Forgotten Founders on Religion and Public Life

Description

This interdisciplinary volume brings together essays on eleven of the founders of the American republic—Abigail Adams, Samuel Adams, Oliver Ellsworth, Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry, John Jay, Thomas Paine, Edmund Randolph, Benjamin Rush, Roger Sherman, and Mercy Otis Warren—many of whom are either little recognized today or little appreciated for their contributions.

The essays focus on the thinking of these men and women on the proper role of religion in public life, including but not limited to the question of the separation of church and state. Their views represent a wide range of opinions, from complete isolation of church and state to tax-supported clergy. These essays present a textured and nuanced view of the society that came to a consensus on how religion would fit in the public life of the new nation. They reveal that religion was more important in the lives and thinking of many of the founders than is often portrayed and that it took the interplay of disparate and contrasting views to frame the constitutional outline that eventually emerged.

Sujets

• Revolutionary Periode
• HISTORY
• Histoire
• Religión
• Federal government of the United States
• History of the United States
• Religion
• Mercy Otis Warren
• Abigail Adams
• Edmund Randolph
• United States
• Benjamin Rush
• Roger Sherman
• Oliver Ellsworth
• Patrick Henry
• Samuel Adams
• John Jay
• Alexander Hamilton

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 29 octobre 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268077679
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 9 Mo

Extrait

“This excellent collection explores the rich diversity of the American mind at the Founding by attending to the spiritual, political, and intellectual convictions of a dozen men and women prominent in the events of that seminal period but relatively neglected by the historians. Forgotten Foundersîlls a major gap in the literature, which typically îxates on the life and work of a handful of luminaries. In doing so, the book takes seriously the role of religion in grounding devotion to Whig liberty and common law constitutionalism to form a popular consensus that has endured from 1776 until today. Highly readable and thoroughly sourced, this is a book for anyone interested in American history and politics.” —ellis sandoz, louisiana state university

“For more than a decade these three editors, separately and together, have led us to a more nuanced view of the central place of religion in the American founding era. Not only were the political views of famous founders such as Adams, Jefferson, and Madison more dependent on religion than their modern secular caricature allows, but many other îgures, from varying religious traditions, proved equally critical to forging the original American understanding of constitutional order, democratic liberty, and rule of law. This well-crafted volume introduces a dozen such founding îgures and the sterling political accomplishments that they offered the young nation on the strength of their religious convictions.” —john witte, jr., emory university

Essays include: Foreword by Mark A. Noll; an introductory essay by Daniel L. Dreisbach; Edith B. Gelles on Abigail Adams; Gary Scott Smith on Samuel Adams; William R. Casto on Oliver Ellsworth; Gregg L. Frazer on Alexander Hamilton; Thomas E. Buckley, S.J., on Patrick Henry; Jonathan Den Hartog on John Jay; David J. Voelker on Thomas Paine; Kevin R. Hardwick on Edmund Randolph; Robert H. Abzug on Benjamin Rush; Mark David Hall on Roger Sherman; and Rosemarie Zagarri on Mercy Otis Warren.

 is professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University.

 is the Herbert Hoover Distinguished Professor of Political Science at George Fox University.

 is associate professor of government at Regent University.

University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, IN 46556 undpress.nd.edu

Cover art: President James Madison. Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. Cover design: Jason Harvey

T H E

F O R G O T T E N

F O U N D E R S

ON R E L I G I O N

A N D

P UB L I C L I F E

EDITED BY DANIEL L. DREISBACH, MARK DAVID HALL, AND JEFFRY H. MORRISON

FOREWORD BY MARK A. NOLL

The Forgotten Founders on Religion and Public Life

The Forgotten Founders on Religion and Public Life

edited by Daniel L. Dreisbach, Mark David Hall,

and Jeffry H. Morrison

Foreword by

Mark A. Noll

University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, Indiana

Copyright © 2009 by University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 www.undpress.nd.edu All Rights Reserved

Manufactured in the United States of America

An earlier version of chapter 1 by Daniel L. Dreisbach was published as “Founders Famous and Forgotten,”Intercollegiate Review42, no. 2 (2007): 3–12, and is reprinted here by permission.

Chapter 10 was originally published in Robert H. Abzug,Cosmos Crumbling: American Reform and the Religious Imagination(New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), 3–29, 233–37, and is reprinted here by permission of Oxford University Press, Inc.

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

The forgotten founders on religion and public life / edited by Daniel L. Dreisbach, Mark David Hall, and Jeffry H. Morrison ; foreword by Mark A. Noll. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn-13: 978-0-268-02602-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) isbn-10: 0-268-02602-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Founding Fathers of the United States —Views on religion. 2. Religion and politics —United States —History—18th century. 3. United States —Religion— To 1800. 4. Church and state —United States —History — 18th century. I. Dreisbach, Daniel L. II. Hall, Mark David, 1966– III. Morrison, Jeffry H., 1961– br520.f67 2009 322'.1097309033— dc22 2009027582

This book is printed on recycled paper.

To Linda and Ron, Dan and Priscilla, Dave and Cheryl,

Judi and Phil, and their families.

—D. L. D.

To my sister, Jillann Hall Rummel, and her family:

Erich, Nathan, Olivia, and Emily.

To my daughter, Ella Marie.

—M. D. H.

—J. H. M.

Contents

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2.

3.

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5.

6.

Foreword Mark A. Noll Preface

Famous Founders and Forgotten Founders: What’s the Difference, and Does the Difference Matter? Daniel L. Dreisbach

The Way of Duty: Abigail Adams and Religion Edith B. Gelles

Samuel Adams: America’s Puritan Revolutionary Gary Scott Smith

Oliver Ellsworth’s Calvinist Vision of Church and State in the Early Republic William R. Casto

Alexander Hamilton, Theistic Rationalist Gregg L. Frazer

Patrick Henry, Religious Liberty, and the Search for Civic Virtue Thomas E. Buckley, S.J.

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Contents

John Jay and the “Great Plan of Providence” Jonathan Den Hartog

Thomas Paine’s Civil Religion of Reason David J. Voelker

Anglican Moderation: Religion and the Political Thought of Edmund Randolph Kevin R. Hardwick

Benjamin Rush and Revolutionary Christian Reform Robert H. Abzug

Roger Sherman: An Old Puritan in a New Nation Mark David Hall

Mercy Otis Warren on Church and State Rosemarie Zagarri

For Further Reading Contributors Index

145

171

196

220

248

278

295 304 306

Foreword

M a r k A . N o l l

The period of the American founding was filled with individuals of unusual interest as historical actors and unusual significance for the history of the United States. A recent burst of literary and televised attention has made John and Abigail Adams nearly as familiar to contemporary Americans as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, or Thomas Jefferson. The roles of James Madison in crafting the Constitution and of Alexander Hamil- ton in putting the new nation on a sound financial footing con- tinue to be studied, as do the actions of other larger-than-life figures from the Revolutionary era. The same figures naturally attract attention with respect to issues of religion in public life, whether they be Washington praying (perhaps) at Valley Forge or delivering his Farewell Ad- dress on the importance of religion for a republic; Franklin call- ing the Constitutional Convention to prayer in imitation of fer- vent prayers during the War for Independence; Madison carefully parsing out the wording for the First Amendment of the Consti- tution; or Jefferson penning his famous opinion about “a wall of separation between church and state.” What these major found- ers said about religion, did with religion, or ruled out of bounds for religion continues to engage the attention of historians and mold public opinion. Especially in the last quarter century, when

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