Westminster Seminary California is a Reformed and Presbyterian Christian seminary in Escondido, California . It was initially a branch campus of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia until 1982 when it became fully independent. It has 13 full-time faculty members and enrolls approximately 155 full-time students.
154-714: Westminster Seminary California was founded in 1979 and welcomed its first students in the fall of 1980. It is a multi-denominational seminary in the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition, with close relationships with several denominations, including the Presbyterian Church in America , Orthodox Presbyterian Church , United Reformed Churches in North America and Korean-American Presbyterian Church . The Escondido Orthodox Presbyterian Church worships in
308-705: A Master of Arts degree and a Master of Divinity degree. Westminster Seminary California is associated with the Reformed Two kingdoms doctrine . Andrew Sandlin has called this the "Escondido Theology". Past and present notable faculty members include: 33°07′19″N 117°02′48″W / 33.1220°N 117.0468°W / 33.1220; -117.0468 Presbyterian Church in America Presbytery in Chile The Presbyterian Church in America ( PCA )
462-522: A Baltimore newspaper editor, Frank Key Howard , after he criticized Lincoln in an editorial for ignoring Taney's ruling. In Missouri, an elected convention on secession voted to remain in the Union. When pro-Confederate Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson called out the state militia, it was attacked by federal forces under General Nathaniel Lyon , who chased the governor and rest of the State Guard to
616-525: A blockade of the Confederacy to suffocate the South into surrender. Lincoln adopted parts of the plan but opted for a more active war strategy. In April 1861, Lincoln announced a blockade of all Southern ports; commercial ships could not get insurance, ending regular traffic. The South blundered by embargoing cotton exports before the blockade was fully effective; by the time they reversed this decision, it
770-705: A draft law in April 1862 for men aged 18–35, with exemptions for overseers, government officials, and clergymen. The U.S. Congress followed in July, authorizing a militia draft within states that could not meet their quota with volunteers. European immigrants joined the Union Army in large numbers, including 177,000 born in Germany and 144,000 in Ireland. About 50,000 Canadians served, around 2,500 of whom were black. When
924-483: A firm hand by Lincoln tamed Seward, who was a staunch Lincoln ally. Lincoln decided holding the fort, which would require reinforcing it, was the only workable option. On April 6, Lincoln informed the Governor of South Carolina that a ship with food but no ammunition would attempt to supply the fort. Historian McPherson describes this win-win approach as "the first sign of the mastery that would mark Lincoln's presidency";
1078-411: A gay atheist who converted to Christianity in college, his sexual orientation had nevertheless never changed. Critics sought Johnson's removal for identifying as a gay or same-sex attracted man and for arguing against Sexual orientation change efforts as ineffective. Johnson requested investigation by his regional presbytery, which exonerated him in 2019 and again in 2020. In 2020, Johnson's exoneration
1232-570: A head when Abraham Lincoln , who opposed slavery's expansion, won the 1860 presidential election . Seven Southern slave states responded to Lincoln's victory by seceding from the United States and forming the Confederacy. The Confederacy seized U.S. forts and other federal assets within their borders. The war began on April 12, 1861, when the Confederacy bombarded Fort Sumter in South Carolina . A wave of enthusiasm for war swept over
1386-479: A man until she died in 1915 at the age of 71. The small U.S. Navy of 1861 rapidly expanded to 6,000 officers and 45,000 sailors by 1865, with 671 vessels totaling 510,396 tons. Its mission was to blockade Confederate ports, control the river system, defend against Confederate raiders on the high seas, and be ready for a possible war with the British Royal Navy . The main riverine war was fought in
1540-603: A more Southern two-office view. Church government is exercised at three levels: the Session , which governs the local church; the Presbytery , a regional governing body, and the General Assembly , the highest court of the denomination. The PCA is committed to a principle of voluntary association and all PCA congregations own their own property. Additionally all giving to the administration and permanent committees of
1694-451: A patriotic fire under the North. On April 15, Lincoln called on the states to field 75,000 volunteer troops for 90 days; impassioned Union states met the quotas quickly. On May 3, 1861, Lincoln called for an additional 42,000 volunteers for three years. Shortly after this, Virginia , Tennessee , Arkansas , and North Carolina seceded and joined the Confederacy. To reward Virginia,
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#17327826923331848-609: A repository of archives and manuscripts, is located in St. Louis, Missouri. The PCA is one of the denominations in the United States, with some 1,700 churches and missions throughout the US and Canada. There were some 335,000 communicant and non-communicant members as of December 2000. In 2004 the former PC(USA) member First Presbyterian Church in Charleston, MS voted to join the PCA rather than
2002-421: A republic, but a third challenge faced the nation: maintaining a republic based on the people's vote, in the face of an attempt to destroy it. Lincoln's election provoked South Carolina 's legislature to call a state convention to consider secession. South Carolina had done more than any other state to advance the notion that a state had the right to nullify federal laws and even secede. On December 20, 1860,
2156-653: A strict cessationist position, while the PCA allows presbyteries to ordain non-cessationists if they do not believe that ongoing gifts are on par with Special Revelation. Many PCA churches have moved toward contemporary worship , while the OPC is dominated by traditional Reformed worship. The southern roots of the Presbyterian Church in America were tempered somewhat by the merger with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod and
2310-655: Is based on the PCUS Book of Church Order declared it in force on May 19, 1879. The distinction between pastors and elders in the PCA is a mixture of two traditions. The PCA holds to a quasi-parity of pastors and elders (named Ruling and Teaching Elders; REs and TEs for short), where Ruling and Teaching Elders have the same voting rights in the courts of the church and can participate in each other's examinations and ordinations, yet there are certain and definite ways that TEs and REs are distinct. Pastors have deference as moderators of local church Sessions. Only Pastors may administer
2464-723: Is generally less theologically conservative than the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC, founded in 1936), but more conservative than the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC, founded in 1981) and the Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (ECO, founded in 2012), though the differences can vary from presbytery to presbytery and even congregation to congregation. The PCA, as mentioned above, will not ordain women as teaching elders (pastors), ruling elders, or deacons, while
2618-557: Is hard to find any doctrinal differences between these two denominations. In recent years the OPC and PCA published substantial similar reports on the Creation Days , the debate about Justification and the issue of the Federal Vision . They have identical positions on social issues like women in combat, Freemasonry and abortion. The only divergence of any significance is the matter of charismatic gifts. The OPC maintains
2772-603: Is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA) , and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Reformed in theology and presbyterian in government. Presbyterians trace their history to the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. The Presbyterian heritage, and much of its theology, began with the French theologian and lawyer John Calvin (1509–64), whose writings solidified much of
2926-490: The 1860 presidential election . Southern leaders feared Lincoln would stop slavery's expansion and put it on a course toward extinction. His victory triggered declarations of secession by seven slave states of the Deep South , all of whose riverfront or coastal economies were based on cotton that was cultivated by slave labor. Lincoln was not inaugurated until March 4, 1861, giving the South time to prepare for war during
