaragua."

civil institutions of the united states. 611

President Lincoln,
In his Inaugural Address delivered on tlie 4tli of March, 18G1,
amidst the opening scenes of the great rebellion, refers as fol-
lows to the justice of Gk)d as displayed in the government of
nations : —

" Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ulti-
mate justice of the people? Is there any better or equal hope
in the world ? In our present differences is either party with-
out faith in being right ? If the Almighty Euler of nations,
with hi-s eternal truth and justice, be on your side of the ^STorth,
or yours of the South, that truth and that justice will surely
prevail, by the judgment of this great tribunal of the American
people."

His message to Congress convened in extraordinary session,
on the 4th of July, 1861, closes as follows : —

" Having thus chosen our course, without guile, and with
pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward
without fear and with manly hearts."

In his message to Congress at the opening of its session in
December, 18G1, President Lincoln used the following closing
words : —

" With a reliance on Providence all the more firm and
earnest, let us proceed in the great task which events have de-
volved upon us."*

This chapter will appropriately close with the following para-
graphs from a work on the Listitutes of International Law, by
Daniel Gardner, an eminent jurist and hiwyer <ji New York.
He says, —

*' The permanent welfare an<l glory of every sovereign state
demand a faithful obediL-nce to the laws of nations, /o(ot^/iv/ oii
the 'precepts of the (josjycl. S»'lf-preservation calls for it : inte-
rest and duty require it. International and municipal law are
based upon the gospel, an<l obedience to them is necessary to
the ha[)piness and prosperity of every state. The violation of
those c(!lestial doctrines lia.s swept away the Assyrian, the
Egyptian, the Greek, and the Iloman Empires; and the ruins
of Baalbec, Palmyra, and Thebes, the shattered Parthenon, and
the remains of Ivoman grandeur, all attest the suicidal effect on
empires of <lisobodienco to God's law of nations.

612 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

great and powerful, has fallen by her atrocious national offences
from lier vast power in the reigns of Charles V. and Philip II.
History teaches that national sins, by a fixed moral law, punish
the states that commit them. Self-preservation, as well as the
obligation of the Divine law, demands a voluntary obedience to
the precepts of the gospel in all international transactions.

'^ The sanctions of that law cannot be disregarded, or its sure
penalties avoided, as the King of kings enacted it. All nations
before him are as the small dust of the balance ; they are
counted to him as less than nothing and vanity. He holdeth
the seas in the hollow of his hand ; he weigheth the mountains
in scales ; he sitteth on the circle of the earth ; he ruleth the
hosts of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth. His title is
Jehovah in the highest.

" May our republic and all nations obey that law and enjoy its
promised blessings.

'' The precepts of the gospel are the basis of all law. It is
a moral code of general principles, which, intelligently and hon-
estly applied, will solve every question of international right
and duty. In this age of civilization and improvement, a
liberal code of public law, based upon the golden rule of the
gospel, and assented to by the leading nations of Europe and
America, is a great desideratum.

'^Our American public and private international law is com-
posed in part of a written code, enacted in the form of a
national Constitution and State Constitutions and State laws,
and in part of the law of national comity.

^' This law seems to rest on the golden rule of the gospel, and,
as the fruits of Christian civilization, to belong of necessity to
American jurisprudence, as God's appointed regulator of the
rights and duties of all national and State sovereignties.
Treaties, constitutions, and laws merely recognize and regulate
it in certain respects, but its true basis is in the command of
Jehovah to nations and states, as well as to individuals, ' Do
unto others as you would they should do unto you.' The ob-
servance of the principles of the gos[»el will insure the pros-
perity of every State and nation."

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 613

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE CAPITAL SELECTED BY WASHINGTON — LAYS THE CORNER-STONE OF TIIK

CAPITOL CHRISTIAN SERVICE — BEAUTY OF THE SITE CONGRESS MEETS IN

THE CAPITOL, IN ^1800 ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT — REPLIES OF THB

SENATE AND HOUSE THEIR CHRISTIAN TONE — EXTENSION OF THE CAPITOL,

IN 1851 — Webster's address — decorations of the capitol — historic

MEMORIES OF THE CAPITOL — SENATE LEAVE THE OLD HALL ADDRESS OF THB

VICE-PRESIDENT — DR. BEECHER's PARALLEL GRIMKjfi's CHARACTER OF RULERS

DESCRIBED BY THE BIBLE INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIAN RULERS PRAYERS IH

THE CAPITOL — UNION MEETING IN THE CAPITOL — PRAYER AT ITS OPENING

SLAVERY ABOLISHED IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

The Capital of the American republic, in its consecration to
virtue, Christian civilization, and the purposes of Christian
legislation, is in harmony with the genius and history of the
nation. Its foundations were laid with Christian services, and
the blessing of God invoked. Congress, on the 16th of July,

1790, set apart one hundred square miles, on the banks of the
Potomac, as the future capital. On the lotli day of April,

1791, the Hon. Daniel Carroll and Dr. David Stewart super-
intended the fixing of the first corner-stone of the District of
(^Jolumbia, at Jones's Point, near Alexandria, where it was laid
with all the Masonic ceremonies usual at that time, and a
quaint address, almost all in scriptural language, delivered by
the Rev. James Muir. He said, —

"Amiable it is for brethren to dwell together in unity: it is
more fragrant than the perfumes on Aaron's garment; it is
more refreshing than the dews on Hermon's hill ! May this
stone long comnK>morate the goodness of God in those uncom-
mon events which have given America a name among nations.
Under this stone may jealousy and selfishness be forever buried.
From this stone may a superstructure arise whose glory, whose
magnificence, stability, unequalled hitherto, shall a.stonish the
world, and invite even the savage of the wild«'rn<^ss to take
BheltcT uikUt its wings."

On the 18th of September, 1793, the southca.st corner-stone
of the Capitol was laid by Washington, with Masonic and Chris-
tian services and military dcmonbtrations. The commissioners

614 CHPJSTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

delivered to the President^ who deposited it in the stone, a
silver plate, with the following iDScription : —

" This southeast corner-stone of the Capitol of the United
States of America, in the city of Washington, was laid on the
18th day of September, 1793, in the eighteenth year of Ame-
rican Independence, in the first year of the second term of the
Presidency of George Washington, whose virtues in the civil
administration of his country have been as conspicuous and
beneficial as his military valor and prudence have been useful
in establishing her liberties, and in the year of Masonry 5793,
by the President of the United States, in concert with the
Grrand Lodge of Maryland, several lodges under its jurisdiction,
and Lodge No. 22 from Alexandria, Virginia.

'^Thomas Johnson, David Stewart, and Daniel Carroll, Com-
missioners; Joseph Clarke, PvAV.CM.P.T.; James 'Hoban and
Stephen Hallate, Architects."

The site was selected by Washington, and displays his usual
taste and judgment. Mrs. Adams, the wife of the President, on
the 25th of November, 1800, — the month in wdiich the President
of the United States first went to Washington City, — after an
amusing description of the unfinished and unfurnished mansion
which had been erected, and the inconveniences of opening it,
says, " It is a beautiful spot, capable of any improvement; and
the more I view it the more I am delighted with it."

John Cotton Smith, a distinguished member of Congress from
Connecticut, on his arrival to attend the first session of Con-
gress held in the city of Washington, says, —

'' I cannot sufficiently express my admiration of its local posi-
tion. From the Capitol you have a distinct view of its fine
undulating surface, situated at the confluence of the Potomac
and its eastern branch, the wide expanse of that majestic river
to the bend at Mount Vernon, the cities of Alexandria and
Georgetown, and the cultivated fields and blue hills of Maryland
and Virginia on either side of the river, the whole constituting
a prospect of surpassing beauty and grandeur. The city has
also the inestimable advantage of delightful water, in many
i instances flowing from copious springs, and always attainable
by digging to a moderate depth; to which may be added the
singular fact that such is the due admixture of loam and clay
in the soil of a great portion of the city that a house may be
built of brick made of the earth dug from the cellar: hence it

CIVIL INSTITUTION'S OF THE UNITED STATES. 615

was not unusual to see the remains of a brick-kiln near the
newly-erected dwelliug-liouse or other edifice. In short, when
we consider not only these advantages, but, what in a national
point of view is of superior importance, the location on a fine
navigable river, accessible to the whole maritime frontier of the
• United States, and yet easily rendered defensible against foreign
invasion, and that by the facilities of internal navigation and
railways it may be approached by the population of the Western
States — and, indeed, of the whole nation — with less inconvenience
than any other conceivable situation, we must acknowledge that
its selection by Washington as the permanent seat of the Fede-
ral Government afi'ords a striking exhibition of the discern-
ment, wisdom, and forecast which characterized that illustrious
man."

In the month of June, 1800, the archives of the Government
were removed from Philadelphia to Washington; and on the
25th of November of the same year the first Congress in the
present Capitol opened its session.

President Adams, in his message, made the following address
to the assembled legislators of the nation : —

I congratulate the people of the United States on the assembling
of Congress at the permanent seat of their government; and I con-
gratulate you, gentlemen, on the prospect of a residence not to be
exchanged. It would be unbecoming the representatives of this nation
to assemble for the first time in this solemn temple without looking up
to the Supreme lluler of the universe and imi)loring his blessing. You
will consider it as the capital of a great nation, advancing with unex-
ampled rapidity in arts, in commerce, in wealth, and in poj^ulation, and
possessing within itself those resources w^hich, if not thrown away or
lamentably misdirected, will secure to it a long course of prosperity
and self-government. May this territory be the residence of virtue and
happiness ! In this city may that piety and virtue, that wisdom and
magnanimity, tliat constancy and self-government, which adorned tho
great character whose name it bears, be forever lield in veneration!
Here, and throughout our country, may simple manners, pure morals,
and true religion fon'ver flourish.

The Senate, in their address to the President, responded 83
follows : —

Siu: — Impre-si-.l with the imi»ortant truth that tho hearts of rulers
and people are in tin* liands of the Ahnighty, tht; Senate of the United
States most cordially join in your invocations for n])propriate blessings
upon the Government and people of this Uuiou. Wo meet you, sir.

616 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OP THE

and the other branch of the legislature, in the city which is honored
with the name of our late hero and sage, the illustrious Washington,
with sensations and emotions which exceed our power of description.

While we congratulate ourselves on the convention of the legislature
at the permanent seat of government, and ardently hope that per-
manence and stability may be communicated as well to the Govern-
ment itself as to its seat, our minds are irresistibly led to deplore the
death of him who bore so honorable and efficient a part in the esta-
blishment of both. Great, indeed, would have been our gratification
if his sum of earthly happiness had been completed by seeing the
Government thus peaceably convened at this place ; but we derive con-
solation from the belief that, in the moment we were destined to expe-
rience it, the loss we deplore was fixed by that Being whose counsels can-
not err, and from a hope that, since in this seat of government which
bears his name his earthly remains will be deposited, the members of
Congress, and all who inhabit the city, with these memorials before
them, will retain his virtues in lively recollection and make his patriot-
ism, morals, and piety models for imitation.

We deprecate with you, sir, all spirit of innovation, from whatever
source it may rise, which may impair the sacred bond that connects
the diSerent parts of this empire ; and we trust that, under the pro-
tection of Divine Providence, the wisdom and virtue of the citizens
of the United States will deliver our national compact unimpaired to a
grateful posterity.

Tlie President made tlie following reply : —

With you, I ardently hope that permanence and stability may be
communicated as well to the Government itself as to its beautiful and
commodious seat. With you, I deplore the death of that hero and
sage who bore so honorable and efficient a part in the establishment
of both. Great, indeed, would have been my gratification if his sum
of earthly happiness could have been completed by seeing the Govern-
ment thus peaceably convened at this place, himself the head. But,
while we submit to the decision of Heaven, whose counsels are inscru-
table to us, we cannot but hope the members of Congress, the officers
of Government, and all who inhabit the city or the country, will retain
his virtues in lively recollection, and make his patriotism, morals, and
piety models for imitation.

With you, gentlemen, I sincerely deprecate all spirit of innovation
which may weaken the sacred bond that connects the diffisrent parts
of this nation and Government ; and w^ith you I trust that, under the
protection of Divine Providence, the wisdom and virtue of our citizens
will deliver our national compact unimpaired to a free, prosperous,
happy, and grateful posterity.

To this end it is my fervent prayer that in this city the fountains of
wisdom may be always open and the streams of eloquence forever flow.
Here may the youth of this extensive country forever look up, without
disappointment, not only to the monuments and memorials of the
dead, but to the examples of the living, in the members of Congress

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 617

and officers of Government, for finished models of all those vh-tues,
grace£, talents, and accomplishments which constitute the dignity of
human nature and lay the only foundation for the prosperity or dura-
tion of empires.

The House of Eepresentatives addressed the President as
follows : —

The final establishment of the seat of national government, Tvhich
has now taken place, within the District of Columbia, is an event of no
small importance in the political transactions of the country ; and we
cordially unite our wishes with yours that this territory may be the
residence of happiness and virtue.

Nor can we on this occasion omit to express a hope that the spirit
which animated the great founder of this city may descend to future
generations, and that the wisdom, magnanimity, and steadiness which
marked the events of his public life may be imitated in all succeeding
ages.

Mr. Adams responded to these sentiments of the House of
Eepresentatives in a brief sentence corresponding to their
form and import.

The Capitol was enlarged by an act of Congress; and on the
Fourth of July, 1851, in the presence of an immense audience.
President Fillmore laid the corner-stone, and Daniel Webster,
Secretary of State, delivered the commemorative oration.
Beneath the stone, among other things, is deposited, in Mr.
Webster's own handwriting, the following record : —

On the morning of tho first day of the seventy-sixth year of the In<l*^
pendcnce of ihc United States of America, in the city of Washington,
being the Fourth of July, 1851, this stone, designed as a corner-stone
of the extension of the Caj)itol, according to a plan approved by tho
President, in pursnanco of an act of Congress, was laid by

Mii.i.AUD Fillmore,
President of the United Slates^

assJHted by the riran<l Master of the Masonic Lodges, in the presonfC
of many members of ('ongress, of otHciMsof the Executiv*' antl Judiojury
Departments, — National, State and District, — of otHivrs of the army
and navy, the corporate authorities of this and neighboring cities,
many associations, — civil, military, and masonic, — members of the
Smithsonian Instituti<)n and National Institute, professors of colleges
and teachers of s<'hooIs in the l)istri«-t of Columbia, with their students
and pupils, and a vast concourse of people fr«»in places near and remote,
including a few surviving gentlenvn who witnessed the laying of the

618 CHEISTIAN LIFE AXD CHAEACTER OF THE

corner-stone of the Capitol by President "Washington, on the 18th day
of September, a.d. 1793.

If, therefore, it shall be hereafter the will of God that this structure
shall fall from its base, that its foundation be upturned, and this
deposit brought to the eyes of men, be it then known that on this day
the union of the United States of America stands firm, that their Con-
stitution still exists unimpaired and with all its original usefulness and
glory, growing every day stronger and stronger in the affections of the
great body of the American people, and attracting more and more the
admiration of the world. And all here assembled, wdiether belong-
ing to public life or to private life, with hearts devoutly thankful to
Almighty Cod for the preservation of the liberty and happiness of the
country, unite in sincere and fervent prayer that this deposit, and the
walls and arches, the domes and towers, the columns and entablatures,
now to be erected over it, may endure forever !

God save the United States of America !

Daniel Webster,

Secretary of State of the United States.

Mr. Webster, standing on the spot where "Washington stood
fifty-eight years before, in his address said, " This is the New
World ! This is America ! This is Washington ! And this
the Capitol of the United States ! And where else among the
nations can the seat of government be surrounded, on any day
of any year, by those who have more reason to rejoice in the
blessings which they possess? To-day we are Americans, all,
and are nothing but Americans. Every man's heart swells
within him; every man's port and bearing become somewhat
more proud and lofty as he remembers that seventy-five years
have rolled away and that the great inheritance of liberty is
still his, — his, undiminished and unimpaired, his, in* all its ori-
ginal glory, his to enjoy, his to protect, and his to transmit to
future generations. This inheritance which he enjoys to-day
is not only an inheritance of liberty, but of our own peculiar
American liberty.

'^And I now proceed to add that the strong and deep-settled
conviction of all intelligent persons among us is that, in order
to preserve this inheritance of liberty, and to support a useful
and wise government, the general education of the people and
the wide diffusion of pure morality and true religion are indis-
pensable. Individual virtue is a part of public virtue. It is
difficult to conceive how there can remain morality in the
government when it shall cease to exist among the people, or

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS S OF THE UNITED STATES. G19

Low tlie aggregate of the political institutions, all the organs of
which consist only of men, should be wise and beneficent and
competent to inspire confidence, if the opposite qualities belong
to the individuals who constitute those organs and make up that
aggregate.

" If Washington actually were among us, and if he could
draw around him the shades of the great public men of his own
day, patriots and warriors, orators and statesmen, and were to
address us in their presence, would he not say to us, ' Ye men
of this generation, I rejoice and thank God for being able to
see that our labors and toils and sacrifices were not in vain.
You are prosperous, you are happy, you are grateful ; the fire
of liberty burns brightly and steadily in your hearts, while
DUTY and the law restrain it from bursting forth in wild and
destructive conflagration. Cherish liberty, as you love it;
cherish its securities, as you wish to preserve it. Maintain the
Constitution which we labored so painfully to establish, and
wdiich has been to you such a source of inestimable blessings.
Preserve the union of the States, cemented as it was by our
prayers, our tears, and our blood. Be true to God, to your
country, and to your whole duty. So shall the whole eastern
world follow the morning sun to contemplate you as a nation ;
so shall all generations honor you as they honor us ; and so
shall that Almighty Power which so 'graciously protected us,
and which now protects you, shower its everlasting blessings
upon you and your posterity.' "

The Capitol
Is a suggestive symbol of tlie political strength and growing
greatness of the American republic. *' Eveiy form of noble
architecture," says Kuskin, in his original and elaborate work
on this subject, " is in some sort the embodiment of the polity,
life, history, and ivligious faith of nations. In public build-
ings the historical purpose should be strikingly definite. There
should not bo a single ornament put upon great civic structures
without some intellectual intention. Architccturo is the art
which so disposes and adorns the edifices raised by man, for
whatever uses, that the sight of them should contribute to his
mental health, power, pleasure," patriotism, and piety.

Those ends are in a hii'h deL^ree attained in the maL;nificcnt
structure of the Capitol of the republic and the works of art

620 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

which adorn its surroundings and interior finish. The struc-
tui'e, costing ah'eady more than seventeen millions of dollars, is,
in its gradual enlargement, stateliness, and strength, a noble
symbol of the growth and greatness of the republic as deve-
loped in its past history.

The paintings and statuary which adorn the rotunda and the
halls of Congress are all suggestive symbols of scenes in the
history of our Christian civilization, and of the triumph of
our principles of civil liberty and government. The nine
large paintings in the rotunda represent De Soto's Dis-
covery of the Mississippi, the Landing of Columbus, the Bap-
tism of Pocahontas, the Embarkation of the Pilgrims at Delft,
the Landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Eock, the Signing
of the Declaration of Independence, the Surrender of Bur-
goyne at Saratoga, the Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown,
and the Resignation of Washington at Annapolis. Groups of
sculpture, representing scenes in our early Christian history
and in the westward march of civilization, adorn the various
parts of the Capitol, whilst similar symbols suggest Christian
ideas and scenes on the eastern portico, in front of which is an
area of ten acres or more, in the centre of which is a statue of
Washington, large as life, and on its pedestal inscribed, '' First
IN War; First in Peace; First in the Hearts of his Coun-
trymen."

The Washington Monument is seen in its unfinished con-
dition from the western portico, grouped with the romantic
scenes of nature in Virginia and Maryland, Mount Vernon,
and the cities of Washington and Alexandria, with their
churches and the public buildings of the Government. The
Washington Monument is a massive structure, the corner-stone
of which was laid on the 4th of July, 1848, in the presence of
the President of the United States and an immense concourse
of citizens, and with masonic and Christian ceremonies. Robert
C. Winthrop, Speaker of the House of Representatives, delivered
a commemorative oration on Washington, in which he traced
his exalted goodness and greatness to the educating influence
of the Christian religion, which was followed by a consecrating
prayer by Rev. J. McJilton, of which the following are the
concluding sentences : —

And now, 0 Lord of all power and majesty, we humbly beseech thee

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 621

to let the wing of thy protection be ever outspread over the hmd of
Washington ! May his people be thy people ! May his God be their
God ! Never from beneath the strong arm of thy providence may they
be removed ; but, like their honored chief, may they acknowledge thee
in peace and in war, and ever serve thee with a willing, faithful, accept-
able service ! Hear our prayer, we beseech thee, that the glory of this
nation may never be obscured in the gloom of guilt ; that its beauty
may never be so marred by the foul impress of sin that the light of its
religious character shall be dimmed. Open the eyes of the people, and
let them see that it is their true interest to study thy laws, to seek thy
favor, and to worship thee with a faithful worship. Teach them and
deeply impress upon them the important political truth that opinions
and personal feelings, private advantages and sectional interests, are all
as nothing when compared with the great interest that every American
has in the union of the different States of the republic. Let them know
and feel that as Americans they are a common brotherhood, a single
family, and tliat any principle or proposition that would regard the
interests or advantages of the few to the detriment of the many is not
American in its character, but is hostile to American institutions and
must be destructive of our peace. May the watchword of the nation
ever be " union ;" and let the prayer ascend from every American heart
that it may ever be preserved I May this pile, sacred in memorial to
the Father of his country, be the central point of union for the North
and the South, the East and the West. And when the people of eveiy
section of the land shall look upon it, or think of it, may they feel that
they are Americans, fellow-citizens with the venerated Washington, and
strike hands and hearts together in the pledge that every thing shall fall
before the federal union of the States shall be dissolved I

Direct us, 0 Lord, in all our doings with thy most gracious favor, and
further us with thy continued help. While we acknowledge thee to be
the Lord our God, and offer thee the services of our lips, may our heart-
be devoted to thee, that we may bring forth the fruits of holiness in our
lives and show by our deeds that we are thy faithful servants! Be
pleased to perpetuate our free government, and continue its blessings to
mankind. When the men of the present generation shall have passed
away, may it be firmer and stronger than it was when committed to
their hands, and so may it continue, in the succession of perpetual
geneiations, the Vjlessing of the American people, the envy and admi-
ration of the world. Endue us with wisdom and innocency of life, and,
when we shall liavo serve«l thee in our generation, may wo be gathered
t4> our fathers having the testimony of a good conscience in communion
witli thy Church, in the confidence of a certain faith, in the comfort
of u r<-iih:onal>le, religious, and holy hope, in favor with thee our (Jod.
and in perfc-ct cluuily with all the world. All these mercies ami bless-
ings we ask in the nann; and mediation of Jesus Christ, our most
l)h'sj»od Lord and Saviour. Anicn.

The flag of tho union and nationality of tho republic which
waves over tho Capitol during the sc3.«3ion3 of Congress is a

622 CHEISTIAN LIFE AXD CHAEACTEE OF THE

symbol of Christian liberty, and lias a grand historic interest
and significance. Mr. Jefi"erson, it is said, desired this emblem
of the republic to bear on its folds a profession of our national
faith in the Christian religion.

The following explanation of the colors and symbolic mean-
ing of the " Stars and Stripes" was written by a member of
the old Continental Congress, to whom (with others) was com-
mitted the duty of selecting a flag for the republic : —

The stars of the new flag represent the new constellation of States
rising in the West. The idea was taken from the constellation Lyra,
which in the hand of Orpheus signifies harmony. The blue in the field
was taken from the edges of the Covenanters' banner in Scotland,
significant of the league and covenant of the United Colonies against
oppression, incidentally involving the virtues of vigilance, perseverance,
and justice. The stars were in a circle, symbolizing the perpetuity of
the Union, — the ring, like the circling serpent of the Egyptians, signify-
ing eternity. The thirteen stripes showed, with the stars, the number of
the United Colonies, and denoted the subordination of the States of the
Union, as well as equality among themselves. The whole was the blend-
ing of the various flags previous to the Union flag, viz. : the red flags of
the army and the white of the floating batteries. The red color, which
in Eoman days was the signal of defiance, denotes daring ; and the
white, purity.

'' That flag," says Henry Ward Beecher, '^ has ever been the
symbol of liberty, and men rejoiced in it. It w^ent everywhere
upon sea and land, carrying the tidings and the hopes of free-
dom to the nations of the world. Our flag means liberty ; it
means all that our fathers meant in the Eevolutionary War; it
means all that the Declaration of Independence meant; it
means all that the Constitution of our people, organizing for
justice, for liberty, for happiness, meant. Our flag carries
American ideas, American history, and American feeling. Be-
ginning with the colonies and coming down to our times, it
has gathered and stored chiefly this supreme idea, — Divine
right of liberty in man. Every color means liberty ; every
thread means liberty ; every form of star and beam or stripe
of light means liberty, — organized, institutional liberty, — liberty
through law, and law through liberty.

'^ Under this flag rode Washington and his army. Before it
Burgoyne laid down his arms. It cheered our armies driven
from around New York, and in their solitary pilgrimage
through New Jersey. This banner streamed in light over

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOIsS OF THE UNITED STATES. G23

tlieir heads at Valley Forge and at Morristown. And when
the long years of war were drawing to a close, underneath the
folds of that immortal banner sat Washington, while Yorktown
surrendered its hosts, and our Revolutionary struggle ended in
victory. It waved thus over that Avhole historic period, and over
that period in which sat the immortal Convention that framed our
Constitution. In the War of 1812 that flag still bade defiance
to the imperial power of the British Empire, and waved in
victory on land and sea. How glorious, then, has been its origin !
How glorious has been its history ! In all the world is there
any other banner that carries such hope, such grandeur of
spirit, such soul-inspiring truth, as our dear old American flag, —
made by liberty, made for liberty, nourished in its spirit, car-
ried in its service, and never, not once, in all the earth, made to
stoop to despotism?"

The historic memories of the Capitol, the display of forensic
eloquence, the great conflicts of opposing principles in politics
and in the policy and views of the distinguished statesmen
of the republic, living and dead, and the progress and final
triumph of the principles of the fathers of the republic, con-
stitute the chief glory of the American Capitol. The halls of
Congress are associated with the most illustrious statesmen of
the republic since the days of Washington, who have adorned
its legislative history by their profound and masterly views of!
government and politics; whilst the decisions and written
opinions of the judges of the Supreme Court constitute a
proud memorial of the judicial learning of the nation. The
archives in the Capitol are rich political treasures, worthy of
a free, enlightened. Christian republic. No other nation in
the history of the world, in so short a time, has elaborated
such treasures of political thought, such profound views of the
science of civil government, and such an amount of political
and judicial learning, enunciating the truest ideas of I'olitical
wisdom and of government, as are found in the archives of the
Capitol. Though justice and the princii)los of universal free-
dom and of eternal right have had tcmftorary c'hc^k^5 and
reactions, yet their progress and final triuinph have been
witnessed and maintained. These historic meniorioa are the
true glory of the American Ca|)itol.

The Vice-President of the United States, when the Senate

C24 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

vacated its old Chamber, in 1858, for one more splendid and
spacious, referred to the capital in these well-chosen words : —

'' This capital is worthy of the republic. Noble public build-
ings meet the view on every hand ; treasures of science and the
arts begin to accumulate. The spot is sacred by a thousand
memories, which are so many pledges that the city of Washing-
ton, founded by him and bearing his revered name, with its
beautiful site, bounded by picturesque eminences and the broad
Potomac, and lying within view of his home and tomb, shall re-
main forever the capital of the United States. Hereafter the
American and stranger, as they wander through the Capitol,
will turn with instinctive reverence to view the spot on which
so many and so great materials have accumulated for history.
They will recall the great and the good whose renown is the
common property of the Union. All the States may point with
gratified pride to the services in the Senate of their patriotic
sons. Fortunate will be the American statesman who, in this
ao'e, or in succeedins: times, shall contribute to invest the new
hall to which we go with historic memories like those which
cluster here.

" Let us devoutly trust that another Senate, in another age,
shall bear to a new and larger chamber this Constitution vigor-
ous and inviolate, and that the last generation of posterity shall
witness the deliberations of the representatives of American
States still united, prosperous, and free."

The attainment of the highest prosperity and true glory of
the republic can be secured only by the choice of upright, moral,
Christian men to administer the Government. Ours is a Chris-
tian nation, and all our civil institutions rest on the Christian
religion; and hence duty demands, as does the very genius
of our institutions, that all who administer the civil affairs of
the nation should be men who will legislate and act in their
official functions in harmony with the principles on which our
institutions were founded by our Christian fathers.

''Our republic," sa3^s Dr. Lyman Beecher, ''in its Con-
stitution and laws, is of heavenly origin. It w^as not bor-
rowed from Greece or Kome, but from the Bible. Where we
borrowed a ray from Greece or Eome, stars and suns were bor-
rowed from another source, — the Bible. There is no position
more susceptible of proof (the proof is in this volume) than
that as the moon borrows from the sun her light, so our Con-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 625

stitution borrows from the Bible its elements, proportions, and
power. It was God that gave these elementary principles to our
forefathers as the * pillar of fire by night and the cloud by
day,' for their guidance. All the liberty the world ever knew
is but a dim star to the noonday sun which is poured on man
by these oracles of Heaven. It is truly testified by Hume that
the Puritans introduced the elementary principles of republican
liberty into the English Constitution ; and when they came to
form colonial constitutions and laws, we all know with what
veneration and implicit confidence they copied the principles of
the constitution and laws of Moses. These elementary princi-
ples have gone into the Constitution of the Union and of every
one of the States ; and we have hence more consistent liberty
than ever existed in all the world, in all time, out of the Mosaic
code."

The Christian statesman and philosopher Thomas S. Grimk6,
of South Carolina, states the same fact of the harmony of our
civil institutions with the Bible. "If ever," he says, "a politi-
cal scheme resembled the Divine Government, it is ours, where
each exists for the whole, and the whole for each. As in the
planetary world, so in our system, each has its own peculiar
laws; and the harmonious movement of the whole is but a
natural emanation from the co-operative influence of the parts."

A Christian nation whose civil institutions thus harmonize
with the Divine government should have in its seat of legisla-
tion men whose faith and ofiicial acts and private lives harmo-
nize with the purposes and principles of a Christian govern-
ment. The Bible, out of which rose the forms as well as the
apirit of our civil institutions, enjoins this policy on the part
of the people.

^'The God of Israel said, the rock of Israel spake to 7ne, He
that ruldh over men must be juH, riding in the fear of God*'
" TJlou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear
God, Tnenof truth, hating covetousncss, and place such over the
people to be rulers." And to designate the exalted character
which civil rulers should possess, they are spoken of in tho
New Testament as " ministers of God for good ;" ^'for thei/are
God's ministers, attending conthiualbj upon this very thing**
The influence of the administration of such rulers upon national
virtue and prosperity is described under such omblema as
these : —

40

626 CHPJSTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

''He [a Christian ruler] shall he as the light of the morning,
when the sun riseth, even a viorning without clouds; as the
. tender grass springing out of the earth, by clear shining
after rain." ''He shall coone doivn like rain upon the mown
grass ; as showers that ivater the earth. In his days shall the
righteous flourish, and abundance of peace so long as the moon
endureth." " Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and
thy health shall spring forth speedily ; and thy righteousness
shall go before thee ; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.
Thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water
whose waters fail not. Then shall thy light rise in obscurity y
and thy darkness be as noonday, and the Lord shall guide thee
continually."

Washington felt the importance of having all the offices
filled with such men. Writing to Gouverneur Morris in 1797, he
said, ''The Executive branch of this Government never has
suffered, nor will sufi'er while I preside, any improper conduct
of its officers to escape with impunity." Himself one of the
noblest types of a Christian ruler, he desired to see all the civil
offices filled with upright, honest, able men. Each department
of the Government has had those who have filled their offices as
Christian men, acting in the fear of God; but a Christian people
should be vigilant at all times to have the administration of their
Government conducted by rulers who will rule in the fear of the
Lord, and harmonize the legislation of the nation wath the law
of God.

The Capitol of the republic has witnessed the rites of re-
ligion in both branches of its legislature, and daily and Sab-
bath services have had a gracious influence in directing the
deliberations of Congress and in calming the heated excitements
of the hour.

The following prayers of the chaplains during the Thirty-
Seventh Congress are recorded as illustrating the spirit of de-
votion and piety which daily was diff'used through the halls of
national legislation : —

Tuesday, January 1, 1862.
The Chaplain, Rev. Dr. Sunderland, offered up the following prayer :

0 thou that seest from thy throne all the inhabitants of the earth,
TDy whose favor the nations flourish, as by thy frown they fall, we pray
thee for succor in this our time of need, as our fathers prayed before us.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 627

Give us the foresight and the discretion of thy wisdom, that we may-
know what to do and wherewithal to perform it. Imbue the whole
heart of the nation with a religious faith, so that none among us may
profane in any wise before thee. Fill us with the solemn spirit and the
awful majesty of this crisis. Let every man forbear levity, that there be
no trifling Nero in the midst of burning Rome, that each may be vitally in
earnest, bearing his life in his hand, and moving gravely, as a living
sacrifice upon the altar of God and of country, of freedom and of re-
ligion. O thou Sovereign of our hope, prepare thy servants and
the whole people to vindicate in them thy sacred cause, thine honor,
and thy name, in the sight of all the generations. Amen.

Wednesday, January 8.

O God, the most patient, we, thy servants, faint and weary with the
business of the times, pray for strength and illumination to comprehend
thy mighty providence. Make us not as the king which once of old
bore the ark of thy covenant from among the profane to the place of
its consecrated rest, the anxious instrument of thy purpose and of thy
power. May we know what we are doing, and what we ought to do, in
the present cause of constitutional Government and the predestined
birthriglit of human nature. iSpread out here, in the high halls of
legislation, the glory of thy presence, as in" the ancient Shekinah, the
symbol of human faith and hope. May thy servants make despatch in
their sublime and solemn duties ; and we beseech thee that whcxi tliey
shall come to frame a law it may be as the besom to sweep from the
land those vampires which come in the night of our country's woe, to
suck her liie-blood at every monetary pore and fatten on her confusion
and distress. From these and all other foes we pray thee to deliver us ;
and, if it jjlease thee, may our soldiers, where they lie in camp, as once
it was aforetime, hear the sound of thy coming in the tops of the forest
trees, to prepare themselves for the battle. May every hour be a pulse of
progress to waft them on to victory. O Lord of hosts, we pray thee succor
tlicm, and give them speedy triumph, for thy name's sake. Amen.

Thursday, .Tanuakv 0.

O God, who dost, as we have lioard, make the very decay of nature to 1)e
but another ii;inie for her continued existence, who dost call light from
the bosom of (hirkness, who dost make the very chaos of the uuiverso
to produce all forms of beauty and grandeur, brood, we beseech thee, by
thine eternal S^jirit, upon the tumultuous elements of this nation, and
cause to spring from the j>resent "winter of our discontent" a nt!W
and liiglier form of civilization in this land. And we beseech thee, O
God, while the thunders of thy power are rocking thn^igh the mountain
masses of humun corruption, torn and wild with the old primordial fires
of guilty passion, miy the broader wing of thy salvation cover the face of
the whole world, dropping its balm upon every bruised and seattere<l
fragment of our nature. 0 God of trutli an<l glory, the fatiier ami friend
of our humanity, after so many rud«' and bloody reV()lulions, we pray
tluit thy kiuL"l"m may fully come. Through .le^us (,'hri.'»t. Anvn.

628 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Fkidat, January 10,

0 God, most high, most holy, who dost visit our iniquities upon U9,
we confess to thee our unworthiness, and pray for thy compassion in
this time of our nation's trouble and our own. Sorely pressed by
insurrection and bloody war, yet hast thou not, though with all our
faults, a ministry for this peoi:)le, sacred as the soul of man, and lasting
as his destiny? So will we believe, despite the hatred of rebellion at
home, and the sudden bristling of that foreign arrogance which has so
lately stirred the buried memories of a thousand wrongs in this ministry.
We pray that we may ever keep the substance of justice, however
changing may be its temporary forms. Give us that Divine instinct of
enijuality, of equity, and of faith which clearly sees through the subtlety
of eloquence and the menace of power and patiently waits the hour to
strike down intrigue and oppression. "Without thee we can do nothing.
O (xod, this day inspire us afresh. For Christ's sake. Amen.

The following prayer was offered up by Dr. Sunderland, at
tlie opening of the session of the Senate of the United States,
on the first Monday of December, 1862 : —

Almighty and everlasting God, who art in heaven, while we, thy crea-
tures, are upon earth, we come to thee in our prayers, to be directed
aright this day before thee. We thank thee that thy servants are met
again in the Capitol undisturbed. We thank thee that thou hast gra-
ciously preserved them during the period of their separation, and hast
brought them together in the high conclave of the nation to deliberate
upon the affairs of a people greatly afflicted, but as yet not wholly
destroyed, and, while we remember with the deepest reverence and
humiliation that it has not pleased thee to fully answer all former sup-
plications from this place, we yet implore thy blessing upon the Congress
now convened together in their coming councils and labors. May they
st^nd in more than Jewish reverence and in more than Roman virtue
before the people. Remove far away from the body and members of
the American Senate all levity of mind and of manners, all profanity
and volubility of speech, and all unworthy motives and desires, to give
to them influence with the people in their high avocation as conscript
fathers and elders of the republic. We rejoice that the machinations,
of foreign intervention have been, thus far, postf)oned and defeated.
We rejoice in that proclamation which, as we hope, has begun to inspire
8ome salutary fear in the rebels of the South as well as also to outreach
the false and lying prophets of the North. We rejoice in that terrible
fiery furnace through which we are passing to test the true spirit of the
people, and the real sentiments of those wLo have so long and so loudly
cried out for the extinction of human boi'i'li.^^e. We pray that thou
wilt continue to uncover, on the one hand, the cruelties of mankind's
oppressors, and, on the other, the insincerity of their philanthropy,
and when our wounds and our wretchedness shall have been fully
probed, we pray, gracious God, for thy cleansing and healing and sancti-
fying power, through Jesus Christ, our Loi-d. Amen.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 629

The following prayer was offered up by Rev. Thomas II.
Stockton, Chaplain of the House of Eepresentatives of the Con-
gress of the United States, at its opening session on the first
Monday of December, 1862 : —

O God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, giver of the Holy Spirit,
maker of angels and of men, ruler of nations and of governments, have
mercy upon us, and inspire us with all needful aid to the performance
of the solemn duties which devolve upon us as a people and as legis-
lators in this crisis of our nation. We thank thee for this reopening of
CJongress ; that thy servants, having visited their homes, and seen and
heard the state and feeling of the country, are now returning to these
halls of supreme legislation to renew their deliberations and enactr-
ments in behalf of our noble and cherished Union. We thank thee
that our Government still stands in full and pristine power ; that nations
abroad that might have taken advantage of any apparent weakness to
aid in dividing our land and nation, so humbling our position and
reducing our influence in the world, are restrained by the development
and resources with which thou hast enriched and strengthened us, and
which transcend our own former foolish boastings as much as they have
proved to transcend the estimate of those nations and empires who
have so jealously watched us from afar. We thank thee that the life of
our beloved and honored President has been preserved ; that the
Cabinet and Judiciary are in full union, and in harmony with tho
Executive, and our Legislature Avith both ; that our armies and naviei?
are daily multiplying and extending their national energies and intensi-
fying their moral aim, and that our people are becoming more convinced
of the necessity of and more content with the management of our coii-
scrvative and j)rogrossive war. Believing more profoundly that thou
art superintending all its forms and all its issues, and bringing all things
to thy own plans, and that thou wilt ultimately accomplish thy will in
the promotion of the best interests of our country and of the whole
world, we thank thee for the brightening prospects for the liberty of
the slave, not the result of our own goodness and wisdom, but, as we
trust, of thy gracious and urgent ordination. We pray for the entire
abolition of the syst(>m which has involved us in so much sin and
liorrow and shame, and which would be sure if continued to increH4?e
our guilt and grief forever. Yet, 0 Father, our common Father, we
most earnestly beseech thee, of thy infinite mercy, to grant tiiat thiH
end may be securod, not by violence, with blood and tears and hclplos'S
cries of pain, but by ropcntanre and faith an<l prudenc(\ by forbear
unce and wisdom and lovo, with mutual concessions and consent and
co-operution, followi.d by reconciliation and u restort'il Union, by i>er-
petual peace and joy. So sljall thcs*- United States by th«'se blessings
become the praise of the wliole earth. We thank thee for the recent
official and national recognition of the sanctity of the Sabbath. Bless,
O Lord, in our land the seventh day of rest, and hallow it, and enable
us, under all circumstances, to remember and keep it holy. We pray
for a proclamation tliat will rebuke that covctousness which is idolatry

C30 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEE OF THE

and that profanity which is blasphemy and indignity to the glory of
thy name. And as we are now brought in thy providence again to these
halls, we pray that we may solemnly reaffirm with a whole heart thy
whole law, not by the assent of hundreds of thousands, but by the-
amen and hosannas and hallelujahs of all our millions, shaking the
continent and the heavens which are above us with the voice of praise
and prayer. We pray, 0 Lord, that the time may soon come when the
saints of the Most High shall take and convert and hold the land for-
ever, even forever, that righteousness may spread like the n:iorning upon
the mountains, like the noon in our valleys, and like the evening upon
our prairies, and when the whole circle of our Confederacy shall rejoice
in the smile of Jehovah. We pray that in our conflicts Just so far as
thou seest right thou wilt give us victory and advancement. Be mindful,
O Lord, of the havoc and desolation that is falling upon the land through
this war. Remember the sick and the wounded and the dying. We
pray for our brethren now in arms against us, AVe thank thee that it
is so easy for us to obey the precepts of our Redeemer, Love your ene-
mies. We cannot cease to love them. May they soon be induced to
relinquish the evil that is amongst them, and place higher value on the
great principles of the charter of our independence, and show that they
regard "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" as the right of all
mankind, and as beyond all mere local advantages, so that- there shall
be a restored Union, with increased goodness, and love and glory and
joy upon the earth for ever and ever.

Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy king-
dom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those
who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation ; but deliver
us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

As tlie Capitol was consecrated to union, liberty, and virtue,
it is proper to record, in a work like this, the act of worship
and the scenes and resolutions of a s;reat Union meetins^ held
in its halls on the 11th of April, 1863. The President of the
United States, his Cabinet, many officers of the army and
navy, and a vast multitude of citizens, were present, filling the
House of Eepresentatives, the Senate Chamber, the rotunda,
and the halls. It was the largest political gathering ever held
in the Capitol, and its object was sanctioned by the purest
patriotism and piety. Its deliberations were opened by a
bolemn prayer offered by Dr. Sunderland, as follows : —

Thou everlasting and glorious Lord God, whom we are bound to
acknowledge through Jesus Christ thy iSon ; the God of Abraham, and
of Isaac, and of Jacob, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ ; the God of thy people in all generations ; the God of our
fathers, and our God, and the God of our children after us: we implore

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 631

thee to look down upon the hearts of this vast assemblage as now again
we come unto thee for help in prayer ; and we beseech thee to add thy
blessing to the deliberations of this public assemblage on this occasion.
We pray thee to bless thy servants, the President and rulers and law-
givers and magistrates and all the people of this land.

"We pray thee especially to bless the officers and men of our army
and of our navy, and do thou grant to be the arm of their strength and
the power of their inspiration and their defence in the fearful day of
battle ; and we beseech thee, 0 Lord, that thou wilt make all this
people, from the highest to the lowest, of one spirit, of one mind ; and
may we never, no, never, no, never give it up, until the cause of civil
and religious liberty shall be thoroughly established, not only in our
own land, but through all the earth, that the honor of thy great name
and the saving help of thy power may be known among all the nations
of mankind, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The following resolutions, prepared and presented by Ex-
Governor Bell, of Ohio, were unanimously adopted : —

We, the people of Washington, assembled in the National Capitol, do
this day resolve and proclaim : —

1. That in this hour of peril, abjuring every minor consideration, we
swear allegiance to the Great Republic, one and indivisible, and rally
around her constituted authorities — come life or come death — while
one traitor or rebel North or South dare plot sedition, flaunt a flag, or
fire a gun.

2. That we well remember and will never forget the day when, a pre-
vious Administration having given up half our priceless heritage as not
to be fought for, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated President of the
United States ; when armies and navies we had none ; when open ene-
mies were in our front, their allies in our midst, and traitors in our rear ;
when the Potomac was blockaded, and the railways cut oft'; when
patriots rushing to our relief were slain in the streets of Baltimore ;
when our forts and armies were basely surrendered ; and when not only
the Gulf States, but Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri, were lost. IIow
changed is now the scene ! We are deliberating in the Cai)itol. Mary-
land stands by the flag ; Missouri and Kentucky are redeemed ; Virginia,
North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Te.xas are soon to be a<I<UHi;
New England is not "left out in tlie cold," but South Carolina and all
the other Gulf States are to be "plucked as brands from the burning."

3. That more than half the battle is already fought and won. To tlio
timid wo say, Safety is in the front, and not in the rear. To advance is
to save the republic, maintain our nationality, preserve our liberty,
prove our manhood, challenge the resj>ect of our enemies, ami com-
mend our institutions to all mankind. To retreat, to hesitate, to parley
with treason, is to dismember the nation, trail our flag in the dust,
asHumo the debts of traitors and repudiate our own, abandon our
fathers, enslave our wives and ehildren, and consign our names to
eternal infamy.

4. Tiiat in this great struggle there is no middle ground for half-way
men to stand upon. It is loyalty or treason, liberty or bondage, dome-

632 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

cracy or despotism, — on one side free government, free homes, free
schools, security, peace, and American progress, — on the other the
mongrel aristocrats who dream of empire, coronets, and titles of nobility,
who sigh for the sympathy of the ruling classes of the Old World, to
aid them to enslave the poor, oppress honest toil, and shut the light of
knowledge out from the soul of man.

5. That, laying on the altar of our country all past political feuds, we
here tender to the President and his Administration our confidence and
admiration, for stemming the torrent of treason, allaying dissensions at
home, holding at bay the enemies of freedom abroad, calling into being,
as from nothing, great armies and navies, and money for their support,
for striking boldly at slavery, the main-stay of the rebellion, and thus
deserving and receiving the plaudits of the good and the brave of all
lands, "the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor
of Almighty God.''

6. That the Congress just terminated will ever share this glory, for its
unfaltering support of the President with men and money, for its
foreign and internal revenue acts, for its great national currency, national
loan, and national enrolment laws, and its determined and firm protest
against all foreign intervention, interference, or counsel in the domestic
affairs of our beloved country, for freedom in the District of Columbia,
for the national homestead. Pacific railway, Agricultural Colleges, and
other great measures beyond enumeration.

7. That we tender to our Union brethren of Kentucky, and to the
fifteen thousand brave Union volunteers of East Tennessee now fighting
in General Rosecrans's army, and to every loyal heart in all the South,
our plighted faith that not one of them or their little ones shall ever be
abandoned, but that, in the language of the Constitution, we "guarantee
to every State of the Union a republican form of government," under
the now dearer than ever flag of our fathers.

8. To our brethren in arms on land and sea we say, All hail ! We will,
"with our voices, our votes, and our treasure, sustain you in the trials
of the camp and the dangers of the field, console your families in their
fears and their privations, and willingly prepare wreaths to crown, when
your service ends, the returning soldiers of freedom, defenders of the
republic, and saviors of the Union."

9. That we will never despair of the American republic. In the
cheering language of our greatest living friend abroad, John Bright,
"We cannot believe that civilization, in its journey with the sun, will
sink into endless night to gratify the ambition of the leaders of this
revolt, who seek to wade through slaughter to a throne, and ' shut the
gates of mercy on mankind.' We have another and far brighter vision
before our gaze. Through the thick gloom of the present we see the
brightness of the future as the sun in heaven. We see one vast con-
federation stretching from the frozen North in one unbroken line to the
glowing South, and from the wild billows of the Atlantic to the calmer
waters of the Pacific main ; and we see one people, and one law, and
one language, and one faith, and over all this wide continent the home
of freedom and a refuge for the oppressed of every race."

CIVIL I^^STITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 633

The District of Columbia, in which is located the Capitol of
the nation, has become free territory by the abolition of slavery.
On the 16th day of April, 1862, an act was passed by Congress
and approved by the President, of which the following is the
first section : —

Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Hepresentatives in Congress
assembled. That all persons held to service or labor within the District of
Columlna by reason of African descent are hereb}'- discharged and freed
from all claim to such service and labor ; and from and after the pass-
age of this act neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except for
crime whereof the party shall be duly convicted, shall hereafter exist
in said District.

This act was in harmony with the spirit and precepts of the
Christian religion and with the genius and demands of the civil
institutions of the nation, as well as with national justice, honor,
and consistency. Lafayette expressed, in a letter published in the
''Historical Magazine" of 1827, his earnest desire to see some
measure of gradual emancipation in the District of Columbia
adopted, and declared that "the state of slavery, particularly
in that emporium of foreign visitors and European ministei's, is
a most lamentable drawback on the example of independence and
freedom presented to the world by the United States." His
wishes and those of many of his illustrious associates in the cause
of universal emancipation, as well as those of all true lovers
of their country at the present time, are at length consum-
mated, and the Goddess of Liberty which crowns the magnifi-
cent dome of the Capitol overlooks a national territory forever
consecrated to freedom. The influence of this act has inspired
a new life into the enterprise of the city of Washington;
and, if moral and Christian culture shall sanctify and direct
the material prosperity and the political operations of all de-
partments of the Government, the capital of the American re-
public will yet be the seat of virtue and religion, the centre
of benefic<int influcnc(\s to the nation, and realize the fondest
hopes of Washington and the patriotic and Clnisiiaii R'HUiLra
of this seat of civil empire.

634 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

CHAPTEE XXV.

CHRISTIANITY OF AMERICAN COURTS WASHINGTON'S VIEW OF THEIR IMPORTANCE

CHIEF-JUSTICE HALE HIS CHRISTIAN CHARACTER CHRISTIAN JUDGES

OP AMERICAN COURTS JAY BUSHROD WASHINGTON MARSHALL — STORY

• MCLEAN OTHERS GRIMK^'S TRIBUTE TO THE SUPREME JUDGES OF THE UNITED

STATES DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA IN FAVOR OF

CHRISTIANITY OPINION OF THE COURT DECISION OF JUDGE PARSONS, OF

MASSACHUSETTS DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW YORK, IN 1811

— OPINION GIVEN BY CHIEF-JUSTICE KENT VIEWS OF JUDGE SPENCER IN

THE CONVENTION OF NEW YORK, IN 1821 — DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT
OF NEW YORK, IN 1861.

The Constitution, ordained to '^ establish justice," makes pro-
vision for the institution of courts and the appointment of
judges. "Washington, the first President, was called upon,
among his first official duties, to organize the judicial depart-
ment of the Government. He says, '^ Regarding the due
administration of justice as the strongest cement of good goveru-
ment, I have considered the first organization of the judicial
department as essential to the happiness of the people and to
the stability of the political system. Under this impression it
has been with me an invariable object of anxious solicitude to
select the fittest characters to expound the laws and to dispense
justice.

" I have always been persuaded that the stability and success
of the national Government, and, consequently, the happiness
of the people of the United States, would depend in a con-
siderable degree on the interpretation and execution of its laws.
In my opinion, it is important that the judiciary system should
not only be independent in its operations, but as perfect as possi-
ble in its formation,"

Under these convictions, Washington, by the appointment
of judges, carried into practical execution the provision of the
Constitution, and selected the most exalted characters to
expound the laws and to dispense justice. In this he gave new
evidence of his clear discrimination and sound judgment. They
were men of rare judicial integrity and attainments, who, as
Christian judges, ornamented the bench of a Christian nation

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 635

and shed honor and glory on American jurisprudence. James
Wilson, who signed the Declaration of Independence and was a
member of the Convention that formed the Federal Constitution,
was selected by Washington as one of the first judges of the
Supreme Court of the United States. He said, in reference to a
judge, that '^ in his heart should be written the words of the law,
if the law says — and the law does say — that, in all its judgments,
justice shall be executed in mercy. On the heart of a judge will
this heavenly maxim be deeply engraven. He ought to be a terror
to evil-doers, and a praise to them that do well. A judge is the
blessing or he is the curse of society. His powers are important.
His character and conduct cannot be objects of indifference."

The judiciary of England had an illustrious Christian judge
in Matthew Hale. In entering upon his official duties he drew
up, for the government of his official life, the following rules : —

'^ 1. That in the administration of justice I am intrusted for
God, the king, and the country; and, therefore, 2. That it be
upright. 3. Deliberate. 4. Resolutely. That I rest not upon
my own understanding or strength, but implore and rest upon
the direction and strength of God."

This eminent English judge was a strict observer of the Sab-
bath.

The incorruptible chief-justice of England, at the time of
Cromwell and the Commonwe?ilth, could not be seduced to dese-
crate the Sabbath by the example of crowned heads or by the
influence of learned divines. Neither a Puritan nor a Cavalier,
he was an honest Christian man, and an upright jurist. In his
instruction to his children Sir Matthew Hale says, —

" I have, by long and sound experience, found that the due
observance of the Lord's day, and the duties of it, has been
of singular comfort and advantage to me; and I doubt not it
will prove so to you. God Almighty is the Lord of our time,
and lends it to us; and as it is but just we should consecrate
this part of that time to him, so I have found, by a strict and
diligent observation, that a due attention to the duty of this
day hath ever joined to it a blessing upon the rest of my time,
and the week that hath so begun hath been blessed and pros-
pered to me; and, on the other side, when I have been negli-
gent of the duties of this day, the rest of the wook Lath been
unsuccopsrul and unhappy to my own secular employments; so
that I could early make an estimate of my success in my secu-

636 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEE OF THE

lar engagements the week following, by the manner of my pass-
ing of this day; and this I do not write lightly or inconsider-
ately, but upon a long observation and experience."

" Of all places," said Webster, 'Hhere is none which so impera-
tively demands that he who occupies it should be under the fear
of God, and above all other fear, as the situation of a judge."

The judicial history of the American courts corresponds, in
its Christian features, to the earlier ages of the republic, in the
other departments of the Government. Before recording the
decision of the courts of the United States in favor of the
Christian religion being the religion of the Government as well
as of the nation, it will be instructive to notice the eminent
Christian characters of a number of the chief judges.

Eminent on the roll of Christian judges is John Jay. He
was the first Chief- Justice of the Supreme Court of the United
States, and presided as such with unsurpassed integrity and
wisdom. Webster, in alluding to him, said that ''when the
spotless ermine of the judicial robe fell on John Jay it touched
nothi;ig less spotless than itself."

Like Mansfield and Hale, of England, he ever sought ''that
wisdom that cometh down from above" to s^uide him in all his
oflacial investigations and decisions.

" If the character of this eminent man," says his biographer,
*'is beautiful in its simplicity and its moral purity, it becomes
still more interesting when regarded as a bright example of
Christian virtue. The tone of his mind was always serious.
He regarded religious meditation and worship as no unim-
portant duties of life." He was a member of the Protestant
Episcopal Church. "This," says Judge Story, "was the religion
of his early education, and became afterwards that of his
choice. But he was without the slightest touch of bigotry or
intolerance. His benevolence was as wide as Christianity
itself. It embraced the human race. He was not only liberal
in his feelings and principles, but in his charities. His hands
were open on all occasions to succor distress, to encourage
enterprise, and to support good institutions."

Associated with Jay on the Supreme Bench were James
Wilson, a Christian patriot and judge, — "of great learning,
patient industry, and uprightness of character," — Cushing of
Massachusetts, Blair of Virginia, Iredell of North Carolina,
Paterson of New Jersey, and Bushrod Washington, a nephew

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 637

of President Washiii2;ton. These were all men clistinmiislied
for their legal accomplishments and Christian virtues. Of
Judge Washington it was said that "the love of justice was a
ruling passion, it was the master-spring of his conduct. He
made justice itself, even the most severe, soften into the mode-
ration of mercy."

'^ There was," said Judge Story, " a daily beauty in his life,
which won every heart. He was benevolent, charitable, affec-
tionate, and liberal, in the best sense of the terms. He was a
Christian, full of religious sensibility and religious humility.
Attached to the Episcopal Church by education and choice, he
was one of its most sincere but unostentatious friends. He
was as free from bigotry as any man, and, at the same time he
claimed the right to think for himself, he admitted without
reserve the same right in others. He was, therefore, indulgent
even to what he deemed errors in doctrine, and abhorred all
persecution for conscience' sake.

" But what made religion most attractive in him, and gave it
occasionally even a sublime expression, was its tranquil, cheer-
ful, unobtrusive, meek, and gentle character. There was a
mingling of Christian graces in him, which showed that the
habit of his thoughts was fashioned for another and a better
world."

*Among the most eminent of xVmcrican judges was Chief-
Justice Marshall, of Virginia. He will ever be venerated as
one of the brightest intellects of the country, and as having shed
the most lucid light on the constitutional and legislative juris-
prudence of the Government. His logical intellect, severe sim-
plicity of character, legal knowledge, purity of life, and Chris-
tian faith, form one of the richest treasures of the American
nation. He was, in public and private life, continued to :i
venerable age, loyal to his God, the Constitution of his country,
his own conscience, and the Christian religion.

''He had," says one, "a pure and childlike religious faith.
The hard, muscular intellect had not built up its strength on
the ruins of the heart. It is related of him that ho onco
chanced to bo present at a discussion between two or three
young men upon the evidences of the Christian religion. They
in»lulg(.'d freely in sneers, and, at the end of their argument,
turned indifferently to the chief-justice — whom they took, from
bifl poor and plain costume, for some ignorant rustic — and

638 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

asked him, jocularly, what he thought of the matter. If,"
said the narrator of the incident, '' a streak of lightning had at
that moment crossed the room, their amazement could not have
been greater than it was at what followed. The most eloquent
and unanswerable appeal was made for nearly an hour, by the
old gentleman, that he ever heard. So perfect was his recol-
lection that every argument used by the opponents of the
Christian religion w^as met in the order in which it was pre-
sented. Hume's sophistry on the subject of miracles was, if
possible, more perfectly answered than it had been done by
Campbell. And in the whole lecture there w^as so much sym-
metry and energy, pathos and sublimity, that not another word
was answered. An attempt to describe it would be an attempt
to paint the sunbeam."

This deep-rooted religious faith never wavered. ]\Iar shall
continued to repeat, night and morning, in his serene old age,
the prayer w^hich he had been taught at his mother's knees;
and, at a period when skepticism was fashionable am.ong culti-
vated men, he never uttered a word calculated to throve a doubt
on the Divine origin of Christianity. A lesson of the deepest
reverence for every thing holy was, on the contrary, taught by
his daily life; and he died, as he had lived, trusting in the
atonement of Jesus. This great jurist and eminent Christian
man regarded it as among the highest honors of his life to be a
teacher in the Sabbath-school. Here he was found, for many
years of his life, on every Sabbath, with his class, expounding
to them the law of Cod and the sublime truths of the gospel of
Christ.

Judge Story, of Massachusetts, for many years Associate
Justice on the Supreme Bench of th-e United States, was emi-
nent for his judicial and literary attainments and his Christian
virtues. He speaks thus of the Christian religion : —

" One of the beautiful traits of our municipal jurisprudence
is, that Christianity is a part of the common law, from which it
seeks its sanction of its rights and by which it endeavors to
regulate its doctrine. And, notwithstanding the specious objec-
tion of one of our distinguished statesmen, the boast is as true
as it is beautiful. There has been a period in which the com-
mon law did not recognize Christianity as lying at its founda-
tion. For many ages it was almost exclusively administered
by those who held its ecclesiastical dignities. It now repu-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 639

diates every act clone in violation of its duties of perfect obli-
gation. It pronounces illegal every contract offensive to its
morals. It recognizes witli profound humility its holydays and
festivals, and obeys them as dies non juridiei. It still attaches
to persons -believing in its Divine authority the highest degree
of competency as witnesses."

John McLean, of Ohio, adorned the judicial department of
the Government, by his eminent talents, learning, and civic
virtues, for more than a generation. He became in early life a
sincere and humble Christian, and for more than hg-lf a century
gave a most beautiful illustration of the pure and exalted vir-
tues of the Christian religion both in public and in private life.
Not one suspicious breath of corruption ever soiled his fair fame,
or diminished the purity and power of his fame and influence.
He was in the highest degree a Christian statesman and an up-
right judge. His views of the need and importance of Chris-
tianity to civil government are expressed in the following
words : —

" For many years my hope for the perpetuity of our institu-
tions has rested upon Bible morality and the general dissemi-
nation of Christian principles. This is an element which did
not exist in the ancient republics. It is a basis on which free
governments may be maintained through all time.

" It is a truth experienced in all time, that a free government
can have no other than a moral basis ; and it requires a high
degree of intelligence and virtue in the people to maintain it.
Free government is not a self-moving machine. It can only
act through agencies. And if its aims be low and selfish, if it
addresses itself to the morbid feelings of humanity, its tenden-
cies must be corrupt and weaken the great principles on which
it is founded.

" Our mission of freedom is not carried out by brute force,
by canon law, or any other law except the moral law and
those Christian principles which are found in the Scriptures."

He was for many of the last years of his life Fresident of the
American Sunday-Sc;hooI Union, an institution whoso beneficent
influence ha.s been felt in every department of Church and State.

In accepting the Fresidency of the American Sunday-School
Union, Judge McLean wrote the following letter : —

640 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Cincinnati, April 10, 1849.
Dear Sir:—

Whilst I consider myself honored by the Board of Officers and Man-
agers of the American Sunday-School Union in being placed nominally
at their head, I cannot repress a fear that, in accepting the position, I
may stand in the way of some one of higher merit and greater useful-
ness.

The more I reflect upon Sabbath-schools, the more deeply am I im-
pressed with their importance. Education without moral training may
increase national knowledge, but it will add nothing to national virtue.
By a most intelligent and able report, made some years ago by Guizot,
it appeared that in those departments of France where education had
been most advanced, crime was most common. And, by later reports,
it is shown that in Prussia, Scotland, and England, where the means of
education has been greatly increased — especially in Prussia and Scot-
land— criminal offences have increased. Making due allowance for the
growth of population and the aggregation of individuals in carrying
on various useful enterprises, the principal cause of this is a want of
moral culture.

Knowledge without moral restraint only increases the capacity of an
individual for mischief. As a citizen, he is more dangerous to society,
and does more to corrupt the public morals, than one without education.
So selfish is our nature, and so prone to evil, that we require chains,
moral or jihysical, to curb our propensities and passions.

Early impressions are always the most lasting. All experience con-
duces to establish this. Who has forgotten the scenes of his boyhood,
or the pious instructions of his parents ? Who does not carry these with
him all along the journey of life? However they may be disregarded
and contemned by an abandoned course, yet they cannot be consigned
to oblivion. In the darkest hours of revelry, they will light up in the
memory and cause remorse. And this feeling will generally, sooner or
later, lead to reformation.

Whatever defect there may be of moral culture in our common
schools, it is more than supplied in our Sabbath-schools. Here the
whole training is of a moral and religious character, entirely free from
sectarian influences. The child is instructed in his duty to God
and to his fellow-beings, and for which he must answer in the great
day of accounts. He becomes familiar with the Scriptures by his Bible
lessons, which are fixed in his memory by his answer to questions pro-
pounded. Indeed, the whole exercises of the school are eminently
calculated to interest and elevate his mind.

Impressions thus made can never be eradicated. The associations of
the school make the instruction more impressive than it could be under
other circumstances. As a general rule, it may be assumed that the
children who attend on Sunday-schools may be distinguished from
others at all times, and especially in a regard for the Sabbath and the
institutions of religion.

When we consider these schools as the nurseries of society, we can-
not too highly appreciate them. The children are taken as tender
plants ; every noxious branch is cut off, and the ground is so prepai'ed

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 641

as to impart the utmost vigor and liealtlifulness. Under such care, the
fruit must be good. The mind and heart of a child may be as certainly
formed for good works by moral training as the plant may be improved
by careful culture.

Who can estimate the influence on society of five millions of children
thus educated ? And it may not be an extravagant calculation to sup-
j/ose that, every ten years, five millions of j^ersons who had been Sab-
bath-school scholars enter into active society. More or less they may
be supposed to be influenced by the principles inculcated at those
schools. Kestrained themselves by moral considerations, their example
may have some influence on an equal number of their associates. Here,
tlien, is an element of power which must be salutary on our social and
political relations. The good thus done cannot be fully known and ap-
j)reciated, as the amount of evil which it prevents cannot be measured.

It may be assumed as an axiom that free government can rest on no
other basis than moral power. France has a republic which is main-
tained by bayonets. And there is reason to apprehend that in that
(country there is not a sufficient moral basis for the maintenance of a
free government.

But are our own beloved institutions free from danger ? Who has not
seen the " yawning chasms" in our own beautiful edifice ? Its pillars
seem to be moved, its walls and its dome and the contour of the fabric
]iave suffered; and nothing can restore it to its pristine beauty and
strength but a united and a continued effort of the intelligent and
virtuous citizens of our country. And we must increase the number of
those by every possible means. 8abbath-.-chools nmst be relied on as a
j>rincipal agent in this great work. Without their aid, I should look to
the future with little hope. But having their co-operation I do not de-
spair. Iklere partyism should be di.-:eardcd for principle ; and moral
power, founded as it must be on the justice and fitness of things, must
be made the ground of action.

When I consider the mighty trust, moral and political, whiclx has
been committed to us ; when I reflect upon tlie extent and fertility of
our country, its diversified and liealthful climates, and its capacity for
human enjoyment, I am overwhelmed with the vastness of the subject.
Rapidly as wo have advanced for tjio last thirty years in the devolop-
uient of our physical resources and in tho arts and sciences, the bow
oi" promise still abides in the future. If faithful to our trust, wo may
o.\i)ect to advance in the future more rapidly than we have done in time

liut a nation may bo great in its physical powers and in its mental
attainments, without j)<)ssossing tho basis of moral power, whieli is tho
only fouMilation for jiractieal liberty. 1 have no fears of tho eonccn-
trut.'d Powers of the world. We could drive them from our slxores, with-
out endangering our institutions. But, whilst I have no fear as to the
peniiancncy of t)ur (Jovornment from influences and powers froni with-
out, I am not without apprehension from causes which arise among
ourselves. This is, indeed, a strange parado.x. Can we not trust our-
aelvcs? '• Is thy servant a dog, that he shouUl do this thing?"

There is no security against the enormities of our race, which have so

41

642 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

often disgraced the history of the world, hut a restraining influence,
which sets bounds to human passions. The superior civilization, mo*
deration, and justice of modern times is attributable to the benign
influence of Christianity. The ancient republics were destitute of this
power. They were united by military prowess, — by the glory which
arises from the butchery of our race, and from acts of injustice, rapine,
and jDlunder. Physical force was the arbiter of right and the dispenser
of justice. But now there is an element of moral power, which more
or less pervades all civilized nations, and which has its foundation in
the Bible. No nation can disregard this law with impunity. If it be
not embodied in any published code, yet it is not the less powerful. It
is written in the hearts and understandings of mankind. It shakes the
thrones of despots, who, through a line of ancestry of many centuries,
have governed with an absolute power.

