The Gardiner Spring Resolutions were adopted by the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

of the

Presbyterian Church in the United States of America The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) was a Presbyterian denomination existing from 1789 to 1958. In that year, the PCUSA merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North America. The new church was named the United ...

in May 1861 and precipitated the creation of the

Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America The Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS, originally Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America) was a Protestant denomination in the Southern and border states of the United States that existed from 1861 to 1983. That y ...

and the schism of the Presbyterian Church along regional lines and that lasted from the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

until 1983. The resolutions were propounded by

Gardiner Spring Gardiner Spring (February 24, 1785 – August 18, 1873) was an American minister and author. He served as pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church (New York City), Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City for 63 years. Life Spring was born on Feb ...

, the longtime pastor of the Brick St. Presbyterian Church in New York City, and defended by his brother, Charles A. Spring, the founder of several churches in Iowa and Illinois. The resolutions were adopted a few weeks after the

Battle of Fort Sumter The Battle of Fort Sumter (also the Attack on Fort Sumter or the Fall of Fort Sumter) (April 12–13, 1861) was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender of the ...

and had the effect of giving the Presbyterian Church's assent to

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

's attempts to keep the Union intact in the face of Southern secession.

Text

On Friday, the second day of the sessions, GARDINER SPRING, D.D., of New York Presbytery, offered a Resolution, that a Committee be appointed to inquire into the expediency of this General Assembly making some expression of their devotion to the Union of these States, and their loyalty to the Government; and if in their judgment it is expedient so to do, they report what that expression shall be.

The resolutions, as adopted, were as follows:

1. Resolved, That in view of the present agitated and unhappy condition of this country, the first day of July next be hereby set apart as a day of prayer throughout our bounds; and that on that day ministers and people are called on humbly to confess and bewail our national sins; to offer our thanks to the Father of light for his abundant and undeserved goodness to us as a nation; to seek his guidance and blessing upon our rulers and their counsels, as well as on the Congress of the United States about to assemble; and to implore Him, in the name of Jesus Christ, the great High Priest of the Christian profession, to turn away his anger from us, and speedily restore to us the blessings of an honorable peace.

2. Resolved, That this General Assembly, in the spirit of that Christian patriotism which the Scriptures enjoin, and which has always characterized this Church, do hereby acknowledge and declare our obligations to promote and perpetuate, so far as in us lies, the integrity of these United States, and to strengthen, uphold, and encourage the Federal Government in the exercise of all its functions under our noble Constitution; and to this Constitution in all its provisions, requirements, and principles, we profess our unabated loyalty.

And to avoid all misconception, the Assembly declare that by the terms "Federal Government," as here used, is not meant any particular administration, or the peculiar opinions of any particular party, but that central administration, which being at any time appointed and inaugurated according to the forms prescribed in the Constitution of the United States, is the visible representative of our national existence.

References

{{Presbyterian Church in the United States of America Presbyterianism in the United States 1861 documents United States documents