3080-576: The Church of Scotland embraced Reformed theology and presbyterian polity . Immigrants from Scotland and Ireland brought Presbyterianism to America as early as 1640, and immigration would remain a large source of growth throughout the colonial era. Another source of growth were a number of New England Puritans who left the Congregational churches because they preferred presbyterian polity. In 1706, seven ministers led by Francis Makemie established
3234-496: The Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union. The central conflict leading to war was a dispute over whether slavery should be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states , or be prohibited from doing so, which many believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction. Decades of controversy over slavery were brought to
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#17327826923333388-641: The Dred Scott decision was proof the Southern states had no reason to secede and that the Union "was intended to be perpetual". He added, however, that "The power by force of arms to compel a State to remain in the Union" was not among the "enumerated powers granted to Congress". A quarter of the US army—the Texas garrison—was surrendered in February to state forces by its general, David E. Twiggs , who joined
3542-522: The EPC considers this issue a "non-essential" matter left to the individual ordaining body, and ECO fully embraces women's ordination. However, there is an increasingly strong movement in the PCA to allow ordination of women as deacons including overtures in the General Assembly. A number of PCA churches are known to have non-ordained women deacons and deaconesses. The EPC is also more tolerant of
3696-618: The Emancipation Proclamation went into effect in January 1863, ex-slaves were energetically recruited to meet state quotas. States and local communities offered higher cash bonuses for white volunteers. Congress tightened the draft law in March 1863. Men selected in the draft could provide substitutes or, until mid-1864, pay commutation money. Many eligibles pooled their money to cover the cost of anyone drafted. Families used
3850-891: The Presbytery of Sheppards & Lapsley (Unity Presbyterian in Weogufka, AL, and Southwood Presbyterian in Talladega, AL) in the state of Alabama and Smyrna Korean Presbyterian Church in Enterprise, AL joined the Presbyterian Church in America instead of ECO or EPC, which have women ministers. Several PC(USA) breakaway groups like New Covenant Presbyterian Church in McComb, MS which broke from J.J. White Memorial Presbyterian Church in 2007, and First Scot's Presbyterian Church, PCA in Beaufort, South Carolina (formerly First Scots Independent Presbyterian Church) voted to affiliate with
4004-636: The Reformed thinking that came before him in the form of the sermons and writings of Huldrych Zwingli . From Calvin's headquarters in Geneva , the Reformed movement spread to other parts of Europe. John Knox , a former Catholic priest from Scotland who studied with Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland , took Calvin's teachings back to Scotland and led the Scottish Reformation of 1560. As a result,
4158-592: The Virginia to prevent its capture, while the Union built many copies of the Monitor . The Confederacy's efforts to obtain warships from Great Britain failed, as Britain had no interest in selling warships to a nation at war with a stronger enemy and feared souring relations with the U.S. By early 1861, General Winfield Scott had devised the Anaconda Plan to win the war with minimal bloodshed, calling for
4312-800: The Westminster Confession of Faith , the Westminster Shorter Catechism , and the Westminster Larger Catechism . These secondary documents are viewed as subordinate to the Bible, which alone is viewed as the inspired Word of God. "True to the Reformed Faith:" https://www.pcaac.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/PCA-Clerks-of-Session-Handbook.pdf As might be expected given Presbyterianism 's historically high esteem for education,
4466-533: The charismatic movement than the PCA. However, there is a strong New Calvinist movement in the PCA that practices contemporary music, adheres to a continuationist position on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and engages in civil dialogue with differing theological views. This is not surprising since PCA has issued, from its inception, a pastoral letter to all the PCA churches to tolerate the charismatics within its ranks. The PCA has little doctrinal quarrel with
4620-564: The fall of Atlanta in 1864 to Union General William Tecumseh Sherman , followed by his March to the Sea . The last significant battles raged around the ten-month Siege of Petersburg , gateway to the Confederate capital of Richmond . The Confederates abandoned Richmond, and on April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant following the Battle of Appomattox Court House , setting in motion the end of
4774-720: The inerrancy of scripture . Opponents of the merger took specific issue with the United Presbyterian Church's adherence to the Auburn Affirmation and the Confession of 1967 ; the Southern Presbyterian denomination rejected the adoption of these confessions as official standards, noting amorphous biblical doctrine, lax sexual ethic, and conversations with other church bodies that rejected the Reformed faith, such as those explored by
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4928-453: The institution of slavery . Historians in the 21st century overwhelmingly agree on the centrality of slavery in the conflict. They disagree on which aspects (ideological, economic, political, or social) were most important, and on the North 's reasons for refusing to allow the Southern states to secede. The pseudo-historical Lost Cause ideology denies that slavery was the principal cause of
5082-589: The ironclad warship , and mass-produced weapons were widely used. The war left an estimated 698,000 soldiers dead, along with an undetermined number of civilian casualties, making the Civil War the deadliest military conflict in American history. The technology and brutality of the Civil War foreshadowed the coming World Wars . The origins of the war were rooted in the desire of the Southern states to preserve
5236-406: The 168,649 men procured for the Union through the draft, 117,986 were substitutes, leaving only 50,663 who were conscripted. In the North and South, draft laws were highly unpopular. In the North, some 120,000 men evaded conscription, many fleeing to Canada, and another 280,000 soldiers deserted during the war. At least 100,000 Southerners deserted, about 10 percent of the total. Southern desertion
5390-606: The 1970s, the denomination added a significant number of congregations outside the South when several UPCUSA churches in Ohio and Pennsylvania joined. This move was precipitated by a case regarding an ordination candidate, Wynn Kenyon, denied by the Pittsburgh Presbytery because he refused to support women's ordination (a decision upheld by the UPCUSA General Assembly). The seceder churches formed
5544-847: The Ascension Presbytery , officially organised on July 29, 1975. That year, a minister of that presbytery described its history as follows: The constituents of the Presbytery of the Ascension were almost exclusively members, in one way or another, of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA). ... Walter Kenyon was an honors graduate of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary . ... Mr. Kenyon ... stated that he could not in good conscience participate in
5698-601: The Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Insurance rates soared, and the American flag virtually disappeared from international waters, though reflagging ships with European flags allowed them to continue operating unmolested. After the war, the U.S. government demanded Britain compensate it for the damage caused by blockade runners and raiders outfitted in British ports. Britain paid the U.S. $ 15 million in 1871, but only for commerce raiding. Dinçaslan argues that another outcome of
5852-566: The Bahamas in exchange for high-priced cotton. Many were lightweight and designed for speed, only carrying small amounts of cotton back to England. When the Union Navy seized a blockade runner, the ship and cargo were condemned as a prize of war and sold, with proceeds given to the Navy sailors; the captured crewmen, mostly British, were released. The Southern economy nearly collapsed during