To us, as a nation, are committed the great principles of free govern-
ment ; and we are responsible to those who shall come after us, for a
faithful discharge of the trust. Now, we must continue to build upon
the foundation of our fathers. They were equal to the crisis. Washing-
ton, and Hancock, and Adams, and their compatriots, were good men
as well as great men. They looked to a superintending Providence, and
to the precepts of the Bible. These they observed in their public and
private acts, and thereby inculcated the same rule of action upon others.
To reform all abuses and j)erpetuate our institutions, we need only the
force of such examples. There is enough of intelligence and virtue
and of honest purpose in the nation, if embodied and made active, to
free us from the prevailing corruptions of the day. And there is no
agency more efficient to strengthen this state of the public mind than
our Sabbath-schools. They are the nurseries of virtue, of an elevated
patriotism, and of religion. I do not speak of a narrow or sectarian
principle, which admits of no merit or virtue out of its own system,
but of a principle which is as expansive, as benevolent, and as glorious
as the doctrines of the Saviour.

. Who will not sustain the uplifted hands and expanded hearts of those
who are engaged in this work? It is connected with all that is lovely
and of good report in this world, and all that is glorious in the world to
come. It conduces to perpetuate an equality of human rights on the
great principles of virtue and immutable justice. And what nobler
motive could impel to human action ? Compare it with the motives
which lead to other lines of action and with their results. The aspira-
tion of the mere politician begins and ends in himself. The benefits
(if benefits they may be called) conferred on his supporters have no
higher motive than this. The same remark will apply to many who are
engaged in the pursuits of commerce, or in the prosecution of enter-
prises which ordinarily lead to the accumulation of individual and na-
tional wealth. They may become great in this respect, and advance the
wealth of their country, without being exemplary themselves or in-
creasing the public virtue. And so of professional renown. How
empty is that bauble which entwines the brow of the orator in the
senate, at the bar, or in the pulpit, whose heart is not full of the kindly

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF TEE UNITED STATES. 643

feelings of humanity and who does not endeavor to mitigate the sufier-
ings and increase the happiness of his race !

If we desire to make our nation truly great, and to transmit to pos-
terity our institutions in their primitive simplicity and force, we must
imbue the minds of our youth with a pure and an elevated morality,
which shall influence their whole lives. And I know of no means so
well calculated to produce this result as Sabbath-schools. "Whether we
look to the good of our country, or to a future immortality, these
schools are recommended by considerations of the deepest importance.

I regret that my public duties will prevent my being present at your
annual meeting.

With the greatest resi^ect, I am, dear sir, faithfulh' j^ours,

JoHX McLean.

This eminent jurist and Christian died at a ripe and honored
age, in 1861, and closed his long life in the same serene Chris-
tian hope which ennobled and embellished his whole private
and public life. At his funeral. Dr. Clark, editor of the " Ladies'
Repository," spoke of the life and character of Judge McLean as
follows : —

"We come not to-day to utter words of eulogy, but to mourn : yet it is
not too much to say that through the long period of his public life —
extending over nearly half a century — his character as a public officer,
as a man, and as a Christian, has stood out before the world untarnished, —
nay, I may say, unsuspected. "With equal lionesty and ability has he
met and fultilled every trust. The loss of such a man, at such a junc-
ture, is a public calamity.

"When humanity, with mighty thro«^s, is yearning for higher develop-
ments and for the realization of a nobler destiny, well may we mourn
the death of one whose own character was a living embodiment of what-
ever is noble in man, and wh-i-;.' inlluonee was wide and powerful to
benefit the race.

As fellow-citizens, well may we mourn the death of one whose history
linked us to the heroic age of the republic, the purity of whose patriot-
ism had been thoroughly tested, and whose very name was a talismanic
charm for the preservation of the Union, and of the constitutional
rights and liberties of our whole country, and of all our citizens, the
lowest as well as the highest.

When the Cliristian character and virtues arc so rni-fly illu>tiat.(l in
]>ublic life, well may wo mourn the loss of the Christian .statesman, tiie
beauty of whose ermine was surpassed only by the sj)Otlessness of Ills
Cliristian life, wh«>sr devotion to his country was surpasseil only by his
fealty to Christ, and whoso life and eharaeter will ever be pointed to ns
the means of inspiring the young men of our country with the convic-
tion that there are nobler ends to bo attained, even in this life, than
the sordi<l gains of office or the selfishness of liuman ambition.

As members of the groat Christian brotherho«>d. we have reason to
mourn the death of one who has honored the Christian name. A little-

644 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

more than half a century ago, Judge McLean was led to Christ, through
the instrifmentality of that eminent minister of God, Rev. John Collins.
He immediately identified himself with the Methodist Episcopal Church,
through whose ministry he had been converted. A man of so noble a
mind could not be otherwise than a man of broad views and catholic
sympathies with all Christian denominations

He was jealous of the honor of the Christian name ; nor did he ever
forget — even amid the fascinations of social or public life — that by
character and act, if not by word, he was called to be a witness for
Christ. He was faithful in the least of his Christian duties. In the closet
and in the class, as well as in the more public services of the sanctuary,.
he obtained the spiritual nutriment which gave robustness to his Chris-
tian character. To the merely formal professor he could truly say, " I
have meat to eat that ye know not of."

Bellamy Storer, a Christian judge of Ohio, who illustrates
the beauty and dignity of Christian virtues in union with high
legal attainments and civic honors, and who was an intimate
friend, at a meeting of the bar of Cincinnati, after the death
of Judge McLean, paid the following tribute to his memory : —

A beautiful remark is made by one of the ancients, that we never
begin to live until we are dead ; and the remark applies with great pro-
priety on the present occasion. For the lamented judge, whose memory
we all cherish with so much sincerity, has now received his due ; his
many virtues are now justly estimated. The integrity of his character,
the purity of his principles, the justice of his decisions, his deliberate
judgment, — all these are now not weighed in the balances of prejudice ;
but they are valued by their real worth ; and when such a man dies, his
memory ought to be cherished.

Forty-four years ago in June next, he admitted me to the practice of this
bar. He had just taken his seat as Judge of the Suj^reme Court of this
State, and the moment he became acquainted with me he gave me the
hand of friendship. To a young man that was an exceedingly cherished
token of regard. But, more than that, he gave me his counsel, and
although he lived not in our immediate neighborhood, yec I saw him
often and knew him well. When, however, he sat as a judge of the
United States, I was brought into intimate communion with him. He
became my neighbor, and during the years that have followed we have
had many delightful interviews. I know his generous nature ; I know
in private life he was all we could look for as a model, and in public life
he justified the highest expectations of the public. There was one fea-
ture of his character that was pre-eminently great : it was that he always
preserved an equanimity of temper, — not as applied to his nervous
temperament, but to his whole moral nature and all his intellectual
powers ; for he had so admirably composed them all, that each and
every one had its influence upon the others, so that, like a well-tuned
instrument, his character was always in harmony. And the great secret
of this was, that he did not abide in the strength of his intellect, in hia-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 645

power or genius, but he felt as a magistrate below he was responsible to
Him who was King above. He knew that all the authority which he
could possibly exert was but an emanation from the powers above, and
he always so regulated himself. In the discharge of his duties in the
court of justice, he asked himself the question whether he was per-
forming his duty to his God. And this, brethren of the bar, is the great
secret of all success, — more especially upon the bench of justice. In
the future time, although we may survive a few years, and may remem-
ber the prominent characteristics of that great man, yet this, in the
history of the day, will stand out as a distinctive feature of his cha-
ra,cter, — that he was a humble and sincere Christian.

The Supreme Court of the United States, and the judges
who sat upon its bench in 1827, received a just tribute from
Thomas S. Grimkd, in a speech he delivered in the Senate of
South Carolina, December 17, 1827. He says, —

It is emphatically a court of the whole people and of every State, of
the Government of the Union and of the Government of every State.
It is as independent of the President and Congress as of the Governor
and Legislature of South Carolina- Its members are selected from
different States, and its bar gathers within its bounds the talents and
learning, the courage, virtue, and patriotism, of the East and the "West,
of the North and the South. . . . No one, indeed, can jiossibly read
the judgments of this tribunal — equally beneficent and illustrious —
iind not be deei)ly impressed with its wisdom and learning, its
moral courage and justice, its high sense of duty, its love of peace
and order, its independence, dignity, and patriotism. I know not any
body of men who are entitled to more enlightened admiration, more
sincere gratitude, more profound respect for thoir talents, learning, vir-
tues, and services. Theirs is indeed a parental guardianship, full of
moral dignity and beauty, sustained by the energy of wisdom and
adorned by the simplicity of justice iuid iruth.

The brief sketches contained in this volume of some of the emi-
nent men who have adorned the j udicial history of the republic and
shed such light on the profound and important science of juris-
jirudenco, and who in their private character illustrated so nobly
the Christiini virtues, were prepared, as they did in the adniinis-
tration of justice and law, to practically believe and carry out
that true and admirable exposition of law, iis given by the
venerable and learned Hooker, of Puritan memoiy. He says, —

" Of law there can he no less acknowledged than that her scat
ifi the bosom of God, her voice the harinonij of Uic world. All
thimjs in heaven and earth do Jier homage ; the very least fed
her care, and the greatest are not exempt from her power. Both
angds and men, and creatures of wluU condition soever,

646 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

though each in a different sort and name, yet all with one uni-
form consent admire her as the mother of their peace GAidjoy."

In giving practical form to this sublime eulogy on law and
its benignant power and results, the minds of many of the
most eminent judges of the State and national Goyernments
were illuminated, through prayer, with wisdom from heaven.
They kneeled before the Infinite Judge of the Universe and
humbly entreated that in the administration of earthly justice
and law^ they might be inspired and guided of God. This fact
is historic in the Christian lives of many American judges.

In the earlier history of the country, it was customary to
open the colonial and State courts Avitli prayer. South Caro-
lina practised this Christian usage for many years in her judicial
history, as did also the other Southern colonies and States, as
well as those of New England. The practice is still maintained
by some of the State courts.

The judicial system of the State of Ohio, first-born into the
Union under the Christian ordinance of freedom of 1787, was
inaugurated, the next year after the enactment of this organic
law of the nation, with the solemn service of prayer. The fol-
lowing is a historical description of the scene : —

The first civil court ever held in the Northwest was that of the Court
of Common Pleas of Washington county, at Marietta, September 2,
1788, by Kufus Putnam and Benjamin Tupper, presiding justices. The
court was opened with pomp. A procession was formed, the sheriff,
with a drawn sword, in advance, followed by the citizens, officers of the
garrison at Fort Harmer, the members of the bar, the Judges of the
Supreme Court, the Governor, and a clergyman, with the Judges of the
Common Pleas, in the order in which they are named. Arriving at
the hall of the Campus Martius, the whole of the procession was counter-
marched into it, and the judges, Putnam and Tupper, took their seats
upon the bench. The audience was seated, and after a Divine benedic-
tion was invoked by the Eev. Dr. Cutler, the High Sheriff, Ebenezer
Sprout, advanced to the door and proclaimed aloud, " Oyez ! Oyez ! a
court is opened for the administration of even-handed justice to the
poor and the rich, to guilty and innocent, without respect of persons ;
none to be punished without a trial by their joeers, and in pursuance of
tlie laws and evidence in the case." Besides the crowds of emigrants
and settlers, there were present at the ceremonies hundreds of Indians,
who had their encampments in the vicinity for the purj^ose of entering
into a treaty with the Federal Government.

The following -opinions of judges in the courts of several of
the largest and most influential States of the Union, afiirming

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOITS OF THE Uis'ITED STATES. 647

the great historic* fact that the life and character of the civil
institutions of the United States, as well as the whole fabric of
our freedom and civilization, flow from the Christian religion,
will present lucid and grateful views on this subject. They
form, a rich part of the Christian history of our civil governments,
and are eminently worthy to be recorded and studied.

In 1824, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania reviewed the
subject most thoroughly and extensively, and the decision of
the court will repay a thoughtful perusal. The trial was on
an indictment for blasphemy, founded on an act of Assembly
passed in 1700. The decision may be found in Sergeant &
Eawle's Eeports, page 394, and is as follows : —

The court said that, even if Christianity was not part of the law of
the land, it is the popular religion of the country, an insult on which
would be indictable as directly tending to disturb the public peace.
Christianity, general Christianity, is, and always has been, a part of the
common law of Pennsylvania ; not Christianity founded on particular
religious tenets ; not Christianity with an established Church, and
tithes, and spiritual courts ; but Christianity with liberty of conscience
to all men. The first legislative act in the colony was the recognition
of the Christian religion, and the establishment of liberty of conscience.
It is called " the Great Law," and is as follows : —

" Whereas the glory of Almighty God and the good of mankind is the
reason and end of government, and therefore government itself is a
venerable ordinance of God, and forasmuch as it is principally devised
and intended by tlie Proprietary and Governor and freemen of Penn-
sylvania and territories thereunto belonging, to make and establish such
laws as shall best preserve true Christian and civil liberty, in opposition
to all unchristian, licentious, and unjust practices, whereby God may
have his due, Ceesar his due, and the people their due ;

*^ Resolved, tlierefore, that all persons living in this Province, who con-
fess and acknowledge the one Ahnighty and Eternal God to be the
Creator, uplioldcr, and ruler of the world, and who hold themselves
obliged in conscience to live peaceably and justly in civil society, shall
in no wise be molested," &e.

The court, after quoting the whole law at length, further says, —

Thus this wise legislature framed tliis great body of laws for a Chrifl-
tian country and a (,'hri.stian people. Infidelity was then rare, and no
iiilid.ls were aiiKHig the first colonists. Thoy Ih'd from religious intole-
ranif to a country where all were allowed to worship according to their
own understanding. Kvery one had the right of adi>pting for hiuisolf
whatever opinion appeared to be the most rational concerning all mat-
ters of religious bolitrf; thus securing by law this ine^jtimablo freedom
of conscience, one of the highest privileges an<l greatest interests of the

648 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

human race. Thus is the Christianity of the common law incorporated
into the great law of Pennsylvania ; and thus is it irrefragably proved
that the laws and institutions of this State are built on the foundation
of reverence for Christianity. On this the Constitution of the United
States has made no alteration, nor in the great body of the laws, which
was an incorporation of the common-law doctrine of Christianity, as
suited to the condition of the colony, and without which no free govern-
ment can long exist. Under the Constitution penalties against cursing
and swearing have been enacted. If Christianity was abolished, all
false oaths, all tests by oath in common form by the book, would cease
to be indictable as perjury. The indictment must state the oath to be
on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God.

After reviewing a series of decisions made in Pennsylvania
and elsewhere, the court continues thus: — ''It has long been
firmly settled that blasphemy against the Deity generally, or
an attack on the Christian religion indirectly, for the purpose
of exposing its doctrines to ridicule and contempt, is indictable
and punishable as a temporal offence. The principles and
actual decisions are that the publications, whether written or
oral, must be malicious, and designed for that end and purpose."
After stating that the law gave free permission for the serious
and conscientious discussion of all theological and religious
topics, the court said, —

A malicious and mischievous intention is, in such a case, the broad
boundary between right and wrong, and that it is to be collected from
the offensive levity, scurrilous and opprobrious language, and other cir-
cumstances, whether the act of the party was malicious ; and, since the
law has no means of distinguishing between different degrees of evil
tendency, if the matter published contains any such evil tendency it
is a j)ublic wrong. An offence against the public peace may consist
either of an actual breach of the peace, or doing that which tends to
provoke and excite others to do it. Within the latter description fall
all acts and all attempts to produce disorder, by written, printed, or
oral communications for the purpose of generally weakening those
religious and moral restraints without the aid of which mere legislative
provisions would prove ineffectual.

No society can tolerate a wilful and despiteful attempt to subvert
its religion any more than it would to break down its laws, — a general,
malicious, and deliberate attempt to overthrow Christianity, general
Christianity. This is the line of indication where crime commences,
and the offences become the subject of penal visitation. The species
of offence may be classed under the following heads : —

1. Denying the Being and Providence of God. 2. Contumelious re-
proaches of Jesus Christ ; profane and malevolent scoffing of the Scrip-
tures, or exposing any part of them to contempt and ridicule. 3.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. G49

Certain immoralities tending to subvert all religion and morality, which
are the foundations of all governments. "Without these restraints no
free governments could long exist. It is liberty run mad to declaim
against the punishment of these offences, or to assert that their punish-
ment is hostile to the spirit and genius of our Government. They are
far from being the friends to liberty who support this doctrine ; and
the promulgation of such opinions, and the general receipt of them
among the people, would be the sure forerunner of anarchy, and,
jfinally, of despotism. No free government now exists in the world
unless where Christianity is acknowledged and is the religion of the
country.

Christianity is part of the common law of this State. It is not pro-
claimed by the commanding voice of any human superior, but ex-
pressed in the calm and mild accents of customary law. Its founda-
tions are broad and strong and deep; they are laid in the authority,
the interest, the affections of the people. Waiving all questions of
hereafter, it is the purest system of morality, the firmest auxiliary
and only stable support of all human laws. It is impossible to admi-
nister the laws without taking the religion which the defendant in error
has scoffi?d at, that Scripture which he has reviled, as their basis ; to lay
aside tliese is at least to weaken the confidence in human veracity, so
essential to the purposes of society, and without which no question of
property could be decided, and no criminal brought to justice; an oath
in the common form on a discredited book would be a most idle cere-
mony. No preference is given by law to any particular religious per-
suasion. Protection is given to all by our laws. It is only the malicious
reviler of Christianity who is punished.

While our own free Constitution secures liberty of conscience and
freedom of religious worsliip to all^ it is not necessary to maintain that
any man should have the right i)ublicly to vilify the religion of his
neighbors and of the country. These two privileges are directly op-
posed. It is an open, public vilification of the religion of the country
that is punished, not to force conscience by punishment, but to pro-
serve the peace of the country by an outward respect to the religion
of the country, and not as a restraint upon the liberty of conscience;
but licentiousness, endangering the public peace, when tending to cor-
rupt society, is considert'd as a breach of the peace, and punishable by
indictment. Every immoral act is not indictabK>; ))ut when it is destruc-
tive of morality generally it is, because it weakens the bonds by which so-
ciety is lield togi'ther, and government is nothing more than j)ul>lic order.

This is the Christianity whii-h is the law of our land; and (continues
the court) I do not think i( will bo an invasion of any man's right of
private Ju<lgment. or ol the most extended j)rivilege of jtropagating
Lis Hcntiiiients witli regard to religion in the manner whieh lie thinks
mcH conclusive. If, fr«)ni a regard to decency and tlui good orilt r
of society, profane swearing, breach of the Sabbath, and bluspheniy, are
punishable by civil magistrates, these are not punisherl us sins or
offences against Ood, btit crimes injtu'ious to, and having a malignant
influence on, society; for it is corUiin that by these practices no on©

650 CHPJSTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

pretends to prove any supposed truths, detect any supposed error, or
advance any sentiment whatever.

Christianity presents to all men one Supreme Being, the only object
of worship, unchangeable, infinite, omniscient, all-wise, all-good, all-
powerful, all-merciful, the God of all, and the Father of all. It develops
one complete system of duties, fit for all times and all stations, — for the
monarch on the throne and the peasant in the cottage. It brings all
men to the same level, and measures all by the same standard. It
humbles in the dust the proud and the arrogant ; it gives no heed to
the glory of princes, or conquerors, or nobles. It exalts the lowly
virtues, the love of peace, charity, humility, forgiveness, resignation,
patience, purity, holiness. It teaches a moral and final accountability
for every action. It proposes and sanctions finite precepts of no earthly
reach, but such as are infinite, unchangeable, and eternal. Its rewards
are the promises of immortal bliss ; its punishments, a fearful and over-
whelming retribution. It excuses no compromises of principles, and
no paltering with sin. It acknowledges no sacrifice but of a broken
and contrite spirit; no pardon but by repentance of heart and amend-
ment of life. In its view this life is but the entrance upon existence, —
a transitory state of probation and trial, — and the grave is the portal to
that better world, where "Grod shall wipe all tears from our eyes; and
there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall
there be any more pain."

To minds engrossed with such thoughts, and fixed in such a belief,
what could there be seducing or satisfying in the things of this world?
It would be impossible for them, for a moment, to put in competition
the affairs of time with the dazzling splendors and awful judgments
of eternity.

%

The Supreme Court of Massacliusetts, Judge Parsons pre-
siding, gave a similar decision in favor of Christianity. It was
a case in which a Christian Church in Falmouth had occasion
to vindicate the Third Article of the Constitution of the State,
respecting religion and its support. Judge Parsons, who de-
livered the opinion of the court, was regarded by men of legal
learning as the equal of Hale, Holt, Mansfield, Marshall, Kent,
and Story. His decision, so luminous and full, in reference to
Christianity and its relations to civil government, is, therefore,
of the highest authority. The article of the Constitution of
Massachusetts, on which the decision is based, is as follows : —

Art. 3. As the happiness of a peoj^le and the good order and pre-
servation of civil government essentially depend on piety, religion, and
morality; and as these cannot be generally diffused throughout the
community but by the institution of a public worship of God, and of
public institutions in piety, religion, and morality; therefore, to pro-
mote their happiness, and to secure the good order and preservation

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 651

of their Government, the people of this Commonwealth have a right to
invest their Legislature with power to authorize and require, and the
Legislature shall from time to time authorize and require, the several
towns, parishes, precincts, and other bodies politic, or rehgious socie-
ties, to make suitable jDrovision, at their own expense, for the insti-
tutions of the public worship of God, and for the support or mainte-
nance of public Protestant teachers of piety, religion, and morality, in
all cases where such provision shall not be made voluntarily.

The decision made by Judge Parsons is as follows : —

The object of a free government is the promotion and security of its
citizens. These effects cannot be produced but by the knowledge and
practice of our moral duties, which comprehend all the social and civil
obligations of man to man, and the citizen to the state. If the civil
magistrate in any state could procure by his regulations an uniform
practice of these duties, the Government of that state would be per-
fect.

To obtain that perfection, it is not enough for the magistrate to
define the rights of the several citizens, as they are related to life,
liberty, property, and reputation, and to punish those by whom they
may be invaded. Wise laws, made to this end, and faithfully exe-
cuted, may leave the people strangers to many of the enjoyments of
civil and social life, without which their happiness will be extremely
imperfect. Human laws cannot oblige to the performance of the
duties of imj^erfect obligation; as the duties of charity and hospitality,
benevolence, and good neighborhood: as the duties resulting from the
relation of husband and wife, parent and child, of man to man as
children of a common parent; and of real patriotism, by intluencing
every citizen to love his country and to obey all its laws. These are
moral duties, flowing from the disposition of the heart, and not subject
to the control of human legislation.

Neither can tlie laws ]>revent by temporal punishment secret offences
committed without witness, to gratify malice, revenge, or any other
passion, by assailing the most imi)ortant and most estimable rights of
others. For human tribunals cannot })roceed against any crimes unless
ascertained by evidence; and they are destitute of all ]»ower to prevent
the commission of ofienccs, unless by the feeble examples exhibited in
the punishment of those who may be detected.

Civil government, therefore, availing itself only of its own j>owors, is
e.xtremely defective; and unless it could derive assistance from somo
8Ui>«'rior power, wliosc laws extend to the temper and disi>(.sltion of the
human lu-art, and before wliom no offence is secret, wretclied indeed
wouhl b«'. the state of man under a civil ccmstitution of any form.

This nuKt manifest truth has been felt by legislators in all ages; and
as man is born not only a social but a religious bt'ing. so in th»» pagan
world, false and absurd .systems of religion were adojited and patronized
by the magistrates, to remedy the defects necetwurily existing in a
government merely civil.

652 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

On these principles, tested bj^ the experience of mankind and by the
reflections of reason, the people of Massachusetts, in the frame of their
Government, adopted and patronized a religion which, by its benign
and energetic influences, might co-operate with human institutions, to
promote and secure the happiness of the citizens, so far as might be
consistent with the imperfections of man.

In selecting a religion, the people were not exposed to the hazard of
choosing a false and defective religious system. Christianity had long
been promulgated, its pretensions and excellencies well known, and its
Divine authority admitted. This religion was found to rest on the
basis of immortal truth; to contain a system of morals adapted to man
in all possible ranks and conditions, situations and circumstances, by
conforming to which he would be ameliorated and improved in all the
relations of human life ; and to furnish the most efficacious sanctions,
by bringing to light a future state of retribution. And this religion, as
understood by Protestants, tending by its effects to make every man
submitting to its influences a better husband, parent, child, neighbor,
citizen, and magistrate, was, by the people, established as a fundamental
and essential part of their Constitution.

The manner in which this establishment was made is liberal, and
consistent with the rights of conscience on religious subjects. As reli-
gious opinions, and the time and manner of expressing the homage
due to the Grovernor of the universe, are points depending on the sin-
cerity and belief of each individual, and do not concern the public
interest, care is taken in the second article of the Declaration of Rights
to guard these points from the interference of the civil magistrate;
and no man can be hurt, molested, or restrained in his person, liberty,
or estate for worshipping God in the manner and season most agree-
able to the dictates of his own conscience, or for his religious profession
or sentiment, provided he does not disturb the public joeace, or obstruct
others in their religious worship ; in which case he is i)unished, not for
his religious opinions or worship, but because he interrupts others in
the enjoyment of the rights he claims for himself, or because he has
broken the public peace.

Having secured liberty of conscience on the subject of religious
opinion and worship for every man, whether Protestant or Catholic,
Jew, Mohammedan, or Pagan, the Constitution then provides for the
public teaching of the i^recepts and maxims of the religion of Pro-
testant Christians to all the people. And for this purpose it is made
the right and duty of all corj^orate religious societies to elect and sup-
port a public Protestant teacher of piety, religion, and morality; and
the election and support of the teacher depend exclusively on the will
of a majority of each society incorporated for those purposes. As
public instruction requires persons who may be taught, every citizen
may be enjoined to attend on some one of those teachers, at times and
seasons stated by law, if there be any on whose instructions he can con-
scientiously attend.

In the election and support of a teacher, every member of the cor-
poration is bound by the will of the majority; but as the great object

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF TEE UNITED STATES. C53

of this provision was to secure the election and support of public Pro-
testant teachers by corporate societies, and some members of any cor-
poration might be of a sect or denomination of Protestant Christians
different from the majority of the members, and might choose to unite
with other Protestant Christians of their own sect or denomination in
maintaining a public teacher, who by law was entitled to support, and
on whose instruction they usually attended, indulgence was granted,
that persons thus situated might have the money they contributed to
the support of public worship, and of the public teachers aforesaid,
appropriated to the support of the teacher on whose instructions they
should attend.

Several objections have at times been made to this establishment,
which may be reduced to three: that when a man disapproves of any
religion, or of any supposed doctrine of any religion, to compel him by
law to contribute money for public instruction in such religion, or doc-
trine, is an infraction of his liberty of conscience; that to compel a
man to pay for public religious instructions on which he does not
attend, and from which he can, therefore, derive no benefit, is unrea-
sonable and intolerant ; and that it is antichristian for any state to
avail itself of the precepts and maxims of Christianity to support civil
government, because the founder of it has declared that his kingdom is
not of this world.

These objections go to the authority of the poo^de to make this Con-
stitution, which is not proper nor competent for us to bring into ques-
tion. And although we are not able, and have no inclination, to assume
the character of theologians, yet it may not be improper to make a few
short observations to defend our Constitution from the charges of perse-
cution, intolerance, and impiety.

When it is remembered that no man is compellable to attend on any
religious instruction which he conscientiously disapproves, and that he
is absolutely protected in the most perfect freedom of conscience in his
religious opinions and worship, the first objection seems to mistake a
man's conscience for his money, and to deny the State a right of levy-
ing and of appropriating the money of the citizens, at the will of the
legislature, in which they are all represented. But as every citizen
derives the security of his property and the fruits of his industry
from the power of the State, so, as the price of his i>rotection, ho is
bound to contribute, in common with his fellow-citizens, for the public
uso, so much of his pn^perty and for such public uses as the State shall
direct. And if any individual can lawfully withhoUl his contribution
because he dislikes th<' aj»proj)riation, the authority of tlu^ State to levy
taxes would be annihilated: and without money it would soon coaso to
have any nutliority. But all moneys raised and appropriat«»d for public
uses by any corporation, pursuant to powers derived from the State, are
raised and appropriated substantially by the authority of the State.
And the poojjlo in their Constitution, instead of devolving; the support
of ptihlic teachers on tlio corporations by whom th«'y should be elected,
might havo directed their support to Ix* dofniyed out of the pnblio
treasury, to bo reimbursed by the levying and collection of State taiee.

654 CHKISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

And against this mode of support the objection of an individual disap-
proving of the object of the public taxes would have the same weight
it can have against the mode of public support through the medium
of corporate taxation. In either case, it can have no weight to maL
tain a charge of j^ersecution for conscience' sake. The great error lies
in not distinguishing between liberty of conscience in religious opinions
and worship and the right of appropriating money by the State. The
former is an unalienable right, the latter is surrendered to the State as
the price of protection.

The second objection is that it is intolerant to compel a man to pay
for religious instruction from which, as he does not hear it, he can derive
no benefit. This objection is founded wholly in mistake. The object
of public religious instruction is to teach and to enforce by suitable
arguments the practice of a system of correct morals among the people,
and to form and cultivate reasonable and just habits and manners, by
which every man's person and property are protected from outrage and
his personal and social enjoyments promoted and multiplied. From
these effects every man derives the most important benefits, and, whether
he be or be not an auditor of any public teacher, he receives more solid
and permanent advantages from this public instruction than the admi-
nistration of justice in courts of law can give him. The like objection
may be made by any man to the support of public schools if he have
no family who attend ; and any man who has no lawsuit may object to
the support of judges and jurors on the same ground ; when if there
were no courts of law he would unfortunately find that causes for law-
suits would sufficiently abound.

The last objection is founded upon the supposed antichristian con-
duct of the State in availing itself of the precej)ts and maxims of
Christianity for the purposes of a more excellent civil government. It
is admitted that the Founder of this religion did not intend to erect a
temporal dominion, agreeably to the prejudices of his countrymen,
but to reign in the hearts of men by subduing their irregular appetites
and propensities, and by moulding their passions to the noblest pur-
poses. And it is one great excellence of his religion, that, not pretend-
ing to worldly pomp and power, it is calculated and accommodated to
ameliorate the conduct and condition of man under any form of civil
government.

The objection goes further, and complains that Christianity is not left
for its promulgation and support to the means designed by its author,
who requires not the assistance of man to effect his purposes and inten-
tions. Our Constitution certainly provides for the punishment of many
breaches of the laws of Christianity ; not for the purpose of propping
up the Christian religion, but because those breaches are offences against
the laws of the State ; and it is a civil as well as religious duty of the
magistrate not to bear the sword in vain. But there are many precepts
of Christianity of which the violation cannot be punished by human
laws ; and as the obedience to them is beneficial to civil society, the
State has wisely taken care that they should be taught and also enforced
by explaining their moral and religious sanctions, as they cannot be
enforced by temporal punishments. And from the genius and temper

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOXS OF THE UXITED STATES. GoO

of this religion, and from the benevolent character of its Author, wo
must conclude that it is his intention that man should be benefited by
it in his civil and political relations, as well as in his individual capacitj .
And it remains for the objector to prove that the patronage of Chris-
tianity by the civil magistrate, induced by the tendency of its precepts to
form good citizens, is not one of the means by which the knowledge of
its doctrines was intended to be disseminated and preserved among the
human race.

The last branch of the objection rests on the very correct position
that the faith and precepts of the Christian religion are so interwoven
that they must be taught together ; whence it is inferred that the State,
by enjoining instruction in its precepts, interferes with its doctrines,
and assumes a power not intrusted to any human authority.

If the State claimed the absurd power of directing or controlling the
faith of the citizens, there might be some ground for the objection. But
no such power is claimed. The authority derived from the Constitution
extends no further than to submit to the understandings of the people
the evidence of truths deemed of public utility, leaving the weight of
the evidence and the tendency of those truths to the conscience of
every man.

Indeed, this objection must come from a willing objector ; for it
extends in its consequences to prohibit the State from providing for
public instruction in many branches of useful knowledge which natu-
rally tend to defeat the arguments of infidelity, to illustrate the doc-
trines of the Christian religion, and to confirm the faith of its pro-
fessors.

As Christianity has the promise not only of this but of a future life,
it cannot be denied that public instruction in piety, religion, and
morality by Protestant teachers may have a beneficial eflfect beyond the
present state of existence. And tlie people are to be applauded, as
well for their benevolence as for their wisdom, that in selecting a reli-
gion whose precepts and sanctions might supply the defects in civil
government, necessarily limited in its power, and supported only by
temporal penalties, they adopted a religion founded in truth ; which in
its tendency will protect our property here, and may secure to us an
inheritance in another and u Ijctter country.

In the Supreme Court of New York in 1811, in the case of
the peoj^le against Ruggles for blasphemy, the subject was fully
and ably discussed by that eminent and upright ju<lu'e, Chief-
Justice Kent. In delivering the opinion of the Supniu.- (\'art.
Judge Kent declared that

Tho authorities 8how that blasplnMny against Co.l, and rontuniolious
roproa«!h<'H and profane ridicule of (.'hrist <»r th<^ Holy Scriptures, which
are c<iually treutod as blasphemy, are otlene<s punishable at common
law, whether uttered by words or writings. The ronsoquonoos may be
less extensively pernicious in the one rase than in tho other; but in
both instances tho reviling is still an otVence, because it tends to corrupt

656 CHRISTIAN LIFE AITD CHARACTER OF THE

the morals of the people and to destroy good order. Such offences
have always been considered independent of any religious establish-
ment or tlie right of the Chiirch. There is nothing in our manners and
institutions which has prevented the application or the necessity of
this point of common law. We stand equally in need now as formerly
of all that moral discipline and of those principles of virtue which
help to bind society together. The people of this State, in common
with the people of this country, profess the general doctrines of Chris-
tianity as the rule of their faith and practice ; and to scandalize the
Author of these doctrines is not only in a religious point of view ex-
tremely impious, but even in respect to the obligations due to society
is a gross violation of decency and good order. Nothing could be more
offensive to the virtuous part of the community, or more injurious to
the tender morals of the young, than to declare such profanity lawful.
It would go to confound all distinction between things sacred and pro-
fane ; for, to use the words of one of the greatest oracles of human
wisdom, "profane scoffing doth by little and little deface the reverence
of religion," and who adds, in another place, " two principal causes
have I ever known of atheism, — curious controversies and profane scoff"-
ing.'"' The very idea of jurisprudence, with the ancient lawgivers and
philosophers, embraced the religion of the country.

Though the Constitution has discarded religious establishments, it
does not forbid judicial cognizance of those offences against religion and
morality which have no reference to any such establishment or to any
particular form of government, but are punishable, because they strike
at the root of moral obligation and weaken the security of the social
ties. The legislative exposition of the Constitution is conformable to
this view of it. Christianity in its enlarged sense, as a religion revealed
and taught in the Bible, is not unknown to our law. The Statute for pre-
venting immorality [Laws, Vol. I. p. 224) consecrates the first day of the
week as holy time, and considers the violation of it immoral. The Act
concerning Oaths [Laws, Vol. I. p. 405) recognizes the common-law mode
of administering an oath, " by laying the hand on and kissing the
G-ospels." Surely, then, we are bound to conclude that wicked and
malicious words, writings, and actions which go to vilify those Gospels
continue, as at common law, to be an offence against the public peace
and safety. They are inconsistent with the reverence due to the
administration of an oath, and, among other evil consequences, they
tend to lessen in the public mind its religious sanction.

This decision was concurred in by all the associate judges on
the bench with Chief-Justice Kent.

In 1821, a Convention to revise the Constitution of New York
met in Albany, and this decision of the Supreme Court of the
State was unsparingly denounced by General Eoot, wdio said
''he wished for freedom of conscience, and that if judges under-
take to support religion by the arm of the law it will be
brought into abhorrence and contempt."

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 657

Chancellor James Kent, tlie eminent son of the eminent
jurist who gave this decision, in defending it, said, —

Such blasphemy was an outrage on public decorum, and if sanctioned
by our tribunals would shock the moral sense of the country and
degrade our character as a Christian people. The authors of our Con-
stitution never meant to extirpate Christianity, more than they meant
to extirpate common decency. It is in a degree recognized by the
statutes for the observance of the Lord's day, and for the mode of admi-
nistering oaths. The court never intended to interfere with any reli-
gious creeds or sects, or with religious discussions. They meant to pre-
serve, so far as it came within their cognizance, the morals of the
country, whicli rested on Christianity as the foundation. They meant
to apply the principles of common law against blasphemy, which they
did not believe the Constitution ever meant to abolish. Are we not a
C'HRisTiAN People? Do not ninety-nine hundredths of our fellow-citi-
zens hold the general truths of the Bible to be dear and sacred ? To
attack, them with ribaldry and malice, in the presence of these very
believers, must and ought to be a serious public offence. It dis-
turbs, and annoys, and offends, and shocks, and corrupts the public
taste. The common law, as applied to correct such profanity, is the
application of common reason and natural justice to the security of the
p(^ace and good order of society.

Mr. Tompkins, who was President of the Convention and
Vice-President of the United States, said, — ■

The court had never undertaken to uphold by the authority of law
nny i)articular sect, but they had interposed, and rightfully interposed,
as tli(i guardians of the public morals, to suppress those outrages on
public opinion and public feeling which would otherwise reduce the
community to a state of barbarism, corrupt its purity, and debase the
mind, lie was not on the bench at the time when the decision alluded
to took place, but he fully accorded in the opinions that were advanced,
and lie could not hoar the calumnies that ha<l gone forth against the
judiciary on that subject, without regret and reprobation. No man of
generous rnind, no man who regarded public sentiment, or tliat deli-
cacy of feeling that lies at the foundation of moral purity, could <Iofend
Huch an outrage on public morals, or say that the decision was unmerited
(If uiij'ust.

Chancellor Kent never intended to declare Christianity the legal reli-
gion of the State, because that would be »»ousidering Christianity Oii the
e-ritublishe<l religion of the State, an<l making it a civil or political in.sti-
tution. The Constitution had declared that there wo-s to bo " no di»-
itriniiuution or preference in religious profcssif>n or wor«hi|)." But
Cliristianify waj^, in fact, the religion of the pe(^plo of this State; and that
t>u"t was the principle of the decision. The Christian religion was the
foundation of all belief and expectation of a future sUito, and the
source and security of moral obligation. To bla.sphcmo the Author of

42

658 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

that religion, and to defame it with wantonness and malice, was an
offence against public morals, and injured the social ties and moral
sense of the country ; and in that view it was indictable.

The legislature had repeatedly recognized the Christian religion, not
as the religion of the country established by law, but as being in fact
the actual religion of the people of this State. The statute directing the
administration of an oath referred to the Bible as a sanction to it, and
on the ground that the Bible was a volume of Divine inspiration, and
the oracle of the most affecting truths that could command the assent
or awaken the fears or exercise the hopes of mankind. So the act for the
religious observance of the Lord's day equally recognizes the universal
belief in Christianity, and the moral obligation and eminent utility of
its precepts. In this sense, we may consider the duties and injunctions
of the Christian religion as interwoven with the law of the land, and
as part and parcel of the common law.

Chief- Justice Spencer, also an eminent jurist, said he was in
favor of striking out the words '^ no particular religion shall
ever he declared or adjudged to he the law of the land."

I am opposed to this provision in the Constitution, as it would go to
prevent punishment for blasj^hemy, and thereby endanger the morals
of the community. By particulai- religion he understood it was the
Christian religion, distinct from Judaism, Mohammedanism, &c., without
regard to any particular sect of the Christian religion. Are we pre-
pared to send forth to the people a provision in our Constitution that
shall suffer any man to blaspheme, in the most malicious manner, his
Grod and the religion of the Redeemer of the world ? If this pravision
be sanctioned, it will put it out of the power of any court to punish for
the most infamous blasphemy.

Eufus King, a statesman of ripe attainments, and possessing
a national reputation, on the same point said, —

I hesitate in agreeing to the legal doctrine now recommended to our
acceptance, and which seems to deny to the Christian religion the
acknowledgment, protection, and authority to which I have believed it
to be by law entitled. The laws of every nation in Christendom have
for ages acknowledged the Christian religion, and in virtue of the
laws and statutes of England the Christian religion for many centuries
has been acknowledged and established in that nation.

While all mankind are by our Constitution tolerated, and free to
enjoy religious profession and worship within this State, yet the religious
professions of the Pagan, the Mohammedan, and the Christian are not,
in the eye of the law, of equal truth and excellence. According to the
Christian system, men pass into a future state of existence when the
deeds of their life become the subjects of rewards and punishments.
The moral law rests upon the truth of this doctrine, without which it has
.no sufficient sanction. Our laws constantly refer to this revelation, and,

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 659

i)y the oath which they pres^cribe, we appeal to the Supreme Being so
to deal witli us hereafter as we observe the obligations of our oaths.

The pagan world were and are without the mighty influence of this
principle, which is proclaimed in the Christian system ; their morals were
destitute of its powerful sanction, while their oaths neither awakened
tlie hope^ nor the fears which a belief in Christianity inspires.

While the Constitution tolerates the religious professions and worship
of all men, it does more in behalf of the religion of the gospel, and by
acknowledging, and in a certain sense incorporating its truths into the
laws of the land, we are restrained from adopting the proposed amend-
ment whereby the Christian religion may lose that security which every
other Christian nation is anxious to aflbrd it.

In 1861, the Supreme Court of Now York suvstained and re-
peated the ancient decisions of the courts of that and otlier
Stiites in favor of Christianity.

Decision of the Supreme Court.
February Term, 1861, — Justices Clarke, Sutherland, and. Allen,

In the case of Gustav Lindenmuller, Plaintiff in Error, vs.
The People, Defendants in Error, convicted under the act of
April, 1860, of giving dramatic representations on Sunday, the
opinion of the court was given May 29, 1861. As the test

■ase, and as involving important [>rinciples, the following ab-
stract of the views of the court will command deserved atten-
tion and general approbation. The full o[)inion is very elaborate

aid voluminous. Judge Allen is understood to be its author : —

Christianity is part of the common law of this St:»t<'. in tlie qualified
sense that it is entitl.'d to resi)ect and prot<Mtion as tlie acknowledged
religion of llic people. The right of unconstrained religious belief, and
tlie proper expression of it, is guarant<?ed to all; but it must be exer-
cised with strict regartl to the c(jual rights of others; an<l wh«>n bi-lief
or unbeli'-f h-ads to acts wliich int«rl«*re with the rights of consciinoe
of those who r-'prescnt the religion of the country as established. — fiot
by law, but by ijiniu'morial consent and usage, — their acts may bo vo
strained l>y h-gislation. If Christianity were estaltlished by law, it
would be a civil or j»oiili<;il in.stitution, whicli it is not. It is, in fact, tho
religion of the people, and ever has be«'n, and has bfcn so recognized
from the first by Constitutional Conventions, legislatures, and courts of
justice.

It is not di^piit. d tliat Cliristianity is .» p:iit of the common law
of England, liy th.' (V.nstitution of 1777, th.' «(.nnnoM law as it was
th<:n in force, sul-ject to legislative cluinges, and with specified oxcop-
tions, was, and <v«r lias bem, a part of the law i»f this Slate. Tlio claim
that the coiistittitionjil ^uarant««cs of religious lil)««rty are inconsistent
with till- r<-<-..-iiiti.in of Christimity ns the religion of the people, is ro-

660 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

pellor] by the known character and history of the framers of the Con-
stitution. They would not sacrifice their freedom or their religion.
They and their forefathers were the friends and champions of both.

In the several Constitutions of 1777, 1821, and 1846, and in the pro-
ceedings of the Constitutional Conventions, there are abundant pro-
visions and recitals very clearly recognizing some of the fundamental
principles of the Christian religion, embodying the common faith of the
community with its ministers and ordinances, existing without the aid
of or political connection with the State, but as intimately connected
with a good government, and the only sure basis of sound morals.
These conventions also opened their meetings with pi^yer, observed the
(christian Sabbath, and excejDted that day from the time allowed to the
(xovernor for returning bills to the legislature.

The recognition of different denominations of Christians does not
detract from the force of the recognition of Christianity as the religion
of the people'; but it was intended to prevent the unnatural connection
between Church and State. It was believed that Christianity would be
[>urer and more prosperous by leaving the individual conscience free
and untrammelled; and "wisdom is justified of her children" in the
experiment ; which could hardly be said if blasphemy. Sabbath-break-
ing, and kindred vices were protected by the Constitution. They pro-
hibited a Church establishment, and left every man free to worshij) God
according to the dictates of his own conscience, or not to worship, as he
pleases. But they did not suppose they had abolished the Sabbath as a
day of rest for all, and of Christian worship for those who were dis-
posed to engage in it, or deprived themselves of the power to protect
religious worshipj^ers from unseemly interruptions. Compulsory wor-
ship is prohibited ; and religious opinion is beyond the reach of law ; but
this liberty of conscience is entirely consistent with the existence in
fact of the Christian religion, entitled to and enjoying the protection of
the law. The publia peace and safety are greatly dependent upon tho
protection of the religion of the country, and the preventing and pun-
ishing of offences against it and acts subversive of it. The claim of the
defence, carried to its necessary sequence, is that the Bible and religion
with all its ordinances, including the Sabbath, are as effectually abolished
as they w^ere in the Revolution of France, and so effectually abolished
that duties may not be enforced as duties to the State, because they
have been heretofore associated with acts of religious worship or con-
nected with religious duties.

The opinion proceeds to cite the decisions in our own and other
State courts in support of the views expressed, and shows that in the
Constitutional Convention of 1821 the question was intelligently dis-
cussed and settled by our most eminent jurists, so as to make the inter-
pretation of Chancellor Kent, in the case of The People vs. Ruggles,
that the Christian religion was the law of the land, in the sense that it
was preferred over all other religions, and entitled to the recognition
and protection of the temporal courts as the common law of the State,
the fixed meaning of the Constitution. The Christian Sabbath, as one
of the institutions of that religion, may be protected from desecration
by such lawF as the legislature may deem nece&sary to secure to the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 661

community the privilege of undisturbed worship, and to the day itself
that outward respect and observance which may be deemed essential
to the peace and good order of society ; and this not as a duty to God,
but as a duty to society and to the State. Upon this ground the law in
question could be sustained ; for the legislature are the sole judges of the
acts to be prohibited with a view to the public peace, and as obstructing
religious worship or bringing into contempt the religious institutions
of the people.

CIVIL BASIS 'OF SLWDAY LAWS.

•As a civil and political institution, the establishment and regulation
of a Sabbath is within the just power of the civil Government. Older
than our Government, the framers of the Constitution did not abolish,
alter, or weaken its sanction, but recognized it, as they might otherwise
have established it. It is a law of our nature that one day in seven
should be observed as a time of relaxation, and experience proves a day
of weekly rest to be " of admirable service to a State, considered merely
as a civil institution." (4 Bl. Com. 63.) Physical laws accord with the
Decalogue. All interests require national uniformity in the day ob-
served, and that its observance should be so far comj^ulsory as to jjrotect
those who desire and are entitled to the day.

As a civil institution the sanction of the day is at the option of the
legislature; but it is fit that the Christian Sabbath should be observed
by a Christian people, and it does not detract from the moral or legal
sanction of a statute that it conforms to the law of God. as recognized
by the great majority of the people. Existing here by common law, all
that the legislature attempts to do is to regulate its observance. The
common law recognizes the day ; contracts, land-redemption, «i'c., miv-
turing on Sunday, must be performed on Saturday ur Monday. Judicial
acts on the Sabbath are mostly illegal. Work done on Sunday cannot
be recovered for, &c.

The Christian Sabbath is, then, one of the civil institutions of the
State, to which the business and duties of life are by the connnon law
made to conform and adajit themselves. Nor is it a violation of the
rights of conscience of any that the Sabbath of the people, innnemo-
rially enjoyed, sanctioned by common law, and recognized in the Con-
.vtitution, should be respected and protected by the law-making j)OWcr.

The existences of the Sabbath as a civil institution being c<>nccdc«l, ah
It must be, the right of the legislature to control and regulate it and it*«
observance is a n<'(cssary seejuence. Precedt-nts are found in the
statutes of (Very Government really or nominally Christijin. ftoni the
period of Ath«'lstan to the present day. Even the ** Ikiok of Sports" of
James I., to which our attention has been called, prohil>iti'd, as unlaw-
ful, certain games and sports on Sunday, ^'mttrlut/ts" in<ludt»<l: so that
Lindenmulhr's theatre would have lu-en j)roscribed i-vcn by the ll(»yaj
•• Hook of Sj.orts."

Nearly all the States of the Union havi" i>:is^ed l;nvs against Sabbath-
breaking. ftn<l prohibiting secular j)ursuits on that daiy ; and in none
liave tJK'y been held repugnant to the Constitution, with the ex«eption
of California ; while in most States tlu- legislature ha< been upheld by

662 CHEISTIAN LIFE AZS'D CHAEACTER OF THE

the courts and sustained by well-reasoned opinions. As the Sabbath
is older than the Government, and has been legislated upon by colonial
and early State authoritie.^. if tliere were any doubt about the meaning
of the Constitution securing freedom in religion, the cotemporaneous
and continued acts of the legislature under it would be very good evi-
dence of the intent of its framers, and of the people who adopted it
as their fundamental law. From 1788 downward, various statutes have
been in force to j^revent Babbath-desecration, and prohibiting acts upon
that day which would have been lawful on other days. E:irly in the
history of the State Government, the objections made to the act of 1860
were taken before the Council of Revision to an act which undertook to
regulate Sabbath-observance. The Council overruled the objections, and
held them not well taken. The act now complained of compels no
religious observance, and offences against it are punishable not as sins
against God, but as injurious to society. It rests upon the same found-
ation as a multitude of other statutes, — such as those against gambling,
lotteries, horse-racing, &c., — laws w^hich do restrain the citizen and de-
prive him of some of his rights : but the legislature have the right to
prohibit acts injurious to the public, subversive of the Government, and
which tend to the destruction of the morals of the people and to dis-
turb the peace and good order of society. It is exclusively for the legis-
lature to determine what acts should be prohibited as dangerous to the
community. Give every one what are claimed as natural rights, and
the list of mala prohiblta of every civilized state would disappear, and
civil offences would be confined to those acts which are mala in se ; and
a man may go naked through the streets, establish houses of prosti-
tution, and keep a faro-table on every street-corner. This would be
repugnant to every idea of a civilized government. It is the right of
the citizen to be protected from offences against decency, and against
acts which tend to corrupt the morals and debase the moral sense of the;
community. It is the right of the citizen that the Sabbath, as a civil
institution, should be kept in a way not inconsistent with its purpose
and the necessity out of which it grew as a day of rest, rather than as
a day of riot and disorder, which would be to overthrow it and render
it a curse rather than a blessing.

But it is urged that it is the right of the citizen to regard the Sabbath
as a day of innocent recreation and amusement. Who, then, is to judge
and decide what amusements and pastimes are innocent, as having no
direct or indirect baneful influence upon the community, — as not in any
way disturbing the peace and quiet of the public, — as not interfering
with the equally sacred rights of conscience of others? May not the
legislature, like James I. cited to us as a precedent, declare what re-
creations are lawful and what are not lawful, as tending to a breach of
the peace or a corruption of the morals of the people? That is not
innocent which may operate injuriously upon the morals of old or
young, which tends to interrupt the quiet worship of the Sabbath, and
which grievously offends the moral sense of the community, and thus
tends to a breach of the peace. It may well be that the legislature
thought that a Sunday theatre, with its drinking-saloons and its usual

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 663

inducements to licentiousness and other kindred vices, was not con-
sistent with the peace, good order, and safety of the city. They might
well be of the opinion that such a place would be " a nursery of vice,
a school of preparation to qualify young men for the gallows and young
women for the brothel." But, whatever the reason may have been, it
was a matter within the legislative discretion and power, and their will
must stand as the reason of the law.

We could not, if we would, declare that innocent which they have
adjudged baneful and have so prohibited. The act, in substance,
declares a Sunday theatre to be a nuisance, and deals with it as such.
The Constitution provides for this case, by declaring that the liberty
of conscience secured by it " shall not be so construed as to excuse acts
of licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace and
safety of the State." The legislature place Sunday theatres in this
category, and they are the sole judges. The act is clearly constitu-
tional as dealing with and having respect to the Sabbath as a civil and
political institution, and not affecting to interfere with religious belief
or worship, faith or practice.

It was conceded upon the argument that the legislature could
entirely prohibit theatrical exhibitions. This, I think, yields the whole
argument; for, as the whole includes all its parts, the power of total
suppression includes the power of regulation and partial suppression.

The conviction was right, and the judgment must be affirmed.

As the solemnity of an oath and its administration more
properly belongs to the judges of courts than to any other class
of civil officers, we insert in this place the form of an oath
prescribed by an act of Congress : —

Chap. CXXVIII. — An Act to prescribe an Oath of Office, and for oth^

purposes.

Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of lieprescntatives of the United States
of America in Congress assembled, That hereafter every person elected or
appointed to any office of honor or profit under the Government of the
United States, either in the civil, military, or naval departments of the
public service, excepting tlio President of the United State?*, shall,
before entering upon the duties of such office, and before being en-
titled to any of the j^alaiy or otluu- emoluments thereof, take and sub-
scribe the following oath or affirmation: — " I, A B, do soloinnly swear (or
affirm) that I have never voluntarily borne arms against the United
States since I have been a citizen thereof; that I have voluntarily given
no aid, countenance, counsel, or encouragement to persons engaged in
armc<l hostility thereto; that I have neither sought nor accepted nor
attempted to ex^Tcise the functions of any office whatever, undor any
authority or protonded authority in hostility to the Unito<l States; thai
I have not yieldeil a voluntary support to any pretended Government,
authority, power, or constitution within the Uniird Slates, hostile or
inimical thereto. And I do further swear (or affirm) that, to the beat

664: CHKISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

of my knowledge and ability, I will support and defend the Constitution
of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic ; that I
will bear true faith and allegiance to the same ; that I take this obliga-
tion freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and
that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on
which I am about to enter, so help me God;" which said oath, so taken
and signed,»shall be preserved among the files of the court, House of
Congress, or department to which the said office may appertain. And
any person who shall falsely take the said oath shall be guilty of per-
jury, and, on conviction, in addition to the penalties now prescribed'
for that offence, shall be deprived of his office, and rendered incapable
forever after of holding any office or place under the United States.
Approved, July 2, 1862.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. (JG5

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE CIVIL WAR OF THE UNITED STATES THE REBELLION OF THE SOUTHERN

STATES — SECRETARY STANTON's STATEMENT THE CAUSE OF THE REBELLION

— SLAVERY THE CORNER-STONE OF THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY — CONGRESS

DECLARES THE OBJECT OF THE WAR — PROVIDENCE OF GOD IN THE WAR

CHRISTIAN ELEMENT ON THE SIDE OF THE CONSTITUTION — TWO MORAL

RESULTS OF THE WAR — MORAL USES OF CIVIL WAR STATED BY MILTON

THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC TO REALIZE MILTON's VIEW OF A REGENERATED
NATION — DR. BRAINERD's FAST-DAY SERMON — AN EXTRACT — CHRISTIAN FACTS

DEVELOPED PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADDRESS ON LEAVING HIS HOME FOtt

WASHINGTON — HIS JOURNEY PRAYERS FOR HIS SAFETY FORT SUMTER

PRAYER AROUND THE FLAG-STAFF MAJOR ANDERSON PREVALENCE OF

PRAYER — ADDRESS OF THE PASTORS OF RHODE ISLAND — PRAYER-MEETING IN
THE PRESBYTERIAN GENERAL ASSEMBLY — FORMS OF PRAYER FOR EPISCOPA-
LIAN CHURCHES — STATEMENT OF A RELIGIOUS PAPER ON THE PREVALENCB
OF PRAYER — PRESIDENT APPOINTS A DAY OF FASTING AND PRAYER RESO-
LUTIONS OF RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS ON THE STATE OF THE COUNTRY IN

1861 RESOLUTIONS IN 1862 RESOLUTIONS IN 18G3 RELIGION THE STAT

OF THE GOVERNMENT PROCLAMATION OF FREEDOM — CHRISTIAN ORGANI-
ZATIONS— OFFICIAL RECOMMENDATIONS — THE SABBATH — ADDRESSES TO TUB
PRESIDENT ON THE SABBATH — HIS ANSWER AND ORDER — VIEAV8 OF OFFICER*
IN THE ARMY AND NAVY ON THE SABBATH — PATRIOTIC AND CHRISTIAN
WORK AND INFLUENCE OF THE WOMEN — ARMY CHAPLAINS — TESTIMONIALS TO
THEIR USEFULNESS — MINISTERS — THEIR LOYALTY AND LABORS DURING THE CON-
VIACT — FAST-DAY IN 1803 — PROCLAMATIONS FOR ITS OBSERVANCE — THANKS-
GIVING DAYS APPOINTED FOR VICTORIES — PROCLAMATION BY THE PRESIDENT

— ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR — HIS VIEW OF THE CAUSES OF VICTORIES
— VICTORY AT GETTYSBL'RCJ — CHIIISTIAN ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT TO THB
COUNTRY — GENERAL MEADE's THANKSGIVING ORDER TO THE AR.MY — VICTORY
AT VICKSBUBO — GENERAL REJOICING — SUBLIME SCENES IN PHILADEI.I'll lA —
president's PROCLAMATION FOR THANKSGIVING — BISHOP POTTER's FORM Of
THANKSGIVING — NATIONAL INFLUENCE OF THE DAY OF THANKSGIVING — SIGNI-
FICANCE AND (JUANDKIU OK THE CHRISTIAN FACTS IN THIS VuLlMK.

The civil war of the United States, rising out of tlio Southern
rebellion, is the most important event in modern history, and
will constitute the most instructive chapter in the annals of the
American republic. It produced new policies in p»ilitical i)artics,
new and extraordinary action in the civil and military depart-
ments of the Government, developed the unselfish patriotism of
the people, and brought out, in purity and eihcienoy, the Christian
element of the nation. The thirteen colonics had, by a common

665

66Q CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE, OF THE

patriotism and costly sacrifices in a successful and sublime
struggle for liberty, achieved tlieir independence, and founded
a system of constitutional government unequalled for wisdom
and excellence. Under the beneficent influences of their political
and civil institutions, the nation advanced rapidly in prosperity
and greatness, and soon rose to be a first-class political Power
among the empires of earth.

Agriculture, commerce, manufactures, all industrial pursuits,
in auspicious harmony with education, the arts and sciences,
social culture, and the blessings of liberty and religion, had for
eighty-four years poured out their blessings upon the nation.
The prosperity and happiness of the people were unexampled m
the history of the world.

In the midst of this national culture and prosperity at home,
and of the highest international prestige abroad, the States of
South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Florida, Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee, and Virginia
seceded from the Union and rebelled against the General
Government.

The incipient stages of the rebellion, and its insidious pro-
gress and results, are summed up in the following statement
made by Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War under President
Lincoln's administration : —

War Department, Washington, Feb. 14, 1862.

The breaking out of a formidable insurrection, based on a conflict
of political ideas, being an event without precedent in the United
States, was necessarily attended with great confusion and perplexity of
the public mind.

Disloyalty, before unsuspected, suddenly became bold, and treason
astonished the whole world by bringing at once into the field military
forces superior in numbers to the standing army of the United States.

Every department of the Government was paralyzed by treason.
Defection appeared in the Senate, in the House of Representatives, in
the Cabinet, and in the Federal courts. Ministers and consuls returned
from foreign countries to enter the insurrectionary councils or land or
naval force. Commanding and other officers in the army and in the
navy betrayed their councils or deserted their posts for commands in
the insurgent forces. Treason was flagrant in the revenue and the post-
office services, as well as in the Territorial Grovernments and in the
Indian reserves.

Not only Governors, judges, legislators, and ministerial officers in the
States, but even whole States, rushed one after another, with apparent
unanimity, into rebellion.

The capital was beleaguered, and its connection with all the States

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 667

cut off. Even in the portions of the country which were most loyal,
political comhinations and societies were found furthering the work of
disunion ; while, from motives of disloyalty or cupidity, or from excited
passions or perverted sympathies, individuals were found furnishing
men, money, materials of war, and supplies to the insurgents' military
and naval forces. Armies, ships, fortifications, navy-yards, arsenals,
military posts and garrisons, one after another were betrayed or aban-
doned to the insurgents.

Congress had not anticipated, and so had not provided for, the emer-
gency. The municipal authorities were powerless and inactive. The
judicial machinery seemed as if it had been designed not to sustain the
Government, but to embarrass and betray it.

Foreign intervention was openly invited and industriously instigated
by the abettors of the insurrection ; and it became imminent, and has
only been prevented by the practice of strict and impartial justice,
with the most perfect moderation, in our intercourse with other nations.
The public mind was alarmed and apprehensive, though fortunately
not distracted or disheartened. It seemed to be doubtful whether the
Federal Government, which one year ago had been thought a model
worthy of universal acceptance, had indeed the ability to defend and
maintain itself. Some reverses, which perhaps were unavoidable, suf-
fered by newly-levied and insufficient forces, discouraged the loyal,
and gave new hopes to the insurgents. Voluntary enlistment seemed
t^ cease, and desertions commenced. Parties speculated upon the
question whether conscription had not become necessary to fill up the
armies of the United Imitates.

In this emergency, the President felt it his (hity to employ with
energy tlie extraordinary i)Owcr which the Constitution confides to him
in cases of insurrection. He called into the field such military and
naval forces authorized by existing laws as seemed necessary. IIo
directed measures to prevent the use of the post-oflSce for treasonable
correspondence. lie subjected those going to and from foreign coun-
tries to a now passport regulation : and he instituted a blockade, sus-
pended the hahras corpus in various jjlaces, and caused persons who
were represented to him as being engaged, or about to engage, in dis-
loyal and treasonable practices, to be arrested by special civil as well
as military agencies, and detained in military custody, when necessary,
to pn;vent them and d<>ter others from such practices. Examinations
of such cases were instituted, and some of the persons so arrestt^l have
been discliarged from time to time, under circumstances or upon con-
ditions compatible, as was thought, with the public safety. Meantime,
a favorabh; cliang«' of jmblic opinii»n has occurreil. The line between
loyalty and disloyalty is i)lainly defined. The whole structure of the
(iovernuH-nt is firm and stable. Apprehensions of j)ublie danger and
fii<'ilities for treasonable practices have diuiinished with the pasj^ion*
which i)roiiiptrd thr hcedloss persons to adopt tluMU.

Tho occasion of the rebellion was allcgcJ violations of the
constitutional rights of tho Southern States by Congress and the

668 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Northern States, and the election of Abraham Lincoln, of Illi-
nois, as President of the United States, in 1860; but the cause of
the rebellion was the long-cherished purpose of Southern poli-
ticians and statesmen to establish a Southern Confederacy on
the basis of human bondage. This principle was announced by
Alexander H. Stephens, the Vice-President of the Southern Con-
federacy, in these words : — ^^ The foundations of the new Govern-
ment are laid upon the great truth thai slavery — subordination
of an inferior race — is the negro s natural and moral coiv-
dition; that it is the first Government in the history of the
world based upon this great physical, j^hilosophical, and onoral
truth; arid that the stone which was rejected by the

FIRST BUILDERS IS, IN THIS EDIFICE, BECOME THE CHIEF STONE
OF THE CORNER."

On the 11th day of April, 1861, by the authority of the
Southern Confederacy, Fort Sumter, the property of the United
States, was fired upon, and surrendered ; and this inaugurated
the civil war. This fact thrilled the heart of the nation, and
developed the patriotism and loyalty of the twenty millions
of people in the Northern States. The sublime and universal
uprising of the people to vindicate the insulted flag of the
nation, to preserve the integrity of the Government and the
unity of the republic, had no parallel in history, and was worthy
of a free and Christian nation.

President Lincoln, who had been inaugurated on the 4th of
March, 1861, convened Congress in extraordinary session on
the Fourth of July, 1861. His message, after revealing the
facts and causes connected with the rebellion, and recommend-
ing such measures as the imperilled condition of the Govern-
ment and country required, closed with these words of Christian
trust and courage: — ''Having chosen our course without guile
and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go
forward without fear, and with manly hearts."

Congress, soon after its meeting, declared the object of the
war, on the part of the General Government, in the following
resolution : —

Thai the present deplorable civil roar has been forced upon the country by the
disunionists of the Southern States, now in arms against the cojistitutional Govern-
ment and in arms around the capital; that, in this national emergency. Congress,
banishing all feeling of mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to
the whole country; that this war is not waged on their part in any spirit of op-
pression, or for any purpose of conquest or subjugation or purpose of overthroicirtg

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 669

or wJerfcrmg ivitli the rights or established institutions of those States, but to
defend and maintain tJte supremacy of the Constitution, and to preserve the Union,
with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired; and
that as soon as these objects are accomplished the war ought to cease.

This great conflict, in its progress, impressed the public
mind with the providence and presence of God, and developed
largely and hopefully the Christian element of the nation. All
devout and thoughtful minds felt that God, while he chastened
and humbled the nation on account of its sins, would again
interpose for the preservation and perpetuity of the nation.

'^ I do not forget," says Choate, '' that a power above man's
power, a wisdom above man's wisdom, a reason above man's
reason, may be traced, without the presumptuousness of fana-
ticism, in the fortunes of America. I do not forget that God
has been in our history. Beyond that dazzling progress of art,
society, thought, which is of his ordaining, although it may
seem to a false philosophy a fatal and inevitable flaw, — beyond
this, there has been, and there 7)iay he again, interposition, pro-
vidential, exceptional, and direct, of that Supreme Agency tvith-
out which no sptarrow fcdleth."

This great conflict assumed, on the part of the North, the
moral grandeur of a religious war; "not in the old fanatical
fl<>nf^e of that phrase; not a war of violent excitement and pas-
sionate enthusiasm ; not a war in which the crimes of cruel
bigots are laid to the charge of a Divine impulse; but a war by
itself, w^^ged with dignified and solemn strength, with clean
hands and pure hearts, — a war calm and inevitable in its pro-
cesses as the judgments of God."

The Christian element had greatly aided in achieving the
liberties of the I'cpublic and in forming our constitutions of
government; and now, as these were threatened with sub-
version and destruction, the Christian element again camo
forth with fresh and earnest life and energy to shield and save
the institutions of tlie nation. The rebellion aimed not only to
nxterminatc the life of a great Christian nation, but it was an
atta(-'k on the (Mirisliaii religion and the institutions of a Chris-
tian civilization which had grown out of it and wore cliorishcd
and sustaiiif*! by it. It was in harmony, therefore, witli the
traditional history and genius of the Chrisli.ui religion that it
nhould an"ay its whole force against the rebellion, and rally, in
its spirit and principles, to defend and support the General

670 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Government. The Christian element developed itself in two
prominent ways.

The first was the infusion into the loyal heart of the nation
of a profound and universal conviction of right, thus giving to
the conflict the devotion and heroism of a Christian war. This
fact gave to the martial enthusiasm of the people a high moral
tone, inspired the armies and the navy with an indomitable and
a Divine courage, impressed the acts of the national a.nd State
Governments w^ith a religious dignity and authority, and
elevated and strengthened the Christian piety and patriotism
of the people. The pulpits, churches, and ecclesiastical denomi-
nations of the nation sent forth their voices to encourage and
support the Government, and were the source of its hope and
the right arm of its strength.

The second result of the Christian element was, and will be,
to reinvigorate and recover the republic, its institutions and
functions of civil government, and its political and social cha-
racter, from the decay and degeneracy of national virtue, and
to replenish the life of the nation with increased moral vigor
and purity. This is the genius and the uniform fruits of the
Christian religion. It is not only the life of a nation, but it is
the only means to restore national life when impaired and
enfeebled from national vices and degeneracy.

