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TheEstablishedChurchInSouthCarolina 6 - 01 Dec 2009 - Main.JosephForderer
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Introduction | | | Letters arranging the logistics of certain settlement agreements cite various economic benefits surrounding additional settlers. One letter that related to potential settlers from the South of France stated that with “their knowledge in the culture of silk and vines, it is hoped they may be particularly useful to the Colonies and to the Public.” Another letter cites the reason for the encouraged settlement of French Protestants as a “method of peopling the new governments with useful and industrious inhabitants.” The Assembly of South Carolina was even willing to spend £ 500 sterling in establishing the French Protestant settlement in order to “make them useful to the Colony.” A useful populous which will cultivate and develop the land and economy is more important than ensuring an Anglican population. The larger the non-Anglican population, the more unlikely that an established Anglican church would survive. To the extent that the earlier leaders in South Carolina accepted this proposition, they made choices that were pro-development at the expense of the long run preservation of the state-sanctioned church. | |
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> | In fact, towards the end of the establishment era, dissenters increasingly relied on the fact that the dissenter inhabitants greatly outnumbered the Anglican inhabitants when condemning the established church. In 1777, there were 20 Anglican churches and 79 dissenter churches. See Tennent’s Speech page 59. This huge population disparity between the Church of England and the Dissenters amplified the inequality of the religious burden and made the established Church even more unsustainable. | | | Encouraging Protestants to Unite for Safety against the Blacks and Indians | | | A Speech to the Assembly arguing for Disestablishment | |
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< | William Tennant’s Speech | >
> | On January 11th, 1777 William Tennent III, a Presbyterian minister, delivered a speech before the Commons House of Assembly in Charleston, South Carolina. The speech was billed as a petition of the dissenters from the Church of England praying for the Constitutional recognition of the equal rights of all religious denominations. Although the Assembly did not take Rev. Tennent’s advice when drafting the Constitution of 1778, it ultimately acquiesced to the trend toward disestablishmentarianism when in 1790 it ultimately got rid of the established church. Rev. Tennent’s speech is useful as a resource which surveys some of the main objections brought against the established church during this time period.
The speech starts with the argument that the established church is an “infringement of religious liberty.” After this rights argument is discussed, Tennent turns to the more pragmatic reasons for discarding the established church in South Carolina. “Religious establishments discourage the opulence and cramp the growth of a free state.” He argues that the established church deters people of every denomination, including those with skills in industry and art, from moving to the state. Wealth and power will be the rewards of the state that has the “freest and most liberal plan” with respect to religious freedom. Therefore, there people at the time felt that the established church was an impediment to economic growth and prosperity.
Additionally, Tennent argues that a disestablished church will lead to “peace and happiness.” He continues, “ It is inequality that excites jealous and dissatisfaction.” He implies that the continued maintanence of the established church where “royal justice [stands] ready to support the claims of injustice. This argument shows an underlying desire for stability and peace. Stability and peace is the key foundation to a healthy thriving economy. How good can the economy be if people are dissatisfied or unhappy? All these factors of jealousy and dissatisfaction, created by the continued existence of the established church, tend to disrupt the peaceful background necessary for economic development.
Tennent’s speech points to the pragmatic and economic realities surrounding the perpetuation of the established church and argues that disestablishment is necessary to keep South Carolina thriving economically. | | | Conclusion | |
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> | Throughout the history of the established church in South Carolina, many critics have pointed to the pragmatic and economic consequences of maintaining such an institution. An established church amplifies the religious divide in the population and acts as a deterrent to potential settlers. It stirs up jealousy and dissatisfaction and fragments a population making them vulnerable to attacks by outside forces (in this case, Blacks and Indians).
This article is not intended to be interpreted as an argument that economic concerns were the sole force in disestablishing the church or that values such as the right to religious freedom did not play an important role in the matter. Rather, the article is intended to show that the colonists’ desire for economic growth was at times in tension with the maintenance of an established church and that economic development was one factor that ultimately led to the disestablishment.
See below for attachments of the sources used in this article. | | | | |
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< | See below for attachments of the cited sources. | >
> | -- JosephForderer - 01 Dec 2009 | | | | |
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< | -- JosephForderer - 21 Nov 2009 | | | | |
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- [[http://old.law.columbia.edu/twiki/pub/AmLegalHist/TheEstablishedChurchInSouthCarolina/1704_Act_regarding_Oaths_of_office[1].pdf][1704_Act_regarding_Oaths_of_office[1].pdf]]: Document contains criticisms of the Act of 1704
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| META FILEATTACHMENT | attachment="1704_Act_regarding_Oaths_of_office.docx" attr="" comment="This is a 1704 Act regarding required Oaths of Office followed by a critique of the Act." date="1258044651" name="1704_Act_regarding_Oaths_of_office.docx" path="C:\Users\Joseph\Documents\Law School\2L\Am. Leg. Hist\1704 Act regarding Oaths of office.docx" size="4678651" stream="C:\Users\Joseph\Documents\Law School\2L\Am. Leg. Hist\1704 Act regarding Oaths of office.docx" user="Main.JosephForderer" version="1" |
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| META FILEATTACHMENT | attachment="Church_Act_1706_1708.pdf" attr="" comment="This is the Church Act of 1706 which essentially establishes the Anglican Church in the Province." date="1258044755" name="Church_Act_1706_1708.pdf" path="C:\Users\Joseph\Documents\Law School\2L\Am. Leg. Hist\Church_Act_1706_1708.pdf" size="335151" stream="C:\Users\Joseph\Documents\Law School\2L\Am. Leg. Hist\Church_Act_1706_1708.pdf" user="Main.JosephForderer" version="1" |
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