Elihu Palmer (1764 – April 7, 1806) was an author and advocate of

deism Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin term '' deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge and asserts that empirical reason and observation ...

in the early days of the

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Life

Elihu Palmer was born in

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in 1764. He studied to be a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

, where he graduated in 1787. Soon after his graduation, however, he became a deist. After rejecting the Calvinist doctrine of Presbyterianism, Palmer became a physical, spiritual, and intellectual wanderer, ultimately making his way to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he formed the

Deistical Society of New York Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin term ''deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge and asserts that empirical reason and observation o ...

in 1796. He resided for a time in Augusta,

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, where he collected materials for Jedediah Morse's ''Geography'', and subsequently lived in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

. In 1793 he became totally blind from an attack of yellow fever but continued as a public speaker. Palmer kept writing until the end of his life and published a number of different written works including "A Fourth of July Oration" (1797), and was also the author of '' The Principles of Nature, or A Development of the Moral Causes of Happiness and Misery among the Human Species''. He also founded two newspapers, '' The Temple of Reason'' in 1800 and '' Prospect, or View of the Moral World'' in 1803.

Works

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Life

Works

Further reading