Civil war has its moral uses and results. '' For civil war,"
says Milton, '^that it is an evil I dispute not. But that it is
the greatest of evils, that I stoutly deny. It doth indeed
appear to the misjudging to be a worse calamity than bad
government, because its miseries are collected together within a
short space and time and may easily at one view be taken in
and perceived. . . . When the devil of tyranny hath gone into
the body politic, he departs not but with struggles, and foaming,
and great convulsions. Shall he, therefore, vex it forever, lest
in going out he for a moment tear and rend it ?"

The civil war, though attended with many direful calamities,
yet in its moral uses and results, through the prevalence and
pow^er of the Christian religion, will realize, in the future of a
renovated and an ennobled nation, those other weighty words
of Milton, that the American nation " has not degenerated, nor
is drooping to a fatal decay, but destined, by casting off the old
and wrinkled skin of corruption, to outlive these pangs and
wax young again, a7id, entering the glorious ivays of truth and

CIVIL IX3TITUTI0NS OF THE UITITED STATES. 671

prosperous virtue, hecovie great and honorable in these latter
ages. Methinks I see in my mind a great and puissant nation
rousing herself like a strong man after sleep, and shaking her
invincible locks. Methinks I see her as an eagle mewing her
mighty youth, and kindling her undazzled eyes at the full mid-
day beam, purging and unsealing her long-abused, sight at the
fountain itself of heavenly radiance, while the wdiole noise of
timorous and flocking birds, with those also that love the
twilight, flutter about, amazed at wdiat she means, and in
their envious gabble would prognosticate a year of sects and
schisms."

Eev. Dr. Brainerd,

Pastor of the Pine Street Presbyterian Church, the historic re-
membrances of which are so honorable to the Christian patriot-
ism of its Eevolutionary pastor (Eev. Mr. Duffield) and people,
preached a sermon on the day of fasting and prayer appointed
by the President of the United States, April 30, 1S63, on
*' Patriotism aiding Piety." That sermon has the following
just statements on the moral and ennobling results of the great
civil war of the country : —

We are also to confess the sins of our peoi)le, as rlid Daniel. This
admission of our national sinfulness as the just cause of our national
judgments does not compel us to helieve that we arc more guilty than
other nations, nor that we have backslidden from the virtues of our
fathers. Each age has its own virtues and crimes ; and every age has
crimes to deserve God's judgments. '*Say not that the former times
were better than these; for thou dost not judge wisely concerning thin
thing."

My impression is, that in Sabbatli-keeping, and attention to the means
of grace, in efibrts to <lifruse universal education and the circulation of
religious truth, by Bil)les, tracts, churches, preaching and Sabbat Ii-
fichool teaching, in efibrts to establish institutions for the ag«'d, tlie
imbecile, and the unfortunate, in endeavors to help the .-ailor, the
prisoner, the widow and the orphan, our own age and laud hav**
developed a pi<5ty aiul <'liarity jiot common in tlie world.

Indeed, I cannot avoid suspecting that this war is on our hands not
because this age and people are worse tlian other times and men, but
because we have risen to a higher ))rinciple, a holier aim, and mnro
adhesive reganl to justice and humanity.

♦ « » ♦ V. •* #

Our war is the proper protest of justi-e and humanity against in-
justice, cruelty, and perfidy. It is the !-trugglo of right and philan-
thropy against outrage, oppression, and bloody treason.

672 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

We have received from r.ges gone by the fruits of man's long struggles
for civil and religious liberty and the right of self-government; we
have received a broad, beautiful, and healthful country, to every foot of
whose soil we have an equal claim as citizens ; we have received a civil
constitution, which embraces the concentrated wisdom of the sages of
the Revolution ; and we have taken up arms to declare that no traitor
hand shall cut the telegraphic wire on which these blessings are passing
down to other generations. The cry of humanity from ages to come
has called us to this bloody strife. It is simply a defence of our own
institutions.

In such a contest we are not to interpret any defeats into an impeach-
ment of our national virtue or our cause, but rather regard them as a
moral discipline through which God purifies us from remaining cor-
ruptions, to m.ake us "perfect" for our high national mission "through
sufferings."

The war has certainly unveiled an appalling amount of individual
selfishness, covetousness, fraud, cowardice, and perfidy. But it has also
shown in our people a pure, unselfish patriotism, developed in the pecu-
niary sacrifices of the rich and poor, in the devotion of their lives by
hundreds of thousands of our young men, in the rich, unfailing
charities, especially of our ladies, for the suffering soldiers, in the
patient suflfering of our martyrs in the hospital or on the battle-field.
War has ennobled as well as tried us ; and I must thank God to-day for
the grace he has given you, as well as exhort you to be penitent for
your sins.

While I say this, I still believe that our sufferings are made necessary
by our sins, and that the nearer we approach to holiness the fewer will
be our disasters and the more certain our triumj^hs.

The present chapter will record the manifold and beneficent
developments of the Christian element during the progress of
the civil war, and show how the Christian religion is in earnest
and practical sympathy with liberty, the rights of man, and our
noble system of civil government, and how our Christian
republic, struggling for its life and institutions, is aided by the
Christian element, and the national virtues cultivated and the
people ennobled in their efforts to preserve the civil institutions
of the country.

The President Elect,

Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, anticipating the formidable scenes
which were to open with his inauguration, felt sincerely and
deeply the need of God's upholding and guiding hand in the
o-rave responsibilities he was about to assume. When leaving
his home in Springfield, Illinois, for Washington, he said,—

My Friends : — One who has never been placed in a like position can-
not understand my feelings at this hour, nor the oppressive sadness I

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 673

feel at this parting. For more than twenty-five years I have lived among
you, and during all that time I have received nothing but kindness
at your hands. Here the most cherished ties of earth were assumed.
Here my children were born, and here one of them lies buried.

To you, my friends, I owe all that I have, all that I am. All the
strange, checkered jiast seems to crowd now upon my mind. To-day I
leave you. I go to assume a task more difficult than that which devolved
upon General Washington. Unless the great God who assisted him
shall be with and aid me, I cannot prevail ; but, if the same Omniscient
mind and the same Almighty arm that directed and protected him
shall guide and support me, I shall not fail ; I shall succeed. Let
us pray that the God of our fathers may not forsake us now. To him I
commend you all. Permit me to ask that with equal sincerity and
faith you will all invoke his wisdom and guidance for me.

With these few words I must leave you, for how long I know not.
Friends, one and all, I must now wish you an affectionate farewell.

On his way to Washington he was encircled in an atmosphere
of prayer; and, whilst the people everywhere met to welcome
liim, multitudes of Christians were in earnest prayer to God for
his safe journey and successful inauguration. In some cities
banners were thrown across the streets with the significant
motto, " We will pray for you."

On the day of his inauguration, the Christian public,
impressed with the imperilled condition of the nation and for
the personal safety of the President, then to assume his solemn
re.sponsibilities, met, in many places in the North, for special
prayer, and continued their intercessions till after the scenes
of the inauguration had closed. The only parallel to this was
that of Washington. On the day of his inauguration, seventy-
three years -J^revious, all denominations of Christians in New
York met, and held a season of special prayer for the new
President and the Government then to be put into practical
operation. Both cases were full of Christian interest and hope-
ful for the nation. After Mr. Lincohi's inauguration, and when
the rebellion had cropped out into frightful proportions, he said
that nothing encouraged him so much as to know that Chris-
tians were praying for him.

The first war-scene in the great conflict w:is at Fort Sumter;
and it was envolu} cd in an atmosphere of prayer. The flag of
the Union, tlu' .sy:nbol of the nationality of the republic, was
to be unfurled over the fort. The flag-staft' was planted, and
the bannor a])0ut to be run up. As Major Anderson, the com-
mander of the fort, and his little band of loyal soldiei*s, gathered

43

674 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

round tlie flag-staff; they all knelt with reverence, and the
chaplain led in a fervent prayer to Almighty God to protect
the flag and preserve the nation. After the prayer, the banner
went up and floated over the fort; but in two days it was
stricken down.

Major Anderson, in describing his course while in command
of Fort Sumter, says, —

God. has really seemed to bless us in every important step we have
taken since I have been in command. My constant appeal has been
for wisdom and understanding of his Divine will, and for strength of
purpose and resolution to perform my whole duty. We have been aided,
too, by the prayers of our Christian friends. I humbly believe he has
graciously listened to our prayers. I hope all Christians of our beloved
country will continue in prayer, entreating God to have mercy on our
people, to save us from our sins, and to unite us again as a people, not
only in our civil Government, but one people in our love and adoration
of his holy name.

I p%it my trust in God; and I firmly believe that God put it into my heart to do
what I did. I believe, truly, that every act that was performed in that harbor from
the 21st of November, when I took command, was rided by that God vjhom we
all should adore, and whom we must adore if we wish to do well both in
this world and the next. I believe that every act done there was neces-
sary in order to bring up the public heart to that sentiment of patriot-
ism wliich now pervades throughout the North.

The spirit and power of prayer became prevalent throughout
the North as the great conflict progressed. The Christian
public and all serious-minded men felt that the moral influence
of prayer must guide and guard the national arm-laments and
hover over and inspire our armies. Hence, in eVery closet,
round every family altar, in every praying circle, in the Sabbath
convocation, there was an outpouring of fervent prayer that
■God would vindicate the cause of the Government and suppress
speedily the rebellion.

The various ministers of Providence, Ehode Island, met and
issued, in June, 1861, the following circular : —

To the Pastors, Churches, and Congregations of the State.

Christian Brethren' and Fellow-Citizens : —

We, who are of different denominations, and are resident together in
this city, take a hberty, which you will not count assumption, to pro-
pose to you an observance of special prayer, now, for our country. We
deem the exercises of such a service entirely appropriate to the Sabbath,
and the Sabbath the day of the seven for the fullest attendance ujDon

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OP THE UNITED STATES. 675

it, and for its highest influence for good. And, hoping that if it be a
little deferred it may be the more extensively and effectually observed,
we name for it the third Sabbath, occurring on the 19th day, of this
month, May, 1861,

We make this proposal, because you and we all believe in a special
Providence, and that its most si:)ecial interpositions are granted to united,
effectual, fervent prayer, and because, also, our precious country now
urgently needs great Divine doings for us. Already have we, more or
less, betaken ourseh^es to the mercy-seat for these great Divine move-
ments on our behalf. And, when we had scarcely stammered the timid
preface to our petition, a wonder answered that will long amaze the
thoughtful to adoration. Up to that moment, doubtful in ourselves
and distrustful of one another, in an instant our millions leaped to
their feet, a giant unit of patriotism ; life and property largely offered
one readiest gift for our glorious land and its best, noblest Government
on earth. This is the Lord's doing ; it is marvellous in our eyes. For
it let our glad thanksgivings mingle and vie witli all the prayer we
have yet to offer on this behalf. Indeed, let us daily hold our gratitude
faithful before God for each new brightening omen.

Yet we have vast needs remaining, which he only can meet. Our
first infinite need is, ever devoutly to feel that he is our all in all of
lielp, and with all our heart to be delightedly jealous for his sole honor,
as being all this to us. And to so great grace we can attain only
as his Spirit shall steadily move us to it. We need to know that the
battle is not to the strong, except as he shall fill the measure of their
needed strength every moment of their conflict unto victory. Our brave
patriotism, also, he only can hold steadfast, ever growing stronger. But
all our great needs he will meet, if we but <Iuly ask, and, duly asking,
also duly act. "Ask," he says, "and ye sliall receive." "If ye agree,
it shall be done unto you."

And let us begin our requests where it so becomes sinners to begin,
penitently confessing to God our own and our nation's sins, and im-
ploring him most graciously to forgive them all, and by his Spirit most
effectually to turn ourselves and our whole people fiom them all: w«^,
while we so pray, turning ourselves "with full purpose of houit," in
the Sj)irit's i)e)wer, from all our Ileaven-offending ways. And let us
appeal to our infinite Helper that he will give complete and speedy
BUCcesH to tin* whole right in this struggle for it, and will do it in so
clear lighliiig down of his own mighty arm that the praise shall rise
from all hearts, as to him alone ; and let us ask that ln> will so do it us
chiefly to magnify p<'acc while, if it must be, he also duly magnifles
righteous war. I^et us beseech him that he will ever guide and guanl
all our rulers, leaders, soldiers, and people; that he will greatly bles«
our own <-iti/en soMiery and their liomcs ; that h<> will signally, in
iiighcjit nn-rey. revolutionize the whole mind of the South to r«'p«'nt-
ance, to thoro\igh Christian government and lil^'rly, will also fix all
miufis in the .North, fi-om this time, comph'te ami iiiunovable in tho
I>riii<'iplesof such government and liberty, and that h»' will wonderfully
unnihilate the j>ower of Satan from this national seene of wicked,
treacherous, bloody usuri)ation and oj»])ression, and uill i-sin- it all iu

676 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

the most glorious salvation of souls by his Spirit : that all these things,
and far more, he will do, for the sake of his dear Son.

For so great a rescue and blessing of our country, should not our
whole State, on the day set apart, be one importunate concert of the
prayerful, in the closet, the family, the prayer-meeting, and the house
of prayer?

Yours, for Christ and our country's cause.

In the montli of May, 1861, the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church (New School) met at Syracuse, New York,
During their session special seasons of prayer were set apart,
in which the piety and patriotism of the Assembly were delight-
fully developed. The following is an account of the second
prayer-meeting of the Assembly : —

The second prayer-meeting, held last evening by the General Assem-
bly in Rev. Dr. Canfield's church, was remarkable for the number of
persons present, the exciting character of the exercises, and the dis-
tinguished men vs-ho participated. Rev. Dr. Jenkins, of Philadelphia,,
presided, and various prayers were offered and numerous addresses
made. The character of all the exercises was that of earnest Christian
patriotism, and the warmest love for Christ and our country. Rev. Dr.
Nelson, from St. Louis, said that the recent conflict in that city between
the citizens and soldiers was almost within sight of his cbvircb. He had
faith in the steadfastness of the State, and did not believe she would
be faithless to her duty or the Constitution. It was his conviction that
(rod designed it as a chastisement and as a means of grace to the
country. He thought the camp was now one of the most interesting
fields of Christian labor, and there, he thought, might be put forth the
most successful religious efforts. Thousands were first giving them-
selves to their country, and then to their God. He saw no reason to
doubt that there Avould yet be an extensive camp-revival.

Rev. Mr. Emerson, from the "Pea-Patch" in Delaware, said that he
had recently visited the fort in his neighborhood. He found large
numbers of pious young men among the soldiers, some of whom were
very active as Christians. Some who never before had manifested any
interest in religion were earnest readers of the Bible. Two or three
young men had proposed a prayer-meeting and the study of the Scrip-
tures. Some of their comrades objected, but offered to compromise by
having the Bible read and omitting the prayers. This was done ; but \i
resulted in the establishment of both exercises, and some conversions,
They said they had given themselves to their country, and, as they
might soon be called to die for her, they h'^d ro'Myed to die Christians.
They were having the most common soldiei-.-' fare, and sleej)ing upon
straw, and yet they were hapjjy and contented. He added that Dela-
ware was loyal to the country and the Constitution, and always had
been, and always would be ; and, though small, she was the "Diamond"
State. Delaware was the first to adopt the Constitution, and would be
the last to desert it.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 677

Rev. Dr. Darling, of Philadelphia, said he was delighted to hear from
his brother Emerson such gratifying details from Fort Delaware. He
had two of the most valued young men in his church in that fortress.
Just before ho left home, he saw them, and they united together in
prayer. Not many days since, in Philadelphia, he stood by the bedside
of the venerable Dr. Nott, who then was supposed to be on his dying
bed. It was at that period when Washington City was in peril. Drums
were heard, and the tramp and cheers of soldiers. The venerable man,
stirred in his heart by the passing events, roused himself up, and said,
"' I don't know how you young men stand tliis, but it almost takes the
heart out of me. I saw the Constitution adopted, but I don't want to
live to see it destroyed." Dr. Darling said, I see no cause for despond-
ency. The hour of trial has come. The peril is upon us. Yet I am
more proud than ever of my country. Can we expect vigor without
hardships, or manhood without perils? England has passed through
fiery trials, been baptized in blood, and this has made her what she is, —
established her as the mistress of the world.

Rev. Asa Eaton said there was in the house, near him, a venerable
man, who was nearly a century old, who h^d been a minister of the
gospel over sixty years ! He alluded to the Rev. Mr. Waldo. The
venerable man, still hale and healthy, was led forward, and mounted
the platform with ease and almost elasticity, although now ninety -nine
years old ! In a clear and almost powerful voice, with the vast audience
almost hushed to stillness, he spoke a few words and then uttered a
brief but most solemn, expressive prayer. He said he remembered well
the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, being then thirteen years of
age. He felt how important was the war, and he was only afraid then
it would be over before he would be old enough to join in it. Ho never
expected to live to see the Constitution destroyed. Nothing had ever
grieved him so much as the present state of things. He knew there
were lovely men at the South, good Christian men, but wicked people
were now trying to ruin the country and destroy the Union. But he
was glad there was unanimity North. This harmony was delightful. He
was glad the Constitution was to be 6ustaine<l; but one of tlie best ways
to maintain it was througli tlie prayers of the childi-en of God.

Rev. Dr. Cox introduced Rev. Pastor Fische. He expressed great
<lelight in liaving had his stay prolonged in this country so that he
<'ould visit this General Assembly and be jiresent at the pruyer-nit'eting.
He arrived here in September, and Inul witnessed the canvass and saw
all the war-movements. The Protestants of Eur(){)0 are looking to your
struggles with intense interest. Political and religious liberty is invoked
in your efforts. If you succeed, it will be a day of roj«»icing with us.
You are remembered in our i>rayer-meetings. War is a great evil, but
out of it in France has come much good. The army is the best part of
tlie p<'Ople, ))ut yet they are all forced soldiers. They often cut otV their
lingers to escape enlistment Among them the Bible is studied, and
tliis book is fre4'ly circulated. We will pray for you, antl yt>u must pray
lor UH. Your country is a blessctl <v»untry. You are the liot current
whicli airries religious liberty and civilization everywliere.

Rev. Mr. Can field, the pastor «"f the church, said suuie surprise had

678 CHBISTIAN LIFE AZ^D CHAEACTEE OF THE

been expressed that there was no flag floating from its steeple. It was
hardly necessary. It was here (patting his hand i^poB his heart) with
him and his people. The meeting had been in session oyer two
hours, and no one seemed willing to have it terminate. But all things
must have an end, and the presiding officer, ReY. Ih'. Jenkins, said it had
been proposed that another meeting would be held the succeeding
(Saturday) evening. "I am not certain/' said he, "that these are not
the best days this countr}' ever saw.'' After the benediction was pro-
nounced, the choir, accompanied by the organ and the entire audience,
sang superbly the "Star-Spangled Banner .'' The entire exercises of
the evening were of the most exciting, but chastened, patriotic^ Christian
character.

The Eight Eeverend Bishop Potter^ of the Episcopal Church;,
issued the following form of prayer, to be used in the churches
in his diocese : —

O Almighty God, who art a strong tower ©f defence^ to those who- put
their trust in thee, whose power no ©reature is able to resist, we mtake
our humble cry to thee in this hour of our country's need. Thj pro-
perty is always to have mercy. Deal not with us according to our sins,
neither reward us according to our iniquities ; but stretch forth the
right hand of thy majesty, and be our defence for thy name'"s sake.
Have pity upon our brethren who are in arms against the constitutecS
authorities of the land, and show them the error of their way. Shed
upon the counsels of our rulers the spirit of wisdom and moderation
and firmness, and unite the hearts of our people as the heart €>f one
man in upholding the supremacy of law and the cause of justice and
peace. Abate the violence of passion ; banish pride and prejudice from
every heart, and incline us all to trust in thy righteous providence and
to be ready for every duty. And oh that in thy great mercy thou
wouldst hasten the return of unity and concord to our borders, and so
order all things that peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion
and piety, may be established among us for all generations. These
things, and whatever else thou shalt see to be necessary and convenient
for us, we humbly beg, through the merits and mediation of Jesus
Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

The Bishop of Minnesota issued the followieg pastoral letter
and form of prayer : —

Faribault, April 17, 1861.
To the Clergy and Ccmgregaticms of the J>iocese of Minnesota.

Dear Brethren : — Our beloved country is imperilled by civil war.
Every thing which the Christian and patriot holds dear is in jeopardy.
Our country's flag is dishonored. Oin- Government is defied. Our laws
are broken. Bitterest hatred is kindled between sections of a common
country. Brother is arrayed against brother. Every thing seems to

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 679

foreshadow the most awful strife which has ever darkened our land.
The duty of the Christian is plain. He must be loyal to the Govern-
ment. Our only hope in this day of peril, under the protection of
Almighty God, is to stand firm as loyal and law-abiding citizens. Every
tie of party, friendship, and kindred sinks into insignificance before
the impending danger. The lessons of our holy religion teach loyalty,
— first, loyalty to God, and second, loyalty to those whom the providence
of God has made the guardians of our country.

The duty is no less plain, as followers of Jesus Christ, to seek and
pray for peace. Let us, therefore, be careful that no word or deed of
ours fans the flame of discord. Let us ever have the olive-branch in
our hands, and the love of God in our hearts. Let the memory of
happier days tell us of the time when our fathers stood shoulder to
shoulder in fighting the battles of freedom.

Disobedience to God, irreverence for his holy name and word, dis-
loyalty to Government, and disregard of law, are the causes which have
brought the nation to the verge of ruin, and of which no portion of the
land is guiltless.

I earnestly beseech you, therefore, in this day of a common sorrow,
to turn with all your hearts unto God. Let our churches be vocal with
prayer ; let our closets witness our devotions ; let us not look to any
arm of flesh, but to God, who alone can deliver us from our peril.

I hereby set forth the following prayer, to be used after the General
Thanksgiving at daily morning and evening prayer.

Praying God to bless you all, I am your friend and bishop,

Henry B. Whipple, Bishop of Minnesota.

Prayer.

Almighty and everlasting God, our only refuge in the liour of peril,
look with pity upon the desolations of our beloved country. Our sins
have called for thy righteous judgments. We confess our guilt and
bewail our transgressions. O'liord, in tliy judgment remember mercy.
Take away from us all hatred and strife. Spare us, for thy Church's
sake, for the sake of thy dear Son, from the calamities of civil war
which have fallen upon us. Give thy Holy Spirit to our rulers, tliat
they may, under thy protection, save this great nation from anarchy
and ruin. Preserve them from all blindness, pride, prejudice, and
enmity. Give unto the people unity, a love of justice, and an under-
standing heart. Restrain the wrath of man, and save the eft'usion of
blood. Bring again the blessings of peace, and grant unto us a heart
to serve thee an<l walk before thee in holiness all the days of our life.
These things, which we are not worthy to a.sk, we humbly bog, for the
sake of tliy dour Son our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Clirist. Amen.

The following prayer was recommenclcd to 1)0 used l^y the
tongregations of the United Brethren : —

680 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

To the Congregations of the United Brethren in the Northern District of trw.

United States.

We recommend that during the continuance of the present civil war
the subjoined petitions be substituted for the petitions in our Church
Litany designated as *' to be prayed in time of war/'

Your Brethren of the Provincial Elders' Conference.
Bethlehem, September 1, 1861.

0 thou Almighty Lord God of Hosts, who rulest and commandest all
things,

We call upon thee in this time of our trouble ;

Take our cause into thine own hands :

0 Lord, come and help us !

Save and defend our country ;

Kevive in all hearts a spirit of devotion to the public good ;

Fill the President of the United States with the spirit of wisdom and
understanding ;

Let thy Divine protection and guidance be over all who serve in
council or in the field ; and so rule their hearts and strengthen their
hands that they may preserve to us the goodly heritage which thou
gavest to our fathers ;

Forgive our adversaries, and turn again their hearts toward us ;

Cause us to humble ourselves under thy mighty hand, and to confess
and bewail the grievous sins which have drawn these thy judgments
upon us ;

Turn us, 0 God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to

Oh, bring this unhappy war to a speedy end, and let a just and lasting
peace be soon again established, to the glory of thy name.

Hear tis, gracious Lord and God. ]

Thou Helper of all who flee to thee for succor,

We commend to thy almighty care aifd protection all those who
have gone forth in our defence ;

Guard them, we beseech thee, from the dangers that beset their way ;
from sickness, from the violence of enemies, and from every peril to
which they may be exposed ;

Give them comfort in every time of their need, and a sure confidence
in thee ; and of thy great goodness restore them to us, in due time, in
health and safety.

Hear us, gracious Lord and God.

Bishop Purcell, of the Catholic Church, in the Diocese of Cin-
cinnati, issued the following pastoral circular :—

To the Right Reverend Prelates, the Very Reverend and Reverend Clergy, and
beloved Laity of the Proviyice of Cincinnati.

Beloved Brethren and Fellow-Servants of Christ: —

The Ecclesiastical Council of the province convenes in this city to

CIVIL IKSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 681

morrow. It convenes under such circumstances as were never before
witnessed in this glorious republic since the proud day when it won its
high rank among the nations of the earth. The hearts of citizens and
friends are alienated. The hands of brothers are raised to shed each
others' life-blood. The iron bands of our highways, which we once
fondly hoped Avould link us in indissoluble union, and the noble rivers
which bear the rich products of our lands and the creations of our
sciences and arts to our respective marts and homes, have failed to keep
us, what God and our fathers intended we should be, one people.

In the midst of the most formidable preparations of our fellow-citi-
zens for mutual destruction, the Church, in her peaceful meeting, gives
us a glimpse of the peace of the heavenly Jerusalem. She renews the
blessings of the "Truce of God." We pray God that hostilities may
cease, that wiser and better counsels may prevail, and that the great
heart of this magnificent land which our Council represents — the States
of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan — may send its throbbing pulses
of fraternal love to the most distant extremities of our common
country. We ought to be one people. We are all the children of the
same God, whom we should worship in peace ; we pray for all and love
all in spirit and in truth. May the Spirit of Peace, the Comforter, sent
us by Jesus Christ, descend as the dove, to breathe holy desires and
righteous counsels into every heart, and dispose the minds of Catholics
and Protestants to see in each other not enemies, but brethren, and
that all may work with willing hands and hearts for the tranquillity and
glory of our common country.

J. B. PuRCELL, Archbishop of Cincirinati.

"There has probably been more prayer," said a religious paper,
"offered for this country, within the last twelve months, than in
all the years before since the war of the Eevolution. And it is
now being answered. In fact, our successes began at the point
of our lowest humiliation, and have continued to advance ever
since. In our darkest hour we had to fall back upon the moral
convictions which lie at the foundation of our system, — the
Divine right of liberty and popular government, and the neces-
sity of Providential protection for the triumph of the right.
When we hardly believed that we any longer had a Govern-
ment, when the nation was reeling with the public confusion
and the fear that our whole system was collapsing, the con-
viction aro.sc strong in the religious mind that God would not,
could not, give it over to destruction; for, notwithstanding it«
great corruptions, it was full of churches and other institutions
of faith and beneficence ; it had millions of praying people ; it
had momentous connections with the foreign interests of reli-
gion and civilization. It appeared impossible that God could
cast it away while thus intimately related to his general king-

682 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

dom in the world. And, then, its history was apparently but
begun ; not only had its career been comparatively brief in
time, but, great as had been its advances in industry, invention,
commerce, education, it had evidently only begun to develop
its vigor and resources.

''It became the general sense that we were passing through
an ordeal of purification rather than destruction. A profound
moral feeling began to pervade the sorrow-stricken mind of the
country. G-ood men betool^ themselves to importunate prayer.
PubHc fasts were observed; religious assemblies were held in
behalf of the country, xilmost every pulpit discussed public
affairs from a religious stand-point ; our social religious occa-
sions soon became characterized by a profound sympathy with,
and supplications for, the public interest; our family prayers
were burdened with the same theme; and millions of devout
men and women mourned in their closets of devotion over the
national sins and perils.

"Never since the American Eevolution have the masses of
the American people entertained so general and impressive a
conviction of God's overruling providence in human affairs as
at the present time.

"Never before have so many earnest hearts been lifted in
prayer, night and day, to the God of battles as now, — mothers
praying for their sons, sisters for their brothers, wives for their
husbands. Never in the thousands of Christian pulpits of the
free States has the gospel been more earnestly, broadly, and
fervently preached than during the present moral crisis of the
age. It is the testimony of many ministers that the exercise
of public prayer in the sanctuary — prayer for the outpouring
of God's Spirit upon the people, for victories to our armies, for
the binding up of wounded hearts at home, for the sick languish-
ing in hospitals, for the Divine guidance of the President and
all others in authority — never has been more impressive, hearty,
and touching than in these very Sabbath days whose quietude
has been disturbed by the echoes of war.

"Can any one doubt that the prevailing moral tone of the
public mind is constantly improving? Every day witnesses
the cheering growth of a general sentiment favoring liberty
and justice, prompting to individual self-sacrifice, inspiring
a courageous spirit among the masses, kindling a general zeal

CIVIL IXSTITUTI0N3 OF THE UNITED STATES. 683

of patriotism, and maintaining a cheerful faitli that God will
give final victory to the right.

''The religious spirit of the nation, instead of decaying, is
daily making men's hearts more reverent, more humble, more
courageous, and more worthy of our first national heritage of
liberty, which God is now a second time purifying by fire !"

The President of the United States, by a joint resolution of
request from Congress, issued, on the 12th day of August,
1861, a proclamation appointing the last Thursday of Sep-
tember ensuing "as a day of humiliation, prayer, and fasting,
... to the end that the united prayers of the nation may
ascend to the throne of grace and bring down plentiful bless-
ings upon our own country." The proclamation will be found
in a former chapter of this volume. The day was devoutly
observed throughout the loyal States and in the capital of the
nation, and exerted a healthful religious influence upon the
people.

The Action of the Various Christian Denominations on
the state of the country.

The Methodist Episcopal New York Conference, March, 1801.

"Whereas an attack lias been made on the flag of our country, in vio-
lation of the public peace, and threatening the existence of our Govern-
ment,— and whereas we love peace and are the ministers of the Prince
of peace, yet hold it to be the duty of all men to love their country and
to cherish freedom, and especially in times of peril to ofter our civil
rulers our aid and sympathy: therefore,

Resolved, That we do here and now declare our earnest and entire
sympathy with the cause of our country in this conflict, and our purpose
to use all means legitimate to our calling to sustain the Government of
the United States in defence and support of the Constitution and the
nation's welfare.

Besolved, Tiiat, in duty l)Oun<l, we will not cease to i>ray in i)ublic and
in private for the Divine blessing upon our country, for the sup}»ressioii
of rt'bf'Hion, and the speedy restoration of peace, especially beseeching
Almighty God that, if in his justice he oha«;tise us, his mercies may so
trinp<'r his wrath that we may not be wholly tlestroyed.

KkIK AnM AL <'u\KERENrE OF THE MeTHODIST KiMSCOI* A F. Gill KiH OV

Tennsvlvania, AiMiii., ISCd,
JRt'.tohrd, That, in its ])romi)t and vigorous etforts to j)reser\o the
Union, an<l suppress rebellion and treason, the CJovernment at Wash-
ington shall have our earnest sympathy and prayers, our hearty approval
and co-operation.

684 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Resolved, That we are opposed to all compromises with armed traitors,
believing that unconditional submission to the Constitution and laws of
our country is a duty which our Government has both the right and
power to enforce.

Resolved, That we confidently trust the time has come when slavery
shall no longer be the controlling power either in our domestic or
foreign relations, but that its influence in the affairs of the nation shall
grow less and less, until it shall please God to remove the great evil
altogether.

Resolved, That, without intending any improper interference with the
affairs of the army, we respectfully and earnestly recommend to all
officers in command to respect the obligations of the holy Sabbath, and
to carefully guard the morals of our soldiers against those evils which
are but too common to a state of war. Our confidence in the justice of
our cause inspires the belief that comj3lete success will be all the more
certain and speedy by the careful observance of Christian morals.

Rhode Island Evangelical Association, June, 1861.

The Rhode Island Evangelical Consociation assembles in a day of
grave events. Several States of this Union, bound to the national life,
as all others, by all that is sacred in league and public compact, have
joined in a revolt fomented and enacted by robbery, treason, and vio-
lence unparalleled in the history of nations.

We therefore declare our unqualified condemnation of this rebellion,
begun in shameless treason, carried on in foulest corruption and remorse-
less violence. We judge it a scheme abhorred of God, and deserving
the abhorrence of all good men to the end of time.

As Christian men and ministers of the gospel, we dej^lore with in-
expressible grief the collusion, in this iniquitous and devastating usurp-
ation, of Christian ministers and professed disciples of Him at whose
blessed kingdom these crimes are destructive strokes ; and while we
deplore their participation in these "deeds of darkness," we sincerely
pray, " Father, forgive : they know not what they do."

We also deeply sympathize with the numbers enforced by dominant
terrorism into silence, flight, or position in which love of life and love
of country distress their choice ; and we remember them as bound with
them.

We also would assure the Government of the United States of our
unceasing prayers to Heaven on their behalf; and we entreat all who
direct affairs to continue to temper the retributions of justice with
humane execution ; to make full provision for the moral and religious
wants of the army by chaplains, and by such regulations and dissemi-
nation of religious reading as shall shield our beloved friends engaged
in the national service from the fatal contaminations of an otherwise
debased camp.

We also recognize with thanks to God the numbers of pious men,
both officers and privates, drawn from our churches and congregations;
and we assure them of our constant and affectionate remembrance.

This Consociation would also record their special approval of tlie

CIVIL INSTITUTIOXS OF THE UNITED STATES. 685

decisive, generous, and timely patriotism of his Excellency tlie Governor
of this State, of the officers of the Government, and of the Assembly
co-operating with him and them.

We therefore pledge to one another, and to all engaged in the support
of our Government, our earnest supplications that the Divine blessing
and continued sympathy may attend them in a complete success.

HuDsox River Baptist Association of New York, June, 1801,

The committee appointed to consider the duties that pertain to our
relations as Christian citizens and churches to the nation at large and
the Government that protects us, beg leave to report the following state-
ment, preamble, and resolutions : —

STATEMENT.

The letters from the churches that compose this association have
expressed, in the most solemn manner, their sense of painful bereave-
ment caused by the departure of their brethren, fellow-worshi].pers, and
Sabbath-school teachers, from their various fields of labor, to the camp
and the battle-field for the defence of our country against an armed
rebellion that seeks the utter destruction of the Constitution that
shelters us, and is aiming fatal blows at the foundation of all effective
government, of all righteous law, of all social order, and of national
prosperity. At the same time, these letters declare, without any ex-
ception, the fixed determination of our brethren, by means of every sacri-
fice that God may permit them to offer, to uphold our Federal Govern-
ment in the deadly contest that has been rutlilessly forced upon it, until
it shall have re-established its supreme authority over every part of its
domain whence that authority has been defied, and shall have caused
our desecrated banner to wave again over every spot of eartli whence
the hand of treason may have displaced it.

We hail with .joy, with hope, and responsive devotion to a common
cause the expression of these stern and sacred resolves as the expression
of "sentiments proper to the present crisis,"

Therefore, the Committee jn'oposo to this association the following
preamble and resoluti<-)ns for their consideration and adoption : —

PRKAMIW.K.

Whereas the Government of the United States, wliich was biMjuealhed
to us by our fathers, who establisliod it by the sacrifice of blood and of
trruisuro for the protection of tlieir own inulienabU' rights and of tho
children thai should com** after them, is now engage<l in astruggh^ witli
bandid and armed traitors for its very existence; an<l

\Vhcrca>», Tiiese nu*n, the lea<lers of this war, having r»'<'(»gnized
the supreme authority of what is called "Tho Confederate Statca of
America," have proelaimed as the vital doctrine of tluMr coalitit^n that
"All govfMiiment hc-gins with usurpation and i^ continued by forte;

"That nature putn the ruling element.s tippormost, and the masse*
below and subject to tho.se elements;

"That loss than this is not u govornuHnt ;

686 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

" That the right to govern resides with a very small minority ; and
the duty to obey is inherent in the great mass of mankind ;

" And that man's right of property in man is the true corner-stone of
a republic, and of all permanent social prosperity."

RESOLUTIOXS.

Therefore, Resolved, That we solemnly abjure, denounce, and resist
these doctrines, as being essentially antichristian, pagan, barbarous, in-
human.

Resolved, That we declare it to be our solemn conviction, as Christian
men, who take the word of God as our rule of faith and practice, that the
cause which the Government of the United States is now sustaining by
its arms is the cause of righteousness, of freedom, and of humanity ; and
that for its support we pledge our toils, our prayers, "our lives, our
fortunes, and our sacred honor."

Resolved, That in the spontaneous uprising of twenty millions of
people for the support and honor of our country's flag we recognize not
the working of a blind sentiment or unreasoning passion, but the out-
gush of a stronger, holier love, carrying the whole force of our moral
nature with it, because it is nourished by those lofty and eternal ideas
which emanate from the mind of God, which were enshrined in the
religion of our Messiah's cross, which are associated with the sacred
rights, the elevation and the progress, of our redeemed humanity, — ideas
that are dear to the heart of our enthroned sovereign, to which we most
devoutly pledge unalterable allegiance, while we adopt the w^ords of
the inspired Psalmist of Israel: — "Thou hast given a banner to them
that feared thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth."

Resolved, That, while Ave desire peace and pray for peace as being in
its nature an inestimable blessing, nevertheless peace itself, or compro-
mise of any sort, would be worse than all the ravages of war, if the
enemies of our Government should so far prevail as to give the leading
character to public opinion or to a national policy ; because such a
state of things would separate us from the sympathies of Christendom,
and bring down upon us the curses of every civilized community in
Europe, in Asia, in Australia, and in the "isles of the sea," because the
course of events have brought us to a crisis that is ultimate, beyond which
there is no issue for which any party can make a stand in behalf of any
idea that enfolds a hopeful future ; .and therefore better for us to perish
now in the struggle for the eternal right, than to experience the degra-
dation of an inglorious life, or the pangs of a lingering death, under
that reign of terror which the enemies of our banner would be sure to
inaugurate.

Resolved, That, as Christian men, we recognize the truly righteous
character of this conflict; that w^hile it may be properly regarded as a
war for our nationality, or a war for the life of a constitutional govern-
ment, or for the maintenance of our flag, or as a war for the rights of
the people against the usurpations of an oligarchy, nevertheless beyond
all these aims we recognize the existence of a war waged for the abso-
lute supremacy of a despotic earthly power on the one hand, against
the rightful dominion of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose kingdom guaran-

CIVIL INSTITUTION'S OF THE UNITED STATES. 687

tees the inalienable and universal riglits of our redeemed humanity, on
the other.

Resolved, That, in view of the death of our Lord and Saviour for men
of every rank and class, of every nation, tribe, " kith or kin,' we regard
the brotherhood of man, the moral and spiritual equality of all the races
of men, as an essential doctrine of the Christian religion ; that it rests
like a sure corner-stone upon the foundation that God hath laid in Zion ;
that whosoever falleth upon that stone shall be broken, but upon whom-
soever it shall fall it will grind him to powder. -

Resolved, That, in the patriotic devotion of the Christian women of
our land, we hail a " sign of the times" propitious of success ; and,
while we remember that for many centuries in Europe the virtues of
Christian womanhood have been a great barrier against the triumphs of
antichristian barbarism, we commend the cause of our country in its
day of i)eril to the prayers and co-operation of the mothers and daugh-
ters of Israel and to the cherished sympathies of every household.

Resolved, That we cherish a profound regard for the thousands of our
brethren within the bounds of the Southern States who are loyal to the
Government for which their, fathers as well as ours sacrificed treasure
and blood and transmitted to all as a common heritage ; and while
many of them may have been deceived by misrepresentation in respect
to the sentiments we cherish towards them, and while all of them are
prevented from realizing in action personal convictions of truth and duty,
w^e extend to them the assurances of our fraternal confidence and of our
continuance in prayer that God would soon appear for their deliver-
ance, so that the bonds which have united us in former days may be
strengthened by the fiery trials through wliich they shall have passed.

Resolved, That the churches connected with this Association be re-
quested to set apart the last Friday of June as a day of solemn humilia-
tion and prayer for the re-establishment of our national unit)n in peace
and prosperity.

Declaration and Resulltions y)V the Bai'tists, met at Buooklvn, Xew
YoKK, May 29, 18G1.

The Assembly of Bajttists, gathered from the various Nortliorn States
of the Union, would, in the jjresent solemn crisis of our national history,
put on record some expression of their judgment as Christians, loving
their country and seeking in the fear and from the grace of <iod its
best interests. Wc are thn^atened to bo rent, as a i)eople, into two
hostile camps: several States of the Union have clainu-d to releajje
themselves by their own act from the National Constitution and Union,
having formed what they designate as a conft-tleracy. They have .seized
the national fort.-*, armament.^ and ships. Sueh pn^'eodings on the part
of a neigliboring community wouhl be actual war. Yet there has been
no precedent nueh a.s in modern <ontests inaugurates ordinary hos-
tiliticjs. They have bombarded a national garrison. The General
Government at Washington have refu-^i-d to reeogni/.i; the right of scces-
.«*ion, ami have i)ro<laimed alike their own right and their own purpono
to occupy the national property and (lefenees now usurpeil. Ono of the
foremost btatesmen in the new movement, and him.«jelf the cxeculiv©

688 CHPJSTIAN LIFE AND CKAEACTEE OF THE

officer of the new assumed Confederacy, had declared African slavery
the immediate cause of the revolution thus attempted. He has alleged
that the old — and, as the North deems it, the only existing — Constitution
regarded such slavery as wrong in principle, and that the founders of
this Constitution expected the bondage, in some way and at some time,
to vanish. He declares of the new Confederate States that they assume
as their basis the fundamental erroneousness of such original estimate
and expectation on the part of the fathers of our land. Accepting not
only the joropriety but the perpetuity of such servitude, he places the
new government on the alleged inferiority of the negro race as its
corner-stone. He claims for the new confederacy that it is the first
government in all history thus inaugurated on this new truth, as he
would call it. He invites the Northwestern States to enter the Con-
federacy. But he anticipated the disintegration of the older States;
and he declares that, in case of these last, admission to the new Con-
federacy must not be merely by reconstruction, but reorganization and
assimilation. In other words, African bondage seems required as the
mortar that is to agglutinate and the rock that is to sanction the recom-
bined and rebuilt sovereignty that shall include even these last. Those
high in position in the new organization of the South have proclaimed
the intent of seizing the national capital and flaunting their flag on the
seats of Northern State government. The President of the United
States has summoned a large and formidable force to the metropolis of
the Union, rallying to the defence of the General Grovernment. Remem-
bering their OAvn character as the servants of the Prince of peace, this
Assembly would speak fraternally, not heedlessly exasperating strife,
but also with a frankness and decision as not endorsing injustice. The
Church is a kingdom not of the world. But the men of the Church are
not the less bound to recognize and loyally to uphold all rightful secular
government.

The powers that be are ordained of God, and the magistracy is by his
will to bear the sword not in vain. Christ, in his Messiahship, would not
be made a judge or a divider as to the statutes and estates of this earth;
but he did not therefore abrogate the tribunals of earthly judgment.
To Cassar he bade us render Caesar's dues. He cherished and exem-
plified patriotism when answering to the appeal made to him in the
behalf of that Gentile ruler, as far as one who loved "our" (Jewish)
nation. He showed it when weeping as he predicted the coming woes
of his own people and of their chief city. The gospel of Christ, then,
sanctions and consecrates true patriotism. Shall the Christians of the
North accept the revolution thus to be precipitated upon them, as war-
ranted and necessary ? or shall they acquiesce in it as inevitably dis-
missing the question of its origin in the irrecoverable past? Shall they
wait hopefully the verdict of the nations and the sentence of Provi-
dence upon the new basis of this extemporized Confederacy ? Meanwhile,
shall they submit passively to the predicted disintegration of their own
North, pondering wistfully upon the possibilities of their own reorgani-
zation to qualify them for their admission on the novel platform, and
for their initiation into the new principles of this most summary revo-
lution ? The memories of the past and the hopes of the future ; history

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 689

and Scripture ; the fear of God and regard to the well-being of man ;
the best interests of their own estranged brethren at the South, and
their own rights and duties, not to themselves and their children only,
but as the stewards of constitutional liberty in behalf of all other
nations, encouraged by our success, as such remotest nations are baffled
and misled, as by our failure such nations would necessarily be, — all
considerations unite in shutting up the Christians of the North to one
course.

The following resolutions present correspondingly what, in our judg-
ment, is the due course of our churches and jDeople : —

Resolved, That the doctrine of secession is foreign to our Constitution,
revolutionary, suicidal, — setting out in anarchy, and finding its ultimate
issue in despotism.

Resolved, That the National Government deserves our loyal adhesion
and unstinted support in its wise, forbearing, and yet firm maintenance
of the national unity and life; and that, sore, long,'and costly as the
war may be, the North has not sought it, and the North does not shun
it, if Southern aggressions press it; and that a surrender of the national
Union and our ancestral princij^les would involve sorer evils, and
longer continuance, and vaster costliness.

Resolved, That the wondrous uprising, in strongest harmony and
largest self-sacrifice, of the whole North to assert and vindicate the
national unity, is the cause of grateful amazement and devoutest
acknowledgment to the God who sways all hearts and orders all events;
and that this resurgent patriotism, wisely cherished and directed, may,
in God's blessed discipline, correct evils that seemed clironic and irre-
mediable in the national character.

Resolved, That, fearful as is the scourge of war even in the justest
cause, we need, as a nation, to humble ourselves before God for the vain-
glory, self-confidence, greed, venality, and corruption of manners too
manifest in our land; tliat in its waste of property and life, its invasion
of the Sabbath, its demoralization, and its barbarism, we see the evils to
which it strongly tends; but that, waged in a good cause and in the
fear of God, it may be to a people, as it often in past times has been, a
stern but salutary lesson for enduring good. In this struggle, the
churclies of the North sliould, by prayer for them, the distril)Ution of
Scripture and tract, and the encouragement of devout chaplains, seek
the religious cultur«) of their brave soldiers and mariners.

Resolved, That the Ncjrth seek not, in any sense, the subjugation of
the South, or the horrors of a servile war, or the devastation of their
homes by reckless an<l imbruted mercenaries, but believe most firmly
the rejection, were it feasible, of the Constitution and Union would
unnihilate the best safeguard of Southern peace.

Resolved, That the churches of our denominati<m be urged to set
apart the last Friday in June as a day of solemn humiliati(»n and prayer
tor the interposition of God's gracious can; to hinder or to limit the
eonfliet, to slay the wrath, and to sanctify the trial; and that one hour
also in the Friday evening of each week be observed a.H a season of
intereovsion, privately, for our country during thia period of her gloom
and peril.

690 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Resolved, That, brought nearer as eternity and judgment are in such
times of sharp trial and sudden change, it is the duty of all to redeem
the fleeting hour, — the duty of all Christ's people to see that the walls
of Zion be built in troublous times, and to hope only and ever in that
wonder-working God who made British missions to India and the South
Seas to grow amid the Napoleon wars ; who trained, in Serampore mis-
sions, Havelock, the Christian warrior, as, two centuries before, he had
prepared in the wars of the Commonwealth the warrior Baxter, who
wrote, as army chaplain, the "Saint's Everlasting Rest,'' and the Bun-
yan who described for all after-time the "Pilgrim's Progress" and "The
koly War."

Resolved, That what was bought at Bunker Hill, Valley Forge, and
Yorktown was not with our consent sold at Montgomery; that we
dispute the legality of the bargain, and, in the strength of the Lord
Grod of our fathers^ shall hope to contest through this generation, if need
be, the feasibility of the transfer.

Bishop Whittingliam, of Maryland, issued tlie following cir-
cular to the Episcopal churches in his diocese, May, 1861: —

Reverend and Dear Brethren: — I have learned with extreme regret
that in several instances the " Prayer for the President of the United
States and all in civil authority" has been omitted, of late, in the per-
formance of Divine service in the diocese.

Such omission in every case makes the clergyman liable for present-
ment for wilful violation of his ordination vow, by mutilation of the
worship of the Church ; and I shall hold myself bound to act on any
evidence of such offence laid before me after the issue of this circular.

I beseech my brethren to remember that current events have settled
any question that might have been started concerning citizenship and
allegiance. Maryland is admitted and declared by the Legislature and
(jovernor of the State to he at this time one of the United States of
America. As resident in Maryland, the clergy of this diocese are citi-
zens of the United States, and bound to the recognition and discharge
of all duties appertaining to that condition. It is clearly such a duty,
by the express word of Grod, to make supplication and prayer for the
chief magistrate of the L^nion, and for all that are in authority, that
we lead a quiet and peaceful life, in all godliness and honesty ; and it is
clearly my duty, by the same direction, to put those whom Grod has
committed to my charge in mind to be subject to the principalities and
powers, to obey magistrates, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers.
To my deep distress and disquiet, I have too much reason to fear that
in one instance a minister of Christ may have so far forgotten himself,
his i)lace, and his duty as actually to commit the canonical offence
known as "brawling in the church," while resolving to do what an
archangel durst not to do, and to defend transgression of an injunc-
tion of the word of God.

We of the clergy have no right to intrude our private views of
the questions which are so terribly dividing those among whom we
minister, into the place assigned us that we may speak for God and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 691

minister in his worshii). Still loss claim have we to assume to frame

and fashion the devotions of the brethren by our private notions, and,

to that end, interpolate and mutilate the service of the Church. In

such times as these we are more strictly than ever bound to adhere to

the preci.se letter of the prescribed form, and to deserve the praise of

non-interference with others' riglits by the closest seclusion within the

limits of our plain duty.

It is not merely my advice, dear brethren, but it is the solemn

injunction and caution of tlie word of Ood, to be reverenced and

regarded accordingly as you believe it to be his: — "My son, fear thou

the Lord and the king, and meddle not with them that are given to

change; for their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth of

them both? These things bolong unto the wise."

Your loving friend and brother,

Wm, R. Whittinoham,

Bishop of Maryland,
Baltimork, May 15, 18()L

Massachusetts Congregational Association, July, 1801.

Whereas our nation is at the present time engaged in a war for the
suppression of treason and rebellion against the Government of the
United States :

Resolved, That we, the General Association of Massachusetts, devoutly
recognize and acknowledge our dL-pcndcni^e upon the God of our
fathers for the success of our arms an<l the e-tablishmont of the laws.

Resolved, That we cordially approve tlif vigorous measures of the
Government for the maintenance of the Constitution, and that, we are
ready to devote our property, our influence, and. if need be, our lives,
in its vindication and support.

Resolved, That, while we earnestly desire tlie speely return of peace
to our divided country, we dejii'ecate any concession or compromise
wliicli shall not secure the loyalty and obedience to the Federal Govern-
ment of all the States of the Union, or which j>hall be in(!onsistent with
tlie nationality of freedom.

Rrs'ilr.d, That, believing the iu'^titution of Slavery to Iiave been the
fruitful source of the great trouble now upon us, we eannot but pray
and hope that tlie prr'sent war may be <>v»»rniled by Divine Providence
for the ultimate removal of human bondage from oar lan«l.

GeNKRAI, (.'<).N(;i{Kf;ATIO.NAL ASSOCIATION OK I r.I.I NoiS, .1 1'NF, IS'l.

Met in a time of national convulsion and civil war, we, the General
Association of the T'ongregutional ministers and churclp'S of Illinois,
deem it important to place on record our solemn coin ictions with regiinl
t<) its origin and r<sponsil)ility, and the duties which it devolves upon
the people (»f Go<l ami the nation: therefore.

Rfsolvfd, 1. That .\nierioan nlavery is responsible, before G«hI and mr.n,
for the present dt'plonible condition of our country: that the neglect
to use ui«propriate measures in < 'hurch and State to Korure the speedy
and ])eue«fiil ovdthrow of oppression ha.H involved the nation in civil

692 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEE OF THE

war ; that the slave-power has grown bolder and more rapacious in its
demands with every passing year ; and that its inability longer to control
the Government has led to secret plots and open treasonable eiforts to
break up the Union and subvert our national Constitution.

Resolved, 2. That this rebellion is not only treason against the United
States Government, but a revolt against the Divine scheme for the
world's advance in civilization and religion, to which our land, with its
free institutions, sustains so important a relation, and is, therefore, a
high crime against universal humanity, and an impious defiance of
Divine Providence,

Resolved, 3. That the Union instituted by our fathers fresh from the
battles of liberty was intended to preserve and favor freedom and
limit and discountenance slavery; that the Union constituted the
several States one nation, with supreme political power in all the
respects named in the Federal Constitution ; and that the secession of
any State can only be revolutionary in nature; while the present seces-
sion of slaveholding States is as destitute of moral justification as it is-
of constitutional validity.

Resolved, 4. That the present civil war is a heavy but just judgment
from the hand of God for our national sins, and especially for the
heaven-provoking sin of oppressing the poor; and that as the whole
land has been involved in the guilt, so all its sections deserve and must
expect to bear the retribution.

Resolved, 5. That, as the war is but the ripe and bitter fruit of slavery,
we trust the American people will demand that it shall result in
relieving our country entirely and forever of that sin and curse, that
the future of our nation may never again be darkened by a similar
night of treason.

Resolved, 6. That in the spirit of our Puritan ancestors, who preserved
English liberty, and of our fathers, who fought in the battles of the
American Eevolution, we tender to the Federal authorities our cordial
support to the very last, in the present life-and-death struggle for
righteous laws and government, and assure them and the troops who
have gone ,to the defence of freedom, that our prayers shall be con-
tinually offered to God that they may have the courage, wisdom, and
success which the emergency demands and the nature of the conflict
leads us to expect.

Resolved, 7. That the people of God should aim to give a high moral
and religious tone to the war, as one means of obviating the evils
attendant upon such a conflict; aiid that, to this end, pastors of
churches, and chaplains in the army, should by their discourses purify
public sentiment, direct the current of national purpose, and elevate
military ardor, while the churches send forth their members, in the
spirit of Christian patriotism, to figlit the b;!ttle;> of their country, and
supply the means of bringing religious trvuh lo bear in every appro-
priate way upon the mind and heart of the army.

Resolved, 8. That we urge upon the Government the duty of making
ample provision for the religious wants of the troops, as necessary alike
to the spiritual welfare of the soldiers and the success of the war; and
that we remind the civil and militar\^ authorities that no armies were

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 693

ever more effective than those of the English Parliament, in which
Richard Baxter was a chaplain, and that the invincible regiment of that
array was ''the Ironsides," led by Oliver Cromwell, and composed of
godly men.

Resolved, 9. That we are gratified at the presence of so many religious
men in the army, and at the efforts 'already made under official auspicfis
to guard the troops against the demoralizing influences of war and to
provide for their spiritual instruction upon the Sabbath ; and we
express the hope that all possible precautions will be taken not to
encourage the desecration of the Sabbath by unnecessary parade or
labor.

Protestant Episcopal Cuurch of Onio.

Resolved, By the Convention of Clergy and by Delegates of the Pro-
testant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Ohio, now here assembled
in Cleveland, that we cordially approve the sentiment and appreciate
the wise counsels expressed by the bishop and assistant bishop on the
present condition of our beloved country, in their several addresses
yesterday, delivered to the Convention, and desire hereby fully to recog-
nize our obligations, as Christian men, in this crisis, to stand by the
<TOvernment in its efforts to maintain the Constitution.

Resolved, That we fervently hof>e, and our earnest prayer to God is,
that the delusion which has seize<l the minds of so many of our brethren
in the Southern States of this Union, originating, as we are constrained
to l>elieve, in an erroneous estimate of State sovereignty and a corre-
sponding depreciation of the superior power of the National Govern-
ment, may be dispelled, and they be brought to unite with us in a holy
endeavor that the Union may be preserved, the just authority of the
Government maintained, and the blessings of peace again restored to
our borders.

Resolved, That we have undiminished confidence in the piety and
Christian spirit of the clergy and laity of the Protestant Episcopal
Church in the Southern States. We cannot, and we do not, believe
they would willitigly do wrong. We earnestly invite them to retnice
their ste2)s, — to reconsider tlieir actions and tlieir published opinions,
and to join with us in an ellort to preserve the unity of the Church of
''hrist in the United States of America. Brethren of the Scnith, in a
'juestion touching tlie existence of the Government under which we
live, sliould not Tljristian brethren in all parts of the country have a
voice?

Resolv^, That, wli.tli<r tliose counsels be heeded or disreganled, we
Ktill ho])e that our Southern brethn^n will not fail to send their bishops
and clerical and hiy d«*Iegutes to the next General <'onvention, in 1HG2,
that by j»rayer and suppHcjition to (Joil, by iiniinpassioned consulta-
tions antl friendly eonferences, we Inay yet adopt measures to prevent
the sun«lering of th(»se ties which an- so essential to the prosperity and
)nt<^grity of the nation.

694 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEE OF THE

General Conference of the Congregational Churches of Ohio, Juke,

186L

Recognizing the present calamities of our country as tlie just judg-
ment of God our heavenly Father sent upon, us becau-se of our sins
and designed for our reformation, v^e are led to inquire far the causes
which have thus brought his chastening hand upon us.

The brief enumeration of these calamities presents the spectacle of
unjustifiable and wicked rebellion : — a band of conspirators in the
interest of a gigantic system of unrighteous oppression, — condemned
by the word of God and the Spirit of Christ, — seizing by fraud and
force upon the Government of States, trampling under foot the liberties
of their people, treasonably arraying their power against the General
Government and its principle of universal human freedom, and inaugu-
i-ating civil war, with its train of fearful and demoralizing evils,, to deso-
late the land ; the spectacle of large bodies of professedly Christian
ministers and Churches uniting witJi these conspirators in prostituting
the word of God and debauching the public conscience to the service
of this monstrous sin ; the spectacle of national industry paralyzed
and impoverished, the hard-earned wealth of yeai^ and generations-
destroyed in a moment, by an immoral and profligate repudiation of
just obligations, and the consuming necessities of war; the spectacle
of a united, prosperous, and Christian nation approaching conditions
of unexampled power for the kingdom of Christ, evidently checked in
mid-career, its integrity and greatness imperilled, aad its good name
and usefulness among the nations threatened vdth blasting and de-
struction.

Reviewing these calamities, we are compelled to behold in theni
signal tokens of Divine displeasure vnth us as a nation, for that cupidity
and pride which has led us to tolerate, or even maintain by direct or
indirect means, that vast system of human chattelisna for whose further
aggrandizement this great natio-n is thus threatened with dismember-
ment and ruin, or the destruction of its free and Christian institutions.

As the Conference of the Congregational Churches of Ohio, engaged
in establishing that kingdom whose foundations and spirit are righteous-
ness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, and the overthrow of every thing
opposed to this, we are, therefore,

Besolved, That we see in the madness and wickedness of the con-
spirators against our Government a new proof of that disorganizing
tendency of slavery which Christian statesmen and Christian philan-
thropists have ever asserted.

Resolved, That we acknowledge the Divine hand in our present
troubles, and that we discover in them a sign of righteous indigna-
tion, on the one hand, at the iniquity which has so cruelly degraded
the. bondman, and, on the other, at4he mercenary spirit which has per-
suaded this whole peoi:>le to strike hands with oppression for the sake
of gain.

Resolved, That with devout gratitude to our God we recognize the
presence and power of the Christian element of this nation in the
present conflict for the cause of truth and our national integrity, audi

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 695

that we regard this cheering fact as an assurance of ultimate and
complete re-establishment of the Government's authority, throughout
the whole extent of our country, upon purer and firmer foundations.

Resolved, That, with humble acknowledgment of our sins and unwor-
thiness as a nation, we make our united supplications unto God that
he will turn us away from our sins, giving all our people a heart to do
justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before him ; and that while we
yield ourselves to maintain the cause of right and righteous Govern-
ment at every cost, he will be graciously pleased to bestow upon our
rulers, the President of the United States, and all in authority with
him, a wise and understanding heart, that he will protect and strengthen
our armies, and that he will at length bestow upon our nation that
union and peace wliich shall be founded in righteousness, enduring
forever.

New-School General Assembly of tue Presbyterian Cuurch, May, 1861.

Whereas a portion of the people of the United States of America
have risen up against the rightful authority of the Government, have
instituted what they call the " Confederate States of America," in the
name and defence of which they have made war against the United
States, have seized the property of the Federal (Jovernment, have
assailed and overpowered its troops in the discharge of their duty, and
are now in armed rebellion against it, the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Churcli of the United States of America cannot forbear
to express their amazement at the wickedness of such proceedings, and
at the bold advocacy and defence thereof, not only in tliose States in
which ordinances of " secession" have been passed, but in several
others; and

Whereas the CJeneral Assembly, — in the language of the Synod of
New York and Philadelphia on the occasion of the Revolutionary War, —
"being met at a time when public affairs wear so threatening an aspect,
and when (unless God in his sovereign providence speedily prevent it)
all the horrors of civil war are to be api)nhended, are of oi)inion that
they cannot discharge their duty to the numerous congregations under
their care without addrr-ssing them at this important crisis; and as a
firm belief and habitual recollection of the power and presence of the
living God ought at all times to possess the minds of real Cliristians, so
in seasons of public calamity, when the Lord is known by the judgments
which he executeth, it would be an ignorance or indifference highly
criminal not to look up to him with reverence, to implore his mercy by
humble and fervent prayer, and, if possible, to prevent his vengeance
by unfeigned repentance:" — therefore,

1. Ilesoh'fd, That, inasmuch as the Presbyterian rimrcli. in her past
history, has freiiucntly lilted up her voice against oppression, has shown
herself a champion of constitutional liberty, as against both despotism
and anarchy, throughout the civili/ed world, we should be recreant to
our high trust were we to withlujhl our earnest j>rotest against all such
unlawfid and trejisonablo acts.

2. Unsolved, That this Assembly and the churches which it represenU

696 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

cherish an undiminished attachment to the great principles of civil and
religious freedom on which our national Government is based, under
the influence of which our fathers prayed and fought and bled, which
issued in the establishment of our independence, and hj the preserva-
tion of which we believe that the common interests of evangelical
religion and civil liberty will be most effectively sustained.

3. Resolved, That inasmuch as we believe, according to our Form of
Government, that " God, the Supreme Lord and King of all the world,
hath ordained civil magistrates to be under him over the people for his
own glory and the public good, and to this end hath armed them with
the power of the sword for the defence and encouragement of them
that are good, and for the punishment of evil-doers,'^ — there is, in the
judgment of the Assembly, no blood or treasure too precious to be
devoted to the defence and perpetuity of the Government in all its con-
stitutional authority.

4. Resolved, That all those who are endeavoring to uphold the Consti-
tution and maintain the Government of these United States in the exer-
cise of its lawful jorerogatives are entitled to the sympathy and support
of all Christian and law-abiding citizens.

5. Resolved, That it be recommended to all our pastors and churches
to be instant and fervent in prayer for the President of the United
States and all in authority under him, that wisdom and strength
may be given them in the discharge of their arduous duties ; for the
Congress of the United States; for the lieutenant-general commanding
the army in chief, and all our soldiers, that God may shield them from
danger in the hour of peril, and, by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
upon the army and navy, renew and sanctify them, so that, whether
living or dying, they may be the servants of the Most High.

6. Resolved, That in the countenance which many ministers of the
gospel and other professing Christians are now giving to treason and
rebellion against the Government, we have great occasion to mourn for
the injury thus done to the kingdom of the Redeemer; and that,
though we have nothing to add to our former significant and explicit
testimonies on the subject of slavery, we yet recommend our people to
pray more fervently than ever for the removal of this evil, and all
others, both social and political, which lie at the foundation of our
present national difficulties.

7. Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions, signed by the officers of
the General Assembly, be forwarded to his Excellency Abraham Lincoln,
President of the United States.

Old-School General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, May, 1861.

Gratefully acknowledging the distinguished bounty and care of
Almighty God towards this favored land, and also recognizing our obli-
gation to submit to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, this
General Assembly adopt the following resolutions : —

1. Resolved, That, in view of the present unhappy and agitated con-
dition of this country, the first day of July next be set ajjart as a day
of prayer throughout our bounds, and that on this day ministers and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 697

people are called on humbly to confess and bewail our national sins, to
offer our thanks to the Father of Lights for his abundant and unde-
served goodness towards us as a nation, to seek his guidance and blessings
upon our rulers and their councils, as well as on the Congress of the
United States about to assemble, and to implore him, in the name of
Jesus Christ, the Great High-Priest of the Christian profession, to turn
away his anger from us and speedily restore us the blessings of an
honorable peace.

2. Resolved, That this General Assembly, in the spirit of that Christian
patriotism which the Scriptures enjoin, and which has always charac-
terized this Church, do hereby acknowledge and declare our obligation
to promote and perpetuate, so far as in us lies, the integrity of these
United States, and to strengthen, uphold, and encourage the Federal
Government in the exercise of all its functions under our noble Con-
stitution ; and to this Constitution, in all its provisions, requirements,
and principles, we profess our unabated loyalty. And, to avoid all mis-
conception, the Assembly declare that by the terms '* Federal Govern-
ment," as here used, is not meant any particular administration, or the
peculiar opinions of any political party, but that central administration
which, being at any time appointed and inaugurated according to tlie
forms prescribed in the Constitution of the United States, is the visible
representative of our national existence.

General Coxgregational Associatiox of Connecticut, July, 18G1.

Whereas the beneficent Government of these United States, the
noble heritage which God gave to the toils, sacrifices, and prayers of our
fathers, is put in jeopardy by an organized rebellion, — a rebellion insti-
gated mainly and deliberately to secure the extension and permanence
of slavery, — we, as ministers of God's word, in General Association con-
vened, hereby record the sentiments we entertain in relation to this
contest, and adopt the following resolutions: —

Resolved, That we gratefully acknowledge the Divine goodness in
uniting so generally the people of the free States for the suppression
of this treason and the defence of the Federal Union.

Resolved, That the right of violent revolution can only exist in a Civse
in which a Government, through neglect to fulfil its proper functions,
or otherwise, becomes intolerably oppressive, and in which no possibility
r«'mains of reform by regular and peaceful nietliods, — the Divin»» word
requiring in all other cases obedience to human government as the
ordinance of God.

Reso/rrd, That it is th.- (bity of ;dl eiti/.ens, especially idl niinistew
of tlie gosp(;l and Christian peophi, to sustain at any an«i every sacrifice
tlie Federal Governnieiit in suppressing this wicked rebellion; to reprcH^,
in the conduct of the war. all unhallowed passions and whatever is con-
trary to the will of God. and to exert all their infiuenee against efforts,
should any be made, to secure a peace by unreasonable concosMions in
the interest of slavery.

Resolved, That, regarding, i\n we .lo, (he system of slavery in thi«
country a.s mainly tlie cause of this t:e;uJonabK« war against the Federal

698 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEB OF THE

Government, we Avait reverently on the providence of God, in the earnest
liope and prayer that he will so overrule this conflict and direct its
issues that it may result sooner or later, and as soon as may be, in the
peaceful and complete removal of this iniquitous and shameful system
of oppression.

The Synod of New York and New Jersey (Old Scliool) passed,
unanimously, the following paper on the country, at their annual
session in Newark, N. J., November, 1861 : —

AVhereas the people of these United States, after the achievement
of their independence, established a government based on constitutional
liberty, giving to all just and equal rights; and

Whereas a portion of the people of these United States have taken
up arms against the lawful Government and seized upon its property,
and are endeavoring to overthrow it, — a Government in which are
centred our dearest hoj^es and interests pertaining to civil liberty and
the advancement of civilization throughout the world; and

Whereas the Presbyterian Church in the United States has ever
shown herself, in all her history, the advocate of civil liberty and free-
dom,— that freedom the defence of which drove our fathers from the
Old World, and for the security of which, in this land, they prayed
and fought and bled, ever lifting their voice and hands against anarchy
and tyranny and oppression in every form, — and believing that the
present solemn crisis in our national affairs calls upon us, as patriots and
Christians, to lay upon the altar of our country our influence, our pro-
perty, and our lives : therefore,

Hesolved, That we pledge to the Government our individual support
and confidence, and will use all lawful means and efforts in our power
to aid it in maintaining its authority and in putting down this rebel-
lion, in its very nature so utterly causeless and unjust.

