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Political Hebraism's Involvement and Significance in the American

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Political Hebraism's Involvement and Significance in the American Political Hebraism’s Involvement and Significance in the American Founding Master of Arts in History Thesis By Mitch Wardell Thesis Director: Carey Roberts Spring 2020 Table of Contents CHAPTER ONE – HEBRAISM AND AMERICAN HISTORIOGRAPHY ........................................................................... 1 CHAPTER TWO – UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF EDUCATION, LITERACY, AND A PERVASIVE BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW IN POLITICAL HEBRAISM ............................................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER THREE – HEBRAISM IN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY ELECTION DAY SERMONS ............................................ 49 CHAPTER FOUR – HEBRAISM AMONG AMERICAN STATESMEN .......................................................................... 74 BIBLIOGRAPHY: ................................................................................................................................................ 101 ii 1 Chapter One – Hebraism and American Historiography Ideas influence the way people think and eventually how people act. Ideas were integral in both sparking the American Revolution and informing those who crafted the founding documents. It is a contested position to state that the United States had a Christian founding. The conversation is more complex than if the U.S. was founded on Christianity or not. Many point to Jefferson as a prime example that the founding fathers were not Christian. But it must also be recognized that Jefferson interacted with and was subsequently influenced, at least to some degree, by Christianity. At one point Jefferson wrote to his friend Charles Thomson about the “precious morsel of ethics” that he witnessed in the teaching of Jesus.1 Jefferson, along with other Revolutionary figures, may not have been Christians, yet it should be recognized that Christian ideas, while not the sole influence during the Revolution, were significant nonetheless. Many people were instrumental in the American Revolution and in the creation of the country’s founding documents. As such, it is important to remember that these individuals lived in communities, often attended churches, went to plays, listened to sermons, and read various literature; understanding their culture, the things that shaped predominant worldviews of people in the 1770s and 1780s, is both critical and complex. Such complexity can be witnessed in something as simple as a list of books for purchase from William Strahan to 1 Thomas Jefferson, “Thomas Jefferson to Charles Thomson, January 9, 1816.” The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition, ed. James P. McClure and J. Jefferson Looney, (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Rotunda, 2008-2019). 2 Benjamin Franklin that contains works from moral philosophy, the making of common salt, horses’ diets, to Voltaire’s Elements of Newtonian Philosophy, and Lowman’s Dissertation on the Hebrew Government.2 Roughly one generation before the Founding Fathers embarked on the works that would cement their legacy lived another monumental group of men. These were the men who taught and preached during the Great Awakening. Great Awakening leaders preached to crowds in the field and were also leading scholars and teachers at universities. Preachers of the Awakening were men like Samuel Davies who would cross paths with Patrick Henry. Influential men of the Awakening were those like George Whitefield who would form a friendship with Benjamin Franklin. These and others such as Jonathan Edwards, Gilbert Tennent, and many more taught and preached a great deal; a portion of their teaching included a focus on teaching from the Old Testament. Teachers and preachers of the Great Awakening left a widespread impact on the American Colonies. A knowledge of the Bible and awareness of the Jewish political system is a byproduct of the Great Awakening. It is appropriate then to attempt to grasp how founders and religious leaders during the Revolution understood the Hebrew structure of government as revealed in the Old Testament. Once it is observed that the Hebraic political system was one of great influence, the task of understanding why it was of importance can be undertaken. This thesis is not arguing that America was founded on Christianity. It is also not advocating that political Hebraism was the sole philosophy that the founders were utilizing. Investigating the influence of the Old Testament civic structure, or political Hebraism, serves to recognize a 2 William Strahan, “To Benjamin Franklin from William Strahan, 26 August 1752.” The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, Vol 4, July 1, 1750 through June 30, 1753, (ed. Leonard W. Labaree. