Justin Rodi and Jake Studebaker
1700’s-1710
From
the founding of Jamestown in 1607 the men and women who settled the American
Colonies were defined by unique religious convictions. These protestant
religions, despised by both the Roman Catholic Church and forced away by the
Church of England, sought freedom to worship God in ways they had deemed
proper. As they began their fight for freedom, many settlers came to the new
world seeking financial opportunities. Two generations removed from the initial
settlement of the new world many colonials were no longer religious freedom
fighters, but rather unremarkable and simple men and women. This lack of church
interest would lead to what would later be called the Great Awakening, a mass
religious revival headed by Puritan theologian Jonathan Edwards. The decade
following the turn of the 18th century would lay the groundwork for this
revival, and as theology became more central to colonial life the fight for
religious liberty would come to define the new world.
In 1701 Yale college was founded, initially called
(rather bluntly,) “A Collegiate School,” with the goal of propagating the
Christian protestant religion. The Puritan church desired for the school to
emulate the church body. The leadership of the college closely resembled the
congregational system, with students taking on decision making authority early
in their education, and a board of trustees structured similar to how church
elders would have overseen a congregation. The aim of the school was to educate
ministers of the faith, as well as train young men in arts and sciences. While
not the first puritan college, Yale offered a new approach to education, as in
Massachusetts, Harvard’s brand of Puritan theology had long been fought by
minds like that of Reverend Thomas Hooker. Thus, Yale’s founding emphatically
declared the unique differences southern puritans would grow to hold,
eventually leading to the disputes of congregationalism and synod-based
leadership. Yale became the bastion of Puritan orthodoxy, but not long after
the college was ensnared in controversies, and before the end of the decade the
school had undergone radical changes, losing any hope at becoming the Puritan safe
haven it once sought to create.
Not long after Yale’s founding, just miles away,
revolutionary ideas were being put forth, not in favor of orthodoxy but
radically liberal ideals, in the Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges. Adopted
in October of 1701, this document authored by William Penn introduced unprecedented
changes to colonial leadership. The Quaker-centric colony removed the need for
land ownership as a prerequisite to holding political office, ended the use of
taxation supporting religious activities, and enabled the local colonial
government to enact its own legislation. These three ideas pushed colonial boundaries,
clearly defining steps towards religious liberty in for colonials. William Penn
set the precedent of colonial government’s separation from the colonial church,
stating clearly that nobody “shall be in any case molested or prejudiced…
because of his or their Conscientious persuasion or practice.”[1]
With the focus of religious liberty for most non-Anglican protestant religions,
many politicians and theologians alike applauded Penn for the bold steps his
colony had taken in seeking religious freedom.
At this same time, however, some people viewed the issue
of religious liberty as less important than others. One man in particular, Puritan
minister Cotton Mather, saw chief amongst these an attitude of complacency towards
pious action. As Mather saw it the late 1600’s had been a time of moral
failure, as colonies began slipping into non-charitable action. Mather set out
to rectify this destructive behavior in his book Magnalia Christi Americana:
or The Ecclesiastical History of New England. Released in 1702 it discussed
God’s presence throughout colonial history. Mather wanted to encourage the
puritans to continue seeking God, highlighting what God had done for the people
of New England, and what they could do to act on God’s faithfulness. He also took
time to comment on the theological issues of the day, later in the text
referencing his decision to keep the sacrament of communion for active members
of the regenerate church. [2]
Mather’s goal with his publication was to inspire the people of the land to
continue seeking God throughout the struggles they faced as colonists.
Beginning in 1701, Europe was set
ablaze by the War of Spanish Succession as colonials in North America were thrust
to the front lines of a new war of religion that Queen Anne’s rise to the
throne precipitated. This war came only half a century after the Peace of
Westphalia was penned in the German states. In Europe, the war was viewed by
many as a means of spreading and solidifying the place of Protestant religion
in regions such as Catholic Spain and France. Huguenots in France hoped that,
through the course of the war, Louis XIV would be swayed to relieve the
pressure he was placing on them daily and make concessions to his protestant
brethren.[3]
In England, Louis and Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I were treated as puppets of
the pope, ready to deal the already sick and dying Protestantism its final
death blow. As such, the Church of England and Parliament alike beseeched Queen
Anne to widen the aims of the war to include the security of Protestantism at
home and abroad.[4]
Concerns regarding the War were not
constrained to Europe. In North America, colonists were now given a grave new
concern, namely raids by French or Native forces. The already strained relations
between Native Americans and the Protestant New England populace were now
exacerbated further by the Catholic French. Fighting a constant losing battle
on the spiritual front, New Englanders would now have to worry about a much
more physical war. Raids were conducted by joint French and Indian forces
across North America. Although brought about by the War, the raids had
explicitly religious undertones. Newly converted Natives were honored and eager
to enforce their Jesuit faith.
One
such raid occurred in 1704 in Deerfield, Massachusetts. In the final days of
February, the brutal Deerfield Massacre was executed, in which dozens of
English puritans were killed and over one hundred were carried into prison.
Assisted by the multiple Native American tribes, the French brutalized the
small Deerfield community. The English and French had both competed for the
alliance of one particularly violent tribe, namely the Abenaki Tribe.
Excessively dangerous, the English understood the importance of an alliance
with the Abenakis. In negotiations, however, the English offered to replace the
French Jesuit missions with Puritan missionaries, angering the Native Americans
who claimed they “promised to be true to God in our Religion, and thus we
profess to stand by [the French].” Negotiations failed, and the raid took
place. Of the captives, one man, the famous Reverend John Williams, would later
publish a book titled The Redeemed Captive in which he encouraged
survivors to return home and rebuild, as well as continue attempting to
evangelize to the Native Americans. The Deerfield Massacre was one of many
large-scale raids that occurred on the continent, yet it was remembered as a
particularly brutal example of the struggle for Protestants to survive in the
New World.
