Unitarianism

American Unitarianism developed in Boston and eastern Massachusetts during the decades following the Revolutionary War (1775-83). Unitarians questioned many of the central tenets of orthodox Calvinism. They downplayed original sin, arguing instead that humans were capable of both good and bad acts and that they were responsible for their own moral decisions. Moreover, Unitarianism was greatly influenced by the historicism of German biblical criticism. Although Unitarians agreed with their orthodox counterparts that the Bible was the final authority in all matters of theology, they also believed that the Bible was a historical product written by men. Thus, the Bible could not be taken at face value but must be interpreted through scholarship and the use of reason. For some Unitarians, this approach—a tradition that dated back to 17th-century radical Protestantism—offered the possibility to access the “true” Bible without the corruptions of subsequent writers and theologians. To orthodox thinkers, however, any questioning of the Bible was tantamount to heresy.

The roots of Unitarianism can be traced into the 18th century. In North America, many proto-Unitarian ministers, such as Charles Chauncy, were critical of the enthusiasm associated with the revivals of the First Great Awakening. More importantly, Unitarianism owed much to the Enlightenment. Unitarians valued the application of reason over faith, and were therefore more willing to question the Bible when it challenged common sense or the laws of nature. A central contention of Unitarians was that the Trinity was unjustified both by Scripture and by reason. They believed that Jesus was the subordinate son of God, and not his equal, hence the term “unitarian.” God was a single entity, and not a composite of three disparate parts.

The most famous moment in American Unitarianism is no doubt the “Unitarian Controversy” of 1805. The controversy was caused by the decision of Harvard to appoint

Henry Ware to the Hollis Professor of Divinity. A known liberal, Ware’s appointment was seen as an affront to orthodox Congregationalists. Moreover, the controversy exposed a class division within Massachusetts Congregationalism with many members of the eastern political elite aligned with Unitarianism’s liberal theology, even though it was a minority within the state. Orthodox minister Jedidiah Morse launched a vitriolic campaign against Ware and, by 1807, many orthodox ministers deemed Harvard unfit to prepare ministers. They turned instead to Williams College and the newly established Andover Seminary.

The 1805 controversy brought divisions between liberals and orthodoxy into the open, making it more difficult for the two camps to exist peaceably within the same parish churches. In 1812, prominent orthodox ministers refused to share pulpits with liberal clergymen. Throughout the 1810s and 1820s, parishes divided between liberal and orthodox elements, making the establishment ineffective and unwieldy. In the context of these divisions, Unitarian leader Reverend William Ellery Channing’s 1819 speech “Unitarian Christianity” laid the groundwork for a complete break between liberal and orthodox Congregational-ists. In this speech, Channing made clear that reason and SCIENCE must mediate the truths within the Bible. In 1825 Channing and others founded the American Unitarian Association, thus making their separation from orthodox Congregationalism official.

See also DEISM; religion.

Further reading: Daniel Walker Howe, The Unitarian Conscience: Harvard Moral Philosophy, 1805-1861 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1970); Conrad Wright, ed., A Stream of Light: A Short History of American Unitarianism (Boston: Skinner House Books, 1970); -, The Unitarian Conscience: Harvard Moral Philosophy, 1805-1861 (Boston: Beacon Press, 1955).

—Johann Neem

Valcour Island, Battle of (October 1 1, 1776) Although the British won the Battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain, the fact that they had to build a fleet of ships to fight a revolutionary flotilla delayed an invasion from Canada for a year. That extra year was vital. When General John Burgoyne advanced south from Canada in 1777, he ultimately met a huge army and was compelled to surrender at Saratoga (October 17, 1777).

From the autumn of 1775 to the summer of 1776, the revolutionaries gained control of Lake Champlain and created a small fleet of vessels to prevent any British invasion from Canada. They built several gunboats and galleys at a shipyard at Skenesborough, below Fort Ticonderoga. The revolutionaries succeeded almost in spite of themselves, as petty differences between the military leaders, and between the states, hampered military activity. Ultimately, command of the lake forces fell to Benedict Arnold, who combined his experience at sea with his energy as a leader. The British, who held St. Johns on the northern shore of the lake, built a more powerful fleet of their own. Arnold sailed up the lake to Valcour Island, anchoring his vessels in a defensive line, hoping that his stationary vessels could outgun the heavier British vessels as they tacked to get into position to fire. The idea was to have the British sail south of Valcour Island and attack them from the weather gauge. The British spotted Arnold’s ships as they cleared the southern end of the island. Their superior seamanship and firepower pummeled Arnold’s forces. By nightfall, Arnold was lucky to escape south along the lakeshore past the British ships. Pursued the next day, Arnold’s men ran the vessels that had not been captured ashore and set fire to them. Arnold then led the remnants of his men to Fort Ticonderoga, just ahead of pursuing Native Americans. The Continental naval forces on Lake Champlain had been destroyed or captured and the path for invasion cleared. But with winter coming on, the British had to wait until the spring of the next year to push farther south.

Further reading: Don Higginbotham, The War of American Independence: Military Attitudes, Policies, and Practices, 1763-1789 (New York: Macmillan, 1971); Robert Middlekauff, The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1783-1789 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1982).