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Address of the Philadelphia Clergy, 3 March 1797

IV
Address of the Philadelphia Clergy

Philadelphia March 3d 1797.

sir

On a day which becomes important in the annals of America as marking the close of a splendid public life, devoted for near half a century to the service of your country; We the undersigned clergy of different denominations in and near the city of Philadelphia, beg leave to join the voice of our fellow citizens, in expressing our deep sense of your public services in every department of trust & authority committed to you. But in our special character as ministers of the gospel of Christ, we are more immediately bound to acknowledge the countenance which you have uniformly given to his holy religion.

In your public character we have beheld the edifying example of a civil ruler always acknowledging the superintendence of divine providence in the affairs of men,1 & confirming that example by the powerful recommendation of religion & morality as the firmest basis of social happiness; more particularly in the following language of your affectionate parting address to your fellow citizens.

“Of all the dispositions & habits which lead to political prosperity, religion & morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labour to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, the firmest props of the duties of men & citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect & cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private & public felicity—Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion—Reason & experience forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principles.”2

Should the importance of these just & pious sentiments be duly appreciated & regarded, we confidently trust that the prayers you have offered for the prosperity of our common country will be answered. In these prayers we most fervently unite: And with equal fervour we join in those which the numerous public bodies that represent the citizens of these states are offering for their beloved chief. We most devoutly implore the divine blessing to attend you in your retirement, to render it in all respects comfortable to you, to satisfy you with length of days, & finally to receive you into happiness & glory infinitely greater than this world can bestow.

Wm White3

DS, DLC:GW; LB, DLC:GW.

GW replied in a undated letter that reads: “Not to acknowledge with gratitude & sensibility the affectionate addresses and benevolent wishes of my fellow Citizens on my retiring from public life, would prove that I have been unworthy of the Confidence which they have been pleased to repose in me.

“And, among those public testimonies of attachment and approbation, none can be more grateful than that of so respectable a body as your’s.

“Beleiving, as I do, that Religion & Morality are the essential pillars of Civil society, I view, with unspeakable pleasure, that harmony & brotherly love which characterizes the Clergy of different denominations, as well in this, as in other parts of the United States: exhibiting to the world a new & interesting spectacle, at once the pride of our Country and the surest basis of universal Harmony.

“That your labours for the good of Mankind may be crown’d with success—that your temporal enjoyments may be commensurate with your merits—and that the future reward of good & faithful servants may be your’s, I shall not cease to supplicate the Divine Author of life & felicity” (Df, DLC:GW; LB, DLC:GW). The Df and LB are headed: “To the Clergy of different Denominations, residing in and near the City of Philadelphia.”

1GW’s correspondence abounds with allusions to the active role of Providence in human affairs. For instance, during the Revolutionary War, GW expressed his belief that Providence intervened in favor of the American cause (see GW to Lund Washington, 19 May 1780, and n.3 to that document, in Papers, Revolutionary War Series description begins W. W. Abbot et al., eds. The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series. 25 vols. to date. Charlottesville, Va., 1985–. description ends 26:100–101). In his final annual message to Congress, GW invoked the “Supreme Ruler” to extend his protection to the nation (GW to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 7 Dec. 1796; see also Document V). At other times, GW recommended submission to the “Dispensations of Providence,” however incomprehensible (GW to Tobias Lear, 30 March 1796; see also GW to Henry Knox, 2 March 1797, and n.2 to that document).

2The quoted text is taken almost verbatim from GW’s Farewell Address of 19 Sept. 1796.

3This document is signed by William White, the Protestant Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, and twenty-three other clergymen of various Christian denominations serving the Philadelphia and surrounding regions. The signatories include Presbyterian clergyman John Ewing, Moravian pastor John Meder, Episcopal minister James Abercrombie, Baptist William Rogers, and Nicholas Collin, a rector of a Swedish Lutheran parish.

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