Symmes, Joseph G. National Thanksgiving: A Sermon, preached in the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury, New Jersey, on November 26, 1863. Philadelphia: William S. & Alfred Martien, 1864. First Edition. [9093]
Printed wrapper, front chipped with loss, 9 x 5 3/4 inches, 40 pp. Good. Pamphlet.
Rev. Symmes states that he has never been an abolitionist or an extremist, yet the facts are against Southern slavery as a great evil. The foremost Southern men at the founding of our nation - Washington, Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Madison - were unanimous in wanting a gradual end to slavery, and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 made that entire territory free. He notes that the Presbyterian Church in 1818 delivered a strong anti-slavery statement, with no Southern objections, and that statement is printed in a lengthy footnote. He blames the Synod of South Carolina for repudiating the statement of 1818 and for encouraging the State to secede.
"The intolerant, propagandizing spirit of slavery was making itself felt all over our land."
He treats with objections from both the Bible and politics. He mentions General McClellan, the Emancipation Proclamation, and gives a view of the War as it stood at that date. He finds the hand of Providence in the development of the state and nation's leaders openly proclaiming reliance upon God and Jesus Christ, acknowledging that all of our blessings come from the mercy of God. "This is a confession statesmen are not likely to make." The madness of the Southern leaders is leading to their destruction, and "when their power is swept away, we must hasten to their crushed victims with supplies in one hand and the word of life in the other."
Joseph Gaston Symmes (1826-1894) b. Hamilton, OH; d. Cranbury, NJ. He was educated at Hanover College and at the Princeton theological seminary, and was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New Brunswick in 1854. He was for 37 years the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury, New Jersey.