166-592: Russell Herman Conwell (February 15, 1843 – December 6, 1925) was an American Baptist minister , orator, philanthropist, author, lawyer, and writer. He is best remembered as the founder and first president of Temple University in Philadelphia , as the Pastor of The Baptist Temple, and for his inspirational lecture, "Acres of Diamonds". He was born in South Worthington , Massachusetts . Hailing from
332-568: A congregationalist polity . This cooperative relationship allows the development of common organizations, for mission and societal purposes, such as humanitarian aid , schools, theological institutes and hospitals. The majority of Baptist churches are part of national denominations (or 'associations' or 'cooperative groups'), as well as the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), formed in 1905 by 24 Baptist denominations from various countries. The BWA's goals include caring for
498-428: A pocket veto . Garfield did not consider Lincoln very worthy of reelection, but there seemed to be no viable alternative. "He will probably be the man, though I think we could do better", he said. Garfield attended the party convention and promoted Rosecrans as Lincoln's running mate, but delegates chose Military Governor of Tennessee Andrew Johnson . Lincoln was reelected, as was Garfield. By then, Chase had left
664-484: A third-year student ; he received credit for two years' study at the Institute after passing a cursory examination. Garfield was also impressed with the college president, Mark Hopkins , who had responded warmly to Garfield's letter inquiring about admission. He said of Hopkins, "The ideal college is Mark Hopkins on one end of a log with a student on the other." Hopkins later said of Garfield in his student days, "There
830-596: A "guarded relationship" since Grant promoted Thomas, rather than Garfield, to command of the Army of the Cumberland after Rosecrans's dismissal. While he served in the Army in early 1862, friends of Garfield approached him about running for Congress from Ohio's newly redrawn and heavily Republican 19th district . He worried that he and other state-appointed generals would receive obscure assignments, and running for Congress would allow him to resume his political career. That
996-655: A Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island , and Clarke began a Baptist church in Newport, Rhode Island . According to a Baptist historian who has researched the matter extensively, "There is much debate over the centuries as to whether the Providence or Newport church deserved the place of 'first' Baptist congregation in America. Exact records for both congregations are lacking." The First Great Awakening energized
1162-558: A Baptist-type church. In 2020, according to the researcher Sébastien Fath of the CNRS , the Baptist movement has around 170 million believers in the world. According to a census released in 2024, the BWA includes 266 participating fellowships in 134 countries, with 178,000 churches and 51 million baptized members. These statistics may not be fully representative, however, since some churches in
1328-836: A New England family of English descent and the son of Massachusetts farmers, Conwell left home to attend the Wilbraham Wesleyan Academy and later Yale University . In 1862, before graduating from Yale, he enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War . Conwell desired to enlist in the war effort shortly after its outbreak in 1861, but could not initially gain the approval of his father, Martin Conwell. His abolitionist father ultimately changed his mind, allowing Conwell to enlist in Company "F" of
1494-494: A below-average president or omit him entirely from rankings, though he has earned praise for anti-corruption and pro-civil rights stances. James Abram Garfield was born the youngest of five children on November 19, 1831, in a log cabin in Orange Township , now Moreland Hills, Ohio . Garfield's ancestor Edward Garfield migrated from Hillmorton , Warwickshire , England, to Massachusetts around 1630. James's father Abram
1660-573: A building constructed and funded by the Disciples . In 1864, the U.S. Senate passed the 13th Amendment , which abolished slavery throughout the Union. The bill failed to pass the House by a two-thirds majority until January 31, 1865, when it was then sent to the states for ratification. The Amendment opened other issues concerning African American civil rights. Garfield asked, "[What] is freedom? Is it
1826-605: A career. He campaigned for Republican presidential candidate John C. Frémont in 1856. In 1858, he married Lucretia, and they had seven children, five of whom survived infancy. Soon after the wedding, he registered to read law at the office of attorney Albert Gallatin Riddle in Cleveland, though he did his studying in Hiram. He was admitted to the bar in 1861. Local Republican leaders invited Garfield to enter politics upon
SECTION 10
#17327866269311992-454: A carpenter's assistant and teacher. The need to go from town to town to find work as a teacher aggravated Garfield, and he developed a dislike of what he called "place-seeking", which became, he said, "the law of my life." In later years, he astounded his friends by disregarding positions that could have been his with little politicking. Garfield had attended church more to please his mother than to worship God, but in his late teens he underwent
2158-412: A corner in the back. When he ran into her walking the streets one day, he told her not to worry that one day they'd build a new church so all the children could come in. Hattie May died at six years of age. When she died from diphtheria , she had saved 57 cents to contribute to the cause. The girl's mother told Reverend Conwell that Hattie May had been saving money to help build a bigger church and gave him
2324-399: A corrupt organization had been a badly kept secret, even mentioned on the floor of Congress, and editor Sam Bowles wrote at the time that Garfield, in his positions on committees dealing with finance, "had no more right to be ignorant in a matter of such grave importance as this, than the sentinel has to snore on his post." Another issue that caused Garfield trouble in his 1874 reelection bid
2490-412: A council of war and lengthy deliberations, Rosecrans agreed to attack. At the ensuing Battle of Chickamauga on September 19 and 20, 1863, confusion among the wing commanders over Rosecrans's orders created a gap in the lines, resulting in a rout of the right flank. Rosecrans concluded that the battle was lost and fell back on Chattanooga to establish a defensive line. Garfield, however, thought part of
2656-673: A dangerous fever that plagued him throughout the summer of 1863. Upon regaining health, he volunteered for a three-year enlistment in the Second Massachusetts Artillery and was commissioned as a captain in command of Company D on September 9, 1863. He then returned to North Carolina and was placed in command of a fort in Newport Barracks. After his soldiers there had not been paid for three months, Conwell requested and received permission to travel to Newberne to secure remuneration for his men. While he secured
2822-465: A denomination of Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers ( believer's baptism ) and doing so by complete immersion . Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul competency (the responsibility and accountability of every person before God ), sola fide (salvation by faith alone), sola scriptura (the Bible is the sole infallible authority, as
2988-909: A dispatch to General Logan. But Conwell's health compelled him to resign and retire from service, whereupon he received an honorable discharge, as well as a certificate for faithful and patriotic service from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. After the Civil War, Conwell studied law at the Albany Law School . Over the next several years, he worked as an attorney, journalist, and lecturer first in Minneapolis , then in Boston. Additionally, during this period, he published about 10 books, including campaign biographies of Ulysses S. Grant , Rutherford B. Hayes , and James A. Garfield . In 1880, he
3154-434: A favorable command, so he decided to see President Lincoln. During their meeting, Lincoln recommended he take his House seat, as there was an excess of generals and a shortage of administration congressmen, especially those with knowledge of military affairs. Garfield accepted this recommendation and resigned his military commission to do so. Garfield met and befriended Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase , who saw Garfield as
3320-568: A few churches that submit to the leadership of a body of elders , as well as the Episcopal Baptists who have an Episcopal system . Baptists generally believe in the literal Second Coming of Christ. Beliefs among Baptists regarding the "end times" include amillennialism , both dispensational and historic premillennialism , with views such as postmillennialism and preterism receiving some support. Some additional distinctive Baptist principles held by many Baptists: Since there
3486-601: A gathered, disciplined congregation of believers baptized by immersion as constituting the New Testament church gave expression to and built on insights that had emerged within separatism, advanced in the life of John Smyth and the suffering congregation of Thomas Helwys, and matured in Particular Baptists ." A minority view is that early 17th century Baptists were influenced by (but not directly connected to) continental Anabaptists. According to this view,
