FORGET NONE OF HIS BENEFITS, volume 7, number 20, May 15, 2008
Thou didst remove a vine from Egypt; Thou didst drive out the nations, and didst plant it, Psalm 80:8.
Qui Transtulit Sustinet
That’s the state motto of Connecticut and it is a loose translation of Psalm 80:8 from the Latin Vulgate meaning, "He who brought across, sustains." Connecticut- the Constitution State, home of the Fundamental Orders and the Charter Oak, the cradle of American democracy, was clearly founded on Christian principles. John Winthrop led a group of Puritans on the Great Migration in the spring of 1630, leaving England due to the corruption in British government, the lack of economic opportunity, and the persecution by Archbishop William Laud under the direction of Charles I who disbanded Parliament in 1629. It was not reconvened until the Puritan revolution was firmly in place in 1640. While standing on the deck of the Arbella, just prior to their departure, John Winthrop gave what many historians call the greatest sermon of the second millennium, his City on a Hill message. In it he outlined his vision for the New World, firmly established on Puritan principles of fearing God, hard work, personal responsibility, compassion for the poor, and orderly submission to authority.
After arriving at the Massachusetts Bay Winthrop was elected Governor and served four consecutive one year terms, and then many terms after that. In 1633, one of the most powerful and effective preachers in England, Thomas Hooker, came with a hundred or so from his church to Massachusetts Bay. Hooker was in his mid forties, considered an old man at the time, and he immediately gave himself to establishing a strong colony. After three years, however, it became clear there was not enough good land for his people to farm and raise cattle. Finally in 1636 Hooker left, with his church people, traveling west to the Connecticut River and then south to establish Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield. On May 31, 1638 Hooker spoke from the pulpit of the First Congregational Church of Hartford, calling for something unprecedented. His sermon text was Deuteronomy 1 where Moses told the people to choose for themselves those who were wise, discerning, and experienced to govern them, and he (Moses) would appoint them over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. Hooker was calling for a democracy where every man was free to choose those who governed them. They were to make sure they were qualified men. This was not to be a popularity contest nor were they to choose men by perception or image. Finally, they had the right to remove their elected leaders if they disgraced the office or failed to lead properly, what we now call the consent of the governed. A year later the Fundamental Orders were laid down as the first constitution of Connecticut and this was the first real democracy, totally separate from any other governance, in the world. Hooker served, as it were, as the John the Baptist, a voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way for Jeffersonian democracy some 130 years later.
In part, the Preamble to the Fundamental Orders said, ". . .the inhabitants and residents of Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield. . .to maintain and preserve the liberty and purity of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus which we profess, as also, the discipline of the Churches, which according to the truth of the said Gospel is now practiced amongst us; as also in our civil affairs to be guided and governed according to such Laws, Rules, Orders, and Decrees as shall be made, ordered, and decreed. . ." Hooker’s sermon and the consequent Connecticut constitution were founded on three vital necessities- man as the Imago Dei (the image of God, meaning all men are to be treated with dignity and respect, including individual rights), liberty and democracy can only survive with leaders and constituents of godly character, and literacy (the Puritans championed education, founding Harvard in 1638, Yale in 1701, Princeton by 1750, and Dartmouth by 1755).
After the restoration of Charles II to the throne of England in 1660 Governor of Connecticut, John Winthrop, Jr., feeling the heat from Massachusetts and New York, traveled to England, gaining a charter for Connecticut from Charles II. This new constitution was established in 1663. In 1675 Governor Edmund Andros of New York, in a power play, demanded Connecticut come under New York jurisdiction. Connecticut ignored Andros for twelve years until Andros showed up in Hartford with troops, demanding they hand the Connecticut Charter to him and submit to New York. In a meeting at Wylly’s Estate, with the Connecticut Charter on a table before Andros and others, someone blew out the candles and by the time the candles were re-lit the Charter was gone. Joseph Wadsworth buried it under an oak tree on Wylly’s Estate. We thus have the name the Charter Oak of Connecticut.
In 1802, in response to concerns by Baptists in Danbury, CT, President Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to them, stating that the Constitution places a wall of separation between the church and state. Even though the American Constitution had earlier stated that the government should not establish one religion over another, Connecticut still recognized Congregationalism as the state religion (they did so until 1818), meaning that every citizen of Connecticut was required to pay taxes to the Congregational Church, and could only be relieved of this duty by a letter from one’s pastor, stating that he was in fact a member of a different church or denomination. It is clear the context of Jefferson’s letter was to keep the state from encroaching on the church. Nothing was said of the church making declarations to the state.
Four things are important from the early history of Connecticut’s state constitution. First, to serve as a State representative is an honorable and high calling, one you should take seriously and reverently. I am thankful for you and your service to our state. Two, without question the foundation of American democracy and the Connecticut state constitution, that which has served as the foundation of every other state democracy in America, is Christianity. More specifically, the vision for democracy comes from the Puritan founder of Hartford, Thomas Hooker. Third, leaders make a difference. This is true of any leader, whatever his character or lack of it. And fourth, and most importantly, leaders of character and integrity made a huge difference in any state. I urge you to rule with justice, mercy, and kindness as the foundation of all you do, knowing that you some day will give account to the great Judge of us all.
This is a brief synopsis of a speech given by Al Baker to members of the State Legislature of Connecticut, April 16, 2008.
FORGET NONE OF HIS BENEFITS is a weekly devotional by Reverend Al Baker, pastor of Christ Community Presbyterian Church in West Hartford, Connecticut.
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