Resolved, That we commend the President of the United States, his
constitutional advisers, the American Congress, the commander-in-chief
and soldiers of the army and navy, to the God of our fathers, humbly
praying that he will impart to them wisdom and unity in councils and
fidelity and courage in action, that the cause intrusted to their hands
may be brought to a speedy and successful issue.

Resolved, That, while we do not feel called upon to add any thing to
the repeated testimonials of our Church on the subject of slavery, nor
t^ offer any advice to the Government on the subject, still, fully believing
that it lies at the foundation of all our present national troubles, we
recommend to all our people to pray more earnestly than ever for its
removal, and that the time may speedily come when God, by his provi-
dence, shall in his own good time and way bring it to an end, that
nothing may be left of it but the painful record of its past existence.

Resolved, That we recommend to all our people to humble themselves,
and take a low place before God, in view of all our social and political
sins, and each one remember and lament his own personal complicity
with them all.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 699

Reply of Secretary Seward.

Department op State, "Washington, November 27, 1861 .
To the Si/nod of Neio York and New Jersey.

Reverend Gentlemen' : — The minute containing your resolutions on
the condition of the countrj^ which you directed to be sent to rne, ha3
been submitted to the President of the United States.

I am instructed to express to you his great satisfaction with those
proceedings, which are distinguished equally by their patriotic senti-
ments and a purely Christian spirit. It is a just tribute to our system
of government that it has enabled the American people to enjoy unmo-
lested more of the blessings of Divine Providence, which affect the mate-
rial conditions of human society, than any other people ever enjoyed,
together with a more absolute degree of religious liberty than, before
the institution of that great Government, had ever been hoped for
among men. The overthrow of the Government, therefore, might justly
be regarded as a calamity not only to this nation, but a misfortune to
mankind. The Prei=ident is assured of the public virtue and the public
valor. But these are unavailing without the favor of God. The Presi-
dent thanks you for the invocation of that indispensable support, and
he earnestly solicits the same invocations from all classes and conditions
of men. Believing that these prayers will not be denied by the God of
our fathers, he trusts and expects that the result of this most unhappy
attempt at revolution will confirm and strengthen the Union of the
rej)ublic, and ultimatelj' secure the fraternal allections among its mem-
bers, so essential to a restoration of the public welfare and happiness.
I am, very sincerely, your very humble servant,

William II. Seward.

The Cincinnati Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
August, IHGl.

Slate of the Country.

The committee, through J. T. Mitchell, made a report, closing with
the following resolutions, — all adopted by a rising vote: —

1. That civil government is of God, and the obligation to obey just
human laws refcis directly to Divine authority and sanction, as revealed
in the Holy Scriptures.

2. That the Constitution of the United States, and the laws of Com-
press in eonformity therewith, are the sui)reme law of thi-^ whole laml,
binding on the inhabitants of every State anil Territory.

.3. That armed resistance to this law is a most wii^ked and unwar-
rantable rebellion; and that it is the sacred duty of tho<.' ehargt'd with
the administration of our national Government to i>ut down this rebel-
lion by every proper means re<iuir«'d to that end.

4. That it is the religious duty of every citizen to lcn<l all practicable
nupj.ort to the national ( loverninent, in the maintenance of its authoritj
over the whole land.

5. That the Union of the Slat.-.s i,s us i<re.->ing a n-e.^sity now aa

700 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

when it was originally formed by our fathers, and it is our bounden
duty to sympathize and co-oj^erate with the thousands of loyal Union
men in the South, claiming their rights under the Constitution, and
anxiously awaiting the opportunity successfully to assert them.

6. That we can but look on the calamities which so grievously afflict
our country as the chastening of God for our national sins, by which he
is teaching us our duty by terrible things in righteousness, and that it
becomes us all to humble ourselves under his hand, to confess and
forsake our personal and national offences, and to implore the Divine
mercy in their forgiveness, that the work of righteousness may be
peace.

7. That we recommend to all our teachers and people the sincere
and devout observance of the National Fast appointed by the Presi-
dent of the United States for the 26th of the present month, and
that public religious services be held in all our churches in town and
country.

8. That we regard with deep interest the provision made by the Gov-
ernment for the religious instruction and comfort of our citizen soldiery,
by the appointment of a chaplain to each regiment; and that we assure
our brethren of other Churches who are appointed to that responsible
and difficult position, of our heartfelt sympathy and of our earnest
prayers for the success of their labors.

9. That we hail with unmingled satisfaction and gratitude to God the
General Order of Major-General McClellan, commanding the Depart-
ment of the Potomac, on the proper observance of the holy Sabbath by
the army of the United States under his command, and assure him
that this order has thrilled the hearts of Christians throughout the
land, and especially of those who have husbands, sons, and brothers in
the field of conflict.

Southeastern Indiana Conference, September, 18G2.

The Committee on the State of the Country submitted the following,
which was adopted with a unanimous rising vote, and ordered to be pub-
lished in the "Western Christian Advocate:" —

Your committee see no reason in the acts of the administration to
warrant the rebellion that now destroys the peace of the country ; that
it is the work of ambitious, bloody, and deceitful men, and if it should
prove successful must utterly destroy the safeguards the fathers have
so wisely tlirown around the liberties of the j^eople. We can see in the
future no guarantee for the rights of conscience and free speech, save
in the suppression of the rebellion, and the holding of its leaders to the
penalty provided by the law of the land.

As the ministers of Christ, we deplore the existence of w^ar. It is an
evil always demoralizing ; and yet we feel, terrible as war may be. it i.--
not so blasting in its efi'ects as anarchy. Therefore,

Resolved, That we do most heartily espouse the cause of the Consti-
tution and the laws, and pledge our prayers, together with all the
moral influence we may be able to exert, to the maintenance of the
Government.

CIVIL IITSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 701

Resolved, That we find nothing in the acts of the administration of the
Government to call for a change in the twenty-third Article of Religion,
a^ found in our Book of Discipline, and that we esteem it as a violation
of the law of God for the ministers or members of our Church to give
aid and comfort to the rebellion.

Jiesolved, That we have read with pleasure the proclamation of the
President setting apart a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer to
Almighty God for the success of our arms and the restoration of peace
to the nation, and that we recommend to all our people a strict observ-
ance of the day.

Resolved, That we have read with pleasure and heartily approve of
the order of Major-General McClellan in reference to the observance
of the Christian Sabbath in tlie army.

James IIavens, Chair /ruin.

J. B. Lathrop, iSecretayy.

Northwestern Indiana Conference, September, 1^)1.

Whereas a formidable rebellion against the Constitution ami author-
ity of the United States has been inaugurated by ambitious and in-
triguing men, whose course of procedure furnislies the clearest evidence
tliat they are the enemies of this Governmont, thereby menacing the
very existence of the nation, desolating tlie country, and deluging it with
fraternal blood, threatening the safety of our homes and the lives of our
families ;

And whereas the Twenty-Third Article of Religion, in the Discipline
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, liolds the following language: —
*• 'I'ho President, the Congress, the General Assemblies, the Governors,
an<l the Councils of State, as the dclet/afts of the people, are the rulers of
tho United States of America, according to the division of power made
t'> tliem by the Constitution of the United States and by the Consti-
tutions of their respective States. And the said States are a sovereign
Hiid independent nation, and ouglit not to be subject to any foreign
jurisdiction :" therefore,

Rrsolved, That we look upon this rebellion as wicked in the higliest
degree, and without any just excuse; and that it calls for the indigiuv-
tion and united opposition of all good citizens.

Resolved, That wo, as ministers of tlio gospel, ignoring all partisan
politics, will not cease to exert our influence in sustaining our Govern-
ment, in this frying hour, by all proper means within the spliero of our
calling.

Resoh-rd, That tie' administration lias our cordial sympathi<'S. and
ihall have our prayer-^ tliat its efforts to put down this reb.-llion and
r<v-'tf)r(« constitutionjil law and order may be successful.

Action }ias not y«'t been taken upon those of our nuMib<M- who havo
gone at our country's call, and there seems to be c«>nsiderablo per-
plexity conn<'<t'>d with this new feature. All are favorably ili."i>osed,
however; ami, while the law of our Discipline will not )>o tran><coni]e*!.
f»U(h nlaficn to the Conferenco will !>.• given thcso brethren us will
doubtless give general bat is faction.

702 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

The Wisconsin Convention of Congregational and Presbyterian
Churches on the State of the Country, August, 1861.

In view of the distracted and perilous state of our beloved country,
recognizing as we heartily and sorrowfully do the justice of the Divine
retribution now descending with terrible power upon the nation ;
believing that the favor of our righteous God can be secured only
through a penitence that shall bear its legitimate fruits in our national
life, reformed from its great iniquities; believing, moreover, that our
national liberties can be perpetuated only in righteousness, justice, and
truth, and that our Union and Constitution, as the bulwarks of uni-
versal human freedom and of the sacred rights of humanity through-
out the world, ought to be maintained unbroken and inviolable at all
hazards :

Resolved, 1. That we approve of the war now waged by this Govern-
ment for the crushing of rebellion ; that, by whatever means God
furnishes us, we will maintain the Constitution and the Union ; that we
favor a decided, prompt, and unwavering policy in conducting the war,
and a just and speedy punishment of the chief traitors for their enor-
mous crimes, while we warmly sympathize with all who may be forced
away from their allegiance to the Government by tyrannical leaders and
merciless nfiobs, and will welcome them heartily to their active loyalty
again.

2. That we regard it as indispensable to the best and most successful
prosecution of the contest that the moral principles involved be practi-
cally recognized by the people and the Government.

3. That, in our opinion, the institution of African slavery, as it exists
in a portion of our national domain, is the real cause of the present
rebellion, and of the wicked endeavors of certain States to dissever and
destroy this Federal Union ; and that, with our eye upon this iniquitous
fountain of our j^resent calamities and j^erils, it becomes this people and
Government to inquire diligently, reverently, and anxiously of God,
what duties in this terrible exigency we owe to the negro held in un-
righteous and cruel bondage in our land, and to ourselves also as the
dominant and oppressing race.

4. That, while nations of the Old World are emerging from their
tyrannies and ascending exultingly into higher states of civil and reli-
gious liberty, we, as a confessedly Christian people, owe it to ourselves,
our fathers, to posterity, humanity, and God, to be second to no nation
in the sublime service of human freedom.

5. That to us, as a Christian people, the will of God, so far as we can
ascertain it. should be the only rule of our action, and the sole guide of
our national policy ; that politics and religion have an indissoluble con-
nection.

6. That we have observed with unspeakable regret the frequent and
needless violations of the Sabbath on the part of military leaders ; and
that we hail with delight the order for the better observance of this holy
day recently issued by Major-General McClellan, commanding the Army
of the Potomic.

7. That we will do all in our power to render this national contest a

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 703

war for justice, liberty, and humanity ; that we -will give it, wherever
we can, the moral and religious aspect which should characterize it.

8. That we desire and are willing to accept no peace based upon a
timid compromise with treason and rebellion, but only such a peace as
shall rear its firm and substantial structure of national glory and pros-
perity on the grave of this Confederate rebellion, when the Union and
the Constitution shall be re-established forever upon the ashes of dead
and buried secession.

9. That we regard this struggle as for our very national existence ;
and that, God helping us, praying for our bretliren in arms, or fighting
shoulder to shoulder with them, as our lot may be, we will maintain
and defend what we here resolve to the uttermost of ability and life..

10. That all traitors against the Government of the United States — a
Government the most beneficent and excellent under the sun — have
forfeited their lives by their crimes, and that, therefore, it were mercy
to try to save their lives by wresting from their wicked griisp their
suicidal weapon of slavery,

11. That we recommend the members of our churches in their various
localities throughout Wisconsin to engage actively and zealously in
petitioning the Congress of the United States at its next session to enact
a law which sliall confiscate and endow with freedom all the slaves in
the country in the legal ownership of rebels against this nation, and to
set at liberty all remaining slaves by compensation to all loyal slave-
holders.

Welch Congreoatioxal Conference of New York, ISOI.

In view of the present disturbed state of affairs in our country, when
the Union of the States is endangered, the laws disregarded, and the
property of the GovernnH'iit pilfered, V»y men of ambitious and corrupt
minds :

Ite.solocd, That we, as ministers and delegates of tlie New York Welcli
Association assembled, declare publicly our fullest und most steadfast
adherence to the Constitution nnd the Union.

Resolved, That as citizens und (Christians we fully approve and U\irtily
co-operate with the President and his ('abinet in their measures to sub-
duo rebellion in the seced<>d States and to restore ortler and peace in
our land.

Jlcsobrd, That we feel gratificnl at the bold and uncompromising sUtntl
our ministers and ehurehes have taken on the great principles of •Njuity.
liberty, and th(! rights of man: and we earnestly hope and pray that
they will continu*- in their eilbrts and fidelity until the soinn**' of this
present calamity be entirely removed.

Jir.sn/vcd, That we iiopo and pray that Cod, in his wise un«l hem-ficont
provid«>nee, may overrule the j^nsent disturbance.^ in our eountry U^
hasten the overthrow of !»lavery, wlTu h di^Maets our land an<l threatens
the existence of our Government.

Miami Conference ok tiik Christian Hi nomivntion or Onio, 1861.
Whereas our nation is now in the midst of one of the worst rebellion*

r'

704 CHIIISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

ever known in the history of the world, led on by reckless thirst for
political power, and animated by a spirit drawn from a system of
oppression and slavery *' the vilest which the sun ever saw," bringing
upon us all the calamities and horrors of civil war, threatening the
overthrow of the Grovernment whose institutions, under the blessing
of Grod, have secured to us the privileges of civil and religious liberty
and given us a career of prosperity unparalleled in the history of nations,
and whereas the issues of this war involve also the issues of human
and political liberty among the nations : therefore,

Resolved, That it is the duty of all loyal citizens, as Christian patriots,
friends of human liberty, and brothers of the human family, to main-
tain and defend this Government, their institutions and liberties, by
such means and measures as are necessary to disperse the traitors who
threaten them.

Resolved, That while we receive the gospel w'e profess as the gospel of
peace, forbidding us to take up arms in offensive operations, we believe
that now, when war is waged upon us, W'hen our forts, arsenals, mints,
and other public property have been recklessly and violently taken by
the plundering hand of treason, and immense hordes of armed traitors
are threatening the destruction of our national capital and peaceful
commercial cities, when piracy is systematized, armed, and sent abroad
to plunder our commerce upon the high seas, the heaven-implanted
instincts of self-preservation, our obligations to God, who has given us
in sacred trust the blessings which are thus threatened, our obligations
to coming generations to transmit to them the privileges we have
received, to the nations of ^le world to hold up before them un-
dimmed the beacon of liberty, our obligations to God to be true to
the trusts he has committed to us, call on us to resist these attacks, even
in the direful issues w^iich are now presented.

The- American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions,
the largest missionary association in the world, at their annual
session, October, 1861, passed the following: —

Resdlved, 1. That we sympathize wnth our national Government in its
struggle with rebellion which threatens its very existence and imperils
the success of this Missionary Board ; and we fervently implore the God
of nations so to overrule the conflict that the rebellion may be crushed,
slavery, its prime cause, removed, and that peace, prosperity, and right-
eousness may be permanently established throughout our whole land.

Resolved, 2. That we not only thus pray for deliverance from our pre-
sent national distress, but that the nation, having been purified in the
furnace of affliction and made meet for the Master's service, shall here-
after render the same devotedness to the cause of Christ and Christian
missions which is now put forth for the preservation of our beloved
country.

The Presbytery of the Potomac (Old School), 1862.
The following resolutions, presented by the Kev. Dr. Tustin, were
unanimously adopted : —

CIVIL IKSTITUTIOKS OF THE UNITED STATES. 705

Whereas it is more than intimated in the Sacred Scriptm-es (see
Komans xiii. from 1st to 7th verses inclusive) that all wise and whole-
some Governments are the product of the power, wisdom, and goodness
of Almighty God, and cannot, except for grossly abusing the trust com-
mitted to them, be resisted or overturned without incurring the fearful
penalty of the Divine displeasure ; and whereas the Government of
these United States is eminently the offspring of the abounding grace
of God to the peoj^le of this highly favored nation : therefore,

Resolved, That, in the opinion of this Presbytely, the causeless uprising
of a portion of our countrymen, with the view of overturning the best
human Government that the light of heaven ever shone upon, — may
God forgive them I — is an exhibition of folly and wickedness which has
scarcely a parallel in the history of civilized nations.

Resolved, That we heartily approve the wise and vigorous measures
adopted by the President and his constitutional advisers in order to
preserve unimpaired, at all hazards, the precious and priceless legacy
bequeathed to us l)y our forefathers, now sleeping in their honored
graves.

Resolved, That our heartfelt thanks are due to the brave and patriotic
officers and men who compose our army and navy, for their generous
and voluntary offering of blood and treasure in order to rescue our
beloved country from threatened dismemberment and consequent ruin.

Resolved, That, inasmuch as large and extraordinary expenditures have
been necessarily made by the General Government in order to preserve
the Federal Union from disintegration and overthrow, we cheerfully
consent to bear our just proportion of the jiecuniary responsibility
incurred for that puri:>ose.

jResolrrd, That our deei)est gratitude is due to the Great Ruler of
nations for his gracious assistance vouchsafed during this fearful contest,
and especially for the manifestations of his grace and favor in the recent
victories which have crowned our arms \x\)0\\ field and flood ; and that
9re will continue to invoke his guidance and protection until peace
and all its balmy influences shall again return to our weary and dis-
tracted country, and we become what we once were, a united, hai>py,
and prosperous people.

Resolved, unanimously/. That tlio ])roceedings of this meeting be ]>ub-
lish^Hl in the National '* Inti-lligencer," *' lialtimore American," " Pres-
byterian," ''Stau'hird and Kxjiu>itor."

EvANtJKiicAi, Lltiikkan Sv.miI), May, '1S02.

The R.v, Pn.f. L. Sternberg, of Hartwick Seminary. Now Ynrk, the
cliairnian of the coTuniittce, in presenting the resoUitions, a<hlres8od
the Prrsidont as follows: —

Mr. Prksidknt: — We have the honor, as a committee of the Gonoral
Synod of the Lutlu-ran Church in tlie Unit<'d SUt«B. to pn'^^^nt to your
cxcelUMUT a coi)y of the preamble and n'solutioni in rofcronco to the
state of tho country a<lopted by that body at its lat« f»es.sion in tho city
of Lancaster, Ponnsylvunia.

Wo are further charged to assure vou thut our fervent prayers shall

706 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEB OF THE

ascend to the God of nations that Divine guidance and support may be
vouchsafed to you in the trying and responsible position to which a
benignant Providence has called you.

With your permission, the Eev. Dr. Pohlman, of Albany, N.Y., will
briefly express to you the sentiments which animated the committee
and the Church they represent in view of the present crisis of our
national afiairs.

The Rev. Dr. Pohlman, of Albany, N.Y., in his speech, alluded to
the fact that the late session of the General Synod of the Lutheran
Church at Lancaster was the first that had been held since the troubles
in our country commenced; that the General Synod represents twenty-
six district Synods, scattered over the Middle, Western, and Southern
States, from twenty-one of which delegates were in attendance ; that
from the States in rebellion no delegates were present, except one from
Tennessee, who had, in praying for the President, avoided arrest only
in consequence of the fact that he conducted Divine service in the
German language, the vernacular of many in the Lutheran Church.
He further expressed his deep conviction that we were greatly indebted
for the degree of success that has crowned the efforts of the Govern-
ment in quelling the rebellion to the prayers of Christians, and con-
cluded by invoking the Divine benediction to rest on the President
and on our beloved country.

Reply of the President.

Gentlemen: — I welcome here the representatives of the Evangelical
Lutherans of the United States. I accept with gratitude their assurances
of the sympathy and support of that enlightened, influential, and loyal
class of my fellow-citizens in an important crisis, which involves, in my
judgment, not only the civil and religious liberties of our own dear land,
but in a large degree the civil and religious liberties of mankind in many
countries and through many ages. You well know, gentlemen, and
the world knows, how reluctantly I accepted this issue of battle forced
upon me, on my advent to this place, by the internal enemies of our
country. You all know, the world knows, the forces and the resources
the public agents have brought into employment to sustain a Govern-
ment against which there has been brought not one complaint of real
injury committed against society, at home or abroad. You all may
recollect that, in taking up the sword thus forced into our hands, this
Government appealed to the prayers of the pious and the good, and
declared that it placed its whole dependence upon the favor of God.
I now humbly and reverently, in your presence, reiterate the acknow-
ledgment of that dependence, not doubting that if it shall please the
Divine Being who determines the destinies of nations that this shall
remain a united people, they will, humbly seeking the Divine guidance,
make their prolonged national existence a source of new benefits to
themselves and their successors and to ail classes and conditions of
mankind.

The Resolutions of the Synod.

Whereas our beloved country, after having long been favored with a

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 707

degree of political and religious freedom, security, and prosperity-
unexampled in the history of the world, now finds itself involved in a
bloody war to supi^ress an armed rebellion against its lawfully consti-
tuted Government ; and

Whereas the word of God, which is the sole rule of our faith and
practice, requires loyal subjection to " the powers that be,'' because they
are "ordained of God" to be "a terror 'to evil-doers and a praise to
those who do well," and at the same time declares that they who
*' resist the power" shall receive to themselves condemnation ; and

Whereas we, the representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod
of the United States, connected witli the several Synods assembled
in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, recognize it as our duty to give public
expression to our convictions of trutii on this subject, and in every
proper way to co-operate with our fellow-citizens in sustaining the
great interests of law and authority, of liberty and righteousness: Be
it, therefore,

liesoloed, That it is the deliberate judgment of this Synod that the
rebellion against the constitutional Government of this land is most
wicked in its inception, unjustifiable in its cause, unnatural in its cha-
racter, inhuman in its prosecution, oppressive in its aims, and destructive
in its results to the highest interests of morality and religion.

liesolccJ, That in the suppression of this rebellion, and in the main-
tenance of the Constitution and the Union by the sword, we recognize
an unavoidable necessity and a sacred duty which the Government
owes to the nation and the world; and that, therefore, we call upon
our people to lift up holy hands in prayer to tiie (iod of l»attle-<, without
personal wratli against the evil-<loeiN on the one lumd, and without
doubting the righteousness of our cause on the other, that he would
give wisdom to the President an<l his couiis«'llors, and success to the
army and navy, that our beloved laiul m:iy spceiliiy be delivered from
treason and nnarchy.

Resolved, That, whilst we i-eg;ird tlii-; unliappy war as a righteouH
.judgment of (iod visited upon us i)eciuist' of the individual and
nationul .'-ins of which we have been guilty, we neverthe>h'ss regard this
rebellion as nu^re immediately the natural result ol" the continuance ami
Bprea.l of domestic slavery in our land, and therefor«> IkmI with unmin-
gled joy the jir'ij)osition of oiu' <'hiif ^fagistiate, wliieh has reeeivetl the
panotion of < ■nngros**, to extend aid from tlw (Jeneial Government to
uny State in whieli slavery exists which .-hall de-ni lit lo initiate w. system
ijf constitutional emancipation.

Rcmlcrd, That we deeply symputhizc with all loyal citizens nn<l ('hris-
tian patriots in the rebellious jmrtions of our country, and we <-ordially
invite their co-oporatioii in ollering united s«ippli<ations at a throne of
grace, that (mhI would restore peace to our distra»'t<'il c«»untry. ri'-e>ta-
blish fraternal relatioiiH between all the Stat<>s, and nuike our land, in
all tinn* to eonje, the a«<>lum of tin- oppress, d and the permanent ubodo
(»f liberty and religion.

lirsnhnl. That our <l"Vout thanks are due to .Minighty <!od for tlirt
Huccess whieh hiiM crowned our aims; antl whilst we praise and niaenify
his nanje for the help and HUccor he ha« graciously attbrded to oiw laud

708 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

and naval forces, in enabling them to overcome our enemies, we regard
these tokens of his Divine favor as cheering indications of the final
triumph of our cause.

The East Baltimore Coxference of the Methodist Episcopal Church,

March, 1862.

Whereas since the annual session of this body a fearful rebellion has
broken out in several of the Southern States, threatening to overthrow
the best and most benign Government the world ever saw ; and

Whereas the Federal authority has been compelled to use force of
arms to suppress said rebellion and to maintain its own supremacy ; and

Whereas patriotism is a Christian virtue, taught in the word of God
and enjoined upon us in our Twenty-Nine Articles of Religion : there-
fore,

1. Resolved, That, as a body of Christian ministers in Conference
assembled, we hereby express our abhorrence of the rebellion now
existing within our borders, as being treasonable in its origin, san-
guinary in its progress, and as tending to retard the advancement of
civil liberty through the world.

2. Resolved, That we hereby approve and endorse the present wise and
])atriotic administration of the Federal Government in its efforts to
defeat the plans and to overcome the armed resistance of the so-called
Confederate States, with a view of maintaining the unity and perpetuity
of this Government.

3. Resolved, That, in our patriotic efforts in the past or present to
sustain the Government of our country in her time of trial, we are not
justly liable to the charge of political teaching, and in the inculcation
of loyal principles and sentiments we regard the puljDit and the press
as legitimate instrumentalities.

These resolutions were signed by Bishop Ames, and a com-
mittee appointed to present them to President Lincoln.

The committee proceeded to Washington for the purpose
specified, and — accompanied by. Senator Wright, of Indiana,
Senator Willey, of Virginia, and Kepresentative Leary, of Mary-
land— were formally presented to President Lincoln, by the Hon.
Mr. Leary, in a brief but eloquent address. The address of the
committee and the reading of the resolutions followed. During
the reading of the document the President listened with much
apparent interest, and made the following response : —

Gentlemen: — I am happy to see you; but. liaving no previous notice
of your coming, I do not feel altogether prepared to reply to the paper
and addresses you have j^resented me in such terms as they merit.
Allow me to say, however, that I have the highest regard for the nume-
rous and influential Christian body whom you represent. I am pro-
foundly impressed with the influence you are exerting, as a Church, on

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 709

the morals of the nation, as also with the loyalty of your people to the
Government of the United States. I thank you, gentlemen, for your
kind words and loyal expressions, and will, at the earliest moment I can
command amid my pressing duties, reply to you in a more formal
manner.

The President's Reply.

Executive Mansion, "Washington, March 18, 1862.
Rev. J. A. Gere, A. A. Reese, D.D., G. D. Chexow^etu : —

Gentlemen: — Allow me to tender to you, and through you to the
East Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, my
grateful thanks for the preamble and resolutions of that body, copies
of which you did me the honor to present yesterday. These kind
words of apioroval, coming from so numerous a body of intelligent
Christian people, and so free from all suspicion of sinister motives, are
indeed encouraging to me. By the help of an all-wise Providence, I
shall endeavor to do my duty ; and I shall expect the continuance of
your prayers for a right solution of our national difficulties, and the
restoration of our country to peace and prosperity.

Your obliged and humble servant,

A. Lincoln.

Black River Metiiouist Conference, New York, May, lsiJ2.
On the State of the Counfri/.

Whereas our beloved nation is distracted and torn by r»bellion, and
undergoing the peril of civil war, and has, in the order of God, a right
to claim our dee})est sympathies and most comjilete support, and even
the sacrifice of the comfort, proi:)erty, and the life of its citizens in its
<lefence; and

Whereas Christianity inspires the truest and most earnest patriotism,
and creates an<l develops those virtues in which it wortliily consists, our
own loved Cliurch recognizing it in the Twenty-Thinl Article of Religion
in our Book of Discipline, especially enjoining ujion us obedience to
the rulers of this nation ; and

Wliereas, while we declare tliat our patriotism and loyalty are not
new virtues with us, and that we do not hold to or manilest them
because the strong arm of power obliges us to do so, but that our liearts,
our dearest eartlily liopes and interests, together with our faith in the
superiority of our national organization, impel us ever to pray an<l
labor for our nation's welfare, yet in this time of its ]»eril we frel that,
nioVe than ever before, God and humanity, gratitu<le and imperative
duty, move us to exert ourselves to tlio utmost within our allotttnl
8i)hcro to uphold and support the Government of thfse rnite<l Stat4'««
in its noltle and mighty eflbrts to save and jtresi-rvo this nation, which
is, in our opinion, more tlian any other nation the ;)»-o/>A*.» inheritance:
therefore,

Jii'snlvfd^ 1. That, first of all, with profound revorenco nn^l ch.astonoil
gratitude, wo would ren«ler homage and thanksgiving to Almighty
God for the manifestation of his presence, seen in the succesj^ion of

710 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

events transpiring in our land, in which his rigliteousness has been
mingled with mercy, not dealing with us according to our grievou."^
national and social sins, but while chastening yet reforming and
purifying us, teaching us impressively that " he 3'eigneth,. though
clouds and darkness may be round about him," and that the prayers
of the righteous are not offered to him in vain ; for we recognize in
the manifest tendency of these events that he answereth his people'.^
prayers.

2. That we join with the lo^yal millions of our countrymen in render-
ing praise to. God for the victories that have attended our arms in the
navy and army, realizing, as expressed by our esteemed Secretary of
War, that we cannot in ourselves alone organize victory, but that if we
prevail our help must come from God, in whose hands is the destiny
of nations; while we also remember with gratitude our brave and self-
sacrificing citizens who have consecrated themselves upon the altar of
our country, which so many of them have baptized with their blood, as
did our fathers before them.

3. That we recognize slaverj^ as the cause of the present rebellion and
civil war, and are more than ever convinced that either slavery or the
nation must perish ; and therefore we hail with joy the recent eman-
cipation of the slaves in the District of Columbia by Congress.

4. That we believe it to be the duty of all good men to sustain our
national administration by prayer to God for its guidance and support,
by their influence, and, if necessary, by their arms, recognizing, as we
do, the very great responsibilities of our Chief Magistrate, and we con-
fide in his integrity and his ability.

5. That we sympathize with our soldiers in their toil and peril,
and especially with the sick and wounded and those in the enemy's
prisons, and also with the thousands of widows and orphans, fathers
and mothers, who are bereft of their loved ones, sacrificed in their
country's service, and that, so far as in us lies, Ave do offer, and will by
God's grace carry, the consolations of our blessed Christianity to assuage
the griefs and bless the hearts of those afflicted ones.

6. That we would urge upon all good citizens, what events so im-
pressively teach us, the imperative obligation that rests upon every
Christian to participate in the election of our law-makers and rulers,
especially to attend primary elections or caucuses, remembering that
in this nation, where the people rule, God will hold every citizen
responsible for civil privileges and duties, and that no man will be held
excusable if he neglects to do all he can to elect good men to the places
of trust and responsibility in the Governfnent; and we would also
remind Christian men that the cause of Jesus Christ is so involved in
tais as to demand that they should be untiring in vigilance and invin-
ciole in their purpose and action to control the very origin and source
of civil i^ower in this land.

7. That we renewedly pledge ourselves to our nation's welfare an(i
perpetuity; and may our right hand forget her cunning, and our
tongue cleave to the roof of our mouth, if we forget or cea^e to pray
for her.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 711

The New- School General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church, May, 18G2, adopted the following paper, prepared by
Rev. Dr. N. S. Beman.

The State of the Country.
Whereas this General Assembly is called, in the providence of God,
to hold its deliberations at a time when a wicked and fearful rebellion
threatens to destroy the fair fabric of our Government, to lay waste our
beloved country, and to blight and ruin, so far as the present life is
concerned, all that is dear to us as Christians ; and

Whereas, as a branch of the Christian Church, Presbyterians have
ever been found loyal and the friends of good order, believing, as they
do, that civil government is ordained of God, that the magistrate is the
minister of God for good, that he beareth not the sword in vain, and
they are, therefore, subject to this ordinance of God, " not only for
wrath, '^ or under the influence of fear, " but also for conscience' sake,''
or under the influence of moral and Christian principle; and

Whereas the particular Church whose representatives we are, and in
whose behalf we are now and here called to act, have inscribed on our
banner " Tue Constitutional Presbyterian Church," having never
favored secession or nullification, either in Church or State, deem it
quite becoming and proper in us to express ourselves with gi-eat Chris-
tian sincerity and frankness on those matters which now agitate our
country? therefore.

Resolved, 1. That we deem the Government of these United States
the most benign that has ever blessed our imperfect world ; and should
it be destroyed, after its brief career of good, another such, in the ordi-
nary course of human events, can luirdly be anticipated for a long time
to come; and, for these reasons, we revere and love it as one of the
great sources of hope, under God, for a lost world, and it is doubly dear
to our hearts because it was procured and established by the toil, sacri-
fice, and blood of our fathers.

liesolvcd, 2. That rebellion against such a Government as ours, and
especially by those who have ever enjoyetl their full share of its pro-
tection, honors, rich blessings of every name, can have no excuse or
palliation, and can be inspired by no other motives than those of ambi-
tion and avarice, an<l can find no parallel except in the first two great
rebellions, — that which assailed the throne of heaven directly, and that
which peopled our world with miserable apostates.

Jicsolvcd, 'A. That whatever diversity of sentiment may exist among
lis respecting international wars, or the appeal to the sword for the
settlement of points of honor or interest between indepcndi'ut nations,
we arc all of one mind on the subject of rebellion, ami e.specially
against the best Government which God has yet given to the world;
that our vast army now in the fitdd is to be looke<l u\><m ns a groat
police force, organized to carry into etVict tin* Constitution and laws,
which insurgents, in common with other citizens, have ordained by
their own voluntary acts, and which they are bound by honor and oath
and conscience to respect and obey, so that the strictest advocates of

712 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

peace may bear a part in this deadly struggle for the life of the
Government.

Resolced, 4. That while we have been utterly shocked at the deep
depravity of the men who have framed and matured this rebellion, and
who are now clad in arms, manifested in words and deeds, there is
another class found in the loyal States who have excited a still deeper
loathing, — some in Congress, some in high civil life, and some in the
ordinary walks of business, — who never utter a manly thought or
opinion in favor of the Government but they follow it, by way of
comment, by two or three smooth apologies for Southern insurrection-
ists, presenting the difference between an open and avowed enemy in
the field and a secret and insidious foe in the bosom of our own family.

JResolved, 5. That, in our opinion, this whole insurrectionary movement
can be traced to one primordial root, and one only, — African slavery,
the love of it, and a determination to make it perpetual ; and while
we look upon this war as having one grand end in view, the restora-
tion of the Union, by crushing out the last living and manifested fibre
of rebellion, we hold that every thing — the institution of slavery, if need
be — must be made to bend to this great purpose ; and while, under the
influence of humanity and Christian benevolence, we may commiserate
the condition of the ruined rebels, once in fraternity with ourselves,
but now, should the case occur, despoiled of all that makes the world
dear to them, we must be, at the same time, constrained to feel that
the retribution has been self-inflicted, and must add. Fiat justitia, mat
ccdum.

Mesolved, 6. That we have great confidence in Abraham Lincoln, Pre-
sident of the United States, and his Cabinet, and in the commanders of
our armies and our navy, and the valiant men of this republic, prose-
cuting a holy warfare under their banners ; and we bless God that he
has stood by them and cheered them on in what we trust will ever
stand as the darkest days of our country's humiliation, and crowned
them with many signal victories. Knowing that ultimate success is with
God alone, we will ever pray that the last sad note of anarchy and mis-
rule may soon die away, and the old flag of our country, radiant with
stripes and brilliant with stars, may again wave over a great, undivided,
and happy people.

Resolved, 7. That we here, in deep humility for our sins and the sins
of the nation, and in heartfelt devotion, lay ourselves, with all we are
and have, on the altar of God and our country ; and we hesitate not to
pledge the chtirches and Christian people under our care as ready to
join with us in the same fervent sympathies and united prayers that our
rulers in the Cabinet, and our commanders in the field and on the
waters, and the brave men under their leadership, may take courage,
under the assurance that the Presbyterian Church of the United States
are with them, in heart and hand, in life and effort, in this fearful
existing conflict.

Resolved, finally. That a copy of these resolutions, signed by the officers
of the General Assembly, be forwarded to his Excellency Abraham
Lincoln, President of the United States, accompanied by the following
respectful letter : —

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 713

To the President of the United States.
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, holding its annual
session in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, in transmitting the following
resolutions, beg leave most respectfully to express in a more pergonal
manner the sentiments of our Church in reference to yourself and the
great issues with which you are called to deal. It is with no desire to
bring a tribute of flattery when we assure you, honored sir, of the
affection and confidence of our Church. Since the day of your inaugu-
ration, the thousands of our membership have followed you with un-
ceasing prayer, beseeching the throne of Heaven on your behalf. In
our great church courts, in our lesser judicatures, in our weekly assem-
blages in the house of God, at our family altars, in the inner jjlace of
prayer, you have been the burden of our petitions ; and when we look
at the history of your administration hitherto, and at the wonderful
way in which this people have been led under your guidance, we glorify
God on account of you. We give praise not to man. but to God. In
your firmness, your integrity, challenging the admiration of even your
enemies, your moderation, your wisdom, the timeliness of your acts ex-
hibited at critical junctures, your paternal words, so eminently fitting
the chosen head of a great people, we recognize the hand and power of
God. We devoutly and humbly accept it as from Ilim in answer to
the innumerable prayers which have gone up from our hearts. We
desire, as a Church, to express to you our reverence, our love, our deep
sympatliy with you in the greatness of your trust, the depth of your
I>ersonal bereavements, and to pledge to you, as in all the future, our
perpetual remembrance of you before God, and all the support that
loyal liearts can offer. We have given our sons to the army and navy ;
souK^ of our ministers and many of our church-members have died in
hos]»ital and field. We are glad that we have given tliem, and we exult
in tiiat they were true to death. We gladly pledgee as many more as
the cause of our country may demand. We believe that there is but one
patli before this people: this gigantic and inexpressibly wicked rebellion
must bo destroyed. The interests of liumanity, the cause of God and his
Church, demand it at our hands. May God give to you his great support,
preserve you, impart to you more than human wisdom, and permit you,
ere long, to rejoice in the deliverance of our beloved country in peace
and unity.

Signe(l, GKORf;E Diffiei.d, T)J>.. Modtrator.

Ki.wiN F. IIatfiklu, D.D., Stattd Ch-rk,

These resolutions and letter were solemnly adopted l>y a unanimous
vote taken by ri.>*ing. And, after this expression wa.s taken, the <'ongre-
gation wen- re(|U.'st«'d to unite with the .\ssiMnl.ly in this vote by also
rising. The whoU* congregation arose, and while standing the Mode-
rator lifted up his hands in devout and thankful prayer for the Divino
blessing to aeconipany the letter. The prayer fur the Tresidont wa.s
hearty and touching.

714 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Th.e PresidcnCs Response to the General Assembly.

Department of State, Washington, June 9, 1862.
To THE General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the United
States, holding its Annual Session in the City of Cincinnati.

Reverend Gtentlemen : — I have had the honor of receiving your
address to the President of the United States, and the proceedings of
your venerable body on the subject of the existing insurrection, by
which that address was accompanied.

These papers have been submitted to the President. I am instructed
to convey to you his most profound and grateful acknowledgments for
the fervent assurances of support and sympathy which they contain.
For many years hereafter, one of the greatest subjects of felicitation
among good men will be the signal success of the Government of the
United States in preserving our Federal Union, which is the ark of civil
and' religious liberty on this continent and throughout the world. All
the events of our generation which j)receded this attempt at revolution,
and all that shall happen after it, will be deemed unimportant in con-
sideration of that one indispensable and invaluable achievement. The
men of our generation whose memory will be the longest and the most
honored will be they who thought the most earnestly, prayed the most
fervently, hoped the most confidently, fought the most heroically, and
suffered the most patiently, in the sacred cause of freedom and humanity.
The record of the action of the Presbyterian Church seems to the Presi-
dent worthy of its traditions and its aspirations as an important branch
of the Church founded by the Saviour of men.

Commending our yet distracted country to the interposition and
guardian care of the Ruler and Judge of nations, the President will
persevere steadily and hopefully in the great work committed to his
hands, relying upon the virtue and intelligence of the people of the
United States and the candor and benevolence of all good men.

I have the honor to be, reverend gentlemen, your very obedient
servant.

William H. Seward.

The Olcl-Scliool General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church, May, 1862, adopted the following paper, prepared by
Dr. R. J. Breckinridge.

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United
States of America, in session at Columbus, in the State of Ohio, con-
sidering the unhappy condition of the country, — in the midst of a bloody
civil war, — and of the Church, — agitated everywhere, divided in senti-
ment in many places, and openly assailed by schism in a large section
of it, — considering also the duty which this chief tribunal, met in the
name and by the authority of the glorified Saviour of sinners, who is
also the Sovereign Ruler of all things, owes to him our Head and Lord,
and to his flock committed to our charge, and to the people whom we
are commissioned to evangelize, and to the civil authorities who exist
by his appointment, — do hereby in this deliverance give utterance to

CIVIL IKSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 715

our solemn convictions and our deliberate judgment touching the
matters herein set forth, that they may serve for the guidance of all
over whom the Lord Christ has given us any office of instruction or any
power of government.

1. Peace is among the very highest temporal blessings of the Church,
as well as of all mankind ; and public order is one of the first necessi-
ties of the spiritual as well as the civil commonwealth. Peace has been
wickedly superseded by war, in its worst form, throughout the whole
land ; and public order has been wickedly superseded by rebellion,
anarchy, and violence, in the whole Southern portion of the Union. All
this has been brought to i^ass in a disloyal and traitorous attempt to
overthrow the national Government by military force, and to divide the
nation contrary to the wishes of the immense majority of the people of
the nation, and without satisfactory evidence that the majority of the
people, in whom the local sovereignty resided, even in the States which
revolted, ever authorized any such proceeding, or ever approved the
fraud and violence by which this horrible treason has achieved what-
ever success it has had. This whole treason, rebellion, anarchy, fraud,
and violence is utterly contrary to the dictates of natural religion and
morality, and is plainly condemned by tlie revealed will of God. It is
the clear and solemn duty of the national Government to preserve, at
whatever cost, the national Union and Constitution, to maintain the laws
in their supremacy, to crush force by force, and to restore the reign of
public order and peace to the entire nation, by whatever lawful means
that are necessary thereunto. And it is the bounden duty of the ]>eople
w^ho compose this great nation, each one in his several place and degree,
to uphold the Federal Government, and evory State Government, and
all persons in authority, whether civil or military, in all their lawful and
proper acts, unto the ends hereinbefore set forth.

2, The Church of Christ has no authority from him to make rebellion,
or to counsel treason, or to favor anarchy, in any case whatever. On the
contrary, every follower ol" Christ has the j)ersonal liberty bestowed on
him by Ciirist to submit, for the sake of Christ, according to his own
conscientious sense of duty, to whatever government, however bad,
un<ler which his lot may be cast, liut, while patient sutleriiig for Christ's
sake can never be sinful, treas<^)n. rebellion, and anarchy may be sinful,
most generally. perhaj>s, are sinful, and probably are always and neces-
sarily sinl'ul in all free countries, where the power to change the (Jovern-
ment by voting, in the jjlaco of force, exists as a common right eonsti-
tutionally secured to the people who are sovereign. If in any caso
treason, rebellion, and anaFv*hy can possibly be sinful, they arc so in the
CfiHO now desolating large portions of this nation and laying waste great
numbers of ('hristian congregations ami fat dly obstructing every good
word and woi k in those regions.

To the Christiun people scattered (hioughout tlu»se unfi»rtunato
regions, who have been left of God to havi* any han<l in bringing on
these terrible ealamities. wo earnestly ad«lre.'<s words of e.xh(»rtation and
rebuke, ax unto brethren who have sinned exeeetlingly and whom Got!
chills to rej.entanee by fearful jtidgment. To tho.se in like cireumstancos
who are not chargeable with the ^ins whi«-h have brouglit such calami-

716 CHRISTIAN LIFE AXD CEARACTEE OF THE

ties upon the land, but who have chosen, in the fexercise of their Chris-
tian Uberty, to stand in their lot and suffer, we address words of affec
tionate sympathj^ prajdng God to bring them off conquerors. To those
in like circumstances who have taken their lives in their hands and
risked all for their country and for conscience' sake, we say we love such
with all our heart, and bless God such witnessses were found in the
time of thick darkness. We fear, and we record it with great grief,
that the Church of God and the Christian people, to a great extent,
throughout all the revolted States, have done many things that ought
not to have been done, in this time of trial, rebuke, and blasphemy ;
but concerning the wide-spread schism which is reported to have
occurred in many Southern Synods this Assembly will take no action
at this time. It declares, however, its fixed purpose, under all possible
circumstances, to labor for the extension and jDermanent maintenance
of the Church under its care in every part of the United States.
Schism, so far as it may exist, we hope to see healed. If that cannot
be, it will be disregarded.

3. We record our gratitude to God for the prevailing unity of senti-
ment, and general internal peace, which has characterized the Church
in the States that have not revolted, embracing a great majority of the
ministers, congregations, and people under our care. It may stiU be
called, with emphasis, a loyal, orthodox, and pious Church ; and all its
acts and works indicate its right to a title so noble. Let it strive for
Divine grace to maintain that good report. In some respects the inte-
rests of the Church of God are very different from those of civil insti-
tutions. Whatever may befall this or any other nation, the Church of
Christ must abide on earth triumphant even over the gates of hell. It
is, therefore, of supreme importance that the Church should guard itself
from internal alienations and divisions, founded upon questions and
interests that are external as to her, and which ought not by their
necessary working cause her fate to depend on the fate of things less
important and less enduring than herself. Disturbers of the Church
ought not to be allowed, especially disturbers of the Church in States
that never revolted or that have been cleared of armed tebels, — dis-
turbers who, under many false pretexts, may promote discontent, dis-
loyalty, and general alienation, tending to the unsettling of ministers,
to local schisms, and to manifold trouble. Let a spirit of quietness, of
mutual forbearance, and of ready obedience to authority, both civil and
ecclesiastical, illustrate the loyalty, the orthodoxy, and the piety of the
Church. It is more especially to ministers of the gospel, and among
them particularly to any whose first impressions had been on any
account favorable to the terrible military revolution which has been
attempted, and which God's providence has hitherto so signally rebuked,
that these decisive considerations ought to be addressed. And, in the
name and by the authority of the Lord Jesus, we earnestly exhort all
who love God and fear his wrath to turn a deaf ear to all counsels and
suggestions that tend towards a reaction favorable to disloyalty, schism,
or disturbance, either in the Church or in the country. There is hardly
any thing more inexcusable connected with the frightful conspiracy
against which we testify than the conduct of those office-bearers and

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOXS OF THE UNITED STATES. 717

nembers of the Church who, although citizens of loyal States and suh-
ject to the control of loyal Presbyteries and Synods, have been faith-
ess to all authority, human and Divine, to whicn they owed subjection.
Vor should any to whom this deliverance may come fail to bear in mind
hat it is not only their outward conduct concerning which they ought
o take heed, but it is also, and especially, their heart, their temper,
md their motives, in the sight of God, and towards the free and benefit
ent civil Government which he has blessed us withal, and towards the
piritual commonwealth to which they are subject in the Lord. In all
hese respects we must all give account to God in the great day. And
t is in view of our own dread responsibility to the Judge of quick and
lead that we now make this deliverance.

At the Yearly Meeting of the Quakers, Ma}^, 1862, they
adopted the following address, which originated in the women's
meeting, and which has been transmitted to the President of
the United States : —

To the President, Senate, and House of liepresentatives of the United States of

America.

At the yearly meeting of Friends, held in Philadelphia for Pennsyl-
vania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the Eastern Sliore of Maryland, by
adjournment from the twelfth day of the fifth nfonth to the sixteenth
of the sa;me, inclusive. Anno Domini one tliousand eight hundred and
sixty-two.

The following minute was read, united with, directed to be signed by
the clerks, and forwarded : —

This meeting has been introduced into a deep concern relative to tho
present condition of our country. Our minds have been directed to
those who preside over our national Government, and gratitude has
been felt to the Great Ruler of nations that he has so far moved tho
hearts of these that they liave decreed the District of Columbia free
from slavery. We earnestly desire that the Chief Magistrate of the
nation and our Congress may, in this season of deep trial, humbly seek
Divine guidance, that under this iniiuence tliey may act for the cause
of justice and mercy, in that wisdom which is pure, peaceable, and
profitable to dirt.'ct, and tliat tlio eflusion of blood may be stayed.

Signed by direction and on behaff of the meeting aforesaid.

Makv S. Liri'iNCOTT, Clerk of the Women's Meeting.
William Griscom, Clerk of the Mens Meeting.

United ruEsinTKRiAX Assemiilv, Mav, lSt»2.
The Committee recommend the ajipointm.'nt of tlie last Thursday of
November as a tluy of tlianksgiving, for thr following reasons: — tho
enjoyment of gospel ordinances, our civil and religious liberty, tho
supply of provisions ho unusually cljeaj) and abundant, that (lod ha,s
t^tine«l up the people to give themselves an. I their substance for tho
defence of tho country, and tho abolition of slavery in the District of
Columbia.

718 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Resolutions on the State of the Country.

The following resolutions on the state of the country were presented
by the Committee :—

Whereas our country suffers under a desolating civil war, and calami-
ties not often equalled in the history of the world are now endured by
our fellow-citizens ; and whereas the ministers of the gos^Del, as wit-
nesses for Christ and watchmen on the walls of Zion, are bound by
their testimony to give the trumpet a certain and distinct sound in
order to warn the people of their danger and direct them in the way of
duty. Therefore,

Resolved, That we recognize in the defeats and disasters of our forces
in the beginning of the conflict a deserved visitation of God's wrath
upon us for our complicity in the sin of slavery, and while we have
reason to fear further reverses to our arms, yet we feel and hereby ex-
press our gratitude to God for the recent victories and advantages
obtained over the enemy, and cherish the hope and belief that God will
continue his favor till rebellion shall be forever crushed and peace
restored.

Resolved, That, belie ring that so long as slavery lives no permanent
peace can be enjoyed, we express our higliest gratification at the
emancipation policy indicated in the President's recent proposition to
aid the slave States in the " abolishment" of slavery. We thank God
for the deliverance of the District of Columbia from the national curse
and disgrace of slavery, and would hail with pleasure the proclamation
of universal liberty; and we trust that our President and Congress will
pursue the course of emancipation till liberty shall be jiroclaimed
throughout all the land to all the inhabitants thereof.

Resolved, That, believing compromise with wrong to be the rock on
which our Union has been in danger of si3litting, we warn our fellow-
citizens, politicians, and statesmen that a compromise with rebellion in
behalf of slavery will be no less daiigerous to the stability of our Govern-
ment than to the cause of human freedom.

Resolved, That, believing it to be a duty specially incumbent on the
Church to let her light shine, and that her ministry are j)articularly
bound in the present perilous crisis of our country's history to declare
the counsel of God regarding the sin and crime of slavery, we trust
that all the preachers of that gospel which proclaims liberty to the
captive of every denomination will hear and obey God's voice, now
calling upon them louder than ever before to open their mouth in
behalf of the dumb. And we would especially urge upon our brethren
under our care to give a clear testimony on this subject in order to
mstruct our people and the nation in the great truth that righteousness
exaltetli a nation, whilst sin is a reproach to any people.

Rcsolced, That, as we can only succeed by depending entirely on
Divine agency, we will call ujoon the Lord in our trouble, and ask him
to so overrule the joresent war, inaugurated for the purpose of extend-
ing and perpetuating slavery, that it shall issue in its final and complett3
overthrow ; and that we will bear on our spirits continually, at a throne
of grace, our President, his counsellors, the Congress, the army and

CIVIL I^'STITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 710

navy, «ncl pray especially that God would preserve those who have
enliste \ in the cause of their country from the perils of the camj^ and
the field, and restore them to their families and friends in peace and
safety, and prepare those who may have to die in the conflict for a
victory over death and hell, and a triumphant entrance into heaven.
Adopted unanimously.

Tl^TIMOXY OF THE GENERAL ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT CONCERNING

THE Duty of Christian Citizens at the Present Crisis.

The General Association of Connecticut, being convened at Norwalk
on the third Tuesday in June, a.d. 1862, when the loyal people of the
United States are in the agony and crisis of a war for the Union and
the Constitution and for the great principle of popular self-government,
is called to put upon record and to publish to its constituency, the
associated Congregational pastors and ministers in this Commonwealth,
and to the churches, its testimony concerning the duty of all Christian
citizens at such a time as this.

I. We rejoice that we have no need to inculcate on our brethren in
the ministry, nor on our churches, the duty of sustaining our national
Government in this conflict, by unceasing prayer to God in juibUc and
in private, by a cheerful submission to the burdens and sorrows in-
separable from so great a war, and by voluntary contributions and
sacrifices for the comfort, the encouragement, and the moral and reli-
gious welfare of our brethren and our sons who are in arms, as well as
for the relief of those who are suffering with wounds received in battle,
or with sickness induced by the hardships arid exposures incident to
military service. Yet it is not superfluous to insist distinctly on the
duty of a large and generous confidence in the men whom God's provi-
dence has called to the administration of our Government at this time.
When we bless God tliat the President of the United States has shown
himself from the beginning of his adiniriistration to this time eminently
sagacious and prudent as well as honest and 2>i tr:otic, we express the
deep conviction and feeling of tliousands of our follow-citizens wliose
voices were not given to make him Pnsident. If there be any thing
m the proceedings or the poliry of our Government which, se»u from
our point of view, seems doubtful, let it be remembered that, in the
present peril, the first duty of every citizen is confidence in the consti-
tuted leadership till confidence shall be impossible.

II. While we acknowledge the justice of God in the present visitation
of his displeasure against the many sins of this most favored nation.
we record our conviction that the cause of this rebellion again>Jt popular
self-government is notliirg else than the instituti(jn of slavery, main-
tained in defiance of the first jirinciples of natun I ju-^tice, as well as of
Christianity, and that no durable peace can be expected with the .slave-
holding States till that institution, so odiou-* in the bight of God and
so long the abhorrence of the civili/ed world, shall have ceased to bo
formidalile as a power, and shall have reeeivetl its death-wound. No-
thing else than such an institution, redu'ing millions of human beings
to the condition of mercliandi.-e, taking uway from thorn by law the

720 CHEISTIAN LIFE AKD CHAEACTER OF THE

key of knowledge and thus forbidding them to read the Bible, robbing
them of all domestic rights and sanctities, and relentlessly maintaining
an infamous traffic in human beings for whom Christ died, could have
bred in such a land as this a population so ignorant, so barbarous, so
morally and socially degraded, though nominally free, as that which
wicked conspirators, the leaders of the rebellion, have used at their
pleasure in this infamous and ever-memorable war against the most
beneficent Government which God has ever given to any people.

During all the progress of that great apostasy from the first principles
of Christian morality which has characterized the history of Chris-
tianity in the slaveholding States for the last thirt)^ j^ears, the General
Association of Connecticut, while studiously refusing to hold forth any
other doctrine concerning the relations and mutual duties of masters
and servants than that which was held forth by the apostles, has never
ceased to testify " that to buy and sell human beings, and to hold them
and treat them as merchandise, or to treat servants, bond or free, in
any manner inconsistent with the fact that they are intelligent and
voluntary beings, made in the image of God, is a violation of the word
of God, and should be treated by all the churches as an immorality in-
consistent with a profession of the Christian religion." It has never
ceased to declare that it " regards the laws and usages in resj^ect to
slavery which exist in many of the States of this Union, as inconsistent
with the character and responsibilities of a free and Christian people ;"
nor to proclaim " the duty of every Christian, and especially of every
minister of the gospel, to use all prudent and lawful efforts for the
peaceful abolition of slavery." We have no occasion now to give any
other testimony on that point than what we have always given.

III. As we look forward in hope to the conclusion of this Avar, we
anticipate the restoration of the Constitution of the United States, and
of the acts of Congress and treaties made in conformity therewith, as
the supreme law of the land, in every one of the now revolted States.
For the abolition of slavery in those States, we look not to the action
of the Federal Government exercising any power inconsistent with the
Constitution, but rather to the all-wise and almighty providence of God
compelling those States to accept and to incorporate into their own
laws those principles of natural justice which are liberty to every man
unjustly held in bondage. We demand of our enemies that they shall
accept, and we' trust in God that when he has sufficiently humbled
them by his power and scourged them in his justice he will give them
the heart to accept with gladness, the priceless boon of freedom for all.
Then shall the word of God be no longer bound, but have free course
and be glorified, and our whole land shall be adorned with the beauty
and the riches of a truly Christian civilization.

Meanwhile, we charge ourselves and we exhort our brethren of the
ministry and in the churches to be instant in prayer and ready for all
efforts and sacrifices.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 721

The Congregational Association of Ehode Island, June, 1862.

Whereas the great conspiracy against our national Government,
which, before the last annual meeting of this body, had ripened into
open rebellion and revolt, though greatly crippled and weakened,
remains yet unsubdued ; and

Whereas, in the progress of the strife resulting therefrom, God in his
providence has graciously smiled upon us, preserving our Chief Magis-
trate from the hands of bloody men Avho lay in wait for his life, our
national capital from sacrilegious hands, our civil polity from being sub-
verted, strengthening our hands to war and our fingers to fight, while
he weakened our enemies in many an hour of decision ; and

Whereas he has also touched the hearts of our civil rulers as with the
finger of his love, moving them to undo the heavy burdens and break
every yoke from the necks of those who could be directly reached by
the arm of their authority, and also to propose a generous help in
breaking others which they cannot directly reach : therefore,

Resolved, That this Consociation here makes devout acknowledgment
to Almighty God for his mercies in these regards, and here also lifts up
its voice in supplications that he will still be favorable unto us, that he
will give wisdom and virtue to our civil rulers, that he will lead our
armies to victory, that he will animate the hearts of all military governors
and generals with the true spirit of liberty and humanity, so that the
great power which they wield shall be so used as to secure his favor and
the advancement of this whole people in knowledge and virtue, thus
securing to us a righteous peace, purify our civil institutions from every
stain of oppression, and enable us to transmit them with blessings and
benedictions to the generations following.

TiiE Iowa State Congregational Association, June, 1802.
^^laie of the Country.

Resolved, The history of our country since the outbreak of the pre-
sent rebellion has furnished occasion for unceasing and most devout
gratitude and praise to God, inasmuch as our defeats and disasters have,
through his gracious overruling, contributetl to the ultimate success of
the national cause scarcely less than the many glorious victories which
have been achieved.

Resolved, The wisdom, im])artiality, tenacity of purpose, endurance,
'ihilanthroi)y, honesty, and honor exhibited by our Chief Magistrate in
the administration of the Government, command our respect, confi-
dence, admiration, and lovo, as for a man of extraordinary fitness for
his high office in these times of unparalleled trial.

Resolved, Wo huvo observed with })rofoun<l satisfaction the high
ground taken by Miv^srs. Grimes and Harlan of the United States
Senate, and Wilson of the House, from the State of Iowa, on the
various (juestions of national concein whicli have recently been under
consideration in the Federal legislature, an«l we rejoice in the great
ability, the undoubted patriotism, the sturdy independence, and humane

46

722 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

policy which have distinguished the course of these gentlemen in the
discharge of their grave Congressional duties.

JResolved, While we rejoice in the great progress of anti-slavery senti-
ment throughout the loyal States, we deeply deplore before God the
powerful pro-slavery sympathies and tendencies which are still manifest
among the peoj^le, and regard it as the duty of all Christians to continue
in labor and prayer for the deliverance of all the oppressed and for
the proclamation of liberty throughout the land to all the inhabitants
thereof.

GrENERAL CONVENTION OF CONGREGATIONAL MINISTERS AND ChURCHES IN

Vermont, June, 1862.

"Whereas our country is now suffering under the dire calamities of civil
war, as the result of a wicked rebellion ; and whereas the Church of
Christ in her membership is bound to bear witness to the truth, and
against all wrong : therefore.

Resolved, 1. That we regard the war now being carried on by the
Government to put down this unrighteous rebellion as an unavoidable
necessity, sanctioned alike by all right-minded, patriotic men, and the
principles of the word of God.

Resolved, 2. That we believe that, though other things may have had
their measure of influence, yet that the hitherto cherished institution of
slavery has been the principal and exciting cause and origin of this
attempt to destroy the Constitution and break down the Government.

Resolved, 3. That we gratefully approve of the course the Government
has taken in freeing itself from all complicity with slavery, that we
sincerely hope that this institution may be done away, in the providence
of God, speedily and effectively, and that we desire the President and
Congress to use all their constitutional powers, in the j)resent crisis, for
its removal.

Resolved, 4. That we tender to the President of the United States,
and his associates in the Government, our hearty confidence and sup-
port, and to the army and navy our sincere sympathy, with the assurance
of our prayers that the same power which has been so visibly displayed
in the past may guide to the complete re-establishment of the Union
on the principles of justice and republican freedom.

Eeport was adopted, and ordered that a copy, signed by the Mode-
rator and Scribe, be sent to the Secretary of State of the United States,
to be laid before the President.

The Ansioer of the President through the Secretary of State.

Departmext of State, Washington, July 11, 1862.
To Rev. Clark E. Ferrin, Moderator, d-c.

Sir: — I have the honor to acknowledge the reception of your note of
the 23d of June, accompanied by a copy of resolutions which were
unanimously adopted by the General Convention of Congregational
ministers and churches recently assembled at Norwich.

In compliance with your request, these resolutions have been sub-
mitted to the President of the United States.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 723

I am instructed to express his cordial thanks for the assurances of
confidence and support thus tendered to him by a body so deservedly
respected and so widely influential as the Congregational Church of
Vermont^

The President is deeply impressed by the fervent and hopeful patriot-
ism and benevolence which pervade the resolutions. It is the Union
and the Constitution of this country which are at stake in the present
unhappy strife; but that Union is not a mere stringent political band,
nor is that Constitution a lifeless or spiritless political body. The Union
is a guarantee of perpetual peace and prosperity to the American people,
and the Constitution, is the ark of civil and religious liberty for all
classes and conditions of men.

Who that carefully reads the history of the nations for the period
that this republic has existed under this Constitution and this Union
can fail to see and appreciate the influence it has exerted in amelio-
rating the condition of mankind ? Who that justly appreciates that
influence will undertake to foretell the misfortunes and despondency
which must occur on every continent should this republic desist all at
once from its auspicious career and be resolved into a confused medley
of small, discordant, and contentious States ? The duty of the Chris-
tian coincides with that of the patriot, and the duty of the priest with
that of the soldier, in averting so sad and fearful a consummation.

Be pleased, sir, to express these sentiments of the President to the
reverend gentlemen in whose behalf you have addressed me, together
with assurances of profound respect with which I have the honor to be
their humble servant.

WiLLiA>[ II. Seward.

The Ohio Coxference of the J^Iethodist Episcopal Chuiuh, September,

18G2.

Whereas the war now raging in our beloved country thickens witli
apparent disaster, wliich we cannot but regard as a chastisement from
Cod for the sin of the nation ; and

Whereas tlie interests of the Church, as well as the nation, are im-
perilled by the disasters of the times: therefore,

1. Ju.so/rr,/, That, as a Conference, we deeply deplore and liumljly
confess l>oiore Almiglity Ciod our manifold national sins, and (!-> luartily
implore his forgiveness and grace for reformation.

2. licsoli-eJ, 'J'hiit we have unwavering devotion to the cause of human
freedom, and unshaken confidence in tlie God oi' battles and of
nations.

3. Itcxolred, Tlial. in our view, tlie Cioverinnent shmild spare no vigor
and know no compnnnist', in trtMting lyhci/ion.

4. Jirsohrd, Tluit we give all supi)ort consistent with (Mir calling and
within our jtower to sustain the arms of the Covenunent.

T). Rcmlrrd, That wc redouble oiu- etlorts in promotinL' vital godliness,
both in the annv and in eivil life.

724 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Presbytery of Elyria, Ohio, September, 1862.

Whereas the present session of this Presbytery occurs at a time of
great clanger and distress, when dark clouds lower upon us as a nation,
and our minds are afflicted with fears and forebodings, if not for the
ultimate success of the struggle of arms now progressing, at least for
the lives of thousands, and for the multiplied interests of civilization
and religion: therefore,

Resolved, 1. That, as a Presbytery and as individuals, we deeply sym-
pathize with the great effort which loyal men of the nation are making
to put down this wicked and causeless rebellion.

2. That we feel ourselves called upon and bound to support, in every
legitimate way, by our influence, our prayers, and our efforts, our
national Executive in the great leading purpose which he has declared to
the world of preserving, by every means within his reach, the Union^
and of restoring and vindicating the outraged authority of our national
Oovernment throughout all that territory now in rebellion.

3. That, esteeming American slavery to be the primary and imme-
diate cause of our present trouble, we believe that all protection and
forbearance to it on the part of the nation has been forfeited, and that
it is the duty of our national authorities, legislative and executive, to
bring it to an end just as soon as may be consistent Avith the success
of the present conflict of arms in which we are engaged.

4. That we recognize it as a time for being humbled before God, in
view of the heavy judgments that have come upon lis, and of discerning
the cause not only in the sin of enslaving and perpetuating the bondage
of the colored race, but in other national sins.

5. That the loyal men of the nation are, in our judgment, called
upon to look to Almighty God for deliverance, and to use every means
to propitiate his merciful favor, not only by putting away with a strong
hand the crime of American slavery, but by every other proper means.
Especially do we feel that intemperance, profanity, and Sabbath-break-
ing, now fearfully prevalent, since they alienate from us the favor of
God, should be looked upon as offences against our nation's cause, dis-
loyalties as well as sins.

6. That the Lord's day should not be broken in upon and diverted
from its original purpose, as a day of rest unto him, so long as in the
providence of God it is not rendered absolutely necessary, believing as
we do that this course will best subserve not only the interests of reli-
gion, but the cause of our country.

The Synod of Ohio (New-School Presbyterian), September, 1862.

Besolved, That we cordially approve the patriotic action of our General
Ai5sembly, at its late sessions in Cincinnati, on the state of the country,
and rejoice to know that our ministers and members with such una-
nimity sustain the Government in its great struggle for existence, and
for the suppression of the vast and wicked rebellion now threatening
its overthrow.

Eesolvedj That we regard the rebellion as permitted in the righteous

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 725

providence of God as a cliastisement for our sins as a nation, and espe-
cially for the sin of enslaving our fellow-men and holding them in cruel
bondage ; and we therefore rejoice in the recent proclamation of our
worthy President, striking at the root of this evil by prohibiting our
armies from returning slaves escaping from their masters and coming
within our lines, by requiring the confiscation act to be enforced, and
by proclaiming liberty to the slaves of all those States that shall be
found in rebellion against our Government on the 1st day of January,
1863, and that we will exert our influence in all appropriate ways in
our several spheres of labor to give practical effect to these principles.

Resolved, That we will remember and sustain in the future, as we have
done in the past, by our prayers and sympathies and contributions, all
those engaged in the praiseworthy and noble work of maintaining our
free institutions intact, and preserving the integrity of our nation, and
suppressing this rebellion and eradicating its bitter root, so that we may
enjoy a righteous and honorable peace that shall be enduring as our
mountains and deep and perpetual as the flow of our mighty rivers.

The General Association" of New York (Congregational), September,

1802.

Resolutions on the State of the Coimtry.

