The Founding Fathers and the Debate over Religion in Revolutionary America A History in Documents

by Harris, Matthew; Kidd, Thomas

• ISBN13: 9780195326505
• ISBN10: 0195326504
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-11-11
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Whether America was founded as a Christian nation or as a secular republic is one of the most fiercely debated questions in American history. Historians Matthew Harris and Thomas Kidd offer an authoritative examination of the essential documents needed to understand this debate. The texts included in this volume - writings and speeches from both well-known and obscure early American thinkers - show that religion played a prominent yet fractious role in the era of the American Revolution. In their personal beliefs, the Founders ranged from profound skeptics like Thomas Paine to traditional Christians like Patrick Henry. Nevertheless, most of the Founding Fathers rallied around certain crucial religious principles, including the idea that people were "created" equal, the belief that religious freedom required the disestablishment of state-backed denominations, the necessity of virtue in a republic, and the role of Providence in guiding the affairs of nations. Harris and Kidd show that through the struggles of war and the framing of the Constitution, Americans sought to reconcile their dedication to religious vitality with their commitment to religious freedom.

Author Biography

Matthew L. Harris is Associate Professor of History and Director of the Graduate Program in History at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Thomas S. Kidd is Associate Professor of History at Baylor University and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Studies of Religion. He is the author of God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution (2010) and other books.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction: The Founding Fathers and Religion	p. 3
Religion and the Continental Congress	p. 24
A day of prayer and fasting, 1776	p. 24
Reverend Jacob Duche's invocation at a day of prayer and fasting, 1775	p. 26
Alexander Hamilton on God-given rights, 1775	p. 28
Declaration of Independence, 1776	p. 30
A resolution for true religion and good morals, 1778	p. 32
Robert Aitken's Bible, 1781-1782	p. 32
Designing a National Seal, 1782	p. 36
The Northwest Ordinance, 1787	p. 38
Religion and State Governments	p. 40
State Constitutions, 1776-1778	p. 40
Isaac Backus argues for religious freedom, 1773	p. 50
Massachusetts Constitution of 1780	p. 53
Boston supports the establishment, 1780	p. 55
Granville, Massachusetts, opposes the establishment, 1780	p. 57
Benjamin Franklin on the Massachusetts Constitution, 1780	p. 58
Virginia Declaration of Rights, 1776	p. 59
Bill for a General Assessment for Religion, 1784	p. 60
James Madison, Memorial and Remonstrance, 1785	p. 62
Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, 1786	p. 71
Criticism of the Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, 1786	p. 74
An act for suppressing vice and immorality in Maryland, 1786	p. 76
Constitution and Ratification	p. 78
Benjamin Franklin's prayer request at the Constitution Convention-and the response, 1787	p. 78
Luther Martin Questions why there is no religious oath in the Constitution, 1787	p. 81
Was the Constitution an inspired document?	p. 83
James Madison and Patrick Henry on human nature, 1788	p. 85
Oliver Ellsworth and William Williams debate the absence of a religious oath in the constitution, 1787-1788	p. 88
Benjamin Rush wishes God was mentioned in the Constitution, 1789	p. 96
Debates on the religion clauses of the First Amendment, 1789	p. 97
First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, 1791	p. 101
Ministers lament the "Godless" Constitution, 1812, 1815	p. 101
James Madison's "Detached Memoranda," circa 1817-1832	p. 104
Religion and the Federal Government	p. 114
Congressional Chaplains, 1789	p. 114
George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789	p. 116
George Washington's Farewell Address, 1796	p. 118
Treaty of Tripoli, 1797	p. 122
John Adams proclaims a day of fasting and prayer, 1798	p. 125
Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural Address as President, 1801	p. 127
Treaty between the United States and the Kaskaskia Indians, 1803	p. 129
Dorothy Ripley Remembers her sermon in the House of Representatives, 1806	p. 130
Disestablishment and the Separation of Church and State	p. 132
William Linn opposes Thomas Jefferson's candidacy for President, 1800	p. 132
George Washington on religious liberty, 1789-1790	p. 136
John Leland and the Baptist case for religious liberty, 1791	p. 140
Thomas Jefferson and the Danbury Baptists, 1801-1802	p. 149
Thomas Jefferson refuses to declare days of prayer and fasting, 1808	p. 153
John Adams on the "national government meddling with religion," 1812	p. 155
The Founding Fathers' Own Views on Religion	p. 157
Thomas Jefferson, 1787, 1803	p. 157
John Adams, 1810, 1813	p. 162
Benjamin Franklin, 1771, 1790	p. 164
Thomas Paine, 1776	p. 169
Patrick Henry, 1796	p. 171
Samuel Adams, 1780, 1802	p. 173
Roger Sherman, 1789	p. 176
William Livingston, 1786	p. 177
Elias Boudinot, 1815	p. 181
Selected Bibliography	p. 187
Index	p. 193
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