in 1836, that at Quincy in 1840, Milwaukee and Geneva in 1842,
Detroit in 1850. After the conference began its work, they appear
more frequently, Keokuk coming into existence in 1853, Marietta in
1855, Lawrence in 1856, Unity of Chicago, Kalamazoo, and Buda in
1858, Bloomington in 1859. Then comes a blank during the war period,
and a more rapid growth after it, especially when the National
Conference had given impetus to missionary activities. Janesville was
organized in 1864; Ann Arbor, Kenosha, and Baraboo, in 1865; Tremont,
in 1866; Cleveland and Mattoon, in 1867; Unity of St. Louis, Kansas
City, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, Davenport, Geneseo, Third of Chicago,
and Sheffield, in 1868; Omaha, in 1869.
[10] Written by William G. Eliot, of St. Louis.
[11] Joseph Allen, The Worcester Association and its Antecedents, 268.
[12] Through the business committee the following resolutions were
submitted for the consideration of the convention, and they were
taken up in order:--
_Resolved_, That we acknowledge with profound gratitude the success
which has attended our labors in the cause of religious freedom,
virtue, and piety, and are encouraged to persevere with renewed zeal
and energy.
_Resolved_, That in the character and life of Rev. William E.
Channing, just removed from us, we acknowledge one of the richest
gifts of God, in intellectual endowments, pure aspiration, moral
courage, and disinterested devotion to the cause of truth, freedom,
and humanity, and that in view of this, we feel out increased
obligation to Christian fidelity and heavenward progress.
_Resolved_, That viewing with anxiety prevailing fanaticism and
growing disregard of public trusts and private relations, we should
earnestly labor for a higher religious principle, and especially
urge the paramount claims of moral duty.
[13] The places and dates of the Autumnal Conventions were as follows:
Worcester, 1842; Provence, 1843; Albany, 1844; New York, 1845;
Philadelphia, 1846; Salem, 1847; New Bedford, 1848; Portland, 1849;
Springfield, 1850; Portsmouth, 1851; Baltimore, 1852; Worcester,
1853; Montreal, 1854; Providence, 1855; Bangor, 1856; Syracuse, 1857;
Salem, 1858; Lowell, 1859; New Bedford, 1860; Boston, 1861; Brooklyn,
1862; Springfield, 1863.
[14] The first regiments from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Kansas, had
as their chaplains Warren H. Cudworth, Augustus Woodbury, and Ephraim
Nute. Charles Babbidge was the chaplain of the sixth Massachusetts
regiment, that which was fired upon in Baltimore. The first artillery
company from Massachusetts had as its chaplain Stephen Barker. Others
who served as army chaplains were John Pierpont, Edmund B. Willson,
Francis C. Williams, Arthur B. Fuller, Sylvan S. Hunting, Charles T.
Canfield, Edward H. Hall, George H. Hepworth, Joseph F. Lovering,
Edwin M. Wheelock, George W. Bartlett, John C. Kimball, Augustus M.
Haskell, Charles A. Humphreys, Milton J. Miller, George A. Ball,
William G. Scandlin, E.B. Fairchild, Samuel W. McDaniel, Frederick R.
Newell, George W. Woodward, Stephen H. Camp, William D. Haley,
Leonard Whitney, Gilbert Cummings, Nahor A. Staples, Carlton A.
Staples, Martin M. Willis, John F. Moors, L.B. Mason, Robert Hassall,
Liberty Billings, Daniel Foster, J.G. Forman, and Augustus H. Conant.
Robert Collyer was chaplain-at-large in the Army of the Potomac.
Charles J. Bowen, William J. Potter, Charles Noyes, James Richardson,
and William H. Channing served as hospital chaplains.
