When Americans think of our founding era and the remarkable leaders that comprise the elite band we call “Founding Fathers,” the names of Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton, or Madison come to mind. There’s no doubt that these are worthy of this distinction. There are others not so well known, who were also pivotal for the American story. We might add:

• James Wilson, creator of the Electoral College and a Supreme Court Justice
• Roger Sherman, who served on the Committee of Five with Jefferson and John Adams who brought the Declaration of Independence to Congress, and who signed each of America’s key founding documents
• John Jay, the first Supreme Court Chief Justice and prime negotiator of the Treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War with England.

Though less well remembered, these men are recognized as founders. However, there is another important figure we should consider even though he is generally not thought of as a Founding Father. His name is not invisible to Americans, at least not to those who have a working knowledge of the impact of the Christian faith on America’s early years. “Who is that?” you ask. Well, it is none other than the extraordinary evangelist of the Great Awakening, the Rev. George Whitefield.

Was George Whitefield a Founding Father?

No one is surprised to hear Whitefield described as an Anglican clergyman, a thespian with an unbelievably powerful voice, or as an indefatigable gospel herald who crisscrossed the American colonies on multiple mission trips. And thanks to the recent Sight and Sound production, “A Great Awakening,” many have learned that he was a personal friend of Philadelphia’s favorite Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin. But was Whitefield an American Founder? This may seem far-fetched. After all, he was from England, not the colonies. Further, he died in 1770—years before independence was even conceivable to the multitudes of generally loyal colonists. So, what’s the evidence?

Evidence: Part 1, Reasons 1 – 5

Most know Whitefield by his justly deserved title of the Great Awakening’s preeminent itinerant evangelist. I offer ten considerations in total that, when viewed together historically, validate that the Rev. George Whitefield should be esteemed an authentic Founding Father of America. This post will examine the first five; look for Part Two of this post soon to follow. And for those whose curiosity about Whitefield is deep, see the entire article published on this site as a white paper.

1. Whitefield’s Open-Air Preaching Appealed to a Higher Authority than the King

Whitefield’s preaching drew congregations so large that when people flocked to hear him, they could not fit into the churches. Whitefield wrote on Sunday, October 12, 1740 in Boston, “Preached, with great power, at Dr. Sewall’s meeting-house, which was so exceedingly thronged, that I was obliged to get in at one of the windows.” Whitefield’s move to preach outside was likely furthered by many of the upper class and church’s leadership, for they were troubled by Whitefield’s popularity and his unflinching declaration of the gospel to the masses. Also troubling to many was that the divine dramatist’s preaching was often accompanied by deep emotions, loud cries, and overt physical displays of spiritual conviction. Even Jonathan Edwards was moved by Whitefield’s preaching. On Sunday, Oct. 19, 1740, Whitefield writes,

Preached this morning, and good Mr. Edwards wept during the whole time of exercise. The people were equally affected; and, in the afternoon, the power increased yet more….Oh, that my soul may be refreshed with the joyful news, that Northampton people have recovered their first love; that the Lord has revived His work in their souls and caused them to do their first works!

Critics, like Timothy Cutler, however, described his view of the negative impact of Whitefield’s preaching: “The whole Church in this Town and the adjacent parts, with all the Church both at home and abroad, hath felt the ill effects of Mr. Whitefield’s visits. Our sufferings here are very particular…. Too many unhappy Feuds and Debates are owing to Mr. Whitefield’s being among us.” Opposition also arose against Whitefield as he criticized ministers who preached to others yet had not experienced the new birth. Clergy as well as academics openly expressed their disagreements with Whitefield. He was, therefore, banished from various churches and campuses. In his journal of November 27, 1744, he described the Boston clergy that opposed him:

They were apprehensive, I found too, that I would promote or encourage separations, and that some would have been encouraged to separate by my saying in my journal that I found the generality of Preachers preached an Unknown Christ, that the Colleges had darkness in them, even darkness that might be felt, and that speaking of the danger of an Unconverted Ministry, I said, How can a Dead man beget a living child?

