Triennial Convention
Encyclopedia
The Triennial Convention, (so-called, because it met every three years, formally, the General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America for Foreign Missions ) founded in 1814, was the first national Baptist
denomination
in the United States of America
. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it was formed to advance missionary work. In 1845 Southern state associations separated from the Triennial Convention as part of the increasing sectional tensions over the issues of slavery
and missions; the departing associations then established the Southern Baptist Convention
, leaving the Triennial Convention largely Northern in membership. In 1907, the Triennial Convention was succeeded by the Northern Baptist Convention. Today, the national successor organization is the American Baptist Churches USA
, which adopted its present name in 1972.
Baptist Missionary
to India
, and Rev. Adoniram Judson, Jr
. (1788–1850) and Ann Hasseltine Judson
(1789–1826), American Baptist missionaries to India, convinced the Philadelphia Baptist Association and most other regional American Baptist denominations to unite as a national organization to support the Judsons' planned mission trip to Burma. They founded the American Baptist Missionary Union
(American Baptist Foreign Mission Society) and the Triennial Convention (General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America for Foreign Missions).. The Convention was called "Triennial" because the national convention met every three years. Members of the denomination were called American Baptists or Triennial Baptists. (Barkley, McBeth). The Philadelphia Baptist Association’s headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
became the Triennial Convention’s headquarters.
The Triennial Convention accepted the 1742 Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith (Johnson). The Confession affirmed the following:
The Triennial Convention was affiliated with a number of seminaries
and universities
to support Baptist education. By the 19th century, the Philadelphia and other northern associations required their ministers to have seminary or university education. This created a knowledgeable clergy
, but it blocked some would-be aspirants to the ministry. (Oxford 62-3). Triennial Baptist ministers were ordained by local congregations and by regional associations. Regional ordination helped create consensus about appropriate ministerial qualifications, but it also contradicted the Philadelphia Confession and limited the role of the local congregation (Johnson).
While the Triennial Baptists supported Christian education, Christian morality
, they supported public education and separation of church and state
, and opposed state-sponsored churches. None of the state-sponsored churches in the United States were Baptist. The Triennial Baptists helped abolish states' sponsoring of churches in the United States in the early 19th century (Oxford 62-3).
The Triennial Convention took no position on slavery
. This moderate position allowed both abolitionists and slavery supporters to remain in the denomination. The majority of Triennial Baptists in the Northeast
opposed slavery, while the growing number of Triennial Baptists in the Southeast
supported slavery. The abolitionists helped abolish slavery in the northern states in the early 19th century (Finseth, Oxford 62-3).
, free will
, and radical
Baptists were grandfathered into the Triennial Convention, while others remained outside the Convention. Independent and Separate Baptists remained outside the Convention (Holder). The Triennial Baptists consisted mostly of English American
s in the Northeast (Oxford 62-3). During the Second Great Awakening
(an American Christian revival
from 1800 to 1840), the number of Triennial Baptists increased. Some became more influenced by Arminian
(free will) and traditional
thinking. (Finseth).
The Triennial Baptists supported the United States at the end of the War of 1812
(1812–1814) (Oxford 814). The Triennial Baptists supported the United States during the Indian Wars
(1776–1890), but opposed the genocide
of Native Americans
. However, American success in the Indian Wars led to the genocide of Native Americans and the expansion of the United States (Oxford 379-380). Influenced by regional concerns, the majority of Triennial Baptists in the Northeast supported federalism
and thus the declining Federalist Party
and the emerging federalist wing of the Democratic-Republican Party. Those in the Southeast and West
supported States’ Rights
and thus the Democratic-Republicans (Oxford 178, 259, 513, 814).
William Colgate
(January 25, 1783 – March 25, 1857) of New York City
, founder and president
of William Colgate & Company
(org. 1806) and a major donor to the American Baptist Seminary of New York City
, was grandfathered into the Triennial Convention (Colgate-Palmolive, Colgate University, The Reformed Reader). In 1816, in New York City, William Colgate founded the American Bible Society
(American Bible Union), a Bible publishing company (Oxford 63, The Reformed Reader).
In 1824, with the Federalist Party gone, the Federalists in the Northeast supported Secretary of State
John Quincy Adams
(1767–1848, served since 1817) (Democratic-Republican) of Massachusetts
and other Federalist candidates for president of the United States. The States’ Rights supporters in the Southeast and West supported Senator
Andrew Jackson
(1767–1845, served since 1823) (Democratic-Republican) of Tennessee
and other States’ Rights candidates. In the contest, the federalist Democratic-Republican-controlled House of Representatives
voted Adams the winner.
In 1828, the federalists in the Northeast supported President Adams for reelection. The states’ rights supporters in the Southeast and West supported Jackson. Since moderate
s viewed Adams as too powerful, Jackson won the election (Oxford 7, 400).