Among the ministers who served as officers were: Hasbrouck Davis, who
became a general; William B. Greene, colonel; Gerald Fitzgerald, who
enlisted as a private, rose to the rank of first lieutenant, and was
elected chaplain of his regiment; Edward I. Galvin, lieutenant, also
elected chaplain; James K. Hosmer, who served through the war, at
first as a private and then as a corporal, writing his experiences
into The Color Guard and The Thinking Bayonet; George W. Shaw and
Alvin Allen, privates. Thomas D. Howard and James H. Fowler were
chaplains in colored regiments. After service as a chaplain of a Hew
Hampshire regiment, Edwin M. Wheelock became a lieutenant in a
colored regiment, as did Charles B. Webster. Thomas W. Higginson was
colonel of a colored regiment, and in another Henry Stone was
lieutenant colonel. It is doubtful if this list is complete, though
an effort has been made to have it as nearly so as possible. Those
who served in the army, and became ministers after leaving it, have
not been included. So far as known, only ordained ministers are
named.
[15] History of the United States Sanitary Commission, being the General
Report of its Work during the War of the Rebellion.
[16] J.H. Allen, Our Liberal Movement in Theology, 210.
[17] Henry W. Bellows, article on the Sanitary Commission, in Johnson's
Cyclopedia, revised edition.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Henry W. Bellows, article on the Sanitary Commission, in Johnson's
Cyclopedia, revised edition.
[20] History of the Sanitary Commission.
[21] Thoughts selected from Channing's Works, Ware's The Silent Pastor,
and Eliot's Discipline of Sorrow. The Association also issued one
number of the Monthly Journal as an Army Companion, which contained
fifty hymns of a patriotic and religions character, with appropriate
tunes, selections from the Bible, directions for preserving health in
the army, and selections from addresses on the injustice of the
rebellion and the spirit in which it should be put down.
[22] Twenty tracts were published. The first was written by Dr. George
Putnam; and was on The Man and the Soldier. The second was The
Soldier of the Good Cause, by Prof. C.E. Norton. Others were A Letter
to a Sick Soldier, by Rev. Robert Collyer; An Enemy within the Lines,
by Rev. S.H. Winkley. Rev. John F.W. Ware wrote fourteen of these
tracts, the following being some of the subjects: The Home to the
Camp, The Home to the Hospital, Wounded and in the Hands of the
Enemy, Traitors in Camp, A Change of Base, On Picket, The Rebel, The
Recruit, A Few Words with the Convalescent, Mustered Out, A Few Words
with the Rank and File at Parting.
VIII.
THE DENOMINATIONAL AWAKENING.
The war had an inspiring influence upon Unitarians, awakening them to a
consciousness of their strength, and drawing them together to work for
common purposes as nothing else had ever done. From the beginning they saw
in the effort to save the Union, and in the spirit of liberty that animated
the nation, an expression of their own principles. Whatever its effect upon
other religious bodies, the war gave to Unitarians new faith, courage, and
enthusiasm. For the first time they became conscious of their opportunity,
and united in a determined purpose to meet its demands with fidelity to
their convictions and loyalty to the call of humanity.[1]
No Autumnal Convention having been held in 1864, owing to the failure of
the committee appointed for that purpose to make the necessary
arrangements, a special meeting of the Unitarian Association was held in
the Hollis Street Church, Boston, December 6-7, at the call of the
executive committee, "to awaken interest in the work of the Association by
laying before the churches the condition of our funds and the demand for
our labor." The attendance was large, and the tone of the meeting was
hopeful and enthusiastic. After Dr. Stebbins, the president, had stated the
purpose of the meeting, Dr. Bellows urged the importance of a more
effective organization of the Unitarian body. His success with the Sanitary
Commission had evidently prepared his mind for a like work on the part of
Unitarians, and for a strong faith in the value of organized effort in
behalf of liberal religion. His capacity as leader during the war had
prepared men to accept it in other fields of effort, and Unitarians were
ready to use it in their behalf. The hopefulness that existed, in view of
the success of the Union cause, and the enthusiastic interest in the
methods of moral and spiritual reform that was manifested because of the
triumph of the spirit of freedom in the nation, led many to think that like
efforts in behalf of liberal Christianity would result in like successes.
