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patriot, the politician, the statesman, the jurist, the legis lator, the divine, and, in a word, to all classes of American citizens.

The work is not speculative or theoretical, but a series of facts to unfold and establish the Christian life and character of the civil institutions of the United States, in the light of which every American citizen can trace to its source the true glory of the nation, and learn to appreciate its institutions and to venerate and imitate the great and good men who founded them.

It has been a delightful task of patriotism and piety to the compiler to prepare the volume, and to lay it as a grateful offering upon the common altar of his country and of Christianity.

The work has been the labor of years, performed in various States of the Union, and in the capital of the nation, within sight of the tomb of Washington, during the most eventful year of the Rebellion; and its last pages were prepared for the press in Philadelphia, where so many of the sacred scenes of the Revolution transpired. The volume, therefore, has in its preparation a national feature, and the reader will be impressed with the importance and appositeness of the facts to the present time.

It is also the ardent hope of the compiler that the facts and principles recorded in this volume, and in which, in our early struggle, all denominations of Christians uttered with such harmony their convictions that the only sure and stable basis of our civil institutions was in the Christian religion, may contribute to strengthen the union of patriotism and piety in all parts of the country, to save the nation. from the perils of a wicked rebellion, and be the brightest hope of the future.

Care has been taken to give each author credit for his thoughts and language, though in a few instances it may have been overlooked. It was not the desire nor the design of the compiler to elaborate his own views,-though

they are found in the volume,-but to give those of the great leading minds of the republic, both past and present. His grateful acknowledgments are tendered to the Librarians of the Young Men's Mercantile Library Association, and of the Mechanics' Institute Libraries of Cincinnati; of the State Library of Ohio; of the Historical and Astor Libraries of New York; of the Mercantile Library and Library Association of Philadelphia; of the Libraries of Congress, and of the Interior Department; to the Chief Clerk in the Department of State, for access to the manuscript papers of Washington; to Peter Force, of Washington City, for frequent examinations of his large and invaluable collection of books and periodicals illustrative of the early history of our country; and to the Honorable Thomas Corwin, of Ohio, for numerous visits to his valuable library. His thanks are due also to the late Honorable Samuel W. Parker, of Indiana, for the frequent use of his large political and historical library, and to the late Judge John McLean, of Ohio, who imparted to the compiler valuable suggestions in reference to the preparation of the work.

The Introduction to the work is written by Rev. Byron Sunderland, D.D., pastor for the last twelve years of the First Presbyterian Church of Washington City, and Chaplain to the Senate of the United States in the ThirtySeventh Congress. Its high Christian tone and sentiment, its finished literary excellence, and the important truths it so forcibly enunciates will render it well worthy the attention of the reader.

The volume is committed to the blessing of God and to the judgment and favor of the American people, in humble trust that it may aid in preserving and perpetuating to future generations the Union of the States, the integrity of the best government ever instituted by the wisdom of men, and the nationality of the American Republic.

PRINCIPAL AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.

Archives of American Annals, by Peter Force.

Journals of Congress and Official Records, Colonial and State Constitutions and papers.

Bancroft's History of the United States.

Hall's History of the Puritans.

Grahame's Colonial History of America.

Webster's Works.

Burke's Works.

Annals of the American Pulpit, by W. B. SPrague.

Pulpit of the Revolution, by JOHN WINGATE THORNTON.

Chaplains and Clergy of the Revolution, by J. T. HEADLEY.

Dr. Beecher's Works.

Power of the Pulpit, by Dr. SPRING.

Character of the American Government, Anonymous.

Rev. J. Adams's Sermon, with Notes, on the Relation of Christianity to the Civil Government of the United States.

Principles and Acts of the American Revolution, by H. NILES.
Grimké's Writings and Orations.

Chaplains of the American Government, by L. D. JOHNSON.
Nash's Morality of the State.

Life and Times of Washington, by JOHN FREDERICK SCHROEDER, D.D.
Sparks's Writings of Washington.

Custis's Recollections of Washington.

Religious Opinions and Character of Washington, by E. C. MCGUIRE. Presbyterian Review, New England Review, Bibliotheca Sacra, Rebellion Record, by FRANK MOORE, and a large number of periodicals, of the time of the Revolution and at the formation of the Constitution of the United States.

The Chapter on the Christian Element in the Civil War was compiled from the official acts and papers of the ecclesiastical denominations, of benevolent organizations, and of the national and State Governments. Bible.

Story's Commentaries on the Constitution.

Bayard's Commentaries on the Constitution.
Rawle on the Constitution.

Gardner's Institutes of International Law.

Griswold's Republican Court, or American Society in the Days of Washington.

Mrs. Ellett's American Women.

Histories of the Various Colonies and States.

Hough's Thanksgiving Proclamations.

Lossing's Field-Book of the Revolution.

Sanderson's Biography of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence.

8

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION, by Rev. BYRON SUNDERLAND, D.D.........

CHAPTER I.

Sources of Proof to establish the Christian Life and Character of the Civil
Institutions of the United States.

......

CHAPTER II.

PAGE

11

25

The Hand of God in the Settlement of the American Continent................

CHAPTER III.

Puritan Settlement-Its Christian Motives and Scenes.......

CHAPTER IV.

40

44

Civil Government instituted in the Mayflower on a Christian Basis.......... 51

CHAPTER V.

Christian Colonization of the New England Colonies................

CHAPTER VI.

61

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Christian Systems of Education in the New England Colonies........

CHAPTER VII.

Christian Colonization of Pennsylvania-New York-New Jersey-Dela-

ware

CHAPTER VIII.

Christian Colonization of Virginia—Maryland—South Carolina—North
Carolina-Georgia.........

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Statesmen of the Revolution-Their Views of Christianity and its Rela-
tions to Civil Society and Government........

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CHAPTER XII.

The Federal Constitution a Christian Instrument.........

CHAPTER XIII.

PAGE

246

Christian Scenes in the First Congress under the Constitution................ 270

CHAPTER XIV.

The Christian Acts and Scenes of the Army of the Revolution .......

.... 277

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Christian Churches of the Revolution-Congregational Churches............. 420

CHAPTER XIX.

Christian Churches of the Revolution-The Baptist Churches-Methodist
Episcopal Church....

447

CHAPTER XX.

Christian Churches of the Revolution-The Reformed Dutch Church
and other Churches-German Lutheran Church-Universalist Con-
vention.........

460

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Christianity of American Courts, and Christian Character of Eminent
American Judges......

CHAPTER XXVI.

The Christian Element in the Civil War of the United States.....

613

634

...... 665

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