The Triennial Baptists opposed the Indian Removal Act
, passed by the Democratic-Republican-controlled Congress
in 1830. It relocated several Native American tribes from their historic territories east of the Mississippi River
to the newly designated Indian Territory
(Oklahoma
) (Oxford 378-9).
In 1832, the Triennial Convention founded the American Baptist Home Mission Society to help ordain or send their ministers in the United States (Barkley, McBeth). That same year, the federalists in the Northeast supported Senator Henry Clay
(1777–1852, served since 1832) (National Republican) of Kentucky
for president of the United States (Oxford 134, 400, 827).Many voters in the Southeast and West supported President Jackson for reelection. Since moderates supported Jackson, he won reelection (Oxford 400).
The Triennial Convention accepted the 1833 New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith. The Confession was drafted by Rev. John Newton Brown
, D.D. (1803–1868), of New Hampshire
and other Triennial Baptist ministers, and adopted by the New Hampshire (Triennial) Baptist Convention. The Confession was traditional.
The controversy of the day was free will
verses predestination
. While the New Hampshire Confession is shorter than the 1742 Philadelphia Confession, it affirms the Philadelphia Confession. The New Hampshire Confession states that "[Humans] by voluntary [free will] transgression fell from the holy and happy state [they were created]" (line 14) and that "We believe that Election [predestination] is the eternal purpose of God, according to which he graciously regenerates, sanctifies, and saves sinners" (line 46). However, many saw the New Hampshire Confession as accepting free will. The free-will Baptists in the Northeast and West accepted the Confession, while the Calvinist
(predestination) Baptists in the Southeast rejected the Confession but remained in the Triennial Convention (Johnson).
In 1834, when the National Republican Party became the Whig Party
, the federalists in the Northeast supported the Whig Party (Oxford 827). In 1838, African
, Danish, German
, Norwegian
, and Swedish
Americans began organizing their own Baptist denominations because of persecution
by English Americans and nationalism
by non-English Americans. The Triennial Baptists remained predominately English American (Oxford 62-3).
By 1840, the Triennial Baptists had become a major denomination in the United States. Baptists were in every State and territory by 1840. By that time, they had established over twenty seminaries and universities as well as missions in Asia
, Africa
, the Caribbean
, and Europe
(Oxford 62-3). In 1840, when the Democratic-Republican Party was renamed the Democratic Party
, the states’ rights supporters in the Southeast and West supported the Democratic Party (Oxford 178). In 1841, William Bullein Johnson
(1782–1862) briefly served as president of the Convention. That same year, the Triennial Convention founded the American Baptist Publication Society to help produce and distribute materials (Barkley, McBeth).
as a missionary because he was put forward as a slaveholder. They refused to decided on the basis of slavery. In May 1845, in Augusta
, Georgia, the slavery supporters in the Southeast broke with the Triennial Convention and founded the Southern Baptist Convention
. The Triennial Baptists were concentrated in the Northeast (Barkley, McBeth). The abolitionists in the Northeast inherited the Triennial Convention and the Northern Baptist Mission Society was dissolved (Oxford 62-3). William Bullein Johnson joined the Southern Baptists (Barkley, McBeth). The abolitionists in the Northeast opposed the United States’ annexation
of Texas
, passed by the Democratic-controlled Congress that year, because it expanded the territory for slavery (Oxford 497, 827).
The Triennial Baptists supported the United States during the Mexican War
(1846–1848), but opposed annexing Mexican territory (Oxford 497, 827). However, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
, ratified by the Democratic-controlled Senate on March 10, 1848, forced Mexico
to sell California
, New Mexico (which included Arizona
, Nevada
, New Mexico
, Utah
, and part of Colorado
and Wyoming
) and Texas to the United States (Oxford 497).
James Boorman Colgate
(1818–1904) of New York City, son of William Colgate and successful bank
er with Boorman, Johnson & Company Bank', founded and became president of J.B. Colgate & Company (Trevor & Colgate) Bank (New International Encyclopedia). He was also a founder of the New York Gold Exchange and a major donor to Madison University
(org. 1819) (Colgate University, New International Encyclopedia). The New York Gold Exchange helped secure the gold standard
and expanded the New York Stock Exchange
(org. 1817), which increased trade but also made the United States more dependent on gold and international trade (New International Encyclopedia, Oxford 313, 553-4). Samuel Colgate
(1822–1897) of New York City, son of William Colgate, was president of the American Baptist Education Society of New York (org. 1817), an executive of the American Baptist Missionary Union, the American Tract Society
(org. 1825), and a major donor to Madison University (Colgate University, New International Encyclopedia, Rorabaugh).
The Triennial Baptists opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act
, narrowly passed by Congress with bipartisan
support in 1854, which allowed slavery in the territories. At a time of increasing sectional tension, when the South still held the majority of seats in Congress because of counting its millions of slaves as 3/5 persons toward its population, the bill was an attempt at a compromise over the increasingly contentious issue of allowing slavery into new territories. Based on allowing the territories to determine if they would permit slavery, the act presaged the rush of supporters on both sides into the territories to control the expected voting.
