The tap-root of American Presbyterianism is to be found in Maryland, the chief field of the apostolic labours of Francis Makemie, the foremost representative of the Irish Presbyterians and the virtual founder of the American Presbyterian Church. He was born in Ireland, educated in Scotland, ordained and com missioned by the Presbytery of Laggan, in Ireland, to be a missionary to the Barbadoes and other American colonies. He organized several churches in Maryland, including those at Snow Hill and Rehoboth, the latter probably as early as 1683. He itinerated from New York to the Carolinas, preaching and estab lishing churches. He did much to encourage that notable immigra tion of Presbyterians from Scotland and Ireland who, to escape the prelatic oppressions under the Stuarts, crossed the sea and ere long made Presbyterianism the dominant religious force in New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware. In 1706, he secured the establishment of the first presbytery, popularly known, from its customary place of meeting, as the Presbytery of Philadelphia. He was chosen to be its first moderator. Of the eight ministers composing the judicatory at the close of that year, all were foreign-born excepting Jedediah Andrews, a native of Massa chusetts and a graduate of Harvard college. He began his ministry in Philadelphia in 1698, and in i7oi was ordained and installed in what is now the First Church. All but two of the eight were ordained in Scotland or Ireland.
In 1716 the presbytery had 17 ministers on the roll, the number having more than doubled in a single decade. In view of the difficulties of travel and the wide territory represented, the presby tery resolved in that year to transform itself into a synod, with four presbyteries under its jurisdiction (Philadelphia, New Castle, Snow Hill and Long Island). The first meeting of the synod was held on Sept. 17, 1717. In 1729 the synod passed what is called the Adopting act, by which it was agreed that "all the ministers of this synod, or that shall hereafter be admitted into this synod, shall declare their agreement in, and approbation of, the Con fession of Faith, with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, as being in all essential and necessary articles good forms of sound words and systems of Christian doctrine." The act allowed scruples about "articles not essential and necessary in doctrine, worship, or government," the court, not the individual, being the judge of the issue raised.
The religious revival known as the Great Awakening profoundly affected most of the Protestant Churches, stimulating their evange listic, missionary and educational enterprises, and proving itself a decisive factor even in the political sphere by breaking down some of the barriers of sectarian isolation, and promoting the sense of the growing national unity. But the revival also brought discord. The zealous evangelists severely criticized all who ques tioned the wisdom and propriety of their methods. Gilbert Ten nent was especially censorious, and his sermon on "An Uncon verted Ministry" was aimed at the opponents of the revival. He and his three brothers—sons of the William Tennent who in 1727 established the celebrated "Log College" at Neshaminy, Pa., as a training school for the ministry—were prominent leaders of the "new side," while Robert Cross and Jedediah Andrews were f ore most in charging the Tennents with heresy and disorder. The consequence was the first division of the Church (1741). The synod of Philadelphia represented the "old side"; and the synod of New York, the "new side." The latter body was the more en terprising and prosperous, making provision for the training of its ministers by the establishment at Elizabeth, in 1747, of the College of New Jersey, subsequently removed to Newark, and in 1756 to Princeton (now known as Princeton university). In
1758 a reunion of the two Synods was effected under the name of the "synod of New York and Philadelphia," upon the basis of the same Westminster standards of doctrine, polity and worship which both sides had maintained after their separation.
The Presbyterians from the Scots established Church, when they came to the Colonies, commonly joined the main body of American Presbyterians; but the seceding Churches of Scotland organized independent bodies. The Reformed Presbyterian Church (Covenanters) sent the Rev. John Cuthbertson in 1751. Af ter labouring alone for many years in the interests of his denom ination, with the aid of two fellow labourers from Scotland, Rev. Matthew Lind and Rev. Alexander Dobbin, he organized in the Reformed Presbytery of America. The Anti-Burgher Synod of Scotland sent two ministers, Alexander Gellatly and Andrew Arnot, to represent their cause, and thus were organized the Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania (1753) and that of New York (1776). These two presbyteries joined with the Covenanters in 1780 and 1782 to make the Associate Reformed Church of America; but opposing minorities in both presbyteries kept up the separate denominations.
During the American Revolution the Presbyterian churches throughout the Colonies suffered severely. The devotion of their members, especially the Scotch-Irish, to the cause of national independence was equalled by that of no other denomination. No racial or religious group was superior to them in intelligence, love of freedom, moral firmness and capacity for political achievement. At the time of the Revolutionary War almost 2,000,000 of the 3,000,00o inhabitants of the 13 Colonies were of Calvinistic stock. The form of government of our nation is practically the form of government of the Presbyterian Church with such modifications as the civil sphere requires. The public-school system of America has grown out of the parish schools established in a Multitude of Presbyterian parishes by their pastors. Many of the ministers served as chaplains or combatants. John Witherspoon, president of the College of New Jersey, was the only clerical member of the Continental Congress in 1776, and in many lines of activity, civil and military, he rendered distinguished service to his adopted country. John Murray, of the Presbytery at the Eastward, had as high a price set on his head by the Tories as did Samuel Adams or John Hancock. The testimony of the historian Bancroft to the patriotic fidelity of the Presbyterians is too familiar to be quoted. At the close of the war, the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, sharing in the general movement towards organization of nation wide churches, soon made good the losses sustained during the struggle for independence, and in 1788 took steps to divide itself into four synods, with a General Assembly, consisting of repre sentative delegates, both ministers and laymen, to serve as the supreme legislative, judicial and executive agency of the whole church. The Synod adopted as the constitution for the re-organ ized church the Westminster Confession of Faith, amended in Chapter xxiii., in regard to the relation of the civil power to the church ; the Larger Catechism, with an amendment as to the tolera tion; the Shorter Catechism ; the Directory of Worship, much revised ; and the Form of Government and the Book of Discipline, with many alterations. It was also provided that thereafter the standards could be amended only by a two-thirds vote of the presbyteries, and subsequent enactment by the Assembly.