• Hercules Mulligan

  

  Who was Hercules Mulligan, anyway?

• My Other Blogs

  • Alexander Hamilton Patriot
  • Founder's Bookshelf
  • Herculean Reflections
  • Meet the Founding Fathers
  • The Founder's Bookshelf

• Recent Comments

  • Congress’ first prayer « Lent & Beyond on The First Prayer in the United States Congress
  • Mrs. Mecomber on It’s NOT OK
  • Bobby on The Purpose of the U. S. Constitution
  • Mark on Who Was Hercules Mulligan, Anyway?
  • Mark on Who Was Hercules Mulligan, Anyway?
• 
• 

The First Prayer in the United States Congress

The first prayer in Congress was offered in the early days of the First Continental Congress, on September 7, 1774, after this body had heard that the British had laid laid siege to the town of Boston Massachusetts to repay the “rebels” for the Boston Tea Party. Below are presented excerpts from the Journals of the Continental Congress, volume 1, pp. 26-27 and writings of those who had attended this prayer. NOTE: Quoted footnotes will be enclosed in asterisks in parentheses “(*)”.

“Resolved, That the Revd. Mr. Duché be desired to open the Congress tomorrow morning with prayers, at the Carpenter’s Hall, at 9 o’Clock.1. [Note 1: 1 "After settling the mode of voting, which is by giving each Colony an equal voice, it was agreed to open the business with prayer. As many of our warmest friends are members of the Church of England, [I] thought it prudent, as well on that as on some other accounts, to move that the service should be performed by a clergyman of that denomination.” Samuel Adams to J. Warren, 9 September, 1774. John Adams says it was Cushing who made the motion that business be opened with prayer, and John Jay and Rutledge opposed it on the ground of a diversity in religious sentiments. That Samuel Adams asserted he was no bigot, and could hear a prayer from any gentleman of piety and virtue, who was at the same time a friend to his country; and nominated Duché. See note under September 7, post.]”

…”Voted, That the thanks of the Congress be given to Mr. Duché, by Mr. Cushing and Mr. Ward, for performing divine Service, and for the excellent prayer, which he composed and deliver’d on the occasion.1 [Note 1: 1 Duché attended in full pontificals, read several prayers in the established form, the collect for the day (Psalm XXXV), and then "struck out into an extemporary prayer, which filled the bosom of every man present. I must confess I never heard a better prayer, or one so well pronounced. * * * It has had an excellent effect upon everybody here." John Adams to his wife,--September, 1774. Joseph Reed thought the appointment and prayer a "masterly stroke of policy." Ward recorded "one of the most sublime, catholic, well-adapted prayers I ever heard."] SOURCE:volume 1, pp. 27-28 “Wednesday Morning 9 oClock September 7th [1774]

The Congress was opend with prayers by the revnd Mr Dutche [sic] which he Concluded with one suitable to the occasion. He was much admird both for his Eloquence & Composition & Mr Ward of Rhode Island movd that the Thanks of the Congress be give to him for his Services which was unanimously agreed to; & Mr Cushing & Mr Ward were appointd a Committee for the purpose. It was then movd that he should be requested to print the prayer. But it being objected that as this might possibly expose him to some disadvantage it was out of Respect to him waived.” SOURCE: James Duane’s Notes of Debates 1774 Septr. 7. Wednesday.

Went to congress again. Heard Mr. Duchè read Prayers. The Collect for the day, the 7th of the Month, was most admirably adapted, tho this was accidental, or rather Providential. A Prayer, which he gave us of his own Composition, was as pertinent, as affectionate, as sublime, as devout, as I ever heard offered up to Heaven. He filled every Bosom present.(1) 1. Adams’ more detailed description of this event and the reaction in Congress contained in his letter to Abigail Adams, September 16, 1774″ SOURCE John Adams’ Diary “[September 7, 1774] Wednesday Morning.