Northerners increasingly supported the new Republican Party
(Oxford 417, 660). In 1856, the Triennial Baptists supported surveyor
and former Senator, John Charles Fremont
(1813–1890) (Republican) of California for president of the United States (Oxford 293). However, Fremont lost to Ambassador
to the United Kingdom
, James Buchanan
(1791–1868, served since 1853) (Democrat) of Pennsylvania in a three-way race (Oxford 89-90, 265-6, 293). On March 25, 1857, William Colgate died and Samuel Colgate became president of Colgate & Company
(William Colgate & Company) (Colgate-Palmolive). In 1858, the Triennial Baptists helped the Republicans win a majority in the House of Representatives (W.W. Norton 335-6).
In 1860, the Triennial Baptists helped lawyer
and former Congressman
, Abraham Lincoln
(February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) (Republican) of Illinois
win the general election for president of the United States in the Northeast and thus the nation in a four-way race (Oxford 448). He was a Hard-shell (anti-missionary) Baptist by upbringing and faith and did not affiliate with or join any church (Guelzo). The Triennial Baptists supported the United States (North
) during the Civil War
(1861–1865) (Oxford 130-2).
J.B. Colgate & Company Bank under James Boorman Colgate loaned to the United States during the Panic of 1873
, which saved the country from economic collapse but did not prevent the Long Depression
(1873–1896) and also hindered reform (New International Encyclopedia). Samuel Colgate served as president of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice
(org. 1873), a traditionalist moral reform group (New International Encyclopedia).
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Triennial Convention took no official position on Evolution
. This moderate position accepted the Bible and science
and allowed both Fundamentalists
and liberals
to remain in the denomination, but it also contradicted the New Hampshire Confession and the Bible. The liberals in the urban
Northeast accepted the position, while the Fundamentalists in the rural
Northeast rejected the position but remained in the Triennial Convention (AAAS). The Triennial Baptists supported Progressivism
and the Social Gospel
, but not the more radical ideas of Walter Rauschenbusch
(1861–1918) and other Christian Socialists
(Oxford 629, 652). The Triennial Baptists’ support of federalism and Progressivism caused them to continue supporting the Republican Party (Oxford 623, 660). In 1888, the Triennial Convention founded the American Baptist Education Society to help train their ministers (InterVarsity, Wardin).
In 1896, the progressives in the urban Northeast supported Congressman William Jennings Bryan
(1860–1925, served since 1891) (Democrat, Populist
) of Nebraska
for president of the United States (Oxford 89). The traditionalists
in the rural Northeast supported Governor
of Ohio
, William McKinley
(1843–1901, served since 1892) (Republican) (Oxford 482). Since moderates supported McKinley, he won the election (Oxford 89, 482).
The Triennial Baptists supported the United States during the Spanish-American War
(1898), but opposed taking Spanish territory. However, the Treaty of Paris, approved by the Republican-controlled Senate on February 6, 1899, forced Spain
to give Cuba
, Guam
, the Philippines
, and Puerto Rico
to the United States (Oxford 736-7).
(part of the United Kingdom
) and Italy
(organized 1861), to the United States and growth of the United States population in the previous century made the Roman Catholic Church the largest denomination in the United States by a plurality
of roughly sixteen percent or one in six (Public domain, see History of religion in the United States).
The progressives in the urban Northeast supported Bryan for president of the United States (Oxford 89). The traditionalists in the rural Northeast supported President McKinley (Oxford 482). Since the moderates supported McKinley, he won reelection (Oxford 89, 482).
In 1904, both progressives and traditionalists in the Northeast supported President Theodore Roosevelt
(1858–1919, served since 1901) (Republican) for reelection. Since moderates, progressives, and traditionalists supported Roosevelt, he won reelection (Oxford 676-7).
On May 17, 1907 in Washington, D.C., the Triennial Convention organized the American Baptist Education Society, the American Baptist Home Mission Society, the American Baptist Missionary Union
, and the American Baptist Publication Society into a new Northern Baptist Convention
. Governor of New York
, Charles Evans Hughes
(April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948, served since 1907) (Republican) was elected the first Northern Baptist Convention president, but he continued his job as Governor (InterVarsity, Wardin). 29th President of the United States, Warren Gamaliel Harding
(November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923, served March 4, 1921 – August 2, 1923) (Republican) was a Baptist by upbringing, faith, and self-identification, but he was a member of the Masonic Lodge
(Whitehouse.gov). The Northern Baptist Convention was renamed the American Baptist Convention
in 1950, and the American Baptist Churches, USA
in 1972 (InterVarsity, Wardin).