SECTION 20
#17327866269313652-668: A homeless shelter in Philadelphia. Conwell's name lives on in the present-day Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary , in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, an interdenominational evangelical theological seminary formed in 1969 by the merging of two former divinity schools, Conwell School of Theology of Temple University in Philadelphia and Gordon Divinity School in Wenham, Massachusetts . Russell Conwell Middle Magnet School in Philadelphia bears his name as well. The school yearbook
3818-587: A key role in encouraging religious freedom and the doctrine of separation of church and state. Shared doctrines would include beliefs about one God; the virgin birth of Jesus ; miracles; substitutionary atonement for sins through the death , burial , and bodily resurrection of Jesus ; the Trinity ; the need for salvation (through belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God , his death and resurrection); grace;
3984-632: A knight of Caerphilly Castle . Poor and fatherless, Garfield was mocked by his peers and became sensitive to slights throughout his life; he sought escape through voracious reading. He left home at age 16 in 1847 and was rejected for work on the only ship in port in Cleveland . Garfield instead found work on a canal boat, managing the mules that pulled it. Horatio Alger later used this labor to good effect when he wrote Garfield's campaign biography in 1880. After six weeks, illness forced Garfield to return home, and during his recuperation, his mother and
4150-400: A loan and Ames a dividend. Garfield's biographers have been unwilling to exonerate him in the scandal. Allan Peskin writes, "Did Garfield lie? Not exactly. Did he tell the truth? Not completely. Was he corrupted? Not really. Even Garfield's enemies never claimed that his involvement in the affair influenced his behavior." Rutkow writes, "Garfield's real offense was that he knowingly denied to
4316-594: A local school official secured his promise to forgo canal work for a year of school. In 1848, he began at Geauga Seminary , in nearby Chester Township, Geauga County, Ohio . Garfield later said of his childhood, "I lament that I was born to poverty, and in this chaos of childhood, seventeen years passed before I caught any inspiration ... a precious 17 years when a boy with a father and some wealth might have become fixed in manly ways." Garfield attended Geauga Seminary from 1848 to 1850 and learned academic subjects for which he had not previously had time. He excelled as
4482-422: A man who wanted to find diamonds so badly that he sold his property and went off in futile search for them. The new owner of his home discovered that a rich diamond mine was located right there on the property. Conwell elaborates on the theme through examples of success, genius, service, or other virtues involving ordinary Americans contemporary to his audience: "dig in your own backyard!" In A People's History of
4648-627: A more biblical "truth" had been discovered. During the Reformation, the Church of England ( Anglicans ) separated from the Roman Catholic Church . There were some Christians who were not content with the achievements of the mainstream Protestant Reformation. There also were Christians who were disappointed that the Church of England had not made corrections of what some considered to be errors and abuses. Of those most critical of
4814-566: A pass through the lines, he did not secure a permit to be absent from this post, nor did it appear that the 21-year-old Conwell understood the distinction. Twenty miles into his trip, Conwell learned that Confederate forces attacked and overran his company's position. When subsequently reported that the absence of Union officers contributed to the loss, Conwell was placed under arrest and detained in Newberne pending an investigation, resulting in him being accused of desertion by his detractors. Conwell
4980-561: A position on entry as janitor , he obtained a teaching position while he was still a student there. Lucretia Rudolph also enrolled at the Institute and Garfield wooed her while teaching her Greek. He developed a regular preaching circuit at neighboring churches and, in some cases, earned one gold dollar per service. By 1854, Garfield had learned all the Institute could teach him and was a full-time teacher. Garfield then enrolled at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts , as
5146-556: A purge of corruption in the Post Office , and his appointment of a Supreme Court justice. He advocated for agricultural technology , an educated electorate, and civil rights for African Americans . He also proposed substantial civil service reforms , which were passed by Congress in 1883 as the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act and signed into law by his successor, Chester A. Arthur . Garfield
Russell Conwell - Misplaced Pages Continue
5312-474: A religious awakening. He attended many camp meetings , which led to his being born again on March 4, 1850, when he was baptized into Christ by being submerged in the icy waters of the Chagrin River . After he left Geauga, Garfield worked for a year at various jobs, including teaching jobs. Finding that some New Englanders worked their way through college, Garfield determined to do the same and sought
5478-399: A response. Grant personally resented Garfield for investigating Black Friday and his wife Julia concerning possible involvement in the scandal. Garfield's investigation and final majority report, released on September 12, 1870, were thorough but found no indictable offenses and exonerated Grant and Julia of wrongdoing. Garfield thought the scandal was enabled by the greenbacks that financed
5644-848: A rumor of an extramarital affair caused friction in the Garfields' marriage until Lucretia eventually chose to overlook it. Garfield repeatedly received tentative assignments that were quickly withdrawn, to his frustration. In the meantime, he served on the court-martial of Fitz John Porter for his tardiness at the Second Battle of Bull Run . He was convinced of Porter's guilt and voted with his fellow generals to convict Porter. The trial lasted almost two months, from November 1862 to January 1863, and, by its end, Garfield had procured an assignment as chief of staff to Major General William S. Rosecrans . Generals' chiefs of staff were usually more junior officers, but Garfield's influence with Rosecrans
5810-633: A school that could prepare him for the entrance examinations. From 1851 to 1854, he attended the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (later named Hiram College ) in Hiram, Ohio , a school founded by and still affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) . While there, he was most interested in the study of Greek and Latin but was inclined to learn about and discuss any new thing he encountered. Securing
5976-519: A solo piece during evening services. Conwell's magnetic personality, high descriptive, practical, and engaging sermons soon drew crowds so large that the church outgrew its capacity to seat all that wanted to come. Reverend Conwell used the story of Hattie May Wiatt and her 57 cents to spur phenomenal fundraising to build a new church. Hattie May lived nearby, and she and other children were gathered outside when Conwell walked up one Sunday morning. Conwell carried Hattie May on his shoulders and sat her in
6142-776: A statement of their faith and beliefs. Baptist theology shares many doctrines with evangelical theology . It is based on believers' Church doctrine. Baptists, like other Christians, are defined by school of thought—some of it common to all orthodox and evangelical groups, and a portion of it distinctive to Baptists. Through the years, different Baptist groups have issued confessions of faith—without considering them to be creeds —to express their particular doctrinal distinctions in comparison to other Christians as well as in comparison to other Baptists. Baptist denominations are traditionally seen as belonging to two parties, General Baptists who uphold Arminian theology, and Particular Baptists who uphold Reformed theology (Calvinism). During
6308-459: A student and was especially interested in languages and elocution. He began to appreciate the power a speaker had over an audience, writing that the speaker's platform "creates some excitement. I love agitation and investigation and glory in defending unpopular truth against popular error." Geauga was coeducational, and Garfield was attracted to one of his classmates, Lucretia Rudolph , whom he later married. To support himself at Geauga, he worked as
6474-474: A tract titled "The Character of the Beast," or "The False Constitution of the Church." In it he expressed two propositions: first, infants are not to be baptized ; and second, "Antichristians converted are to be admitted into the true Church by baptism." Hence, his conviction was that a scriptural church should consist only of regenerate believers who have been baptized on a personal confession of faith. He rejected
6640-482: A widespread basis. In debate on the House floor, Garfield supported such legislation and, discussing England's Glorious Revolution , hinted that Lincoln might be thrown out of office for resisting it. Garfield had supported Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and marveled at the "strange phenomenon in the world's history, when a second-rate Illinois lawyer is the instrument to utter words which shall form an epoch memorable in all future ages." Garfield not only favored