On the afternoon of the second day (a meeting in the evening of the first
day only having been held) James P. Walker, the publisher, gave a résumé of
the activities of the Association during the forty years of its existence,
and said that its receipts had been on the average only $8,038.88 yearly.
He showed that much had been done with this small sum, and that the results
were much larger than the amount of money invested would indicate. He
pointed out the fact that the demands upon the Association were rapidly
increasing, and far more rapidly than the contributions. There was an
urgent need for larger giving, he said, and for a more loyal support of the
missionary arm of the denomination. He offered a series of resolutions
calling for the raising of $25,000 during the year. Rev. Edward Everett
Hale said that $100,000 ought to be given to the proposed object, and urged
that more missionaries should be sent into the field. Thereupon Mr. Henry
P. Kidder arose, and said: "It is often easier to do a great thing than a
small one. I move that this meeting undertake to raise $100,000 for the
service of the next year." Dr. Bellows then called the attention of the
conference to the importance of considering the manner of securing this
large sum and of devising methods to insure success. He proposed "that a
committee of ten persons, three ministers and seven laymen, should be
appointed to call a convention, to consist of the pastor and two delegates
from each church or parish in the Unitarian denomination, to meet in the
city of New York, to consider the interests of our cause and to institute
measures for its good." The two resolutions were unanimously adopted,
pledging the denomination to raise $100,000, and to the holding of a
delegate convention in New York. The president appointed, as members of the
committee of arrangements for the convention, Rev. Henry W. Bellows,
Messrs. A.A. Low, U.A. Murdock, Henry P. Kidder, Atherton Blight, Enoch
Pratt, and Artemas Carter, Rev. Edward E. Hale, and Rev. Charles H.
Brigham.
The convention in New York was not waited for in order to make an effort to
secure the $100,000 it was proposed to raise; and early in January the
president of the Association, Dr. Rufus P. Stebbins, was authorized to
devote his whole time to securing that sum. A circular was sent to the
churches saying that such a sum "was needed, and should and could be
raised." "The hour has come," said the executive committee in their appeal
to the churches, "which the fathers longed to see, but were denied the
sight,--of taking our true position among other branches of the church of
our Lord Jesus Christ in the spread and establishment of the Gospel."
The response to this call was prompt and enthusiastic beyond any precedent.
The war had made money plentiful, and it came easily to those who were
successful. Great fortunes had been rapidly gathered; and the country had
never known an equal prosperity, even though the burden of the war had not
yet been removed. In February the president of the Association was able to
announce that $28,871.47 had been subscribed by twelve churches. By the end
of March the pledges had reached $63,862.63; and when the convention met in
New York, April 5, 1865, the contributions then pledged were only a few
thousand dollars short of the sum desired. By the end of May the sum
reported was $111,676.74, which was increased by several hundred dollars
more.
[Sidenote: The New York Convention of 1865.]
It was when this success was certain that the convention met in New York.
The victory of the Union cause was then assured, and the utmost enthusiasm
prevailed. Some of the final and most important scenes of the great
national struggle were enacted while the convention was in session. Courage
and hope ran high under these circumstances; and the convention was not
only enthusiastically loyal to the nation, but equally so to its own
denominational interests. For the first time in the history of the
Unitarian body in this country the churches were directly represented at a
general gathering. The number of churches represented was two hundred and
two, and they sent three hundred and eighty-five delegates. Many other
persons attended, however; and throughout all the sittings of the
convention the audience was a large one. Many women were present, though
not as delegates, the men only having official recognition in this
gathering. It is evident from the records, the newspaper reports, and the
memories of those present, that the interest in this meeting was very
large, and that the attendance was quite beyond what was anticipated by any
one concerned in planning it. The call to all the churches, and the giving
them an equality of representation in the convention, was doubtless one of
the causes of its success. As a result, an able body of laymen appeared in
the convention, who were accustomed to business methods and familiar with
legislative procedure, and who carried through the work of the convention
with deliberation and skill.