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
denomination
Religious denomination
A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.The term describes various Christian denominations...
in the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it was formed to advance missionary work. In 1845 Southern state associations separated from the Triennial Convention as part of the increasing sectional tensions over the issues of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
and missions; the departing associations then established the Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
, leaving the Triennial Convention largely Northern in membership. In 1907, the Triennial Convention was succeeded by the Northern Baptist Convention. Today, the national successor organization is the American Baptist Churches USA
American Baptist Churches USA
The American Baptist Churches USA is a Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainline, although varying theological and mission emphases may be found among its...
, which adopted its present name in 1972.
Early history
In 1814, Rev. William Carey (1761–1834), EnglishEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Baptist Missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and Rev. Adoniram Judson, Jr
Adoniram Judson
Adoniram Judson, Jr. was an American Baptist missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Adoniram Judson became the first Protestant missionary sent from North America to preach in Burma...
. (1788–1850) and Ann Hasseltine Judson
Ann Hasseltine Judson
Ann Hasseltine Judson was one of the first female American foreign missionaries. She attended the Bradford Academy and during a revival there read Strictures on the Modern System of Female Education by Hannah More, which led her to "seek a life of 'usefulness'". Born in Bradford, Massachusetts,...
(1789–1826), American Baptist missionaries to India, convinced the Philadelphia Baptist Association and most other regional American Baptist denominations to unite as a national organization to support the Judsons' planned mission trip to Burma. They founded the American Baptist Missionary Union
American Baptist Missionary Union
American Baptist Missionary Union is an international Protestant Christian missionary society founded in 1814 in the United States...
(American Baptist Foreign Mission Society) and the Triennial Convention (General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America for Foreign Missions).. The Convention was called "Triennial" because the national convention met every three years. Members of the denomination were called American Baptists or Triennial Baptists. (Barkley, McBeth). The Philadelphia Baptist Association’s headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
became the Triennial Convention’s headquarters.
The Triennial Convention accepted the 1742 Philadelphia Baptist Confession of Faith (Johnson). The Confession affirmed the following:
- authority of the BibleBibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, - Lordship of Jesus ChristJesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, - Congregationalist polityCongregationalist polityCongregationalist polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of church governance in which every local church congregation is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or "autonomous"...
, - necessity of a conversion experience and a believer’s baptismBeliever's baptismBeliever's baptism is the Christian practice of baptism as this is understood by many Protestant churches, particularly those that descend from the Anabaptist tradition...
by immersion, and - evangelismEvangelismEvangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
and missionary outreach.
The Triennial Convention was affiliated with a number of seminaries
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
and universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
to support Baptist education. By the 19th century, the Philadelphia and other northern associations required their ministers to have seminary or university education. This created a knowledgeable clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
, but it blocked some would-be aspirants to the ministry. (Oxford 62-3). Triennial Baptist ministers were ordained by local congregations and by regional associations. Regional ordination helped create consensus about appropriate ministerial qualifications, but it also contradicted the Philadelphia Confession and limited the role of the local congregation (Johnson).
While the Triennial Baptists supported Christian education, Christian morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
, they supported public education and separation of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
, and opposed state-sponsored churches. None of the state-sponsored churches in the United States were Baptist. The Triennial Baptists helped abolish states' sponsoring of churches in the United States in the early 19th century (Oxford 62-3).
The Triennial Convention took no position on slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. This moderate position allowed both abolitionists and slavery supporters to remain in the denomination. The majority of Triennial Baptists in the Northeast
Northern United States
Northern United States, also sometimes the North, may refer to:* A particular grouping of states or regions of the United States of America. The United States Census Bureau divides some of the northernmost United States into the Midwest Region and the Northeast Region...
opposed slavery, while the growing number of Triennial Baptists in the Southeast
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
supported slavery. The abolitionists helped abolish slavery in the northern states in the early 19th century (Finseth, Oxford 62-3).
Expansion
Some anti-missionaryPrimitive Baptist
Primitive Baptists, also known as Hard Shell Baptists or Anti-Mission Baptists, are conservative, Calvinist Baptists adhering to beliefs that formed out of the controversy among Baptists in the early 1800’s over the appropriateness of mission boards, bible tract societies, and temperance...
, free will
Free will
"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
, and radical
Liberal Christianity
Liberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically and biblically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onward...
Baptists were grandfathered into the Triennial Convention, while others remained outside the Convention. Independent and Separate Baptists remained outside the Convention (Holder). The Triennial Baptists consisted mostly of English American
English American
English Americans are citizens or residents of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England....
s in the Northeast (Oxford 62-3). During the Second Great Awakening
Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a Christian revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement began around 1800, had begun to gain momentum by 1820, and was in decline by 1870. The Second Great Awakening expressed Arminian theology, by which every person could be...