6806-546: A worldwide organization. The pastor was a speaker at a Christian Endeavor convention. Conwell was very impressed by the purpose and enthusiasm of the group. He later recommended the Christian Endeavor to the youth group of the church. On September 10, 1888, the Society of Christian Endeavor was finally organized. The Christian Endeavor youth groups continued to meet at the Church until the 1960s. Charles M. Davis,
Russell Conwell - Misplaced Pages Continue
6972-399: A year passed, from 1867 to 1868, before Garfield had finally refused. Appearing before the committee on January 14, 1873, Garfield confirmed much of this. Ames testified several weeks later that Garfield agreed to take the stock on credit, and that it was paid for by the company's huge dividends. The two men differed over $ 300 that Garfield received and later paid back, with Garfield deeming it
7138-426: A young deacon, approached the pastor with his desire to preach; however, Davis had little education and was without sufficient funds to continue his studies. Conwell agreed to tutor him. Over the next few days, seven prospective students met with Conwell, and Temple College was conceived. Conwell became president of the college, now known as Temple University. As the membership continued to grow to over one thousand and
7304-639: A younger version of himself. The two agreed politically and both were part of the Radical wing of the Republican Party. Once he took his seat in December 1863, Garfield was frustrated at Lincoln's reluctance to press the South hard. Many radicals, led in the House by Pennsylvania's Thaddeus Stevens , wanted rebel-owned lands confiscated, but Lincoln threatened to veto any bill that proposed to do so on
7470-540: Is an outgrowth of Smyth's movement. Baptists rejected the name Anabaptist when they were called that by opponents in derision. McBeth writes that as late as the 18th century, many Baptists referred to themselves as "the Christians commonly—though falsely —called Anabaptists." Helwys took over the leadership, leading the church back to England in 1611, and he published the first Baptist confession of faith "A Declaration of Faith of English People" in 1611. He founded
7636-464: Is dark waters and thick clouds of the skies! Justice and judgment are the establishment of His throne! Mercy and truth shall go before His face! Fellow citizens! God reigns, and the Government at Washington still lives!" The speech, with no mention or praise of Lincoln, was, according to Garfield biographer Robert G. Caldwell, "quite as significant for what it did not contain as for what it did." In
7802-558: Is entitled Acres of Diamonds . Temple University's football team wear diamond decals on their helmets and diamond trim on their collars to reference Conwell's "Acres of Diamonds" speech. The film Johnny Ring and the Captain's Sword (1921) is based upon Conwell's writings regarding his experiences in the Civil War. The elementary school in Worthington, Massachusetts , his home town, bears his name. Baptist Baptists are
7968-468: Is in the form of an amphitheatre, and has seating capacity for between six and seven hundred persons. It is finished with great taste and completeness. The ceiling is frescoed , the windows are of stained glass and the pews of hardwood and handsomely upholstered. The edifice cost about $ 70,000. Conwell ended evening services by holding an hour of prayer, leading song services, and giving commentary relevant to his sermons . The musical pastor often performed
8134-457: Is no hierarchical authority and each Baptist church is autonomous, there is no official set of Baptist theological beliefs. These differences exist among associations and even among churches within the associations. Some doctrinal issues on which there is widespread difference among Baptists are: Excommunication may be used as a last resort by some denominations and churches for members who do not want to repent of beliefs or behavior at odds with
8300-568: Is not a poor person in the United States who was not made poor by his own shortcomings... Conwell's capacity to establish Temple University and his other civic projects largely derived from the income that he earned from this speech. The book has been regarded as a classic of New Thought literature since the 1870s. After Conwell's death, proceeds from this speech were dedicated to the Sunday Breakfast Association ,
8466-542: Is the Baptist World Alliance , and there are many different groupings of Baptist churches and Baptist congregations. Historians trace the earliest Baptist church to 1609 in Amsterdam , with English Separatist John Smyth as its pastor. In accordance with his reading of the New Testament , he rejected baptism of infants and instituted baptism only of believing adults. Baptist practice spread to England, where
SECTION 50
#17327866269318632-498: The 38th Congress . Days before his Congressional term began, Garfield lost his eldest daughter, three-year-old Eliza, and became anxious and conflicted, saying his "desolation of heart" might require his return to "the wild life of the army." He also assumed that the war would end before his joining the House, but it had not, and he felt strongly that he belonged in the field, rather than in Congress. He also thought he could expect
8798-570: The 42nd Ohio Infantry regiment. The 42nd Ohio existed only on paper, so Garfield's first task was to fill its ranks. He did so quickly, recruiting many of his neighbors and former students. The regiment traveled to Camp Chase , outside Columbus, Ohio , to complete training. In December, Garfield was ordered to bring the 42nd to Kentucky, where they joined the Army of the Ohio under Brigadier General Don Carlos Buell . Buell quickly assigned Garfield
8964-801: The Baptist Union of Great Britain . Some Baptist associations support same-sex marriage. This is the case of the Alliance of Baptists (USA), the Canadian Association for Baptist Freedoms, the Aliança de Batistas do Brasil, the Fraternidad de Iglesias Bautistas de Cuba, and the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (international). Baptists have faced many controversies in their 400-year history, controversies of
9130-640: The General Baptists considered Christ's atonement to extend to all people , while the Particular Baptists believed that it extended only to the elect . Thomas Helwys formulated a distinctively Baptist request that the church and the state be kept separate in matters of law, so that individuals might have freedom of religion . Helwys died in prison as a consequence of the religious conflict with English Dissenters under James I . Baptist historian Bruce Gourley outlines four main views of Baptist origins: Modern Baptist churches trace their history to
9296-495: The International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities was founded in the United States. In 2023, it had 42 member universities. Many churches promote virginity pledges to young Baptist Christians, who are invited to engage in a public ceremony of sexual abstinence until Christian marriage. This pact is often symbolized by a purity ring . Programs like True Love Waits , founded in 1993 by
9462-663: The Kingdom of God ; last things ( eschatology ) (Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to Earth; the dead will be raised ; and Christ will judge everyone in righteousness); and evangelism and missions . Most Baptists hold that no church or ecclesiastical organization has inherent authority over a Baptist church. Churches can properly relate to each other under this polity only through voluntary cooperation, never by any sort of coercion. Furthermore, this Baptist polity calls for freedom from governmental control. Exceptions to this local form of local governance include
9628-700: The Pythagorean theorem , which he published in 1876. At the 1880 Republican National Convention , delegates chose Garfield, who had not sought the White House, as a compromise presidential nominee on the 36th ballot. In the 1880 presidential election , he conducted a low-key front porch campaign and narrowly defeated the Democratic nominee, Winfield Scott Hancock . Garfield's accomplishments as president included his assertion of presidential authority against senatorial courtesy in executive appointments,
9794-617: The Southern Baptist Convention have been developed to support the commitments. Most Baptist associations around the world believe only in marriage between a man and a woman. Some Baptist associations do not have official beliefs about marriage in a confession of faith and invoke congregationalism to leave the choice to each church to decide. This is the case of American Baptist Churches USA , Progressive National Baptist Convention (USA), Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (USA), National Baptist Convention, USA and
9960-601: The United States House of Representatives and is the only sitting member of the House to be elected president. Before his candidacy for the presidency, he had been elected to the U.S. Senate by the Ohio General Assembly —a position he declined when he became president-elect . Garfield was born into poverty in a log cabin and grew up in northeastern Ohio . After graduating from Williams College in 1856, he studied law and became an attorney. He
10126-431: The abolition of slavery , but also believed the leaders of the rebellion had forfeited their constitutional rights. He supported the confiscation of Southern plantations and even exile or execution of rebellion leaders as a means to ensure a permanent end to slavery. Garfield felt Congress had an obligation "to determine what legislation is necessary to secure equal justice to all loyal persons, without regard to color." He
