Channels, Fall 2019

Channels • 2019 • Volume 4 • Number 1 Page 31 "Liberty Further Extended”: The Federalist Identity of Lemuel Haynes, America’s First Biracial Minister David Guidone History and Government Introduction his paper is concerned with the following question: Why did Lemuel Haynes (1753-1833), a Congregational church minister and person of color, support the Federalist Party rather than the Democratic Republican party? My object here is, first, to show Haynes’ rise to vocational ministry; second, to analyze “The Influence of Civil Government on Religion” and “The Nature and Importance of True Republicanism” for traces of Federalism.1 Third, to explain Haynes’ lifelong allegiance to George Washington and John Adams, America’s first two presidents and overseers of the political movement known as Federalism, before finally drawing comparisons and contrasts between Haynes and Thomas Jefferson’s brand of Republicanism. While Haynes admired Jefferson as the originator of the Declaration of Independence, he grew increasingly wary of Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Party. Haynes assumed the Federalist Party, which began as a national movement centered first on the Articles of Confederation then the Constitution, would establish ideas for the common good of society, defend and unify America, and ultimately expose slavery as a great evil. Although Historians rightly remember Haynes as the first black minister to preach to a white congregation, Haynes only published one explicitly antislavery piece, entitled “Liberty Further Extended” (1776). Haynes longed for an end to the institution and wrote his antislavery protest while fighting for life and liberty in the Revolutionary War. 2 While Haynes is unique for his background and antislavery stance, only in various places does the topic of slavery emerge in his writing. Haynes’s attitude towards Federalism was significantly different from the parishioners he served because he viewed Federalism as a vehicle to lift African Americans from 1 Haynes, Lemuel, and Richard Newman. Black Preacher to White America: The Collected Writings of Lemuel Haynes, 1774-1833. (Brooklyn, NY: Carlson Pub., 1990.) pp 65-88. Richard Newman has compiled an essential volume for any scholar of Haynes. “Black Preacher to White America” contains over twenty of Haynes’ published works. Haynes’ publications are not easily accessible online. Ruth Bogin has published “Liberty Further Extended” in the William and Mary Quarterly. Bogin, Ruth. ""Liberty Further Extended": A 1776 Antislavery Manuscript by Lemuel Haynes." The William and Mary Quarterly 40, no. 1 (1983): 85-105. I chose “Liberty Further Extended” 1776 as the title for this paper as a signpost to those interested in Haynes as a member of early American political discourse. Haynes demonstrates in “Liberty Further Extended” a capability to advance a theological and rational argument against the institution of slavery. Haynes does publish sermons and addresses in which he addresses slavery. Nevertheless, Haynes never published another full antislavery piece during his lifetime. (1753-1833.) Haynes’s antislavery was a periphery issue from 1798- 1801. He instead addressed national issues with political commentary informed by faith and reason. 2 Black Puritan, Black Republican: The Life and Thought of Lemuel Haynes 1753-1833 John Saillant expertly analyzes “Liberty Further Extended” and “True Republicanism.” 1833 pp 15-23, 42-46, 63-68. T