In the same year that Queen Anne
ascended to the throne, Europe witnessed the refinement by Jethro Tull of one
of its greatest Agricultural inventions, the seed drill.[5]
While there is little knowledge as to how widespread this invention was in the
colonies, it is indicative of a larger movement across Europe known as the
Agricultural Revolution. The development of new technologies and agricultural
techniques led to explosive growth in the agricultural output of England. These
ideas quickly spread to other areas of the world, including the American
colonies.[6]
The excess of agricultural production allowed affected areas to support massive
population growth in both England and the colonies. As prosperity rose,
immigration to the New World also skyrocketed. Between 1680 and 1700, the
population of the colonies jumped from 151,000 to approximately 250,000. New
arrivals in North America included various competitive religious groups which
the established Puritans would have to constantly engage with. By the end of
the decade, more state-focused Anglicans, Dutch Reformed, Quakers, Baptists,
and Roman Catholics would establish churches in New England, establishing more
and more spiritual battlegrounds in the young colonies.[7]
Yet, by far the largest headache to the Puritans of New England would be a
group well established in the colonies by this period, namely the
Presbyterians.
In 1706, the Presbyterian churches
in America formed the first Presbyterian synod in North America. The move to establish a synod in Pennsylvania was one of
the final motions to solidify the ever-widening split between the
Congregationalist and Presbyterian movements in America. Differences in
Calvinist and Antinomian theology drove a wedge between the two groups and
exacerbated the already exhausting issue of church structure. By creating their
own synod, the Presbyterians were signaling that they were a permanent force in
America, one that Congregationalists would have to simply live with.[8]
According to Presbyterian scholar D. G. Hart, “...1706
is the first manifestation of Presbyterianism in North America. The reason is
simple: for Presbyterianism to exist it requires a presbytery, and the first
presbytery in America began with the initial meeting of the Presbytery in
Philadelphia. Without a presbytery, a minister or congregation...is still only
a congregation, and so abiding by congregationalist church polity.”[9]
Presbyterians had now established an identity in the New World and shunned
their Congregationalist brethren. This moment in 1706 serves essentially as the
final marker of the split in Puritan New England between Congregationalists and
Presbyterians.
The first decade
of the 18th century was fraught with danger yet filled with a great
deal of promise. Although war once again began to ravage the European continent
and death turned its ugly head towards the colonies, there was hope in certain
regions of North America. In Pennsylvania, religious liberty became the central
focus of the colonial government, allowing numerous groups to seek asylum there.
In New Haven, a theological school meant to train the future generations of
ministers was founded. As the European population grew due to newfound strategies
and technologies in farming, more and more religious groups began to establish
themselves in North America. In the regions which practiced religious
toleration, this was viewed as a boon and a blessing. In the established
Puritan circles of New England, these new strains of Protestantism provided a
significant challenge to the group which had already fought tooth and nail to solidify
and defend themselves. As a final note, in the quiet year of 1703, New England witnessed
the birth of Johnathan Edwards.[10]
Although no one knew at the time, the birth of this child was ultimately the
greatest spot of hope to arrive in the 18th century, a small spark
which would become a bright and burning star by the 1730’s.
Bibliography
Boles Jr., Laurence Huey. “The
Huguenots, the Protestant interest, and the War of the Spanish Succession, 1702-1714.” New York, NY: Peter
Lang Publishing, 1997.
Brigham,
Clarence S. “HISTORY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS, 1690–1820.”
Worcester, Massachusetts: American Antiquarian Society, 1947.
Marsden, George M. “Johnathan
Edwards: A Life.” New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2003.
Massachusetts
Historical Society. “The Boston Newsletter, number 1.” Image accessed 29
January 2021.
Penn, William. “Pennsylvania Charter
of Privileges.” Appearing in The Avalon Project, Yale Law School. New
Haven, Connecticut: Yale Publishing, 1906.
Shields,
David. “Oracles of Empire: Poetry, Politics, and Commerce in British America,
1690-1750.” London, United Kingdom. University of Chicago Press. 1990.
Winship,
Michael P. “Hot Protestants: A History of Puritanism in England and America.” New
Haven, CN: Yale University Press, 2018.
Yale
University. “Connecticut Legislation Act for Liberty to Erect a Collegiate
School, 1701.” New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1976.
[1] William Penn, “Pennsylvania
Charter of Privileges,” Public Domain, accessed 2-11-21.
[2] Rev. Cotton Mather, “Magnalia
Christi Americana,” Public Domain, Accessed 2-10-21.
[3] Laurence Huey Boles, Jr., “The
Huguenots, the Protestant Interest, and the War of the Spanish Succession,
1702-1714,” (New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing: 1997.)
[4] Ibid.
[5] Mike Overton, “Agricultural
Revolution in England: The transformation of the agrarian economy 1500-1850”,
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996).
[6] G. E. Mingay, “The Agricultural
Revolution: Changes in Agriculture 1650-1880”, The Journal of Economic
History, vol. 38, issue 4, 1978.
[7] Edwin Scott Gaustad, “Historical
Atlas of Religion in America”, (New York, NY: Harper and Row Publishers, 1976.)
[8] Michael P. Winship, “Hot
Protestants: A History of Puritanism in England and America”, (New Haven, CN: Yale
University Press, 2018,)
[9] D. G. Hart, “Seeking a Better
Country: 300 Years of American Presbyterianism,” (Phillipsberg, NJ: P&R
Publishing, 2007.)
[10] George M. Marsden, “Johnathan
Edwards: A Life”, (New Haven, CN: Yale University Press, 2003.)