Happy Presbyterian Rebellion Day!
During the era of the American Revolution, King George III and his supporters perceived that the war was a "Presbyterian Rebellion." Why? The label "Presbyterian" was a much more ambiguous designation than it is at present. Employed broadly as a synonym for a Calvinist, a dissenter, or a republican, the term was used with considerable imprecision in the eighteenth century. Furthermore, it was used as a demagogic tool to inflame popular passions. The term Presbyterian carried with it the connotation of a fanatical, anti-monarchical rebel. Those who designated the war a Presbyterian Rebellion could be considered biased, partisan, and somewhat extreme....
....Calvinists and Calvinism permeated the American colonial milieu, and the king's friends did not wish for this fact to go unnoticed. This inconspicuous reality is one of the missing chapters in the conventional history of the genesis of the United States....
....historians of the Revolutionary era prefer to emphasize socio-economic factors in their explanations of what happened and why. Hence, the hypothesis that there was a significant religious factor in the midst of the conflict has not been given adequate consideration. This study provides compelling evidence that there indeed was a profound religious factor at the heart of the conflict, both perceived and real, and that this dynamic deserves further attention in order to provide a more comprehensive account of the Revolution.
Happy Presbyterian Rebellion Day!
Witherspoon, the only clergyman to sign the Declaration, President of the College of NJ (Princeton) at the time, was a Scotch Presbyterian. There was brief celebration in the British camp during the time of the campaigns around Trenton and Princeton when there was word a tall clergyman had been shot and it was thought to be Witherspoon.
If it was a label employed by King George to discredit the Americans, why use it now?
Richard Gardiner co-authored a high school textbook entitled, “Never Before in History” regarding the War of Independence. It traces the political philosophy of our independence back to the Reformation and Luther. It’s an excellent book which we used in our homeschooling.
The term Presbyterian carried with it the connotation of a fanatical, anti-monarchical rebel. Those who designated the war a Presbyterian Rebellion could be considered biased, partisan, and somewhat extreme.
In a couple hours we're going to pick up and go to Dad's, where we'll char mammal flesh, set off fireworks and shoot guns. Hallelujah!
I don't think so. The term was first noted about 1540 indicating the form of a church led by elected elders. It was chosen as the form of organization of the Church of Scotland in 1690.
So, for 200 years, it was defined as a form of church organization. If King George used it otherwise to denote a band of dissenters and republicans, it was simply being twisted to a derogatory, like today's use of 'teabagger' to imply Tea Party members.
Or maybe King George was simply poorly informed, using a part to name the whole, like some folks use the term conservative when they mean Republican.
That the word Presbyterian was used as a pejorative by King George, doesn't mean that the 200 year old (by 1776) meaning of a particular church organization had changed.
It's the pejorative use that was temporary and has changed. Calling somebody a Presbyterian today as a pejorative would certainly not imply dissenter, nor even Republican or republican.
I remember learning this when I became a Presbyterian(conservative of the EPC/PCA variety, of course). It’s nice to read a story about Presbyterians that has nothing to do with the usual heresies the PCUSA comes up with.