SECTION 60
#173278662693110292-607: The abolitionism of the Triennial Convention (now American Baptist Churches USA) left to form the Southern Baptist Convention. They believed that the Bible sanctions slavery and that it was acceptable for Christians to own slaves. They believed slavery was a human institution which Baptist teaching could make less harsh. By this time many planters were part of Baptist congregations, and some of
10458-474: The free and unlimited coinage of silver . In 1865, he was put on the House Ways and Means Committee , a long-awaited opportunity to focus on financial and economic issues. He reprised his opposition to the greenback, saying, "Any party which commits itself to paper money will go down amid the general disaster, covered with the curses of a ruined people." In 1868 Garfield gave a two-hour speech on currency in
10624-715: The holiness movement , some General Baptists accepted the teaching of a second work of grace and formed denominations that emphasized this belief, such as the Ohio Valley Association of the Christian Baptist Churches of God and the Holiness Baptist Association . Most Baptists are evangelical in doctrine, but their beliefs may vary due to the congregational governance system that gives autonomy to individual local Baptist churches. Historically, Baptists have played
10790-518: The 19th century, the rise of the modern missions movement, and the backlash against it, led to widespread and bitter controversy among the American Baptists. During this era, the American Baptists were split between missionary and anti-missionary. A substantial secession of Baptists went into the movement led by Alexander Campbell to return to a more fundamental church. Leading up to the American Civil War , Baptists became embroiled in
10956-481: The 20th Brigade of the Army of the Ohio, which received orders to join Major General Ulysses S. Grant 's forces as they advanced on Corinth, Mississippi , in early 1862. Before the 20th Brigade arrived, however, Confederate forces under General Albert Sidney Johnston surprised Grant's men in their camps, driving them back. Garfield's troops received word of the battle and advanced quickly, joining
11122-660: The 27th Massachusetts Volunteers, better known as the "Mountain Boys". Conwell and the Mountain Boys served in North Carolina and first engaged the opposition at Kinston, North Carolina . There Conwell gained a reputation for self-sacrifice. During the "Gum Swamp" expedition, he returned to the battlefield to retrieve the bodies of two of his deceased soldiers, and later during the same campaign purposefully drew enemy fire upon his position – resulting in his being shot in
11288-521: The Baptist congregations in the United States split over slavery and missions. The Home Mission Society prevented slaveholders from being appointed as missionaries. The split created the Southern Baptist Convention , while the northern congregations formed their own umbrella organization now called the American Baptist Churches USA (ABC-USA). In 2015, Baptists in the U.S. number 50 million people and constitute roughly one-third of American Protestants . The Baptist churches in Ukraine were preceded by
11454-401: The Baptist movement spread across the south of Ukraine and then to other regions as well. One of the first Baptist communities was registered in Kyiv in 1907, and in 1908 the First All- Russian Convention of Baptists was held there, as Ukraine was still controlled by the Russian Empire. The All-Russian Union of Baptists was established in Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro ) in southern Ukraine. At
11620-500: The Baptist movement, and the Baptist community experienced spectacular growth. Baptists became the largest Christian community in many southern states, including among the enslaved Black population. Baptist missionary work in Canada began in the British colony of Nova Scotia (present day Nova Scotia and New Brunswick ) in the 1760s. The first official record of a Baptist church in Canada was Horton Baptist Church (now Wolfville) in Wolfville , Nova Scotia on 29 October 1778. The church
11786-449: The Baptist successionist or perpetuity view consider the Baptist movement to have existed independently from Roman Catholicism and prior to the Protestant Reformation. The perpetuity view is often identified with The Trail of Blood , a booklet of five lectures by James Milton Carroll published in 1931. Other Baptist writers who advocate the successionist theory of Baptist origins are John T. Christian and Thomas Crosby . This view
11952-465: The Cabinet and been appointed Chief Justice , and his relations with Garfield became more distant. Garfield took up the practice of law in 1865 to improve his personal finances. His efforts took him to Wall Street where, the day after Lincoln's assassination, a riotous crowd drew him into an impromptu speech to calm their passions: "Fellow citizens! Clouds and darkness are round about Him! His pavilion
12118-466: The Confederacy would be granted amnesty if they returned to their homes, lived peaceably, and remained loyal to the Union. The proclamation was surprisingly lenient, as Garfield now believed the war was a crusade for eradication of slavery. Following a brief skirmish at Pound Gap , the last rebel units in the area were outflanked and retreated to Virginia. Garfield's promotion gave him command of
12284-572: The Confederates had fled. That summer, Garfield suffered from jaundice and significant weight loss. He was forced to return home, where his wife nursed him back to health. While he was home, Garfield's friends worked to gain him the Republican nomination for Congress, but he refused to campaign with the delegates. He returned to military duty that autumn and went to Washington to await his next assignment. During this period of idleness,
12450-633: The English General Baptists. Representatives of this theory include A.C. Underwood and William R. Estep. Gourley writes that among some contemporary Baptist scholars who emphasize the faith of the community over soul liberty, the Anabaptist influence theory is making a comeback. This view was also taught by the Reformed historian Philip Schaff . However, the relations between Baptists and Anabaptists were early strained. In 1624,
12616-718: The English Separatist movement in the 17th century, over a century after the foundation of the Church of England during the Protestant Reformation . This view of Baptist origins has the most historical support and is the most widely accepted. Adherents to this position consider the influence of Anabaptists upon early Baptists to be minimal. It was a time of considerable political and religious turmoil. Both individuals and churches were willing to give up their theological roots if they became convinced that
12782-549: The General Baptists shared similarities with Dutch Waterlander Mennonites (one of many Anabaptist groups) including believer's baptism only, religious liberty , separation of church and state , and Arminian views of salvation, predestination and original sin. It is certain that the early Baptist church led by Smyth had contacts with the Anabaptists; however it is debated if these influences found their way into
12948-566: The General Baptists. The Particular Baptists were established when a group of Calvinist Separatists adopted believers' Baptism. The Particular Baptists consisted of seven churches by 1644 and had created a confession of faith called the First London Confession of Faith. Both Roger Williams and John Clarke are variously credited as founding the earliest Baptist church in North America. In 1639 Williams established
13114-620: The German Anabaptist and Mennonite communities, who had been living in southern Ukraine since the 16th century, and who practiced adult believer's baptism. The first Baptist baptism (adult baptism by full immersion) in Ukraine took place in 1864 on the river Inhul in the Yelizavetgrad region (now Kropyvnytskyi region), in a German settlement . In 1867, the first Baptist communities were organized in that area. From there,
13280-426: The House and eventually became law. The law was very popular in the House, as almost half the members were lame ducks , but the public was outraged, and many of Garfield's constituents blamed him, though he personally refused to accept the increase. In a bad year for Republicans, who lost control of the House for the first time since the Civil War, Garfield had his closest congressional election, winning with only 57% of
13446-399: The House investigating committee that he had agreed to accept the stock and that he had also received a dividend of $ 329." Caldwell suggests Garfield "told the truth [before the committee, but] certainly failed to tell the whole truth, clearly evading an answer to certain vital questions and thus giving the impression of worse faults than those of which he was guilty." That Crédit Mobilier was
13612-410: The House, which was widely applauded as his best oratory to that point; in it, he advocated a gradual resumption of specie payments, that is, the government paying out silver and gold, rather than paper money that could not be redeemed. Tariffs had been raised to high levels during the Civil War. Afterward, Garfield, who made a close study of financial affairs, advocated moving toward free trade, though