It should be remembered that at that time, to preach outside of a church building was generally against English law. English royalty had used this legal requirement to control the preaching of sects that they deemed inconsistent with the Church of England. Nevertheless, Whitefield decided to preach to anyone and everyone anywhere. Large crowds flocked to hear Whitefield’s extraordinary outside preaching. As he pursued preaching even in a field, not only did Whitefield advance the gospel, but he indirectly declared that there was a king above the King of England. English law forbade preaching outside the church, but King Jesus did not. The king’s authority over the colonies was a foundational question in the American Revolution. Whitefield’s spirit of looking to the heavenly Lord as above the earthly king was a foundational premise of the America’s founding. A popular pro-independence statement often heard in America and known in Britain declared, “In America, we have no king, except King Jesus.” Marshall and Manuel write:

Most Crown-appointed governors remained submitted to their king, and one wrote to the Board of Trade in England: “If you ask an American, who is his master? He will tell you he has none, nor any governor but Jesus Christ.” Which may have given rise to the cry which was soon passed up and down the length of America by the Committees of Correspondence: “No King but King Jesus!”

Whitefield’s open-air preaching, in tension with English law, helped set in motion an essential perspective for independence in the hearts of the colonies.

2. The Unifying Effect of the Shared Colonial Experience of the New Birth

Whitefield’s foundational message proclaimed throughout the American colonies in his seven missionary journeys was, “You must be born again!” The doctrine of the new birth or regeneration as taught by Jesus in John 3 was the heart of Whitefield’s preaching. Due to his ministry’s vast impact, the largely divided and separated colonies experienced a new unifying force. Instead of asking what “country” a person was from—for a colonist thought of his colony as his country—people began to ask strangers a different question, “Have you been born again?” The experience of the new birth through Whitefield’s preaching united people from each of the colonies into a new body. Whitefield’s preaching called for unity in the midst of Christian division and diversity:

Happy they, who, with a disinterested view, take in the whole church militant, and, in spite of narrow-hearted bigots, breathe an undissembled catholic spirit towards all; Do not tell me you are a Baptist, an Independent, a Presbyterian, a Dissenter, tell me you are a Christian, that is all I want; this is the religion of heaven and must be ours upon earth.

Peter Marshall and David Manuel illustrate Whitefield’s preaching of his call for Christian unity, writing:

That first night in Philadelphia, Whitefield preached from the courthouse steps…. The streets were jammed, but the people stood perfectly still. Father Abraham, cried Whitefield, whom have you in heaven? Any Episcopalians? No! Whitefield called out, answering his own query. Any Presbyterians? No! Any Independents or Seceders, New Sides or Old sides, any Methodists? No! No! No! Whom have you there, then, Father Abraham? We don’t know those names here! All who are here are Christians—believers in Christ, men who have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and word of His testimony. Oh, is that the case? Then God help me, God help us all, to forget having names and to become Christians in deed and in truth!

While diverse in territory and culture, the colonists under Whitefield’s preaching were becoming united in the personal reality of saving faith. The discovery of their shared experience of the new birth that was so broadly and powerfully proclaimed by Whitefield set in motion the movement toward America’s identity as united colonies. The magnetic pull of saving faith proclaimed in the Awakening united colonists and helped to shape a mindset that facilitated the union of colonies beyond their physical borders.

3. Whitefield Modeled Perseverance Amid Opposition and Ostracism

George Whitefield experienced the sting of rejection and criticism and sometimes endured painful persecution from hostile crowds, even as he endured long seasons of illness and bouts of asthma. He regularly encountered openly hostile critiques and mockery by leaders of churches, elites in government, and the privileged aristocracy of academies. Whitefield’s personal sacrifices to proclaim the gospel never abated in spite of resistance and life-threatening assaults. His perseverance for the gospel afforded his throngs of hearers a model of steadfast determination for transcendent goals. Whitefield was sure that the gospel called for perseverance and disregard for personal comfort. It would take Whitefield-like perseverance for the colonists to endure the hardships and heartaches that would befall the beleaguered colonies in the Revolution. Whitefield’s amazing stamina and earnest commitment is manifest in the last letter he wrote to a friend in England, seven days before he died:

My very dear friend, you will see by the many invitations, what a door is opened for preaching the everlasting gospel. I was so ill on Friday, that I could not preach, although thousands were waiting to hear. Well; the day of release will shortly come;-but it does not seem yet; for, by riding sixty miles, I am better, and hope to preach here to-morrow. I trust my blessed Master will accept of these poor efforts to serve him. Oh for a warm heart! Oh to stand fast in the faith, to quit ourselves like men, and be strong!

