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JACOB GREEN’S REVOLUTION
Jacob Green’s Revolution
RADICAL RELIGION AND REFORM IN A REVOLUTIONARY AGE
S. SCOTTROHRER
THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS
UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA
Library of Congress
Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rohrer, S. Scott, 1957– , author.
Jacob Green’s revolution : radical religion and reform in a revolutionary age / S. Scott Rohrer.
pages cm
Summary: “Examines the ways religion influenced reform during the American Revolution in New Jersey. Focuses on two pivotal figures: Jacob Green, a Presbyterian minister who advocated revolution, and Thomas Bradbury Chandler, an Anglican minister and a leading loyalist spokesman”—Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-271-06421-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Green, Jacob, 1722–1790. 2. Presbyterian Church—
New Jersey—Morris County—Clergy—Biography.
3. New Jersey—History—Revolution, 1775–1783—Biography. 4. Morris County (N.J.)—Biography.
5. New Jersey—History—Revolution, 1775–1783—
Religious aspects. 6. United States—History—
Revolution, 1775–1783—Religious aspects.
7. Calvinism—United States—History—18th century.
8. Chandler, Thomas Bradbury, 1726–1790.
I. Title.
E263.N5R64 2014
974.9'03092—dc23
[B]
2014011342
Copyright © 2014
The Pennsylvania State University
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Published by The Pennsylvania State University Press,
University Park, PA 16802-1003
The Pennsylvania State University Press is a member of the
Association of American University Presses.
It is the policy of The Pennsylvania State University Press
to use acid-free paper. Publications on uncoated stock
satisfy the minimum requirements of American National
Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Material, ANSI Z39.48–1992.
This book is printed on paper that
contains 30% post-consumer waste.
To Jeff, David, and the Mountain Lakes gang—
friends from the beginning
Contents
PART I: THE WORLDS OF JACOB GREEN AND THOMAS BRADBURY CHANDLER
4 Farmer-Miller-Physician-Teacher
PART II: REVOLUTIONARY THINKERS AND THE TRIALS OF WAR
5 Polemicist
6 Revolutionary
7 Politician
8 Host
PART III: REFORMERS ON THE HOME FRONT
9 Crusader
10 Dissenter
11 Disciplinarian
Epilogue
Notes
Index
FIGURES
2 Hanover’s Presbyterian meetinghouse
3 A Jacob Green sermon in Weston’s shorthand
MAPS
TABLES
1 May 1776 vote for Provincial Congress
2 Winning candidates in Morris County
The journey has been a winding one—marked, as rocker Neil Young might sing, by a few devilish turns along a twisted road.
When I finished my previous book on Protestant migrations in America, I knew I wanted to return to my first love, the topic that led me to become a historian in the first place—the American Revolution. My initial idea was to study a Presbyterian community in the revolutionary