(an American Christian revival
Christian revival
Christian revival is a term that generally refers to a specific period of increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or many churches, either regionally or globally...
from 1800 to 1840), the number of Triennial Baptists increased. Some became more influenced by Arminian
Arminianism
Arminianism is a school of soteriological thought within Protestant Christianity based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic followers, the Remonstrants...
(free will) and traditional
Conservative Christianity
Conservative Christianity is a term applied to a number of groups or movements seen as giving priority to traditional Christian beliefs and practices...
thinking. (Finseth).
The Triennial Baptists supported the United States at the end of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
(1812–1814) (Oxford 814). The Triennial Baptists supported the United States during the Indian Wars
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
(1776–1890), but opposed the genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
of Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. However, American success in the Indian Wars led to the genocide of Native Americans and the expansion of the United States (Oxford 379-380). Influenced by regional concerns, the majority of Triennial Baptists in the Northeast supported federalism
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
and thus the declining Federalist Party
Federalist Party (United States)
The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801...
and the emerging federalist wing of the Democratic-Republican Party. Those in the Southeast and West
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
supported States’ Rights
States' rights
States' rights in U.S. politics refers to political powers reserved for the U.S. state governments rather than the federal government. It is often considered a loaded term because of its use in opposition to federally mandated racial desegregation...
and thus the Democratic-Republicans (Oxford 178, 259, 513, 814).
William Colgate
William Colgate
William Colgate was an American manufacturer who founded what became the Colgate toothpaste company in 1806.- History :...
(January 25, 1783 – March 25, 1857) of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, founder and president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of William Colgate & Company
Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American diversified multinational corporation focused on the production, distribution and provision of household, health care and personal products, such as soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products . Under its "Hill's" brand, it is also a manufacturer of...
(org. 1806) and a major donor to the American Baptist Seminary of New York City
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
, was grandfathered into the Triennial Convention (Colgate-Palmolive, Colgate University, The Reformed Reader). In 1816, in New York City, William Colgate founded the American Bible Society
American Bible Society
The American Bible Society is an interconfessional, non-denominational, nonprofit organization, founded in 1816 in New York City, which publishes, distributes and translates the Bible and provides study aids and other tools to help people engage with the Bible.It is probably best known for its...
(American Bible Union), a Bible publishing company (Oxford 63, The Reformed Reader).
In 1824, with the Federalist Party gone, the Federalists in the Northeast supported Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
(1767–1848, served since 1817) (Democratic-Republican) of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and other Federalist candidates for president of the United States. The States’ Rights supporters in the Southeast and West supported Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
(1767–1845, served since 1823) (Democratic-Republican) of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and other States’ Rights candidates. In the contest, the federalist Democratic-Republican-controlled House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
voted Adams the winner.
In 1828, the federalists in the Northeast supported President Adams for reelection. The states’ rights supporters in the Southeast and West supported Jackson. Since moderate
Moderate
In politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who is not extreme, partisan or radical. In recent years, political moderates has gained traction as a buzzword....
s viewed Adams as too powerful, Jackson won the election (Oxford 7, 400).
The Triennial Baptists opposed the Indian Removal Act
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830.The Removal Act was strongly supported in the South, where states were eager to gain access to lands inhabited by the Five Civilized Tribes. In particular, Georgia, the largest state at that time, was involved in...
, passed by the Democratic-Republican-controlled Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
in 1830. It relocated several Native American tribes from their historic territories east of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
to the newly designated Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
(Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
) (Oxford 378-9).
In 1832, the Triennial Convention founded the American Baptist Home Mission Society to help ordain or send their ministers in the United States (Barkley, McBeth). That same year, the federalists in the Northeast supported Senator Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
(1777–1852, served since 1832) (National Republican) of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
for president of the United States (Oxford 134, 400, 827).Many voters in the Southeast and West supported President Jackson for reelection. Since moderates supported Jackson, he won reelection (Oxford 400).
The Triennial Convention accepted the 1833 New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith. The Confession was drafted by Rev. John Newton Brown
John Newton Brown
John Newton Brown was an influential Baptist teacher, minister and publisher in the 19th century.He was born in New London, Connecticut and attended Madison College where he graduated at the head of his class in 1823...
, D.D. (1803–1868), of New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
and other Triennial Baptist ministers, and adopted by the New Hampshire (Triennial) Baptist Convention. The Confession was traditional.
The controversy of the day was free will
Free will
"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
verses predestination
Predestination
Predestination, in theology is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted biblical predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others...
. While the New Hampshire Confession is shorter than the 1742 Philadelphia Confession, it affirms the Philadelphia Confession. The New Hampshire Confession states that "[Humans] by voluntary [free will] transgression fell from the holy and happy state [they were created]" (line 14) and that "We believe that Election [predestination] is the eternal purpose of God, according to which he graciously regenerates, sanctifies, and saves sinners" (line 46). However, many saw the New Hampshire Confession as accepting free will. The free-will Baptists in the Northeast and West accepted the Confession, while the Calvinist
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
(predestination) Baptists in the Southeast rejected the Confession but remained in the Triennial Convention (Johnson).
