Unitarianism in America: A History of its Origin and DevelopmentCooke, George Willis
History
Unitarianism in America: A History of its Origin and Development
Cooke, George Willis
Unitarianism -- United States
The Solemn Review was widely circulated, it was translated into many
languages, it made a deep and lasting impression, and it had a world-wide
influence in preparing the minds of men for the acceptance of peace
principles. The remedy for war it proposed was an international court of
arbitration.[2] Through the efforts of Dr. Worcester the Massachusetts
Peace Society was organized December 28, 1815, one of the first societies
of the kind in the world.[3] William Phillips was made the president, and
Dr. Noah Worcester the corresponding secretary, with Dr. Henry Ware, Dr.
Channing, and Rev. Francis Parkman among his councillors. On the executive
committee with Dr. Worcester in 1819 were Rev. Ezra Ripley and Rev. John
Pierce. Other Unitarian members and workers were James Freeman, Nathaniel
L. Frothingham, Charles Lowell, Samuel C. Thacher, J.T. Kirkland, and
Joseph Tuckerman; and, of laymen, Moses Grant, Josiah Quincy, and Colonel
Joseph May. In 1819 Dr. Worcester began the publication of The Friends of
Peace, a small quarterly magazine, a large part of the contents of which he
wrote himself. After the first number, having obtained the assistance of
several wealthy Friends, he relinquished the copyright; and the numbers
were republished in several parts of the country, thus obtaining a wide
circulation. He devoted himself almost wholly to this publication and the
advocacy of the cause of peace until 1829, when he relinquished its
editorship. "This must be looked upon as a very remarkable work," wrote
Henry Ware, the younger. "To his wakeful mind everything that occurred and
everything that he read offered him materials; he appeared to see nothing
which had not a bearing on this one topic; and his book becomes a boundless
repository of curious, entertaining, striking extracts from writers of all
sorts and the history of all times, displaying the criminality and folly of
war, and the beauty and efficacy of the principles of peace."[4]
In his efforts hi behalf of peace, Dr. Worcester had the support of Dr.
Channing's "respectful sympathy and active co-operation."[5] According to
Dr. John Pierce, Channing was the life and soul of the Massachusetts Peace
Society. "For years," says his biographer, "he devoted himself to the work
of extending its influence with unwavering zeal, as many of his papers of
that period attest."[6] From his pulpit Dr. Channing frequently expressed
his faith in the principles of peace, and he strongly advocated those
Christian convictions and that spirit of good will which would make war
impossible if they were applied to the conduct of nations.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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