"Conservative Revolutionaries" -A Study of the Religious and Political Thought of John Wise, Jonathan Mayhew, Andrew Eliot and Charles Chauncy

"Conservative Revolutionaries" -A Study of the Religious and Political Thought of John Wise, Jonathan Mayhew, Andrew Eliot and Charles Chauncy

"CONSERVATIVE REVOLUTIONARIES" -A STUDY OF THE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL THOUGHT OF JOHN WISE, JONATHAN MAYHEW, ANDREW ELIOT AND CHARLES CHAUNCY by John Stephen Oakes M.A., University of Oxford, 1989 M.C.S., Regent College, 1992 M.A., University of British Columbia, 1994 M.DIV., Regent College, 1996 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Department of History © John Stephen Oakes 2008 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2008 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: John Stephen Oakes Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title of Thesis: "Conservative Revolutionaries" -A Study of the Religious and Political Thought of John Wise, Jonathan Mayhew, Andrew Eliot and Charles Chauncy Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Luke Clossey Assistant Professor, Department of History Dr. John Craig Senior Supervisor Professor and Chair, Department of History Dr. Michael Kenny Supervisor Professor, Department of Anthropology Dr. Jack Little Internal Examiner Professor, Department of History Dr. Alan Tully External Examiner Eugene C. Barker Centennial Professor in American History and Chair, Department of History University of Texas, Austin Date Defended!Approved: Janyary 17. 2008 ii SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Decla ration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the "Institutional Repository" link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at: <http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/112>) and, without changing the content, to translate the thesis/project or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. While licensing SFU to permit the above uses, the author retains copyright in the thesis, project or extended essays, including the right to change the work for subsequent purposes, including editing and publishing the work in whole or in part, and licensing other parties, as the author may desire. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Revised: Fall 2007 ABSTRACT The careers of Massachusetts Congregationalist pastors John Wise (1652-1725), Jonathan Mayhew (1720-1766), Andrew Eliot (1718-1778) and Charles Chauncy (1705-1787) extended over a crucial period of religious and socio-political change between 1680, just 47 years after the first settlement of Massachusetts, and 1787, only four years after American independence. Detailed study of the four New England ministers thus provides a unique opportunity for consideration of important historical issues, including: 1), causal connections between religious thought and activity and the origins of the American Revolution; 2), 18th century meanings and understandings of the key concept of liberty; and 3), the extent to which allegedly more liberal theological thinkers directly influenced revolutionary ideology in 18lh century New England. This dissertation is the first work to compare and contrast the lives and ideas of all four influential Massachusetts ministers in ways that facilitate direct contributions to these important areas of academic debate. Beginning with an account of Wise, which serves as an historical benchmark for those of the three later figures, it does so primarily through individual case studies of them and through substantial reinterpretations of their intellectual legacies. The major new conclusions to emerge from this study are that Wise, Mayhew, Eliot and Chauncy were more conservative figures than scholars have often portrayed and that a traditionalist, dissenting, Protestant worldview was more significant in shaping their religious and political thought than contemporary philosophical influences. Their understandings of liberty, which were foundationally spiritual in origin and definition, were central to this Weltanschauung. They thus provide clear evidence of the extent to which the four ministers' "revolutionary" ideas and inclinations, such as they were, were arguably consistent with those of many similar intellectual leaders in 18th century New England, in that they were stimulated and informed more by religious than by strictly political motivations and concerns. Keywords: John Wise; Jonathan Mayhew; Andrew Eliot, Charles Chauncy; American Revolution; Religious History; Colonial America; Massachusetts Congregationalism; Liberty SUbject Terms: United States - History - Colonial Period, 1600-1775; United States - History ­ Revolution, 1775-1783; New England - History - Colonial Period, 1600-1775 - Religious Aspects; New England - History - Revolution, 1775-1783 - Religious Aspects; Theology, Doctrinal - New England; Congregationalism History; Liberty - History - 18th Century; Wise, John, 1652-1725; Mayhew, Jonathan, 1720-1766; Chauncy, Charles, 1705-1787; Eliot, Andrew, 1718-1778 iii For my family, who have given so much to make it possible for me to pursue my studies, and especially, with much love and affection, for Kirsten, Nathalie and Stephanie. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the help of many people. At Regent College, Vancouver, Don Lewis and John Toews facilitated and nurtured an interest in religious history that I had previously failed to recognize for more than 30 years. Alan Tully's fascinating course on Colonial and Revolutionary American History at the University of British Columbia, where I studied from 1992 to 1998, then helped focus that interest in the area that eventually gave rise to the current project. Members of the History Department at UBC were remarkably accommodating of a mature graduate student simultaneously pursuing training for ordained ministry and my initial PhD. supervisory committee there provided much needed guidance during the earliest stages of what eventually became this work. My supervisors at Simon Fraser University, particularly John Craig, who offered sterling support and wise counsel throughout, and Michael Kenny, who also remained with me for eight years, were kind enough to give me a second chance and patient and astute enough to guide me to completion. Michael Prokopow and Nick Guyatt made strategic contributions during their years at SFU, especially Nick, who stimulated my thinking in new directions and offered a very insightful critique of my first full draft. I am financially indebted to the following institutions which generously helped fund an extended period of studies, including the donors of a St. John's Scholarship, an R. Howard Webster Foundation Fellowship and an Isaac Walton Killam Memorial Predoctoral Fellowship during my studies at the UBC. I was also the grateful recipient of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral Fellowship and have been aided, over the course of my time at SFU, by two University Graduate Fellowships and by a President's PhD. Research Stipend. Most recently, an unexpected Sabbatical Grant from the Anglican Church of Canada helped enable me to spend a crucial four-month research and writing period on Burnaby Mountain in early 2007. No fewer than six parishes in the Diocese of New Westminster have graciously supported my M.A. and PhD. studies since 1993, including St. Matthias, Oakridge, St. Anne, Steveston, St. John (Shaughnessy), St. Cuthbert, North Delta, St. Mark, Ocean Park, and, most generously of all, Holy Trinity, Vancouver. But those to whom this work is dedicated have paid the highest price and offered the most crucial support for my academic endeavours and ambitions. Any errors or omissions that remain are, of course, entirely my own. Soli Oeo gloria! v CONTENTS Approval ii Abstract. iii Dedication iv Acknowledgements v Contents vi Chapter 1 - Religion, Revolution and Ideas of Liberty in 18th Century New England 1 1. Presenting Problems 1 A. Religion and Revolution 2 i. Early Studies 2 ii. The Heimert Thesis 4 iii. Post-Heimert Scholarship 8 a. Millennial Themes 8 b. Political and Institutional Connections 13 c. Cultural and Discursive Links 19 iv. The Importance of Religion 25 B. Definitions of Liberty 30 2. Strategic Profiles 48 Chapter 2 - "The Churches Quarrel" - The Religious Conservatism of John Wise

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