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1961. Founders Online, National Archives). 3 significant influence on founders that has been either unnoticed or under appreciated. Exploration of this topic is needed to better understand why Samuel Langdon would preach before a general court in Concord and advocate that the Hebraic political structure should be “…considered as a pattern to the world in all ages; and from [the Hebrews] we may learn what will exalt our character.”3 Not only that, but while Samuel Langdon preached for political Hebraism, John Adams would mention that the Hebrew government, “…instituted by God, had a judge, the great Sanhedrin, and general assemblies of the people.”4 With examples like these it can be established that the study of the Hebraic political structure was a significant influence during the Revolution. Political Hebraism’s importance can be better appreciated in light of the predominant Christian worldview through which these leaders assigned value to ideas. Terms such as Hebrew republicanism, Hebraic studies, political Hebraism, Christian Hebraism, or biblical republicanism may be confusing and possibly misleading. Political Hebraism is a term used to describe the investigation of the Hebrew Bible as a political text.5 To be sure, some have suggested more precise definitions of political Hebraism, Christian Hebraism, lexical Hebraism, and cultural Hebraism. Kalman Neuman discusses the specifics of these terms with how others have used them in his article, “Political Hebraism and the Early Modern ‘Respublica Hebraeorum’: On Defining the Field.” However, Neuman, along with Eran Shalev, and Fania Oz-Salzberger communicate that political Hebraism should be understood as 3 Samuel Langdon, The Republic of the Israelites An Example to the American States, 7. 4 John Adams, A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, 147. 5 Kalman Neuman, “Political Hebraism and the Early Modern ‘Respublica Hebraeorum’: On Defining the Field.” Hebraic Political Studies, 59; see also, Eran Shalev, “A Perfect Republic: The Mosaic Constitution in Revolutionary New England, 1775-1788,” The New England Quarterly, Vol 82, No 2 (June 2009), 235-263. 4 using the Tanach (Hebrew Bible) as a political document “whether or not the author read those texts in the original Hebrew.”6 Israel’s political history is recorded in the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, 1 and 2 Samuel, and Judges.7 Investigating these portions of scripture as a political text began in a noticeable manner late in the Protestant Reformation.8 Calvinists from New England to the Iberian Peninsula and the establishment of the Dutch republic defined their “theopolitical enterprises as “new Israel’s.”9 Similarly, George Washington referenced the, “… Deity who long since delivering the Hebrews” from their captivity would exercise his “providential agency” in the establishment of the United States.10 Washington and other founders, including John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, were familiar with these biblical texts, how people used texts to create comparisons with the nation of Israel, and the resulting political theory that had emerged after the Reformation. 6 Kalman Neuman, “Political Hebraism and the Early Modern ‘Respublica Hebraeorum’: On Defining the Field.” Hebraic Political Studies, 59; see also, Eran Shalev, “A Perfect Republic: The Mosaic Constitution in Revolutionary New England, 1775-1788,” The New England Quarterly, Vol 82, No 2 (June 2009), 235-263; Fania Oz- Salzberger, “The Political Thought of John Locke and the Significance of Political Hebraism,” Hebraic Political Studies, Vol 1, No 5 (Fall 2005) 586-592, ref, 569. 7 Eran Shalev, “A Perfect Republic: The Mosaic Constitution in Revolutionary New England, 1775-1788,” The New England Quarterly, 237; Other ancient sources include Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, which restated that history. Josephus’s works were printed in America between 1773 and 1800 in eight editions; Fania Oz-Salzberger, “The Political Thought of John Locke and the Significance of Political Hebraism,” Hebraic Political Studies, Vol 1, No 5 (Fall 2005) 586-592, ref, 569. 8 Eran Shalev, “A Perfect Republic: The Mosaic Constitution in Revolutionary New England, 1775-1788,” The New England Quarterly, 235. 9 See Eran Shalev, “A Perfect Republic: The Mosaic Constitution in Revolutionary New England, 1775- 1788,” The New England Quarterly, 237; see also Miriam Bodian, “The Biblical ‘Jewish Republic’ and the Dutch ‘New Israel’ in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Thought,” Hebraic Political Studies, Vol 1, No 2 (2006); 186-202. 10 George Washington, “From George Washington to the Savannah, Ga. Hebrew Congregation, 14 June 1790.” The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol 5, 16 January 1790 – 30 June 1790. 5 Study of Israel’s political history produced several major academic works between 1546 and 1710.11 Bodian states political
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