6006-400: The British response to the U.S. was toned down, helping avert war. In 1862, the British government considered mediating between the Union and Confederacy, though such an offer would have risked war with the U.S. British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston reportedly read Uncle Tom's Cabin three times when deciding what his decision would be. The Union victory at the Battle of Antietam caused
6160-621: The British to delay this decision. The Emancipation Proclamation increased the political liability of supporting the Confederacy. Realizing that Washington could not intervene in Mexico as long as the Confederacy controlled Texas, France invaded Mexico in 1861 and installed the Habsburg Austrian archduke Maximilian I as emperor. Washington repeatedly protested France's violation of the Monroe Doctrine . Despite sympathy for
6314-599: The Church seeks to maintain and the changing social practices of the culture. The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) has not redefined marriage nor does it intend to do so. The PCA is more socially and theologically conservative than the PC(USA) . The PCA requires ordained pastors and elders to subscribe to the theological doctrines detailed in the Westminster Standards , with only minor exceptions allowed, while
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6468-449: The Church seeks to maintain and the changing social practices of the culture." In 2020, the PCA's Committee Report on Human Sexuality concluded that it is generally unwise for Christians to identify themselves as gay Christian even if they abstain from homosexual activities due to homoerotic desires being sinful in nature. Furthermore, the PCA officially affirmed the Nashville Statement at their annual General Assembly in 2019. However,
6622-455: The Civil Rights era has helped to ameliorate the conflict that some black members of the PCA may have felt about the denomination's failure to fully embrace and protect the rights of African Americans both within and outside of the church during the PCA's formative years. Conservatives also felt the church should disavow the ordination of women . They also criticized the PCUS Board of Christian Education's published literature and believed that
6776-404: The Commonwealth, which at its greatest extent was over half the state, and it went into exile after October 1862. After Virginia's secession, a Unionist government in Wheeling asked 48 counties to vote on an ordinance to create a new state in October 1861. A voter turnout of 34% approved the statehood bill (96% approving). Twenty-four secessionist counties were included in the new state, and
6930-477: The Concerned Presbyterians, and the Presbyterian Churchmen United (PCU), an organization of conservative pastors in the Southern Presbyterian Church. They sought to reaffirm the Westminster Confession of Faith as the fullest and clearest exposition of biblical faith, which many conservatives felt that presbyteries had been violating by receiving ministers who refused to affirm the virgin birth and bodily resurrection , and to expect all pastors and leaders to affirm
7084-410: The Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River , while Confederate General Robert E. Lee 's incursion north failed at the Battle of Gettysburg . Western successes led to General Ulysses S. Grant 's command of all Union armies in 1864. Inflicting an ever-tightening naval blockade of Confederate ports, the Union marshaled resources and manpower to attack the Confederacy from all directions. This led to
7238-400: The Confederacy refused to exchange black prisoners. After that, about 56,000 of the 409,000 POWs died in prisons, accounting for 10 percent of the conflict's fatalities. Historian Elizabeth D. Leonard writes that between 500 and 1,000 women enlisted as soldiers on both sides, disguised as men. Women also served as spies, resistance activists, nurses, and hospital personnel. Women served on
7392-410: The Confederacy, France's seizure of Mexico ultimately deterred it from war with the Union. Confederate offers late in the war to end slavery in return for diplomatic recognition were not seriously considered by London or Paris. After 1863, the Polish revolt against Russia further distracted the European powers and ensured they remained neutral. Russia supported the Union, largely because it believed
7546-454: The Confederacy. As Southerners resigned their Senate and House seats, Republicans could pass projects that had been blocked. These included the Morrill Tariff , land grant colleges, a Homestead Act , a transcontinental railroad, the National Bank Act , authorization of United States Notes by the Legal Tender Act of 1862 , and the end of slavery in the District of Columbia . The Revenue Act of 1861 introduced income tax to help finance
7700-519: The Confederate capital was moved to Richmond . Maryland , Delaware , Missouri , West Virginia and Kentucky were slave states whose people had divided loyalties to Northern and Southern businesses and family members. Some men enlisted in the Union Army and others in the Confederate Army. West Virginia separated from Virginia and was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, though half its counties were secessionist. Maryland's territory surrounded Washington, D.C. , and could cut it off from
7854-414: The Consultation on Church Union. It remains controversial as to whether racial tensions may have contributed to the formation of the PCA. Many in the PCA have adamantly maintained that race played little role in the genesis of the new denomination, but many outside the PCA have a historical memory of racial animus irrefutably contributing to the desire for exodus from the Southern Presbyterian denomination,
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#17327826923338008-412: The District of Columbia by seizing prominent figures, including arresting one-third of the members of the Maryland General Assembly on the day it reconvened. All were held without trial, with Lincoln ignoring a ruling on June 1, 1861, by Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney , not speaking for the Court, that only Congress could suspend habeas corpus ( Ex parte Merryman ). Federal troops imprisoned
8162-422: The EPC, which allows women as church officers. Hospers Presbyterian Church in Hospers, Iowa was also PC(USA), joined the PCA in November 2006. Park Cities Presbyterian Church was formed when about 1,500–2,000 former Highland Park Presbyterian Church (Dallas, Texas) member separated from the PC(USA) and joined PCA. In 2013 and 2014 a few disappointed conservative PC(USA) congregations from New York state and from
8316-432: The General Assembly of the PCA, has said that the PCA "believes that, from creation, God ordained the marriage covenant to be a bond between one man and one woman" and that "divinely sanctioned standard for sexual activity is fidelity within a marriage between one man and one woman or chastity outside of such a marriage. Throughout history, there has often been a conflict between the unchanging standards of biblical ethics that
8470-414: The New Life Churches and their Sonship course represented classic revivalism , and it did not fit well with the more doctrinalist cast of the OPC. The New Life Churches were made to feel unwelcome and nearly all left in the early 1990s to swell the pietist ranks of the PCA. In 1983 several PCUS churches had joined the PCA, instead of merging with the UPCUSA into the current PC (U.S.A.) ; others joined
8624-407: The North and South, as military recruitment soared. Four more Southern states seceded after the war began and, led by its president, Jefferson Davis , the Confederacy asserted control over a third of the U.S. population in eleven states. Four years of intense combat, mostly in the South, ensued. During 1861–1862 in the Western theater , the Union made permanent gains—though in the Eastern theater
8778-420: The North, where anti-slavery sentiment had grown, and for the South, where the fear of slavery's abolition had grown. Another factor leading to secession and the formation of the Confederacy was the development of white Southern nationalism in the preceding decades. The primary reason for the North to reject secession was to preserve the Union, a cause based on American nationalism . Background factors in