13778-462: The John Y. Huber Company of Philadelphia. Before his death in 1925, Conwell would deliver it over 6,152 times around the world. The central idea of the work is that one need not look elsewhere for opportunity, achievement, or fortune; the resources to achieve all good things are present in one's own community. This theme is developed by an introductory anecdote, credited by Conwell to an Arab guide, about
13944-522: The March 2 debate on the articles, Garfield argued that what he characterized as Johnson's attempts to render Ulysses S. Grant , William Tecumseh Sherman , and William H. Emory personal tools of his demonstrated Johnson's intent to disregard the law and override the Constitution, suggesting that Johnson's trial perhaps could be expedited to last only a day in order to hasten his removal. When Johnson
14110-475: The Puritans and Congregationalists , they went into exile in 1607 with other believers who held the same biblical positions. They believe that the Bible is to be the only guide and that the believer's baptism is what the scriptures require. In 1609, the year considered to be the foundation of the movement, they baptized believers and founded the first Baptist church. In 1609, while still there, Smyth wrote
14276-570: The Senate. On July 2, 1881, Charles J. Guiteau , a disappointed and delusional office seeker , shot Garfield at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington. The wound was not immediately fatal, but an infection caused by his doctors' unsanitary methods in treating the wound killed Garfield on September 19. Due to his brief tenure in office, historians tend to rank Garfield as
14442-713: The Separatist movement's doctrine of infant baptism. Shortly thereafter, Smyth left the group. Ultimately, Smyth became committed to believers' baptism as the only biblical baptism. He was convinced on the basis of his interpretation of Scripture that infants would not be damned should they die in infancy. Smyth, convinced that his self-baptism was invalid, applied with the Mennonites for membership. He died while waiting for membership, and some of his followers became Mennonites. Helwys and others kept their baptism and their Baptist commitments. The modern Baptist denomination
14608-712: The Southeast. In 2007, the Pew Research Center 's Religious Landscape Survey found that 45% of all African Americans identify with Baptist denominations, with the vast majority of those being within the historically Black tradition. James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States , serving from March 1881 until his assassination in September that year. A preacher, lawyer, and Civil War general, Garfield served nine terms in
14774-465: The Sunday School to even greater numbers, a larger facility was needed. Consequently, on March 29, 1889, a contract was negotiated to build the new church. The ground was broken for the new building on March 27, 1889, and the cornerstone was laid on July 13, 1889. On February 15, 1891, Conwell preached his last sermon in the old church at Marvine and Berks Streets. He preached the first sermon at
14940-752: The Union to form a new government, the Confederate States of America . Garfield read military texts while anxiously awaiting the war effort, which he regarded as a holy crusade against the Slave Power . In April 1861, the rebels bombarded Fort Sumter , one of the South's last federal outposts, beginning the Civil War . Although he had no military training, Garfield knew his place was in the Union Army. At Governor William Dennison's request, Garfield deferred his military ambitions to remain in
15106-429: The United States , historian Howard Zinn comments that the message was that anyone could get rich if he tried hard enough, while implying that Conwell held elitist attitudes by quoting the following from his speech: I say that you ought to get rich, and it is your duty to get rich ... The men who get rich may be the most honest men you find in the community. Let me say here clearly ... ninety-eight out of one hundred of
15272-460: The United States have dual or triple national Baptist affiliation, causing a church and its members to be counted possibly by more than one Baptist association, if these associations are members of the BWA. Among the censuses carried out by individual Baptist associations in 2023, those which claimed the most members on each continent were: Since the early days of the Baptist movement, various associations have adopted common confessions of faith as
15438-511: The act, saying, "I have never been more perplexed by a piece of legislation." He was torn between his indignation at the Klan, whom he called "terrorists", and his concern for the power given the president to enforce the act through suspension of habeas corpus . Throughout his political career, Garfield favored the gold standard and decried attempts to increase the money supply through the issuance of paper money not backed by gold, and later, through
15604-503: The army had held and, with Rosecrans's approval, headed across Missionary Ridge to survey the scene. Garfield's hunch was correct. Consequently, his ride became legendary and Rosecrans's error reignited criticism about the latter's leadership. While Rosecrans's army had avoided disaster, they were stranded in Chattanooga, surrounded by Bragg's army. Garfield sent a telegram to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton alerting Washington to
15770-652: The autonomy of churches, but generally an individual becomes a member of a church through believer's baptism (which is a public profession of faith in Jesus, followed by immersion baptism). Most Baptists do not believe that baptism is a requirement for salvation but rather a public expression of inner repentance and faith. In general, Baptist churches do not have a stated age restriction on membership, but believer's baptism requires that an individual be able to freely and earnestly profess their faith. In 2010, an estimated 100 million Christians identified as Baptist or belonging to
15936-677: The bare privilege of not being chained?...If this is all, then freedom is a bitter mockery, a cruel delusion." Garfield supported black suffrage as firmly as he supported abolition. President Johnson sought the rapid restoration of the Southern states during the months between his accession and the meeting of Congress in December 1865; Garfield hesitantly supported this policy as an experiment. Johnson, an old friend, sought Garfield's backing and their conversations led Garfield to assume Johnson's differences with Congress were not large. When Congress assembled in December (to Johnson's chagrin, without
16102-463: The basis for cooperative work among churches. Each church has a particular confession of faith and a common confession of faith if it is a member of an association of churches. Some historically significant Baptist doctrinal documents include the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith , 1742 Philadelphia Baptist Confession, the 1833 New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith , and written church covenants which some individual Baptist churches adopt as
16268-404: The battle of Kennesaw Mountain, now Lieutenant-Colonel Conwell's arm and shoulder were broken during battle from an exploding artillery shell. While recovering from this injury, the atheist Conwell converted to Christianity in large part due to the heroism exhibited by his loyal private assistant, John H. Ring. Upon recovering from this latest injury, Colonel Conwell was assigned to Washington with
16434-458: The church was located at Berks and Mervine. That building was demolished in 1969 to make way for Temple University's Gladfelter and Anderson Halls. The December 4, 1882 issue of The Public Ledger reported the following about the new minister and church: Dedication of a New Baptist Church services conducted by the Rev. Russell H. Conwell, late of Massachusetts. The church proper on the upper story
16600-767: The church's direction, some chose to stay and try to make constructive changes from within the Anglican Church. They became known as " Puritans " and are described by Gourley as cousins of the English Separatists. Others decided they must leave the church because of their dissatisfaction and became known as the Separatists. In 1579, Faustus Socinus founded the Unitarian Polish Brethren in Poland-Lithuania , which
16766-427: The coins. Reverend Conwell had the 57 cents turned into 57 pennies , told the congregation the story of little Hattie May, and auctioned the pennies for a return of about $ 250. In addition, 54 of the 57 pennies were returned to Reverend Conwell, and he later put them up on display. On June 28, 1886, a nearby house at the corner of Broad and Berks streets, referred to as The Temple because the property owner did not want
16932-425: The company was allowed to purchase Union Pacific securities at par value , well below the market rate. Crédit Mobilier showed large profits and stock gains, and distributed substantial dividends. The high expenses meant Congress was called upon to appropriate more funds. One of the railroad officials who controlled Crédit Mobilier was also a congressman, Oakes Ames of Massachusetts . He offered some of his colleagues
17098-650: The confession of faith of the community. When an entire congregation is excluded, it is often called disfellowship. In Baptist churches, worship service is part of the life of the church and includes praise , worship , of prayers to God , a sermon based on the Bible , offering , and periodically the Lord's Supper. Some churches have services with traditional Christian music , others with contemporary Christian music , and some offer both in separate services. In many churches, there are services adapted for children, even teenagers. Prayer meetings are also held during
