Patriotism of Presbyterians (3)

From Scotch and Irish Seeds in American Soil by Rev. J. G. Craighead

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CHAPTER XII. … continued

Of the highest significance were the resolutions adopted by the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians of North Carolina in convention at Charlotte, May 20, 1775 which are known in history as the MECKLENBURG DECLARATION.[7] This high-spirited people had carefully watched the progress of the controversy between the colonies and Great Britain; and when, in May, 1775, they received news of the address that had been presented to the king by Parliament, declaring the American colonists to be in actual rebellion, they concluded that the time for action had arrived, and accordingly proceeded to renounce their allegiance to the Crown. Two delegates from each militia company in the county were called together in Charlotte as a representative committee. The result of their deliberations was to form, in effect, a declaration of independence, as well as a complete system of government. All laws and commissions, civil and military, derived from the king or Parliament, were declared void, and the provincial congress of each province, under the direction of the great Continental Congress, was invested with all legislative and executive powers. This action was made binding on all; and to give effect to it, the freemen of the county formed themselves into military companies and entrusted judicial powers to men selected by vote of these companies, the tenure of all offices being conditioned solely on the pleasure of their several constituencies.

The importance of the resolutions adopted at Charlotte justifies the insertion here of two of them. In the second they resolve, “That we do hereby dissolve the political bonds which have connected us with the mother-country, and hereby absolve ourselves from all allegiance to the British Crown;” and in the third, “We 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 we solemnly pledge to each other our mutual co-operation and our lives, our fortunes and our most sacred honor.”

These extraordinary resolves were sent by a messenger to the Congress in Philadelphia, and were printed in the Cape Fear Mercury and widely distributed throughout the province. A copy of them was transmitted by Sir James Wright, then governor of Georgia, to England, in a letter of June 20, 1775, and the paper containing these resolutions may still be seen in the British State-Paper Office. Owing to the remarkable coincidence of language, as well as the many phrases common both to the Mecklenburg and the national declaration, the question has arisen which had precedence in point of time. However this may be decided, or whether they both were not indebted to some common source—such as the National Covenants of Scotland and England—it is certain that the Presbyterians of Mecklenburg were in advance of Congress and in advance of the rest of the country in proclaiming “the inherent and inalienable rights of man,” and that the historian Bancroft was right in stating that “the first voice publicly raised in America to dissolve all connection with Great Britain came from the SCOTCH-IRISH PRESBYTERIANS.”

The Presbyterians of Western Pennsylvania, assembled at Hanna’s Town, May, 1776, after expressing sympathy for their Massachusetts brethren, and their abhorrence of the system of tyranny which England was attempting to enforce upon them, resolved, that it was “the indispensable duty of every man who has any public virtue or love for his country, by every means which God has put in his power, to resist and oppose this oppression; and as for us, we are ready to oppose it with our lives and fortunes.”

A similar spirit was shown by the freemen of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, who were among the first to conclude “that the safety and welfare of the colonies did render separation from the mother-country necessary.” Their sentiments were embodied in a memorial presented to the assembly of the province, May 28, 1776, in which they say: “If those who rule in Britain will not permit the colonies to be free and happy in connection with that kingdom, it becomes their duty to secure and promote their freedom and happiness in the best manner they can without that connection.” This, and other considerations, “induced us to petition this honorable house that the last instructions which it gave to the delegates in Congress, wherein they are enjoined not to consent to any step which may cause or lead to a separation from Great Britain, may be withdrawn.”

Besides expressing the present convictions of the people under their new and changed circumstances, the memorial shows that the citizens of the county, who were at the time almost exclusively Scotch and Scotch-Irish, were in advance of their representatives in the assembly and in Congress. These were brave words, but they were followed by equally brave deeds when the call was made upon them to meet the enemies of their country.

The presbytery of Hanover presented a memorial to the legislature of Virginia in 1776, in which, as will be seen, an earnest devotion to the cause of independence was expressed: “Your memorialists are 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 their 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 our mother-country have laid this continent under the necessity of casting off the yoke of tyranny, and of forming independent governments upon equitable and liberal foundations, we flatter ourselves we shall be freed from all the encumbrances which a spirit of domination, prejudice or bigotry hath interwoven with our political systems.”

Further testimony of the same kind might be adduced were it necessary. But it is indisputable that Presbyterians were the first to combine in resistance of the arbitrary acts of England, and made the first practical declaration of independence in America.

Throughout the entire period of the war with Great Britain, the Presbyterian ministry bore a conspicuous and honored part. Their superior culture, the respect and the affection in which they were held by their people, their well-known principles and patriotism, and their resolute and unflinching courage,—all combined to make them leaders. They not only taught their people the duty of resisting oppression in every form, but many of them, by example as well as precept, encouraged the members of their churches to take up arms in defence of their country. And when disasters came upon the American army, and the future of the cause appeared dark and forbidding, they inspired their fellow-citizens with fresh courage, and with confidence in the God of nations. Many served as chaplains in the army, not a few as soldiers and officers, while others were of equal service in State and national councils; and others still placed their property and their lives upon the altar of their country with a devotion rarely paralleled.

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NOTES

[7] All the members of this convention were connected with the seven Presbyterian churches and congregations that embraced the entire county of Mecklenburg. One was a Presbyterian minister, and nine were elders of Presbyterian churches.