8932-545: The North. It had anti-Lincoln officials who tolerated anti-army rioting in Baltimore and the burning of bridges, both aimed at hindering the passage of troops to the South. Maryland's legislature voted overwhelmingly to stay in the Union, but rejected hostilities with its southern neighbors, voting to close Maryland's rail lines to prevent their use for war. Lincoln responded by establishing martial law and unilaterally suspending habeas corpus in Maryland, along with sending in militia units. Lincoln took control of Maryland and
9086-472: The OPC. Both denominations have similar views on the Federal Vision , creation and justification . While most OPC congregations allow women only to teach children and other women in Sunday school, some moderate PCA congregations allow women to do anything a non-ordained man can do. While the OPC and the PCA both adhere to the Westminster Standards , the OPC is generally more strict in requiring its officers to subscribe to those standards without exception. It
9240-454: The PC(USA)'s Book of Confessions allows much more leeway. The PCA ordains only men who profess traditional marriage, while the PC(USA) allows the ordination of both women and (in certain Presbyteries) non-celibate gays and lesbians as clergy. Like the PC(USA), however, the PCA accommodates different views of creation. The PCA strives for racial reconciliation. The PCA is unilaterally anti-abortion , believing life begins at conception. Unlike
9394-489: The PC(USA), the PCA has no ecumenical relationship with organizations which accept denominations that they perceive to have strayed from orthodoxy, such as the World Council of Churches or World Communion of Reformed Churches . Due to problems related to church property when splitting from the PC(USA), in the PCA all church buildings belong to the local church, which gives the PCA a slightly more congregational church structure than most other Presbyterian structures. The PCA
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#17327826923339548-415: The PCA a more broadly national base of membership with a denominational college, Covenant College , and a seminary, Covenant Theological Seminary . Previously, the PCA had relied on independent evangelical institutions such as Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi and Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. The PCA had originally invited three denominations to
9702-452: The PCA again invited the Orthodox Presbyterian Church to join them, but without success. Not everyone agreed with the decision. In the four years after 1986, there was a voluntary realignment as congregations left the OPC for the PCA, mainly from California, Montana and Pennsylvania , but also from as far as Alaska. By the 1970s, the OPC had grown a new ‘pietist/revivalist’ wing under the influence of Jack Miller . According to Tim Keller ,
9856-462: The PCA emphasizes ministries of mercy such as outreach to the poor, the elderly, orphans, Native Americans , people with physical and mental disabilities , refugees, etc. As a result, the denomination has held several national conferences to help equip members to participate in this type of work, and several PCA affiliates such as Desire Street Ministries, New City Fellowship, and New Song Fellowship have received national attention for their service to
10010-444: The PCA has generally valued academic exploration more highly than revivalist traditions of evangelicalism. Apologetics in general and presuppositional apologetics has been a defining feature with many of its theologians and higher-ranking clergy, and many also practice "cultural apologetics" by engaging with and participating in secular cultural activities such as film, music, literature, and art to win them for Christ. Additionally,
10164-401: The PCA in Texas, as well as in New York, the Monsey Christian Church. Dissenting conservative Southern Presbyterian Churches joined the PCA until the early 1990s. Early PCA growth was largely through secessions from the Southern Presbyterian Church (PCUS), which from 1983 to 1990 allowed churches to leave with their property. About 110 to 120 churches did come in during that period of time to
10318-400: The PCA is voluntary. The PCA does not have Synods , which some other groups have either as the highest court or as an intermediate court between presbyteries and the general assembly. American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names ) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and
10472-426: The PCA merged with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, which itself was the product of a union between the ‘New Light’ (New Side) Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod, and parts of the Bible Presbyterian church (the pietistic New School). In addition, many evangelical congregations that had lived within the mainline Presbyterian churches, both north and south, left as individual churches and joined
10626-406: The PCA with their properties, allowed by various PC(USA) Presbyteries. Since that time, PCA growth has been largely through church planting and local congregational outreach rather than by transfers of entire churches from other denominations. PC(USA) ministers are now required to agree with the ordination of women, which the PCA opposes. However, since 1996 about 23 PC(USA) congregations have joined
10780-564: The PCA. In 2014, in response to media confusion between the PCA and the PCUSA, the stated clerk's office issued the following: There are several Presbyterian denominations in America. Sometimes people mistakenly attribute the views or actions of one Presbyterian denomination to another. The "Presbyterian Church in America" (PCA) is an evangelical denomination in the Reformed theological tradition. The PCA, like other Evangelical, Conservative, Orthodox, and Traditional Christians from many denominations, believes that, from creation , God ordained
10934-458: The PCA. As well as several independent Anglo and till now unaffiliated Korean Presbyterian churches like Greater Springfield Korean Church in Agawam, Massachusetts . According to the PC(USA) statistics 7 PC(USA) congregations with 550 members joined PCA, excluded the seceder groups since 2005. Doctrinal debate in the Reformed Church in America led some RCA congregations like Grace Reformed Church in Lansing, Illinois (Pastor Andy Nearpass),
11088-630: The PCA. As of the 2014 PC(USA) General assembly, most churches withdrawing from the PC(USA) are joining the Evangelical Presbyterian Church or the newly formed ECO due to their acceptance of women ministers, though since then many conservative PC(USA) groups and even whole congregations have affiliated with the PCA. In 1982, the PCA merged with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (RPCES), with 25,673 communicant members and 482 ministers in 189 congregations in
11242-647: The PCA. In short, the PCA has been formed with churches and leaders from many different branches— Old School , Old Side, New School. A Synopsis of the Beliefs of the Presbyterian Church in America The Presbyterian Church in America motto is "Faithful to the Scriptures, True to the Reformed faith, Obedient to the great commission of Jesus Christ." The PCA professes adherence to the historic confessional standards of Presbyterianism:
11396-649: The PCUS' seminaries, and attempts were made to merge with the more liberal PC-USA and its successor, the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. , renewal groups began to be formed, including the Presbyterian Churchmen United, which had been formed by more than 500 ministers and ran 3/4-page statements of their beliefs in 30 newspapers, the Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship, conducted revivals in PCUS churches,
11550-481: The PCUS. However, on June 23, 2016, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America voted to approve a statement on racial reconciliation that specifically recognized "corporate and historical sins, including those committed during the Civil Rights era, and continuing racial sins of ourselves and our fathers such as the segregation of worshipers by race; the exclusion of persons from Church membership on
11704-758: The Peace Community Church from Frankfort, IL (Kurt Kruger), Crete Reformed Church in Crete, IL (Pastor David Smith), First Reformed Church in Lansing, IL (Pastor Ben Kappers), Mission Dei Church in New Lenox, Illinois (Pastor Paul Vroom) and University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan (Pastor Kevin DeYoung ) to join the PCA as a conservative alternative. Each of the churches
11858-593: The Presbyterian Church in America. After protests from a UPCUSA congregation of the same name in Washington, D.C., the denomination at its Second General Assembly (1974) renamed itself the National Reformed Presbyterian Church, then adopted its present name the next day. At its founding, the PCA consisted of 16 presbyteries. Within a few years the church grew to include more than 500 congregations and 80,000 members. During
