Journal of Student Research 2023

Black Robes: God’s Patriots that Prepared America for Independence

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Black Robes: God’s Patriots that Prepared America for Independence DJ Walker 1 Senior, Applied Social Science: History and Politics Concentration Faculty Advisor: Dr. Christopher Marshall

Abstract The various causes of the American Revolution have been studied for

centuries by numerous scholars. Of the many causes, the role of colonial clergy, while once studied regularly, has not received the same level of academic attention in recent years. Many ministers are noted for the direct impact they had on intellectually preparing colonial Americans for the American Revolution. John Wise, in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, preached sermons against oppressive royal governance on topics such as the principle that taxation without representation is tyranny. These political sermons would captivate colonial thought in the proceeding decades. Another clergyman of colonial America was George Whitefield. Whitefield traveled the colonies during the First Great Awakening, preaching to the colonists on the importance of unification and in the belief of God with his “Father Abraham Sermons.” The unification of faith would later extend into the political realm through the creation of a uniquely American identity. A third major figure was Jonathan Mayhew. His sermon on unlimited submission paved the way for the colonial population, who were regular church attendees, to have a Biblical basis for their rebellion against the British Crown. These ministers laid the foundation for a colonial population to be prepared for a political and military revolution. Introduction Historians often trace the ideas that inspired American independence back to English Constitutionalism, especially the 1688 English Bill of Rights and Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke and Baron de Montesquieu. The Enlightenment and English constitutionalist heritage certainly played a role in lighting the torch for revolution in America; however, the sermons and actions of colonial ministers also greatly contributed to the eventual independence of the United States. President Calvin Coolidge acknowledged the unique influence ministers had in framing a colonial revolution during his public address in Philadelphia on the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence: The great apostle of this movement was the Rev. John Wise, of Massachusetts…Wise published a treatise entitled ‘The Church’s Quarrel Espoused’ in 1710, which was amplified in another publication in 1717. In it he dealt with the principles of civil government. His works were reprinted in

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DJ Walker is a member of the Honors College of UW-Stout (Editor).