In 1834, when the National Republican Party became the Whig Party
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
, the federalists in the Northeast supported the Whig Party (Oxford 827). In 1838, African
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, Danish, German
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
, Norwegian
Norwegian American
Norwegian Americans are Americans of Norwegian descent. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the later half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 million Norwegian Americans according to the most recent U.S. census, and...
, and Swedish
Swedish American
Swedish Americans are Americans of Swedish descent, especially the descendants of about 1.2 million immigrants from Sweden during 1885-1915. Most were Lutherans who affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ; some were Methodists...
Americans began organizing their own Baptist denominations because of persecution
Persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are religious persecution, ethnic persecution, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, isolation,...
by English Americans and nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
by non-English Americans. The Triennial Baptists remained predominately English American (Oxford 62-3).
By 1840, the Triennial Baptists had become a major denomination in the United States. Baptists were in every State and territory by 1840. By that time, they had established over twenty seminaries and universities as well as missions in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
(Oxford 62-3). In 1840, when the Democratic-Republican Party was renamed the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, the states’ rights supporters in the Southeast and West supported the Democratic Party (Oxford 178). In 1841, William Bullein Johnson
William Bullein Johnson
William Bullein Johnson was one of the founders of the South Carolina State Baptist Convention in 1821, and later was the first president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1845 to 1851.- Early years :...
(1782–1862) briefly served as president of the Convention. That same year, the Triennial Convention founded the American Baptist Publication Society to help produce and distribute materials (Barkley, McBeth).
Southern Baptist split and subsequent history
In 1843, the abolitionists in the Northeast founded the Northern Baptist Mission Society in opposition to slavery (Oxford 62-3). In 1844, the Home Mission Society refused to ordain James E. Reeve of GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
as a missionary because he was put forward as a slaveholder. They refused to decided on the basis of slavery. In May 1845, in Augusta
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
, Georgia, the slavery supporters in the Southeast broke with the Triennial Convention and founded the Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
. The Triennial Baptists were concentrated in the Northeast (Barkley, McBeth). The abolitionists in the Northeast inherited the Triennial Convention and the Northern Baptist Mission Society was dissolved (Oxford 62-3). William Bullein Johnson joined the Southern Baptists (Barkley, McBeth). The abolitionists in the Northeast opposed the United States’ annexation
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, passed by the Democratic-controlled Congress that year, because it expanded the territory for slavery (Oxford 497, 827).
The Triennial Baptists supported the United States during the Mexican War
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...
(1846–1848), but opposed annexing Mexican territory (Oxford 497, 827). However, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico City, that ended the Mexican-American War on February 2, 1848...
, ratified by the Democratic-controlled Senate on March 10, 1848, forced Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to sell California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, New Mexico (which included Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, and part of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
) and Texas to the United States (Oxford 497).
James Boorman Colgate
James Boorman Colgate
James Boorman Colgate , son of William Colgate, was an American financier. He was born in New York City and received his first training in the house of Boorman, Johnston, and Company...
(1818–1904) of New York City, son of William Colgate and successful bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
er with Boorman, Johnson & Company Bank', founded and became president of J.B. Colgate & Company (Trevor & Colgate) Bank (New International Encyclopedia). He was also a founder of the New York Gold Exchange and a major donor to Madison University
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
(org. 1819) (Colgate University, New International Encyclopedia). The New York Gold Exchange helped secure the gold standard
Gold standard
The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed mass of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...
and expanded the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
(org. 1817), which increased trade but also made the United States more dependent on gold and international trade (New International Encyclopedia, Oxford 313, 553-4). Samuel Colgate
Samuel Colgate
Samuel Colgate , son of William Colgate , was an American manufacturer and philanthropist, born in New York City. He became widely known as a soap maker, and the manufactory he built in Jersey City developed into one of the largest establishments of its kind in the world. He was also prominent in...
(1822–1897) of New York City, son of William Colgate, was president of the American Baptist Education Society of New York (org. 1817), an executive of the American Baptist Missionary Union, the American Tract Society
American Tract Society
The American Tract Society is a nonprofit, nonsectarian but evangelical organization founded on May 11, 1825 in New York City for the purpose of publishing and disseminating Christian literature. ATS traces its lineage back through the New York Tract Society and the New England Tract Society to...
(org. 1825), and a major donor to Madison University (Colgate University, New International Encyclopedia, Rorabaugh).
The Triennial Baptists opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for settlement, and had the effect of repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by allowing settlers in those territories to determine through Popular Sovereignty if they would allow slavery within...
