Unitarian givers when specific needs are presented. In October, 1871,
occurred the great fire in Chicago and the burning of Unity Church in that
city, which was aided with $60,000 in rebuilding; while the Third Church
and All Souls' were helped liberally in passing through this crisis. The
following year the Boston fire crippled sadly the resources of the
Association, and instead of the $150,000 asked for only $42,000 were
received. Yet in 1876 the church in Washington was built, and $30,000 were
contributed to that purpose by the denomination. In 1879; the denomination
gave $56,000 to free the Church of the Messiah in New York from debt.
During this period $100,000 were contributed to the Young Men's Christian
Union in Boston, $90,000 to the Harvard Divinity School, $20,000 to the
Prospect Hill School at Greenfield, and $30,000 towards the Channing
Memorial Church in Newport.
During these trying times the administration of Unitarian affairs in the
west was in judicious hands, In 1865 Rev. Charles G. Ames began those
missionary efforts on the Pacific coast that have led on to the
establishment of a considerable number of churches in that section of the
country. In central Illinois the devoted labors of Jasper L. Douthit from
1868 to the present time have produced wide-reaching results in behalf of a
genuine religion, temperance, good government, and education. In 1868 Rev.
Carlton A. Staples was made the missionary agent of the Association in the
west, with headquarters in Chicago, where a book-room was established. He
was succeeded in 1872 by Rev. Sylvan S. Hunting, who was a tireless worker
in the western field for many years. In 1874 Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones became
the missionary of the Wisconsin Conference, and the next year of the
Western Conference. For ten years Mr. Jones labored in this position with
enthusiasm for the Unitarian cause in the west.
[Sidenote: College Town Missions.]
In the spring of 1865 the attention of the Unitarian Association was
directed to the growing University of Michigan; and Rev. Charles H.
Brigham, then the minister of the church in Taunton, was invited to proceed
to Ann Arbor, and see what might be accomplished there. Meetings were held
in the court-house, but in 1866 an old Methodist church was purchased by
the Association and adapted to the uses of the new society. The
congregation numbered at first about eighty persons, but gradually
increased, especially from the attendance of university students. Mr.
Brigham was asked by the students who listened to him to form a Bible class
for their instruction, and this increased in numbers until it included from
two hundred to three hundred persons. On Sunday evenings he delivered
lectures wherein his wide and varied learning was made subservient to high
ideals and to a noble interpretation of Christianity. He led many young men
and women into the liberal faith, and he exercised through them a wide
influence throughout the west. His gifts as a lecturer were also made
available at the Meadville Theological School, with which institution he
was connected for ten years.[19]
The success of Mr. Brigham led to the founding of other college town
churches, that at Ithaca, the seat of Cornell University, being established
in 1866. In 1878 such a mission was begun at Madison for the students of
the University of Wisconsin, and another at Iowa City for the University of
Iowa. In more recent years college missions have been started at Lawrence,
Kan.; Lincoln, Neb.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Berkeley, Cal.; Colorado Springs;
and Amherst, Mass. This has proved to be one of the most effective ways of
extending Unitarianism as a modern interpretation of Christianity.
[Sidenote: Theatre Preaching.]
Another interest developed by the awakening of 1865 was the popularization
of Unitarianism by the use of theatres. In January, 1866, was begun in the
Cooper Institute, New York, a Sunday evening course of lectures by Clarke,
Bellows, Osgood, Frothingham, Putnam, Chadwick, and Joseph May, which was
largely attended. Some of the most important doctrinal subjects were
discussed. A few weeks later a similar course was undertaken in Washington
with like success. In March, 1867, the Suffolk Conference undertook such a
series of lectures in the Boston Theatre, which was crowded to its utmost
capacity. Then followed courses of sermons or lectures in Lawrence, New
Bedford, Salem, Springfield, Providence, Chicago, and San Francisco, as
well as in other places. The council of the National Conference, in 1868,
commended this as an important work that should be encouraged. Rev. Adams
Ayer was made an agent of the Association to organize such meetings, and
their success was remarkable for several years. In 1869 Rev. Charles Lowe
spoke of "that wonderful feature of our recent experience," and urged that
these meetings should be so organized as to lead to definite results.