1. Resolved, That, inasmuch as freedom to worship God according to
the unrestricted dictate of conscience, and the inalienable equality in
the rights and privileges of all, are the elemental and vitalizing prin-
ciples of our Church polity, we, as Congregationalists, are unalterably
devoted to the holy cause of liberty, and always to the Government that
maintiuns it.

2. That we regard as the basis of civil and religious freedom the
eternal law of God, which requir»'s that every man shall love his neigli-
bor as himself, and we rejoi(;e that the Constitution of the United States,
in ItK article on the freedom of religious worship, recognizes the same
Divine and unchangeable principle.

.'). That so long as this nation is true to the ]>rinciple of equality of
civil and religious rights wo can have no fear for the perpetuity of our
Union, which was constructed to maintain that principle for ourselves,
our posterity, and the world.

4. That wo recognize witli devout gratitude the unusual and con-
tiiuK'd spirit of ])rayer for the nation, and the r«'pcat<'d interpositions
of Divine Providence in our lehalf, ns tlu' cvi'ltnce that God has sot hi«
seal of ai)i)robation on tiie efforts of the jteoplc nnd th<' (unornment to
preserve and perpetuate the Constitution and the Union.

T). That in the stca<ly progress toward unity of si«ntiment, from the
day of the wanton attack on Fort Sumter, we sco th«' t'ducatiojial proci-sa
of God in j»rcpai iiig us to take our proper ^tand in the great .struggle
between Liberty and Despotism, on which the highest interi>sts of our
nation and humanity are ntaked.

('). That we liail with great joy the Lite proelamation of the President
of the United States, in which lie announces EJiA.NcirATioN roR in*

726 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

en'slaved; regarding it as eminently vv-ise and timely, and as a grand
advance towards the desired consummation of our present conflict, in
the establishment of enduring peace with freedom throughout the
entire land.

7. That we confidently anticipate that when God shall have disciplined
and thoroughly purified us as a people, and dehvered us from the degra-
dation and curse of slavery, he will make our example eminently eflect-
ive for the education of the struggling nations of the world in the
great principles of healthful civil and religious freedom, so fulfilling
his manifest purpose in the formation of this Christian republic on the
basis of popular intelligence, of wholesome liberty, and of constitutional
self-government.

8. That a delegation of this body be appointed to proceed to Wash-
ington City, personally to present the above resolutions to his Excel-
lency the President of the United States, w*ith the assurance of our
profoundest sympathy with him in his present trying situation; and
that we shall continue our earnest daily supplications to God, the great
Ruler of Nations, that he would bestow upon him the wisdom and the
fortitude necessary for the prompt and faithful discharge of his duties.

General Conference of the Congregational Ministers of Massachu-
setts, September, 18G2,

Besolved, With humility and shame we confess the sins that have
brought the righteous judgments of God upon our nation. Our pride,
ambition, and worldliness .have led us to sin with a high hand. We
have oppressed and enslaved the poor and needy. We have defiled the
good land that the Lord has given us.

Resolved, We receive the fact that an armed rebellion still rages
unsuppressed and defiant against our Government not only as a proof
that we are not yet as a nation sufficiently humbled before God and
therefore not preijared for his deliverance, but also as an earnest call
for our greatly increased humiliation and prayers, and our augmented
energy and self-sacrifice for the defence of our liberties.

Resolved, While we acknowledge our entire dependence upon God for
the triumph of our Government, we believe that God will secure this
result through appropriate human agencies; and therefore we look
for a complete and perinanent restoration of union and peace to our
country only from the removal of slavery, — the chief source of this
rebellion.

Resolved, We believe that we express the unanimous feeling of our
churches in this State wdien we pledge our loyal support and sympathy
to the President of these United States in the most vigorous measures
for the suppression of this rebellion. We fervently implore for him,
his cabinet, and all our civil and military authorities, the wisdom and
guidance of Heaven, so necessary to the discharge of their present
solemn responsibilities; upon our army and navy, the protection of God
and the courage which comes from his presence and obedience to his
holy commands ; and the consolations of the gospel upon the sick and
wounded, and the households mourning for the death of the slain.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 727

jResolved, That since the first distracting novelty of the war has given
place to deeper thoughtfulness in the public mind, and multitudes are
called to the most solemn duty of laying themselves or their friends on
the altar of their country, — and we know not but that more fearful
judgments of Heaven will yet take away one of every two in the field
and by the fireside, — it is the pressing duty of ministers and churches
to labor as never before for the immediate conversion of all hearts to
Christ.

United States Conven'tiox of Uxiyersalists, September, 1862.

Hesolved, That while in our judgment we must accept the existing
strife as the natural and inevitable penalty of our national infidelity to
our republican principles and of an attempt to reconcile freedom and
slavery (which are essentially irreconcilable), we renewedly profess our
faith in the justice of our cause and in the certainty of our final
triumph, and renewedly tender to the President and his constitutional
advisers the assurance of our sympathy amid the great responsibilities
of their position, and of our hearty support in all proper and eflficient
efforts to suppress this atrocious rebellion.

Unsolved, That we have occasion in the midst of events through
which we are passing to be deeply impressed with the reality of God's
moral rule, and to learn anew the lesson that neither nations nor
individuals can safely defy his law, nor hope to escape from the inex-
orable ordinance that sinners must eat the fruits of their doings.

TuE Ouio Presbytery of tue Eeformed Presbyterian Church, October,

18G2.

The proclamation of emancipation, bearing date September 22, 18G2,
by Abraham Lincoln, we regard — and no doubt enlightened and liberal
men over all the earth will regard — as one of the greatest events and
one of the best signs of our extraordinary times. To have been des-
tined to issue it is glory enough for one man. It will stand in future
history in the same category witli Magna Cliarta and the Declaration
of American Independence. It is a living, hearty, and generous seed,
which will }>roduce through God much good, — local and world-wide
fruit. It will save our nation. It is, in the result, the death of slavery
and the rebellion. This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, who
Is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working. Therefore,

ItcsoUedj That this Presbytery recognizes the late j)roclamation of the
President of the United States in reference to the emancipation of the
slaves of those States now in rebellion against the Government as
righteous and eminently proper; that wo hail it as a favorable omen
that this nation is at last disposed to be just to the oppressed of the
land and place itself on the side of God and humanity.

That, in carrying out the principles of this proclamation, the Presi-
dent should receive the liearty support of all loyal citizens, and that
now more than ever we ami the people under our care should rcinem-

728 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

ber him in all liis enlightened efforts to save the nation and in all Lis
righteous measures for the emancipation of the oppressed.

New-School Presbyterian Synod of Wisconsin, September, 1862.

Whereas a fearful civil war still continues to rage with increasing
intensity in these United States, and by its falling victims bringing
grief and mourning to a multitude of homes ; and

Whereas it comes like a withering blight over the fair heritage of
God, taking away the standard-bearers from our churches, and making
large drafts upon the young, who soon were expected to be the effi-
cient laborers in the vineyard of the Lord, who, with hearts full of
loyalty and patriotism, have gone forth to their country's call : there-
fore,

Resolved, 1. That we do penitently acknowledge the justice of God,
who has laid on us the rod of his correction for the national sins and
individual offences of which we have been guilty, though often rebuked
and reproved, and heartily pray that the time may soon be at hand
when his wrath may be averted, and peace be restored to our distracted
and bleeding country.

2. That as a Church our testimony in the past has ever been against
oppression and in favor of constitutional liberty : so we cannot now
withhold an earnest expression of our deej)ening hostility to the
infamous evil which is admitted as the guilty cause of what we are now
suffering.

3. That we are anxiously waiting to hear authoritatively proclaimed
from the seat of Government universal freedom to the oppressed,
which jDresents the only hope that the Divine displeasure will be turned
away and the blessings of peace and prosperity again restored.

4. That the Church is most impressively urged to withdraw her con-
fidence from all human instrumentalities as adequate to overthrow this
gigantic rebellion, and to fix her eye unswervingly on the God of
nations and the God of battles in this day of our country's peril.

The Congregational Association of Western Pennsylvania, September,

1862.

Inasmuch as God has permitted civil wai' to exist in this nation, and
to spread and gain in intensity and power till it involves the entire
energies of the nation and threatens the very existence of the Govern-
ment, it becomes us who profess to fear God, to love our Government
and the institutions which are sustained and cherished by it, to inquire
into the causes of this dire calamity, and to help jout them away, that
peace may be restored and the blessing of God once more rest u23on
the nation.

We believe that while there are many violations of God's law, and
much that is evil, and only evil, provoking continually the Almighty
to jealousy and anger, yet still the great crowning evil, and that for
which God has poured his judgments upon us in so terrible a manner.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 729

is our system of slavery. As a Christian and democratic nation, we
have so fur departed from our principles as to hold four millions of our
fellow-beings as property. We have made the largest cities in the
nation slave-marts, where the voice of the auctioneer offering for money
" the souls and bodies of men" is almost continually heard. We have
made whole States slave-breeding and slave-selling States, in conse-
quence of which the sighs and tears caused by the separation of fami-
lies and kindred ties have never ceased to be heard or to flow. We
have prostituted our civil principles to this barbarous practice. We have
denied the equality of men's natural rights. We have by judicial
dicta thrown a whole race beyond the pale of Governmental pro-
tection. We have denied the sovereignty of God in the supremacy of
his law, that this evil might be sustained. We have chased the poor fugi-
tive, and delivered him to his inhuman master, in direct contraven-
tion of the word of God and the violation of every principle of civili-
zation or feeling of humanity. We have built political parties on a
prejudice of color, and have gained political influence by the crushing
out of the African mind the last ray of hope of protection by the
Government for a solitary right. The religious influence of the nation,
as a great whole, has either participated in this' inhuman work or stood
by consenting.

For this great sin, deeply ingrained in the public character, God has
permitted this war to come upon us. The hand of God has so directed
it as to make it, from a trifling beginning, to assume gigantic pro-
portions, already to have slain its hundreds of tliousands, and is now
wasting with a fury seldom known in any land. If the nation escapes
an entire overthrow in all its material and moral interests, or even its
existence, it will be through God's great mercy alone.

With those convictions upon our minds, and the fear of God before
our eyes, we do now confess this great sin of ourselves and the nation,
and we will continually pray for God's wrath to be averted, that the
nation may be restored to such a peace as God shall ordain and esta-
blish. We will especially pray for our rulers and the loaders in the
army and navy, that thc^y may fear God, and be directed by Divine
wisdom in overcoming this rebellion, by destroying slavery, the cause
of it, and thereby secure agaiti the favor and aid of the Almighty.

W<', will pray for the soldiers, every day, that they may be sustained
in the great sacrifices tliey are making for their country's good an<l in
accomplishing tlic Divine purpose. We will synipathi/e also with the
friends of those who have falK-n, or may fall, while lighting for their
country.

As indivi<luals, we pledge ourselves to go or stay, to give our siil>stanee
or sutler, as God in his i)rovidence may seem to require for our country's
good. An<l, a<ting under the conviction that the judgment of (lot! is
roasting upon us us a nation, wo will abstain from amusements and grati-
fications in which we may have indulged in other circumstances, and
give ourselves up to self-denial, that Gtnl's wrath may be turned away,
and freedom and peactj without sinful compn)niiso bo restored to the
nation, and vital godliness be revived and spread.

730 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, October,

1862.

The Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, in its last annual
meeting, rendered its sympathy in the struggle of our national Govern-
ment with rebellion, and its prayer to the God of nations so to overrule
the conflict that the rebellion may be crushed, slavery, its prime cause.,
removed, and that peace, prosperity, and righteousness may be perma-
nently established throughout our land.

Again assembled for the annual review of our work in its progress
and in its hindrances, we are compelled to recognize again the relation
between the great extension of Christian benevolence with which we
are intrusted, and the conflict of our country with a huge and desperate
rebellion ; we are reminded that wherever our missionaries labor, their
personal safety, their liberty to pursue their work, and their privilege
of standing unawed before the rudest of barbarous nations, are partly
dependent, under the providence of God, on the fact that they are
citizens of the United States, protected in all parts of the earth by the
influential power of the great republic, and we are compelled to see
that what this rebellion aims at — the division of our country among two
or more naturally independent confederacies, weak in themselves and
jealous and hostile towards each other — would weaken the hands of
American missionaries in every part of the world. We are reminded,
too, that the entire moral influence of the American Churches upon the
world is far more powerful and beneficent from the fact that they are
the Churches of a great, united, sovereign, and self-governed people.
Therefore it is impossible for us to entertain a thought of any termi-
nation of this war otherwise than in the perfect restoration of the
Union under the Constitution, which, by the favor of God, has made
this nation heretofore so great and prosperous in. its freeedom. We
record again our loyal sympathy with the President of the United
States in the struggle to vindicate and maintain " the supreme law of
the land" according to his inaugural oath, and our confidence that,
according to his proclaimed intention, he will not fail to employ fof
that purpose against the enemies of the United States all those powers
with which he is invested by the Constitution of the United States, and
all those means of subjugation which are warranted by the law of
nations and the law of God. And with our renewed prayer to the God
to whose displeasure at the wickedness which fills the earth with sadness
and oppression all history has testified, and who so often wrought
deliverance for our fathers in their perils, we record our grateful con-
fidence that the rebellion will be crushed, that slavery, its prime cause,
will be removed, and that peace, prosperity, and righteousness will be
permanently established in our land.

New-School Synod of Pennsylvania, October, 1862.

Whereas the Synod is called once more to meet in the midst of a
civil conflict which has carried desolation and suffering through a wide
district of country : therefore.

Resolved, 1. That we render devout thanksgivings to Almighty God

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 731

for that measure of success whicli has hitherto attended our arms; that
we humble ourselves, and acknowledge the justice of our heavenly-
Father, wherein he has seen good to afflict us; that we rejoice in the
integrity, the patriotism, and the firmness of our distinguished Chief
Magistrate ; that we record with lively satisfaction his avowal of a
purpose to protect the unity of these States and the nationality of our
Government, at every expense of treasure and of blood, and that he
has recently, by his repeated proclamations, expressed his determination
to subordinate every local interest and institution to the great cause of
American freedom, of good government, and of the universal and per-
manent safety and j^rosperity of his native land.

2. That the Synod expresses its highest approbation of the brave,
faithful, and true-hearted men who have volunteered for their country's
protection ; that we sympathize with them in all their hardships and
sufferings ; that we give them the assurance of our daily and fervent
prayers for their triumph in the day of battle, for their consolation if
cast down wounded, for their comfort in the hospital, and their support
in sickness and in death.

3. That in the bloody martyrdoms of this wicked rebellion we recog-
nize new motives to abhor the crime of treason against law, and new
inducements to condemn and abrogate that system of oppression which
has not only suggested treason, but the most cruel and bloody methods
of putting it into i)ractice; and we urge upon all loyal people to mark
with their complete abhorrence all who resist the efforts of the (Jovern-
ment for its suppression.

4. That in the labors of our ministers and people for the benefit of
the sick and wounded soldiers, in the readiness of parents, wives,
sisters, and friends to surrender their objects of dearest aftection to the
perils of war, in the large contributions of money and goods made to
the Government to aid in suppressing the unholy rebellion, in the
patient endurance with which our people have borne themselves in
seasons of social bereavement and national disaster, we recognize a
blessed revival of patriotism, humanity, and Christian devotion to the
pure, tlie noble, the right.

ir \KKi>inK(; Presbyter V, 1802.

1. Tliat, wliile tlie Presbytery deej)ly mourns the continuance of the
unhappy war in which our country is involved, we see no otlier path
of duty for the Government and tlie loyal people of the land to walk
in than a vigorous jtrosecution of it, with all the means that (khI has
placed in our jjow^r and that humiinity will approve, until tli«> Union
of the States is restored and the authority of the ('onstituti«»n is every-
wlwre arknowledgi'cl.

2. That, recognizing the good i)rovidoiire of (tod which hivs hitherto
been with us to encourage us in th-- d;iys of our country's deepest
humiliation and to grant many signal victories, and n-alizing that ulti-
mate success nuist come from (J«»d alone, wo lunnbly l)ray that he
would gtiide the councils and the armies of the Govornnu-nt to a speedy
and happy issue of ull our trouble:*.

16Z CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

3. That we regard the late proclamation of President Lincoln, which,
after the 1st of January, 18G3, confers emanciijation upon the slaves
of all who shall then be found in rebellion to the Government, as a
most just and necessary measure in securing the speedy termination
of the war, and as an auspicious providential opening for the final
deliverance of the country from that system of iniquity which is the
chief cause of our national wars.

4. That, recognizing the hand and the power of God in that Govern-
ment which we have ordained over us, we view with abhorrence, and
call upon all loyal people to mark with their complete disapprobation,
all efforts, wherever made, to impair the confidence of the people in
the Government, or to resist by word or deed the execution of the
laws.

5. That we urge upon all Christian people, while confessing in deep
humiliation their own sins and the sin of the nation, to cease not, in the
weekly assemblages of the house of God, at their family altars, and in
the place of secret prayer, to beseech God for his blessing ujoon the
Government, the army and the navy, for the 6upj)ression of rebellion,
and for the speedy restoration of a righteous and a permanent peace.

6. That, in view of the great demand which is laid upon the practical
beneficence of the country in behalf of the sick and wounded soldiers
of the army, we urge upon our congregations, and upon the patriot
everywhere, to repay their debt of gratitude to these brave and noble
men by all possible care for their health and comfort.

The Triennial Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church op
THE United States, in Session at the City of New York, October,
1862.

Resolved, By the House of Clerical and Lay Dei^uties of this stated
Triennial Convention, that assembling, as we have been called to do, at
a period of great national peril and deplorable civil convulsion, it is
meet and proper that we should call to mind, distinctly and publicly,
that the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States hath ever
held and taught, in the language of one of its articles of religion, that
"it is the duty of all men who are professors of the gospel to pay
respectful obedience to the civil authority regularly and legitimately
constituted," and hath accordingly incorporated into its Liturgy " a
prayer for the President of the United States and all in civil authority,"
and a " prayer for the Congress of the LTnited States, to be used during
their session," and hath bound all orders of its ministry to the faithful
and constant observance, in letter and spirit, of these and all other j^arts
of its prescribed ritual.

Resolved, That Ave cannot be wholly blind to the course which has
been pursued, in their ecclesiastical as well as in their civil relations,
since this Convention last met in perfect harmony and love, by great
numbers of the ministers and members of this Church within certain
States of our Union which have arrayed themselves in open and armed
resistance to the regularly constituted Government of our country ; and
that while, in a spirit of Christian forbearance, we refrain from emi^loy-

CIVIL i:n^3titutions of the united states. 733

ing towards them any terms of condemnation and reproach, and would
rather bow in humiUation before our common Father in heaven for the
sins which have brought his judgment on our land, we yet feel bound
to declare our solemn sense of the deep and grievous wrong which they
will have inflicted on the great Christian communion which this Con-
vention represents, as well as on the country within which it has been
BO happily and harmoniously established, should they persevere in
striving to rend asunder those civil and religious bonds which have so
long held us together in peace, unity, and concord.

Besolved, That while, as individuals and citizens, we acknowledge
our whole duty in sustaining and defending our country in the great
struggle in whicli it is engaged, we are only at liberty, as deputies to
this council of a Church which hath ever renounced all political asso-
ciation and action, to pledge to the national Government — as we now
do — the earnest and devout prayers of all, that its efforts may be so
guided by wisdom and rej)lenished with strength that they may be
crowned with speedy and complete success, to the glory of God and the
restoration of our beloved Union.

Besolved, That if, in the judgment of the bishops, any other forms of
occasional prayer than those already set forth shall seem desirable and
appropriate, whether for our Convention or Church or our country, for
our rulers or our defenders, or for the sick and wounded and dying of
our army and navy and volunteers, we shall gladly receive tliem and
fervently use them.

During the sittings of tlic Convention, the House of Bishops,
with cO, dignity worthy of themselves and the occasion, ordered
a day of prayer and fasting in view of the great national crisis
through which we are passing. The official resolution was
worded as follows : —

The House of lUshops, in consideration of the present afflicted con-
dition of the country, propose to devote Wednesday, the 8th of October
instant, as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, and to liold in
Trinity Church a solemn service api)ropriate to the occasion.

The Bishops all^et innately ro(|ueHt the House of Clerical ami Lay
Deputies to join with tlu'in in said observance.

In accordance with this resolution, the Convention adjourned
for the day specified.

Long before cloven o'clock — the hour announced for tlio
service — the church was crowded. At eleven precisely the
bishops and clergy entered the chur(jh, and occupied the seats
leading to the middle aisle.

The order of Morning Service was m()ilifit'<l for the occasion.
Instead of the Vcnite, the one hundred and thirtieth Fsalm was
chanted : —

734 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

''Out of the deep liave I called unto thee, 0 Lord; Lord,
hear my voice/' — the proper Psalm for the day. The first
lesson was the forty-ninth chapter of Isaiah, and the second
from the sixth chapter of St. Luke, heginning at the twentieth
verse.

To the suffrage in the Litany for '' unity, peace, and concord"
was added, '' and especially to this nation, now afflicted b}^ civil
war."

Immediately after the general thanksgiving the following
special prayers were read : — -

Almighty and most holy Lord our Grod, who dost command us to
humble ourselves under thy mighty hand that thou mayest exalt us in
due time, we, thine unworthy servants, desire most humbly to confess
before thee, in this the time of sore affliction in our land, how deeply
as a nation we deserve thy wrath. In the great calamities which have
come upon us we acknowledge ihj righteous visitation, and bow down
our souls under the mighty hand of our holy and merciful God and
Father. Manifold are our sins and transgressions, and the more sinful
because of the abundance of our privileges and mercies under thy
providence and grace. In pride and living unto ourselves; in covet-
ousness and worldliness of mind; in self-sufficiency and self-depend-
ence; in glorying in our own wisdom and richness and strength, instead
of glorying only in thee ; in making our boast of thy unmerited blessings,
as if our own might and wisdom had gotten them, instead of acknow-
ledging thee in all and seeking first thy kingdom and righteousness ;
in profaneness of speech and ungodliness of life ; in polluting thy Sab-
baths, and receiving in vain thy grace in the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ, we acknowledge, 0 Lord, that as a nation and people we have
grievously sinned against thy Divine Majesty, provoking most justly
thy wrath and indignation against us. Kighteousness belongeth unto
thee, but unto us confusion of face; Because thy compassions have
not failed, therefore we are not consumed. Make us earnestly to repent
and heartily to be sorry for these our misdoings. May the remembrance
of them be grievous unto us. Turn unto thee, 0 Lord, the hearts of all
this people in humiliation and prayer, that thou mayest have com-
passion upon us and deliver us. When thy judgments are thus upon
us, may the inhabitants of the land learn righteousness. Have mercy
ui^on us, have mercy upon us, most merciful Father. For thy Son our
Lord Jesus Christ's sake, forgive us all that is past, and grant that we
may ever hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life, to the
honor and glory of thy name. We beseech thee so to sanctify unto us
our present distresses, and so to make haste to deliver us, that war
shall be no more in all our borders, and thai all resistance to the lawful
Government of the land shall utterly cease. May our brethren who seek the
dismemberment of our national Union, under which this people by thy
providence have been so signally prospered and blest, be convinced of
their error and restored to a better mind. Grant that all bitterness

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 735

and wrath and anger and malice may be put away from them and us,
and that brotherly love and fellowship may be established among us to
all generations. Thus may the land bring forth her increase, under the
blessings of peace, and thy people serve thee in all godly quietness,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Grant, 0 Lord, we beseech thee, to all such as are intrusted with the
government and defence of this nation, thy most gracious support and
guidance. Graft in their hearts a deep sense of dependence on thy
wisdom and power and favor, and incline them with all humility to
seek the same. In all their ways may they dutifully acknowledge thee,
that thou mayest direct their steps. Make thy word to be their light,
thy service their glory, and thine arm their strength. Further them
with thy continual help, that in all their works — begun, continued, and
ended in thee — they may glorify thy holy name. Under their heavy
burdens and trials be thou their refuge and consolation. By their
counsels and measures, under thy blessing, may the wounda of the
nation be speedily healed. For those our brethren who have gone
forth for our defence, by land or water, we seek thy mo.<t gracious
blessing and protection. In every duty and danger be thou their
present help. In all privations and sufferings give them patience and
resignation, and a heart to seek their comfort in thee. May they be
strong in the Lord and in the power of his might, hating iniquity,
fearing God, and obeying his word. Give them success in every enter-
prise that shall be pleasing to thee. Visit with the consolations of thy
grace all sick and wounded persons, all prisoners, and all tliose bereaved
of relatives and friends by reason of the present calamities. Prepare
to meet thee all those who shall die in this conflict. Give them
unfeigned repentance for all the errors of their lives past, and steadfast
faith in thy Son Jesus, that they may be received unto thyself. And
finally unite us all together in the blessedness of thy everlasting king-
dom, through Him who liveth and reigneth, with thee and the Holy
Ghost, ever one God, worM without end. Amen.

Let thy continual pity, O Lord, cleanse and defend thy Church ; and
in these days of sore trial to thy pcophj raise up thy power, and come
among us, and with great might succor us. Grant tliat, by the opera-
tion of the Holy Ghost, all < 'hristians may be so joined togoth»'r in
unity of sjjirit and in the bond of peace that they may be a holy lomplo
acceptable unto thee. May all counsels of dissension and division be
brought to naught. Increase our faith and love and zeal in thy service
and for the coming of thy kingdom. 'Make the whole Church a light
in the world; and th«; more hor afflictions abound, so nuich ihc more
may her consolations also abound by Christ, to the i)raiso and glory of
thy name. Anion.

After tlie lilurgiciil t^arwcc, tlio tliirty-socond selection of
Psalms, beginning, —

•* Thy clia.stening wrath, 0 Lord, rostniin," —

was sung by tlie choir.

736 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

The eightieth, hymn was sung. It begins thus : —

"Almighty God, before thy throne
Thy mourning people bend ;
'Tis on thy pardoning grace alone
Our i^rostrate hopes depend."

By special request the music was, in accordance with the
sentiment of the occasion, as simple and unpretending as pos-
sible.

Before the benediction a short prayer was read, beseeching
'' Infinite Mercy" to appease the tumults among us, to bring to
an end the dreadful strife which is now raging in our land, and
to restore peace to our afflicted country.

The services were conducted by Bishops McCroskey, of Michi-
gan, Kemper, of Wisconsin, Smith, of Kentucky, Whittingham,
of Maryla^nd, Hopkins, of Vermont, and Mcllvaine, of Ohio.

Bishop Mcllvaine prepared the following ^

Pastoral Address of the House of Bishops to the Clergy and Laity.

Brethren : — We have been assembled together in our Triennial Con-
vention under most afiflicting circumstances. Hitherto, whatever our
Church had to contend with from the fallen nature of man, from the
power of this evil world, or the enmity of that mighty adversary who
is called by St. Paul the " god of this world," her chief council has
been permitted to meet, amidst the blessings of peace, within our
national boundaries' and as representing a household of faith at unity
in itself. Our last meeting was in the metropolis of a State which has
long held a high place and influence in the affairs of our Church and
country. Long shall we remember the affectionate hospitality which
was there lavished on us, and the delightful harmony and brotherly
love which seemed to reign, almost without alloy, in a Convention com-
posed of representatives of all our dioceses. Never did the promise of a
long continuance of brotherly union among all parts and sections of our
whole Church appear more assuring ; but, alas ! what is man ! how
unstable our surest reliances, based on man's wisdom or will !

How unsearchable His counsel who hath "his way on the sea, and
his path on the mighty waters," and whose footsteps are not known !
What is now the change ! We look in vain for the occupants of seats
in the Convention belonging to the representatives of not less than ten
of our dioceses, and to ten of our bishops. And whence comes such
painful and injurious absence? The cause stands as a great cloud of
darkness before us, of which, as we cannot help seeing it and thinking
of it wherever we go and whatever we do, and that most sorrowfully, it
is impossible not to speak when we address you in regard to the con-
dition and wants of our Church. That cause is all concentrated in a
Btupendous rebellion against the organic law and the constitutional

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 737

Government of the country, for the dismemberment of our national
Union, under which, confessedly, all parts of the land have been sig-
nally prospered and blessed, — a rebellion which is already too well
known to you, brethren, in the vast armies that it has comi^elled our
Government to maintain, and in the fearful expense of life and treasure,
of suffering and sorrow, which it has cost on both sides, to need any
further description here.

We are deeply grieved to think how many of our brethren, clergy
and laity, of the regions over which that dark tide has sj^read, have
been carried away by its flood, — not only yielding to it, so as to place
themselves, as far as in them lay, in severance from our ecclesiastical
union, which has so long and so happily joined us together in one com-
munion and fellowship, but to a sad extent sympathizing with the move-
ment and giving it their active co-operation.

In this part of our letter we make no attempt to estimate the moral
character of such doings. At present we are confined to the statement
of notorious facts, except as to one matter of which this is the con-
venient place to sjDeak.

When the ordained ministers of the gospel of Christ, whose mission
is so emphatically one of peace and good will, of tenderness and con-
solation, do so depart from their sacred calling as to take the sword
and engage in the fierce and bloody conflicts of war, — when in so doing
they are fighting against authorities which, as " the powers that be,"
the Scriptures declare "are ordained of God," so that in resisting them
they are resisting the ordinance of God, — when, especially, one comes
out from the exalted spiritual duties of an overseer of the flock of
(Jhrist, to exercise high command in such awful work, — we cannot, as
ourselves overseers of the same flock, consistently with duty to Christ's
Church, ministry, and ])eoplo, refrain from placing on such examples
our strong condemnation. Wo remember those words of our blessed
Lord, uttered among his last words, and for the special admonition of
his ministers, " thoy that take the sword shall perish with the sword."

Kcturning to tliis great rebellion, with all its retinue of costs and
sacrifices, of trilmlation and anguish, of darkness and death, there are
two aspects in wliich we must contemplate it, namely, as it comes by
the agency of man, and as it i)roceeds from the providence of God.

We desire, first, to call your attention thereto, as it i)rocceds /;om the
proi'idcnce of God. 80 comin-ehensive is that j^rovidence that it embraces
ail worlds and all nations, while it is so minute that not a sparrow
fullcth without th<i knowledge and will of our Father in heaven. In
its viist counsels, thisdeoi> atlliction has a place: God's Iiand is in it;
liis jKiwer ruk'.-j it. It is his visitation and chastiniiig for the sins of
the- nation. Who run doubt it? Just as the i»ersonal aflliction of any
of you is God's visitation to turn him from the worUl and sin unto
liiiusulf, so is this national calamity most certainly liis jutlgment on
this nation for its g.x.d. And wo trust, dear brethren, that wo aro in
no danger of sfeiiiing, by such inli-rprctation of our distresses, to
excuse in any dogfte such agency as men have had in bringing tlicm
upon us. Go«l*s providence has no inttrriMcncc with man's responsi-
bility. Uc worksi by man, but so that it ib slill man that wills as well

47

738 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

as works. The captivities of God's chosen people were, as his word
declares, his judgment upon them for their sins; while the nations that
carried them captive were visited of God for heinous guilt in so doing.
Saint Peter declares that our Lord was delivered unto death by the
determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, and that, neverthe-
less, it was by "wicked hands'' that he was "crucified and slain.''
Thus, we need be under no temptation to diminish our estimate of the
present dispensation of sorrow, as proceeding from the counsel of God,
in punishment for our sins, whatever the agency of man therein. So to
consider it is our duty, as Christians and as patriots, that it may do us
the good for which it is sent and may be the sooner taken away.

It is not possible for us in this address to set before you in detail, or
in their true proportions, all the national and other sins which make
us as a people to deserve and need the chastisements of a holy God. It
needs no Daniel, inspired from on high, to discover them. Surely you
must all be painfully familiar with many of them in the profaneness
of speech with which God's name and majesty are assailed; in the
neglect of public worship, which so dishonors his holy day; in the
ungodliness of life which erects its example so conspicuously ; and espe-
cially in that great sin for which Jerusalem was given over to be
trodden down by the heathen, and the people of Israel have ever
since been made wanderers and a by-word among the nations, — namely,
the rejection — whether in positive infidelity or only in practical unbe-
lief— of God's great gift of grace and mercy, his beloved Son, our Lord
Jesus Christ, to be a sacrifice of propitiation for oin- sins and an all-
glorious Saviour of our souls.

But there is a passage in the Scriptures which is 'of great use as a
guide in the consideration of national sinfulness. It is a warning to the
nations of Israel, and is found in the eighth chapter of the book of
Deuteronomy, as follows: — " Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy
God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his
statutes, which I command thee this day ; lest when thou hast eaten
and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and hast dwelt therein, and
when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is
multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied, then thy heart be lifted
up, and thou forget the Lord thy God; and thou say in thy heart. My
power and the might of my hand hath gotten me all this wealth. But
thou shalt remember the Lord thy God; for it is he that giveth thee
power to get wealth. And it shall be that if thou do at all forget the
Lord thy God, as the nations which the Lord destroyed before your
face, so shall ye perish, because ye would not be obedient to the voice
of the Lord your God."

Now, it was because that nation wa^ guilty of precisely such self-
glorying and such forgetfulness of its indebtedness to God and
dependence on his favor as this warning describes, that the grievous
calamities which so fill its history before the advent of Christ were
brought upon it. And it is because there is so much, agreement between
this description and the aspect which we, as a people, have presented
before God, that we place the passage before you.

Marvellously have we been prospered in every thing pertaining to

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 739

national i)rosperity, riches, and strength. God has loaded us with
benefits, and with our benefits have grown our ingratitude, our self-
<le2:)endence and self-sufhciency, our pride and vain-glory.

A synopsis of the residue of the address can only be given.

After exhorting the people to repent of the sins w^hich have caused
God's judgments on the nation, that they might be exalted in due
time, as God's hand was not shortened that it could not save, the letter
broached the second point, — the agency of man in creating the troubles
of the country. It was a subject which was approached with great dith-
dence, but one which the House of Bishops could not refrain from men-
tioning, especially as the clergy and laity desired their expression on it.
They looked around and beheld the vacant seats of their absent brethren.
It was the first time the Convention had met since the calamities of
the nation commenced ; and might the Almighty order that, when
they should again convene, those calamities should have passed away
and peace and union reign throughout the land. When they reviewed
the state of the country, they found an immense force ready to effect
its division : they beheld all the sad results of the war ; they saw vast
armies in the field, sharing the perils of battle; military hospitals were
thronged with the wounded, and everywhere they witnessed the painful
results of the conflict. The Church looked on the scene. What was
her duty, and how" should she accomplish it? Her duty in the emer-
gency was to proclaim obedience to the Government, or, in the words
of Scripture, the powers that be which are ordained of God. and to
declare that whoever resisted them resisted the ordinance of God and
was liable to damnation. That was the course of the Chui»ch. The
obligations to remain in the Union were as legal and forcible on the
States which had seceded as those which remained in it.

Allegiance was rightly due to their common Government, and refusing
such allegiance was sin, which culminated in a great crime against the
laws of God and man when it appeared in tlie form of rebellion. In
<;ases where States should leave the (Jovernment without cause, or in
the event of their suflering wrongs which provisions had been made to
redress, they were guilty of tlie horrors of the war which they ojjcnod.
The /lonii/i/ against rebellion denounced all attcnij^ts to subvert hgally-
constitute(l (iovrrnment. The letter ni'xt noticed, in tloqnent teiins,
the patriotism of the jx'oph* in giving their substance and treasure anil
sending forth mighty armies to batth* for the unity of llie nation an«l
the Government. After stating tliat the troubles of the country nnght
lea<l many away from religion and draw others to (iod. it enjoined the
]»(»oplc to be constant in prayer, and not h^t their hive of country
decrejise their love of Cod. They should be e,ch the .Vlmighty in
mercy to take away tlie calamiti(>s whieh they nil dt^plond, aind which
were caused by sin. They should, however, renjember that lo bate
rebellion was a duty, but to hate rel»els was (he uppo>ite of <hity.
I.et them under no circumstances bo unmindful of tlie words of the
Saviour, who told tln-m to love their enemies, and who. while they weri
themselves enemies, died on the cro.-s for their salvation.

740 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Heply of the President.
Right Reverend and Dear Sir : — The copy which you sent me of the
" Pastoral Letter of the Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church in
the United States of America'' has been submitted to the President.
He authorizes me to assure you that he receives with the most grateful
satisfaction the evidences which that calm, candid, and earnest paper
gives of the loyalty of the very extended religious communion over
which you preside, to the Constitution and Government of the United
States. I am further instructed to say that the exposition which the
highest ecclesiastical authority of that communion has given in the
Pastoral Letter, of the intimate connection which exists between fervent
patriotism and true Christianity, seems to the President equally season-
able and unanswerable. Earnestly invoking the Divine blessing equally
upon our religious and civil institutions, that they may altogether
safely resist the storm of faction, and continue hereafter, as hereto-
fore, to sustain and invigorate each other, and so promote the common
welfare of mankind, I have the honor to be, right reverend and dear sir,
faithfully yours,

William H. Seward.

The General Convention or the Methodist Protestant Church, Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, November, 18G2.

Whereas our country continues to be involved in all the horrors and
dangers of a civil war unparalleled in the history of the world, alike in
its gigantic proportions and in the vital interests which it shall atfect
for good or ill; and

Whereas we cannot be cold spectators of the scenes occurring around
us, because they appeal to ovir sympathies and our principles as patriots,
as Christians, and as philanthropists ; and

Whereas we deem it our duty to our country, to the world at largo,
and to our God, to utter our sympathies and sentiments in this hour
of danger to the country and to civil liberty : therefore,

1. Resolved, That we cling with fond affection to the institutions
bequeathed to us by our Revolutionary sires, and that we infinitely prefer
them to any other that ever have been, or that may be, proposed as a
substitute for them.

2. Resolved, That we therefore sanction, with all our hearts, the prose-
cution of the current war for their maintenance, and we recommend
that this war be pushed with the utmost energy and to the last
extremity ; because in its successful prosecution alone we see the pre-
vention of anarchy and misrule, of wide-spread dissensions and medi-
aeval tyrannj^ and vassalage, of universal distraction, contentions, and
bloodshed, more fearfully desolating and terrible than any thing that
can now result from the course that we thus earne^^tly recommend.

3. Resolved, That we heartily endorse the Emancipation Proclamation
of President Lincoln, because it strikes at that baleful cause of all
our civil and ecclesiastical difficulties, American slavery, — '' the sura
of all villanieF," th^ darling idol of villains, the central power of vil-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 74l

lanous seccssionism, but now, by the wisdom of the President, aboufc
to be made the agent of retributive justice in punishing that cul-
mination of villanous enterprises, the attempt to overthrow the most
glorious civil Government that God's providence ever established upon
earth.

4. Resolved, That we earnestly deprecate all dissensions and divi-
sions among those who profess loyalty to the Government and attach-
ment to our free institutions ; and that we deem it suspicious at least,
if not strong evidence of sympathy with our enemies, when men in our
midst attempt to create such divisions or dissensions upon any pretext
whatsoever.

5. Resolved, That a committee be appointed to address the President
of the United States, and express to him, in the name of the Metliod-
ist Protestant Church, the sentiments of loyalty contained in these
resolutions, and to assure him that our people endorse his Proclamation,
sustain the war, and are ready to do and suffer all things necessary for
the maintenance of our glorious Government intact.

These resolutions were unanimously adopted by a rising vote,
followed by a solemn season of prayer for the President of the
United States,

The Synod of New Jersey (Old-School Presryteriax), Oitorer, 1802.

Whereas, being deeply impressed \^ith the sinfulness before God
of the present rebellion against our Government, with the wide-
spread wickedness of our whole nation, which has brought upon us
all the chastisement of civil war, with the necessity of that humilia-
tion which the Divine judgments demand and are well fitted to
induce, and with the duty of trusting sincerely in God alone for our
national deliverance, and fearing that our people at large are not duly
alive to the religious aspect of our public troubles: therefore.

Resolved, 1. That this Synod express to all the i)eople under its care
the deep and solemn conviction that the armed rebellion now in
progress against our national Government cannot be viewed in any
other light than as a grievous sin against God and his Church, and
that in the jjresent conflict of our Government with this rebellion
there can ))e but two j)arties, — the friends and the enemies of tlie
Government; and therefore all who in any way sympathize with or
uphold the rebelli«ni are involved in the guilt of its great sin.

Resolved, 2. That wo regard tho continn!Uic<>. the enlarg«'d and
calamitous proportions, of our civil war :is ;i solemn token of God's
righteous dispU-asuro with our whole nation, and a most impressive
admonition that we are not suitably hnmbh'd for the manifold hcintnis
pins of corruption, i)ride, ambition, self-confi<l«Mic<', f«)rgt»tfuln»«ss of
God, covetousness, Sabbath-ijesecration, irn-ligion, both of rulei-s and
people, and oj)prcssion, especially of the colored race.

Resolved, 3. That a committee be appointed to draft a inemoriMl to
tlie President of the United States, to be signt'd by the Moderator and

742 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAKACTEPw OF THE

Stated Clerk, requesting him to appoint an early clay for humiliation,
fasting, and prayer.

Resolved, 4. That,* in case the President shall not have previously-
appointed such a day, this Synod hereby recommend to all its churches
to observe the said Thursday in December as a day of fasting, with
suitable public and private services of devout humiliation and prayer,
that the Lord may turn away his anger from our country, save the
Union from destruction, and restore peace and harmony to ovir whole
land.

Resolved, 5. That these resolutions be read by the ministers of this
Synod to their respective congregations from the pulpit.

The Synod of Wheeling, Virginia (Old-School Presbyterian), October,

18G2.

In view of the present condition of our Church and country, caused
by the existing and terrible rebellion in the whole Southern portion
of this Union, calling forth the warmest sympathy of God's people in
behalf of our land and nation, the Synod of Wheeling do reatfirm her
attachment to our Federal Government and Constitution, and that it
is the imperative duty of all our people to maintain the same by
upholding all persons in authority in all their lawful and proper actt*,
whether civil or military ; and,w^ith profound humility and dependence
on the grace of God, we would seek for Divine guidance and assistance
in our national troubles, and be encouraged by the blessed truth that
" the Lord reigneth." And

Whereas God has revealed himself the bearer of prayer, and it is the
privilege and duty of Christians to cry earnestly to the Lord in the time
of individual or national calamity ; and

Whereas the united prayers of God's people might be prevalent with
the Most High to remove from our beloved land and nation the
chastening hand with which he is so severely afflicting us, and that he
would make us sincere in confessing our sins and humbling ourselves
before the Lord in consequence of his judgments, w^hich rest so heavily
upon us, and, moreover, that he would grant grace unto those in rebellion
to change their hearts and make them willing to return to loyalty and
obedience to the Federal Government, which the God of nations has so
long upheld and so wonderfullv blessed in years that are past : there-
fore,

Resolved, 1. That the Synod of Wheeling, of the Presbyterian Church
(Old School), now in session at Washington, Pennsylvania, do respect-
fully, but earnestly, ask his Excellency the President of these United
States to appoint a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer, to be observed
by all the people of this land in view of the distracted state of our
country.

Resolved, 2. That if his Excellency the President should fail to apjpoint
said day, then the Synod do appoint the first Thursday of December
next a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer within our bounds, on
which our people are recommended to meet in their respective churches,
and confess their individual and national sins, and pray to Almighty

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 743

God in behalf of our beloved and bleeding country, its Government,
its army and navy, and its people, that armed rebellion may be over-
thrown and cease, and that the constitutional authorities of the Govern-
ment may be vindicated, and that we may obtain a speedy, honorable,
and permanent peace.

Resolved, 3. That the Stated Clerk of Synod be directed to forward a
copy of the first resolution to the President of the United States as
soon as practicable.

TnE SvxoT) OF Indiana (Old-School Presbyterian), October, 1862.

The Synod of Indiana, in session at Greensburgh, October 18, 1862,
recognizing the manifold and grievous evils of the civil war by which
the nation is convulsed and its very existence threatened, as the right-
eous judgment of God upon it for its national sins, and especially for
its complicity with, and support of, the system of slavery existing in
many of the States, for the instruction and guidance of the people
under its own pastoral care, and all men to whom its voice may come,
deems it its duty to declare :

That the nation has no right to expect that God will turn away from
the nation his judgment, until the nation shall have, with sincere and
godly repentance, turned from the sins by which the judgment has been
provoked.

That it is, therefore, the imperative duty of the citizens of the nation,
while humbling themselves under the mighty hand of God, and con-
fessing their own sins and the sins of the nation, supplicating his
mercy upon it, to urge upon the national Government the exertion
of the whole power with which it is legit imartely invested, whether
under military law or otherwise, to withdraw the nation from all com-
plicity with and support of slavery.

That it is the sacred duty of the whole people, by all the means in
their possession and to the whole extent of their power, to sustain and
support the Government in all lawful and just measures for the sup-
pression of the traitorous rebellion which has been originated and sus-
tained in the interest of slavery and slavery propagandism and domi-
nation.

The PiiiLADELriiiA Baptist Association, October, 1862.

Resolved, That, as members of the Philadelphia Bai)tist Association,
we reaffirm our unswerving loyalty to the Government of these United
States.

Resolved, That in the trials through which we are passing as a nation
wo recognize the guidance of the Almighty, and sec. not dimly, tlie ])ur-
pose of his love to purify the fountains of our national life and develop
in righteousness the elements of our national jirosperity.

Resolved, That, as Christian citizens of this republic, it is our bounden
duty to renounce all sympathy with sin, to rebuke all complicity with
evil, and cherish a sinipK', choorful contidt-nce in llini whoso omnipo
tence flowed through a stripling's arm and sank into the forehead of
the Philistine.

744 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Besolved, That, in pursuance of this spirit, we hail with joy the recent
proclamation of our Chief Magistrate, declaring freedom on the 1st
day of January next to the slaves in all the then disloyal States, and
say to him, as the people said to Ezra, "Arise, for the matter belongeth
unto thee ; we also will be with thee : be of good courage, and do it/'

Resolved, That in the name of Liberty, which we love, in the name of
Peace, which we would make enduring, in the name of Humanity and
of Religion, whose kindred hopes are blended, we protest against any
compromise with rebellion ; and for the maintenance of the war on such
a basis, whether for a longer or a shorter period, we pledge, in addition
to our prayers, our "lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

Resohed, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to the Presi-
dent and his advisers, with assurances of the honor in which, as Chris-
tians, w^e hold them, and with our solemn entreaty that no one of them
will, in the discharge of duties however faithful for his country, neglect
the interests of his own personal salvation.

The following reply was received from Mr. Seward: —

Washixgtox, October 18, 1862.
To THE Philadelphia Baptist Associatiox : —

Gentlemen : — I have the honor to acknowledge for the other heads
of Departments, as well as in my own behalf, the reception of the reso-
lutions which were adopted by your venerable Association during the
last week, and to assure you of our high appreciation of the personal
kindness, patriotic fervor, and religious devotion which pervade their
important j^roceedings. You seem, gentlemen, to have wisely borne in
mind, what is too often forgotten, that any Government — especially a
republican one — cannot be expected to rise above the virtue of the
people over whom it presides. Government is always dependent on the
support of the nation from whom it derives all its powers and all its
forces, and the inspiration which can give it courage, energy, and reso-
lution can come only from the innermost heart of the country which
it is required to lead or to save. It is indeed possible for an adminis-
tration in this country to conceive and perfect policies which would be
beneficent, but it could not carry them into effect without the public
consent ; for the first instruction which the statesman derives from
experience is that he must do, in every case, not what he wishes, but
what he can.

In reviewing the history of our country, we find manj'- instances in
which it is apparent that grave errors have been committed by the
Government, but candor will oblige us to own that heretofore the
people have always had substantially the very kind of administration
which they at the time desired and preferred. Political, moral, and .
religious teachers exercise the greatest influence in forming and direct-
ing popular sentiments and resolutions. Do you, therefore, gentlemen,
persevere in the inculcation of the 23rinciples and sentiments which
you have expressed in your recent proceedings, and rest assured that, if
the national magnanimity shall be found equal to the crisis through
which the country is passing, no efforts on the part of the adminis-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 745

tration will be spared to bring about a peace without a loss of any part
of the national territories or the sacrifice of any of the constitutional
safeguards of civil or religious liberty. I need hardly say that the satis-
faction which will attend that result will be immeasurably increased if
it shall be found also that in the operations which shall have produced
it humanity shall have gained new and important advantages. Com-
mending ourselves to your prayers, and to the prayers of all who desire
the welfare of our country and of mankind, I tender you the sincere
thanks of my associates, with whom I have the honor to remain,
gentlemen,

Your very obedient servant,

William H. Seward.

The State Baptist Convention of Ohio, October, 1862, passed
the following resolutions, prepared by P^ev. Dr. M. Stone : —

"Whereas the powers that be are ordained of God, and he that
resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God,'' and is threatened
with damnation: therefore, be it

Resolved, 1. That it is our right and duty, as a body of Christian citi-
zens, in these times of rebellion against our beneficent Government, to
tender our hearty sympathy and support to those who are intrusted
with it.

Resolved, 2. That we will accord a cheerful and earnest support to our
rulers and our armies in their endeavors to crush the wicked rebellion,
until that object shall be accomplished and peace and order restored ;
and that we will offer up our prayers and supplications daily to the
sovereign Disposer of events for his interposition in tliis behalf.

Resolved, 3. That since the present terrible civil war was begun by our
enemies, without any just cause or provocation, for the purpose of
extending, strengthening, and perpetuating the wicked institution of slavery,
against the moral sense of the civilized world, and though in tho
beginning we had no intention of interfering with tho institutions of
the rebellious States, yet the progress of the war clearly indicates tho
purpose of God to be the summary extinction of slavery, therefore wo
approve the late ])roclamation of liberty of our President, and we will
sustain him in currying out that i)roclamation till our l>eloved country
sliall be purged of tiie accursed blot, both the causo of the war jukI tho
chief means in our ononiy's hands of carrying it on, and will stand by
our country in the adoption of sueh further nu'asuri's as may be neces-
sary to put an end to this great rebellion.

Seneca Baptist Associatiox of Nkw Yokk. SKrrKMiiKR, ls<*»2.

That, while wo deplore tho evils of tho war, wo still believe that the
interests of humanity, froodom, and religion n«<iuiro its prosecution
until the rebc'llion is utterly crushed out.

That, as slavery has tak.ii th<> sword, we shoiiM therefore lot it perish
by tho Hword, being ab^«.lved from whatever legal or moral obligations
we may have been iukI'T to support it.

746 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

That we recognize in the scenes of blood now being enacted, the
righteous judgments of Grod for our sins. It therefore becomes us to
bow in humility and penitence, lest iniquity be our ruin.

That the recent proclamation of the President is but a step in the
order of Providence, necessitated by the logic of events. We therefore
accept it, praying that the same Providence will make it a sure procla-
mation for liberty.

That we cherish in our memories and prayers our brethren and
friends upon the field, making incessant effort to promote their spirit-
ual welfare, and trusting in God for their protection.

At the Baptist State Convention, October 7, 1862, in Ithaca,
the Committee on the State of the Country made the following
report, which was adopted unanimously : —

Whereas the civil war which was in progress in our country at our
last annual meeting is still in existence, threatening the destruction of
our Government, with all the precious interests it involves : therefore,

Resolved, 1. That, as a religious body, we deem it our duty to cherish
and manifest the deepest sympathy for the preservation and perpetuity
of a Government which protects us in the great work of Christian
civilization.

Resolved, 2. That, in our opinion, the history of civil governments
furnishes no example of more audacious wickedness than is exhibited
by the rebellion which has been inaugurated against the free govern-
ment framed by our fathers and so eminently in harmony with the
conscious and obvious rights of man.

Resolved, 3. That while we see, with the profoundest sorrow, thousands
of husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons falling on the battle-field, con-
sidering the interests to be preserved and transmitted to future gene-
rations, we cannot regard the sacrifice of treasure and of life too much
for the object to be secured.

Resolved, 4. That as human slavery in the Southern portion of our
country is, in our judgment, the procuring cause of the rebellion now
raging among us, having been proclaimed as the corner-stone of the
rebellion and as the institution for which they are fighting, as Christian
men and citizens we fully and heartily endorse the recent proclamation
of the President of the United States, declaring forever free all slaves
in the rebel States on the 1st of January, 1863.

Resolved, 5. That the spirit of the age, the safety of the country, and
the laws of God require that among the results of the present bloody
war shall be found the entire removal of that relic of barbarism, that bane
and shame of the nation, Americayi slavery, and that the banner of free-
dom float triumphantly and truthfully over all the land.

Resolved, 6. That the foregoing preamble and resolutions be signed by
the officers of the Convention, and transmitted to the President of the
United States.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 747

The Pennsylvania State Convention of the Baptist Churches,
November, 18G2.

Resolved, That this Convention, rej^rcsenting forty thousand of the
citizens of Pennsylvania, mindful, in the present national crisis, of our
own solemn duties to our country and our God, hereby declare our pro-
found conviction of the intimate relation there is between the cause
of human liberty and the cause of pure religion, and also our set pur-
pose, as citizens, as Christians, and as Christian ministers, to employ our
whole influence in supporting the supremacy of our national Consti-
tution against all enemies whatever.

Resolved, That as the institution of slavery stands before the world as
the confessed feeding source of the present mighty and wicked rebel-
lion against our national Constitution, we most heartily approve of the
President's. proclamation of emancipation, without modification in sub-
stance and without change of time in its execution.

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions, duly authenticated, be
forwarded to the President of the United States.

The two following letters are in answer to resolutions which
tLe author was not able to obtain.

Dkpartmf.nt of State, Septemlicr 2^. 18C2.
To the West New Jersev Baptist Association.

Reverend Gentlemen: — The resolutions concerning the state of
public affairs which you have transmitted to me have been communi-
cated to tlie President of the United States. I am instructed by him
to reply that he accepts with the most sincere and grateful emotions
the pledges they offer of all the magnanimous endeavors and all the
vigorous efforts which the emergencies of the country demand. The
President desires, also, that you may be well assured that, so far as it
belongs to him, no vigor and no perseverance shall be wanting to sup-
press the existing insurrection and to preserve and maintain the union
of the States and tlie integrity of the country. You \\\.x\ further rest
assured that the President is looking for a restoration of peace on no
other basis than tliat of tlie unconditional acquiescence by tlie people of
all the States in the constitutional authority of the Federal Governnu*nt.

Whatever policy shall lead to that result will be ])ursued ; whatever
interest shall stand in the way of it will be disregard. -d.

The President is, moreover, especially sensible of the wisdc^m of your
counsels in recommending the cultivation by the (iovtrnnunt and
people of the Uniti-d States of u spirit of niefkni'ss, humiliation, and
dependence on Almighty God, as an indispensable con«lilion for obtain-
ing that Divine aid and favor without which all human power, tiiough
directed to the wisest and most bcn«'Volrnt ends, is unavailing ami
wortlih'ss. In a time of i)ublic dangtM- like this, u State, esptvially a
npublie, as you justly imply, ought to reprfs.s and expel all p<'i-souul
ambitions, jt-alousit's, and asj>eiities, and hrtomo one uniletl, harmunioux,
loyal, and devotional people. Your obedient servant,

William II. Seward.

748 CHRISTIAN LIFE AXD CHARACTER OF THE

Department of State, Wasuixgton, October 6, 1862.
To THE Congregational Welsh Association of Pennsylvania.

Eeverend Gtentlemen : — I have had the honor to receive the reso-
lutions which you have adopted; and, in compKance with your request,
I have submitted them to the consideration of the President of the
United States,

The President entertains a lively gratitude for the assurances you
have given him of your loyalty to the United States and your solicitude
for the safety of our free institutions, the confidence you have reposed
in him, and your sympathy with him in the discharge of responsibilities
which have devolved upon the Government. The President directs me
to assure you that wherever the Constitution of the United States leads
him, in that path he will move as steadily as shall be possible, rejoicing
with yourselves whenever it opens the way to an amelioration of the
condition of any portion of our fellow-men, while the countrj^ is escaping
from the dangers of revolution. The President is deeply touched by
your sympathies with those of our fellow-citizens who sufter captivity
or disease, and the grief with which you lament those who fall in
defence of the country and humanity ; and he invokes the prayers of
all devotional men that these precious sufferings may not be altogether
lost, but may be overruled by our heavenly Father to the advancement
of peace on earth and good will to all men.

I have the honor to be,
Eeverend gentlemen.

Your obedient servant,

William H. Seward.

Baptist Convention of the State of Massachusetts, October, 1862.

Resolved, That, in the present terrible national crisis in which we are
involved by the unreasonable and wicked insurrection of disloyal men
in the interest of a stui)endous system of oppression, we hail with plea-
sure the ptroclamation of the President of the United States in favor of
emancipation, and the acts of harmony therewith, as a favorable indica-
tion of Divine Providence and as an important instrumentality for the
suppression of the rebellion.

Resolved, That in the fearful and wide-spread conflict now raging in
our land we regard the interests of civil and religious liberty through-
out the world for future ages as deeply involved, and therefore regard
it as the solemn duty of every man to sustain the Grovernment to the
whole extent of his ability.

Resolved, That, for the speedy and complete supj^ression of the rebel-
lion, we deem it eminently important that the loyal portion of the
nation, holding in abeyance all minor issues, should remain united and
present an unbroken front against the insurgents, and should therefore
put forth all their energies to prevent any division of the people in the
loyal States which shall weaken their support of the President in the
execution of his avowed policy.

Resolved, That whilst we mourn over our individual and national sins,
and acknowledge the justice of Almighty God in the severe affliction

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 749

which has befallen us, we also recognize his Divine sovereignty, that as
the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, so deliverance
from our present troubles can be eftected only through his mighty and
beneficent agency, for which it becomes us to offer earnest and perse-
vering prayer. '

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions, signed by the President
and Secretary of this Convention, be forwarded to the President of the
United States as expressive of our approval of his policy in the prose-
cution of the war, and as a pledge of our sympathy, prayers, and co-
operation with him in his arduous efforts to restore the Union and
bring back to us national peace and prosperity.

The New-Scuool Synod of Wabash, Indiana, October, 18G2.

Whereas a giant rebellion is still struggling to plunge its dagger into
the heart of our beloved country, that it may establish an empire of
slavery on the ruins of our freedom ; and

Whereas our national Government is manfully struggling to crush
this rebellion and annihilate its power: therefore,

Resolved, 1. That we do hereby express our unfaltering loyalty to the
Government under which we live, and do pledge all our means of influ-
ence, and our personal resources, for the preservation of the national
existence.

Resolved, 2. That we tender to the President of the United States our
cordial esteem and sympathy, and we will not cease to pray that God
may give to him wisdom and courage and faith adequate to the re-
8i)onsibilities of his position, and to the people patriotism equal to tho
exigencies of the national peril.

Resolved, 3. That while we bow in humble and sorrowful acknowledg-
ment of our national .sins that have provoked God's displeasure, and
deeply sympathize with the bereaved who have lost life-treasures and
heart-treasures for the salvation of the nation, we yet cherish an un-
wavering faith in God, confirmed by the orderings of his providence
and the conquests of his truth in the progress of this struggle, that he
is disciplining us for a nobler national life in order to a wider national
usefulness and prosperity ; and we give thanks to God for the Executive
proclamation of freedom, wliich we trust may sound the death-kn«.'ll of
slavery to the whole human race.

Western IJkskrvk Svnod of Ohio (New-School), Octoher, 18r»2.

While we arc deliberating for the interests of that kingdom "wliich
is peace," we are reminded that the war begun by a wicked rebellion
atill rages in the land.

'i'he Synod, at tlieir last annual meeting, adoj)ted ii carefully prepared
rejjort upon the stale of the country, iu which they bore testimony
against tho prime cause of tlie war. and pledged tlieir sujiport of tho
Government in its efforts to rc-esta])lish its autln^rity over the States in
revolt. Since that time the conflict ha^ assumed larger proportion.**,
and gathered to itself greater moral inton-st. Jiattle.s have been fought;
new armies have been scut into tho field; and legislation, and the

750 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

supreme military power, have made, and have foreshadowed, important
changes in the political and social condition of the slave. These events
have come to pass under the wise government of the Euler of the
nations. Grod has made himself known by acts of righteousness, and
by that wonderful overruling which has wrought in thoughtful minds
the belief that the exodus of the bondman is at hand.

It is fitting, then, that this body again give expression to their con-
victions in regard to the character of the war, and the duty of Christian
citizens in the emergencies which the progress of events has forced
upon the nation : therefore,

1. We reaffirm our unalterable belief that the cause of the Govern-
ment and of the loyal States is a just one ; we express our sympathy
with the President of the United States in his position of peculiar trial
and grave responsibility; and we exhort all Christians within the
bounds of the Synod to pray without ceasing that God will give to him
wisdom and strength for the right performance of his high duties.

2. Believing that Providence is shaping events for the extirpation of
slavery from the land, we heartily welcome the proclamation of emanci-
pation by the President. Receiving it as a measure of military neces-
sity, we yet gratefully record our admiration of that Divine government
which makes this measure harmonize with the demands of justice and
the requirements of Christian love ; and we pledge all our influence in
support of a policy so eminently wise and just.

3. Inasmuch as we believe God is punishing the nation for its sins,
and is seeking its reformation, we earnestly desire that the army and
navy, the exponents and the arms of the nation's strength, may be
purified from all vices and crimes which may provoke the Divine dis-
pleasure and render them unfit instruments for the execution of the
Divine purposes. Therefore, we lament that so much intemperance,
and profanity, and neglect of the Sabbath, and indulgence of brutal
and revengeful passions, exist in these branches of the public service,
and especially that so many who are intrusted with places of command
are chargeable with these grave offences. And we earnestly pray those
who have the requisite authority to remove from such places all those
who thus dishonor God and injure the Uiitional cause.

The New-School Presbyterian Synod of Illinois, October, 1862.

1. The Synod of Illinois continues to sympathize with the Govern-
ment of the United States in its efforts to put down rebellion and
restore the supremacy of the Constitution and laws.

2. We recognize the desolations of civil war as tokens of the dis-
pleasure of God kindled against us on account of our sins.

3. The principles of the word of God and the history of God's deal-
ings with other nations forbid us to hope for the turning away of his
wrath without national humiliation, confession, and repentance.

4. In this view, we rejoice and give thanks to the great God, in whose
hands are the hearts of kings and presidents, that he has inspired the
President of the United States to issue that grand proclamation which
Is at once (1) a war measure which strikes at the very life of the rebel-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 751

lion, and also (2) an act of national justice which will, we trust, go far to
propitiate the wrath of God.

5. As slavery and its champions have forced this war upon the
country, we shall regard it as a signal illustration of God's retributive
justice if he shall cause the war to result in the utter extirpation of
slavery and in the humiliation of all who have sought or helped to per-
petuate or extend it. The prospect that we may become in truth "-the
land of the free" — one. people, from ocean to ocean, and from the lakes to
the gulf — is a prospect grand enough to inspire the sublimest hopes and
nerve us to heroic endurance of the horrors of war.

6. To our brave defenders in the field, to the sick and wounded/ in
our camps and hospitals, to those who languish in the prisons of the
enemy, to the loyal men and women whom war has driven from their
sanctuaries and their homes, to all those among us who mourn the loss
of dear ones fallen as martyrs in our holy cause, we extend assurances
of our sympathy and of a constant remembrance in our prayers.

7. We believe it to be the duty of all good men to frown upon all
attempts to weaken confidence in the Government, or to divide and
distract the loyal people of the country. The efforts of i^cheming
politicians and selfish demagogues, and of an unprincipled or disloyal
newspaper press, to give aid and comfort to the rebellion l.iy dividing
our people, and raising up a reactionary party that would sc^l justice and
liberty and barter away all that is most sacred in our institutions for
the sake of the personal aggrandizement of a treacherous and short-lived peace y
ought to receive the indignant condemnation of all who fear God and
love justice. None but a righteous peace can be permanent.

8. We solemnly declare it as our conviction that this war should be
prosecuted with the utmost vigor until every traitor lays down his arms,
until every State returns to its allegiance, and until all the rights
guaranteed by the Constitution, and especially the rights oi free labor,
free thought, free s^peech, free press, and free worship, shall be secured to
every loyal citizen of the republic.

9. Wc enjoin upon our ministers and elders the duty of instructing
the people in the great first priiicii>les of the liible concerning tlie cort-
ditions of God's favor to nathms, and we exhort them to expound and
enforce the t^'acliings of the gospel concerning the brotlierhood of men
and the inalienaV)lo right of every man made in tlio image of God to
life, liberty, and the pur.mit of happiness. It is the disregard of these
princij)les and teachings which hius brought all our woes upoji us; it
is only by a return to them and by their hearty observance that we can
hope for en<luriiig national peace and prosperity.

10. We exliort all our people to i>ersonal humiliation and repentance,
to earnest prayer, to constant vigilance, and to a cheerful endurance of
the burdens of taxation, and, if needs be, of the i)eril.s of the camp and
the ficl<l.

11. Finally, wo repeat, with the emphasis of convictions strengthened
and emotions intensified ])y a y^Mir of conllict, the language with which
we closed our action on this subject one year ago, — viz. :

Wo urge all the members of otir <'hurches to sustain with a generous
confidence the Government and all who do its bidding, and cherish

752 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEPw OF THE

such a view of the momentous importance and sacredness of our cause
that they shall bear with cheerfulness all the sacrifices which the war
imposes, and, whether it be long or short, cheerfully pour out, if needs
be, the last ounce of gold and the last drop of blood to bring it to a righteous
issue.

The Upper Wabash Conference of the United Brethren Church,
September, 1862.

Whereas the Church of the United Brethren in Christ is anti-slavery
in principle, as set forth in Sec. 22, Dis. ; and whereas there are found
among us members who, in this dark hour of our country's peril, are
sympathizing with rebellion by opposing those who stand to advocate
and defend the anti-slavery principles of the Church, by refusing them
their support : therefore.

Resolved, That we earnestly admonish those who maybe found among
us operating against the spirit, letter, and intent of Discipline (Sec. 22) on
slavery, to consider the duty they owe to God, their country, and the
Church of their choice, to cease to manifest a s^^irit so contrary to the
teaching of the Church on this subject.

Resolved, That it be enjoined on the cireuit preachers to labor in the
spirit of meekness with those who are found acting in opposition to the
spirit of the gospel on this subject, and strive to bring them to a sense
of their obligations, and, should they refuse to desist from such a course,
to expel them from the Church.

Resolved, That we heartily sympathize with our Government in
striving to maintain the principles of civil and religious liberty against
slavery and rebellion, and pledge to it our prayers, our lives, our for-
tunes, and our sacred honor ; and should there be found any among us
who cannot respond to these sentiments, or who are found sympathizing
with traitors in any respect whatever, we admonish them, in the spirit
of brotherly love, to desist from such a course, or cease to remain in
membership with us.

The Central Methodist Conference or Ohio, April, 1863.

Resolved, That, in the judgment of this Conference, the declaration of
war, the marshalling of arms, the desolation and confiscation of pro-
perty, the robbery on land and the piracy on sea, the loss of life, the
blood that has already drenched the soil of Virginia and Missouri, are
all attributable to slavery as a cause.

Resolved, That, as the secessionists have forfeited, by rebellion, all
rights under the Constitution and laws, their slaves have a right to go
free ; and we hope the whole policy of the Government will be shaped
to this result.

Resolved, That, in the judgment of this Conference, the Proclamation
of General Fremont, declaring the emancipation of the slaves of all
rebels against the Government, is of paramount importance in the pre-
sent crisis, and meets the hearty approval of this body of ministers, and,
we believe, of all undeluded friends of the Government.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 753

Resolved, That we shall never cease to pray for our armies and navy
now engaged in war in defence of our country ; and we shall look for-
ward with hope and faith, when our hills and valleys shall shout, and
our mountains shall echo back the glad response, Universal emancipation
from slavery and rebellion !

