James Henley Thornwell (December 9, 1812 – August 1, 1862) was an American Presbyterian preacher, slaveowner, and religious writer from the U.S. state of South Carolina during the 19th century. During the American Civil War, Thornwell supported the Confederacy and preached a doctrine that claimed slavery to be morally right and justified by the tenets of Christianity. But contrary to many proponents of slavery, he preached that the African American population were people created in the image of God just like whites and that they should call slaves their brothers.[2][3] He became prominent in the Old School Presbyterian denomination in the south, preaching and writing on theological and social issues. He taught at South Carolina College, eventually served as its president, and went on to teach at Columbia Theological Seminary. He was a contemporary of Charles Hodge and represented the southern branch of the Presbyterian church in debates on ecclesiology with Hodge.
Career
When the American Civil War broke out, Thornwell supported the Confederacy. He founded the Southern Presbyterian Review, edited the Southern Quarterly Review, and had a prominent role in establishing the Presbyterian Church in the Confederacy. Thornwell preached the first sermon and wrote the first address for the new denomination.
As a supporter of the Confederacy, Thornwell held the view that slavery was morally right and justified under the Christian religion. He accused those who viewed slavery as being morally wrong, namely the Republicans, as being opposed to Christianity:
The parties in the conflict are not merely abolitionists and slaveholders. They are atheists, socialists, communists, red republicans, Jacobins on the one side, and friends of order and regulated freedom on the other. In one word, the world is the battleground – Christianity and Atheism the combatants; and the progress of humanity at stake.
Thornwell died on August 1, 1862, after a long struggle with tuberculosis. Thornwell is buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina.
Legacy
An administrative building at University of South Carolina is named in his honor.[4] In July 2021, the university's Presidential Commission on University History recommended removing his name from the building.[4]
Thornwell, in the words of Professor Eugene Genovese, attempted "to envision a Christian society that could reconcile – so far as possible in a world haunted by evil – the conflicting claims of a social order with social justice and both with the freedom and dignity of the individual."[5]
Unlike capitalism or communism, which Thornwell believed altered social norms, he avowed that slavery was part of the social fabric and, therefore, unalterable.
— Jamie Diane Wilson: Transatlantic Encounters and the Origins of James Henly Thornwell's Proslavery Ideology, [6]
Thornwell believed in a collectivist vision of society in which all individuals were connected with each other and with God.[7]
Thornwell owned slaves.[8] He constantly cited the Bible to argue against abolitionists that slavery was sanctioned by Biblical authority.[9] Being an orphan himself, Thornwell considered slaves should be treated with loving care and paternalistic guidance. He advocated a limited slavery which was humane and in line with God's precepts.[10] This was because Thornwell thought free labor left the poor in a state of misery and threatened society with revolution and upheaval. Therefore, he believed a reformed and more Christian version of slavery to be a preferable alternative.[11] Thornwell's disdain for the absolute power of slave masters and subsequent attempts to reconcile Christianity, paternalism, and slavery produced a vision for society which some historians have described as fascist.[12]
Calhoun, David B. Our Southern Zion – Old Columbia Seminary 1828–1927 published by Banner of Truth Trust, Carlisle PA 17018 USA, Copyright David B. Calhoun, 2012.
White, Henry Alexandra. Southern Presbyterian Leaders 1683–1911 published by Banner of Truth Trust, Carlisle, PA 17018 USA, 2000. Previously published by the Neale Publishing Co., New York, 1911.
The State of the Country: The Causes which brought about the secession of South Carolina from the Union. An article republished from the Southern Presbyterian Review. ( This work is the property of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text).