, narrowly passed by Congress with bipartisan
Bipartisanship
Bipartisanship is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system such as the United States, in which opposing political parties find common ground through compromise. The adjective bipartisan can refer to any bill, act, resolution, or other political act in which both of the...
support in 1854, which allowed slavery in the territories. At a time of increasing sectional tension, when the South still held the majority of seats in Congress because of counting its millions of slaves as 3/5 persons toward its population, the bill was an attempt at a compromise over the increasingly contentious issue of allowing slavery into new territories. Based on allowing the territories to determine if they would permit slavery, the act presaged the rush of supporters on both sides into the territories to control the expected voting.
Northerners increasingly supported the new Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
(Oxford 417, 660). In 1856, the Triennial Baptists supported surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
and former Senator, John Charles Fremont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
(1813–1890) (Republican) of California for president of the United States (Oxford 293). However, Fremont lost to Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, James Buchanan
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
(1791–1868, served since 1853) (Democrat) of Pennsylvania in a three-way race (Oxford 89-90, 265-6, 293). On March 25, 1857, William Colgate died and Samuel Colgate became president of Colgate & Company
Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American diversified multinational corporation focused on the production, distribution and provision of household, health care and personal products, such as soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products . Under its "Hill's" brand, it is also a manufacturer of...
(William Colgate & Company) (Colgate-Palmolive). In 1858, the Triennial Baptists helped the Republicans win a majority in the House of Representatives (W.W. Norton 335-6).
In 1860, the Triennial Baptists helped lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and former Congressman
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
(February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) (Republican) of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
win the general election for president of the United States in the Northeast and thus the nation in a four-way race (Oxford 448). He was a Hard-shell (anti-missionary) Baptist by upbringing and faith and did not affiliate with or join any church (Guelzo). The Triennial Baptists supported the United States (North
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
) during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
(1861–1865) (Oxford 130-2).
J.B. Colgate & Company Bank under James Boorman Colgate loaned to the United States during the Panic of 1873
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...
, which saved the country from economic collapse but did not prevent the Long Depression
Long Depression
The Long Depression was a worldwide economic crisis, felt most heavily in Europe and the United States, which had been experiencing strong economic growth fueled by the Second Industrial Revolution in the decade following the American Civil War. At the time, the episode was labeled the Great...
(1873–1896) and also hindered reform (New International Encyclopedia). Samuel Colgate served as president of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice
New York Society for the Suppression of Vice
The New York Society for the Suppression of Vice was an institution dedicated to supervising the morality of the public, founded in 1873. Its specific mission was to monitor compliance with state laws and work with the courts and district attorneys in bringing offenders to justice. It and its...
(org. 1873), a traditionalist moral reform group (New International Encyclopedia).
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Triennial Convention took no official position on Evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
. This moderate position accepted the Bible and science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and allowed both Fundamentalists
Fundamentalist Christianity
Christian fundamentalism, also known as Fundamentalist Christianity, or Fundamentalism, arose out of British and American Protestantism in the late 19th century and early 20th century among evangelical Christians...
and liberals
Liberal Christianity
Liberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically and biblically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onward...
to remain in the denomination, but it also contradicted the New Hampshire Confession and the Bible. The liberals in the urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
Northeast accepted the position, while the Fundamentalists in the rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
Northeast rejected the position but remained in the Triennial Convention (AAAS). The Triennial Baptists supported Progressivism
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
and the Social Gospel
Social Gospel
The Social Gospel movement is a Protestant Christian intellectual movement that was most prominent in the early 20th century United States and Canada...
, but not the more radical ideas of Walter Rauschenbusch
Walter Rauschenbusch
Walter Rauschenbusch was a Christian theologian and Baptist minister. He was a key figure in the Social Gospel movement in the United States of America.-Evolution of Thought:...
(1861–1918) and other Christian Socialists
Christian socialism
Christian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and socialist and who see these two philosophies as being interrelated. This category can include Liberation theology and the doctrine of the social gospel...
(Oxford 629, 652). The Triennial Baptists’ support of federalism and Progressivism caused them to continue supporting the Republican Party (Oxford 623, 660). In 1888, the Triennial Convention founded the American Baptist Education Society to help train their ministers (InterVarsity, Wardin).
In 1896, the progressives in the urban Northeast supported Congressman William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
(1860–1925, served since 1891) (Democrat, Populist
Populist Party (United States)
The People's Party, also known as the "Populists", was a short-lived political party in the United States established in 1891. It was most important in 1892-96, then rapidly faded away...
) of Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
for president of the United States (Oxford 89). The traditionalists
Christian right
Christian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
in the rural Northeast supported Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
(1843–1901, served since 1892) (Republican) (Oxford 482). Since moderates supported McKinley, he won the election (Oxford 89, 482).
The Triennial Baptists supported the United States during the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
(1898), but opposed taking Spanish territory. However, the Treaty of Paris, approved by the Republican-controlled Senate on February 6, 1899, forced Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
to give Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
to the United States (Oxford 736-7).