The New York Methodist Episcopal Conference, April, 18G3.

Whereas the Southern rebellion, gigantic in its proportions and un-
paralleled in its wickedness, continues to imperil the existence of this
republic ; and

Whereas our national life is intimately identified not only with the
cAuse of civil and religious liberty in the world, but also with the best
interests of the kingdom of Christ, — for, so far as we may judge, our
nation is a choice and chosen instrument for the extension and establish-
Dient of that kingdom on the earth ; and

Whereas in a crisis like the present it is the solemn duty of every
citizen to rally to the support of a cause so unspeakably important and
glorious : therefore,

Resolved, 1. That, as members and ministers of the Methodist Episco-
pal Church within the bounds of the New York Annual Conference,
we cheerfully renew our vows of uncompromising and unconditional
loyalty to the United States of America, a nationality we are proud to
acknowledge, and resolved, with the blessing of Heaven, to maintain.

2. That it is our duty, enforced alike by the word of God and our
Book of Discipline, to submit to and co-operate with the regularly con-
stituted civil authorities, and to enjoin the same upon our people.

o. That while we do not deny, but rather recognize and defend, the
right of our people to discuss the measures and policy of the Govern-
ment, at the same time we would counsel that, in the present critical
condition of public affairs, tliis right is to be exercised with great for-
beanmce, caution, and prudence.

4. That the conduct of those who, influenced by political affinities or
Southern syminithies, and under the pretext of discriminating between
the Administration and the Government, throw themselves in the path
of every warlike measure, is, in our view, a covert treason, wliich lias
the malignity, without the manliness, of those who have arrayed thom-
pelvcs in open hostility to our liberties, and is deserving of our sternest
denunciations and our most determined opposition.

5. Tliat slavery is an evil incompatible in its spirit and practice with
the principles of Christianity, with republican institutions, with the peace
anrl i)rospority of the country, an<l with the traditions, doctrines, and
discipline of our Cliurch; and our long and anxious incjuiry, What shall
bo done for its extirpation? has been sin;.Milarly answcrotl by Divine
IM'ovidi'nce, whi<li has given to Abraham Lincoln, I'rosident of the
United Stat(!s, tlie power and the disposition to issue a proclamation
guaranteeing the boon of freedom to millions of Soutln-rn bond-
men.

G. That wc lif-arlily concur in this proclamation, aa indicating the
rightcousneas of our cauae, securing the symputhicaof the liberty-loving

48

754 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

the world over, and, above all, insuring the approbation of the Universal
Father, who is invariably on the side of justice and freedom.

7. That we find abundant reason for gratitude and encouragement in •
the recent revival of the nation's patriotism, in the maintenance of the
public credit, in the change of public opinion abroad, especially in
England, and in the gradual, but we trust sure, j^rogress of our arms.

8. That we cordially accept the President's recommendation to observe
the 30th day of the present month as a season of solemn fasting and
prayer, and that, assembling in our various places of worship, we will
humble ourselves, and earnestly supplicate the great Euler of Nations
to forgive our national offences, to guide, sustain, and bless our public
rulers, to look on our army and navy mercifully, giving success to our
arms, so that this infamous rebellion may be speedily crushed, and
peace, at once righteous and permanent, may return to smile on our
American heritage.

9. That our interest and sympathy for those who represent us in the
field continue unabated ; and that to all those who are suflfering in con-
sequence of the havoc or desolation of this terrible war we offer our
sincerest sympathies and our Christian condolence.

10. That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted to the President
of the United States, and that they be published in " The Christian
Advocate and Journal.''

East Baltimore Conference, March, 1863.

Whereas the war which has been devastating our beloved land for the
past two years still continues, and whereas silence might be construed
into indifference in such a crisis : therefore,

Resolved, By the East Baltimore Conference, in Conference assembled,
that we reaffirm our loyalty to the Government, and our most unflinch-
ing devotion to our country in the hour of her peril.

The Baptist Association of Illinois, June, 1863.

In the midst of many dangers and reverses which have overtaken
our arms during the past year, we yet have great reason for thankful-
ness, not only for important victories vouchsafed to us, but for a far
juster conception, on the part of the masses of the people, of the great
moral issues involved in the struggle. We bless God that he has taught
us by the rod of disaster that there can be no peace until the claims of
Him whose right it is to reign shall be recognized and obeyed.

We cordially support the administration in their efforts to put down
the rebellion, and hail with joy the proclamation of emancipation,
believing that when we as a nation shall ''keep the fast which God hath
chosen,''^ "that our light shall break forth as the morning, and our
health shall spring forth speedily."

We recognize human slavery now, as we have heretofore done, to be
the cause of the war and its kindred evils, and we reiterate our convic-
tions that there can be no peace and prosperity in the nation until it is
destroyed.

We feel that the hope of our country in the suppression of treason

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 755

in the revolted States, and in our midst, lies not merely in military suc-
cesses or in military orders, but in the incorruptible virtue and the pro-
found devotion of the people to the principles of the glorious gospel of
the blessed God.

We deeply sympathize with our brethren who have gone to fight the
battles of our country, with such as are sick and wounded in the
hospitals, and with those who have been bereaved because their loved
ones have been stricken by the hand of death wliile connected with the
army. We pledge to our brave soldiers everywhere our sympathies,
our prayers, and our utmost efforts that they may be sustained in all
their troubles, and that they may be abundantly successful in the great
task committed to their hands.

The Conference of the Western Unitarian Association, utZLh at
Toledo, Ohio, Jlne, 18G3.

Whereas our allegiance to the kingdom of God requires of us loyalty
to every rigliteous authority on earth ; therefore,

Resolved, That we give to the President of the United States, and to
all who are charged with the guidance and defence of our nation in its
I)resent terrible struggle for the preservation of liberty, public order,
;uid Christian civilization, against the powerful w-ickedness of treason
and rebellion, the assurance of our cordial sympathy and steady sup-
port, and that we will cheerfully continue to share any and all needful
burdens and sacrifices in the holy cause of our country.

Resolved, That we hail with gratitude and hope the rapidly growing
conviction among tlie loyal masses of our countrymen that tlie existence
of human slavery is inconsistent with the national saf(ity and honor, as
it is inconsistent with natural right and justice, and tliat we ask of tlie
(jovernment a thorough and vigorous enforcement of the policy of
emancipation, as necessary alike to military success, to lasting peace,
and to the just supremacy of the Constitution over all the land.

Presrvtery of St. Louis (Old-School), June, ISG.T.

Wlicreas viob nt resistance to the authority of civil government, with-
out adequate cause, is, ))y the teaching of Scripture and th«' standards
of the Presbyteiian Church, a sin against God ; and wherea-* our f«llow
citizens now in ifbcllion against our national and State Governments,
among whom are found a number of our own cliur<-ii-ni«>mbers. have
never experienced any wrong 'or grievance at tin* bands ol those in
authority that could justify a resort toarmetl resistanco to our cstablislie*!
C(»v«'rnm»'iit; and wlieroas it is tlie duty of those who rule in the
Church to guirle tli«' Hock in the way of truth and righteousness and
warn th«Mn against cri-or and sin : th<-r<'r<jie.

lirsohrd. That we, the Presbytery of St. Lo,us. acting upon a souse of
duty to the chunhes over which we rub", do ht-nhy rarnrstly efitreat
and warn all m.-mbfrs of our churcln-s to abstain from all parliciputioi*
in the prrsont rebollion, or from giving oountonanco and cncourng«>-
mcnt thereto by w.r.l or deed, as Huch participation, countemiuce, or

766 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

encouragement involves sin against God, and will expose those engaged
therein to the penalties of ecclesiastical discipline.

Presbytery of Eipley, Ohio, April, 1863.

Resolved, 1. That while the terrible judgments of God are inflicted
upon the Government and people, there should be universal reformation.
That all sinful practices should be abandoned, and that all systems of
oppression and wrong should be abolished. Among these are intempe-
rance. Sabbath-breaking, and slavery. These have been the most promi-
nent sins of the nation,

2. That we recommend to the churches under our care to observe
carefully the fast proclaimed by the President, to be kept on the
30th day of the present month.

3. That, as civil government is an ordinance of God, it is the duty of
all persons to obey civil magistrates in all things that do not contravene
the law of God.

4. That, upon full investigation, it is evident that the Government
inflicted no wrong upon the slaveholding States, and that the rebellion
of the slave power against the Government is the most enormous and
criminal known to the world, and that the present calamitous war has
been forced upon the Government, and, consequently, that it is the duty
of all citizens to sustain the administration in suppressing the rebellion
and the slaveholding combination by which it was instigated.

5. That disloyalty to the Government, as it tends to anarchy, robbery,
and murder, is one of the highest crimes against God and man : conse-
quently, that class of men in the free States who sympathize with the
rebels of the South, oppose the administration, and aim to sustain the
slave system, which has caused the murder of hundreds of thousands
of the most brave and noble men of the nation, and has brought upon
the whole country the most terrible calamities, are among the most
depraved, dangerous, and abominably wicked men existing on the
earth.

The General Convention of Congregational Ministers and Churches
OF Vermont, June, 1863.

Whereas our beloved country continues to be the scene of an un-
principled and wicked rebellion, the object of which, as openly avowed
by its leaders, is the overthrow of the Government established by the
wisdom, the toils, and the sacrifices of our fathers, the dismemberment
of the Union, and the establishment within our limits of a Confederacy
founded upon the enormous wrong and outrage of human slavery:
therefore,

Resolved, 1. That we reaffirm the principles and declarations relating
to this subject, as set forth in the last meeting of the Convention;
solemnly renewing our pledge of fidelity to the Government in the pre-
sent fearful crisis, and of our unwavering support by all lawful means
at our command.

Resolved, 2. That as " the powers that be are ordained of God," and
submission to them is expressly required by the Divine will, and as the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 757

existing administration of our Government, rightfully appointed, con-
stitute for us "the powers that be," for lawful government, we recognize
the imperative duty of all classes of citizens to render to the adminis-
tration, striving in its appropriate sphere to put down the rebellion,
their hearty support and co-operation, such duty being involved in their
allegiance to God.

Resolved, 3. That we cordially approve of the proclamation of emanci-
pation, issued as a war measure by the President of the United States,
whereby millions of the enslaved are declared free, and promise is given
that, as a nation, by the dreadful discipline of war, we are ere long to
come to the realization of the truth so prominently set forth in the
Declaration of Independence, that all men are equally entitled to the
privileges of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." And we
rejoice to recognize the rapidly increasing favor with which the afore-
said proclamation is regarded throughout the loyal States of the Union,
and by many who at first doubted its expediency.

Resolved, 4. That we highly commend the measures which have been
adopted for the comfort and instruction of the slaves who, by means of
the war and the President's proclamation, have availed themselves of
the priceless boon of freedom ; thus laying a foundation for their ele-
vation to all that ennobles and blesses our common humanity.

Resolved, 5. That we tender the expression of our admiration and
thanks to our soldiers who, at their country's call, with i-)atriotic ardor,
rushed to the field of danger to struggle for our national life. We
assure them that whatever we can do lor their comfort in camp and
hospital shall be done ; that when permitted to return to their loved
homes, they will receive a hearty welcome ; and those who shall have
sacrificed life in our army and navy in the noble cause will long live in
our grateful remembrance. And we tender our warmest sympathy to
all the families who, by reason of this wicked rebellion, are mourning
for fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons whose faces they see on earth
no more.

Resolved, G. That we commend the President of the United States, liis
Cabinet, and all to whom great public trusts are committed, to the
special Divine guidance; that wo acknowledge God's justice in our
national calamities, and would humble ourselves under his mighty
hand ; and we earnestly beseech the God of our fathers that, instructed
an<l jMH'ified by th<> things which we sulTer, we may as a nation bo
es(ablishe<l in ttiitli and righteousness, and become indeed a light and
blessing to th(; \\<>ild.

Tlie annual convention of the American Baptist Missionary
Union held its forty-ninth anniversary, at Olevehmd, Ohio,
May, 18G3, and passed the following paper. The Pre.sidcnt of
the meeting was Hon. Ira Harris, Senator in C-ongrcss from
New York.

The Committee api)()int<Ml t<> ].n'pan> resolutions on the stntc of the
country reported, through its eljainnan, K«-v. I>r. Dowling. the follow-
ing:—

7o8 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

"Whereas the officers and members of the American Baptist Mission-
ary Union, at their last annual meeting in May, 1862, unanimously
adopted a series of resolutions characterizing "the war now waged by
the national Government to put down the unprovoked and wicked
rebellion that has risen against it, and to establish anew the reign of
order and of law, as a most righteous and holy one, sanctioned alike by
God and all right-thinking men," and also expressive of their con-
viction that " the principal cause and origin of this attempt to destroy
the Government has been the institution of slaveiy ; and that a safe,
solid, and lasting peace cannot be exj^ected short of its complete over-
throw :" therefore,

Besolved, That the developments of the year since elapsed, in con-
nection with this attempt to destroy the best Government on earth,
have tended only to deepen our conviction of the truth of the senti-
ments -which we then expressed, and which we now and here solemnly
reiterate and reaffirm.

Resolved, That the authors, aiders, and abettors of this slaveholders'
rebellion, in their desperate efforts to nationalize the institution of
slavery and to extend its despotic sway throughout the land, have
themselves inflicted on that institution a series of most terrible and
fatal and suicidal blows, from wliich, we believe, it can never recover,
and they have themselves thus fixed its destiny and hastened its doom ;
and that, for thus overruling what appeared at first to be a terrible
national calamity, to the production of restdts so unexpected and glo-
rious, our gratitude and adoration are due to that wonder-working God
who still " maketh the wrath of man to praise him, while the remainder
of that wrath he restrains." — ^Psalm Ixxvi. 10. '

Resolved, That in the recent acts of Congress, abolishing slavery for-
ever in the District of Columbia and the Territories, and in the noble
proclamation of the President of the United States, declaring freedom
to the slave in States in rebellion, we see cause for congratulation and
joy, and we think we behold the dawn of that glorious day when, as
in Israel's ancient jubilee, "liberty shall be proclaimed throughout all
the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof." — Leviticus xxv. 10.

Resolved, That as American Christians we rejoice in the growing
sympathy of the enlightened portion of our Christian brethren in Great
Britain and other European nations with the Government and j^eople
of the United States in this righteous war ; and that, w^iile we cordially
thank our friends across the water for all expressions of their confidence
and approval, we embrace this opportunity of assuring them that,
within our judgment, the United States possesses within herself the
means, the men, and the courage necessary for the suppression of this
rebellion, and that, while we ask no assistance from other nations, we
will brook no intervention or interference wdth our national affiiirs
while engaged in this arduous struggle, which we believe will soon
be completely successful in utterly suppressing and subduing this
rebellion.

Resolced, That we hereby pledge ourselves as ministers, and as
Christians and patriots, to sustain the President of the United States
and his associates in the administration by our prayers, our influence.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 759'

and our personal sacrifices, till this rebellion shall be subdued, and
peace, upon the basis of justice, freedom, and Union, shall be again
restored.

Missionaries on the Kebellion.

At the twenty-third annual meeting of the Mission to Western
Turkey, the Rev. William Goodell, D.D., the Rev. William G. Schauffler,
D.D., and the Rev. Cyrus Hamlin, D.D., were appointed a committee to
draft resolutions on the state of our country. They reported the follow-
ing, which were unanimously adopted by the mission : — •

Constaxtinoplt;, May 30, 1863.
Resolved, 1. That, although we have been many years absent from our
native land, yet we entertain the most loyal feelings towards our Govern-
ment, and assure the President of our being in full sympathy with him,
and with all loyal citizens in their efforts to suppress the great rebellion.

2. That, having given up to this cause some of our best and most
promising sons, and one of our former missionary associates having
fallen a sacrifice to it (Rev. Mr. Dunmore, near Helena, Arkansas), we
are still ready for any further needed sacrifices for our country, and we
earnestly pray that God may inspire all our fellow-citizens with true
Christian patriotism, to smite this rebellion with " the arrow of the
Lord's deliverance," not, as Joash, thrice, but "five or six times," until
it is utterly subdued.

3. That we recognize the righteous judgment of God in calling our
beloved country to this reckoning of blood for the national sins of
slavery, oppression, greed, and political corruption in high places, and
that we regard national repentance, and the abandonment of these and
other sins characterizing us as a people, as the only way to recover'
national safety and prosperity.

4. That whereas God has vindicated in so remarkable a manner, and
before an attentive world, liis glorious justice and mercy in pleading
the cause of four millions of down-trodden, degraded, and despised
slaves ;

And whereas tlie Government lias abolished slavery in the District of
Columbia, and prohibited the same in all the Territories, and the Presi-
dent, as commander-in-chief, has issued his proclamation of freedom to
the slaves of rebels ; and whereas the prejudices so long cherished in
our country by the white population against the colored race are evi-
dently yielding to the imperious pressure of providential circumstances
under the Divine discipline administered to our nation ;

Therefore it is the clearest duty of all loyal citizens to fall in with
this wonderful march of freedom and j^rovidence, and to count no
sacrifices too dear in order to attain a solid p(\ioc upon the basis of uni-
versal freedom and equal rights.

5. That the courage, fidelity, sagacity, patient endurance, and absence
of cruelty and vindictivencss, exhibited so generally by the colored
race, under o.\asi)erating wrongs hardly j^-ualleled in history, entitle it
to the respect and sympathy of the civili/ed world.

C. That the distinct recognition which the President, Senate, and

760 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

many officers of the army and navy have made of God and ^his law, of
the Sabbath, and the necessity of prayer, is to us a matter of devout
gratitude.

7. That it is our Cliristian duty to pray daily and earnestly for the
President and his Cabinet, that they may have wisdom, energy, and
firmness equal to this crisis ; for the officers and soldiers of the army
and navy, that they may do valiantly for the Lord of hosts ; for the
millions of distracted Africans, that they may show themselves to be
men fighting for freedom and a home, and in abstaining from bloody
and lawless retaliation of wrong ; for the deluded people of the South,
that they may speedily renounce the tyranny of the slave-lords ; and
for the bereaved families of fallen patriots.

And may the God of peace shortly bruise Satan under our feet, and
redeem our souls from deceit and violence.

J. F. Pettibone, Chairman.
Tillman C. Trowbridge, Secretary.

The following resolutions were passed at a State Sabbatli-
scliool Convention, Dayton, Ohio, May, 1863. They show the
earnest Christian sympathy of Sabbath-schools throughout the
nation with the country struggling with a gigantic rebellion,
and were prepared and offered to the Convention by Eev. B.
W. Chidlaw, a veteran in the cause of Sabbath-schools, and a
faithful chaplain in the army.

Whereas our Sabbath-schools are so largely represented in the army
and navy of our country, by our former associates in the Sabbath-
school work, superintendents, teachers and scholars, now in the service,
cheerfully and heroically bearing the burdens of duty and suffisring,
fighting for the flag, and living by the cross;

Resolved, 1. That the Ohio State Sabbath-School Convention, assembled
in the citj'- of Dayton, expresses its cordial greetings, and earnest sym-
pathies with our brethren in arms.

2. That we ^^rge upon every Sabbath-school at once to open and main-
tain a correspondence with its absent members, to cheer and encourage
our loved ones in the camp, on the deck, or languishing in hospitals.

3. That we earnestly desire that all the children of our brave soldiers
and noble sailors should be gathered into the Sabbath-school fold and
taught the way of salvation.

4. That we would encourage all who at home have drilled in the
Sabbath-school army and studied the heavenly tactics, to fall into line,
and establish a Sabbath-school in the camp, and keep its banners-
waving for the spiritual benefit of themselves and comrades.

The Reformed Presbyterian Church, December, 1862.

The Eev. A. M. Milligan, of New Alexandria, Pennsylvania, and the
Rev. J. R. W. Sloane, of New York, waited upon the President of the
United States, and, on behalf of the Reformed Presbyterian (Old-School

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 761

Covenanter) Church in the United States, presented to him the follow-
ing address : —

To HIS Excellency Abraham Lincoln, President of the United

States.

We visit you, Mr. President, as the representatives of the Reformed
Presbyterian, or, as it is frequently termed, "Scotch Covenanter^'
Church, — a church whose sacrifices and sufferings in the cause of civil
and religious liberty are a part of the world's history, and to which we
are indebted, no less than to the Puritans, for those inestimable privi-
leges so largely enjoyed in the free States of this Union, and which,
true to its high lineage and ancient spirit, does not hold within its pale
a single secessionist or sympathizer with rebellion in these United
States.

Our Church has unanimously declared, by the voice of her highest
court, that the world has never seen a conflict in which right was more
clearly wholly upon the one side, and wrong upon the other, than in
the present struggle of this Government with the slaveholders' rebel-
lion. She has also unanimously declared her determination to assist
the Government, by all lawful means in her power, in its conflict with
this atrocious conspiracy, until it be utterly overthrown and annihilated.

Profoundly impressed with the immense importance of the issues
involved in this contest, and with the solemn responsibilities which
rest upon the Chief Magistrate in this time of the nation's peril, our
brethren have commissioned us to come and address you words of sym-
pathy and encouragement ; also, to express to you views which, in their
judgment, have an important bearing upon the present condition of
atikirs in our beloved country, to congratulate you on what has already
been accomplished in crushing rebellion, and to exhort you to perse-
vere in the work until it has been finally completed.

Entertaining no shadow of doubt as to the entire justice of the cause
in which the nation is embarked, we nevertheless consider the war a
just judgment of Almighty God for the sin of rejecting his autliority
and enslaving our fellow-men, and are firmly persuaded that his wrath
will not be appeased, and that no permanent peace will be attained,
until liis authority ))o, recognized and the abomination that inakcth
desolate utterly extirpat<Ml.

As an anti-slavery Church of the most radical school, behoving slavery
to be a heinous and aggravated sin both against God and man, and to
1)0 placed in the same' category with j)iracy, nun-der. adult" ry. and theft,
it is our solemn conviction that (iod, by his word and providence, ia
calling the nation to immediate, unconditional, and universal emanci-
pation. Wo hoar his voice in those thunders of war, saying to us. •• L«t
my peopl(! go." Nevertheless, we liavo hailed with dolightetl .satis-
faction the several steps which you have taken in the direction of
emancipation; especially do wo rejoice in your late proclamation
declaring your intention to free the slaves in the rcbi*! States on tho
1st day i)f January, lH(l;t,— an act which, when carried out. will give
the death-blow to rebellion, strike the fetters from millions of bondmen,
and secure for it« author u place among tho wisest of rulers and noblest

762 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

oenefactors of the race. Permit u?-, then, Mr. President, most respect-
fully, yet most earnestly, to urge upon you the importance of enforcing
that proclamation to the utmost extent of that power with which you
are vested. Let it be placed on the highest grounds of Christian justice
and philanthropy ; let it be declared to be an act of national repentance
for long complicity with the guilt of slavery ; permit nothing to tarnisli
the glory of the act or rob it of its sublime moral significance and
grandeur, and it cannot fail to meet a hearty response in the conscience
of the nation, and to secure infinite blessings to our distracted country.
Let not the declaration of the immortal Burke be verified in this
instance: — "Good works are commonly left in a rude and imperfect
state, through the lame circumspection with which a timid prudence
so frequently enervates beneficence. In doing good we are cold, lan-
guid, and sluggish, and of all things afraid of being too much in the
right." We urge you, by every consideration drawn from the word of
God and the present condition of our bleeding country, not to be moved
from the path of duty on which you have so auspiciously entered, either
by the threats or blandishments of the enemies of human progress,
nor to permit this great act to lose its power through the fears of timid
friends.

There is another point which we esteem of paramount imi^ortance,
and to which we wish briefly to call your attention. The Constitution
of the United States contains no acknowledgment of the authority of
God, of his Christ, or of his law, as contained in the Holy Scriptures.
This we deeply deplore as wholly inconsistent with all claims to be con-
sidered a Christian nation or to enjoy the protection and favor of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ is above all earthly rulers. He is King of kings
and Loixi of lords. He is the one mediator between God and man,
through whom alone either nations or individuals can secure the favor
of the Most High. God is saying to us in these judgments, " Be wise
now, therefore, 0 ye kings : be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish
from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all
they that trust in him. For the nation and kingdom that will not
serve thee shall perish ; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.''

This time appears to us most opportune for calling the nation to a
recognition of the name and authority of God, to the claims of Him
who will overturn, overturn, and overturn, until the kingdoms of this
world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. We indulge
the hope, Mr. President, that you have been called, with your ardent
love of liberty, your profound moral convictions manifested in your
Sabbath proclamation and in your frequent declarations of dependence
upon Divine Providence, to your present position of honor and influ-
ence, to free our beloved country from the curse of slavery and secure
for it the favor of the great Ruler of the Universe. Shall we not now
set the world an example of a Christian state, governed, not by the
principles of mere political expediency, but acting under a sense of
accountability to God and obedience to those laws of immutable moral-
ity which are binding alike upon nations and individuals ?

Praying that you may be directed in your responsible position by

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 763

Divine wisdom, that God may throw over you the shield of his pro-
tection, that we may soon see rebellion crushed, its cause removed, and
our land become Immanuel's land, we subscribe ourselves, in behalf of
the Reformed Presbyterian Church.

Yours, respectfully,

J. R. W. Sloane,
A. M. Mtlligan.

Messrs. Milligan and Sloane were introduced to the President
by the Hon. John A. Bingham, M.C., of Ohio. They were very
cordially received.

General Svnod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, May, 1863.

Whereas there is a God revealed to man in Holy Scripture as the
Creator, Preserver, Redeemer, and Moral Governor of the world ; and

Whereas nations, as well as individuals, are the creatures of his
power, the dependants of his providence, and the subjects of his
authority ; and

Whereas civil government is an ordinance of God, deriving its ulti-
mate sanctions from his appointment and permission ; and

Whereas it is the duty of all men to acknowledge the true God in all
the relations they sustain ; and

Whereas there is no specific mention of tlie authority of God in tho
Federal Constitution of the United States of America, tlie fundamental
law of their existence as a nation ; and

Whereas that Constitution and the Government which it organizes
and defines are now undergoing the trial of a defensive civil war against
a rebellion of a large portion of its own citizens and for its own national
existence ; and

Whereas the exigencies of the war have brought the autliorities of
the nation, civil and military, subordinate and sui»reme, to formal recog-
nitions of the being, providence, and grace of God and of Jesus Christ
his Son, to an extent and with a distinctness sucli as tlie country hiw
never witnessed before: tlierisfore,

Rc&oLvcd, 1. That in the judgment of this Synod the time is come for
the proposal of such anu-ndments to the Federal Constitution, in the
way provided by itself, as will supply the omissions above referred to
and secure a distinct recognition of the being and supremacy of the
God of Divine revelation.

Resolved, 2. That in the judgment of Synod the amendments or addi-
tions to be made to the natiomd Constitution should provide not only
for a recognition of the existence and authority of God, but also of the
mediatorial supremacy of Jesus Christ his Son, " tlio Prince of tho
kings of the earth and tins Governor among the nations."

Resolved, 3. That, us several articles of tho Federal Constitution hare
l>e«n and are construed in defence of slavi-ry, Synod tlo earnestly ask
the appropriate authorities to effect su<'h change in them a.'* will remove
all ambiguity of phraseology on this subject, and make the Constitution,

764 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEE, OF THE

as its framers designed it to be, and as it really is in spirit, a document
on the side of justice and liberty.

Resolved, 4. That Synod will petition the Congress of the United
States, at its next meeting, to take measures for proj^osing and securing
the amendments referred to, according to the due order.

Resolved, 5. That Synod will transmit a copy of such action as they
may themselves adopt to the several religious bodies of the country,
with the respectful request that they will take order on the subject.

Resolved, G. That a committee be appointed, composed of a member
from each of the Presbyteries in Synod, to whom this matter shall be
referred, and whose duty it shall be to correspond with such Christian
statesmen and other individuals of influence as they may find disposed
to further this dutiful and momentous object.

The General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church,

May, 1863.

Whereas this General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church in the United States of America cannot conceal from itself the
lamentable truth that the very existence of our Church and nation is
endangered by a gigantic rebellion against the rightful authority of the
General Government of the United States, which rebellion has plunged
the nation into the most dreadful civil war ; and

Whereas the Church is the light of the world, and cannot withhold
her testimony upon great moral and religious questions, and upon
measures so deeply affecting the great interests of Christian civilization,
without becoming justly chargeable with the sin of hiding her light
under a bushel : therefore,

Resolved, That loyalty and obedience to the General Government, in
the exercise of its legitimate authority, are the imperative Christian
duties of every citizen, and that treason and rebellion are not mere
political offences of one section against another, but heinous sins against
God and his authority.

Resolved, That the interest of our common Christianity, and the cause
of Christian civilization and national freedom throughout the world,
impels us to hope and pray God (in whom is all our trust) that this
unnatural rebellion may be put down, and the rightful authority of the
General Government re-established and maintained.

Resolved, That we deeply sympathize with our fellow-countrymen and
brethren who, in the midst of great temptation and sufferings, have
stood firm in their devotion to God and their country, and also with
those who have been driven, contrary to their judgment and wishes, into
the ranks of the rebellion.

Resolved, That in this time of trial and darkness we re-endorse the
preamble and resolution adopted by the General Assembl}^ of the Pres-
byterian Church at Clarksville, Tennessee, on the 24th day of May, 1850,
which are as follows : —

Whereas in the opinion of this General Assembly the preservation
of the Union of these States is essential to the civil and religious liberty
of the people, and it is regarded as proj^er and commendable in

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 765

the Cliurch, and more particularly in the branch which wc represent
(it having had its origin within the limits of the United States of
America, and tJiat soon after the blood of our Revolutionary fathers had
ceased to flow, in that unequal contest through which they were success-
fully conducted by the strong arm of Jehovah), to express its devotion,
on all suitable occasions, to the Government of their choice : therefore,

Resolved, That this General Assembly look with censure and disappro-
bation ui^on attempts, from any quarter, to dissolve this Union, and
would regard the success of any such movement as exceedingly hazard-
ous to the cause of religion as well as civil liberty. And this General
Assembly would strongly recommend to all Christians to make it a sub-
ject of prayer to Almighty God to avert from our beloved country a
catastrophe so direful and disastrous.

On the subject of American slavery, your committee submit that we
should not view it as if it were about to be introduced, but as already
in existence. We do not hesitate to declare that the introduction of
slavery was an enormous crime, surpassed by few crimes that have dis
graced the history of the world, and that there are at present great
evils connected with it, and that we believe will more or less be con-
nected with it while it exists. As to the remedy for these, the greatest
and best minds of our country and the world have greatly differed and
been much perplexed: therefore we would recommend to those who in
the providence of God have been placed in connection with this insti-
tution, to continue prayerfully to study the word of God, to determine
their duty in regard to their slaves and slavery ; and to those who are
not thus situated, that they exercise forbearance towards their brethren
who are connected with slavery, — as the agitation of this subject at the
present time in that part of the Church where slavery does noi exist
c-annot result in any good, either to the master or slave. Touching the
Rubject of American slavery as set forth in the memorial before us, your
committee are not prepared to make the simple holding of slaves a test
of church-membership, as they understand tlie memorial before them
to propose.

liesolued. That we disavow any connection with, or sympathy for, the
extreme measures of ultru-ubolitionists, whose etlbrts, as wi' believe,
have been, and are now, aimed at the destruction of our civil Govern-
ment in order to .al^oiisli slavery. The committee would say, in con-
clusion, that the rei)ort herein submitted is agreed ui)on jis a compro-
mise measure, to unite the whole energies of our bi'lovotl Church and
harmonize all our interests in the future, and to bind the entire
membership of our Cliureli, if possible, in close boiuls of Christianity
and fellowshii). "

The PRKsnvTKKiAN Gknkkal Assemiu.v (Oi.d-Schooi.), May, 18C3.

Your committee belitv; that the design of the mover of the original
ro8(ilution and of the large m;ijority who apparently arc roatly to vote
for its adoption, is simply to call forth from tlio As.sombly a significant
token of our sympathy with this Governnu'iit in it.-* earnest ellbrta to
»uppr(\sa a relieilion that now for over two years hjus wickedly stood in
armed resistance to lawful and beneficent authority. 15ut as there are

766 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

many among us who are undoubtedly patriotic, who are willing to
express any righteous principle to which this Assembly should give
utterance touching the subjection and attachment of an American
citizen, to the Union and its institutions, who love the flag of our
country and rejoice at its successes by sea and by land, and who yet do
not esteem this particular act a testimonial of loyalty entirely becoming
to a church court, and as many of these brethren by the pressing of
this vote would be placed in a false position, as if they did not love the
Union, of which that flag is the beloved symbol, your committee deem
themselves authorized by the subsequent direction of the Assembly to
propose a different action to be adopted by this venerable court.

It is well known, on the one hand, that the General Assembly has
ever been reluctant to repeat its testimonies upon important matters of
public interest, but, having given utterance to carefully considered
words, is content to abide calmly by its recorded deliverances. Nothing
that this Assembly can say can more fully express the w^ickedness of
the rebellion that has cost so much blood and treasure, can declare in
plainer terms the guilt, before Grod and man, of those who have inaugu-
rated, or maintained, or countenanced, for so little cause, the fratricidal
strife, or can more impressively urge the solemn duty of Government
to the lawful exercise of its authority, and of the people, each in his
several place, to uphold the civil authorities, to the end that law and
order may again reign throughout the entire nation, than these things
have alreadj'^ been done by previous Assemblies. Nor need this body
declare its solemn rebukes towards those ministers and members of the
Church of Christ who have aided in bringing on and sustaining these
immense calamities, or tender our kind sympathies to those who are
overtaken by troubles they could not avoid, and who mourn and weep
in secret places, not unseen by the Father's eye, or re^^rove all wilful
distui;bers of the public peace, or exhort those who are subject to our
care to the careful discharge of every duty tending to uphold the free
and beneficent Government under which we are, and this specially for
conscience' sake and as in the sight of God, more than in regard to all
these things the General Assembly has made its solemn deliverances
since these troubles began.

But, on the other hand, it may be well for this General Assembly to
reaffirm, as it now solemnly does, the great principles to which utter-
ance has already been given. We do this the more readily because
our beloved Church may thus be understood to take her deliberate and
well-chosen stand, free from all imputations of haste or excitement ;
because we recognize an entbe harmony between the duties of the
citizen (especially in a land where the people frame their own laws
and choose their own rulers) and the duties of the Christian to the
Great Head of the Church ; because, indeed, least of all persons should
Christian citizens even seem to stand back from their duty when bad
men press forward for mischief ; and because a true love for our country
in her times of peril should forbid us to withhold an expression of our
attachment for the insufficient reason that we are not accustomed to
repeat our utterances.

And because there are those among us who have scruples touching

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 767

the propriety of any deliverance of a church court respecting civil
matters, this Assembly would add that all strifes of party politics
should indeed be banished from our ecclesiastical assemblies and from
our pulpits, that Christian people should earnestly guard against pro-
moting partisan divisions, and that the difficulty of accurately deciding,
in some cases, what are general and what party principles, should make
us careful in our judgments, but that our duty is none the less impera-
tive to uphold the constituted authorities because minor delicate ques-
tions may possibly be involved. Rather, the sphere of the Church is
wider and more searching, touching matters of great public interest,
than the sphere of the civil magistrate, in this important respect, that
the civil authorities can take cognizance only of overt acts, while the
law of which the Church of God is the interpreter searches the heart,
makes every man subject to the civil authority for conscience' sake,
and declares that man truly guilty who allows himself to be alienated
in sympathy and feeling from any lawful duty, or who does not con-
scientiously prefer the welfare and especially the preservation of tlio
Government' to any party or partisan ends. Officers may not always
command a citizen's confidence ; measures may by him be deemed
unwise ; earnest, lawful efforts may be made for changes h*^ may think
desirable ; but no causes now exist to vindicate the disloyalty of Ameri-
can citizens towards the United States Government.

This General Assembly would not withhold from the Government of
the United States that expression of cordial sympathy which a loyal
people should offer. We believe that God lias afforded us ample re-
sources to suppress this rebellion, and that, with his blessing, it will ere
long be accomplished ; we would animate those who are discouraged
by the continuance and fluctuations of these costly strifes to remember
and rejoice in the supreme government of our God, who often leads
through perplexity and darkness ; we would exhgrt to penitence for all
our national sins, to sobriety and humbleness of mind before the Great
Ruler of all, and to constant prayerfulness for the Divine blessing ; and
we would entreat our people to beware of all schemes implying resist-
ance to the lawfully constituted authorities, by any other moans than
are recognized as lawful to be; openly prosecuted. And as this Assembly
is ready to declare our unalterable attachment and adherence to tho
Union established by our fathers, and our un(iualified condemnation of
tho rebellion, to proclaim to the world tho United States, one and un-
divided, as our country, the lawfully-chosen rulers of tlio land our
rulers, the Government of the United States our civil Governnu-nt,
and its honored flag our Hag, and to aflinn that wo aro bound in tho
truest and stri.'tcst tiilelity to the duties of Christian citizens und.T a
(iovernment that has strewn its blessings with a profuse hand, your
committee reconimond that tho particular act contcmjilated in tho
origiiuil resolution be no further urged upon the attention of this body.

The General Assembly of tlic rr('sV)ytcriaa Church, New-
School, ^lay, 1863, passed tlioi fullowing paper, prepared by
Rev. Albert Barnes : —

768 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

Whereas a rebellion, most unjust and causeless in its origin ?*,nd un-
holy in its objects, now exists in this country, against the Government
established by the wisdom and sacrifice of our fathers, rendering neces-
sary the employment of the armed forces of the nation to suj^i^ress it,
and involving the land in the horrors of civil war ; and

Whereas the distinctly avowed purpose of the leaders of this rebellion
is the dissolution of our national Union, the dismemberment of the
country, and the establishment of a new Confederacy within the pre-
sent territorial limits of the United States, based on the system of
human slavery as its chief corner-stone ; and

Whereas from the relation of the General Assembly to the churches
which they represent, and as citizens of the republic, and in accordance
with the uniform action of our Church in times of great national peril,
it is eminently proper that this General Assembly should give expression
to its views in a matter so vitally affecting the interests of good govern-
ment, liberty, and religion ; and

Whereas on two previous occasions since the war commenced the
General Assembly has declared its sentiments in regard to this rebel-
lion, and its determination to sustain the Government in this crisis of
our national existence ; and

Whereas, unequivocal and decided as has been our testimony on all
previous occasions, and true and devoted as has been the loyalty of our
ministers, elders, and people, this General Assembly deem it a duty to
the Church and the country to utter its deliberate judgment on the
same general subject : therefore.

Resolved, That this General Assembly solemnly reaffirms the principles
and repeats the declarations of previous General Assemblies of our
Church, so far as ap|)licable to this subject and to the present aspect of
public affairs.

Hesolved, That in explanation of our views, and as a further and
solemn expression of the sentiments of the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, in regard to the
duties of those whom we represent, and of all the American people at
the present time, we now declare —

First. That civil government is ordained of God, and that submission
to a lawful Government and to its acts in its proper sphere is a duty
binding on the conscience, and required by all the principles of our
religion as a part of our allegiance to God.

Second. That while there is in certain respects a ground of distinction
between a Government considered as referring to the Constitution of a
country, and an administration considered as referring to the existing
agencies through which the principles and provisions of the Consti-
tution are administered, yet the Government of a country to which
direct allegiance and loyalty are due at any time is the administration
duly placed in power. Such an administration is the Government of a
nation, having a right to execute the laws and demand the entire, un-
qualified, and prompt obedience of all who are under its authority ; and
resistance to such a Government is rebellion and treason.

Third. That the present Administration of the United States, duly
elected under the Constitution, is the Government in the land to which

CIVIL IXSTITUTIOXS OF THE UNITED STATES. 769

alone, under God, all the citizens of this nation o\ye allegiance ; who,
as such, are to be honored and obeyed ; whose efforts to defend the
Government against rebellion are to be sustained ; and that all attempts
to resist or set aside the action of the lawfully constituted authorities
of the Government in any way, by speech or action to oppose or em-
barrass the measures which it may adopt to assert its lawful authority,
except in accordance with the forms jDrescribed by the Constitution, are
to be regarded as treason against the nation, as giving aid and comfort
to its enemies, and as rebellion against God.

Fourth. That in the execution of the laws it is the religious duty of
all good citizens promptly and cheerfully to sustain the Government by
every means in their power ; to stand by it in its peril, and to afford all
needful aid in suppressing insurrection and rebellion and restoring
obedience to lawful authority in every part of the land.

Resolved, That much as we lament the evils, the sorrows, the suffer-
ings, the desolations, the sad moral influences of war, and its effect on
the religion and character of the land, much as we have suffered in our
most tender relations, yet the war, in our view, is to be prosecuted with
all the vigor and power of the nation, until peace shall be the result of
victory, till rebellion is completely subdued, till the legitimate power
and authority of the Government be fully re-established over every
part of our temporal domain, and till the flag of the nation shall wave
as the emblem of its undisputed sovereignty, and that to the prose-
cution and attainment of this object all the resources of the nation, in
men an<l wealth, should be solemnly i:)ledged.

liesoUcd, That the Government of these United States, as provided
for by the Constitution, is not only founded upon the great doctrine of
human rights as vested by God in the individual man, but is also
expressly declared to be the supreme civil authority in the land, for-
ever excluding the modern doctrine of secession as a civil or political
right. That since the existing rebellion finds no justification in the
facts of the case, in the Constitution of the United States, in any law,
human or divine, the Assembly can regard it only as treason against the
nation, and a most offensive sin in the sight of God, justly exposing its
autliors to tlio retributive vengeance of earth and heaven ; tliat this
rebellion, in its origin, liistory, and measures, has been distinguished by
those (jualities wliich most sadly evince the depravity of our nature,
especially in seeking to establish a new nationality on this continent,
basod on the peri)etual enslavement and oppression of a weak ami long-
injurcd race ; that the national forces are, in the view of this Assembly,
called out not to wagti war against another Government, but to suppress
insurrection, preserve the supremacy of law and order, and save the
country from anarchy and ruin,

lirsolvcd. In such a contest, with such principh's and interests at stake,
affecting not only the peace, prosperity, and luii)pinesfl of our beloved
country for all future time, but involving the cause of human liberty
tlnoiighout the world, loyalty, unreserved and unconditional, to tho
coiistilutionuUy elected (Jovi'rnment of tho L^nite<l States, not as the
transient passimi of the hour, but a.s tho intelligent and permanent
ptato of the pul.lio conscience, rising above all (juestions of party

49

770 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

politics, rebating and opposing the foul spirit of treason, whenever and
in whatever form exhibited, speaking earnest words of truth and
soberness, alike through the pulpit, the press, and in all the walks of
domestic and social life, making devout supplications to Grod, and giving
the most cordial sui5j)ort to those who are providentially intrusted with
the enactment and execution of the laws, is not only a sacred obligation,
but indispensable if we would save the nation and perpetuate the glo-
rious inheritance we possess to future generations.

Resolved, That the system of human bondage, as existing in the slave-
holding States, so palpably the root and cause of the whole insurrection-
ary movement, is not only a violation of the domestic rights of human
nature, but essentially hostile to the letter and spirit of the Christian
religion ; that the evil character and demoralizing tendency of this
system, so properly described, so justly condemned, by the General
Assembly of our Church, especially, from 1818 to the present time, have
been placed in the broad light of day by the history of the existing rebel-
lion. That in the sacrifices and desolations, .the cost of treasure and
blood, ordained thereby, the Assembly recognize the chastening hand of
God applied to the punishment of national sins, especially the sin of
slavery ; that in the proclamation of emancipation issued by the Presi-
dent as a war-measure, and submitted by him to the considerate judgment
of mankind, the Assembly recognize with devout gratitude that wonder-
working providence of God by which military necessities become the
instruments of justice in breaking the yoke of oppression and causing
the oppressed to go free ; and, further, that the Assembly beseech
Almighty God, in his own time, to remove the last vestige of slavery
from the country, and give to the nation, preserved, disciplined, and
purified, a peace that shall be based on the principles of eternal right-
eousness.

Resolved, That this General Assembly commends the President of the
United States, and the members of his Cabinet, to the care and guidance
of the Great Ruler of nations, praying that they may have that wisdom
which is profitable to direct, and also that the patriotism and moral sense
of the people may give to them all that support and co-operation which
the emergencies of their position and the perils of the nation so
urgently demand.

Resolved, That, in the ardor with which so many members of our
churches and of the churches of all the religious denominations of our
land have gone forth to the defence of our country, placing themselves
upon her altar in the struggle for national life, we see an illustration,
not only of the principles of our holy religion, but in the readiness
with Avhich such vast numbers have, at the call of the country, devoted
themselves to its service, we see a demonstration which promises
security to our institutions in all times of future danger. That we
tender the expression of admiration and hearty thanks to all the officers
of our army and navy, that those who have nobly fallen and those
who survive have secured an imperishable monument in the hearts of
their countrymen, and that this Assembly regard all efforts for the
physical comfort or spiritual good of our heroic defenders as among

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 771

the sweetest charities which gratitude can impose or grateful hands can
minister.

Resolved, That this General Assembly expects all the churches and
ministers connected with this branch of the Presbyterian Church, and
all our countrymen, toi stand by their country, to pray for it, to dis-
countenance all forms of complicity with treason, to sustain those who
are placed in civil or military autliority over them, and to adopt every
means, and at any cost, which an enlightened, self-sacrificing patriotism
may suggest as appropriate to the wants of its honor, having on this
subject one heart and one mind, waiting hopefully on Providence,
patient amid delays, and animated by reverses, persistent and untiring
in effort, till, by the blessing of God, the glorious motto, " One Country,
one Constitution, and one Destiny," shall be enthroned in the sublime
fact of the present and more sublime harbinger of the future.

Resolved, That this General Assembly tenders its affectionate condo-
lence and heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved families of all the heroic
men who have fallen in this contest for national life, and especially the
families and officers of our churches who have poured out their lives on
the altar of their country, with the assurance that they will not be for-
gotten in their bereavement by a grateful people.

Resolved, That a cojiy of this action, duly authenticated, be trans-
mitted to the President of the United States, and that these resolutions
be read in all our pulpits.

This patriotic Christian paper was republished in England,
and noticed with distinguished favor by some of the leading
iournals of that country.

After the adjournment of the Assembly, some sixty-five mem-
bers, as a committee, proceeded to Washington City and pre-
sented the resolutions to the President. They were introduced
by Eev. Dr. John C. Smith, the oldest pastor in Washington,
in appropriate remarks; and the Chairman, John A. Foote,
of Cleveland, Ohio, read the resolutions. The President re-
plied as follows : —

It has Itocn my iiappiness lo receive testimonies of a similar nature
from, I beliove, all denominations of Christians. They are all loyal, but
j»erhaps not in the same degree, or in the same numbers: but I tliink
they all claim to be loyal. This to me is most gratifying, because from the
beginning I saw that the issues of our great struggle depen<led on tho
Divine interposition and lavor. If we had that, all wouKl be well. T!ie
j.roportions of this rebellion were not for a long time un<h'rstood. 1
saw that it involved the greatest ditlieulties, :ind would call forth all
ihe powers of tlie whole country. The «'nd is not yet.

Tin? ]M)int made in your paper is well taken as U^ ** the G«>vornment"
an<l "the administration," in whose haji<ls are tho»o interests. I fully
appreciate its correctness and jusftce. In my a<lministnition I may have
committed -ome errors, h would be, imlci d, remarkable if I had not.

772 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEPw OF THE

I have acted according to my best judgment in everj^ case. The views
expressed by the Committee accord with my own ; and on this principle
" the Grovernmenf is to be supported though the administration may
not in every case wisely act. As a pilot, I have used my best exertions
to keep afloat our ship of state, and shall be glad to resign my trust at
the appointed time to another pilot more skilful and successful than I
may prove. In everj^ case, and at all hazards, the Government must be
per2Detuated. Relying, as I do, upon the Almighty Power, and encou-
raged as I am by these resolutions which you have just read, with the
support which I receive from Christian men, I shall not hesitate to use
all the means at my control to secure the termination of this rebellion,
and will hope for success,

I sincerely thank you for this interview, this pleasant mode of pre-
sentation, and the General Assembly for their patriotic support in these
resolutions.

The General Synod and Convention of the Eeformed Protestant
Dutch Church, June, 18G3.

Whereas it is the duty of the Church of Christ, and of all those who
minister at her altars, agreeably to the teachings of the Scriptures, and
the injunctions of our standards and formularies of doctrine and wor-
ship, to yield at all times a cordial support, both by precept and exam-
ple, to the legitimate Government of the land ; and

Whereas this duty is especially incumbent at a period when the
Government is assailed by armed violence and insubordination, and its
very existence and integrity are sought to be subverted by a powerful
and persevering rebellion : therefore.

Resolved, 1. That we tender to the Government of the United States,
and those who rej^resent it, the renewed expression of our warmest and
deepest sympathy in its present protracted struggle to maintain its law-
ful authority and to preserve unbroken the integrity and union of these
States.

2. That we hold it to be our imperative duty as ministers of the gospel
and members of the Synod, while abstaining from all unseemly mixing
up of ourselves with mere party politics, in our own appropriate sphere
and by every possible means to strengthen the hands of the Govern-
ment at the present imminent crisis, wherein are put at stake the na-
tional life and the noblest example and experiment of constitutional
government the world has ever seen ; and that we will yield a cordial
support to all such measures, not incompatible with the great law of
righteousness, as may be necessary to suppress the existing rebellion
and to assert the complete authority of the Union over all proj^er terri-
tory and domain.

3. That we will hail with satisfaction the earliest practicable period
for the introduction and establishment of a salutary peace, — a peace
founded on the full ascendency of law and rightful authority, and gua-
ranteed in its permanency by the removal or the sufficient coercion and
restraint of whatever causes tend necessarily to imperil the existence
of the nation and to endanger the ]3reservation of the Union ; and

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 773

until such a peace can be obtained, we hold it to be a sacred duty to
ourselves, our children, our country, the Church of Grod, and also to
humanity at large, to prosecute to the last a war forced upon us by an
imperative necessity, and waged on our part not in hatred or revenge,
but in the great cause of constitutional liberty and rational self-govern-
ment.

4. That we recognize devoutly our dependence upon God for a happy
issue and termination to our present troubles ; that we accept with pro-
found humility and abasement the chastisements of his hand ; that we
make mention of our deep unworthiness and sin ; and that we endeavor,
by continual searching, repentance, and careful walking before God, to
conciliate the Divine favor, so that ere long his heavy judgments in our
national calamities may be removed, and a restoration may be accorded
to us of the blessings of peace, fraternal harmony, fraternal union, and
established government.

The Episcopal Convention of Pennsylvania, May, 1863.

Resolved, That, in the present crisis of our national existence, we feel
called upon, as a Convention of the Church, not only to give to our be-
loved and bleeding country our earnest prayers, but to sustain the hands
of the Government by a distinct expression of our loyal sentiments.

Resolved, therefore, That we pledge to the constituted authorities of the
land our cordial sympathy and support in their efibrts to suppress the
existing rebellion and re-establish our national Union ; and that we
will continue to offer our constant prayers to Almighty God that he will
be pleased to unite " the hearts of his people as the heart of one man
in upholding the supremacy of law and the cause of justice and
peace."

Resolved, That we do solemnly recognize and reaffirm, as pertaining
to the character and requirements of our holy religion, the duty of
liearty loyalty to the Constitution and Government under which God,
in liis good providence, has placed us, the duty of religiously abstaining
from and boldly r«'buking all sympathy or complicity with the i)rivy
conspiracy and rebellion from whicii we ]>ray to be delivered, and the
duty of humbly acknowledging the hand of Almighty God in the chas-
tisements he inflicts, and of imploring his forbearance and forgiveness,
and his gracious interposition in speedily restoring to us the blessings
of union and peace, through Jesus Christ, oin- only Meiliator and Ko
deemer.

Memorial of the Quakers to Conukess.

The following extract, taken from a memorial to Congre.^a,
presented in February, 18G3, by " the representatives of the
religious Society of Friends, commonly called Quakers, ia
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, &c.," expresses the views
of this body of American Christians on the rebellion. The
memorial, after stating " that the Friends as a bu«ly have ever

774 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

felt it a religious duty to live a quiet and peaceable life^ to obey
all laws which do not violate the precepts of our holy Redeemer,"
and that '^ we love our country, and thankfully appreciate the
many privileges and benefits which, through the blessings of
the Most High, have been vouchsafed to us under its mild and
liberal government, and desire to do all we conscientiously can
to maintain its integrity," and " that Friends have ever felt
themselves religiously restrained from any participation in
war," and that they cannot conscientiously pay penalties im-
posed as military fines, &c., concludes as follows : —

We deplore and utterly condemn the wicked rebellion, fomented by
misguided and infatuated men, which has involved the nation in strife
and bloodshed ; and earnestly desire that, while the Lord's judgments
are so awfully manifest, the inhabitants of the earth may learn righteous-
ness, and through obedience to the requisitions of the only religion
which we all profess Ave may happily secui-e the favor of Ilin:^ who has
all power in heaven and on earth, and by whose blessing only the nation
can be preserved and prosper, so that peace may once more be restored
throughout our whole land, and Christian liberty, harmony, and love
universally prevail among the people.

Signed on behalf and by direction of a meeting of the representatives
aforesaid, held in Philadelphia, the 24th of the 2d month, 18G3.

Joseph Snowdon, Clerk,

A Convention of Methodist laymen met in the city of New
York, in May, 1863, on ecclesiastical matters, and closed their
deliberations by the passage of the following resolutions : —

Jtesolved, 1. That we deem the present a fitting occasion, on the
assembling together of laymen of the Methodist Ej^iscopal Church from
different States of the Union, to give expression to our sentiments as
Christian men, pledging our unqualified devotion and adherence to the
Union and the enforcement of the laws ; and that no effort of ours,
becoming those who are devoted to the furtherance of the interests of
humanity and religion, shall be spared to sustain the Government in
this crisis of its history.

Besohed, 2. We also recognize with great satisfaction the course of our
papers, the patriotic services of many of our ministers in the army and
navy at home and abroad in the na.tional cause; and we indulge the
hope that the day is not far distant when these noble men shall have
the proud satisfaction of having contributed in no small degi'ee in
bringing about a restoration of our beloved country to the blessings of
a glorious and permanent peace.

Resolved, 3. That we extend to our brave brethren on the field and in.
the army, now exposing their lives in defence of our common interests,
our cordial sympathy and support, and we pledge them an interest in
our prayers for themselves and our concern for their families at home.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 775

Numerous aelegates, many of whom occupied higli civil and
military positions, were present from Ohio, Maryland, New
Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Ehode Island,
Massachusetts, DelaAvare, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Maine, the
District of Columbia, and the cities of New York and Brooklyn.
The Convention was presided over by Joseph A. Wright, of
Indiana, who had been Governor of the State, a representative
in Congress, Minister at the Court of Berlin, in Prussia, and
during the first two years of the rebellion a Senator in Con-
gress. He was distinguished for his efforts to extend Christian
institutions and influences through the land, and for his devo-
tion to the country in its imperilled condition. His views on
the relation of Christianity to civil society are expressed in the
following words : —

Too long has the sentiment of Lord Brougham been heralded forth,
" The schoolmaster is abroad.'' The proper sentiment is, The Bible is
abroad. Out of the word of God spring the hope, the life, the vitality
of the nations of the earth ; without note or comment, freely circulated
among the people. Its principles underlie all civil institutions and
social structure.

Nations and men must fully recognize God's truth and providence in
all their doings and actions. Our fathers fully realized it ; and therein
alone consisted their power and strength.

Governor Wright was connected with a beautiful, patriotic,
and Christian incident in Berlin, the metropolis of Prussia.
During his residence as minister to that court, he labored in a
missionary German Sabbath-school; and, returning to that city
in Juno, 18G3, he bore from the capital of the American re-
public, where he had been a member of the Senate of the United
States, a very beautiful Bible, which was sent as a present by
the Sabbath-school connected with Wesley Chapel in Washing-
ton City. Governor Wright made a thrilling speech. The efl'ect of
the presentation and of the speech on the children and teach-
ers was very marked, as was abundantly evidenced by smiling
faces and falling tears. The Governor referred to the past his-
tory of the school, and his connection with it, and also to his
intense anxiety for its future success. He spoke also of our
present national troubles, and requested the whole school to
kneel down and ask the God of our fathers to deliver us from
this horrible rebellion. " It was cheering," aays the writer, " to
hear two or three hundred children and teachers, led by their

776 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

pastor, offering up tlieir earnest prayers that God would bless
America^ the home of Washington, the land that these children
have learned to prize."

The National Convention of the Young Men's Christian
Association of the United States and the British Provinces
met in May, 1863, at Chicago, Illinois. Delegates were present
from most of the Northern States, the District of Columbia,
Canada, and England. The Association was presided over by
George H. Stuart, of Philadelphia, and passed the following
resolutions : —

Mesolved, That we hereby reaffirm our ■unconditional loyalty to the
Government of the United States, and our determination to afford every
required and Christian aid for the suppression of the infamous re-
bellion.

Hesolved, That we are gratified at the steps already taken by the ad-
ministration for the removal of the great sin of slavery, — " the sum of
all villanies,'' — and must express our candid conviction that the war
will last so long as its cause morally exists, and that when we as a nation
diO fully right, God will not delay to give success to our arms.

Resolved, That it is no time to confound liberty with lawlessness. We
cherish the dearest boon of freedom with jealous vigilance, but remem-
ber that true freedom can only continue under restraints, and exist at
all as guarded by law.

Resolved, That neither is this a time for doubtful, timid measures.
The counsels of time-serving, self-seeking, inconsistent politicians are
not to be heeded ; but the loud voice of the loyal j^eople, the heroic
demands of our teeming volunteers, and the vigorous measures of un-
selfish and uncompromising generals are to be respected by those who
rule over us.

Resolved, That we remember with honest gratitude the noble and
immense work accomplished by the Young Men's Christian Association
of our land, and the sanitarj^ and spiritual fields opened up by the pro-
vidence of God for our willing hearts and hands, and pledge that we
will continue to pray for our army and navy, and to meet their wants
in the future with greater fidelity, if possible.

Resolved, That we recommend to daily praj^er-meetings connected
with the Associations here represented to observe the usual hour of
Monday following July 4, 1863, as a season of special prayer for the out-
pouring of the Holy Spirit on all brave defenders of om^ country.

Other ecclesiastical bodies and Christian associations, during
the rebellion, passed resolutions similar in tone and sentiment to
those recorded in this volume ; and all show in a most eminent
degree the harmonious action and sentiment of all denomina-
tions of Christians in sustaining the Government of the United

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. , < 7

States and preserving the integrity and nationality of the re-
public. As a historic fact, unfolding the free genius of the
Christian religion and the loyalty of its ministers, members,
and Churches to liberty and free government, it is full of in-
struction, and reflects the highest honor on American Christian-
ity as developed in the Northern States.

As an important fact in the Christian history of the nation,
the resolutions of American Churches during the rebellion
on the subject of slavery correspond with the sentiments and
action of the Churches previous to and during the Eevolution.
The Congregational Churches, Presbyterian Synods and Assem-
blies, Baptist Associations, and the Quakers, all passed resolu-
tions against slavery and labored for its abolition. The facts
demonstrating this historic harmony are too numerous to be
given in this volume.

The action of Christian denominations, as expressed in their
resolutions and sentiments, justifies the following statement, made
by Eev. Mr. Duryea before the American Tract Societv, May,
1863 :—

You may talk of patriotism, but the Christian needs no other motive
than Christianity. If he is a Christian, he will have patriotism. When
patriotism has died out from all other hearts, you will find it warm and
true in the hearts of the Christian Church.

During; the darkest hour of our trial, some of the Cluistian gentlemen
of this land determined to go to the administration. I was made, un-
wortliily, with Dr. Taylor, and Mr. Stuart, of Philadelphia, the spokes-
man. I told the President tliat the f«Hindation of his strength had he<n
in \Kivty constancy ; when that should be gone, he might come down
upon the people ; but when the peoj)le should be divided, and he should
fin<l himself sinking, he need not despair, for in the lower depth he
would find a new resting-place : he would strike the C/u'lsdun Church, and
tlien he would strik(! a rook. In high places in Wasliington, the secret
tears rolled down the cheeks of our rulers when I told them that CAnV
tian men and women, and even Utile children, with clasped hunds, were praying for
the President of the United Stated, his advisers and colaborers : and the Presi-
dent said that tliat testimonial from theCliristian Church liad comforted
and strengtliened hiui, an<l lie thanked us and Cod for it.

Proclamation of EMANcirATioN.

The Christian action of most of the Churches during the
second and third years of the rebellion, as well as the civil and
military policy of the Government, hiul reference to the follow-
ing important state paper : —

778 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

A Proclamation.

Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was
issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other
things, the following, to wit :

" That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thou-
sand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any
State, or designated part of a State, the peoj^le whereof shall then be in
rebellion against the United States, shall be thenceforward and forever
FREE, and the Executive Government of the United States, including
the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain
the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such
persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual
freedom.

" That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by
proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which
the people thereof respectively shall then be in rebellion against the
United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall
on that day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the United
States, by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the
qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the
absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evi-
dence that such State and the people thereof are not then in rebellion
against the United States."

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States,
by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief of the Army
and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion
against the authority and Government of the LTnited States, and as a fit
and necessary war-measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this
first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hun-
dred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do, pub-
licly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days from the day
first above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of
States wherein the people thereof, respectively, are this day in rebellion
against the United States, the following, to wit : —

Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (except parishes of St, Bernard, Plaque-
mines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, Assump-
tion, Terre Bonne, Lafourche, St. Marie, St. Martin, and Orleans, in-
cluding the city of New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia,
South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia (except the forty-eight
counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkeley,
Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Anne, and Nor-
folk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, and which ex-
cepted parts are, for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation
were not issued).

And, by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order
and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated
States and parts of States are, and henceforward shall be, FEEE ; and
that the Executive Government of the United States, including tho

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 779

military ^nd naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the
freedom of said persons.

And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain
from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence ; and I recommend to
them that in all cases, when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable
wages.

And I further declare and make known that such persons, of suit-
able condition, will be received into the armed service of the United
States, to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man
vessels of all sorts in said service.

And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, war-
ranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the consider-
ate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the
seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the
independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.

Abraham Lincoln.

By the President:

William II. Seward, Secretary of State.

Chkistian Organizations

Made special efforts to cultivate and strengthen the religious
element of the nation during the conflict. The American Bible
Society distributed to the men in the army and navy more than
a million of Bibles and Testaments. The American Tract So-
ciety of Boston had its head-quarters at Washington, and
through its agent, Mr. Alvord, accomplished a great work. He
says, '' General Scott and his staff received the books with re-
markable favor, and the old general himself bid him God- speed
in the work of distribution. Government allowed the packages to
go in the mails, and furnished every ftxcility for distribution, by
which the entire Army of the Potomac was reached once a week.
The books an<l tracts were eagerly received."

The American Tract Society of New York miule sy.stematic
and successful efforts to reach the army and navy with its
Christian literature, and received evi'ry encouragement from tho
Government. Their work received from tho President the fol-
lowing approval : —

ExECiJTivK Mansion. W asiiin(;ti>x, D.C. .*^o^.t. 6, 1861.
H<v. ( >. I'vsTMAV, SiCTftary American Tract Sth'tcft/, Xcw York.

Dkar Sir: — I tak»* pl«Misun> in ackn«)\vliHlgin>» for tlu» Prt\«*idi'iit your
k\ud and patriotic note of tlie 3d in^t.int. Allow nio tooxproas for tho

780 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

President his ^Yarm approbation of the work in which your Society is
engaged. Religion and good government are sworn allies.

Respectfully,

Jno. Gr. NicoLAT, Private ^Secretary.

The President said to a member of the Society, ^^ You may-
have every thing, — transportation, free passes, can go where you
please, and command the administration to the whole extent of
its ability and means, to help you take care of the religious in-
terest^ of the army."

The American Temperance Union was an efficient colaborer
in the moral and Christian work done for the army. Samuel
F. Carey, of Ohio, distinguished for his devotion to the cause
of temperance, and for his eloquence in defending the country
against the rebellion, said " that during the present civil war
volumes of facts can be adduced demonstrating that many of
our most serious disasters are directly attributable to intempe-
rance, and that intoxicating liquors do more than all other
things to deteriorate the character of the soldier and to unfit
him for the defence of his country. In efforts made to promote
the temperance reformation, General Scott, the veteran soldier
and world-renowned officer, early in the war gave a written
order to admit a temperance-lecturer within the lines, and
directed that every possible facility be afforded him to exert
an influence among the soldiers. President Lincoln, the com-
mander-in-chief of the army, warmly endorsed the movement ;
and when the advocate was denied an opportunity of perform-
ing his mission by liquor-loving officers, the President gave a
written and imperative command to receive him and facilitate
his object. Backed by this credential, he went from regiment
to regiment in the Potomac army ; and his influence for good
was felt and acknowledged. Commodores Foote and Porter, of
the navy, have in the most unqualified manner testified to the
necessity of total abstinence for the efficient conduct of the
navy.

''In view of the peculiar temptations in the army, and the
dangers of our soldiers contracting intemperate habits, tracts
have been prepared by Marsh, Delavan, Carey, and others, and
millions of pages distributed gratuitously by philanthropic
individuals and societies."

The Christian Commission was an extensive and an efficient
organization for the diffusion of religious influences during the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 781

war. It was organized on a national basis, with a large com-
mittee of the most distinguished ministers and laymen in the
various Northern States, and had its unpaid agents everywhere
in the army and navy, who were received with the most cordial
welcome. The following is the official statement of its object : —

Their object is to promote the spiritual and temporal welfare of the
brave men who are now in arms to put down a wicked rebellion. They
propose to do this bj^ aiding the chaplains and others in their work.

1. By furnishing to them religious tracts, periodicals, and books.

2. By aiding in the formation of religious associations in the several
regiments.

3. By putting such associations in correspondence with the Christian
public.

4. By cultivating, as far as possible, the religious sympathies and
prayers of Christians in their behalf.

5. By obtaining and directing such gratuitous personal labor among
the soldiers and sailors as may be practicable.

6. By improving such other opportunities and means as may, in the
providence of God, be presented.

7. By furnishing, as far as possible, profitable reading other than reli-
gious, and, wherever tliere is a permanent military post, by establisliing a
general library of such works.

8. By establishing a medium of speedy and safe intercommunication
between the men in the army and navy and their friends and families,
by which small packages of clotliing, books, and medicines, and memen-
toes of social affection, can be interclianged.

We proposQ to encourage in them whatever is good and keep fresh in
their remembrance the instructions of earlier years, and to develop,
organize, and make effective tlie religious element in the army and navy.
The field is open to us. We can have free access to their immortal
souls; the chaplains desire and call for our aid ; the Government wish
it ; and the men ask for and receive religious reading and teacliing with
an eagerness most touching. Thousands wlio at liome never entered
the house of God, and liad none to care for tlieir souls, now, in imminent
peril, desire to know of Ilim wlio can give them the victory over ck'Utli
tlirough our Lord Jesus Christ.

The following testimonials addressed to George II. Stuart,
of Phikdelphia, Chairman of the Christian Commission, show
the value of this benevolent organization : —

KxK<i TivK Mansion, Washington, Pcocmbcr 12. ISfil.
!Mv i»F.AR Sill: — Your ( 'liristian and Ix-ui'voh-nt undertaking for tho
bontfit of the soldi«M*s is too obviously proper and praisfworthy to admit
any difVerenco of opinion. I sinct-ri'ly liope your j>hin may bo as suc-
cessful in execution an it is just and generous in conception.

