Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, with scattered churches in the Carolinas, all united under the Synod of Philadelphia. The growth of the church from this period was constant and rapid, by reason of large immigrations; until, in 1788, a General Assembly was constituted, associating the synods and presbyteries after the model of the Church of Scotland. It will be seen from this how widely the church was extended, and over how large a part of the country its influence reached.

"Its character and influence may be fairly though indirectly judged from its sources. Its members came to this country to seek for religious and political freedom. Having found a place for its exercise, they established their principles in proportion to their power. What Bancroft says of East Jersey, is true, in a measure, of other sections, and the other sources of our church: Scottish Presbyterians, of virtue, education, and courage, blending a love of popular liberty with religious enthusiasm, came to East Jersey in such numbers as to give to the rising Commonwealth a character which a century and a half has not effaced.' They were friends. of education, of strict morals, and of the sabbath. As members of God's Church, they upheld his laws as supreme. As citizens of the State, they were devoted to freedom and justice. In our struggle for independence, we find them invariably on the right side; the first to suffer, the first to fight, the first to declare for independence; prominent among its supporters; and stamping on the new-formed government those principles of popular freedom, representation, and confederation, which were their distinguishing traits.

"In making these broad statements, we intend no ungenerous comparisons, nor do we claim for these men exclusively the parentage of freedom. Bancroft's words are both beautiful and true: American independence was the work, not of one, nor of a few, but of all; and was ratified, not by Congress only, but by the instincts and intuitions of the nation; just

as the sunny smile of the ocean comes from every one of its million of waves.' But it is fair, and our definite object, to inquire how far this church nurtured, and was in sympathy with, these popular instincts.

"The Presbyterian Church, by its government and spirit, is pre-eminently republican. Its ministers are equal among themselves. Its churches are united by presbyteries and synods under a General Assembly. The authorities over the individual are a series of graded courts, composed of ministers and ruling elders, with the right of appeal for the maintenance of religious liberty and justice. Ruling elders are properly representatives of the people, chosen by them for the purpose of exercising government and discipline in connection with pastors and ministers.' The great republican principles of our National Constitution are thus evidently in accord with the principles which our church has drawn from the Bible for its government. So, again, in its spirit, the church is also republican. Its doctrines of grace, called, since Calvin's day, Calvinism, make all men fundamentally equal before God; and they recognize no other distinction between man and man than such as is the result of the sovereign grace of God working in him without regard to condition, class, or previous merit. The doctrinal spirit of the church thus fits the outward form of our government. The church sends out the influences of its fundamental principles into the State of which its members are citizens.

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"It is only to be expected, then, that we shall find the Presbyterian Church in this country acting prominently in vindication of its liberties and government, as well as promoting religion. We shall find,' says Bancroft, that the first voice publicly raised in America to dissolve all connection with Great Britain, came, not from the Puritans of New England, or the Dutch of New York, or the planters of Virginia, but from Scotch-Irish Presbyterians.' The reference here is to the famous Mecklenburg Declaration. Once

more: the first declaration for independence from the constituted authorities of a State came from North Carolina in April, 1776, and can be traced to the same influences.* This reached Congress six weeks before the National Declaration was made. These facts are not sufficiently known in the country, not even among Presbyterians. They are not set forth here as in rivalry with Lexington and Massachusetts, but as fruits of identically the same principles and spirit. They show how the religious element in the country was everywhere foremost, and all sections hand in hand, in the struggle for liberty. The spirit of our people was shown, also, by the organized voice of our church. The Synod of New York and Philadelphia nerved her people for the coming conflict, a year before the Declaration of Independence, by a pastoral letter; and appointed also a day of prayer for the country and for Congress, which was continued year by year till the close of the war. As this was our record at the beginning of the war, so was it sustained at the close by another pastoral letter from the General Synod, calling upon the churches to return thanks to God, and, at the same time, congratulating them on the general and almost universal attachment of the Presbyterian body to the cause of liberty and the rights of mankind.'

"From this brief summation of facts, let us turn back to the Mecklenburg Declaration. In May, 1775, a convention of delegates, twenty-seven in number, chosen by the people from the militia districts of Mecklenburg County, N.C., met at Charlotte to discuss their political oppressions and rights. Their decisions were to be binding on all the people. In view of the acts of these representatives, and our present purpose, it is important to trace their religious connection. They were, every one of them, Presbyterians; one a minister; their president, secretary, and seven others, ruling elders.† These issued the famous Mecklenburg Declaration of IndeBancroft, viii. 352; Foote's Sketches of North Carolina, pp. 43, 44. † Foote's Sketches, pp. 34-44.

pendence, from which we give one spirited extract: 'Resolved, 3d, 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 which independence we solemnly pledge to each other our mutual co-operation, our lives, our fortunes, and our most sacred honor.'

"The most casual reader will notice the analogies in language and sentiment between this and the National Declaration, which was fourteen months later.

"We have illustrated thus the warm attachment of Presbyterians and their church to our national principles of liberty, and also their distinguished services. Two points remain to be illustrated, the influence of their republican principles on our government, and their services in securing complete religious liberty.

"On the first point, the proofs must necessarily be indirect. The framers of our Constitution followed no model directly, but rather built on fundamental principles. Yet the Presbyterian churches of the Reformation presented to them a model government, in which these principles were fully recognized, religious republics, with stable and true foundations, defended by great arguments drawn both from the rights of man and the revelation of God. Our adoption, not only of the great principles, but of analogous details, shows the force of the influence exerted. Hon. W. C. Preston of South Carolina says, 'Certainly it is the most remarkable and singular coincidence, that the constitution of the Presbyterian Church should bear such a close and striking resemblance to the political Constitution of our country.'

"On the second point, we have the testimony of Bancroft: The rigid Presbyterians proved in America the supporters of religious freedom.'

"In the colonial period, Congregationalism was established in most of New England, except Rhode Island. In all south

of New England, Episcopacy was the favored form. In both sections, other churches existed by toleration. Now, in opposition to any kind of church establishment, even for themselves, it has been asserted, and may be fairly claimed, that Presbyterians urged and secured the doctrine of religious liberty, the entire independence of Church and State. Their record on this point was just as clear in those new States, where their influence had become overwhelming, as in those where they had not the supremacy. They proved to be above temptation. Their services during the war, throughout the country, were so distinguished, and their position so prominent, that no other denomination could have competed with them in securing favors from the General Government. But they never made a move in this direction. On the contrary, they felt compelled, by a declaration of synod, 'That they ever have renounced, and still do renounce and abhor, the principles of intolerance,' to allay the apprehension that they, in turn, might prove intol

erant.

"One point was still left undebated; viz., the policy of establishing and supporting all religions, as against the liberty and independence of all. On this point, the decisive and final struggle was in Virginia. A bill for the support of religion in all denominations, by means of a general assessment of the people, was introduced in 1777. It was opposed, on principle, by Baptists, Quakers, and Presbyterians; fought against by petitions, memorials, and conventions; the agitation ranging through seven years. The honor of the long struggle belongs to all three parties: the power was exerted mainly by the Presbyterians. At the last wavering moment, in 1784, when the legislature seemed disposed still to press the measure, the Rev. John B. Smith, on behalf of the Presbytery of Hanover, was heard for three successive days against it. This decided the matter: the whole scheme was abandoned.' The great principle of the rightful independence of Church and State, new then, old