The Facts of USA’s Founding Are More Interesting Than the Fabrications
Any assertion that the United States was founded on Biblical and Christian principles must also concede that slavery was part and parcel of an unbiblical and unChristian version of so-called Biblical and Christian principles.
It is not necessary to attribute the founding of the nation to the Bible or an organized Christian effort. Any review of the actual history of the founding of the United States, absent spiritualized narratives, shows that highly educated and brilliant men were responsible for debating, working, and creating the founding philosophies and documents. All the Framers were informed by their education, experiences, and faith. They were also informed by selfish motivations and economic interests.
It is noteworthy that the Framers decided not to include Scripture in the founding documents. This is consistent with their objective to avoid creating a nation controlled by the church or by religion.
Below is a summary of the Framers:
Almost all of the 55 Framers had taken part in the Revolution, with at least 29 having served in the Continental forces, most in positions of command. All but two or three had served in colonial or state government during their careers. The vast majority (about 75%) of the delegates were or had been members of the Confederation Congress, and many had been members of the Continental Congress during the Revolution. 25 had been state governors.
More than half of the delegates had trained as lawyers (several had even been judges), although only about a quarter had practiced law as their principal means of business. Others were merchants, manufacturers, shippers, land speculators, bankers, or financiers. Several were physicians or small farmers, and one was a minister.
Of the 25 who owned fellow humans, 16 depended on slave labor to run the plantations or other businesses that formed the mainstay of their income. Most of the delegates were landowners with substantial holdings, and most, except for Roger Sherman and William Few, were very comfortably wealthy. George Washington and Robert Morris were among the wealthiest men in the entire country. Much of that wealth was built through the unpaid labor of enslaved persons.
Of the 55 Framers, only one was a Christian minister. Regarding the religious faith of the Framers: Of the 55 delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, 28 were Anglicans, 21 were other Protestants, and two were Roman Catholics (D. Carroll and Fitzsimons). Among the Protestant delegates to the Constitutional Convention, eight were Presbyterians, seven were Congregationalists, two were Lutherans, two were Dutch Reformed, and two were Methodists. A few prominent Founding Fathers were anti-clerical notably Jefferson.
It is a reach of imagination and romanticism to believe the 55 Framers acted as a group of Christians in consultation with the Scriptures and prayer. The work of the Framers, as is the case with most good work, owes to the skill of the persons working, whether Christian or non-Christian.
One very significant factor argues against the rosy Christian nationalist perspective about our nation’s founding: SLAVERY.
For many of us, celebrating our nation’s founding as a triumph of the Bible and Christianity is offensive given the treatment and property status of our ancestors. To be sure, the formation of the United States, developing the governing documents, and organizing independent colonies was a triumph of human enterprise and self-governing. The telling of history cannot overlook owning, selling, and abusing humans in the service of other humans used to build their economy, was decidedly ungodly. It was not something Jesus would have done.
The historic facts regarding the formation of the nation are compelling reading without the hyperbole of a Christian nationalist narrative. The facts are far more interesting than the fabrications.
Below is a summary of the Framers:
Almost all of the 55 Framers had taken part in the Revolution, with at least 29 having served in the Continental forces, most in positions of command. All but two or three had served in colonial or state government during their careers. The vast majority (about 75%) of the delegates were or had been members of the Confederation Congress, and many had been members of the Continental Congress during the Revolution. 25 had been state governors.
More than half of the delegates had trained as lawyers (several had even been judges), although only about a quarter had practiced law as their principal means of business. Others were merchants, manufacturers, shippers, land speculators, bankers, or financiers. Several were physicians or small farmers, and one was a minister.
Of the 25 who owned fellow humans, 16 depended on slave labor to run the plantations or other businesses that formed the mainstay of their income. Most of the delegates were landowners with substantial holdings, and most, except for Roger Sherman and William Few, were very comfortably wealthy. George Washington and Robert Morris were among the wealthiest men in the entire country. Much of that wealth was built through the unpaid labor of enslaved persons.
Of the 55 Framers, only one was a Christian minister. Regarding the religious faith of the Framers: Of the 55 delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, 28 were Anglicans, 21 were other Protestants, and two were Roman Catholics (D. Carroll and Fitzsimons). Among the Protestant delegates to the Constitutional Convention, eight were Presbyterians, seven were Congregationalists, two were Lutherans, two were Dutch Reformed, and two were Methodists. A few prominent Founding Fathers were anti-clerical notably Jefferson.
It is a reach of imagination and romanticism to believe the 55 Framers acted as a group of Christians in consultation with the Scriptures and prayer. The work of the Framers, as is the case with most good work, owes to the skill of the persons working, whether Christian or non-Christian.
One very significant factor argues against the rosy Christian nationalist perspective about our nation’s founding: SLAVERY.
For many of us, celebrating our nation’s founding as a triumph of the Bible and Christianity is offensive given the treatment and property status of our ancestors. To be sure, the formation of the United States, developing the governing documents, and organizing independent colonies was a triumph of human enterprise and self-governing. The telling of history cannot overlook owning, selling, and abusing humans in the service of other humans used to build their economy, was decidedly ungodly. It was not something Jesus would have done.
The historic facts regarding the formation of the nation are compelling reading without the hyperbole of a Christian nationalist narrative. The facts are far more interesting than the fabrications.
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This is an excerpt from Chapter 5 of “Biblical & Social Justice: What Is It?,”
entitled “A Nation Founded on Christian Principles?”
