SPEECH IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MAY 30, 1859, ON THE PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF THE NORTH-WEST.
Cincinnati: 1859. 40pp, reinforced spine, light margin spotting. Else Very Good.
The divisive issue of slavery intrudes on the question whether to unite the Northwest Synods under the Presbyterian Theological Seminary. MacMaster, a professor at the Seminary, and others are accused of trying to make it a seedbed of abolitionism, hence destroying "the peace of the church." The author responds that the Seminary, originally under the control of the Free States of Indiana and Ohio, sought the cooperation of, and unity with, the Slave State Synods of Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee in a brotherly fashion. He and the Seminary wish ultimately to end slavery by means of religious instruction of slaves and masters; and they oppose a new location in a Slave State for a unified seminary. Despite his decorous opening, MacMaster delivers a real stemwinder, excoriating the "Pro-Slavery Power which has...so prostituted and demoralized the administration of our noble political system." This piece is a significant illustration of the split-up of an important national institution over the issue of slavery. OCLC records a number of institutional copies, although the standard references overlook it.
FIRST EDITION. Not in Thomson, Dumond, Sabin, Blockson, Work, LCP. Item #24066
Price: $175.00