An earnest effort was made to organize the theatre congregations into
unsectarian societies. It was proposed to form Christian unions that should
work for Christian improvement and usefulness. The first result of this
effort was the reorganization of the Boston Young Men's Christian Union in
the spring of 1868. A similar institution was formed in Providence, to
promote worship, education, hospitality and benevolence. Unions were also
formed in, Salem, Lowell, Cambridge, New Bedford, New York, and elsewhere.
[Sidenote: Organization of Local Conferences.]
In the autumn of 1865, in order to facilitate the collection of money for
the Unitarian Association, a number of local conferences were held in
Massachusetts. The first of these met at Somerville, November 14, and was
primarily a meeting of the Cambridge Association of Ministers, including
all the lay delegates to the New York convention from the churches which
that association represented. The result of this meeting was an increase of
contributions to the Unitarian Association, and the determination to
organize permanently to facilitate that work. Dr. E.E. Hale has stated that
the initial suggestion of these meetings came from a conversation between
Dr. Bellows and Dr. E.H. Sears, in which the latter said "that a very
important element in any effort which should reveal the Unitarian church to
itself would be some plan by which neighboring churches would be brought
together more familiarly."[20]
The local conferences had distinct antecedents, however, by which their
character was doubtless in some degree determined. The early county and
other local auxiliaries to the Unitarian Association begun in 1826 and
continued for at least twenty years, which were general throughout New
England, afforded a precedent; but a more immediate initiative had been
taken in New Hampshire, where the New Hampshire Unitarian Association had
been organized at Manchester, February 25, 1863. It does not appear that
this organization was in any way a revival of the former society of the
same name in that state, which was organized at Concord in 1832, and which
was very active for a brief period. A Unitarian Church Association of Maine
was organized at Portland, September 21, 1852, largely under the influence
of Rev. Sylvester Judd, of Augusta; but it had only a brief existence. The
Maine Conference of Unitarian Churches was organized at Farmington, July 8,
1863.[21] These organizations antedated the movement for the formation of
local conferences on the part of the National Conference; and they
doubtless gave motive and impetus to that effort.
On November 30, 1865, a meeting similar to that at Somerville was held by
the Franklin Evangelical Association[22] at Springfield, and with similar
results. Other meetings were held at Lowell, Dedham, Quincy, Salem,
Taunton, Worcester, and Boston. The attendance at all these meetings was
large, they developed an enthusiastic interest, and pledges were promptly
made looking to larger contributions to the Unitarian Association.
At the Syracuse meeting of the National Conference, in 1866, Dr. Bellows
reported for the council in favor of local organizations, auxiliary to the
national body. "No great national convention of any kind succeeds," it was
declared, "which is not the concurrence of many local conventions, each of
which has duties of detail and special spheres of influence upon whose
co-operation the final and grand success of the whole depends." A series of
resolutions, calling for the formation of local conferences, "to meet at
fixed periods, at convenient points, for the organization of missionary
work," was presented by Dr. E.E. Hale. In order to carry into effect the
intent of these resolutions, Charles Lowe devised a plan of organization,
which declared that the object of the local conference "shall be to promote
the religious life and mutual sympathy of the churches which unite in it,
and to enable them to co-operate in missionary work, and in raising funds
for various Christian purposes." The work of organizing such local
missionary bodies was taken up at once, and proceeded rapidly. The first
one was organized at Sheboygan, Wis., October 24, 1866; and nearly all the
churches were brought within the limits of such conferences during the next
two years.[23]
In the local conferences, as in the National Conference, two purposes
contended for expression that were not compatible with each other as
practical incentives to action. The one looked to the uniting of all
liberal individuals and denominations in a general organization, and the
other aimed at the promotion of distinctly Unitarian interests. In the
National Conference the denominational purpose controlled in shaping its
permanent policy; but the other intent found expression in the addition of
"Other Christian Churches" to the name, though in only the most limited way
did such churches connect themselves with the Conference.[24] The local
conferences made like provision for those not wishing to call themselves
distinctly Unitarian. Such desire for co-operation, however, was in a large
degree ineffective because of the fact that the primary aim in the calling
into existence of such conferences was an increase in the funds of the
Unitarian Association.