12012-556: The RPCES on June 14. The Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod agencies and committees were united with their PCA counterparts. The history and historical documents of the RPCES were incorporated into the PCA. Graduates from Covenant College and Seminary were also officially recognized. The move reflected a rare phenomenon in American Protestantism of two conservative denominations merging, an occurrence that
12166-461: The South's post-war recovery. Cotton diplomacy proved a failure as Europe had a surplus of cotton, while the 1860–62 crop failures in Europe made the North's grain exports critically important. It also helped turn European opinion against the Confederacy. It was said that "King Corn was more powerful than King Cotton," as U.S. grain went from a quarter to almost half of British imports. Meanwhile,
12320-545: The South. The Confederacy turned to foreign sources, connecting with financiers and companies like S. Isaac, Campbell & Company and the London Armoury Company in Britain, becoming the Confederacy's main source of arms. To transport arms safely to the Confederacy, British investors built small, fast, steam-driven blockade runners that traded arms and supplies from Britain, through Bermuda, Cuba, and
12474-500: The U.S. and Britain over the Trent affair , which began when U.S. Navy personnel boarded the British ship Trent and seized two Confederate diplomats. However, London and Washington smoothed this over after Lincoln released the two men. Prince Albert left his deathbed to issue diplomatic instructions to Lord Lyons during the Trent affair. His request was honored, and, as a result,
12628-565: The UPCUSA ruled that Mr. Kenyon could not be ordained it effectively elevated this doctrine concerning social relationships to the place of being a major doctrine of the church. ... Such action by the Permanent Judicial Commission led to a crisis for all of those pastors and elders who held to the traditional views on this question and who were now considered heretics. Accordingly, to uphold the peace, unity and purity of
12782-471: The Union Army or pro-Union guerrilla groups. Although they came from all classes, most Southern Unionists differed socially, culturally, and economically from their region’s dominant prewar, slave-owning planter class. At the war's start, a parole system operated, under which captives agreed not to fight until exchanged. They were held in camps run by their army, paid, but not allowed to perform any military duties. The system of exchanges collapsed in 1863 when
12936-456: The Union blockade. The Confederacy purchased warships from commercial shipbuilders in Britain, with the most famous being the CSS ; Alabama , which caused considerable damage and led to serious postwar disputes . However, public opinion against slavery in Britain created a political liability for politicians, where the anti-slavery movement was powerful. War loomed in late 1861 between
13090-464: The Union hospital ship Red Rover and nursed Union and Confederate troops at field hospitals. Mary Edwards Walker , the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor , served in the Union Army and was given the medal for treating the wounded during the war. One woman, Jennie Hodgers, fought for the Union under the name Albert D. J. Cashier. After she returned to civilian life, she continued to live as
13244-492: The Union would win if it could resupply and hold the fort, and the South would be the aggressor if it opened fire on an unarmed ship supplying starving men. An April 9 Confederate cabinet meeting resulted in Davis ordering General P. G. T. Beauregard to take the fort before supplies reached it. At 4:30 am on April 12, Confederate forces fired the first of 4,000 shells at the fort; it fell the next day. The loss of Fort Sumter lit
13398-433: The Union, this was never likely, so they sought to bring them in as mediators. The Union worked to block this and threatened war if any country recognized the Confederacy. In 1861, Southerners voluntarily embargoed cotton shipments, hoping to start an economic depression in Europe that would force Britain to enter the war, but this failed. Worse, Europe turned to Egypt and India for cotton, which they found superior, hindering
13552-483: The Union-held Fort Sumter. Fort Sumter is located in the harbor of Charleston , South Carolina. Its status had been contentious for months. Outgoing President Buchanan had dithered in reinforcing its garrison, commanded by Major Robert Anderson . Anderson took matters into his own hands and on December 26, 1860, under the cover of darkness, sailed the garrison from the poorly placed Fort Moultrie to
13706-643: The Union. A February peace conference met in Washington, proposing a solution similar the Compromise; it was rejected by Congress. The Republicans proposed the Corwin Amendment , an alternative, not to interfere with slavery where it existed, but the South regarded it as insufficient. The remaining eight slave states rejected pleas to join the Confederacy, following a no-vote in Virginia's First Secessionist Convention on April 4. On March 4, Lincoln
13860-622: The United States as well as in a few Canadian provinces. Discussions had begun in 1979 with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, which had itself come about due to a merger between the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (formerly the Bible Presbyterian Church – Columbus Synod and not the current denomination of the same name) and the Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod (a group of "New Light" Covenanters ). The RPCES brought to
14014-470: The United States, and grant civil rights to freed slaves. The war is one of the most extensively studied and written about episodes in U.S. history . It remains the subject of cultural and historiographical debate . Of continuing interest is the fading myth of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy . The war was among the first to use industrial warfare . Railroads, the electrical telegraph , steamships,
14168-618: The WSC Chapel. The congregation was founded in 2002 and has about 100 members. A number of members of the faculty are members of the congregation. The Pastor is Zach Keele, a Westminster graduate. Westminster Seminary California is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and was first accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada in 1997. The seminary offers
14322-577: The West, where major rivers gave access to the Confederate heartland. The U.S. Navy eventually controlled the Red, Tennessee, Cumberland, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers. In the East, the Navy shelled Confederate forts and supported coastal army operations. The Civil War occurred during the early stages of the industrial revolution, leading to naval innovations, notably the ironclad warship . The Confederacy, recognizing
14476-579: The Western territories destined to become states. Initially Congress had admitted new states into the Union in pairs, one slave and one free . This had kept a sectional balance in the Senate but not in the House of Representatives , as free states outstripped slave states in numbers of eligible voters. Thus, at mid-19th century, the free-versus-slave status of the new territories was a critical issue, both for
14630-491: The basis of race; the exclusion of churches, or elders, from membership in the Presbyteries on the basis of race; the teaching that the Bible sanctions racial segregation and discourages inter-racial marriage; the participation in and defense of white supremacist organizations; and the failure to live out the gospel imperative that ‘love does no wrong to a neighbor’ (Romans 13:10)." This admission of "historical sins" during
14784-606: The beginning of the Civil War . While the Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy had led to a split in the PC-USA in the mid-1930s, leading to the formation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and Bible Presbyterian Church , the PCUS remained intact. However, beginning in 1942, as the PCUS began to experiment with confessional revision, and later, when neo-orthodoxy and liberalism began to become influential in
14938-521: The blockade was the rise of oil as a prominent commodity. The declining whale oil industry took a blow as many old whaling ships were used in blockade efforts, such as the Stone Fleet , and Confederate raiders harassed Union whalers. Oil products, especially kerosene, began replacing whale oil in lamps, increasing oil's importance long before it became fuel for combustion engines. Although the Confederacy hoped Britain and France would join them against