A. LlNCOLX.

782 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

War Department, December 13, 1861.
This Department is deeply interested in the " spiritual good of the
soldiers in our army," as well as in their "intellectual improvement and
social and physical comfort," and will cheerfully give its aid to the
benevolent and patriotic of the land who desire to improve the condi-
tion of our troops. It confidently looks for beneficial results from so
noble an enterprise, and begs you to express to the Commission its
sincere wish for the success of this great work in behalf of the soldier.

Simon Camerox, Secretary of War.

Navy Department, December 16, 1861.
This Department will be gratified with any legitimate means to pro-
mote the welfare (present and future) of all who are in the service.

Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy.

Washington, January 5, 1863.
The Christian Commission have in hand a noble work, and are per-
forming it, I am well assured, as only a labor of love can be j)erformed.

M. Blair, Postmaster- General.

Head-Quarters, Army of the Potomac, ]
Washington, June 8, 1862. I

The objects of the Commission are such as meet my cordial ai:)proval,
and will, if carried out in the j^roper spirit, prove of great value.

George B. McClellan.

War Department, Washington, January 24, 1863.
Bishop Janes is authorized to state that he has received assurance
from the Secretary of War, E. M. Stanton, that every facility consistent
with the exigencies of the service will be afforded to the Christian
Commission, for the performance of their religious and benevolent pur-
poses in the armies of the United States, and in the forts, garrisons and
camps, and military posts.

Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting,
Washington, D.C, January 28, 1863.
The object and importance of your Commission cannot be overesti-
mated. It will supply a hiatus long wanting in the army and navy, and
must enlist the sympathies and prayers of all true Christian patriots.
To supply the spiritual wants of the jDublic service on the battle-field
and upon the ocean, and to lead our warriors to go forward valiantly to
the fight, acknowledging God as our Euler and looking to him for
success, will, I have no doubt, soon cause this wicked rebellion to
culminate in the restoration of our Union.

A. H. FooTE, Admiral in the Navy.

Lieutenant- General Winfield Scott, at a puLlic meeting of
the Christian Commission held in New York, December, 1861,
presided, and made the following address : —

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 783

Fellow-Citizexs : — The honor done me on this occasion, in calling mc
to occupy this chair upon an occasion of so much importance and
worth, gladdens the heart of an old soldier and fills him with gratitude
and love. New York has sent out her thousands upon thousands of
brave sons to fight the battles of our Constitution and Union, and has
not forgotten them in the field or upon their return home. Her care has
been incessant. She has given them every aid, has cared for their fami-
lies, and watched over the wounded, sick, lame, and halt upon their
return. The objects of this Association will be explained to you by my
colleague in the duties of the chair, more fully than I shall attempt uj)on
this occasion. With such a cause, that God will prosjoer our etiorts and
give us triumph no Christian man can doubt.

General Scott, as chief of the army of the United States,
and for a half-century distinguished in the military service of
his country, and exerting a large influence on society and the
Government, in public and in private, bore his testimony to the
divinity of the Christian religion, and its vital necessity to the
welfare and stability of human society and governments. In
1844, in a public letter, referring to the settlement of inter-
national difficulties, he said, /'We should especially remember,
all things whatsoever ye icould that inen should do to you, do ye
even so to them. This Divine principle is of universal obliga-
tion : it is as applicable to rulers in their transactions with
other nations as to private individuals in their daily intercourse
with each other. Power is intrusted by the Author of peace
and lover of concord ' to do good, and avoid evil.' Such is
clearly the revealed will of God."

He inculcated the highest moral virtues with the character
and conduct of an American officer and soldier, and enjoined, in
a general order, in 1842, that "every officer shall give himself
up entirely to the cultivation and practice of all the virtues
and accomplishments which can elevate an honorable profession.
. . . The officers should unite a high degree of moral vigor
with the courtesy that springs from the heart."

''To this distinguished man," said Dr. Channing, of Boston,
"belongs the rare honor of uniting with military energy and
daring the spirit of a philanthropist. ... It would not bo easy
to find among us a man who has won a purer fame."

On Sal)bath evening, February 22, 18G3, tho Christian Cora-
mission held a meeting in the hall of the House of Represent-
atives, Washington City, which was one of tho most remarkable
meetings ever held in the Capitol of the nation.

781 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTEE, OF THE

Those who took part in tlie proceedings represented tlie
widest range of the most important interests. Secretary Chase,
who presided, represented the Government, the approval of
which was given most cordially not only by him, but also by
the letter received from the President, to the United States
Christian Commission, and its great national work for the army
and navy : —

Executive Maxsiox, Washixgtox, February 22, 1863.

Whatever shall be sincerely and in God's name devised for the good
of the soldiers and seamen in their hard spheres of duty can scarcely
fail to be blessed. And Avhatever shall tend to turn our thoughts from
the unreasoning and uncharitable passions, prejudices, and jealousies
incident to a great national trouble such as ours, and to fix them uj)on
the vast and long-enduring consequences for weal or for woe which are
to result from this struggle, and esj^ecially to strengthen our reliance
on the Supreme Being for the final triumph of the right, cannot but be
well for us all.

The birthday of Washington and the Christian Sabbath coinciding
this year, and suggesting together the highest interests of this life and
of that to come, is most propitious for the meeting proposed.

A. Lincoln.

The Sabbath,

In its proper observance and influence in the army and naVy,
enlisted the earnest eiforts of the Christian public. The follow-
ing petition was extensively circulated, and sent to the Presi-
dent : —

To HIS Excellency the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Army
AND Navy of the United States.

The petition of the subscribers, loj^al citizens of the United States,
and heartily pledging all righteous support to the national Government,
particularly in the present unhappy struggle with a rebellion most
criminal and fearful, very resj)ectfully showeth —

That we are, in fact, a Christian people, believing obedience to God's
will, revealed in the Holy Scriptures, to be our sole security for his
blessings ; that our soldiers and sailors go forth usually from Christian
communities and homes, with at least strong religious convictions ; that
many of them are communicants in Christian Churches; that our
army and navy, therefore, are distinctly a Christian army and navy,
and entitled, in war as well as in peace, to Christian care and privi-
leges ; that experience has conclusively proved that moral and religious
improvement, and a reasonable respect paid to conscientious convic-
tions, always promote the loyalty and efficiency of men engaged in war-
fare, while nothing can well demoralize and discourage them so
thoroughly as an apprehension that God's favor has been forfeited by

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 785

citlier themselves or tlieir commanders ; that men returning home
debauched in a service characterized by vice and irreligion ever prove
a bane to society ; and that the Christian people of this land, in sending
forth from their dwellings and churches those who are to fight the
battles of the country, do therefore reasonably expect, as your peti-
tioners do most earnestly pray, that your Excellency will give careful
attention to the moral and religious interests of the whole army and
navy under your command ; and particularly —

1. That you will adopt the most stringent measures to banish, as far as
possible, from our forces all temptation to intemperance or any other vice.

2. That you will employ your whole authority to secure the general
appointment of chaplains, regularly ordained, and of good standing in
their respective denominations, with a faithful discharge of duty on
their part, and all proper encouragement and independence in the
same, and to insure to both officers and privates entire religious liberty
and the right of attending upon a ministry of their own choice.

3. That you will issue such orders respecting parades, reviews, recep-
tions, the admission of visitors, military services, and the giving of
battle, as will, excepting in cases of absolute necessity, secure uninter-
rupted the rest and worship of the Sabbath, to none more important,
for both body and soul, than to the soldier or sailor, and to him never
more important than upon the eve of battle.

And your petitioners will ever pray, &c.

The ministers of Cincinnati, Ohio, addressed the President
the following paper : —

CiN-ciNXATi, Ohio, June 29, 1861.
To THE President of the United States:

Sir: — The undersigned, members of the "Union of Protestant Minis*-
ters of Cincinnati," desire to address you, briefly, on a subject which
lies very near to our hearts. It respects the moral and religious welfare
of the troops called forth to suppress the present causeless and wicked
rf^l)ellion. Our Churches, as you are aware, have fully and without
reserve entered into tlie purpose of the Government to defend and
maintain the national life. They have freely given of the choicest of
their members, and sent them to the camp and the fields of conflict,
with their benedictions and their prayers.

At the same time, we cannot be indifferent to the moral dangers to
which they are exposed. They are mostly young men: and, in their
name and in the name of those with whom they are associated, wo
therofore ask the riovernment to do all that it consistently can to guard
iho'iT morals and provide for their religions welfare. Wo would espe-
cially mention the stoady encouragement of the observance of the Sab-
bath in the camp, and the furnishing of all rensonablo facilities for
religious in=?trurtion and edification. War, we know, has it.s own exi-
goncies; and we would ask for nothitig impracticable, or that would in
the least impair the ofliciency of tlie military arm. It i."* with great
Piitisfactlou, also, that wo have learned the determination of the (iovern-
ment to provide for the maintenance of a chaplain in each regiment,

60

786 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

while the army regulations in respect to religious matters must recom-
mend themselves to every mind.

At the same time, we feel assured that the expression of the interest
of the Government in the carrying out of these regulations, its expressly
discouraging all unnecessary drilling and other work in the camp, and
the making suitable provision for the erection of sheds or other tempo-
rary accommodations for religious worship in stationary camps, would
have an exceedingly beneficial influence, and do much to strengthen
the religious element, which, we are happy to know, prevails so largely
among our troops, and which in all wars of princij^le has been found
to contribute so essentially to the final result.

Invoking upon you, sir, and your Cabinet the blessings of Heaven,
and assuring you of our fervent intercession, and those of our congre-
gations, in public and in private, at the throne of grace, in your behalf,

We are, respectfully.

The President made the following reply : —

Executive Mansion, July 21, 1861.

Reverend and Dear Sir : — I am directed by the President to acknow-
ledge the receipt of a communication signed by yourself and many
others of the " Union of Protestant Ministers of Cincinnati."

The President desires me to express his deep appreciation of the
motives which prompted your address, and his entire sympathy with
the views you hold, and to assure you that, as far as practicable, the
principles to which you give utterance shall guide the conduct of tho
Government in the troubled scenes upon which we are entering.

I have the honor to be your most obedient servant,

John Hay, Assistant Secretary.

Address of the New York Sabbath Deputation to the President.
To the President :

We wait on you, Mr. President, as a Deputation from the New York
Sabbath Committee, in conformity with the request of a meeting of in-
fluential citizens from all parts of the country, held last August at Sara-
toga Springs, to promote the better observance of Sunday in the army
and navy of which you are the honored commander-in-chief. To this
end we respectfully solicit your sanction of an appropriate General
Order protecting the rights of our brave soldiers and sailors to their
weekly season of rest and worship, — the emergencies of the service ex-
cepted,— and recommending such use of sacred time as will best secure
its sanitary, moral, and religious benefits.

We deem it superfluous in this presence to discuss the civil or sacred
relations of an institution as old as time and as prevalent as freedom
and Christianity. We address the civil and military ruler of a repub-
lic whose busy population weekly pause in their industrial pursuits and
throng the temples of Christian worship, attesting their reverence
for the Lord's day and its Author, and whose laws and customs reflect,
as they have e\^cr done, the popular appreciation of the national rest-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 787

riay. It is no unintelligent, superstitious principle that has moulded
the legislation of more than thirty States of the Union and stamped
its impress on the character of the nation. The law of periodical rest
is Avritten on the human constitution and on the framework of free,
self-governing institutions, as indelibly as it is on the pages of revela-
tion. A government of law must have its foundations in morality : its
liberties inhere, under God, in its virtues. But it is the recorded axiom
of the late Justice McLean, "Where there is no Christian Sabbath
there is no Christian morality: and without this free institutions can-
not long be sustained," — a sentiment impressively illustrated by the
fact that the only free nations in existence are those in which the civil
Sabbath is incorporated in their laws, as is the sacred Sabbath in their
cherished convictions and habits.

The respected Attorney-General of the United States has well defined
the fundamental connection of the Sabbath with public morals, and so
with regulated liberty. " The religious character," says Mr. Bates, "of
an institution so ancient, so sacred, so lawful, and so necessary to the
})eace, the comfort, and the respectability of society, ought alone to be
sufficient for its protection; but, that failing, surely the laws of the land
made for its account ought to be as strictly enforced as the laws for the
])rotection of person and property. Vice and crime are always i)ro-
gressivc and cumulative. If the Sunday laws be neglected or despised,
tlie laws of person and property will soon share their fate and be (H^ually
disregarded." The Deputation may be pardoned for alluding to the
recent records of crime in New York City as a striking confirmation of
the Attorney-General's views. They show that the partial suppression
of Sunday abuses and temptations resulted in a relative change of sixty-
five per cent, in the arrests for violating "the laws of i)erson and pro-
l>erty," as compared with the period when " the Sunday laws were neg-
lected or desi)ised." Tlie Deputation appeal to the results of our na-
tional system of moral discipline in the general (supremacy of law and
liberty throughout the Nortliern States, even in a time of civil war, as
revealing at once the root and tlie fruits of the tree under whose shadow
the republic has sought its weekly repose and rtiidere<l its w^rkiy
homage.

Assuming, then, as we surely may, the President's patriotic and Chris-
tiiin r<'S]teot for the Lord's day, we pass to the specific object of th-' D**-
putation.

In response to the call of th<^ Government, nearly a million of citi-
zens have become soldiers. They have been transferred from home.
Church, and neigliborhood influences, so fruitful in incitenionts to \nrtue
and n-straints from vice, and are exposed to the tetnpt.itions of the camp
ind forecastle. The laws and liabits of civil and domestic life are
-upersedod by the military code and customs. It may be hop.-d that
individuals or entire commands have br>rne the transition without in-
jury to principle or character : but the tendency <»f the novel influences
must be townnls <lemorali/.ation, and every available counteracting
agency is demanded by the highest consid»'rations of philanthroj.y,
jKitriotism, and religion.

It is due to (he ariiiv aiel iiavv. The c"mm->n right of sold'ors and

788 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

sailors to their weekly rest, unless abridged by militaiy necessity, will
not be questioned ; nor the correlative duty to observe the day according
to its design. But tens of thousands of men have enlisted into one or
other branch of the national service from Christian Churches. Bible-
classes, Sunday-schools, and religious homes, — twenty -seven from a single
Bible-class within our knowledge. We would vindicate the rights of
these Christian men, and of all others who have moral sense enough to
make good soldiers, to immunity from outrage of feeling or oppression
of conscience in matters as sacred as life. They cherish, for example,
a profound reverence for the name of God, and regard " profane
cursing and swearing," as Washington did, as " a foolish and wicked
practice,'^ " a vice so mean and low that every man of sense and cha-
racter detests and despises it." They esteem the Sabbath as sacred to
Tiest and devotion, and have been taught from infancy " that the obser-
vance of the holy day of the God of mercy and of battles is our sacred
. duty." They have been trained to devout reliance on the Divine arm
in their exposure of life itself in defence of a just cause, and they re-
coil from the violation of Divine statutes and from the wanton disre-
gard of them by their companions in arms. They may justly claim such
leadership and discipline as shall respect their most sacred convictions,
when those convictions contain the elements of principled courage, un-
swerving obedience, and undying patriotism. If any of their officers
lack the tact, self-respect, or principle to recognize these claims, supe-
rior authorities should exact the recognition, as the simplest justice to
the men and the most obvious requisite of military discipline. Immo-
rality and irreligion will sufficiently abound in spite of law and
example : when these are lacking, the drift is fearful towards moral de-
generacy and consequent military inefficiency.

The official intervention we seek is due to the country. The camp
cannot become a school of vice without entailing irreparable injury on
the numberless homes and hamlets represented in a vast volunteer
army, nor without lasting damage to the morals and so to the liberties
of the republic. Nor can the fact be overlooked that the cause itself
for which the country and the army are contending is imperilled just in
the measure in which impiety and immorality characterize its defenders
and provoke the displeasure of Heaven.

It is conceded that the limit of official interposition in this matter is
quite restricted. The rights of conscience are sacred. The exigencies
of military service, too, must frequently overrule the choice of com-
manders and the natural rights of the soldier. But is there not a
sphere within which the legitimate exercise of authority and moral in-
fluence may restrain the tendencies to evil that awaken alarm and grief
among right-minded citizens ?

The action we solicit might be mandatory so far as relates to needful
weekly rest, the wanton invasion of Christian rights, and the choice of
Sunday for aggressive Avarfare, due discretion being accorded to generals
commanding, under their responsibility to God and the Government.
^Beyond this, paternal counsels only might suffice to encourage the vir-
tuous and self-respecting, and to bring into disrepute the lawless trifling
of officers or men with sacred interests.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 789

The records of our Revolutionary period furnish memorable prece-
dents for the action we venture to suggest. Repeatedly did the Father
of his Country address orders to the army rebuking immorality, and
encouraging purity of conduct as only befitting the holy cause for which
they contended, and reminding officers and men, as we need to be re-
minded, that " we can have little hope of the blessing of Heaven on
our arms if we insult it by our impiety and folly/'

The President issued the following order : —

Executive ATansion, Wasiiixgtox, D.C, Nov. 16, 1862.
The President, commander-in-chief of the army and navy, desires
and enjoins the orderly observance of the Sabbath by the officers and
men in the military and naval service. The importance for man and
beast of the prescribed weekly rest, the sacred rights of Christian
soldiers and sailors, a becoming deference to the best sentiment of a
Christian people, and a due regard for the Divine will, demand that
Sunday labor in the army and navy be reduced to the measure of strict
necessity. The discipline and character of the national forces should
not suffer, nor the cause they defend be imperilled, by the profanation
of the day or the name of the Most High. At this time of public dis-
tress, adopting the words of Washington in 177G, " men may find
enough to do in the service of God and their country, without abandon-
ing themselves to vice and immorality.'' The first general order issued
by the Father of his Country, after the Declaration of Independence,
indicates the s})irit in which our institutions were founded and should
ever be defended ; — " The general hopes and trusts that every officer and
man will endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier de-
fending the dearest rights and privileges of his country."

Abraham Lincoln.

General McClcllan, who for more than a year was commander
of the Army of the Potomac, issued the following order : —

General Orders No. 7.

llE\It-Ql'AKTEKS AUMV OF THE POTOMAO, WaSIIINUTON. Sopt. 7.

The Major-General commanding desires and requests that in future
there may be a more perfect respect for the Sabbath on the part of his
command. We are fighting in a holy cause, and should endeavor to
deserve the benign favor of the Creator. Unless in case ot an attack by
the enemy, or some other extreme military necessity, it isoommomk^d to
<'nmman<ling oflicers that all woik shall be suspended on the Sjibbath ;
that no unnecessary movements shall be made on that <lay : that the
men. as far as possible, shall be permitted to nst from their lal)ors ;
that they shall attend Divine service after the custonmry morning in-
spection, and that officoi-s and men alike use their influence to
insure the utmost decorum and (juiet on that day. The general com-
manding regards this as no idle form. One day's rest is necessary for

790 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

man and animals. More than this, the observance of the holy day of
the God of mercy and battles is our sacred duty.

Signed Geo. B. McClellan.

Major- General Commanding,

General Casey, a veteran officer of the United States army^
at a public meeting in Washington in January, 1863, held to
promote the observance of the Sabbath in tlie army, made the
following statement : —

I have been thirty-six years in the military service, and I know that
the army need a Sabbath. I was five years in the Florida War. In long
marches better time will be made, and the men will go through in better
condition, by resting on the Sabbath than by continuous marching.
No prudent general will plan for a Sunday battle. I would appeal to the
American people to save our American Sabbath. If our wealth is lost
in this terrible war, it may be recovered ; if our young men are killed
off, others will grow up ; but if our Sabbath is lost, it can never be restored^
and all is lost.

Commodore Foote, who as a commander in the navy was dis-
tinguished for his eminent and practical piety, as well as for
his patriotism and earnest efforts to serve his country and put
down the rebellion, issued the following order in respect to the
Sabbath and profanity : —

General Order No. 6.

A strict observance of the Sabbath, so far as abstaining from all unneces-
sary work, and giving officers and men the opportunity of attending
public worship on board, will be observed by all persons connected with
the flotilla.

It is the wish of the commander-in-chief that on the Sabbath the
public worship of Almighty God may be observed on board of all the
vessels composing the flotilla, and that the respective commanders will,
either themselves, or cause other j)ersons, to pronounce prayers publicly
on Sabbath, when as many of the officers and men as can be spared
from duty may attend the public worship of Almighty God.

Profane swearing being forbidden by the laws for the better government
of the navy, all officers and men will strictly observe this law ; and every
officer who uses profane language towards the men in canying on duty
will be held a*menable for such gross violation of law and order.

Discipline, to be permanent, must be based on moral grounds, and
officers must in themselves show a good example in morals, order, and
patriotism, to secure those qualities in the men.

Andrew H. Foote,
Flag-Officer commanding U.S. Naval Forces on the Western Wafers.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 791

X The Chaplains of the Army

Were from all denominations of Christians; and the following
testimony to their fidelity and usefulness is from sources
entitled to the highest credit. Eev. Granville Moody, who
relinquished one of the largest and wealthiest pastorates of the
Methodist Church in Cincinnati in order to accept the position
of colonel in the army, and who was earnest and eloquent in.
infusing a spirit of patriotism into the people from the pulpit,
bears the following testimony : —

As I have hud the amplest opportunities for noticing the operations
of chaplains in the army, allow me to pay a passing tribute to their
worth and work.

With very few exceptions, they have been men of one work, "watch-
ing for souls as they who must give account of the souls committed to
their care" in the wise, Christian, patriotic, and humane provision for
their office and work by our glorious Government.

It is, indeed, refreshing to meet these men of God in all the depart-
ments of military operations. In camp, on the toilsome march, on the
battle-fields, or in the hosi^itals with their crowded wards, we meet
these humble ministers of peace, vindicating their claims as successors
to the apostles, evangelists, pastors, teachers, and helps, who have
received their commissions from Him "who went about doing good" to
the bodies and souls of men.

Pray for the chaplains in the army, in disseminating gospel truths, in
advertising and applying God's remedy for man's misery, in the timely
utterances of the precepts and promises of God, in restraining vice and
encouraging virtue, in consoling the afflicted, comforting the comfort-
loss, pointing sinners to the Lamb of God, sanctifying patriotism, sus-
taining Government, and serving their generation in their day. They
are doing a great and glorious work, which will redound to the glory of
God and the good of men.

As they apjiear before listening thousands in these sun-hot Southern
groves, leading the solemn, simple, and sublime devotions of the Sab-
l)ath in camp, we are compelled to say, with Cowpor, —

"There stands the solemn legato of the skies,
His thoine divino and his credentials clear.
By him the violated law speaks out its thunders,
And by him, in strains as sweet as angels use,
The gospel whispers peace."

Long may the briglit .succession run, represented by tho.so "who shall
turn many to right oousne.».s, and shine as the stars forever."

Granville Moody,
Colorul commanding lAth lUg't O. V. I.

Rev. Mr. Alvord, Secretary and Superintendent of tho opera-

792 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF THE

tions of the American Tract Society of Boston in its work
among the soldiers, and who was with the Army of the Potomac
in active Christian service for two years, and in frequent con-
ferences with chaplains, testifies as follows to their power and
influence : —

Give the chaplains opportunity, facility, material; they are the organic,
established ministration to the army, " Grod's ordinance," therefore, to
advance Christianity. They are to be strengthened, not thrust aside.
Link them all back to the people at home for sympathies and sup-
plies, and in every way rally the Christians of the army around them ;
then let all the volunteer agency be as " Aayons and Hurs," and, what-
ever the Government or mere military men may do, religion will,
under this Divine agency, magnify her supremacy and show her power
to save. This is the way God is evidently now working. Christian
appliances, especially through the chaplains, are rapidly gaining in effect.

Kev. Dr. Marks, as a chaplain in the Army of the Potomac,
who by his fidelity and fitness for the work won a high distinction
among the officers and soldiers, and who wrote a popular book
on the military and Christian scenes of the Peninsular campaign^
gives the following testimony : —

During more than two years of my connection with the Potomac
army I was most intimately acquainted with a large number of the
chaplains in that service, and, with few exceptions, they were very ex-
cellent men, and, in spite of the difficulties of their position, accom-
plished an amount of good that never can be told. When sickness
came, they were the most patient and sympathizing of nurses and
friends. Their words of faith and loyalty cheered the soldiers in their
long marches and on entering into battle. As a general thing, their
office and character brought them into more intimate communion with .
the troops than any other officers, and the men felt that the chaplain
was the link that bound them still to their homes, their churches, and
their father's house.

And to the wounded and dying on the battle-field they were like
angels sent of God. Many a dying soldier have I seen, with his hand
grasping that of the chaplain as the finend to whom he clung in his
last moments with the greatest confidence; and the presence and words
of the good man encouraged and blessed the departing hero.

His work, from the nature of the case, could not find place in bul-
letins and despatches from the field, but was no less valuable because
thus unheralded.

The various Christian agencies produced the most happy and
beneficent results.

The Christian sentiment of the loyal States was elicited to sustain the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 793

Government and to relieve and benefit our brave men of the army and
navy. The Government was called on to confess and express its
dependence upon God for support, and to manifest deep interest for
the moral and religious welfare of our gallant defenders. The Horae
and the Church have been brought to the men in the field, and cheering,
consoling intelligence from the men in the field to the Home and the
Church. Thousands of lives have been saved to the country and to
loving home-circles. Thousands have been led to the Saviour, and
hundreds of thousands comforted, instructed, and cheered in the hour
of agony, despondency, or death.

The army felt it was engaged in a most holy cause, and
the inspirations of religion and righteousness imparted faith,
courage, and resolution, in the protracted and terrible struggle
for the life of the republic and its free institutions against
the rebellion.

No army was ever set on foot so thoroughly imbued with enlightened
religious sentiment as ours. The Crimean army, with its Hedley Vickars,
and the large class of devout soldiers of whom he was a type, the
Indian army, with its Havelock, the Puritan hosts of Cromwell, are no
exceptions. The respect of our soldiers for the Sabbath, their family
altars in messes, their prayer-meetings, their devout observance of reli-
gious ordinances, and the numerous instances which have occurred
even of conversions in the camp, are circumstances which fill theCliris-
tian heart with delight. Whole companies have been devoted, with
prayer and self-consecration, to God's peculiar service.

The nation owe the heroic and patriotic men of the army and
navy a boundless debt of gratitude, and theirs is the honor and
imperishable glory of saving, under God, the republic, and
lianding it down to future ages. Let the meed of praise be
given to the living, and a nation's tears and gratitude to the
memories of the hundred thousand fallen in battle.

The Loyal Women
Of the Northern States, during the great conflict, in their un-
selfish and ceaseless works of patriotism and piety, received the
following tribute from a leading religious journal : —

It is inspiring to soo tlio uboun<Iiiig and ev«M-in< p^iNing tut imi-;.i-iii
of the intflligont Cliristian women of the North for tht» triumpli of
liberty, rightrousnoss, and truth, in that njomt«nt<ms ntitionul eontrovorsy
now coming at last to u < oniiu.sion jukI sftthun'nt through tho droad
and final arbitrament of battle. What multitudes of women have mot
during the la.st two years, in prival*' houses, vestrica, churched, wiih
ttpontuncous alacrity hu.-.tening tog. ibor to prepare bufurehaud for tho

794 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

wants of the wolinded, or for the comfort and relief of the sick, in the
campaign that is imminent ! How many, with far more signal exhi-
bition of their love for the right, have sent their own husbands,
brothers, sons, into the field, or have bidden their betrothed go forth
undaunted in the cause of God and their native land! How many
pastors, preaching on the great and urgent theme and pouring their
full souls into their message, have been encouraged, reinforced, lifted
to higher levels of feeling, penetrated with more fervent and powerful
conviction, by the responses they have met from the voices or the faces
of those whose delicacy has been heretofore more consi3icuous than
their daring, and into whose dwelling no sound of strife was ever
admitted ! It is one of the most remarkable phenomena in that whole
series of astonishing wonders whicli we have of late been permitted to
see.

Yet there is reason for this ; and the fact has a vast and deep signifi-
cance. Women have reason to love the land which is their ample,
bounteous home. They have reason to value the social system which
cherishes and guards them with its chiefest care. They have reason to
prize the great institutions of civil and religious freedom, which furnisli
them Avith the richest means of culture and advancement, whicli open
to them the most varied paths to happiness and usefulness. No civili-
zation that has ever existed on the face of the earth has had a larger,
so large a claim on the love and loyalty of virtuous women as that
which we have here enjoyed, — that which now is threatened and
assailed by the headstrong violence and the vindictive passion of the
Southern slave-masters. It is well, therefore, that women should rally
to contribute their part to maintain it, — well and fit that they should
give all that God enables them to give in defence of a past so glorious
as ours, in defence of a present so sheltering and benign. They would
be unmindful of the sources of their own highest prosperity, or un-
grateful for the blessings that hitherto have distilled each day and hour
upon them and their children, except they did this !

But there is yet another relation of this wide-sweeping, spontaneous
enthusiasm, inspiring to contemplate. It indicates and vindicates
the holiness of tlie cause in which our whole vast Northern force is
now engaged. The moral instincts of such a multitude of Christian
women could not possibly have been enlisted or conciliated by any
enterprise of ambition or aggression, by any expedition prompted by
desire of territorial expansion or of martial renown. Rather from such
a scheme or purpose, however plausibly advanced and advocated, such
is the Christian culture of the sex in our land and in our time, they
would have been instantaneously repelled. As one immense, un-
conquerable host they would have set themselves in the way of its pro-
gress, and with infallible certainty have arrested it. It is because they,
whose moral instincts are finer and more sensitive than man's, whose
moral judgments are more immediate and more authoritative, whose
souls stand nearer to God and to his Son, nearer the cross, nearer the
crown, — it is because they know and feel that this now coming and
imminent war, however protracted, fierce, and terrific it may be, is still
to be a war for freedom, for truth, for the gospel, for the coming Chris-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 795

tian civilization of the land, for the coming hope and glory of mankind,
therefore it is that they rise to the height of the sacrifice it demands ;
that they give to it the verdict of enthusiastic acceptance ; that they
dedicate themselves already not only to the mitigating of the sufferings
it must cause, but to the furnishing of the ranks with their recruits, of
the soldiers with their equipments, of the whole army with their own
temper of intrepid, self-denying, and heroic faith.

God bless forever the worthy daughters of the glorious and ever-
honored Revolutionary mothers I

Two thousand women of St. Louis, Missouri, entered into
the following

Pledoe.

We, the undersigned women of St, Louis, believing that in this hour
of national peril to our country every influence, moral as well as mili-
tary, should be brought to bear in the great struggle for national exist-
ence against a rebellion as crafty as it is wicked, and that while our
fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers are giving their treasure and
blood, it is our duty to contribute the influence God has given us in our
social sphere to the same holy cause, and that in this solemn crisis
loyalty is bound to be outspoken, even in the case of women, as truly as
loyalty to our God :

We, therefore, do constitute ourselves as an association, to ^e known
as the Ladies' National League of St. Louis, and do pledge our uncon-
ditional adherence to our national Government in its struggle against
the present rebellion, engaging to assist it by whatever means may be
in our power, in the maintenance of our national Union and the inte-
grity of our national domain.

To this end, we do further resolve and pledge ourselves to encourage
and sustain our brave soldiers by acts of kindness and patriotic cheer;
to use every fitting opportunity of expressing our unflinching determi-
nation to stand by our dear old flag and to honor those who fight in it.s
defence until the day of sure and j)ermanent triumph ; and to prove,
in whatever way we can, tliat loyally to our country fonns a part of our alle-
giance to God.

The loyal women of New York formed an association and
passed the following resolutions: —

We, the un'lcrsigned, women of the United States, agree to become
members of th<' "Women's lioyal Natiomil L<'agm>," hereby jtb'dging
our most earnest influence in siii)j)()rt of th«' <i«)veriiinent in its prose-
cution of tlit; war for freedom and f<»r thi» rest<)rati<»n of tlio national
unity.

firsolvrd. That ftr tlie present this League will concentrate all its
oftbrts upon the single object of procuring to be signed by one million
women and upward, and of prejmring for presentation to ("ongrcHs
within the first week of it- next session, a petition in the following
words, to wit : —

796 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

To THE Senate and House of Representatives of the United States.

The undersigned, women of the United States, above the age of
eighteen years, earnestly pray that your honorable body will pass, at
the earliest practicable day, an act emancipating all persons of African
descent held to involuntary service or labor in the United States.

Resolved, That, in furtherance of the above object, the Executive Com-
mittee of this League be instructed to cause to be prepared and stereo-
typed a pamphlet, not exceeding four printed octavo pages, briefly and
plainly setting forth the importance of such a movement at the present
juncture, a copy of the said pamphlet to be placed in the hands of
each person who may undertake to procure signatures to the above
petition, and for such further distribution as may be ordered by the
said Executive Committee.

A ''Loyal Women's League" was formed in Hartford, Con-
necticut, the members pledging themselves to '' encourage and
sustain our brave soldiers by constant tokens of love, but still
more by the expression of a cheerful and unflinching determi-
nation to stand by the dear old flag till the day of its triumph,
be it near or remote," and so to instruct their children, and all
who may be dependent upon them, that ''they may grow into
such filial reverence for this best of all governments as shall
make them always patriots, never mere partisans." These
true-hearted women also declare that they will " in all ways
endeavor to create such a sentiment of devoted loyalty in the
circles in which they move, that no traitor to liberty, or cowardly
recreant, shall utter his sentiments in their fresence unre-
buked." In token of their loyalty, they have determined to
wear publicly a Union badge " until the day of our national
triumph."

The loyal women of Philadelphia received the following tri-
bute, for their devotion to the soldiers and the country, from
the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, New-School,
which met in that city, May, 1863 : —

Resolved, That the Assembly hereby express their high admiration of
the manner in which the ladies of Philadelphia have contributed, and
are contributing, to the comfort of the soldiers who pass through this
city, and of those who return as sick and suffering to its hospitals, and
that as citizens of the country, and in behalf of those whom we specially
represent, we present to these ladies our hearty thanks.

" The politicians are not the great workers in a war of ideas
and principles like ours. ISToble women, now, as ever, are the
groat workers, the great feelers, the great hopers, the great

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 797

lovers, who keep up the morale of men and create the atmo-
sphere which their spirits breathe. Leaving the actual army-
work out of the account, they do actually more than the men."
The leading journals of the Northern States, both political
and religious, during the great conflict, and especially on the
observance of the days of fasting and prayer and of thanks-
giving designated by the Government, exerted a wide-spread
and beneficent influence in difFusino; and strenQ^thenins:: the
Christian element, and in pervading the rulers and people of the
republic with a just sense of their responsibilities to God. They
discussed the religious aspects of the war, reviewed and rebuked
the sins of the nation which they stated were the causes of the
just judgments of God, exhorted the people to humiliation and
repentance, advocated the fundamental principles of the Bible
and an obedience to the laws of God as the only true basis of
national existence and prosperity, and proclaimed the great truth
that God must be honored and recognized in all governmental
and political transactions as well as in the social and private
walks of life, if the nation would be saved and preserved in its
institutions and integrity. Extracts from the elaborate editorials
of leading journals, on those great Christian principles which
underlie all civil institutions, had been prepared for this volume ;
but the limits of the work forbid their record. It is, however,
an important historic fact that the loyal political papers and
all the Christian journals of the country exerted a powerful
and a healthful influence in developing and difl'using the reli-
gious element.

TuE Ministers

Of religion, of all denominations, througliout the loyal States,
in the great crisis of the nation, were, with but few excep-
tions, true to freedom and the country. Their pulpits were
pillars of moral support and strength to the Government, and
their influence aided eflbctivoly and powerfully in the suppres-
sion of the rebellion. Loyalty to the Government was a reli-
gious duty, which they in thoir sermons and examples incul-
cated upon their congregations and difl'usod tlirougli tlio nation.
Many of them went into the army ; and no class of men miide
greater sacrifices to save the republic and to purify and pre-
serve the Government in it,s integrity and unity. The funda-
mental principles of Christianity, as related to civil govern-

798 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

merit and political policies, and to tlie causes that brought on
and sustained the rebellion, v/ere by them thoroughly unfolded
and applied, and thus pure and wide currents of Christian in-
iiuences flowed over all the interests and through every depart-
ment of the nation. A few illustrations of their earnest patriot-
ism and piety can only be given in this volume.

An association of evangelical ministers of Cincinnati, in the
summer of 1861, discussed the question, " How can ministers
best serve the interests of our country at the present crisis?*'
and presented their views in the following paper: —

Deeply grateful to Almighty God, our heavcrxly Father, for his past
mercies to this nation, and particularly noting at this time his gracious
goodness in leading our fathers to establish and preserve for us a consti-
tutional government unequalled among the governments of the earth
in guarding the rights and promoting the entire welfare of a great
peojjle, we, the evangelical ministry of Cincinnati, have been led by a
constraining sense of accountability to him, the Author of all our good,
and by unfeigned love for our country, to adopt the following statement
and resolutions : —

We are compelled to regard the rebellion which now afflicts our land
and jeopardizes some of the most precious hopes of mankind as the
result of a long-contemplated and wide-spread conspiracy against the
principles of liberty, justice, mercy, and righteousness proclaimed in the
word of God, sustained by our constitutional Government, and lying at
the foundation of all public and private welfare. In the present con-
flict, therefore, our Government stands before us as representing the
cause of God and man, against a rebellion threatening the nation with
ruin in order to perpetuate and spread a system of unrighteous op-
pression. In this emergency, as ministers of God, we cannot hesitate
to support, by every legitimate method, the Government in maintain-
ing its authority unimpaired throughout the whole country and over
this w^hole people : therefore,

Resolved, 1. That all Christian ministers and people should be exhorted
to unite their fervent supplications to the God of our fathers for his
protection of the Government formed under his approving providence,
without which neither an empire rises nor a sparrow falls.

2. That the interests of our country demand of all good citizens a
firm, united, and loyal support of the Government in destroying the
armed rebellion which has risen against it.

3. That, as ministers of the gospel, we will co-operate with the chap-
lains of the army, so far as we may, in securing regular services of
divine worship in camps and hospitals, the freest circulation of a health-
ful religious literature, esj^ecially of the word of God and the happy
influence of the Sabbath among the soldiers.

4. That we should be admonished by the present judgment of
Almighty God to call upon our nation to repent of the siu of 02:)j)ression,

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 799

with all those other vices for which he has thus entered into contro-
versy with us, so that iniquity may not be our ruin.

5. That we will remember, and seek also to impress upon the public
mind, that those with whom the Government is thus brought into con-
flict are our brethren, — misguided and criminal, but still our brethren,
towards whom we should maintain the spirit of compassion and kind-
ness even while waging war against them.

6. That, with humble faith, we fearlessly commit the issue of this con-
flict to the just and gracious God who presides over the destinies of
nations, assured that in the answer to the prayers of his people he will
cause the wrath of man to praise him and restrain the remainder
thereof, until he sends forth judgment unto victory, and the work of
righteousness be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness, and
assurance forever.

The following address " On the Christian's Duty in the Pre-
sent Crisis," is by Bishop Mcllvaine, of the Episcopal Church,
who is distinguished for his catholic Christian spirit towards all
denominations, and for his influence in this country and in
England. He visited England during the great conflict, and
exerted a wide- spread influence in favor of the cause of the
Government and of the loyal States in suppressing the rebel-
lion. The address was published in 1861 : —

War is upon us, — the worst, the most horrid, the most calamitous and
sorrowful of all wars, — not only civil war, but civil war in circumstances
beyond precedent painful and productive of all the bitterest passions
of man's evil nature. The cloud is exceedingly dark. But it reaches
not to heaven. God's light is behind it, however hid. Ilis ways, how-
ever unsearchable, and " a great deep" to our eye, are in wisdom and
goodness; and still "God is our refuge, and a very present help in
trouble." But wliat is our <luty ? I mean the duty of <.lisci])li's of
Christ, — ours as members of Christ's Cloirch, liaving brethren in Christ
everywhere, — in the States now in array against us, and oven in the
army now perhaps on the marcli against us?

First. (Jur duty is ch'arly, solemnly, steadily, pati<MUly, bravely,
earnestly, to sustain our Government. There is no room for hesitation
here. Whatever may be said of persons or localities, or sections of
people, our Govemmt-nt has n<jt ])rc)Vokt'(l this war, the countnj has not.
We are;)ro jh/tnu, for our beloved country, — not Ohio, not this State or
that, not north, or east, or west, but our country, and our Govornmont
as the only representative of our country. All duty says so. An<l
what wo are and do in the discharge of thi.s duty should l>o zoalouH,
devoted, self-sacrifuing, undatmted.

But, secondly, in what s]»irit as Ghri-^tinus ? There {< no necossily of
coming down in the least from all that jtortains to Ghristinn spirit in
the dischar;,'o of such duty, wlH-rmer it may <ftrry u>». Good soMiers,
especially soldici-s standing for tlu'ir honuvs and institutions, rejx-lling
invasion, encircling around their Government, contiMuling for tho

800 CIIEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Union, have no need to borrow a spirit not their own. There need bo
no unhallowed passions, no spirit of bitter revenge, no cultivation of
hate, no ceasing to pray for enemies, no passing away of actual kind-
ness and readiness to do good to those arrayed against us, whenever
duty, loyalty to our own cause, does not prevent. Especially with those
who stay at home and do not plunge into the actual conflict, — the great
mass of praying, loving, Christian people, — the highest measure of
loyalty and of stern determination to sustain the Government is per-
fectly consistent with the cherishing in their hearts of all the tempers
and spirit, the charities, the kindness, the doing good to them that may
hate us, the praying for those who would " despitefully use us," which
our blessed gospel requires.

Under these general views, what is duty ?

1. Let us keep our hearts with all diligence, with special effort to pre-
vent the encroachment of a war feeling and excitement upon the
proper domain of the Spirit of God within you. The danger is great.
These strong excitements carry away the mind as with a flood. They
overwhelm us, unless our dikes be well kept. Duty to God, the duty
of a devotional mind, the duty of prayer, secret and daily and regular
and spiritual, remains. Eternity is only the nearer, God's blessing
and favor are only, if jjossible, the more needful. The more exciting
the crisis, the more the need of God. If we want an army in the field
with carnal weapons, we want also, and for the same cause, an army at
the throne of grace, taking hold, by constant prayer, on the arm of the
only real strength. In that army, while the other is composed only of
those between certain ages, and it must exclude the aged, the feeble, —
in that army all can be marshalled ; the praying child, the praying
woman, the heart on a sick-bed, tottering age, — all can contend in that,
and make a great and mighty host before God, holding up the hands of
those who go to the battle, praying for the blessings of peace, union,
stability, and brotherly love. Let us keep our hearts with all diligence,
that we may thus keep ourselves at the throne of grace. Never were
praying people more needed in our country than now.

2. Let us watch against the growth in our hearts of all bitterness of
spirit against those whom we must now call (most painful as it is) our
enemies. Many there are whom we must thus place under that name
who are enemies to us only because their cause is against ours, while
the bonds of Christian charity and real brotherly love of Christian
brethren towards us are not broken. I believe that most truly. So it
is, and must be, among us towards them. It is awful to be thus arrayed,
brother against brother. No greater affliction could come. It must not
be made more awful, so far as religious people can help it, by the kin-
dling of fires of evil passion, which the cause on neither side demands,
and by which any cause must be disgraced. Let us stand by the right,
but righteously, in the right mind, in the spirit of those whose rule of
mind is the word of God, and who desire to " approve themselves unto
God" and to have his blessing.

3.* Let us still seek peace, and the measures that make for peace.
The President seeks peace, and has done nothing inconsistent with his
profession of a pacific spirit and aim. Let us seek it also, and, while

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 801

preparing for war, still cherish the hope and the spirit of peace. We
Diay not see the way by which, consistently with what we ought to
maintain, peace can now be restored. But let us remember that we see
but little of the ways and power of God. Our hope of peace is not
destroyed because our eyes cannot detect its path or our Chief Magis-
trate and his counsellors cannot devise the means of obtaining it. The
Lord reigneth. God is our refuge. *' lie hath his way in the sea, and
his path in the mighty waters." When the disciples of Christ were on
the billows, tempest-tossed, they knew not any path on those waves by
which their Master could reach them. It was ''the fourth watch of the
night." But he had a path in the sea, and they saw him walking
tlierein, and he came to them, and the waves were still. If there be no
way of peace, God can make one by dividing the sea. We are not hope-
less of peace because we cannot tell how it could be brought about.
Let us still hope, and still pray. With arms in hand let us do so. God
bo with us ! God preserve and guide our counsellors, our Governors,
our President. May they all learn humbly to feel and acknowledge
their dependence on him for wisdom and strength. May the godless-
ness which has too long disgraced our public councils and affairs be cast
away. May our President seek his help in God, and his Cabinet ask
wisdom where only it is to be found, and our legislators know that God's
blessing is worth their seeking.

Bishop Mcllvaine, in a second address, in 1863, to the clergy
and laity of the diocese of Ohio, uttered similar sentiments.
" We long," says he, " for such peace as the permanent interests
of law and order, of justice and right, will permit our Govern-
ment to seek and accept."

An important part of the bishop's address of 18G3 is taken
up with the statements of the Eight Rev. James Henry Otey,
L.D., LL.D., late Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Tennessee.
Bishop Otey said, in 1861, "I am well satisfied that the majority
of the people in the seceding States, if their voice could be
fairly heard, would speak loudly in fiivor of Union."

That which I foar most of all is, that God is about to visit us, and
deservedly, for our national sins and ingratitude. The only foundation
of my hope is that " the Lord reigneth." Oh, there is comfort in tliat
declaration, precious, full, and abiding! Let what changes in govern-
ment and overthrow of institutions come that may, wo shall bo safe
under the shadow of \\U wings who "rulcth in the armies of heaven,
and dooth all his pleasure among the inhri))itanH of the earth."

Dr. Stephen II. Tyng, pastor of one of the largest and most
influential churches in the city of New York, in a sermon
preached on fast-day, April 30, 1863, reflected the loyalty and

61

802 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

sentiments of tlie American ministers on the great issues of
the conflict. It was entitled '^ Christian Loyalty," and was
founded on a passage expressive of the loyalty and love of the
Hebrew people for their institutions and nationality. Brief
extracts only can be given.

" By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yea, we wept when we
remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the
midst thereof. If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, let my right hand forget
her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the
roof of my mouth ; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy." —
Psalm cxxxvii. 1, 2, 5, 6.

This (said Dr. Tyng) is the patriot's devotion to his country. It is a
living spirit in his heart. It clings to his own land and people in their
lowest depression as truly as in their highest prosperity. It is living
and active within him, to whatever contumely and reproach it may ex-
pose him.

1. My loyalty to Jerusalem is my love of her people. I am loyal to
my nation. I will never give my consent to its dismemberment or its
separation. I cling to the one Federal American people, — not to a con-
federacy of States, but to a consolidated nation. I desire not to live to
see a disunion of them for any reasons or uj)on any terms. . . . My
loyalty is to the United States of America, that great federal nation,
which, wherever scattered or however collected, have dwelt together
under one glorious government, as one perpetual, indivisible people. . . .
Be one people ; be one nation. . . . Let Jerusalem be still a city at unity
in itself, encircled with the walls of a common defence from foes abroad
and bound together for a united subjugation of traitors at home.

2. My loyalty to Jerusalem is my love for her territory. I love my
country ; I love it with an intense affection. Every part of it is equally
mine, and equally dear to me. I am a citizen of the United States. I
will acknowledge no Northern rights nor Southern rights. I have a fee
simple, indisputable right in every portion of this soil, from sea to sea,
as a citizen of this nation. I will never consent to give it up. I am a
citizen of the whole. I have a right to a domicil, a protected home,
throughout the whole, which I will never yield. To separate this glo-
rious hard-earned land, to divide it, to disintegrate it, cut it up, parcel
it out to a set of wild conflicting provinces, farm it out to the ambition
of petty contending satraps, gaining in blood a short-lived triumph, is
a degradation and a social atrocity to which I will never consent. . . .

Let the land of your fathers, the sacred revered abode of a nation of
freemen, be transmitted, unbroken, solid, entire, untarnished, to the chil-
dren who succeed you. Die, if it must be so, for it, but never give it up.

3. My loyalty to Jerusalem is my love for the freedom which she has
established. Men may call the testimonies of her Declaration of Inde-
pendence a tissue of " glittering generalities/' when they have no
affinity with the liberty which it proclaims and no sympathy with the
grandly humanizing influence which it is designed and destined to exer-
cise. To my mind, it stands on the highest platform of uninspired tes-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 803

timonies. In it the noblest emotions, aspirations, sentiments, and prin-
ci])les of the heart of man speak out in golden, crj'stal sounds. " We
liold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal ; that
lliey are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ; that
among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; that to
secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the governed." What nobler tes-
timony for human freedom or human exaltation was ever given?
When did the representative mind of progi-essive, rising humanity ever
announce its convictions and its purposes in a loftier strain or in a
grander formula ? . . . Never yield this priceless inheritance of
liunian liberty ; never sacrifice by any compromise the unrestricted, uni-
versal freedom of your nation ; never consent to any arrangement in
which you may not look back upon your fathers' line and home, and
still triumphant say, " Jerusalem, the mother of us all, is free."

4. My loyalty to Jerusalem is my love for her Constitution. Jerusalem
had lier glorious constitution from the Divine gift, — a book in the hands
of everyone, to be read at home, to be studied by children, to be talked
of by the way. America has received her Constitution from the gracious
l>rovidence of God, — the grand result of ages of human experience and
observation, — the admired shape and cast of man's wisdom among the
nations of the earth.

Never was there a more majestic exhibition of sovereign j>ower;
never was there a more honorable display of mutual concession and self-
restraint.

Such is the American Constitution, — a beautiful maohinery «.f intel-
lectual conception and of moral influence, working with its powers and
nstraints, its checks and balances, its provisions and prohiV>itions, in a
thoroughly adjusted harmony, and in remarkable or<h'r and grandeur
of operation. . . . Never give up this contest for the Constitution,
''ompel this reb<*llion to submit to its authority. And. if you nuist ) erisli,
perish nobly maintaining the i)eerh'ss cause of liberty, government, and
oi-der. ,

r>. My loyalty to J<*rusalem is my love for l»r government. H«m- Con-
stitution is tin- <liart« r of h<'r gov«Miiment. the fixed and final Siiienie
arrangod for it< «onstruetion and its p«'rp<'tual <'ontrol. . . .

i love this (iovt-rnnunt. I l<>v«' it in its origin. I l«>ve it in it< «.im-
])lieity. I lov*' it in its supremacy. I love it in its individuality. I lovo
it in its . ..jistitutional strength. 1 l<>vr it in its personal pow.r. «lrtvr-
mination. an<l will. It combines for nie all tin* possible fn «>dom of
liberty for the many consistent with onler and tranqtiillity for the
whole, and the vast security of a})solute authority in nn ultimate ruler
from whom there is no appeal. It seems to mu* to have gathere«l tlio
u'"ms from all regions t(» make this new. last eroun of u monarchical
people, — a ruling nation.

To my nation, to my country, to the prin«i|»leof frei'dom, to thoron-
<titution. to the (Jovernment, while 1 live, will I Ik* faithful; and. how-
ever <lepre-sed or downcast or <le-ponding n»ay !»o the incidents iin*l
ehin<'ntsof the day. even though in captivity I nit by the rivers of
I'.abylon, 1 will never forget, dishonor, or deny the Jeru-alem I have

804 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

loved, beneath -vyhose shade I have grown and been refreshed, and with
whose sons and daughters I have gone to the house of God and taken
sweet dehght. Still in prayer for my beloved country will I look up to
the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Dr. Byron Sunderland, pastor of the First Presbyterian
Cliurch in Washington City, and chaplain of the Senate of the
United States, preached a sermon on the national fast-day, April
30, 1863, entitled ''The Crisis of the Times," which was heard
by an immense audience, and published by an '' Association of
patriotic citizens" and widely circulated through the country.
The following is an extract : —

When the ship of state, freighted as it is with all our memories and
all our hopes, lies tossing in the tempest, — when it is no longer a ques-
tion of policy or preference as between rival parties and candidates in
time of peace, but a deeper, broader, more vital question of the triumph
of the Government and the coyiscience of the American people over a sys-
tem of usurpation and despotism sustained by an organized and armed
rebellion against them, — now, when a fierce and bloody attempt is made
to undermine the very foundations of social order and to pull down the
noblest structure of empire the sun has ever shone upon, and to sunder
a land that was once most happy in all the arts and industries of
advancing civilization, and to blot out from the face of the globe
the unity of a mighty nation, and to impair forever the greatness
and the usefulness of a people among whom the Divine principles
and precepts of Christianity itself have had their freest and their
noblest scope, — would it not be thought a thing incredible that the
Christian people and the Christian ministry of this land should stand
aloof, should manifest a deep and profound indifference, should under-
take to live and act and preach and speak and think and feel as though
there were no war and no judgment of God among us whatever? And
all this, too, while the w^ole history of the nation hitherto has been
marked by one continued succession of providential interpositions for
deliverance, one constant series of examples of the presence and influ-
ence of the Christian element in working out our national destiny!
Without Christianity, the story of America could never have been told,
— these manifold and mighty monuments which cover the land could
never have been reared. None but God can tell the effect of Christian
prayer and fidelity in the testimony of Christian truth upon the for-
tunes of this nation. And now, in such a land, with such a record and
such a prospect, and 'in such a condition, v\-hen we feel and know that
blows are being struck which, if not repelled, must not only destroy our
civil heritage, but also roll back the chariot of human salvation for a
thousand years, can the disciples and ministers of this religion, which
has more than all other things made the land a blessing, be excused
from the duties and trials which now rest upon the nation? Nay, do
you not look to the Christian sentiment and opinion of this country for
countenance and support ? Do you not rely on the loyalty and the

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 805

prayers of the Christian people of this country as constituting, under
God, the firmest and most unwavering prop and pillar of the nation's
strength ? If this be so, then I am here to declare, in the name of tlie
Christian Church, and of all that follow the great Head of the Church
in this land, that as they have never, heretofore, been found wanting in
the hour of the country's need, so they will now not be found wanting.
For, when it comes to this, the old religion which has for eighteen hun-
dred years produced the heroes and martyrs of the world, will rise
again and lead her mighty processions into the thickest of the contest.
And not until the Church of Christ has been utterly overthrown, and
not until her last prayer goes out and her last soul is offered up on the
altar of expiring liberty, will it be time for men to say, *' there is no
longer any hope." And not until then can the cause of America,
which we believe to be the cause of human nature everywhere, be
ruined. And for this reason it is that in the name of the Church we
lift up our voice, cry aloud and spare not, showing the people their
sins and transgressions. The Christian mind of this nation beholds the
spectacle we now present with a feeling of the deepest solemnity and the
most painful suspense. The Christian mind of this nation inter}>rets the
afflictions we are suffering now, as the judgments of God for our moral
obli(iuity. It holds that there is a righteousness which exaltetli a
nation, while sin is a reproach to any people. It holds that in a crisis
like tins there is but one inspiration that can carry us through in tri-
umph, and that is the insi)iration of the Almighty. It holds that
among the first signs of the presence of such an inspiration is the gene-
ral return of the people to sobriety and virtue ; and therefore it views
with pain and grief, with apprehension and alarm, the almost universal
reign of vice, vulgarity, and impurity. And because the nation has been
ho long blintl and indifferent to the principles of truth, and so long dis-
obedient to the authority of God, he has not only kindled the fire of
this furnace, but he is adding fuel to the llames, and lioUling us in them,
that we may be either purified or consumed. That is the issue now be-
fore us, — purification or destruetion. It is comparatively of little account
what may be tlie tidings from the great sieg<'s or the battle-fields of our
military or iiaviil operations, what may be the contlition of the cur-
rency or the result of local elections, or, indeed, what may be the
daily contingencies or details that fall out to us in the history of this
great time; but the true (luestion is, whether amid all these millions
of hunnin beings a suflici<'nt number may be found upon whom the in-
spiration of the Almighty has descended, to ren<ler it consistent with
his most gracious purpose and with the chara<'ter of his supr«»me govern-
ment over men, to interpose and give us tlie victory. If this point
in the moral and religious conditi(Mi of the .\nierican people can l>o at-
tained, then we liave no fear for the reniaiiuh«r. The same power that
tleliver<-d the Hebrew nation with a high hand and a stretched-<>ut urin,
tlie same power tliat shieldetl the pettpleof the Netlierlands against the
combined attack of the greatest j-otentatet* of the time in Kurope, the
Rime power that brougiit our fathei-s through the bloody baptism of the
Kevolution, and gave to tliem, to bequeuth to us. thiir cliiUlnn, this

806 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHAEACTER OF THE

glorious inheritance, will thunder for us along all out lines of battle,
and put our enemies to rout and confusion forever.

The Day of Fasting and Prayer

Appointed by the President, on Thur.sday^ April 30, 1863,
the proclamation for which is on the 558th page of this volume,
was memorable in its Christian influence through the loyal
States. Stirring and timely truths were preached in the pulpits,
w^hich tended greatly to impress the public mind and con-
science with religious sentiments and responsibility to God, and
to urge the people and all in civil and military authority to
repentance and reformation. '*We believe," says Bishop
Mcllvaine, in an address to the clergy and laity of the Diocese
of Ohio, '' the day was warmly welcomed by all the religious and
patriotic people of the loyal States, and was observed with
solemnity and prayerfulness in devout assemblies throughout
those portions of our country." The resolution of the Senate
requesting the President to appoint a day of fasting and prayer
was gratifying to the Christian public especially, because it dis-
tinctly recognized Christ as mediator, and the New-School
Indianapolis Presbytery, in view of it, passed the following: —

Resolved, That this Presbytery, as an ecclesiastical court, called to wit-
ness for Christ before the world, cannot refrain from a public expression
of its gratification that the resolutions of the Senate of the United
States, asking the appointment by the President of a national fast, make
such distinct mention of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Heaven-appointed
way of access to Cod the Fatlier. This recognition of our Divine Medi-
ator by our national authorities is as gratifyiiig and appropriate as it is
rare.

The Governors of several States, and the mayors of some of
the larger cities and towns, responded to the proclamation of
the President by issuing their own.

Washington City.

Proclasiation by the Mayor.

Mayor's Okficb:, April 28, 186S.
The President, in comjjliance with a resolution of the Senate of the
t'nited States, having set apart a day for national prayer and humiliation,
renders needless any thing of a like character from me. As requested
in the following joint resolution, my fellow-citizens will doubtless mani-
fest their appreciation of the occasion, as well as their resj^ect for the
high authority from whence it emanates, by abstaining from secular

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 807

employment, and an observance of the day as enjoined on us, in
common with the whole country, by the proclamation of the President.

Richard Wallach, Mayor.

Joint Resolution relative to the observance of Thursday, 30ih April, as a day
of fasting, humiliation, and prayer.

Whereas the President of the United States has, by public proclamar
tion, recommended the observance of the 30th instant as a day of fasting,
humiliation, and prayer throughout these United States, and whereas
it is meet and proper that we should acknowledge our sins before
Almighty God, and pray that the evils of civil war be removed from us:
therefore

Be it Resolved, That the Mayor be, and is hereby, requested to issue his
proclamation inviting and enjoining upon the citizens of Washington
the observance of this day as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer,
and requesting the suspension of all secular business on that day.

Alex, R. Shepherd,
President of the Board of Common Council.

Joseph F. Brown,
President of the Board of Aldermen.

Approved, April 28, 1863.

Richard Wallach, Mayor.

Order by the Military Governor of the District of Columbia.

General Orders, No. 15.

Heap-Quarters Military District of Washinotox,
Washington, D.C, April 29, 1863.

In com])lianco with the proclamation of the President of the United
States, Thursday, the 30th of April instant, will be observed by oflBcera
and men in tliis command as a day of fasting an<l humiliation.

Within the limits of the city of Washington and the District of
Columbia, the orders regulating the transaction f»f business and closing
of shoj)S, stores, and bars on Sunday will be applicable to Thursday, the
30th instant, and will be observed accordingly and enforced.

The President's proclamation devoutly recognizes the existence and
presence of Almighty God. It is impossible that such a Being should
not be interested in the afl'airs of men. No further appeal ought to be
necessary to those who publicly profess a C'hi;jstiaii faith.

But to others, who are inclined to ask, *'What good can bo gamed by
fawting?" the commanding general, while desiring their respectful co-
operation in the observance of the day, suggests to them the following
answer: —

1. Tijey will thereby manifest a soldirrly resprd to a recommendation
whii h comes to them from the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and
Navy of the United States ; and the company or regiment most imbued
with th:it <|u:ility of respect aflbrds signal evidence liiut it i)ossesso8 the
highest lighting quality.

2. A soldier who is moved to the performance of his duty in battle or

808 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

elsewhere by tlie inspiration of God's presence in the mind and pur-
poses will be incited by an influence of immense power.

Not the miraculous interposition of Divine agency, but the infusion
of new determination and earnestness into our own hearts, will be the
consequence, in the rudest minds, of our honest and manly observance
of the fast recommended by the President.

A whole nation stimulated and exalted by such influences would be
irresistible.

By command of Brigadier-General Martindale.

John P. Sherbourne, A.A.G.

Governor of New York.

The President of the United States having set apart the last Thursday
of April as a day of national prayer, fasting, and humiliation, I, Horatio
Seymour, Governor of the State of New York, do recommend that the
day be observed throughout the State with suitable religious solemni-
ties.

Humbly acknowledging the manifold offences of our rulers and people,
let us humiliate ourselves before Almighty God, and fervently pray
that our sins may be forgiven. Acknowledging our dependence upon
his powers and mercy, let us put away pride and ingratitude, malice
and uncharitableness, and implore him to deliver our land from sedi-
tious fury, conspiracy, and rebellion, and to restore the blessings of peace,
concord, and union to the several States of our distracted and afflicted
country.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed the privy seal of the
State, at the city of Albany, the 27th day of April, in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.

Horatio Seymour.

By the Governor :

E, B. Miller, Jr., Private Secretary.

Mayor of New York.

Whereas the President of the United States, in compliance with a
resolution of the Senate, has issued his proclamation, setting apart
Thursday, the 30th day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation,
fasting, and prayer ; and

Whereas the scourge of civil war which is now desolating our country
and changing many of its happy homes into abodes of sorrow renders
such solemn service peculiarly appropriate at the present time :

Now, therefore, in official recognition of said proclamation and its
just and timely admonitions to the nation, I do hereby request that all
the public offices in this city be closed on that day, and that the people,
refraining from all secular pursuits, devote themselves with humble and
contrite spirits to the religious duties suitable to the occasion.

Given under my hand and the seal of the Mayoralty, at the City Hall,
in the city of New York, this twenty-seventh day of April, in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.

George Opdyke, Mayor.

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 809

Mayor of Brookltn.

Mayor's Office, Tuesday, April 28, 1863.
Thursday, the 30lh day of April, 18G3, having been set apart by the
President of the United States, in compHance with a resolution of the
Senate, as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer, in accord-
ance therewith I do hereby direct that the various public offices of
the city be closed on that day; and I respectfully recommend, also,
that our citizens on that day refrain, as far as may be, from the pursuit
of their ordinary business avocations. The suffering and misery and
humiliation which during the past two years have fallen upon us as a
nation would seem to render an earnest and universal appeal to the
Divine mercy from us, as a people, especially a duty at this time; and
I doubt not that the recommendation of the President will be appro-
priately responded to by our citizens.

Martix Kalbfleisch, Mayor.

Mayor of Cincinnati.

Now, therefore, in pursuance thereof, believing that our cause is just
and righteous, feeling that in these times of trial to our beloved country
we should humble ourselves before the Almighty in fasting and in
prayer, ask his forgiveness for our sinfulness in the past and implore
His blessings and favor upon the future, I earnestly desire all citizens
to observe the day thus appointed by our Chief Magistrate in a becom-
ing and reverent manner, and that all places of business and amuse-
ment shall then be closed.

Len. a. Harris, Mayor of Cirxinnuti.

Cincinnati, April 28, 1863.

Mayor of Philadelphia.

Whereas the President of the United States, being moved thereto by
tlic Federal Senate, has set apart Thursday next, the 30th day of April,
.'IS a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer; and whereas we
liave cause, as a peoi)le, to take shame to ourselves before all nations
and before Almighty God that we have misused the civil blessings
whtTcwitli we have been signally favored, by setting at naught the wis-
dom of our fathers, ])etraying the trust of self-gov«M'nment, winking at
unfaithfulness and corruption in high places, and giving ourselves to
8elfishnosH and disregard of ourselves as citizens :

Therefore it bt>comes us earnestly to beseech him that he will
enlighlen'us to the honest discharge of our duties us rr«?enion : that ho
will keep steadfast within us a true devotion to our country, to the con-
fusion of all tniitors and workers of s»'dition; that lie will en<low our
rulers with wisdom and firmness, and that he* will h-ad our hosts and
give tliein strength in the conflict, that they may prevail over all rebel-
lion. And I do hereby call upon the jieople of this city to k»op such
appointed <lay by fnngoing the usual pursuits, closing their places of
employment, and presenting themselves, after their respeetive manner
of worship, before the Most High (!od; that, acknowledging his supreme
power, and tlie righteousness of the judgmenta that he luus vbitcd

810 CHEISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

upon our land, we may implore him mercifully to withhold his correc-
tions from us, and give us Avelfare and peace through the speedy over-
throw of all who resist the lawful authority of our national Grovernment.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the
geal of the city of Philadelphia to be affixed, this twenty-seventh day of
April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-
three.

Alexander Hexry, Mayor of Philadelphia.

Thanksgiving-Days for Victories.

As a Christian nation, it lias been the uniform practice of the
civil authorities, when signal blessings were received or import-
ant victories obtained, to issue proclamations of thanksgiving
and praise to Almighty God. During the winter and spring of
1862 important victories were won by the armies of the United
States, at Mill Spring, Kentucky, at Fort Donelsoh and Pittsburg
Landing, Tennessee, and at Pea Eidge, Missouri. In view of
these victories. Congress passed the following resolution : —

A Resolution giving the Thanhs of Congress to the Officers, Soldiers, and Seamen
of the Army and Navy, for their gallantry in the receyit hrilliant victories over
the enemies of the Union and the Constitution.

Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of
America, in Congress assembled, That the thanks of Congress are due, and
are hereby tendered, to the officers, soldiers, and seamen of the Army
and Navy of the United States, for the heroic gallantry that, under the
providence of Almighty God, has won the recent series of brilliant vic-
tories over the enemies of the Union and Constitution.

Approved, February 22, 1862.

The President and Secretary of War issued the following
papers : —

A Proclamation.

Washington-, April 10, 1862.
It has pleased Almighty God to vouchsafe signal victories to the land
and naval forces engaged in suppressing an internal rebellion, and at
the same time to avert from our country the dangers of foreign inter-
vention and invasion. It is, therefore, recommended to the i:>eople of
the United States that at their next weekly assemblages in their accus-
tomed places of worship which shall occur after the notice of this pro-
clamation shall have been received, that they especially acknowledge
and render thanks to our heavenly Father for these inestimable bless-
ings ; that they then and there implore spiritual consolation in behalf
of all those who have been brought into affliction by the casualties and
calamities of sedition and civil war; and that they reverently invoke
the Divine guidance for our national councils, to the end that they may
speedily result in the restoring of peace and harmony and unity through-

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 811

out our borders, and hasten the establishment of fraternal relations
among all the countries of the earth.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal
of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 10th day of April, in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.

