On July 4, 1837, some sixty-one years after the
Declaration of Independence, at the invitation of the townspeople of
Newburyport, Massachusetts, John Quincy Adams delivered a powerful oration that
stands today as a fascinating and underutilized source when looking at the
founders’ beliefs about God’s providence in the founding of the nation. Adams
makes the ultimate connection between the founding documents and Christianity.
Not only does he draw a connection to Christianity, he makes bold and profound
pronouncements about the connection between the nation’s founding and the
scriptures, Christ, the Declaration of Independence,
emancipation, American liberty, and even his belief in the political doctrine
of Manifest Destiny and its connection to divine providence. From the outset of the address, John Quincy Adams makes
a powerful statement that reveals his deep personal belief in the providential
hand of God in the founding of the nation:
"Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Saviour of the World, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day? —And why is it that, among the swarming myriads of our population, thousands and tens of thousands among us, abstaining, under the dictate of religious principle, from the commemoration of that birthday of Him, who brought life and immortality to light, yet unite with all their brethren of this community, year after year, in celebrating this, the birthday of the nation? Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Saviour? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth? That it laid the corner stone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity, and gave to the world the first irrevocable pledge of the fulfillment of the prophecies, announced directly from Heaven at the birth of the Saviour and predicted by the greatest of the Hebrew prophets six hundred years before?"
Adams begins by asking a question that on the surface might seem heretical
to the Christian, because he connects the founding of the nation with the birth
of Christ. He then answers the question with an explanation of his meaning. He suggests
the birth of the nation is “indissolubly” linked to the birth of Christ and he
uses the phrase “chain of human events” to refer to what Christians call the
providential hand of God. He goes on to stake the claim that the founding of
the United States of America forms a primary or beginning event in the “gospel
dispensation.” Adams could not possibly know how prescient his words would be,
but his statements bear witness to his deep-felt belief in the guiding
providential hand of God in the affairs of men and particularly in the affairs
of the men who were part of the nation’s founding. The United States would
become the largest liberty promoting nation in the history of the world. The
liberty produced under the American system of government would propel the
nation to one day become the largest exporter of Christian missionaries and
Christian thought for the next two centuries, and thus become a powerful force
in the “dispensation” of the gospel. It
is also noteworthy to point out in this initial passage of the address that
Adams draws attention to John Locke’s social contract theory by pointing out
that the Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone for human civil
government upon the precepts of Christianity.
This short blog is an excerpt form a larger thesis work entitled: John Quincy Adams Newburyport Address and Providentialism in America. Contact Bob Menges at bobmenges@bellsouth.net if you are interested in reading the full thesis.