On the first evening of the convention a sermon was preached by Dr. James
Freeman Clarke that was a noble and generous introduction to its
deliberations. He called for the exercise of the spirit of inclusiveness, a
broad and tolerant catholicity, and union on the basis of the work to be
done. On the morning of April 5, 1865, at eleven o'clock, the convention
met for the transaction of business in All Souls' Church, of which Henry
Whitney Bellows was the minister. Hon. John A. Andrew, then the governor of
Massachusetts, was elected to preside over the convention; and among the
vice-presidents were William Cullen Bryant, Rev. John Gorham Palfrey, Hon.
Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar, Rev. Orville Dewey, and Rev. Ezra Stiles Gannett,
while Rev. Edward Everett Hale was made the secretary. In Governor Andrew
the convention had as its presiding officer a man of a broad and generous
spirit, who was insistent that the main purpose of the meeting should be
kept always steadily in view, and yet that all the members and all the
varying opinions should have just recognition. In a large degree the
success of the convention was due to his catholicity and to his skill in
reconciling opposing interests.
The time of the convention was devoted almost wholly to legislating for the
denomination and to planning for its future work. On the morning of the
second day the subject of organization came up for consideration, and the
committee selected for that purpose presented a constitution providing for
a National Conference that should meet annually, and that should be
constituted of the minister and two lay delegates from each church,
together with three delegates each from the American Unitarian Association,
the Western Conference, and such other bodies as might be invited to
participate in its deliberations. This Conference was to be only
recommendatory in its character, adopting "the existing organizations of
the Unitarian body as the instruments of its power." The name of the new
organization was the subject of some discussion, James Freeman Clarke
wishing to make the Conference one of Independent and Unitarian churches,
while another delegate desired to substitute "free Christian" for
Unitarian. The desire strongly manifested by a considerable number to make
the Conference include in its membership all liberal churches of whatever
name not acceptable to the majority of the delegates, voted with a decided
emphasis to organize strictly on the Unitarian basis.
As soon as the convention was organized, expression was given to the demand
for a doctrinal basis for its deliberations. Though several attempts were
made to bring about the acceptance of a creed, these met with complete
failure. In the preamble to the constitution, however, it was asserted that
the delegates were "disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ," while the first
article declared that the conference was organized to promote "the cause of
Christian faith and work." It was quite evident that a large majority of
the delegates regarded the convention as Christian in its purposes and
distinctly Unitarian in its denominational mission. A minority desired a
platform that should have no theological implications, and that should
permit the co-operation of every kind of liberal church. The use of the
phrase Lord Jesus Christ was strongly opposed by the more radical section
of the convention, but the members of it were not organized or ready to
give utterance to their protest in an effective manner.
The convention gave its approval to the efforts of the Unitarian
Association to secure the sum of $100,000, and urged the churches, that had
not already done so, to contribute. It also advised the securing of a like
sum as an endowment for Antioch College, and commended to men of wealth the
needs of the Harvard and Meadville Theological Schools. The council of the
Conference was asked to give its attention to the necessity and duty of
creating an organ for the denomination, to be called The Liberal Christian.
A resolution looking to union with the Universalist body was presented, and
one was passed declaring "that there should be recognition, fellowship, and
co-operation between all those various elements in our population that are
prepared to meet on the basis of Christianity." James Freeman Clarke,
Samuel J. May, and Robert Collyer were constituted a committee of
correspondence, to promote acquaintance, fraternity, and unity between
Unitarians and all of like liberal faith.[2]
A resolution offered by William Cullen Bryant expressive of thanksgiving
because of the near approach of peace, and for the opening made by the
extinction of slavery for the diffusion of Christianity in its true spirit
as a religion of love, mercy, and universal liberty, was unanimously
adopted by a rising vote.