17264-604: The controversy over slavery in the United States . Whereas in the First Great Awakening , Methodist and Baptist preachers had opposed slavery and urged manumission , over the decades they made more of an accommodation with the institution. They worked with slaveholders in the South to urge a paternalistic institution. Both denominations made direct appeals to slaves and free Blacks for conversion. The Baptists particularly allowed them active roles in congregations. By
17430-450: The death of Cyrus Prentiss, the presumptive nominee for the local state senate seat. He was nominated at the party convention on the sixth ballot and was elected, serving from 1860 to 1861. Garfield's major effort in the state senate was an unsuccessful bill providing for Ohio's first geological survey to measure its mineral resources. After Abraham Lincoln 's election as president, several Southern states announced their secession from
17596-492: The denomination's prominent preachers, such as Basil Manly Sr. , president of the University of Alabama , were also planters who owned slaves. As early as the late 18th century, Black Baptists began to organize separate churches, associations and mission agencies. Blacks set up some independent Baptist congregations in the South before the Civil War. White Baptist associations maintained some oversight of these churches. In
17762-456: The district nominating convention, won reelection easily. Garfield opposed the proposed impeachment of Johnson initially when Congress convened in December 1866, but supported legislation to limit Johnson's powers, such as the Tenure of Office Act , which restricted Johnson's ability to remove presidential appointees. Distracted by committee duties, Garfield spoke about these bills rarely, but
17928-491: The elected representatives of the Southern states, who were excluded), Garfield urged conciliation on his colleagues, although he feared that Johnson, a former Democrat, might join other Democrats to gain political control. Garfield foresaw conflict even before February 1866, when Johnson vetoed a bill to extend the life of the Freedmen's Bureau , charged with aiding the former slaves. By April, Garfield had concluded that Johnson
18094-772: The end of the 19th century, there were between 100,000 and 300,000 Baptists in Ukraine. An independent All-Ukrainian Baptist Union of Ukraine was established during the brief period of Ukraine's independence in early 20th-century and once again after the fall of the Soviet Union, the largest of which is currently known as the Evangelical Baptist Union of Ukraine . Some Baptist church congregations choose to be independent of larger church organizations ( Independent Baptist ). Other Baptist churches choose to be part of an international or national Baptist Christian denomination or association while still adhering to
18260-549: The financing of the Union Pacific Railroad , part of the transcontinental railroad which was completed in 1869. Union Pacific officers and directors secretly purchased control of the Crédit Mobilier of America company, then contracted with it to undertake construction of the railroad. The railroad paid the company's grossly inflated invoices with federal funds appropriated to subsidize the project, and
18426-517: The first General Baptist Church in Spitalfields , east London, in 1612. Another milestone in the early development of Baptist doctrine was in 1638 with John Spilsbury , a Calvinist minister who helped to promote the strict practice of believer's baptism by immersion (as opposed to affusion or aspersion ). According to Tom Nettles, professor of historical theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary , "Spilsbury's cogent arguments for
18592-569: The five existing Baptist churches of London issued a condemnation of the Anabaptists. Furthermore, the original group associated with Smyth (popularly believed to be the first Baptists) broke with the Waterlander Mennonite Anabaptists after a brief period of association in the Netherlands. Traditional Baptist historians write from the perspective that Baptists had existed since the time of Christ. Proponents of
18758-557: The flaws in the existing conscription law: 300,000 recruits had been called upon to enlist, but barely 10,000 had done so, with the remainder claiming exemption, providing money, or recruiting a substitute. Lincoln appeared before the Military Affairs committee on which Garfield served, demanding a more effective bill; even if it cost him reelection, Lincoln was confident he could win the war before his term expired. After many false starts, Garfield, with Lincoln's support, procured
18924-417: The following years, Garfield had more praise for Lincoln; a year after Lincoln's death, Garfield said, "Greatest among all these developments were the character and fame of Abraham Lincoln," and in 1878 he called Lincoln "one of the few great rulers whose wisdom increased with his power". When in Washington, Garfield attended Vermont Avenue Christian Church, which later became National City Christian Church ,
19090-599: The house to be called a church until the mortgage was fully paid, was investigated for purchase by the Wiatt Mite Society, which was organized for the purpose of taking the 57 cents and enlarging on them sufficiently to buy the property for the Primary Department of the Sunday school. A few days later, the congregation agreed to purchase the lot. The first payment for the lot was 57 cents. The property
19256-453: The legislature, where he helped appropriate the funds to raise and equip Ohio's volunteer regiments. When the legislature adjourned Garfield spent the spring and early summer on a speaking tour of northeastern Ohio, encouraging enlistment in the new regiments. Following a trip to Illinois to purchase muskets, Garfield returned to Ohio and, in August 1861, received a commission as a colonel in
19422-537: The level of crises. Baptist historian Walter Shurden says the word crisis comes from the Greek word meaning 'to decide.' Shurden writes that contrary to the presumed negative view of crises, some controversies that reach a crisis level may actually be "positive and highly productive." He claims that even schism , though never ideal, has often produced positive results. In his opinion, crises among Baptists each have become decision moments that shaped their future. Early in
19588-481: The mid-19th century, northern Baptists tended to oppose slavery. As tensions increased, in 1844 the Home Mission Society refused to appoint a slaveholder as a missionary who had been proposed by Georgia. It noted that missionaries could not take servants with them, and also that the board did not want to appear to condone slavery. In 1845 a group of churches in favor of slavery and in disagreement with
19754-507: The national Foreign Mission Convention to support Black Baptist missionary work. Two other national Black conventions were formed, and in 1895 they united as the National Baptist Convention . This organization later went through its own changes, spinning off other conventions. It is the largest Black religious organization and the second-largest Baptist organization in the world. Baptists are numerically most dominant in
19920-458: The need for reinforcements to avoid annihilation. Lincoln and Halleck responded to the request for reinforcements by sending 20,000 troops to Garfield by rail within nine days. In the meantime, Grant was promoted to command of the western armies and quickly replaced Rosecrans with George H. Thomas . Garfield was ordered to report to Washington, where he was promoted to major general. According to historian Jean Edward Smith , Grant and Garfield had
20086-486: The needy, leading in world evangelism and defending human rights and religious freedom. Missionary organizations favored the development of the movement on all continents. The BMS World Mission was founded in 1792 at Kettering , England. In United States, International Ministries was founded in 1814, and the International Mission Board was founded in 1845. Membership policies vary due to
20252-458: The new Congress would not hold its first regular session until December 1863 allowed him to continue his war service for a time. Home on medical leave, he refused to campaign for the nomination, leaving that to political managers who secured it at the local convention in September 1862 on the eighth ballot. In the October general election, he defeated D.B. Woods by a two-to-one margin for a seat in
20418-587: The new building on March 1. Sixty people were baptized in the afternoon, and several addresses were given. The Rev. L. B. Hartman, the first minister, was present. The celebration continued throughout the week, and the church was filled to capacity for all of its services. The new church later became known as The Baptist Temple. The congregation of the church continues today as the Grace Baptist Church . The original inspiration for "Acres of Diamonds", his most famous essay, occurred in 1869 when Conwell
20584-516: The opportunity to buy Crédit Mobilier stock at par value, well below what it sold for on the market, and the railroad got its additional appropriations. The story broke in July 1872, in the middle of the presidential campaign. Among those named were Vice President Schuyler Colfax , Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson (the Republican candidate for vice president), Speaker James G. Blaine of Maine, and Garfield. Greeley had little luck taking advantage of
