ABSTRACT
In July 1776, representatives to the American Continental Congress in Philadelphia declared the colonies politically independent of Great Britain. While politician Edmund Burke (1966/1774, 1775) in south Britain and popular evangelical preacher John Erskine (1776) in the north noted that they had predicted this event, most of their fellow citizens were outraged (Shepperson, 1954). British loyalty was officially reinforced through a series of days designated by the King for fast and prayer, to be celebrated at all national churches. In Scotland, where the national church was Presbyterian rather than Anglican, there were three official fast days: December 12, 1776, February 26, 1778, and February 9, 1779. It is unknown how many sermons were actually delivered in Scotland, but it appears that at least 10 were published. The Scottish sermons are particularly noteworthy because “the sharpest and most interesting division” among Scots on the issue of American independence was “in the Scottish church.” Thus, these sermons represent the most significant Scottish contribution to British rhetoric about the American dispute (Fagerstrom, 1954, pp. 264–265).
