Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/562

BAPTISTS. formed at Pennepek, or Lower Dublin, now a part of Philadelphia, and in the same year another church was organized at Middletown, N. J. Twelve such churches were in existence by 1770. The constituent members of these churches were English and Welsh Baptists, of the Calvinistic wing, and the establishment of the Philadelphia Association in 1707 made them the most compact and influential body of Baptists in America. Most of the churches of New York Colony, as they were constituted from 1712 onward, sought admission to this association, which also contained members in Virginia and the Carolinas, as far south as Charleston. The adoption of a Confession before 1742, ever since known as the Philadelphia Confession, furnished a standard of doctrine that has endured to the present day, and multiplied the influence of this association.

From these two centres the extension of Baptist churches slowly proceeded until the Great Awakening, when new life and vigor was infused into the movement, and the progress of Baptists in all the colonies became relatively rapid. This progress was not seriously checked even by the Revolution, save in certain localities. There were probably no more than 10,000 members in the Baptist churches existing at the outbreak of that struggle; but a careful estimate made in 1792 (an enumeration, in large part) put the number of members at 35,000, and at the close of the century the Philadelphia Association stated the number at 100,000, distributed among 1200 churches. The great westward movement of the population after the Revolution was the opportunity of the Baptists, and they promptly improved it. The churches and associations on the borders of the new country sent missionary preachers into the new settlements, and gradually local societies were formed for this work. This led to the organization of State missionary conventions, and in 1832 to the formation of a national organization, the American Baptist Home Mission Society, which now sustains over 1000 workers at a cost of more than half a million dollars a year. In 1813 a society for foreign missions was formed, called 'The General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States,' which continued to be the general agent of the churches for this work until 1845. when differences between the Northern and Southern churches concerning slavery produced a division. The Southern churches formed 'The Southern Baptist Convention,' which has continued until the present time to be their missionary agency: while the Northern churches organized 'The American Baptist Missionary Union.' The American Baptist Publication Society — beginning merely as a tract society in 1824, but since 1840 a great denominational publishing agency — completes the national organizations.

The progress of American Baptists during the Nineteenth Century was very rapid, in spite of many controversies and schisms that divided their forces and lessened their numbers. The most serious of these schisms was that resulting in the establishment of the Disciples as a separate body, beginning about 1815 among the churches of western Pennsylvania and Ohio. This controversy extended throughout the region of the Central West, and had disastrous effects. Less serious was the division among the Eastern and Southern churches from 1835 onward on the issue whether missionary societies, Sunday-schools, and other similar agencies for Christian work are authorized by the Scriptures. The establishment of the Old School or Primitive Baptists was the result. Aside from their rapid numerical progress, the educational work of American Baptists is the most striking feature of their history. Their first educational institution was an academy at Hopewell, N. J., which began in 1756, but was brought to an end by the Revolution. The Philadelphia Association began to plan for a college as early as 1750, and to the efforts of this body was due the chartering of Brown University (as Rhode Island College) in 1764. Waterville (now Colby) College was founded in Maine in 1818, and a literary and theological institution (now Colgate University) was begun at Hamilton, N. Y., in 1820. From this time on the number of colleges and theological seminaries multiplied, at times far in excess of the needs of the denomination or its ability to support them, until the closing century saw the Baptists in possession of 7 theological schools. 105 schools of collegiate grade, and 90 academies. These schools possess property valued at $44,000,000, of which fully half is productive endowment.

In the order of their foundation, these are as follows: (1) The Hamilton, established at Hamilton, N.Y., in 1819, by the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York, as 'The Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution.' In 1846 the literary department was chartered as Madison University (since 1889 Colgate), and in 1893 the university took control of the seminary. (2) The Newton Theological Institution, established at Newton Centre. Mass., in 1825, by the Massachusetts Baptist Education Society. (3) The Rochester, established at Rochester, N. Y., in 1850, by the New York Baptist Union for Ministerial Education. A German department was added in 1852. (4) The Southern, established at Greenville, S. C., in 1859; interrupted by the Civil War, the sessions were resumed in 1865, and in 1877 it was removed to Louisville, Ky. (5) The Divinity School of the University of Chicago, established in Chicago in 1867 by the Baptist Theological Union for the Northwest, as the 'Baptist Union Theological Seminary'; in 1877 removed to Morgan Park, and in 1890 returned to Chicago and consolidated with the new university. In 1873 a Scandinavian department was added. (6) The Richmond, established in 1867 at Richmond, Va., by the American Baptist Home Ministry for the education of negro young men for the ministry. (7) The Crozer, established at Upland. Pa., in 1868, by the family of John P. Crozer.

The earliest Baptist churches in the Canadian Provinces were formed of settlers from New England. A church was founded at Horton, Nova Scotia, in 1763; but this and many of the earlier churches were of mixed membership, composed equally of Baptists and Congregationalists. The preaching of Henry Alleine,an evangelist of great gifts, resulted in the founding of many churches from 1775 onward. Baptist preachers from Vermont began soon after the Revolution to make converts and form churches across the line; and