An express arrived from N York confirming the Acct. of a rupture at Boston. All is in Confussion. I can not say, that all Faces, gather paleness, but they all gather indignation, & every Tongue pronounces Revenge. The Bells Toll muffled & the people run as in a Case of extremity they know not where, nor why. The Congress met and opened with a Prayer, made by the Revd. Mr. Deshay [sic] which it was worth riding One Hundred Mile to hear. He read the Lessons of the Day which were accidentally extremely Applicable, & then prayed without Book about Ten Minutes so pertinently, with such Fervency, purity, & sublimity of Stile, & sentiment, and with such an apparent Sensibility of the Scenes, & Business before Us, that even Quakers shed Tears. The Thanks of the Congress were most Unanimously returned him, by a Select honorable Committee. We are just now formed, into Committees, and Our Business, is laid Out, which, as We mean to go to the Bottom, nothing but Genl. Gage & a greater Force than he has at Boston, will prevent Our sitting some time.” SOURCE:Silas Deane to Elizabeth Deane, September 7, 1774

Jacob Duché’s First Prayer in Congress”[September 7, 1774](1) O! Lord, our heavenly father,(2) King of Kings and Lord of lords: who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth and reignest with power supreme & uncontrouled(3) over all kingdoms, empires and governments, look down in mercy,(4) we beseech thee, upon these our(5) American states who have fled to thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves upon thy gracious protection, desiring henceforth to be(6) dependent only on thee. To thee they have appealed for the righteousness of their Cause; to Thee do they look up,(7) for that countenance & support which Thou alone canst give. Take them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under thy nurturing care: give them wisdom in council, valour in the field. Defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversaries. Convince them of the unrighteousness of their cause. And if they persist(8) in their sanguinary purposes, O! let the voice of thy(9) unerring justice sounding in their hearts constrain them to drop the weapons of war from their enerved(10) hands in the day of battle. Be thou present, O God of Wisdom and direct the counsels(11) of this honourable Assembly. Enable them to settle things upon the best and surest foundation, that the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that(12) harmony and peace may effectually be restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety prevail and flourish amongst thy people. Preserve the health of their bodies and the vigour of their minds; shower down upon them and the millions they represent(13) such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world, and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ thy son, Our Saviour, Amen.
(*)MS (MdHi: Journals of Congress [Philadelphia: R. Aitken, 1787], J10.A15.V1). “Appendix” in the hand of Charles Thomson. 1 For the selection of the Reverend Jacob Duché to open Congress this day with a prayer and the congressional comment occasioned by his riveting performance, see these Letters, 1:31–;35, 45, 55(*) Duché actually delivered not a single prayer but two—;a prepared one, which he read, followed by a much longer extemporaneous prayer, which led John Adams to effuse that he had “never heard a better Prayer or one so well pronounced,” and Silas Deane to declare that “it was worth riding One Hundred Mile to hear” (ibid., pp. 34, 74). These glowing assessments were aimed primarily at the impromptu prayer rather than his prepared text, which is printed here.

The discovery of this text of Duché’s prayer in the hand of Charles Thomson clarifies a longstanding puzzle. Historians have been reluctant to credit nineteenth-century claims for the authenticity of the prayer, and some have misidentified it as one Duché read “at his first appearance in Congress after the Declaration of Independence” on July 9, 1776. See George Hastings, “Jacob Duché, First Chaplain of Congress,” The South Atlantic Quarterly 31 (October 1932): 394. See also James Thacher, A Military Journal during the American Revolutionary War. . .(Boston: Richardson & Lord, 1823), p. 145; and Lorenzo Sabine, The American Loyalists. . .(Boston: C. C. Little and J. Brown, 1847), p. 264. The first text of Duché’s prayer available to the public was published in Thacher’s Military Journal in 1823, although the source of Thacher’s text was not explained. A second printing appeared in 1831 in volume 1 of the University of Virginia’s Chameleon from a text in Thomas Jefferson’s possession at his death five years earlier, which soon after disappeared. Other nineteenth-century printed versions are essentially reprintings of Thacher’s. A manuscript text in the hand of John Hancock is in the collections of the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. The defect of the texts acquired by Hancock and Jefferson is that neither man was in Philadelphia in 1774 and they were most certainly obtained second hand. Our belief in the integrity of Thomson’s text rests upon what is known of his record as secretary of Congress from 1774 and 1789 and the care he took in preserving their proceedings. The document printed here was copied by Thomson on the first blank page following the index to volume one of his personal copy of the 13-volume printed edition of the Journals of Congress (Philadelphia: R. Aitken, 1787) owned by the Maryland Historical Society. It bears the heading “Appendix. Copy of the reverend Mr Duche Prayer—;see p 11.” And at page 11, which records the congressional proceedings for September 7, 1774, following the entry “the Meeting was opened with Prayers by the Reverend Mr. Duche,” Thomson wrote “see the appendix.” A comparison of Thomson’s text with the three earliest texts traced to John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, and James Thacher reveals several, generally minor, textual variations, the most significant of which are recorded in the notes below. No clear evolution between these texts is apparent. The Jefferson and Thacher texts are printed as single paragraphs; the Hancock text produces Thomson’s first two paragraphs as one.