15092-548: The church, most of the men who made up the membership of the charter presbytery peaceably withdrew from the UPCUSA. ... A fitting conclusion to this description of the genesis of the Presbytery of the Ascension is the mention of the Presbytery's new affiliation, the Presbyterian Church in America. In the Fall of 1974, men who were affected by the drift of the Kenyon Case, sent four representatives, from an informal committee which
15246-425: The community at large. The PCA is anti-abortion and opposes euthanasia , according to the official statement adopted at the 16th General Assembly in 1988: "Euthanasia, or "mercy-killing" of a patient by a physician or by anyone else, including the patient himself (suicide) is murder. To withhold or to withdraw medical treatment, as is being discussed here, does not constitute euthanasia and should not be placed into
15400-492: The conflict was inconclusive. The abolition of slavery became a Union war goal on January 1, 1863, when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation , which declared all slaves in rebel states to be free, applying to more than 3.5 million of the 4 million enslaved people in the country. To the west, the Union first destroyed the Confederacy's river navy by the summer of 1862, then much of its western armies, and seized New Orleans . The successful 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split
15554-508: The convention unanimously voted to secede and adopted a secession declaration . It argued for states' rights for slave owners but complained about states' rights in the North in the form of resistance to the federal Fugitive Slave Act, claiming that Northern states were not fulfilling their obligations to assist in the return of fugitive slaves. The "cotton states" of Mississippi , Florida , Alabama , Georgia , Louisiana , and Texas followed suit, seceding in January and February 1861. Among
15708-477: The crisis was Secretary of State William H. Seward , who had been Lincoln's rival for the Republican nomination . Embittered by his defeat, Seward agreed to support Lincoln's candidacy only after he was guaranteed the executive office then considered the second most powerful. In the early stages of Lincoln's presidency Seward held little regard for him, due to his perceived inexperience. Seward viewed himself as
15862-657: The de facto head of government, the " prime minister " behind the throne. Seward attempted to engage in unauthorized and indirect negotiations that failed. Lincoln was determined to hold all remaining Union-occupied forts in the Confederacy: Fort Monroe in Virginia, Fort Pickens , Fort Jefferson , and Fort Taylor in Florida, and Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces opened fire on
16016-577: The denomination has had mixed statements concerning the ordination of celibate or non-practicing gay men. A 1977 statement of the General Assembly had restricted from ministry only "practicing homosexuals"—as opposed to non-practicing. That precedent has since been called into question. Between 2018 and 2021, denominational conservatives lobbied for a series of investigations and a judicial case against celibate PCA pastor Greg Johnson on account of his 2019 admission in Christianity Today that, as
16170-498: The denomination's Board of World Missions no longer placed its primary emphasis on carrying out the Great Commission . In 1966, conservatives within the PCUS, concerned about the denominational seminaries founded Reformed Theological Seminary . Finally, when word came out that a planned Plan of Union between the UPCUSA and PCUS lacked an "escape clause" which would have allowed for PCUS congregations that wanted no part in
16324-541: The denomination, we believe the RCA has changed significantly in the last several years. The denomination has moved away from churches like ours. Our request is that we may be able to move too. The PCA includes representation from all the historic Calvinist branches of Presbyterianism . The PCA's founding churches came out of the Southern Presbyterian church, which included revivalists, Old Siders, classic ‘ Princeton ’ Old Schoolers, conservative New Schoolers, and others. In 1982,
16478-493: The ensuing guerrilla war engaged about 40,000 federal troops for much of the war. Congress admitted West Virginia to the Union on June 20, 1863. West Virginians provided about 20,000 soldiers to each side in the war. A Unionist secession attempt occurred in East Tennessee , but was suppressed by the Confederacy, which arrested over 3,000 men suspected of loyalty to the Union; they were held without trial. The Civil War
16632-486: The essential role of cotton in the European economy. The European aristocracy was "absolutely gleeful in pronouncing the American debacle as proof that the entire experiment in popular government had failed. European government leaders welcomed the fragmentation of the ascendant American Republic." However, a European public with liberal sensibilities remained, which the U.S. sought to appeal to by building connections with
16786-521: The first American presbytery at Philadelphia, which was followed by the creation of the Synod of Philadelphia in 1717. The PCA has its roots in theological controversies over liberalism in Christianity and neo-orthodoxy that had been a point of contention in the Presbyterian Church in the United States which had split from the mainline Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A along regional lines at
16940-439: The homefront economy could no longer supply. Surdam contends that the blockade was a powerful weapon that eventually ruined the Southern economy, costing few lives in combat. The Confederate cotton crop became nearly useless, cutting off the Confederacy's primary income source. Critical imports were scarce, and coastal trade largely ended as well. The blockade's success was not measured by the few ships that slipped through but by
17094-554: The international press. By 1861, Union diplomats like Carl Schurz realized emphasizing the war against slavery was the Union's most effective moral asset in swaying European public opinion. Seward was concerned an overly radical case for reunification would distress European merchants with cotton interests; even so, he supported a widespread campaign of public diplomacy. U.S. minister to Britain Charles Francis Adams proved adept and convinced Britain not to challenge
17248-598: The issue. The RPCES was the only church to carry through with the merger. The merger was called "Joining and Receiving." When a sufficient number of RPCES and PCA presbyteries voted in favor of the plan, the final votes occurred at the respective annual meetings, both held in Grand Rapids, Michigan : the RPCES Synod voted to join the PCA on June 12, 1982, and the PCA General Assembly voted to receive
17402-562: The larger concerned group, seeking a historically Reformed body which was also evangelical and mission minded. While this small entourage went to Macon, Georgia with many suspicions and questions, they returned overjoyed that there was an option such as the Presbyterian Church in America. Adopted from Reformationanglicanism.blogspot July 29, 1975 A.D. Ascension Presbytery (PCA) Officially Formed For example, seceders from Union UPCUSA formed Providence Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh under
17556-778: The leadership of Broadwick. Dozens of churches from the Midwest became part of the Presbyterian Church in America after leaving the Synod of the West of the PC(USA), formerly called the United Presbyterian Church in the USA. This became the Siouxlands Presbytery composed of only South Dakota , but in 1982 the Joining and Receiving took place with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, boundaries were expanded to cover Minnesota, North Dakota , Nebraska and Iowa. In
17710-440: The marriage covenant to be a bond between one man and one woman, and that understanding is what the Church has always believed, taught, and confessed. Therefore, we believe that the divinely sanctioned standard for sexual activity is fidelity within a marriage between one man and one woman or chastity outside of such a marriage. Throughout history, there has often been a conflict between the unchanging standards of biblical ethics that
