AMERICA'S ABOLITIONIST FOUNDING FATHER

 

One of America’s Founding Fathers, Benjamin Rush, was a passionate and vocal abolitionist who turned many of his generation against slavery. Rush was a Philadelphia physician, a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Rush helped form the first Abolition society in America in his hometown of Philadelphia. He called slavery a “hydra sin” and called on the pastors and minsters of America to take a public stand against it. He wrote,

But chiefly—ye ministers of the gospel, whose dominion over the principles and actions of men is so universally acknowledged and felt, - Ye who estimate the worth of your fellow creatures by their immortality, and therefore must look upon all mankind as equal; - let your zeal keep pace with your opportunities to put a stop to slavery. While you enforce the duties of “tithe and cumin,” neglect not the weightier laws of justice and humanity. Slavery is a Hydra sin and includes in it every violation of the precepts of the Laws and the Gospels (Hyatt, Abolitionist Founding Fathers, 37-38).

Rush served as the surgeon general in the Revolutionary Army and influenced General George Washington to receive free Blacks into the American army. As a result, one in every eight soldiers were of African descent. Blacks and Whites fought together for freedom from Great Britain.

Rush was very influential in turning many of his generation against slavery. It was through his influence that his fellow Philadelphian, Benjamin Franklin, freed his two slaves and became a member of the Abolition society in that city. He also played a primary role in turning Washington and others against slavery, which is why the esteemed Black scholar, Dr. Thomas Sowell, would write,

Among those who turned against slavery in the 18th century were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and other American leaders. You could research all of 18th century Africa or Asia or the Middle East without finding any comparable rejection of slavery there (Hyatt, Abolitionist Founding Fathers, 9).

Rush became friends with the former slave and Methodist evangelist, Richard Allen, who settled in Philadelphia after a time of successful evangelistic ministry to both Black and White audiences. In fact, his ministry was so successful in bridging racial and cultural divides that Paul Strand, former Washington D.C. correspondent for CBN, called Allen “America’s Black Founding Father.”

Being a Methodist preacher, Allen became a member of the Methodist Church in Philadelphia. However, as the Great Awakening, which had ignited the interracial currents in Colonial America, waned, the elders of the Methodist Church in Philadelphia decided to segregate their seating based on race. At this point, Allen and other Blacks walked out.

Rush, a Presbyterian, came to their aid with both moral and financial support. He assisted them in obtaining property and erecting their own building in which to worship. They established Bethel Methodist Church out of which came the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) denomination. Allen later wrote,

We had waited on Dr. Rush and Mr. Robert Ralston, and told them of our distressing situation. We considered it a blessing that the Lord had put it into our hearts to wait upon those gentlemen. They pitied our situation, and subscribed largely towards the church, and were very friendly towards us and advised us how to go on . . . Dr. Rush did much for us in public by his influence. I hope the name of Dr. Benjamin Rush and Mr. Robert Ralston will never be forgotten among us. They were the two first gentlemen who espoused the cause of the oppressed and aided us in building the house of the Lord for the poor Africans to worship in. Here was the beginning and rise of the first African church in America (Hyatt, America’s Reawakening, 116).

Think about it! One of America’s Founding Fathers helped launch one of the largest and most respected Black denominations in America. Dr. Benjamin Rush was America’s Abolitionist Founding Father!

This article was derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt’s books America’s Reawakening and Abolitionist Founding Fathers, available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.