The Penn's Grove record., 1921-06-24
ORIGIN OF OUR INDEPENDENCE
Calvinists, The Foremost Founders OF
Religion. and Political Liberty

NdAN AAtASA'1 -"
Religious and Political Liberty
John Calvin, a French refOrmer, who
lived between 1909 and 1864, was cali
ed the most learned man in Europe at
his age OF y years. He is the founder
of a system of theology called CALVIN
ism which embraced the sovereignty
of God as spirit found IN the moral
principles in the Bible as the only
standard of faith and moral practice
and not founded in a pope. The beuet
is a personal realization of moral pr1n-
ciules with an enthusiasm to live them
and see that they are enacted into
civil law and enforced as best Tor
society.
"Principles, Providence, Persons"
Calvin made Geneva, Switzerland,
the center of learning and the reform
alton in Europe. The French Huegu-
nots. the Pr~esbyterians of Scotland,
whose great teacher was John Knox,
and the S~cotch-Irish, the Purltans,
were the foremost fighters for religl-
Gus and political freedom which go
hand in hand.
As George Ill said that the Amerl-
can Revolution was a Presbyterian re-
bellion, we publish in another column
an account OF the "Mecklenburg Dec
laration of independence and below an
account of the leaders who made It.
The following is taken from a book on
"Calvanism in History and the
chapter on Calvinism in the United
States;
Another important factor in the in
dependent movement was what Is
known as the "Mecklenburg Declafa-
ton. proclaimed by the Scotch-lrIsh
Presbyterians of North Carolina, May
20, ITS, more than a year before h
Declaration of Congress. 1t was the
fresh. hearty greeting Of the Scotch
Irish to their struggling brethren m
the North. and their bold challenge to
the 1--WE of England. They had been
keenly watching the progress Of the
contest between the colonies and the
Crown. and when they heard of the adj
dress presented by the Congress to the
king. declaring the colonies in actual
rebellion. they deemed it time for pa
triots to speak. Accordingly they call
ed a representative body together in
Charlotte, y. c., which by unanimous
resolution declared the people free and
independent, and that all laws and
commissions from the king were hence
forth null and void. In their Declafa-
ton were such resolutions as these:
Eve do hereby dissolve the political
bands which have connected us with
the mother-country, and hereby alb
solve ourselves from all allegiance to
H. P,;+isb crown" eve
hereby declares ourselves a free and
independent people; are, and OF right
ought to be, a sovereign and self gov
erning association, under control OF no
mower other than that of Il God and
the general government of Congress;
TO the maintenance of which we sol
EMMY pledge to each other u mu-
tual cooperation and our lives, our
fortunes and u most sacred honor.
This was certainly a bold movement,
and none would have dared it but
those who were ready to die. 1t was
not done rashly. These men knew well
what they were doing and what re-
sponsibilities they were assuming
None knew better. But, remembering
their c~ovenanting fathers, who a
signed the old Covenant in Scotland
with their blood, and believing that a
lust God does verify govern affairs Oh
the world. they laid their fortunes,
lives and sacred honor on the altar OF
their country's freedom. That assem-
blv was composed of twenty-seVen
staunch Calvanists, just one-third of
whom were ruling elders in the Pres
bvterian Church, including the presl-
dent and secretary; and one was a
Presbyterian clergyman. The man
who drew up that famous and lmpor-
tant document was the secretary
Fphraim Brevard, a ruling elder OF the
PRESBYTERIAN Church and a graduate
of Princeton College.
Bancroft says of it that it was, I'm
effect. a d~eclation of independence as
we'll as a complete system OF govern
ment." 1t was sent by a special mes
senger to the Congress in Phlladel'
phia. and was published in the Cape
Fear Mercury, and widely distributed
throughout the land. Of course it was
speedily transmitted to England
where it became the cause OF intense
excitement.
The identity of sentiment n the
similarity of expression in this Declar
alton and the great Declaration writ
ten by Jefferson could not escape tn
eve of the historian; hence Tucker, II
his "Life of jefferson, says: EVER
one must be persuaded that n o
these papers must have been borrowed
from the other" But it is certain tina
Brevard could not have borrowed
from jefferson, for he wrote NOR
than a year before Jefferson; henc
Jefferson, according to his biographel
must have "borrowed' from Brevaro
But it was a happy plagiarism, 10
which the world will freely forglv
him. In correcting his first draft o
the Declaration it can be seen, in a
least a few places, that Jefferson ma
+; erased the original words and inserte
: those which are first found in tn
, MeckIenburg Declaration. No n ca
t doubt that Jefferson had Brevard
l resolution before him when he wa
writing his immortal Declaration.
The spirit of the Mecklenburg rest
Iutions was that Of the Presbyterian
~+brouohout the entire conflict. The