[Sidenote: Fellowship and Fraternity.]
Under the leadership of the National Conference the Unitarian body
underwent material changes in its internal organization and in its
relations to other denominations. Not only did it bring the churches to act
together in the local conferences and in its own sessions, but it taught
then to co-operate for the protection of their pulpits against adventurers
and immoral men. Before it was organized, the excessive spirit of
independency in the churches would permit of no exercise of control as to
their selection of ministers to fill their pulpits. At the fourth session
of the National Conference, held in New York in October, 1870, the council,
through Dr. Bellows, suggested that the local conferences refuse to
acknowledge as ministers men of proven vices and immoralities. To carry out
the spirit of this suggestion, Dr. Hale presented a resolution, which was
adopted, asking the local conferences to appoint committees of fellowship
to examine and to act upon candidates for the ministry. In October, 1870,
the New York and Hudson River Conference created such a committee "to
examine the testimonials of such as desire to become members of the
conference and enter the Unitarian ministry."
The seventh session of the National Conference, held at Saratoga in 1876,
provided for the appointment of a committee of fellowship, and the list of
names of those appointed to its membership appears in the printed report;
but there is no record that the committee ever organized. In 1878 the
council reported at considerable length on the desirableness of
establishing such a committee; and, again, a committee of fellowship was
appointed "to take into immediate consideration the subject of the
introduction into the Unitarian ministry of those persons who seek an
entrance into that ministry from other churches." This committee consisted
of twelve persons, three each for the eastern, middle, western, and Pacific
states.
At the session of 1880 the council of the Conference stated that it had
created a substitute for the old ecclesiastical council, that was called
together from the neighboring ministers and churches whenever a minister
was to be inducted into office. That method was costly and had dropped into
desuetude; but the new method of a committee of fellowship saved true
Congregational methods and freed the churches from unworthy men. At this
session the committee reported that it had adopted a uniform plan of
action; but a resolution was passed recommending that each local conference
establish its own committee of fellowship. Having once been instituted,
however, the committee of the National Conference came slowly to be
recognized as the fit means of introducing ministers into the Unitarian
fellowship. Its authority has proven beneficent, and in no sense
autocratic. It has shown that churches may co-operate in this way without
intruding upon each others' rights, and that such a safeguarding of the
pulpits of the denomination is essential to their dignity and morality. In
1896 the Minnesota Conference went one step further, and provided for a
committee of fellowship with power to exclude for "conduct unbecoming a
minister."
[Sidenote: Results of the Denominational Awakening.]
The most marked feature in the history of Unitarianism in this country
during the period from 1865 to 1880 was the organization of the National
Conference as the legislative body of the denomination, and the adjustment
to it of the American Unitarian Association as its executive instrument.
Attendant upon this organizing movement was the termination of the
theological discussion that had begun twenty years earlier between the
conservatives and radicals, the supernaturalists and the idealists, or
transcendentalists. In 1865 the large majority of Unitarians were
conservatives and supernaturalists, but in 1880 a marked change in belief
had come about, that had apparently given the victory to the more moderate
of the radicals. The majority of Unitarians would no longer assert that
miracles are necessary to faith in Christ and the acceptance of his
teachings as worthy of credence.