17864-413: The merger, including the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA). The OPC voted to accept the invitation to join the PCA, but the PCA voted against receiving them. The PCA presbyteries did not approve the application by the required three-quarters majority, and so the proposed invitation process was terminated without the OPC presbyteries voting on
18018-607: The movement to abolish slavery and its influence over the North. Southern states believed that the Fugitive Slave Clause made slaveholding a constitutional right. These states agreed to form a new federal government, the Confederate States of America , on February 4, 1861. They took control of federal forts and other properties within their boundaries, with little resistance from outgoing President James Buchanan , whose term ended on March 4. Buchanan said
18172-476: The need to counter the Union's naval superiority, built or converted over 130 vessels, including 26 ironclads. Despite these efforts, Confederate ships were largely unsuccessful against Union ironclads. The Union Navy used timberclads, tinclads, and armored gunboats. Shipyards in Cairo, Illinois, and St. Louis built or modified steamboats . The Confederacy experimented with the submarine CSS Hunley , which
18326-418: The new Confederacy sent delegates to Washington to negotiate a peace treaty. Lincoln rejected negotiations, because he claimed that the Confederacy was not a legitimate government and to make a treaty with it would recognize it as such. Lincoln instead attempted to negotiate directly with the governors of seceded states, whose administrations he continued to recognize. Complicating Lincoln's attempts to defuse
18480-516: The northern roots of the OPC was also tempered by the influence of Van Til and Kuyper . Nonetheless, the two denominations enjoy fraternal relations and cooperate in a number of ways, such as sharing control of a publication company, Great Commission Publications, which produces Sunday School curricula for both denominations. The PCA maintains the presbyterian church government set forth in its Book of Church Order. Local church officers include teaching elders , ruling elders and deacons . The BCO
18634-417: The ordinances of secession, those of Texas, Alabama, and Virginia mentioned the plight of the "slaveholding states" at the hands of Northern abolitionists. The rest made no mention of slavery but were brief announcements by the legislatures of the dissolution of ties to the Union. However, at least four—South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, and Texas —provided detailed reasons for their secession, all blaming
18788-438: The ordination of a woman. He said that it was his understanding of Scripture that prevented such involvement, but went on to say that he would not stand in the way of such an ordination, if such was the desire of a church which he would happen to serve. Immediately there arose much dissent, and such dissent grew until the overwhelming majority of the church endorsed the judicial verdict which banned Kenyon and all future Kenyons from
18942-615: The pastor of University Reformed Church summarized the reasons of withdrawing from the Reformed Church in America and affiliate with the PCA: Let me simply say at this point that our reason for seeking to leave the RCA is not one thing, but many things. From the adoption of the Belhar Confession, to the removal of the conscience clauses related to women’s ordination, to the growing acceptance of homosexual practice in
19096-587: The planned union to leave without forfeiture of property, the steering committee of several of the renewal groups called for conservative PCUS congregations to leave. In December 1973, delegates, representing some 260 congregations with a combined communicant membership of over 41,000 that had left the PCUS, gathered at Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and organized the National Presbyterian Church, which later became
19250-505: The power of the gospel as applied by the Holy Spirit. Hence, in condemning homosexual practice we claim no self-righteousness, but recognize that any and all sin is equally heinous in the sight of a holy God." The PCA officially opposes same-sex marriage . However, according to the Pew Forum study conducted in 2014, about 50% of the members believe that homosexuality should be accepted and 40% same-sex marriage. Roy Taylor, Stated Clerk of
19404-619: The pulpits of the UPCUSA. Furthermore, there was both explicit and implicit action which was taken against those men already ordained. The Rev. Arthur C. Broadwick (and the Union United Presbyterian Church USA of Pittsburgh) and the Rev. Carl W. Bogue Jr. (and the Allenside UPCUSA of Akron, OH ) were already involved in litigations which involved this issue. ... When the Permanent Judicial Commission of
19558-466: The recently formed Evangelical Presbyterian Church , unrelated to the 1950s and 1960s body of that name. A clause in the Plan of Union between the two mainline bodies allowed dissenting PCUS congregations to refrain from joining the merger and to join a denomination of their choosing. At the 20th anniversary of the PCA in 1993 there were 1,086 congregations and 242,560 members. The PCA Historical Center,
19712-427: The run up to the Civil War were partisan politics , abolitionism , nullification versus secession , Southern and Northern nationalism, expansionism , economics , and modernization in the antebellum period . As a panel of historians emphasized in 2011, "while slavery and its various and multifaceted discontents were the primary cause of disunion, it was disunion itself that sparked the war." Abraham Lincoln won
19866-408: The sacraments and ordinarily only pastors may preach (REs must be licensed by a presbytery if they wish to preach regularly). Also, REs are members of their local churches, while pastors are members of their presbyteries and not members of the local churches they serve. While this 2.5 office view is the consensus of the PCA, many would hold to a more Northern three-office view and others would hold to
20020-410: The same category with it." The PCA is against divorce, except in cases of adultery or abandonment (desertion). The PCA takes the following position on homosexuality: "Homosexual practice is sin. The Bible teaches that all particular sins flow from our rebellious disposition of heart. Just as with any other sin, the PCA deals with people in a pastoral way, seeking to transform their lifestyle through
20174-412: The secession, a view disproven by historical evidence, notably some of the seceding states' own secession documents . After leaving the Union, Mississippi issued a declaration stating, "Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery—the greatest material interest of the world." The principal political battle leading to Southern secession was over whether slavery would expand into
20328-636: The southwestern corner of Missouri (see Missouri secession ). Early in the war the Confederacy controlled southern Missouri through the Confederate government of Missouri but was driven out after 1862. In the resulting vacuum, the convention on secession reconvened and took power as the Unionist provisional government of Missouri. Kentucky did not secede, it declared itself neutral. When Confederate forces entered in September 1861, neutrality ended and
20482-532: The stalwart island Fort Sumter. Anderson's actions catapulted him to hero status in the North. An attempt to resupply the fort on January 9, 1861, failed and nearly started the war then, but an informal truce held. On March 5, Lincoln was informed the fort was low on supplies. Fort Sumter proved a key challenge to Lincoln's administration. Back-channel dealing by Seward with the Confederates undermined Lincoln's decision-making; Seward wanted to pull out. But
20636-565: The state of Michigan, dissenting Christian Reformed and RCA church members formed Covenant Presbyterian Church in Holland, MI in 1996 under the leadership of Tom Vanden Heuvel, former pastor of First Christian Reformed Church (Grand Rapids, Michigan), who claimed that the Christian Reformed Church(CRC) departed from its original commitment to the clarity and authority of Scripture. At that time, another CRC church joined
20790-446: The state reaffirmed its Union status while maintaining slavery. During an invasion by Confederate forces in 1861, Confederate sympathizers and delegates from 68 Kentucky counties organized the secession Russellville Convention, formed the shadow Confederate Government of Kentucky , inaugurated a governor, and Kentucky was admitted into the Confederacy on December 10, 1861. Its jurisdiction extended only as far as Confederate battle lines in