(Signed) Abrahasi Linxolx.

"War Departmext, Washingtox, April 9, 1862,
Oi'der 1. Tliat at meridian of the Sunday next after the reception of
this order, at the head-quarters of every regiment in the armies of tho
United States, there shall be offered by its chaplain a prayer, giving
thanks to the Lord of Hosts for the recent manifestations of his power
in the overthrow of the rebels and traitors, and invoking the continu-
ance of his aid in delivering this nation, by the arms of patriotic sol-
diers, from the horrors of treason, rebellion, and civil war.

E. M. Stantox, Secretary of War.

The Secretary of War expressed the following sentiments: —

The glory of our recent victories belongs to the gallant officers and
soldiers that fought the battles. No share of it belongs to me.

Much has recently been said of military combinations and organiz-
ing victories. I hear Buch phrases with apprehension. They com-
menced in infidel France with the Italian campaign, and resulted in
"Waterloo. Who can organize victory? Who can combine the elements
of success on the battle-field? We owe our recent victories to the Spirit
of the Lord, that moved our soldiers to rush into battle and filled the
hearts of our enemies with terror and dismay. The inspiration that
conquered in battle was in the hearts of tho soldiers and from on high ;
and wherever there is the same inspiration there will be the same
results. Patriotic spirit, with resolute courage, in officers and men, is a
military combination that never failed.

We may well rejoice at the recent victories, for they teach us tliat
battles are to be won now and by us in tlie same and only manner that
they were ever won by any people or in any age since tho days of
Joshua, — by boldly jjursuing and striking tho foe. Wliat, under tho
blessing of Providence, I conceive to bo the true organization of victory
and military combination to end this war, was declared in a few words
by General (Jrant's message to General Buckncr: — '' I propast- to mov€
immediately ujion your work.s !"

The thanksgiving a{)j)ointe(l by the Tn'si.h'nt w;us generally
ohserved by tho Churches in the loyal States. The followini;
wa.s a form used l)y the Episcopal churcht's in 0]ii<»: —

To the tVeryy of the l^mtcstant K}>isrop<xl Church in the iHnrese of Ohio.

In obedience to tho proclamation of tho rro>idcnt of tho Unitea
States, and responding cordially to hi.-' ackno\vK'<lgiiHnt of tho good

812 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

hand of our God upon us in giving victory to our national forces, 1
hereby appoint and set forth the following collect of thanksgiving, and
prayers for the wounded, sick, and dying, and for the bereaved, to be
read during divine service in every church within this diocese, on the
Sunday after the receipt of this notice, and at other times at the discre-
tion of the ininister. Afiectionately,

G. T. Bedell, Assistant Bishop in charge.

Collect of Thanksgiving after Victory.
To he used before the General Thanksgiving.
(adapted.)
0 Almighty God, the Sovereign Commander of all the world, in whose
hand is power and might which none is able to withstand, we bless
and magnify thy great and glorious name for these late happy victo-
ries. The whole glory thereof we do ascribe to thee, wdio art the only
giver of victory. And, we beseech thee, give us grace to improve this
great mercy to thy glory, the advancement of thy gospel, the honor
of our country, and the speedy re-establishment of such peace as will
maintain the supremacy of law, the securities of righteous liberty, and
the welfare of the Union. And, we beseech thee, give us such a sense
of this great mercy as may engage us to a true thankfulness, such as
may appear in our lives by an humble, holy, and obedient walking
before thee all our days, through Jesus Christ our Lord ; to whom,
with thee and the Holy Si)irit, as for all thy mercies, so in particular
for this victory and deliverance, be all glory and honor, world without
end. Amen.

The following is tlie prayer of thanksgiving for our victories
which Bishop Whittingham directed the Episcopal clergy of the
Diocese of Maryland to use on all occasions of public worship
during the next eight days : —

O Almighty God, the Sovereign Commander of all the world, in whose
hand is power and might, which none is able to withstand, we bless
and magnify thy great and glorious name for the happy successes
which thou hast of late vouchsafed in so many instances to the arms
of this nation, and more especially for the deliverance of this city and
district from the terrors of blockade and siege. And, we beseech
thee, give to us and to all this people grace to use this great mercy
shown towards us to thy glory, the advancement of thy gospel, the
honor of our country, and, as much as in us lieth, the good of all man-
kind. Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to a true thankfulness, such as may
appear in our lives by an humble, holy, and obedient walking before
thee all our days, throLigh Jesus Christ our Loi'd; to whom, with thee,
0 Father, and thee, O Holy Ghost, as for all thy mercies, so in i^arti-
cular for these victories and this deliverance, be all glory and honor,
world without end. Amen.

On the first three days of July, 1863, a great victory was

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 813

won by tlie army of the United States, under General Meade,
over the rebel army under General Lee. Pennsylvania and
Maryland were invaded by the army of the rebels, which
threatened to capture Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and
Washington, the capital of the nation. The two armies, each
numbering about a hundred thousand men, met on the field of
battle at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and a victory, great and
important in its immediate and future results, was won by the
national army. On the 4th of July, memorable in its historic
. associations, the news of the defeat of the invading army spread
through the nation, and the President of the United States
issued the following brief, comprehensive, and Christian address
of congratulation to the country : —

Washingtox, July 4, 10 a.m., 1863.
The President announces to the country that news from the Army of
tlie Potomac up to ten p.m. of the od is such as to cover that army with
the highest honor, to promise a great success to the cause of the Union,
and to claim the condolence of all for the many gallant fallen, and that
for this he especially desires that on this day lie whose will, not ours,
should ever be done, be everywhere remembered and reverenced with
profoundest gratitude. Auraiiam Lincoln.

General Meade assumed the command of the Potomac army,
by the appointment of the President, on the Sunday previous
to this important and decisive battle. In his address to the
army on Sabbath, June 28, 1863, he said, —

By direction of tlie President of the Unito<l States, I hereby assume
command of the Army of the Potomac. The country looks to this
army to release it from the devastation and disgrace of a hostile inva-
sion. Whatever fatigues and sacrifices we may bo called upon to
undergo, let us Iiave in view constantly the magnitu<le of the interest
involved, and fct each vian t/i-(rrminc to Jo his dufi/, Icuvinj to an all-controlling
Providence the decision of the. contest.

In General M<'ade these traits crown his conduct, that "no
one looks with more favor upon the true Christian who minis-
ters to the s[.i ritual wants of the wouiuled," and "an humblo
recognition that victory is of the Lord, and that to him belongs
its glory." This is seen in the following order : —

TTkai) QrAnTPr.5 .^rmt or rnn Potomac, July 4, 1863.
General Order Xo. 08. — The comnuinding general, in bohalf of the
country, thanks the Army of the Potomac for the glorious result of the
Tocent operations.

814 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Our enemy, superior in numbers and flushed with the pride of a suc-
cessful invasion, attempted to overcome or destroy this army. Utterly
baffled and defeated, he has now withdrawn from the contest. The
privations and fatigues the army has endured, and the heroic courage
and gallantry it has displayed, will be matters of history to be ever
remembered.

Our task is not yet accomplished ; and the commanding general looks
to the army for greater efforts to drive from our soil every vestige of the
presence of the invader.

It is right and proper that we should, on suitable occasions, return
our grateful thanks to the Almighty Disposer of events, that, in the good-
ness of his providence, he has thought fit to give victory to the cause
of the just.

By command of Major-Gerieral Meade.

S. Williams, A.A.G.

On the 4t]i of July, 1863, Vicksburg, a strongly garrisoned
town on the Mississippi Eiver, and the key to the commerce of
the Western States, surrendered to the national forces under
Major- General U. S. Grant. This important event, occurring
the same day with the news of the defeat of the invading army
at Gettysburg, thrilled the national heart with gratitude and
general joy. Thanksgivings to Almighty God ascended from
the loyal people in all parts of the Northern States. The fol-
lowing scene at Philadelphia on th'e reception of the news on
the 7th of July is one of great solemnity and sublimity,
heightened by the associations and remembrances of the day on
which these great victories were achieved, and the historic
inspirations of Independence Hall. The ministers of religion
who officiated in this scene of patriotism and piety stood exactly
in the same spot where the Declaration of Independence was
read eighty-seven years before. The editor of the ''North
American and United States Gazette," of Philadelphia, Morton
McMichael, described the scene as follows : —

We have read of the first prayer offered in the Continental Congress,
and of the sublimity and impressiveness of the scene as the assembled
body knelt while Jehovah was praised for the workings of his provi-
dence in ordaining freedom to America.

Independence Square yesterday saw a sight emulating it in solemn
grandeur, and presenting a spectacle Philadelphia never before witnessed,
never may again. The tidings of the progress of the Union arms brought
it about. When first promulgated, a large number of the members of
the Union League met coincidently at the League rooms. The throng
increased until the place was nearly filled. Everybody had left their
places of business, and the members instinctively sought the League
House for mutual congratulation.

CIVIL INSTIT^.'TIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. Oib

It was proposed that something more than an informal recognition of
so bountiful a blessing of victory should be made, and the gentlemen
present took steps to make it. Birgfeld's Band of forty-six instruments
was secured, and, with this at its head, the Union League, headed by
the Rev. Kingston Goddard and Rev. Dr. Brainerd, moved down Chest-
nut street to Independence S<;juare, keeping step to the glad strains of
national airs that have been familiar since the dear days of youth's
earliest dreams.

As the end of the line reached the square, all were uncovered. The
line filed to right and left, when lion. Charles Gibbons ascended the
steps of Indejjendence Hall. The concourse of people that now poured
into the square were thousands in nimiber. They spread over a surface
beyond earshot of the loudest enunciation.

Mr. Gibbons made a brief address. He said that this day the begin-
ning of the end is in view. The rebels are losing their strongholds, the
cause of the Union is approaching its final triumph. He drt-w a picture
of what we were as a nation, what we are, and what, in God's provi-
dence, we shall be. He spoke briefly and to the point, but was so over-
whelmed with cheers that we failed to catch liis speech as 1r- uttered it.

Rev. Dr. Brainerd now bared his head; and instinctively — we believe
reverently, as by an intuitive impulse — every man present was unco-
vered. A hush fell upon the densely-crowded assemblage as the hand
of the reverend doctor was raised and an invitation given to the multi-
tude to follow him in rendering thanks to Heaven for it--, many mercies
and for crowning the arms of the country with victory.

Amid more profound silence, we verily believe, than an e<^ual number
of people ever kept before, Dr. Brainerd gave praise. He thanked the
Almighty for the victories that were now crowning our arms. He had
chastened us in his displeasure, and alike in that chastening as now in
the blessing upon our work he recognized the hand of the Omnipotent.
He implored the Divine blessing upon the country and its people, — that
religion and truth and justice might take the i»laoe of pride and ar-
rogance and vain-glory, and that tliis people miglit recognize in every
event of life the ruling of Divine power. He prayed for the President
and Cabinet, for the continued success of our arms and for the resto-
ration of our national unity, for liberty to the opi)ressed, for freedom
to worship God everywhere, and for the coming of that day wlien his
kingdom shall extend over the whole earth.

When at the close of his prayer the C'hristian mniister pronounced tlio
word "Amen!" the whole multitude took up the Creek dissyllable, and
as with one mighty voice re-echoed it, revert'utly and solemnly. "Amen !"

While this prayer was being oftere<l, the band silently disai»pcare<l.
As the final word of the suppli(;ation was pronounced, u strain of sacred
music burst from overhead. The band ha<l ascended to the State-Houeo
steeple, and there j.layed, with eU'et that no tongue van adequately
describe, the air of Old Hundred, wi ilt. n by Martin Luther more than
throe centuries ago.

Spontaneously a gentleman mounte«l a po-t, and started the melody
to the words,

" Prai8o God, from wli-m nil blcs!<ing8 flow."

816 cnr.iSTiAiT life and character of the

The whole multitude caught it up, and a doxology was sung with a
majesty that Philadelphia never before heard. Every voice united.
The monster oratories that we have heard, with a vocal chorus of three
hundred singers, dwindled into insignificance in comparison to it. Rev.
Dr. Goddard then pronounced the benediction, and the vast audience
again covered themselves and slowly dispersed. The whole scene was
remarkable. It was a touching illustration of the fact that down deep
in every man's heart, no matter what may be the utterance of his lips,
or his daily walk and conversation, there is a recognition of the fact
that the Lord reigneth.

Proclamatiox by the Governor of Maryland.
To the People of Maryland.

State op Maryland, Executive Department.

The recent occurrences within or near our borders are well calculated
to profoundly excite the devotional feelings of our people, and incline
their hearts to offer to Almighty God their earnest thanks for his agency
in delivering the State from the dangers which recently threatened it,
in driving the invaders from our soil, and in crowning with victory the
efforts of those to whom, under his providence, we are indebted for that
deliverance.

Humbly, therefore, acknowledging our dependence on his favor, so
often before and now again so conspicuously extended to us, let us
embrace the earliest opportunity of publicly confessing it.

I, therefore, earnestly recommend to the people of the State to
unite, on Sunday next, the 19th instant, in their usual places of public
worship, in humbling themselves before God in acknowledgment of his
recent mercies ; and, while we offer up our thanks for the deliverance
he has sent and the victory he has vouchsafed to us, let us humbly en-
treat that his wisdom may so direct the councils of our rulers that the
result of these achievements may be the speedy restoration of our
beloved country to its former condition of a united, peaceful, and pros-
perous people.

Given under my hand and the great seal of the State, this fifteenth
day of July, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-three.

A. W. Brat)ford.

By the Governor :

Wm. B. Hill, Secretary of State.

The loyal ministers and Churclies of Maryland responded to
the appointment of the Governor, and the Bishop of the Epis-
copal Diocese issued the following circular letter: —

To the Clergy and Laity of the Diocese of Maryland.
Dear Brethren : — The Governor of the State having recommended
to the people to unite on Sunday next, the 19th instant, in their usual
places of worship, in humiliating themselves before Almighty God in
devout thanksgiving for his recent mercies, in delivering this State from
invasion and crowning with victory the arms of its lawful Government,

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 817

you are earnestly requested and recommended to give due and reli-
gious heed to this laudable recommendation of the civil authority ; and,
in order thereto, I hereby set forth for use at the Morning Prayer, instead
of the Venitc, the last " Psalm or Hymn of Praise" in the office of
" Forms of Prayer to be used at Sea;" and in both Morning and Even-
ing Prayers, after the general thanksgiving, the collect in the same office
which folloves the aforesaid Hymn of Praise.

Your loving friend and brother,

William Rollinso.v Whittixgham,

Bishop of Maryland,
Baltimore, July 16, 1863.

National Thanksgiving.

The President of the United States, in view of the important
victories of the national armies, and in obedience to the wishes
of the Christian public and his own feelings, issued the follow-
ing

Proclamation.

It has pleased Almighty God to hearken to the supplications and
prayers of an afflicted people, and to vouchsafe to the army and the
navy of the United States victories on the land and on the sea so signal
and so effective as to furnish reasonable grounds for augmented confi-
dence that the Union of these States will be maintained, their Consti-
tution preserved, and their peace and prosperity permanently restored.
]>ut these victories have been accorded not without sacrifices of life,
limb, hoalth.and liberty, incurred by bravo, loyal, and i)atriotic citizens.
Domestic affliction in every part of the country follows in the train of
these fearful bereavements. It is meet and right to recognize and con-
fess the presence of the Almighty Father and the power of his hand
equally in these triumphs and in these sorrows.

Now, therefore, be it known that I do set apart Thursday, the sixth
day of August next, to be observed as a day for national thanksgiving,
praise, and prayer ; and I invite the people of tho United States to assem-
ble on that occasion in their customary places of worship, and, in tho
forms approved by their own consciences, render the homage duo to
the Divine Majesty for tho wonderful things ho has done in tho nation's
behalf, and invoke tho influence of his Holy Spirit to subdue the anger
which has produced and so long sustained a nomlloss and oru*-! rebfllion,
to change tlio liearts of the insurgents, to guide tho counsels of the
Government with wisdom adequate to so groat a national onjorgoncy,
and to visit with tender care and consolation throughout tho length and
breath of our land all those who, tlirough tho vicissitudes of niarchee,
voyages, battles, and sieges, have been brought to sutler in mind, body,
or estate ; and finally to lead the whole nation, through tlio paths of
repentance and submission to the Divino will, back to the jK^rfect en-
joyment of union and fraternal peace.

In witness whereof, I havt; hereunto set my hand, and caused the 6CaI
of the United States to hv allixed.

818 CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE

Done at the city of "Washington, the fifteenth day of July, in the
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of
the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-eighth.

Abraham Lincoln.
By the President :

William H. Seward, Secretary of State.

In obedience to the proclamation of the President, Bishop
Alonzo Potter, of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, prepared and
sent to the congregations under his pastoral care the following
form of thanksgiving. It expressed the Christian feeling of the
nation : —

Ahnighty and everlasting God, who art the author and giver of all good
things, who visitest the earth and blessest it, crowning the year with thy
goodness, and giving to all their meat in due season, we praise and bless
thee for thy unbounded kindness to the people of this land. Our fathers
hoped in thee, they trusted in thee, and thou didst deliver them. We
thank thee, 0 Lord our God, for the goodly heritage which we enjoy, and
for blessings unbounded, both temporal and spiritual, which through thy
patience and long-suffering are still continued to us. We bless thee for
civil and religious liberty, for the administration of justice, and for all
the privileges which pertain to us as individuals and families, as Chris-
tians and as citizens. Grant that a sense of this thy great goodness
may engage our hearts and lives in thy service. Give wisdom and
strength and union to our public councils. Bless the Governor and
magistrates of this Commonwealth, and all who exercise civil or mili-
tary authority among us. Bless our Churches and all our religious
institutions. Bring back once more peace and concord to our borders.
Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy, that, thou being our ruler and
guide, we may so pass through things temporal that we finally lose not
the things eternal. All which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord
and Saviour. Amen.

0 Almighty God, the sovereign commander of all the world, in whose
hand is power and might which none is able to withstand, we bless and
magnify thy great and glorious name for these happy victories, the
whole glory whereof we would ascribe to thee, who art the only giver
of victory. And, we beseech thee, give us grace to improve this great
mercy to thy glory, the advancement of thy gospel, the honor of our
country, and, as much as in us lieth, to the good of all mankind. Im-
print deeply on our hearts such a lively and lasting sense of these great
deliverances as may incite us to a true thankfulness, such as may ap-
pear in our lives by an humble, holy, and obedient walking before thee
all our days ; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and
the Holy Spirit, as for all thy mercies, so in particular for these victo-
ries, be all glory and honor, world without end. Amen.

O Eternal God, the shield of our help, beneath whose sovereign de-
fence thy people dwell in safety, we bless and praise, we laud and mag-
nify thy glorious name for all thy goodness to the people of this land,

CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 819

and especially for the success with which of late thou hast crowned our
eflfbrts to maintain the authority of law and to restore once more the
blessings of union and peace. Inspire our souls with grateful love;
lift up our voices in songs of thankfulness ; make us humble and
watchful in our prosperity, and prepare us for whatever reverses thou
shalt see that we need. Give wisdom and grace to our rulers. Pour
constancy and courage and charity towards all men into the hearts
of our people. Draw towards us those who arc now alienated from us
in appearance or in heart, and hasten, O Lord of hosts, the blessed day
when as one people we may once more give thanks unto thee in thy
holy Church, and by our daily lives show forth thy praise, through Jesus
Christ our most blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.

The Governors of several States, and the mayors of some of
the larger cities and towns, issued proclamations in harmony
with that of the President, in which there were official recog-
nitions of God as the author of these national victories, and of
the responsibility of the nation to the Divine government.
Christian denominations gratefully and joyfully responded to
these invitations, and the people went up to the temples of God
and entered into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts
with praise. The day was memorable in the civil and Chris-
tian annals of the republic, and presented the sublime spectacle
of a whole nation offering praise and prayer unto the Lord of
hosts, who had ever been its shield and guide and who again
had wrought this signal deliverance. It had the happy eflect
of diffusing and deepening the religious element of the nation,
and giving to the public mind and conscience a more practical
sense of dependence on God, and a higher appreciation of the
value and vii.d necessity of the Christian religion to the per-
petuity and permanent prosperity of the nation.

This volume, which traces to the Christian religion the life,
character, genius, fruits, and fame of the civil institutions of
the United States, closes while these songs of thanksgiving and
praise are echoing through the land. The historic and Chris-
tian facts of the volume are full of sublime significauco and
instruction to all classes of American citizens, and rcafHrni, in
prophetic voice, the declaration of one of the pure«l patriots
and most accomjilishcd statesmen of the republic, "that tuh

BIBLE IS THE ONF.Y CENUINH MORAL CONSTITUTION OF SOCIETY,
AND ITS PRINCirLES THE ONLY SAFE FOUND.\TION OF ALL CIVIL
AND roLITICAL ESTABLISHMENTS."

INDEX.

Adams, Abigail. — Character and in-
fluence, 404 ; Baucroft'.s estimate,
404 ; correspondence with her hus-
band, 405, 406, 407, 408, 400 ; ma-
ternal counsels, 409, 410; postpones
her levee at Washington's death,
410, 411.

Adams, Hon. Charles Francis. — His
statement of the influence of the
clergj- of New England, 335, 83G,
337; of the women of the Revolu-
tion, 390, 391.

AuAais, Rev. J. — Views of Christianity
and the Sabbath in relation to the
Constitution, 265, 266, 267.

Adams, John. — Designs of Providence
in America, lOO ; views of the Chris-
tian religion, 118; address to the
Queen of England, 118; letter to
his wife when independence was
declared, 118; reply to the Con-
gregational ministers of Massachu-
setts in 1708, 385.

Adams. John Quincy. — His Christian
faith and character, 181, 182; let-
ters to his son on the Bible, 182,
183, 184, 185; address to the Bible
Society, 186; Christian sentiments
in liis messages, 181.

Am.ston, Gov. Roueut H. — Proclama-
tion for thanksgiving, 599.

Alv(jki), Rev. J. — His testimony to
chaplains, 701, 792.

Anderson, Ma.jou Rohkut. — Christian
conduct and remarks ut tlic fall of
Fort Sumter, 674.

Andrew, (Jov. John A. — Proclamation
for thanksgiving, 573, 571, 675,
576.

Asaimi, Bishop op. — View of iLe Ame-
rican Colonics, 108, 109.

r»AO()N, Lord. — View <>f ilie CMSontial
ueud of religion to a civil iSiato, I
228

Bacon, Dr. Leonard. — His views of
the nature mid results of jtist warn. I
277. 27S, 279. ;

Bailey, Lydia H. — Her rccilul uf »

Revolutionary scene of the women
of Philadelphia, in 1778, 403, 404.

Bancroft, George. — Views of the
settlement of Massachusetts, 64;
of Connecticut, 68; of Roger Wil-
liams, 69; of the ministers of New
England, 333, 334 ; of Mr. Adams,
404 ; of Washington, 481, 482, 483,
484 ; of the family life of New Eng-
land, 564; of the early settlement
of Kentucky, 582 ; of the influence
of Calvin, 59, 110.

Barnes, Rev. xVlbert. — Testimony to
Washington praying, 502 ; prepares
resolutions of the New-School Gene-
ral Assembly, 767.

Bates, Hon. Edward. — Views of the
Sabbath, 787.

Bayard, Jamks. — His statement why
the Christian religion was not for-
mally recognized by the Constitu-
tiun, 259, 260, 261, 262.

Bebb, E.\.-Gov., of Ohio. — His reso-
lutions at the Union meeting in the
Capitol, 631, 632.

Bedell, Bishop. — Address to his Dio-
cese in Ohio, 811 ; form of prayer,
811, 812.

Beech ER, Rev. Henry Ward. — De-
scribes the symbolical meaning of the
American flag, 622, 623.

Beeoher,Dr. Lyman. — His parallel be-
tween the Jewish and American
Governments, 562; views of tho
divine origin of tho Constitution,
024, G25.

Bkll in Independencb Hall. — Bible
motto, 222; poem on the boll. 222:
poetry on Independence Hall. 221.

Berry, Gov. Nathaniel S. — Procla-
mation for thanksgiving. 581.

BiHLK. — Memorial to Conprexs. 1777.
to print the Hiblo, 215; correspond-
ence of Congrcs.s with its chaplain*.
2n», 217; tir.Hl Congrc."*.'* and tho
lUblc, 2 IS. 219; Bible principles
adopted by Cngross, 177H, 22l>.

IWiiLK S«M'iETY, .American. — Prc>»onts
Bibles to Congress, 217; reply of
821

822

INDEX.

the Vice-President and Speaker,
217; distribution of Bibles in the
army and navy, 779.

Blair, Gov. Austin. — Proclamation
for thanksgiving, 593.

Books. — On Civil Government, sent
from England to the colonies, 340.

BoucK, Gov. AViLLiAM C. — Proclama-
tion for thanksgiving, 570.

BouDiNOT, Elias. — A Christian states-
man, 154; Oration on the 4th of
July, 154, 155; first President of
the American Bible Society, 155 ;
donates money to purchase specta-
cles for old people to read the Bible,
155.

Bradford, Gov. A. W. — Proclamation
for thanksgiving, 589, 590.

Brainerd, Dr. Thomas. — Views of the
ennobling influence of the civil war,
671, 672 ; his prayer on the steps of
Independence Hall on the news of
victory to the American arms, 815.

Breckenridge, Dr. Robert J. — His
sketch of Clay's character, 192,
193; prepares res(^lutions of the Old-
School General Assembly, 717.

Brougham, Lord. — Statement of the
influence of leading men. 111; esti-
mate of the character of the first
settlers of America, 105 ; of Wash-
ington, 481, 508.

Browx, Gov. Joseph P. — Proclama-
tion for thanksgiving, 598.

Buckingham, Gov. William A. — Pro-
clamation for thanksgiving, 584,
585.

Burton, Gov. William. — Proclama-
tion for thanksgiving, 594, 595.

Butler, Rev. Dr. — Sermon on the
death of Henry Clay, 193, 194, 195,
196 ; prayer at the death of Presi-
dent Taylor, 552.

Caldwell, Rev. James. — Patriotic
sei'vices in the Revolution, 350, 351.

Cambridge College. — Its Christian
origin and purposes, 74, 75, 76.

Capital of the Uxitfd States. — Con-
secrated with Christian services,
613 ; site selected by Washington,
614 ; its beauty described by Mrs.
Adams, 614; by a member of Con-
gress, in 1800, 614, 615 ; slavery
abolished, 633.

Capitol Building. — Corner-stone laid
by Washington, 614 ; first Congress
meets in the, in 1800, 615; address
of the Senate, 615, 616: President's
reply, 616, 617; Capitol enlarged,

in 1851, 617; corner-stone laid by
President Fillmore, 617 ; documents
and statement of Webster deposited,
617, 618; his address, 618, 619;
paintings and statuary, 620; his-
toric memories, 623, 624; address
of the Vice-President on the Senate
leaving the old Chamber, 624 ; what
the ch-.xvacter of American legis-
lators should be, 625, 626; prayerg
oftered, 626, 627, 628, 629, 630;
Union meeting in the Capitol, 630,
631, 632.

Champion, Rev. Judah. — His patriotic
prayer in the Revolution, 344.

Chaplains of the Revolution. —
! Character and influence, 306, 307 ;
view of Washington, 308, 309 ; or-
ders of Congress, 310, 311 ; form
of a commission, 311 ; correspond-
ence of Washington with a Church,
311, 312 ; appointed by the Colonial
Congress, 313; under the Constitu-
tion, 314; report in the House of
Representatives, 1853, 317, 318, 319,
320, 321, 322, 323; in the Senate,
1853, 327, 328, 329; proposal of
the pastors of Washington, 328 ;
Act of Congress, 1861, on chaplains,
329 ; report by the chaplains, 330,
331 : qualifications of Congressional
chaplains, 331, 332; testimony to
chaplains in the civil war, 791, 792.

Charter of Massachusetts. — Grant-
ed by Charles I., 56.

Charter of the Mayflower. — Form-
ed in the ship, 52, 53 ; birth of con-
stitutional liberty, 52, 53.

Chase, Hon. Salmon P, — Extract
from his speech in the Senate of the
United States, 180; his proclama-
tions for thanksgiving as Governor
of Ohio, 578, 579, 580.

Chatham, Lord. — His eulogy on the
statesmen and state papers of the
Revolution, 168, 169.

Chidlaw, Rev. B. W. — Resolutions at
Sabbath-School Convention, 760.

Choate, Rufus. — His opinion of the
Puritans, 47, 48 ; views of God's
providence in American affairs, 669;
his opinion of Calvin's influence on
America, 59.

Church, Episcopal. — Influence on
freedom, 444; founded by Bishop
White, 444; address of Convention
to Washington, 1789, 445; reply,
451, 452.

Church, German Lutheran. — Zeal
for liberty, 463 ; address to Presi-

INDEX.

823

dent Washington, 46-^464; answer,
464, 465.

Church, Methodist Episcopal. — Its
economy, 452 ; instituted, 452 ; As-
bury ordained, 453 ; Sunday-schools
introduced by Asbury, 453 ; Con-
ference in New York, 1789, 454 ; ad-
dress to President Washington, 454;

' reply, 455 ; article on civil aflFairs,
460; members in the Convention to
form the Constitution, 456.

Church, Moravian, or United Breth-
ren.— Record for freedom, 470; ad-
dress to President Washington, 471,
472 ; reply, 472.

Church or Society of the Quakers.
— Early American history, 457 ; ad-
dress of the Yearly Meeting, 1789,
to President Washington, 457, 458 ;
reply, 45U.

Church, Presbyterian. — First to de-
clare for independence, 482; form
of government, 431 ; General As-
sembly, 1789, 431, 432; Presbytery
of Hanover, 433 ; pastoral letter of
the New York and Philadelphia
Synod, 1770, 434, 435, 436, 437,
438; pastoral letter, 1783, 438, 439,
440, 441 ; address of the General
Assembly to President Washington,
440, 441 ; reply, 442 ; address of First
Presbytery Eastward to Washington,
442, 443; reply, 443, 444.

Church, Kkformkd Dutch. — Early
American liistory, 400; its motto,
461 ; cliaracter of the Cliurch, by
Dr. De Witt, 401 ; tribute of Chan-
cellor Kent, 461 ; address to Presi-
dent Washington, 461, 462; answer,
462, 403.

Church, K<»man Catholic. — United
with Protestants in the llcvolution,
473; adtlress in- Philadelpliia, July
4, 1779, 474, 475; address of chap-
lain of the French Embassy on the
surrender of Cornwallis, 475; ad-
dress to President Washington, 476,
477 ; answer, 47H.

Church, SwKiiKMioiajrAN. — .Vddress
to Proideiit Washington, tOti ; jiu-
swer, 467.

Chiuches. — Uksolitions on the Kk-

UKLLION and the CdlNTUY.

.Vnierican Hoard of Comtnissioners

for Foreign .Missions, IHOl, 704 ;

in 1H62, 730, 731.
Baptist Association of Illinoi.'*, 1863,

754.
Baptist (.'onvontion at Brooklyn.

1801, 087, 088, 089, 090.

Baptist Missionary Union, 1863, 757,
758.

Baptist State Convention of Massa-
chusetts, 1862, 748.

Baptist State Convention of New
York, 1862, 746.

Baptist State Convention of Ohio,

1862, 145.

Baptist State Convention of Penn-
sylvania, 1862, 747.

Black River Methodist Episcopal
Conference, 1862, 7U9.

Central Methodist Conference, Ohio,

1863, 752.

Conference of Methodist Episcopal
Church, Cincinnati, 1801, 699,
700.

Conference, Southeastern, of Me-
thodist Epi&rcopalChnrcii, Indiana,
1862, 700.

Congregational Association of Illi-
nois, 1861, 091.

Congregational Association of Iowa,
721.

Congregational .Vssoeiation of Mas-
sachusetts, 1801, 091.

Congregational Association of West-
ern Pennsylvania. 1862, 728, 729.

Conirregational Convention of Ohio,

1861, 694.

Congregational General Conference
fit Connecticut, 1861, 097; in

1862. 719, 72U.
Congregational Welch Convention,

New York. 18t;i, 7n3.

Convention of Congregational Min-
isters and Churches, in Vermont,
1862, 722; in 1803, 756.

Convention of Methodist Lavmen,
1803, 774.

East I'.altimore Conference of Me-
tliodist Ej)iscopal Church, 1862,
708; in 1863, 754.

Episcopal Convention of Ohio, 1861,
093.

Evangelical Lutheran Synod, 18G2,
7U5, 706, 707.

General Assembly of the Cumber-
land Presbyterian Church, 7o3,
764, 765.

(icneral Conference of Congrega-
tional Ministers of Massachusetts,
in 18«;2. 72i».

(Jenernl ('ongrcgalionnl Association,
New York. 1.H02. 725.

General Convention of tho Mctho<l-
isi Protfstunl Church, I8<'.2, 740.

Gcncrnl Synod and I'onvcntion of
(h«> llelormcd Dutoh Church, 1803,

824

INDEX.

Hudson River Baptist Association,

1861, 685.

Memorial of the Quakers, 1863, 773,
774.

Miami Conference of the Christian
Denomination, Ohio, 1861, 703.

Missionaries at Constantinople, 1863,
759, 760.

National Convention of Young Men's
Christian Association, 1863, 776.

New York Methodist Episcopal Con-
ference, 1861, 683, 684; in 1863,
753, 754.

Ohio Conference of Methodist Epis-
copal Church, 1862, 723.

Philadelphia Baptist Association,

1862, 743.

Presbyterian and Congregational
Convention of Wisconsin, 1862,
702, 703.

Presbytei'ian General Assembly, New
School, 1861, 695, 696; in 1862,
711, 712; in 1863, 767, 768, 769,
770, 771.

Presbyterian General Assembly, Old
School, 1861, 696, 697; in 1862,
714, 715, 716; in 1863, 765, 766.

Presbyterian Synod of New York
and New Jersey, Old School, 1861,
698.

Presbytery of Harrisburg, 1862,
781.

Presbytery of Ripley, Ohio, 1868,756.

Presbytery of St, Louis, Old-School
Presbyterian, 1863, 755.

Presbytery of the Potomac, Old
School, 1862, 704, 705.

Presbytery of the Reformed Pres-
byterian Church, 1862, 727.

Protestant Episcopal Convention,
Pennsylvania, 1863, 773.

Reformed Presbyterian Church, 760,
761, 762, 763.

Rhode Island Congregational As-
sociation, 1861, 684; in 1862, 721.

Sabbath-School Convention, Ohio,

1863, 760.

Synod of Illinois, New-School Pres-
byterian, 1862, 750, 751.

Synod of Indiana, Old-School Pres-
byterian, 1862, 743.

Synod of New Jersey, Old-School
Presbyterian, 1862, 741.

Synod of Ohio, New-School Pres-
byterian, 1862, 724.

Synod of Pennsylvania, New-School
Presbyterian, 1862, 730.

Synod of Wabash, Indiana, New-
School Presbyterian, 1862, 749.

Synod of Western Reserve, Ohio,

New-Schpol Presbyterian, 1862,
749.
Synod of Wheeling, Virginia, Old-
School Presbyterian, 1862, 742.
Synod of Wisconsin, New-School

Presbyterian, 1862, 728.
Triennial Convention of the Protest-
ant Episcopal Church, 1862, 732,
733, 734, 735, 736, 737, 738, 739.
Unitarian Conference in Ohio, 1863,

755.
United Brethren Conference of Up-
per Wabash, Indiana, 1862, 752.
United Presbyterian Assembly, 1862,

717, 718.
United States Convention of Univer-

salists, 727.
Yearly Meeting of Quakers, 1862,717.
Churches, Congregational. — Form
of government developed the demo-
cratic sentiment, 421 ; suggests to
Jetferson a form of civil govern-
ment, 422 ; educate the people into
ideas of liberty, 422 ; the Boston
Port bill and the Churches, 423;
letter of the clergymen of Boston
on the Boston Port bill, 423, 424 ;
answer, 424, 425 ; liberal offerings
to the war, 426 ; liberty ode sung
in the, 427, 428 ; address of the min-
isters of New Haven to Washington,
428; his reply, 429 ; address of Con-
gregational Society of Georgia, 430 ;
reply, 431.
Churches of the Revolution. — De-
velop the sentiment of freedom, 420;
America welcomed all sects, 420 ; Dr.
Stiles's opinion on the fraternity of
American Churches, 421 ; Washing-
ton's view of their influence on civil
liberty, 421 ; Webster's view of the
mission of American Churches, 421.
Civil Institutions op the United
States. — Their Christian origin and
the sources of its proof, 25, 26, 27,
28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37,
38, 39.
Clark, Rev. Dr. — His tribute to Judge

McLean, 643.
Clark, Rev. Jonas. — His preaching
and the patriotism of his congrega-
tion in the Revolution, 343.
Clark, Gov. William H. — Proclama-
tion for thanksgiving, 571.
Clay, Henry. — Character by Dr. R.
J. Breckenridge, 192, 193; by Dr.
Butler, 194; by Lewis Cass, 196.
Clinton, De Witt. — Address before the
American Bible Society, 227 ; pro-
clamation for thanksgiving, 567.

INDEX.

825

COLONY OF Connecticut. — Its Chris-
tian history and character, 65, 66,
67, 68, 69, 236.

Columbus, Christopher. — Character
as a Christian navigator, 42, 43.

Commission, Christian. — Its efficiency
and objects, 780, 781 ; testimonies
of President Lincoln and others to

the, 781, 781:

^84.

Congregations, Hebrew. — Address to
President Washington, 468, 469, 470.

Congress, Colonial. — Opened with re-
ligious services, 170, 171 ; described
by John Adams, 211; first prayer,
213 ; forbids all civil officers fro'm
attending theatres, &c., 220; super-
intends the printing of the Bible,
215, 216, 217; recommends the
Bible, 217; declaration against the
slave-trade, 170, 171 ; resolutions
on the defects of the old Confedera-
tion, 245; first Congress under the
Constitution opened with religious
services, 270, 271.

Constitution of the United States.
— Its historic origin, 226, 227 ; no
recognition of God, 248 ; reason
for its omission, 248 ; Washington's
reason, 248; his remarks on its ex-
cellence, 255 ; Dr. Franklin's re-
marks, 254, 255 ; connection of
Christianity with the Constitution,
256, 257 ; no religious test, 257 ;
remarks of Judge Story on this
article, 257, 258, 259 ; remarks of
Judge Bayard, 259, 260, 261, 262;
alfinns in the preamble its Christian
purposes, 262 ; requires an oath, 263 ;
recognizes the Sabbath, 264 ; remarks
of Senator Frellnghuysen, 265; why
its framers did not design to exclude
religion, 266, 267; view of Judge
Wilrfon on tlic future influence of
the Constitution, 268; remarks of
Judge Stuiy ; how it is to bo pre-
served, 26U ; Ilurailton's remarks,
269 ; Webster's view as to the man-
ner of its preservation, 270.

Convention, Univeusahst. — Address
to President Washington, 1790, 465;
an.swer, 466.

Courts ok tub United States. — View
of Washington, 634 ; appointsjudgcs,
634; view of llule, t»35 ; Jay's clia-
ractcr, 636; Bu.^iiiod Wusliington,
637 ; Marshall, 637, 638 ; Story,
638; McLean, 63'.> ; first court in
Ohio, 617 ; decision of ilic Supreme
Court of Pcnnsylviuua, 1821, on
Chrititianity, 647, 618, 649, 650;

of Massachusetts, 650, 651, 652,
653, 654, 655; of New York, in 1811,
655, 656; of New York, in 1861,
659, 660, 662, 663 ; form of an oath
to support the Constitution, 663.

Cox, Dr. Samuel H. — Testimony to
Washington at the communion, 503.

CuRTiN, Andrew G. — Proclamation for
thanksgiving, 576.

Delaware Colony. — Christian colo-
nization, 91, 92; Christian feature
of Constitution, 233.

Dennison, Gov. William. — His pro-
clamations for thanksgiving, 580.

District of Columbia. — Act of Con-
gress abolishing slavery, 633 ; La-
fayette's opinion, 633; prospects of
the District, 633.

Duels in the Hevolution. — Sermon
in Valley Forge, 1778, 376, 377.

DuFFiELD, Rev. George. — His patri-
otic sermon, 1776, 352, 353, 354,
355, 356, 357, 358; thanksgiving
sermon, 1783, 358, 359.

DuRYEA, Rev. Mr. — Remarks on the
influence of Christian patriotism on
civil government, 777.

DwiGHT, Rev. Timothy. — A chaplain
in the Revolution, 367, 368; sermon
on the surrender of Burgoyne, 368 ;
writes a national song, 369; dedi-
cated to Washington, 369 ; President
of Yale College, 369.

Educational Systems op the Colo-
nies.— Their Christian nature and
ends, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79,
80, 81.

Family Institution. — Relations to
civil society, 563 ; family life in
New England, 564.

Fisn, Gov. Hamilton. — Proclamation
for thanksgiving, 571.

Flag ok thk Kki'Uhlic. — Its history,
origin, and symbol, 621, 622; Henry
Ward Beechcr's description of, 622,
623.

Foote, Admiral .\. II. — Order for ob-
serviinco of the Sabbath, 790.

fnASKLiN, Blnjvmix. — Letter to Dr.
Stiles. 128; to Whitcficld, 128, 129;
to Paino, 130; Iccluro on I'rovi-
denco, LU, 132, 133, 131; speech in
Iho Convention to form the Consti-
lution, 219, 250; momorializca Con-
gre.s» lo abolish slavery, 179; speech
in the Convention, 252; vicw.i on
the excellency of the Con!«titution,

326

INDEX.

254, 255; his view of the value of
the Bible, school, and newspaper to
free institutions, 134.
Frelinghuysen, Theodore. — Re-
marks on the Sabbath in the Senate
of the United States, 265, 266.

&ARDNER, Hon. Daniel. — Views of the
relation of the gospel to civil States,
611, 612.

GrEORGiA CoLONY. — Its Christian co-
lonization, 101, 102, 103, 104 ; Con-
stitution, 235.

GrOD IN History. — D'Aubign6's view,
40; Bunsen's view, 41; Bancroft's
view, 41.

GrREEN, Rev. Jacob. — Patriotism in
the Revolution, 366.

Greene, Gen. — His character, 158.

Grimke, Hon. Thomas S. — View of the
pervading element of Christianity
in our civil institutions, 25, 26 ;
importance of studying the genius
of our institutions, 38, 39 ; his
opinion of the Supreme Court of
the United States, 645 ; resemblance
of the American Government to the
Divine, 625.

Hale, Sir Matthew. — Contempla-
tions, Moral and Divine, 487, 488,
489, 490, 491, 492 ; his views of a
Christian judge, 635 ; on the Sab-
bath, 635.

Hancock, John. — Early religious
training, 117 ; his speech, in 1775,
117.

Harris, Gov. Isham G. — Proclama-
tion for thanksgiving, 600.

Harris, Hon. Len. A. — Proclamation
for fast-day, 809.

riEADLEY, Thomas H. — Views of chap-
lains of the Revolution, 306, 307;
remarks on the union of Protestants
and Catholics in the Revolution, 473.

Henry, Hon. Alex. H. — Proclamation
for fast-day, 809.

Henry, Patrick. — Orator of the Re-
volution, 115: declares in a speech,
1775, that God will be with the
colonies, 115, 116; that righteous-
ness exalts a nation, 116; his favcfr-
ite religious books, 116; commends
religion in his will, 116 ; views of
slavery, 176.

HoLLBROOK, Gov. FREDERICK. — Pro-
clamation for thanksgiving, 588.

HoLLis, Thomas. — Sends books to the
colonies on civil government, in 1766,
340.

Hooker, Dr. Thomas. — Apostrophe
to law, 645.

Howard, Rev. Mr. — Duties of civil
rulers, 342.

Huguenots. — Dr. De Witt's descrip-
tion of, 88 ; in South Carolina, 97, 98.

Hunt, Gov. Washington. — Proclama-
tion for thanksgiving, 571.

Irving, Washington. — His view of
the religious character of Columbus,
42, 43 ; of the character of Wash-
ington, 485 ; home-picture of the
Washington family, 487.

Jackson, Andrew. — Testimony to the
Bible, 186; letter on religion, 186,
187 ; Providence recognized in hi8
messages, 187 ; refuses to be buried
in a sarcophagus, 188; Abbott's
view of his faith and character, 189,
190; his strong utterance in favor
of evangelical Christianity, 191 ;
declares, on his death-bed, the Bible
is the corner-stone of the republic,
191.

Jay, John. — Christian address, in 1777,
149, 150: charge to grand jury, 1777,
150, 151, 152; president of the
American Bible Society, 153 ; habit
of prayer, 153; proclamation for
thanksgiving in New York, 565 ;
says the Bible is "the book," 636.

Jefferson, Thomas. — Views of Pro-
vidence in national affairs, 135, 136;
letter to John Adams on the death
of his wife, 135 ; religious views,
136 ; establishes Virginia Univer-
sity, 136; designs a theological
seminary for all Christian denomi-
nations, 136; act of religious tolera-
tion, 232 ; opinions on slavery,
174.

Jones, Rev. David. — Preacher of the
Revolution, 372 ; chaplain under St.

Clair.

address to St. Clair's

Brigade, 1776, 373, 374.

Kent, Chancellor. — Views of Chris-
tianity, 657 ; tribute to the Re-
formed Dutch Church, 461.

Kent, Chief-Justice. — Decision in
favor of Christianity, 655.

King, Gov. John A. — Proclamation
for thanksgiving, 572.

King, Rufus. — Remarks on the Chris
tian religion, 658.

KiRKWooD, Gov. Samuel J. — Procla
mation for thanksgiving, 595, 596.

Knox, General. — Character of, 159.

INDEX,

827

Lat)D, Dr. — His view of the providence
of God in the American Revolution,
;-;03, 304, 305.

Laiayette. — Character and services,
160; views of Anierican slavery, 175;
on slavery in th* Disirict of Colum-
bia, 633.

Lamartine. — Contrast of Christian
and intidel statesmen, 203, 204, 205.

Langdon, Dr. Samuel. — His sermon
on the necessity of righteousness
and righteous rulers to a nation,
346, 347, 348, 349.

Lee, Henry. — God plainly seen in the
Revolution, 303.

Lessons on Christian Colonization.
— Faith of the Puritans in the divine
origin of civil government, 105;
subordination of civil government
to religion, 106, 107 ; civil govern-
ment to diffuse Christianity, 106,
lil7; position of ministers in civil
affairs, 107.

Lincoln, AnRAiiAM. — Proclamations
for national fasts, oo7, 558, 550 ;
inaugurated President, 668; address
on leaving Springfield, 672 ; prayer
for his safety, 673 ; reply to the
committee of the Lutheran Synod,
706; reply to tlie committee of the
East Baltimore Conference, 708, 700;
reply, tlirough Mr. Seward, to the
New-School General Assembly of
the Presbyterian (Jhurch, 1862, 714;
answer to tlie General Convention
of the Congregational ministers and
churches in Vermont, 1862, 722;
proclamation for fast-days, 557, 558;
proclamation of emancipation, 777.
77H; proclamation for thanksgiving,
817; reply to the committee of ilie
New-School General .Vsscmbly, 771 ;
reply to the < hristiau Commis.iiou,
7^1; ft'ldrtsM of congratulation to
the couniry. July 4, 1H63. 813.
LiviNcSToN, !li:v. .Ic»iiN. — His church
and other lliloi mod Dutcli churches,
in New Voik City, usid liy th.? Hrii-
isli, 350, 36'>; sermon on n opening
his church, 1700, 3';(t, 361, 362.
LiviN<;.sTON, William. — Christiau
views, Dil : es«ay on liberty of con-
science, l'"»2, l''»3, 164.
LosHiNO, lJKN,s(tN .). — His view of the
influonce of Yule College in the lle-
^ volution, 80, OKlimato of Puritan
clergynjen, 333

."M ACAi i.\v, Thomas. — Hit) description

of tho Piiriliiiis. 50.

Madison, James. — His messages, 155,
156; views of slavery, 177, 178; pro-
clamation for national fast. 549 ;
proclamation for national thanks-
giving, 550.
Marcy, William L. — Proclamation for

thanksgiving, 569.
Marks, Rev. Dr. — Testimony to chap-
lains in the Potomac a'rmy. 702.
Mariuac:; Institltion. — Civil legisla-
tion on the, 601, 602; act of the
General Government, 602, 603 ; law
enforced in Utah, 604.
Marshall, John. — Character as a
Christian judge, 637 ; defends Chris-
tianity, 638 ; views of slavery, 17»i.
]\Iartini)ALE, General. — Order to ob-
serve the fast, in 1863, 807.
Maryland Colony. — Christian colo-
nization, 94, 95; Christian article in
the Constitution, 234; religious tole-
ration, 95,
Mason, George. — Views of civil go-
vernment, 137; counsels to his sous,
138.
Massachusetts Colony. — Its Chris-
tian colonization, 63, 04, 65 ; Con-
stitution of, 229; address to the
people, 1777, 241. 242.
Mather, Cotton. — His considerations
for the plantation of New England,
55, 56.
Mayflower. — Its mission, by Webster,

4K.
Mayhew. Dk. Jonathan. — The morn-
ing star of tlie Revolution, 339; ser-
I mon on the Stamp Act, 1765, 339,
1 Moh.vAiNK. Hisiiup. — Union of Clnis-
linnity to civil government. 209;
I address lo ('hristiaus ou the civil
j war, 799, 800, 801; prepares the
I aildress of the Kpiscopal Conveo-
I tion, 736; his testimony in lMi:>, bUl.
McLean, J«»hn'. — .V. Christian judge,
639 ; letter l(» the .Viuericun ."Sunday
School Union. 610. 611, 6t2. G4.S ;
tribute to him l»y Dr. Clark, ti43,
644; tribute l»v .Ju.lge Sturer. 044,
015,
McMastek, I>ii.--View of the end of

civil guvernnu'iii. 22«>.
MiWili.ik, Gov. Willi \M. — Procla-

maiiun for thuiiksgivini;, Ot)0.
Mkai»»:, tJr.NEiivi. (i»:ou<»K. — Drdcr on
litking coinnijind of the army, hl.'t;
or liT for ihankiigivinj; for victory,
SI 3.
.Mk«.'klkmii uu C«>xvkntiok. — Chris*
ti.in men in the. 1«m»; re«oluii>«ni
of indt-'pvnlence. I'lO, 432.

:J28

IKDEX,

Mifflin, President. — His reply to
Washington, 296.

Ministers in the Revolution. — -In-
fluence on society and civil govern-
ment, 332, 333, 334, 335, 336, 337,
338 ; extracts from their sermons,
339-380; address of ministers in
Newport to Washington, 380; of
ministers of Philadelphia to Wash-
ington, 381 ; of ministers of Massa-
chusetts to John Adams, 384, 385;
Webster's defence of American min-
isters, 386 ; Dr. Spring's view of
their influence, 387; the journal of
a minister in 1775, 349 ; their loy-
alty in the civil war, 797 ; address
of ministers of Cincinnati, 798.

Missions. — Loyal resolutions of the
A. B. of C, F. M. C, 730 ; of Ameri-
can Baptist Missionary Union, 757,
758; of American missionaries in
Constantinople, 759.

Monroe, James. — His messages, 157;
views of slavery, 175.

Moody, Rev. Granville. — Testimony
to chaplains in the Western army,
791.

Morgan, Gov. Edwin D. — Proclama-
tion for thanksgiving, 572.

Morris, Gouverneur. — Views of the
Christian religion, 138, 139.

Morton, Oliver P. — Proclamation
for thanksgiving, 583.

Muhlenberg, Peter. — Incident in his
church, 370, 371.

Nash, Judge. — His view of the mis-
sion of a civil state, 276.

New Hampshire Colony. — Christian
colony, 70; Christian features of
the Constitution, 235.

New Jersey Colony. — Christian colo-
nization, 90, 91 ; Christian features
of the Constitution, 234 : instructs
delegates to Congress, 234, 235.

New York. — Christian colonization of,
85, 86, 87, 88; ancient school memo-
rial, 89, 90; Constitution of, 236,
237 ; Legislature declares in favor of
Christianity, 238, 239 ; appoints
fast-day in 1776, 239.

Olden, Gov. Charles S. — Proclama-
tion for thanksgiving, 577.

Opdyke, Hon. George. — Proclamation
for fast-day, 808.

Ordinance of 1787, 275, 276.

Otis, Samuel. — Influence in the Re-
volution, 112; views of the divine
rights of human nature, 112.

Parsons. Judge. — Remarks on the re-
ligious feature of the Constitution^
264 ; decision in favor of Christianity,
650, 651, 652, 653, 654, 655.

Payson, Rev. Mr. — Speech in the Con-
vention of Massachusetts, 1789, 263.

Peirpoint, Francis H, — Proclamation
for thanksgiving, 588, 599,

Penn, William. — Character and frame
of government, 83, 84„

Pennsylvania Colony. — Its Christian
colonization, 82, 83, 84, 85; its
Christian legislation, 85; Christian
article in Constitution, 233.

Perry, Gov. Madison S. — Proclama-
tion for thanksgiving, 599, 600.

PiLCHER, Gov. Nathaniel. — Proclama-
tion for thanksgiving, 568.

PiNCKNEY, Charles C. — Christian cha-
racter, 140.

Poor, General. — Sermon to his bri-
gade, 1779, 374, 375.

Potter, Bishop Alonzo. — Form of
prayer, 678 ; form of prayer for
thanksgiving, 817, 818.

Prayer. — First prayer in Colonial Con-
gress, 213 ; prayer for the Conven-
tion to form the Constitution, 253;
meeting for prayer by the Churches
of New York, 1789, 271, 272 ; prayer
of Washington, 552 ; prayers of the
women of the Revolution, 402, 403;
by Rev. Dr. Butler, 552; prayer of
Rev. Mr. McJilton, 620; prayers of
Dr. Sunderland, 626, 627, 628, 630,
631 ; prayer of Dr. Stockton, 629, 630 ;
prevalence of prayer in the civil war,
674, 681, 682.

Preface, 5, 6, 7.

Prentice, Rev. Dr. — His view of the
divine Logos, in human afi'airs, 37,
38.

Proclamations for Fast and Thanks-
giving Days. — General Court of
Massachusetts. 1776, 240, 241 ; Leg-
islature of Massachusetts, 1775, 242,
243, 244 ; colony of New York, 239,

' 240; Continental Congress, 1775,
528 ; in 1776, 629, 530 ; in 1777, 530,
531; in 1778, 532; in 1779, 533, 534;
in 1780, 535, 536, 537; in 1781, 537,
538, 539 ; in 1782, 539, 540 : in 1783,
541 : in 1787, 542, 543 ; in 1789, 275,
544 : in 1798, 545, 546 ; in 1799, 547 ;
in 18] L'. 548: in 1815, 549, 550; iu
1841, 550, 551; in 1849, 551; in
1860, 555, 556; in 1861, 557; in
1862, 810; in 1803, 557, 558, 817.
Purcell, Bishop. — Pastoral letter to
his diocese, 680, 681.

INDEX.

&j9

Puritans. — Settlement on the con-
tinent, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 ; character,
by Macauliiy, 50; by Story, 80; by
Lord Brougham, 105 ; by Dr. Storrs,
106.

Ramsey, Gov. Alexander. — Procla-
mation for thanksgiving, 591, 592.

Ramsey, Dr. — Views of God in the
Revolution, 302, 303.

Ravv^le. — Views of the Constitution,
245.

Religion. — Necessary to civil govern-
ment, 206, 207 ; this volume pas-
$iin. — Inspires confidence in battles,
281.

Rhode Island Colony. — Its Christian
colonization, 69 ; Christian charter,
236.

Robinson, Gov. C. — Proclamation for
thanksgiving, 596.

Robinson, Gov. J. F. — Proclamation
for thanksgiving, 581, 582.

Robinson, Rev. John. — Farewell ad-
dress to the Puritans, 47.

RooKRS, Rev. John. — Patriotism and
sermon in the Revolution, 366, 377.

Rdsh, Richard. — Advocates the Bible
as a school-book, 141, 142; address
to the people of the United States,
142, 143; views of American slavery,
172, 173.

Sabbath. — Legislation by provincial
Congress, 224, 225; recognized by
the Constitution of the United States,
264, 265; recognized by all the
States, 266 ; address of the clergy-
men of Cincinnati to the President
on the, 785, 786; adtlress of New
York deputation to the President,
786, 787, 7H8, 789; President's order
on the Sabbath, 790; General Ca^5ey
on the Sabbath, 791); Webster's ar-
gument for the Sa»)bath, 199, 200;
McClellan's order, 7H9, 790; Admi-
ral Foote's order, 790.

Salomon, Gov. Ki.wauii P.— Procla-
mation f(»r thanksgiving, 597.

Scott, Gknkhal Winkiklh. — Remarks
at the meeting of Christian ('ommis-
sion, 782; views of the Christian
religion, 783.

Sbward, Hon. William H. — Procla-
mations for th:iijksgiving, 569, 570;
reply to the Now-Scli<»ol (icneral
AsKfinbly, 714; to the (Joueral Con-
vention of Congregational ininisicrs
and churches, 722, 723; to the Biip-
tiflt AHSociatioD of Philadelphia, 744,

745 ; to the West Jersey Baptist As-
sociation, 747 ; to Welsh Congrega-
tional Association of Pennsylvania,
748 ; to the Triennial Convention
of the Protestant Episcopal Church,
740.

Sharps, Granville, — Letter to Dr.
Franklin on the Constitution, 179,
180.

Sherman, Roger. — Christian charac-
ter, 120, 121.

Sigol'bney, Lydia H. — Her poem on
the Puritans, 49.

Smith, Rkv. John Blair. — Influence
in the Revolution, 871, 372.

Smith, Dr. William. — Sermon in Phi-
ladelphia, 1775, 363, 364, 365.

South Carolina Colony. — Christiaa
colonization of, 96, 97, 98; Chris-
tian Constitution, in 1778, 230, 231,
232.

Sparks, Jared. — Estimate of Wash-
ington. 485.

Spenceu, Chief-Justice. — Remarks
in the Convention of New York, 658.

Sprague, Gov. William. — Proclama-
tion for thanksgiving, 585, 586.

Stanton, Hon. Edwin M. — Statement
of the origin and progress of the
civil war, 666, 667 ; order for thdnkn-
giving in tiie army, 810; views of
God in victories, 811.

Statesmen of the Revolution. —
Their views of the Christian religioa
as connected with society and civil
government, 110-180; their appeals
to God in their state papers, 167,
168; their views of slavery, 170, 171,
172, 173, 174, 175. 176, 177, 178,
179, ISO; contrast of Christian and
intidel statesmen, 2tt3, 204. 2o5.

Stiles, Dr. Ezra. — View of God's pro-
vidence in the war of the Revolu-
tion, 300, 301, 302; estimate of
Trumbuirs character, li'»5.

St<jckt()N, Dr. Thomas H. — Remarks
on the qualificatioD of chaplain!!,
331 ; prayer at tlu- opening oi Con-
gress. iMf.2, 629, 6;;o.

Stoi'.ku, Bkllamv. — Tribute to Judge
McLean. 1)14. •Mo.

Stouus, Rkv. Rkhaiid S. — Statement
of the Puritan ends of civil govern
ment, HM"., 107.

Stouy, JiiKJE. — Views on the Consti-
tution as connectedwith Christianity,
257, 25H, 259; how the (.'onst itutiott
is lo bo preserved, 269 ; opinion of
the Christian religion. 638; c.slimaie
of tho Puritan character, 09, GO.

830

INDEX.

Sunderland, De. Btron. — Introduc-
tion by, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. 12. 13, 14,
15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20; prayers in
Congress, 626, 627. 628, 630, 631 ;
his sermon on the national crisis,
804, 805.

Synod of New England Cuurches. —
Defines the nature of civil govern-
ment and duties of civil rulers, 53,
54.

Taylor, Zachart. — Messages ; speech
at a Sunday-school ; his death ; re-
marks of members of Congress, 552,
553, 554, 555.

Temperance, American, Union. —
Statement of S. F. Carey, 780.

Thatcher, Mr. — Estimate of the in-
fluence of ministere, 335.

Thorbukn, Grant. — Letter on ^Yash-
ington praying, 297, 298.

Throop, Enos T. — Proclamation for
thanksgiving, 568.

Tod, David. — Proclamation for thanks-
giving, 578.

Tompkins, Daniel D. — Proclamation
for thanksgiving, 566, 567 ; remarks
in Convention of New York, 657.

Tract Society, American, Boston. —
Work and influence, 779.

Tract Society, American, New York.
— Work and influence, 779, 780.

Troute, Rev. Jacob. — Sermon on the
eve of the battle of Brandywine,
377, 378, 379.

Trumbull, Jonathan. — Christian cha-
racter, 164, 165.

Tyng, Dr. Stephen H. — Ilis sermon
on Christian loyalty, 801, 802, 803.

Vermont. — Christian feature of Con-
stitution, 235.

Victories. — Thanksgiving for, 811,
812, 813, 817 ; scene of rejoicing and
thanksgiving at Philadelphia, 814,
815.

Virginia Colony. — Its colonization,
92, 93, 94; Christian feature of Con-
stitution, 232, 233; religious tole-
ration, 232 ; delegates to form a
Constitution, 247.

Wallach, PiicHARD. — Proclamations
for thanksgiving, 601, 808.

War, Civil, of the United States. —
An instructive chapter, 665 : origin
and progress, 666, 667; cause, 668;
Congress on the, 668 ; Christian ele-
ment in the, 669, 670; uses of civil
■war, 670; ennobling influence of

the, 671, 672: development of the
Christian element during the, 672.

War of the Kevolution. — Necessity
and results, 277, 278, 279, 280 ; its
Christian features, 282-306.

Warren, Joseph. — Patriotism and
speeches, 113, 114.

Washburn, Israel, Jr. — Proclamation
for thanksgiving, 586, 587.

Washington, Bushrod. — Character as
a Christian and a judge, 637.

Washington, George. — Christian cha
racter, 479: Webster's estimate of,
480; Jefi"erson's, 480; Fox's, 480,
481 ; Erskine's, 481 ; Brougham's,
481 : Bancroft's, 481, 482, 483, 484;
Sparks's, 485 ; Irving's, 485; Win
throp's, 486 ; early training, 486,
487 ; religious reading in family,
487; rules of conduct, 493, 494;
advice to young men, 495, 496 ;
church member, 497; observes the
Sabbath, 499 ; high regard for min-
isters, 600 ; habit of prayer, 500,
501, 502 ; at the communion, 502,
503, 504 ; emancipates his slaves,
506; liberality to the poor, 504, 505:
a Christian statesman, 509, 510, 511,
512, 513 ; a Christian politician, 513,

514, 515; a Chrislian ruler, 514,

515, 516, 517; a Chnstian patriot
and educator, 518, 519; love of agri-
culture, 519; love of home, 520;
Christian services at inauguration,
271 ; address, 273 ; proclaims a day
of thanksgiving, 275; letter to La-
fayette on slavery, 276 ; appointed
commander-in-chief, 281 ; appear-
ance at Cambridge, 1775, 285,- Chris-
tian military character, 507, 508,
509; Christian orders, 285, 286, 287,
288; recognition of God during the
war, 289, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294,
295 ; prayer at Valley Forge, 297.
298; reply to the ministers of New-
port, 380 ; to the ministers of Phi-
ladelphia, 382 ; to the ministers of
New Haven, 429, 430 ; to the Church
at Medway, 431 : to the General As-
sembly of the Presbyterian Church,
442 ; to the First Presbytery East-
ward, 443, 444; to the Protestant
Episcopal Church, 446, 447 ; to the
United Baptist Churches in Virginia,
451, 452; to the Bishops of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, 455,
456 ; to the religious Society of
Quakers, 459; to the Reformed Dutch
Church, 462, 463; to the German

INDEX.

831

Philadelphia, 464, 465 ; to the Con-
vention of Universalists, 466 ; to the
Swedenborgian Church at Baltimore,
467 ; to Hebi'ew congregations, 468,
460, 470; to the United Brethren
Church, 472; to the German Re-
formed congregations, 473 ; to the
Koman Catholic Church, 478; his
death, 520 ; address of the Senate
of the United States on his death,
521 ; President Adams's reply, 522,
523; oration of General Lee, 523;
apostrophe on his life, character,
and deatli, 524.

Washington, Martjia. — Character,
412 ; accompanies Washington to
camp, 413 ; love of the soldiers, 413 ;
letter after Washington's visit to the
Eastern States, 414, 415; resolutions
of Congress on the death of Wash-
ington sent to, 416, 417; her reply,
417.

Washington, Mary. — Her family
training, 411 ; reverenced by Wash-
ington, 411 ; farewell visit to his
mother, 412 ; address and reply, 412.

Webster, Hon. Daniel. — Views of the
Puritans, 58, 59; of the men and
State papers of the Revolution, 16'J;
describes the scene of the first
prayer in Congress, 214; on its
necessity to sustain civil govern-
ment, 270, 277; defence of Chris-
tianity in the Girard will case, 198,
199, 200, 201, 202; his epitaph, 203.

Webster, Rev. Sa.muel. — Election ser-
mon, 1777, 314; his prayer, 315.

WE.'fLKY, John. — His description of
Georgia emigrants, 102; labors in
America, 103.

West Point AcAnEMv. — Importance
of religion in the, 329, 830.

Wiiii'i'LE, Bishop. — Pastoral letter,
678; form of prayer, r»79.

White, I>ishoi' William. — Character
an<l iufluence in the Revolution, 369,
370.

Whittincham, Bi.snop. — Pastoral let-
ters, 690, 691, 812; form of prayer,
812.

Wilson, Juikje, — States the progress
and prosperity of the United Slates
under the Constitution, 268.

Wise, Rev. John. — View of the civil
government of New England, 71 ;
his work on the government of New
England Churches, 341 ; studied by
statesmen, 341 ; his picture of family
life in New England, 564.

Witherspoon,Rev. Dr. — His sermons,
122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127.

Women in the Civil War. — Tribute
to their patriotism, 793, 794, 795;
meeting of two thousand women of
St. Louis, 795; loyal women of New
York, 795; patriotic and Christian
labors of the loyal women of Phila-
delphia, 796 ; women the great help-
ers and movers, 796.

Women of the Revolution. — Influ-
ence in, 388 ; Webster's address to
the women at Richmond, 388; view
of Charles Francis Adams, 390, 391 ;
patriotic associations of the, 391,
392; the women of Baltimore, 394:
of Philadelphia, and Washington's
tribute, 395 ; of New Jersey, 395 ;
of Maryland, 396 ; letter to a British
officer, 396, 397, 398; women of
North Carolina, 398; letter of an
American woman, 399, 400, 401 ;
banner presented by the, 401 ; their
prayers, 402, 403; scene at Philadel-
phia in 1778, 403, 404; women of
Trenton welcome Washington. 418;
position and influence during the
Revolution, 419.
Wright, E.\.-Gov. Joseph A. — Pre-
sides at the Lay Convention of
Methodists, 775; resolutions of the
Convention, 771; Christian incident
at a Sabbath-school in Berlin in
connection with, 775, 776.
Wright, Silas. — Proclamation for
thanksgiving, 570.

Yale College. — Early history, 76;
religious character of, 77, 78; in-
fluence of, SO.

Yates, Gov. Joseph C. — Proclamation
for thanksgiving, 567.

Yates, Gov. Ruuari). — Proclamation
for thanksgiving, 593.

YoiNG, Gov. John. — Proclamation foi
thanksgiving, 570.

THE END.

ffrnuurrrED bt u joonoo!! * oo.

TUllAbtLfUlA.

\