The leading voice of the Great Awakening left an example that enabled his multitude of followers to mirror his determination and persevering spirit. Through sermons, newspapers, and oral reports, they watched Whitefield’s courageous endurance. He modeled vitality and strength in the face of opposition to the gospel, which was deeply cherished by his converts who in turn reflected them in the years leading to and through the Revolution.

4. The Awakening Prepared Americans for Division

Given the opposition Whitefield encountered, his followers soon realized that their churches could not escape division as newly awakened followers of Whitefield’s revival sought to advance the awakening in their churches. The young American Presbyterian Church, for example, divided over the Awakening during 1741-1758 resulting in the New Side and Old Side Churches. The New Side favored the Awakening of Whitefield, while the Old Side opposed it. A parallel division occurred in New England Congregationalism with the New Lights and the Old Lights (1740s). Standing for the Awakening sometimes meant that churches would face a painful division, a foretaste of painful divisions during the founding era. Churches, families as well as governments divided in their assessments of Whitefield and his methods. An example of growing division within Whitefield’s Anglican church is seen in his meeting with Alexander Garden, the Bishop of London’s Commissary in Charleston, South Carolina. On Friday, March 14, 1740, Whitefield wrote in his journal, detailing the conflict that resulted in the bishop demanding that Whitefield leave. In a parallel manner, opposing views of American independence and the American Revolution would later divide families, churches, and governments. Whitefield’s spiritual revolution led to division and realignment, and in doing so, his movement and the division of churches that it precipitated foreshadowed and prepared the colonists for the political divisions that the American Revolution created.

5. Whitefield’s Crowds Revealed the Power of Public Gatherings

Benjamin Franklin estimated that Whitefield could be heard by as many as 30,000 people at once. He established his calculations as he observed that Whitefield’s voice reached 20,000 people at once in Philadelphia. His public open-air meetings provided colonists with an opportunity to experience the potency of mass assemblies. In September 1740, Whitefield preached to massive crowds in Boston, greatly impacting the city. Kenneth Lawson writes, “Boston was enamored by Whitefield. Some went to hear him under deep spiritual conviction. Others were simply curious. Some only wanted to be part of the huge assemblies on the Boston Common, as unprecedented tens of thousands flocked to hear his outdoor preaching.” Whitefield documented the crowds in his own journal on January 23, 1747, writing, “The Lord Jesus is pleased to give me great access to multitudes of souls, and I hope has withal given me as strong an inclination as ever, to go out and preach to them the unsearchable riches of his dying love.” In 1765, in a very different context, Bostonians again gathered in large numbers. But this time it was on the Boston Common at “the Liberty Tree” to protest the Stamp Act. This, the first of several public protests against the British Parliament, gave rise to “the Sons of Liberty,” a group that eventually included the critical leaders of the Revolution, Sam Adams, John Adams and John Hancock. The Sons of Liberty gathered large crowds who paraded through the streets to oppose the imposition of what they deemed to be unconstitutional taxation—taxation to which they had not consented and for which their leaders had not voted. These crowds earned the condemnation of the British officials who declared them to be “mobs.” The earlier crowds of the Awakening, albeit for the gospel, had revealed their power to impact the city. Whitefield’s large crowds set an example for the later crowds organized by the Sons of Liberty, who became the political engine that initiated broad public support for the cause of American independence.

To Be Continued

Evidence: Part Two, Reasons 6 – 10

These five reasons lay a foundation for the validation of the Rev. George Whitefield as a Founding Father. George Whitefield, America’s Founding Father: Part Two, an upcoming post, will give five more reasons in support of this argument. The entire article in total will be published as a white paper, available on this site.