20944-457: The substitute provision to select which man should go into the army and which should stay home. There was much evasion and resistance to the draft, especially in Catholic areas. The New York City draft riots in July 1863 involved Irish immigrants who had been signed up as citizens to swell the vote of the city's Democratic political machine , not realizing it made them liable for the draft. Of
21098-451: The thousands that never tried. European merchant ships could not get insurance and were too slow to evade the blockade, so they stopped calling at Confederate ports. To fight an offensive war, the Confederacy purchased arms in Britain and converted British-built ships into commerce raiders . The smuggling of 600,000 arms enabled the Confederacy to fight on for two more years, and the commerce raiders targeted U.S. Merchant Marine ships in
21252-478: The war . Lincoln led the nation through that victory but was shot by an assassin on April 14. By the end of the war, much of the South's infrastructure was destroyed. The Confederacy collapsed, slavery was abolished, and four million enslaved black people were freed. The war-torn nation then entered the Reconstruction era in an attempt to rebuild the country, bring the former Confederate states back into
21406-430: The war created jobs for arms makers, ironworkers, and ships to transport weapons. Lincoln's administration initially struggled to appeal to European public opinion. At first, diplomats explained that the U.S. was not committed to ending slavery and emphasized legal arguments about the unconstitutionality of secession. Confederate representatives, however, focused on their struggle for liberty, commitment to free trade, and
21560-478: The war due to multiple factors: severe food shortages, failing railroads, loss of control over key rivers, foraging by Northern armies, and the seizure of animals and crops by Confederate forces. Historians agree the blockade was a major factor in ruining the Confederate economy; however, Wise argues blockade runners provided enough of a lifeline to allow Lee to continue fighting for additional months, thanks to supplies like 400,000 rifles, lead, blankets, and boots that
21714-603: The war. In December 1860, the Crittenden Compromise was proposed to re-establish the Missouri Compromise line, by constitutionally banning slavery in territories to the north of it, while permitting it to the south. The Compromise would likely have prevented secession, but Lincoln and the Republicans rejected it. Lincoln stated that any compromise that would extend slavery would bring down
21868-436: The winter of 1860–1861. Nationalists in the North and "Unionists" in the South refused to accept the declarations of secession. No foreign government ever recognized the Confederacy. The U.S. government, under President James Buchanan , refused to relinquish its forts that were in territory claimed by the Confederacy. According to Lincoln, the American people had shown they had been successful in establishing and administering
22022-425: The world" within a few years. Some European observers at the time dismissed them as amateur and unprofessional, but historian John Keegan concluded that each outmatched the French, Prussian, and Russian armies, and without the Atlantic, could have threatened any of them with defeat. Unionism was strong in certain areas within the Confederacy. As many as 100,000 men living in states under Confederate control served in
22176-686: Was allowed to withdraw with their respective properties and assets after paying a varying settlement fee to the Illiana-Florida Classis. But if a church should withdraw from the PCA within five years of the approval of the agreement, then the property is to revert to the Classis of Illiana-Florida. the University Reformed Church was also granted dismissal by the RCA Classis on March 21, 2015. Kevin DeYoung
22330-463: Was appealed to the denomination's Standing Judicial Commission. On October 22, 2021, that denominational court ruled in Johnson's favor by a vote of 16 to 7. While Johnson has stated that he has never been sexually active, significant opposition to Johnson's openness about his sexual orientation led the denomination's General Assembly in 2021 to propose changes to its constitution to prevent other celibate nonstraight people from ordination to ministry in
22484-408: Was considering alternatives to the UPCUSA (i.e., in case that body should make a ruling against Mr. Kenyon which would affect the church as a whole), to the second General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (which became the Presbyterian Church in America). These four pastors were the Rev. A.C. Broadwick, the Rev. K.E. Perrin, the Rev. R.E. Knodel Jr., and the Rev. W.L. Thompson, on behalf of
22638-402: Was far more common among mainline, moderate-to-liberal bodies in the 20th century (such as the UPCUSA/PCUS reunion). In 1982 the RPCES had 25,718 communicant members in 187 congregations served by 400 pastors. The PCA had 519 churches, 91,060 communicant members, and 480 pastors. After the merger the PCA membership was 706 churches, 116,788 communicant members, and 1,276 teaching elders. In 1986
22792-408: Was high because many soldiers were more concerned about the fate of their local area than the Southern cause. In the North, " bounty jumpers " enlisted to collect the generous bonus, deserted, then re-enlisted under a different name for a second bonus; 141 were caught and executed. From a tiny frontier force in 1860, the Union and Confederate armies grew into the "largest and most efficient armies in
22946-405: Was made of bullion lost from mints. He stated that it would be US policy "to collect the duties and imposts"; "there will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people anywhere" that would justify an armed revolution. His speech closed with a plea for restoration of the bonds of union, famously calling on "the mystic chords of memory" binding the two regions. The Davis government of
23100-566: Was marked by intense and frequent battles. Over four years, 237 named battles were fought, along with many smaller actions, often characterized by their bitter intensity and high casualties. Historian John Keegan described it as "one of the most ferocious wars ever fought," where, in many cases, the only target was the enemy's soldiers. As the Confederate states organized, the U.S. Army numbered 16,000, while Northern governors began mobilizing their militias. The Confederate Congress authorized up to 100,000 troops in February. By May, Jefferson Davis
23254-449: Was not successful, and with the ironclad CSS Virginia , rebuilt from the sunken Union ship Merrimack . On March 8, 1862, Virginia inflicted significant damage on the Union's wooden fleet, but the next day, the first Union ironclad, USS Monitor , arrived to challenge it in the Chesapeake Bay . The resulting three-hour Battle of Hampton Roads was a draw, proving ironclads were effective warships. The Confederacy scuttled
23408-460: Was pushing for another 100,000 soldiers for one year or the duration, and the U.S. Congress responded in kind. In the first year of the war, both sides had more volunteers than they could effectively train and equip. After the initial enthusiasm faded, relying on young men who came of age each year was not enough. Both sides enacted draft laws (conscription) to encourage or force volunteering, though relatively few were drafted. The Confederacy passed
23562-708: Was sworn in as president. In his inaugural address , he argued that the Constitution was a more perfect union than the earlier Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union , was a binding contract, and called secession "legally void". He did not intend to invade Southern states, nor to end slavery where it existed, but he said he would use force to maintain possession of federal property, including forts, arsenals, mints, and customhouses that had been seized. The government would not try to recover post offices, and if resisted, mail delivery would end at state lines. Where conditions did not allow peaceful enforcement of federal law, US marshals and judges would be withdrawn. No mention
23716-525: Was too late. " King Cotton " was dead, as the South could export less than 10% of its cotton. The blockade shut down the ten Confederate seaports with railheads that moved almost all the cotton. By June 1861, warships were stationed off the principal Southern ports, and a year later nearly 300 ships were in service. The Confederates began the war short on military supplies, which the agrarian South could not produce. Northern arms manufacturers were restricted by an embargo, ending existing and future contracts with
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