The change that came about during these years was largely due to the
leadership of Henry W. Bellows. What he did was to keep actively alive in
the Unitarian body its recognition of its Christian heritage, while at the
same time he boldly refused assent to its being committed to any definite
creed. He insisted upon the right of Unitarians to the Christian name, and
to all that Christianity means as a vital spiritual force; but at the same
time he refused to accept any limits for the Christian tradition and
heritage, and left them free for growth. Sometimes apparently reactionary
and conservative, he was at other times boldly radical and progressive. The
cause of this seeming inconsistency was to be found in those gifts of
imagination and emotion that made him a great preacher; but the
inconsistency was more apparent than real, for in his leadership he
manifested a wisdom and a capacity for directing the efforts of others that
has never been surpassed in the history of religion and philanthropy in
this country. He was both conservative and radical, supernaturalist and
transcendentalist, a believer in miracles with a confident trust in the
functions of reason. He saw both before and after, knew the worth of the
past, and recognized that all the roots of our religious life are found
therein, and yet courageously faced the future and its power to transform
our faith by the aid of philosophy and science. Consequently, his
sympathies were large, generous, and inclusive. Sometimes autocratic in
word and action, his motives were catholic, and his intentions broad and
appreciative. He gave direction to the newer Unitarianism in its efforts to
organize and perpetuate itself. Had it been more flexible to his organizing
skill, it would have grown more rapidly; but, with all its individualism
and dislike of proselyting, it has more than doubled in strength since
1865. He showed the Unitarian body that freedom is consistent with
organized effort, and that personal liberty is no more essential than
co-ordinated action. He may be justly described as the real organizer of
the Unitarian body in this country.
[1] Henry W. Bellows, in Monthly Journal, iv. 336: "These two years of
war have witnessed a more rapid progress in liberal opinions than the
whole previous century. The public mind has opened itself as it has
never been open before." In vi. 3, he said: "There are great and
striking changes going on. Men are breaking away from old opinions,
and there is a great work for us to do." This was said in December,
1864. William G. Eliot, Monthly Journal, iv. 349: "The war has proved
that our Unitarian faith works well in time of trial. No other church
has been so uniformly and thoroughly loyal, and no other church has
done more for the sick and dying." Many other similar words could be
quoted.
[2] James Freeman Clarke reported for this committee at the Syracuse
session of 1866, and stated that its members had conferred with
Christians, Universalists, Methodists, Congregationalists, and
others. The committee made several suggestions as to what could be
done to promote general fellowship, and recommended that the title of
the National Conference be so changed as to permit persons of other
religions bodies to find a place within it, if they so desired. The
committee was reappointed; and at the third session of the Conference
it reported that it had visited the annual gatherings of the
Universalists, Methodists, and Free Religionists, and had been
cordially welcomed. They were received into the pulpits of different
denominations, they found everywhere a cordial spirit of fellowship
and a breaking down of sectarian barriers. At this session the
Conference expressed its desire "to cultivate the most friendly
relations with, and to encourage fraternal intercourse between, the
various liberal Christian bodies in this country." A committee of
three was appointed "to represent our fraternal sentiments and to
consider all questions which relate to mutual intercourse and
co-operation."
This committee reported through Edward E. Hale that it had been well
received at two Methodist conferences and at several state
conventions of the Universalists. Especially had it been welcomed by
the African Methodist Church, which was the beginning of cordial
relations between the two bodies for several years. The committee
reported, however, that "there are but few regularly organized bodies
in this country which, in their formal action, express much desire
for intercourse or co-operation with us as an organized branch of the
church." A resolution offered by the committee, expressing the desire
of the National Conference "to cultivate the most friendly relations
with all Christian churches and to encourage fraternal intercourse
between them," was adopted. The members of the committee appointed in
1870 attended the session of the American Board of Foreign Missions
in 1871; and they were received with courtesy, Athanase Coquerel
addressing the board as their representative. The committee reported
that "in every direction, from clergymen and laymen of different
Protestant churches, we have received informal expressions of what we
believe to be a very general desire that there might be a more formal
and public expression of the fellowship which undoubtedly really
exists between the different Protestant communions."
At the session of the National Conference held in 1874 the council
suggested the propriety of preparing a register of the free or
liberal churches of the world, and it enumerated the various bodies
that might be properly included; but no action was taken on this
recommendation. At this session an amendment to the by-laws, offered
by Dr. Hale, was adopted, providing for a fellowship committee with
other churches. This committee was not appointed, and the amendment
was not printed in its proper place in the report. Apparently, the
interest in efforts of this kind had exhausted itself, partly because
any active co-operation with the more conservative churches was
impossible, and partly because the growth of denominational feeling
directed the energies of the National Conference into other channels.