The convention was a remarkable success in the number who attended its
sessions, the character of the men who participated in its deliberations,
and the skill with which the unsectarian sect had been organized for
effective co-operation and work. Its influence was immediately felt
throughout the denomination and upon all its activities. The change in
attitude was very great, and the depressed and discouraged tone of many
Unitarian utterances for a number of years preceding and following 1860
gave way to one of enthusiasm and courage.[3]
[Sidenote: New Life in the Unitarian Association.]
The annual meeting of the Unitarian Association, that soon followed, felt
the new stir of life, and the awakening to a larger consciousness of power.
The chief attention was directed to meeting the new opportunities that had
been presented, and to preparing for the larger work required. Dr. Rufus P.
Stebbins, who had been for three years the president, and who had been
actively instrumental in securing the large accession to the contributions
of the year, was elected secretary, with the intent that he should devote
himself to pushing forward the missionary enterprises of the Association.
He refused to serve, and accepted the position only until his successor
could be secured. In a few weeks, the executive committee elected Rev.
Charles Lowe to this office, and he immediately entered upon its duties. He
proved to be eminently fitted for the place by his enthusiastic interest in
the work to be accomplished, and by his skill as an organizer. His
catholicity of mind enabled him to conciliate, as far as this was possible,
the conservative and radical elements in the denomination, and to unite
them into an effective working body. Educated at Harvard College and
Divinity School, Lowe spent two years as a tutor in the college, and then
was settled successively over parishes in New Bedford, Salem, and
Somerville. His experience and skill as an army agent of the Association
suggested his fitness for the larger sphere of labor into which he was now
inducted. For six most difficult and trying years he successfully conducted
the affairs of the Association.
For the first time in the history of the Association its income was such as
to enable it to plan its work on a large scale, and in some degree
commensurate with its opportunities. During the year and a half preceding
the first of June, 1866, there was contributed to the Association about
$175,000, to Antioch College $103,000, to the Boston Fraternity of Churches
$22,920, to the Children's Mission $42,000, to the Freedman's Aid Societies
$30,000, to the Sunday School Society $2,500, to The Christian Register
$15,000, and to the Western Conference $6,000, making a total of about
$400,000 given by the denomination to these religious, educational, and
philanthropic purposes; and this financial success was truly indicative of
the new interest in its work that had come to the Unitarian body.
[Sidenote: The New Theological Position.]
Although the New York convention voted that $100,000 ought to be raised in
1866, because the needs of the denomination demanded it, yet only $60,000
were secured. The reaction that followed the close of the war had set in,
the financial prosperity of the country had begun to lessen, and the
enthusiasm that had made the first great effort of the denomination so
eminently successful did not continue. A chief cause for the waning
interest in the denomination itself was the agitation, in regard to the
theological position of the Unitarian body that began almost immediately
after the New York convention.
The older Unitarians held to the Bible and the teachings of Jesus as the
great sources of spiritual truth as strongly as did the orthodox, and they
differed from them only as to the purport of the message conveyed. This may
be seen in a creed offered to the New York convention, by a prominent
layman,[4] almost immediately after it was opened on the first morning.
In this proposed creed it was asserted that Unitarians believe "in one
Lord, Jesus Christ; the Son of God and his specially appointed messenger,
and representative to our race; gifted with supernatural power, approved of
God by miracles and signs and wonders which God did by him, and thus by
divine authority commanding the devout and reverential faith of all who
claim the Christian name." Although this creed was not adopted by the
convention, it expressed the belief of a majority of Unitarians. To the
same purport was the word spoken by Dr. Bellows, when he said: "Unitarians
of the school to which I belong accept Jesus Christ with all their hearts
as the Sent of God, the divinely inspired Son of the Father, who by his
miraculously proven office and his sinless life and character was fitted to
be, and was made revealer of the universal and permanent religion of the
human race."[5] These quotations indicate that the more conservative
Unitarians had not changed their position since 1853, when they made
official statement of their acceptance of Christianity as authenticated by
miracles and the supernatural. In fact, they held essentially to the
attitude taken when they left the older Congregational body.