2 “High & mighty” precedes “King of Kings” in the Hancock, Jefferson, and Thacher texts.
3 “& uncontrouled” omitted in the Jefferson text.
4 “with mercy” in the Jefferson text.
5 “our” omitted in the Hancock text.
6 “to be” precedes “henceforth” in the Hancock, Jefferson, and Thacher texts.
7 “they now look up” in the Hancock, Jefferson, and Thacher texts.
8 “still persist” in the Hancock, Jefferson, and Thacher texts.
9 “thine own” in the Hancock text.
10 “unnerved” in the Hancock, Jefferson, and Thacher texts.
11 “councils” in the three other texts.
12 “that Order, Harmony & Peace” in the three other texts.
13 “they here represent” in the three other texts.”

(*)MS (MdHi: Journals of Congress [Philadelphia: R. Aitken, 1787], J10.A15.V1). “Appendix” in the hand of Charles Thomson.(*) SOURCE:Letters of the Delegates to Congress, volume 25, pages 551-552

More information on the first prayer in Congress can be found here:
John Adams to Abigail Adams, September 16, 1774

James Duane’s Notes of Debates, entry for September 6, 1774

NOTE: In the middle of the war, Rev. Duche, for reasons uncertain, came to believe that resistance to Britain was futile, and urged General Washington and the Continental Congress to surrender, which they refused to do (see the discussion in this post’s comment section). Duche traveled to England, but upon the success of the Americans in the War for Independence and in establishing their own government, Duche wrote to the new United States President George Washington, a letter dated August 7, 1789, in which he expressed his change of mind back to the American cause he originally espoused when he offered the first prayer at the Continental Congress.

• Lijit Search

  Lijit Search

• 

  

  

• Archives

  Select Month January 2011 October 2010 January 2010 December 2009 September 2009 August 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 January 2008 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007

• Categories

  Select Category 9-11 abolition Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton Institute American Revolution anecdotes Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Rush Bible Bill of Rights biography blogging Christian nation Christianity Common Sense Constitution controversy correspondence creationism Daniel Webster debate debt Declaration of Independence democracy documentaries dream education Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton equality Federalist Papers Federalists first amendment Fisher Ames Founders' intent Founders' roles Founding Father's Quote Friday Founding principles France George Mason George Washington Gerrit Smith government Hamilton College Henry Knox Hercules Mulligan historical anecdotes homeschooling humanism humor Illuminati James Madison James McHenry Jay Treaty John Adams John Jay John Witherspoon Joseph Story July 4 law Law of Liberty lesser-known Founders liberty links and resources memorial miscellaneous reflections moral standard mothers New York Noah Webster notice Obama Patrick Henry personal political commentary politics prayer president primary sources Providence in history quotes reason religion and America Religion and the Founders republics resources reviews revisionism revolution Richard Henry Lee Ron Paul Samuel Adams Second Amendment slavery spirit of party Tea Party Thomas Jefferson Thomas Paine Uncategorized US Constitution video virtue