20th century
In 1900, the Triennial Baptists became a clear minority when immigration from predominately Roman Catholic countries, like IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
(part of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(organized 1861), to the United States and growth of the United States population in the previous century made the Roman Catholic Church the largest denomination in the United States by a plurality
Plurality
In North American English, the term plurality, used in the context of voting, refers to the largest number of votes to be received by any candidate or referendum. It is contrasted with a majority, which is more than half of the votes...
of roughly sixteen percent or one in six (Public domain, see History of religion in the United States).
The progressives in the urban Northeast supported Bryan for president of the United States (Oxford 89). The traditionalists in the rural Northeast supported President McKinley (Oxford 482). Since the moderates supported McKinley, he won reelection (Oxford 89, 482).
In 1904, both progressives and traditionalists in the Northeast supported President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
(1858–1919, served since 1901) (Republican) for reelection. Since moderates, progressives, and traditionalists supported Roosevelt, he won reelection (Oxford 676-7).
On May 17, 1907 in Washington, D.C., the Triennial Convention organized the American Baptist Education Society, the American Baptist Home Mission Society, the American Baptist Missionary Union
American Baptist Missionary Union
American Baptist Missionary Union is an international Protestant Christian missionary society founded in 1814 in the United States...
, and the American Baptist Publication Society into a new Northern Baptist Convention
American Baptist Churches USA
The American Baptist Churches USA is a Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainline, although varying theological and mission emphases may be found among its...
. Governor of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes, Sr. was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican politician from New York. He served as the 36th Governor of New York , Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States , United States Secretary of State , a judge on the Court of International Justice , and...
(April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948, served since 1907) (Republican) was elected the first Northern Baptist Convention president, but he continued his job as Governor (InterVarsity, Wardin). 29th President of the United States, Warren Gamaliel Harding
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
(November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923, served March 4, 1921 – August 2, 1923) (Republican) was a Baptist by upbringing, faith, and self-identification, but he was a member of the Masonic Lodge
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
(Whitehouse.gov). The Northern Baptist Convention was renamed the American Baptist Convention
American Baptist Churches USA
The American Baptist Churches USA is a Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainline, although varying theological and mission emphases may be found among its...
in 1950, and the American Baptist Churches, USA
American Baptist Churches USA
The American Baptist Churches USA is a Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainline, although varying theological and mission emphases may be found among its...
in 1972 (InterVarsity, Wardin).
Famous Triennial Baptists
- John Newton BrownJohn Newton BrownJohn Newton Brown was an influential Baptist teacher, minister and publisher in the 19th century.He was born in New London, Connecticut and attended Madison College where he graduated at the head of his class in 1823...
, early 19th century church reformer - James Boorman ColgateJames Boorman ColgateJames Boorman Colgate , son of William Colgate, was an American financier. He was born in New York City and received his first training in the house of Boorman, Johnston, and Company...
- Samuel ColgateSamuel ColgateSamuel Colgate , son of William Colgate , was an American manufacturer and philanthropist, born in New York City. He became widely known as a soap maker, and the manufactory he built in Jersey City developed into one of the largest establishments of its kind in the world. He was also prominent in...
, Religious leader and President of the Colgate CompanyColgate-PalmoliveColgate-Palmolive Company is an American diversified multinational corporation focused on the production, distribution and provision of household, health care and personal products, such as soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products . Under its "Hill's" brand, it is also a manufacturer of... - William ColgateWilliam ColgateWilliam Colgate was an American manufacturer who founded what became the Colgate toothpaste company in 1806.- History :...
, Founder of the Colgate Company - Charles Evans HughesCharles Evans HughesCharles Evans Hughes, Sr. was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican politician from New York. He served as the 36th Governor of New York , Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States , United States Secretary of State , a judge on the Court of International Justice , and...
, early 20th century RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
leader, first president of the Northern Baptist Convention in 1907 - William Bullein Johnson, Triennial Convention President in 1841, he became a Southern Baptist in 1845
- Adoniram JudsonAdoniram JudsonAdoniram Judson, Jr. was an American Baptist missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Adoniram Judson became the first Protestant missionary sent from North America to preach in Burma...
, early 19th century missionary to Burma - Ann Hasseltine JudsonAnn Hasseltine JudsonAnn Hasseltine Judson was one of the first female American foreign missionaries. She attended the Bradford Academy and during a revival there read Strictures on the Modern System of Female Education by Hannah More, which led her to "seek a life of 'usefulness'". Born in Bradford, Massachusetts,...
, early 19th century missionary to Burma - Francis WaylandFrancis WaylandFrancis Wayland , American Baptist educator and economist, was born in New York City, New York. He was president of Brown University and pastor of the First Baptist Church in America in Providence, Rhode Island. In Washington, D.C., Wayland Seminary was established in 1867, primarily to educate...
, educator and pastor, President of Brown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
and abolitionist