20750-488: The party regain control of the chamber. Garfield thought the land grants given to expanding railroads was an unjust practice. He also opposed monopolistic practices by corporations, as well as the power sought by workers' unions. He supported the proposed establishment of the United States civil service as a means of ridding officials of the annoyance of aggressive office seekers. He especially wished to eliminate
20916-621: The passage of a conscription bill that excluded commutation. Under Chase's influence, Garfield became a staunch proponent of a dollar backed by a gold standard , and strongly opposed the " greenback ". He also accepted the necessity of suspension of payment in gold or silver during the Civil War with strong reluctance. He voted with the Radical Republicans in passing the Wade–Davis Bill , designed to give Congress more authority over Reconstruction , but Lincoln defeated it with
21082-565: The postwar years, freedmen quickly left the white congregations and associations, setting up their own churches. In 1866, the Consolidated American Baptist Convention, formed from Black Baptists of the South and West, helped southern associations set up Black state conventions, which they did in Alabama , Arkansas , Virginia , North Carolina , and Kentucky . In 1880, Black state conventions united in
21248-579: The ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870 as a triumph and favored Georgia's readmission to the Union as a matter of right, not politics. An influential Republican, Garfield said, "[The] Fifteen Amendment confers on the African race the care of its own destiny. It places their fortunes in their own hands." In 1871, Congress took up the Ku Klux Klan Act , which was designed to combat attacks on African Americans' suffrage rights. Garfield opposed
21414-535: The rebel positions on January 9, 1862, in the Battle of Middle Creek , the only pitched battle Garfield commanded personally. At the fighting's end, the Confederates withdrew from the field and Garfield sent his troops to Prestonsburg to reprovision. In recognition of his success, Garfield was promoted to brigadier general. After Marshall's retreat, Garfield's command was the sole remaining Union force in eastern Kentucky and he announced that any men who had fought for
21580-422: The rebels at Jenny's Creek. Confederate troops under Brigadier General Humphrey Marshall held the town in numbers roughly equal to Garfield's own, but Garfield positioned his troops so as to deceive Marshall into believing the rebels were outnumbered. Marshall ordered his troops to withdraw to the forks of Middle Creek, on the road to Virginia, and Garfield ordered his troops to take up the pursuit. They attacked
21746-574: The resolution that authorized the second impeachment inquiry against Johnson (run by the House Select Committee on Reconstruction ). Due to a court case, he was absent on February 24, 1868, when the House impeached Johnson , but gave a speech aligning himself with Thaddeus Stevens and others who sought Johnson's removal shortly thereafter. Garfield was present on March 2 and 3, 1868, when the House voted on specific articles of impeachment, and voted in support of all 11 articles. During
21912-415: The rest of the army on the second day to drive the Confederates back across the field and into retreat. The action, later known as the Battle of Shiloh , was the bloodiest of the war to date; Garfield was exposed to fire for much of the day, but emerged uninjured. Major General Henry W. Halleck , Grant's superior, took charge of the combined armies and advanced ponderously toward Corinth; when they arrived,
22078-434: The rich men of America are honest. That is why they are rich. That is why they are trusted with money. That is why they carry on great enterprises and find plenty of people to work with them. It is because they are honest men. ... I sympathize with the poor, but the number of poor who are to be sympathized with is very small. To sympathize with a man whom God has punished for his sins ... is to do wrong. ... Let us remember there
22244-574: The rule of faith and practice) and congregationalist church government . Baptists recognize only two ordinances : baptism and communion . Diverse from their beginning, those identifying as Baptists today may differ widely from one another in what they believe, how they worship, their attitudes toward other Christians, and their understanding of what is important in Christian discipleship. Baptist missionaries have spread various Baptist churches to every continent. The largest group of Baptist churches
22410-514: The scandal. When Congress reconvened after the election, Blaine, seeking to clear his name, demanded a House investigation. Evidence before the special committee exonerated Blaine. Garfield had said in September 1872 that Ames had offered him stock but he had repeatedly refused it. Testifying before the committee in January, Ames said he had offered Garfield ten shares of stock at par value, but that Garfield had never taken them or paid for them, though
22576-622: The sermon where Conwell tells this story in full is available at Temple University Libraries. In September 1887, at the Centennial Celebration of the United States Constitution , money received from the Wiatt Mite Society was given "for the success of the new Temple". This was the first time the name "Temple" was used in place of the church name. In 1888, the youth group considered becoming
22742-436: The shoulder – in order to gain a tactical advantage on his Confederate adversaries. On September 25, 1862 he was commissioned as a captain (to rank from September 9, 1862) and placed in command of Company F of the 46th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment . He was mustered out of service, along with his regiment, on July 29, 1863. After his nine-month enlistment, Conwell returned home to Massachusetts to convalesce after contracting
22908-499: The speculation. Garfield was not at all enthused about President Grant's reelection in 1872—until Greeley, who emerged as the candidate of the Democrats and Liberal Republicans , became the only serious alternative. Garfield said, "I would say Grant was not fit to be nominated and Greeley is not fit to be elected." Both Grant and Garfield were overwhelmingly reelected. The Crédit Mobilier of America scandal involved corruption in
23074-532: The standard Republican position was a protective tariff that would allow American industries to grow. This break with his party likely cost him his place on the Ways and Means Committee in 1867, and though Republicans held the majority in the House until 1875, Garfield remained off that committee. Garfield came to chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee , but it was Ways and Means, with its influence over fiscal policy, that he really wanted to lead. One reason he
23240-536: The task of driving Confederate forces out of eastern Kentucky, giving him the 18th Brigade for the campaign, which, besides his own 42nd, included the 40th Ohio Infantry , two Kentucky infantry regiments and two cavalry units. They departed Catlettsburg, Kentucky , in mid-December, advancing through the valley of the Big Sandy River . The march was uneventful until Union forces reached Paintsville, Kentucky , on January 6, 1862, where Garfield's cavalry engaged
23406-840: The two became close despite Garfield's being 12 years his junior. Rosecrans, who had converted from Methodism to Roman Catholicism , softened Garfield's view of his faith. Garfield recommended that Rosecrans replace wing commanders Alexander McCook and Thomas Crittenden , as he believed they were ineffective, but Rosecrans ignored the suggestion. With Rosecrans, Garfield devised the Tullahoma Campaign to pursue and trap Confederate General Braxton Bragg in Tullahoma . After initial Union success, Bragg retreated toward Chattanooga , where Rosecrans stalled and requested more troops and supplies. Garfield argued for an immediate advance, in line with demands from Halleck and Lincoln. After
23572-490: The vote. The Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives in 1875 meant the loss of Garfield's chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee, though the Democrats did put him on the Ways and Means Committee. With many of his leadership rivals defeated in the 1874 Democratic landslide, and Blaine elected to the Senate, Garfield was seen as the Republican floor leader , and the likely Speaker, should
23738-518: The week. The architecture is generally sober, and the Latin cross is one of the only spiritual symbols that can usually be seen on the building of a Baptist church and that identifies the place where it belongs. Baptist churches established elementary and secondary schools, Bible colleges , colleges and universities as early as the 1680s in England, before continuing in various countries. In 2006,
23904-507: The world outside the Western Reserve of Ohio." Upon his return to Ohio, the degree from a prestigious Eastern college made Garfield a man of distinction. He returned to Hiram to teach at the Institute and in 1857 was made its principal, though he did not see education as a field that would realize his full potential. The abolitionist atmosphere at Williams had enlightened him politically, after which he began to consider politics as