[3] The sessions of the National Conference have been held as follows: 1,
New York, April 5-6, 1865; 2, Syracuse, October 10-11, 1866; 3, New
York, October 7-9, 1868; 4, New York, October 19-21, 1870; 5. Boston,
October 22-25, 1872; 6, Saratoga, September 15-18, 1874; 7, Saratoga,
September 12-15, 1876; 8, Saratoga, September 17-20, 1878; 9,
Saratoga, September 21-24, 1880; 10, Saratoga, September 18-22, 1882;
11, Saratoga, September 22-26, 1884; 12, Saratoga, September 20-24,
1886; 13, Philadelphia, October 28-31, 1889; 14, Saratoga, September
21-25, 1891; 15, Saratoga, September 24-27, 1894; 16, Washington,
October 21-24, 1895; 17, Saratoga, September 20-23, 1897; 18,
Washington, October 16-19 1899; 19, Saratoga, September 23, 1901. A
meeting was held in Chicago, in 1893, in connection with the
Parliament of Religions. The presidents of the National Conference
have been Hon. John A. Andrew, who served in 1866; Hon. Thomas D.
Eliot, whose term of service lasted to 1869; Judge Ebenezer R. Hoar,
from 1869 to 1878, and again from 1882 to 1884; Hon. John D. Long,
from 1878 to 1882; Judge Samuel F. Miller, 1884 to 1891; Mr. George
William Curtis, 1891 to 1894; and Hon. George F. Hoar, 1894 to 1901.
Hon. Carroll D. Wright was elected to the office in 1901. The
secretaries have been Rev. Edward Everett Hale, Rev. George
Batchelor, Rev. Russell N. Bellows, Rev. William H. Lyon, and Rev.
Daniel W. Morehouse. The first chairman of the council was Rev. Henry
W. Bellows, D.D., who served to 1872, and again from 1876 to 1878;
Professor Charles Carroll Everett, D.D., from 1874 to 1876; Rev.
Edward Everett Hale, D.D., from 1880 to 1882, and from 1891 to 1894;
Rev. James De Normandie, D.D., from 1884 to 1889; Rev. Brooke
Herford, D.D., from 1889 to 1891; Rev. George Batchelor, from 1894 to
1895; Rev. Minot J. Savage, D.D., from 1895 to 1899; and Rev. Howard
N. Brown, from the later year to 1901, when Rev. Thomas R. Slicer was
elected.
[4] A.A. Low, a member of the first Unitarian congregation in Brooklyn,
N.Y.
[5] Lecture delivered in Cooper Institute, New York, on Unitarian Views
of Christ, published in The Christian Examiner, November, 1866, xxxi,
310.
[6] Works, iv. 110.
[7] The Christian Examiner, March-April, 1826, iii. 136.
[8] First Series of Tracts of A.U.A. No. 87.
[9] First Series of A.U.A. Tracts, No. 105, April, 1836.
[10] Forty-fifth Annual Report of the American Unitarian Association, 11,
14.
[11] This correspondence was published in full in The Christian Register
for December 13 and 20, 1873, Mr. Potter's letter protesting against
the action of the Association being printed on the later date.
[12] Memoir of Charles Lowe, 454, 458.
[13] Freedom and Fellowship in Religion, 261.
[14] Freedom and Fellowship in Religion, 24.
[15] Ibid., 42.
[16] Ibid., 216.
[17] Fifty Affirmations, 47.
[18] Report of the Second Meeting of the National Conference, 20.
[19] Memoir of Charles H. Brigham, with Sermons and Lectures.
[20] Christian Register. March 15, 1900, lxxxix. 300; Twenty-fifth
Anniversary of the Worcester Conference, 7, address by Dr. Hale. See
Memoir of Charles Lowe, 372.
[21] Church Exchange, May, 1899, vi. 59.
[22] This association of ministers was organized August 17, 1819, and was
orthodox, but found itself Unitarian when the denominational change
took place.
[23] See Appendix for a complete list of the local conferences and the
dates of their organization.
[24] In a small number of instances such churches did join the Conference,
but the number was too small to be in any degree significant.
IX.
GROWTH OF DENOMINATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS.