XXXVIII. CHAP. palians, however, were not satisfied with an ordination at the hands of the Scottish bishops. 1787. 1788. A convention of delegates, from several States, met and formed a constitution for the "Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America." After some revision this constitution was adopted by conventions in the separate States. Titles were changed in order to conform to republicanism; such as "Lord Bishop,” and all such as were "descriptive of temporal power and precedency." The Liturgy for the same reason was modified. A friendly letter was addressed to the English bishops, requesting at their hands ordination of American bishops. An Act of Parliament gave the desired authority, and William White, of Philadelphia, Samuel Provost, of New York, and James Madison, of Virginia, were thus ordained. Soon after these ordinations, a General Convention ratified the constitution, and the organization of the Episcopal Church in the United States was complete. About this time came Thomas Coke, as superintendent or bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He had been an able laborer with Wesley, by whom he was ordained to that office. This sect spread very rapidly, especially in the south; in that section of the country were a great many vacant parishes, which belonged to the Episcopal Church, numbers of whose clergymen left the country during the troubles of the Revolution. At this time the denomination did not number more than ninety preachers, and fifteen thousand members. The institutions of the Congregational and Presbyterian Churches required no change to adapt them to the new order of things. The Presbyterians took measures to organize their Church government on a national basis. Four Synods were formed out of the Synod of New York and Philadelphia. A General Assembly, composed of delegates from THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. 525 XXXVIII all the Presbyteries of the land, was authorized to meet CHAP. annually. Soon after the treaty of peace with England, the 1788. Pope's Nuncio at Paris made overtures to Congress, through Doctor Franklin, on the subject of appointing a Vicar Apostolic or bishop for the United States. On the ground that the subject was purely spiritual, and therefore beyond its jurisdiction, Congress refused to take any part in the matter. The Pope then appointed as his vicar apostolic, John Carroll, a brother of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton; the same was afterward raised to the dignity of Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. Almost immediately after the Declaration of Independence the Presbytery of Hanover, in Virginia, addressed a memorial to the House of Assembly, in which they petitioned for the separation of church and state. They 1776. preferred that the gospel should be supported by the free gifts of its friends; they asked no aid from the civil power to maintain their own churches, and were unwilling that any denomination should thus be favored. The movement thus commenced was ardently seconded by the Baptists and Quakers, who petitioned the Assembly to the same effect. These petitions were met by countermemorials from the Episcopalians and Methodists, who urged in behalf of the Establishment, that it was a system which "possessed the nature of a vested right, and ought to be maintained inviolate." The separation of church and state soon became a prominent question in Virginia. Jefferson took an important part in the animated contest, but the most effective was the united influence of those who first opposed the establishment, and who never relaxed their efforts till the churches were declared independent of the civil power, and every colonial law interfering with the religious rights of the people was swept away. XXXVIII. CHAP. The example thus set by Virginia was not without its influence; the union of church and state was dissolved 1788. in the other States soon after the close of the Revolution, except in Connecticut and Massachusetts, where the system was retained many years longer.1 1 Hildreth, Vol. III. Dr. Hawks' Contributions to Ecclesiastical History of the U. S. Dr. Baird's Religion in America. CHAPTER XXXIX. WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. The Reception and Inauguration of the President.-An Era in human progress.-The Departments of State organized.-Hamilton's Financial Report.-Congress Assumes the Debts of the Nation.-The National Bank.-Commercial Enterprise.-Manufactures.-Indian War.-Harmer's Repulse.-St. Clair defeated.--Wayne defeats the Indians.-Political Parties.-Jefferson.--The French Revolution.--Genet arrives as French Minister.-War between France and England.-Neutrality proclaimed by the President.-Partisans of France.-Arrogant proceedings of Genet.-The Whiskey Insurrection.-Special Mission to Great Britain.-A Treaty concluded.-Its Ratification.-Other Treaties.Washington's Farewell Address.-The Policy of the Government established. XXXIX. WHEN two-thirds of the States had adopted the Fed- CHAP eral Constitution, it became the law of the land. The Continental Congress-that body so remarkable in its 1789. origin, in what it had accomplished, and now about to pass out of existence-ordained that the new government should go into operation on the 4th of March, and also designated the city of New York as the place where the National Congress should hold its sessions. The same authority also named the time for electing the President and Vice-President, according to the manner prescribed in the Constitution. The hearts of the American people were turned to one man. George Washington was unanimously chosen the first President of the Republic. John Adams received the next highest number of votes, and was elected Vice XXXIX. CHAP. President. Charles Thompson, the old Secretary of Congress, was sent to Mount Vernon to inform Washington 1789. of his election, and another messenger to Boston, to inform Adams of his. The latter had just returned from a residence of nine years in Europe, where he had been engaged in public business; he immediately set out to enter upon the duties of his office. As a mark of respect, he was escorted by a troop of horse through Massachusetts and Connecticut, and was met at the New York State line, and in a similar manner attended to the city. Washington wished to travel to New York in as private a manner as possible. But enthusiasm and respect, drew the people in crowds to see and honor him. The authorities of the States through which he passed, vied with each other in testifying their regard. The most graceful reception, and no doubt to him the most grateful, was the one he received at Trenton. As he came to the bridge, over which, twelve years before, on the eve of the battle of Princeton, he retreated with his weary and disheartened soldiers, he found it spanned by a triumphal arch bearing the inscription: "The Defender of the Mothers will be the Protector of the Daughters." Here were assembled a company of matrons and young girls, dressed in white, with baskets of flowers in their hands. As he approached they began to sing an appropriate ode, written for the occasion. At the close of the line, "strew your hero's way with flowers," they suited the action to the sentiment by strewing the flowers before him. At Elizabethport he was met by a committee of both Houses of Congress, and the heads of departments, and received on board a barge, magnificently decorated, and manned by thirteen pilots in appropriate uniforms. The barge was accompanied by a numerous cortege of boats filled with citizens. Welcomed to the city, amidst the salutes of artillery from the ships in the harbor, American as well as foreign, and from the battery, he was conducted to |