24070-399: Was a large general capacity applicable to any subject. There was no pretense of genius, or alternation of spasmodic effort, but a satisfactory accomplishment in all directions." After his first term, Garfield was hired to teach penmanship to the students of nearby Pownal, Vermont , a post Chester A. Arthur previously held. Garfield graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Williams in August 1856,
24236-600: Was a loyal Republican vote against Johnson. On January 7, 1867, Garfield voted in support of the resolution that launched the first impeachment inquiry against Johnson (run by the House Committee on the Judiciary ). On December 7, 1867, he voted against the unsuccessful resolution to impeach Johnson that the House Committee on the Judiciary had sent the full House. On January 27, 1868, he voted to pass
24402-535: Was a member of the intraparty " Half-Breed " faction who used the powers of the presidency to defy the powerful " Stalwart " Senator Roscoe Conkling from New York. He did this by appointing Blaine faction leader William H. Robertson to the lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York . The ensuing political battle resulted in Robertson's confirmation and the resignations of Conkling and Thomas C. Platt from
24568-630: Was a preacher in the Stone–Campbell Movement and president of the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute , affiliated with the Disciples . Garfield was elected as a Republican member of the Ohio State Senate in 1859, serving until 1861. He opposed Confederate secession , was a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and fought in the battles of Middle Creek , Shiloh , and Chickamauga . He
24734-401: Was a tolerant country. The Unitarians taught baptism by immersion . After their expulsion from the Commonwealth in 1658, many of them fled to the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, the Unitarians introduced immersion baptism to the Dutch Mennonites . Baptist churches have their origins in a movement started by John Smyth and Thomas Helwys in Amsterdam . Because they shared beliefs with
24900-430: Was acquitted in his trial before the Senate , Garfield was shocked and blamed the outcome on the trial's presiding officer, Chief Justice Chase, his onetime mentor. By the time Grant succeeded Johnson in 1869, Garfield had moved away from the remaining radicals (Stevens, their leader, had died in 1868). By this time, many in the Republican Party wanted to remove the "Negro question" from national affairs. Garfield hailed
25066-441: Was born in Worcester, New York , and came to Ohio to woo his childhood sweetheart, Mehitabel Ballou, only to find her married. He instead wed her sister Eliza, who was born in New Hampshire. James was named after an earlier son of Eliza and Abram who had died in infancy. In early 1833, Abram and Eliza Garfield joined a Stone-Campbell church, a decision that influenced their youngest son's life. Abram died later that year, and James
25232-472: Was broken on Friday, September 24, 1869, when Grant and Treasury Secretary George Boutwell released gold into the market, causing widespread financial panic. During the investigation, rumors spread that Grant's family might have been involved. In order not to force Grant's wife to testify, Garfield had a private meeting with Grant at the White House. When Garfield showed Grant testimony about him and his family, Grant thanked Garfield but refused to read it or give
25398-430: Was conveyed to the church on January 31, 1887. In that same house, the first classes of Temple College, later Temple University, were held. The house was later sold to allow Temple College to move and the Baptist Temple (now the Temple Performing Arts Center) to grow, and still, more of that money went towards founding the Samaritan Hospital . This story so touched Conwell that he repeated it many times. The transcript for
25564-426: Was denied a place on Ways and Means was the opposition of the influential Republican editor Horace Greeley . Starting in January 1870, Garfield, then chairman of the House Banking Committee , led an investigation into the Black Friday Gold Panic scandal. In 1869, during Grant's first term in office, two New York conspirators, Jay Gould and James Fisk , launched a scheme to corner the gold market. The conspiracy
25730-486: Was either "crazy or drunk with opium." The conflict between Congress and President Johnson was the major issue of the 1866 campaign, with Johnson taking to the campaign trail in a Swing Around the Circle and Garfield facing opposition within the Republican party in his home district. With the South still disenfranchised and Northern public opinion behind the Republicans, they gained a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress. Garfield, having overcome his challengers at
25896-433: Was elected to Congress in 1862 to represent Ohio's 19th district . Throughout his congressional service, he firmly supported the gold standard and gained a reputation as a skilled orator. He initially agreed with Radical Republican views on Reconstruction but later favored a Moderate Republican –aligned approach to civil rights enforcement for freedmen . Garfield's aptitude for mathematics extended to his own proof of
26062-427: Was established with the assistance of the New Light evangelist Henry Alline . Many of Alline's followers, after his death, converted and strengthened the Baptist presence in the Atlantic region. Two major groups of Baptists formed the basis of the churches in the Maritimes . These were referred to as Regular Baptist (Calvinistic in their doctrine) and Free Will Baptists (Arminian in their doctrine). In May 1845,
26228-403: Was greater than usual, with duties extending beyond communication of orders to actual management of his Army of the Cumberland . Rosecrans had a voracious appetite for conversation, especially when unable to sleep; in Garfield, he found "the first well read person in the Army" and the ideal candidate for discussions that ran deep into the night. They discussed everything, especially religion, and
26394-447: Was held by English Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon as well as Jesse Mercer , the namesake of Mercer University . In 1898 William Whitsitt was pressured to resign his presidency of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for denying Baptist successionism. In 1612 Helwys established a Baptist congregation in London, consisting of congregants from Smyth's church. A number of other Baptist churches sprang up, and they became known as
26560-415: Was more supportive of Lincoln when he took action against slavery. Garfield showed leadership early in his congressional career; he was initially the only Republican vote to terminate the use of bounties in military recruiting. Some financially able recruits had used the bounty system to buy their way out of service (called commutation), which Garfield considered reprehensible. He gave a speech pointing out
26726-400: Was mustered out of the 2nd Massachusetts Heavy Artillery on May 20, 1864. While he claimed that he was later reinstated by General James B. McPherson , no military records confirm his statement. Two months into his detention, and prior to the completion of the investigation, Conwell was assigned to Nashville, Tennessee, in June 1864 to join General MacPherson's movement against Atlanta. During
26892-419: Was named salutatorian , and spoke at the commencement . His biographer Ira Rutkow writes that Garfield's years at Williams gave him the opportunity to know and respect those of different social backgrounds, and that, despite his origin as an unsophisticated Westerner, socially conscious New Englanders liked and respected him. "In short," Rutkow writes, "Garfield had an extensive and positive first experience with
27058-436: Was ordained as a Baptist minister and took over a congregation in Lexington, Massachusetts . Alexander Reed, a leader of the Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia , heard Conwell preach when he visited him in Lexington, Massachusetts , and recommended that Conwell become a pastor for his congregation. The official "call" was made on October 16, 1882. Conwell's first sermon at Grace Baptist was on November 30, 1882. At this time
27224-541: Was raised in poverty in a household led by his strong-willed mother. He was her favorite child and the two remained close for the rest of his life. Eliza remarried in 1842, but soon left her second husband, Warren (or Alfred) Belden, and a scandalous divorce was awarded in 1850. James took his mother's side in the matter and noted Belden's 1880 death with satisfaction in his diary. Garfield also enjoyed his mother's stories about his ancestry, especially those about his Welsh great-great-grandfathers and an ancestor who served as
27390-423: Was the so-called " Salary Grab " of 1873, which increased the compensation for members of Congress by 50%, retroactive to 1871. As chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Garfield was responsible for shepherding the appropriations bill through the House; during the debate in February 1873, Massachusetts Representative Benjamin Butler offered the increase as an amendment, and despite Garfield's opposition, it passed
27556-428: Was traveling in the Middle East. The work began as a speech, "at first given," wrote Conwell in 1913, "before a reunion of my old comrades of the Forty-sixth Massachusetts Regiment, which served in the Civil War and in which I was captain." It was delivered as a lecture on the Chautauqua circuit prior to his becoming pastor of the Grace Baptist Church in Philadelphia in 1882 and was first published in book form in 1890 by
#930069