Henry Alline and how his life connected to the American Revolution? (Essay Sample)

Topic: Henry Alline and how his life connected to the American Revolution?
Introduction
Who was Henry Alline?
Henry Alline was an influential preacher, theologian, hymnist, and evangelist born in Newport, Rhode Island on the 14th of June 1748. His parents, William Alline and Rebecca Clark were average millers and did not own any significant land in Newport. While growing up in Newport, which was at that time New England’s second largest town, Henry attended nearby public school. About a decade later the family decided to move onto the mainland, to Nova Scotia in particular, where Governor Lawrence had offered free fertile land for English families. Henry’s family was among the group of settlers that was given land on the northern banks of Avon River and the settlement area would later grow to form what would later become Falmouth town. During the first few months in the settlement, Henry who was then about twelve years old was more concerned with the possible attacks from native tribes than with the immediate challenges of building new farmhouses, clearing vegetation and growing food crops.
When Henry was about the age of twenty seven he got saved and became a Christian. His love for the word of God saw him become an evangelist. He felt that he was called by God to preach his gospel to all. Owing to the fact that Henry’s parents were old and that they depended on him to take care of the family farmlands, he was not able to preach as much as he wanted and to move to locations outside New England. Thus, Henry became a very influential preacher across the nearby frontier settlements where mainstream churches such as the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church had not taken a foothold. He founded churches and preached the gospel in numerous towns across Nova Scotia and New England. It was Henry’s influence and the fact that he thought that the war was unchristian and evil helped convince many of the settlers in Nova Scotia to adopt a neutral stance during the American Revolution.
How was his life connected to the American Revolution?
Early life
Author D. G. Bell in his work depicts Alline as an influential preacher and a man who played a great role in keeping the Maritime Provinces out of the American conflict. As mentioned earlier, Henry played a significant role in helping the residents of numerous towns in the modern day maritime provinces to adopt a neutral stance during the American Revolution. During his early years as a teenager, Henry Alline was influenced by various factors that were unique to Falmouth Township. First of all there was no form of political representation in Falmouth or any other nearby settler communities, all power was centralized in Halifax, which meant that Henry couldn’t look forward to a career in politics. Secondly, the rural areas of Nova Scotia were under-developed and characterized with widespread poverty and isolation, which meant that there were no schools, cultural or religious institutions where the young lad could cultivate his God-given abilities. The lack of formal schooling meant that parents and other family members had to step in to teach their sons and daughters about religion and offer some sort of schooling at home. Together the factors limited the secular avenues through which the gifted young Alline could express his God given abilities, thus pushing him to explore other alternatives. Bell’s assertions were similar to some of the arguments presented by George Rawlyk, particularly on the issue on the role played by Alline on during the American Revolution.[D. G. Bell. Henry Alline and the Maritime Religion] [Rawlyk, George A. 1968, Revolution Rejected 1775-1776]
Henry’s thirst for knowledge was however not restricted by the lack of formal schooling. He read all books that he could get access to in the small township. Most of the books available at that time were religious in nature. During his adolescent years and in his early twenties, Henry was a conflicted young man. Author D.G. Bell writes that the troubled young man strived to live a righteous life but could not fully commit himself to living a Christian life. As time went by Henry became increasingly worried about the state of his soul. He recorded in his journal that he felt like he was under the burden of guilt and darkness and that he used to pray and cry continually for mercy. His breakthrough came in his late twenties on the last Sunday of March 1775. On that day Henry was wandering around his father’s farmlands and after a while he decided to go back to the house. When he got to his house he picked up the bible and opened the book of Psalms chapter 38. That Sunday when he read the scripture he recorded that he felt as if a love had taken over his soul and that he repeated the word of God with such a power that he felt his entire soul melt with love. It was on the same day that he felt the call to evangelize and preach the gospel of redemption. Henry took more than a year before he decided to fully involve himself in ministry.[D. G. Bell, Henry Alline and the Maritime Religion] [Ibid,]
Henry and the American Revolution
When Henry finally decided to involve himself in ministry, several things complicated his decision to start evangelizing. The first obstacle was that the uncertainty surrounding the outbreak of the American Revolution. Henry had decided to follow his calling on the eve of the battles of Concord and Lexington. The second obstacle was that Henry’s father’s estate was not that large, and his parents being old, the estate was now his responsibility. The third obstacle was that settlers from New England highly-valued and respected learned ministry, and although Henry was a widely read individual for a man of his station, he longed to acquire higher education. It was out of this desire that Henry set to go to New England to study but the American rebellion intervened. The ship on which the young man was supposed to sail was captured by privateers; this forced him to wait for another vessel. It was while waiting that he was informed that his parents had contracted smallpox and he decided to go back to Falmouth.[Ibid,]
At this time the provincial government had realized that the American war was not about to end anytime soon and as a form of preparation the government decided to call upon Nova Scotians to join their provincial militia run by Henry Denson. This decision caused the residents of the province to make a decision on which side to join. Henry was approached by some officers to join the provincial army in return for a commission. Like many Nova Scotians during that time, he found religious reasons to decline the offer by arguing that his one true commission was to go forth and evangelize to his fellow mortals under the banner of Jesus Christ. This action meant that Alline had cut his primary allegiances to the British Empire. Later on the 19th of April 1776 when Henry finally decided to preach, he became a free man, with the freedom to offer to Nova Scotians what he himself had found: the spiritual identity that not only rejected but also transcended the evils and problems of the physical world whether American or British. It was a revelation that many Nova Scotians accepted and held to. For about three years Alline restricted his personal ministry to the settlements surrounding the Minas Basin, partly owing to the fact that he had to manage his family’s farmlands and also because of the uncertainties of the American Revolution.[Ibid,]
Despite the growing popularity of his ministry and the fact that people walked for distances to listen to his message, it took quite some time before Henry was officially ordained an evangelist. This happened on the 6th of April 1779 when he was ordained by three churches, two of which he had helped start. It was also not until his ordination that Henry started preaching beyond his immediate surroundings. The basis of Henry’s evangelism success was his mastery of the then standard techniques of revivalism. Some of the techniques included the use of emotional extravagance, lay involvement in preaching, itinerant preaching, open confrontations with "opposers" and use of extemporaneous preaching aimed at immediate conversions. Similar to all other great evangelists of that time Alline didn’t want to settle on one area for far too long and stressed on constantly moving across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Alline was also a strong believer in the power of not only prayer but also hymns. He allowed and encouraged singing during his meetings and wrote many hymns himself. It was his ability to convince and influence that made him a great evangelist. These abilities also made him a personality whom many people followed and respected. Thus, his thoughts on war were taken as biblical truths by many who heard him entrenching the decision of many Nova Scotians to stay neutral during the war.
Many of the areas in which he preached were settled by Yankees, who were experiencing the anxiety of "rootlessness" and economic difficulties, which increased during the revolution which forced Nova Scotians to cut the close ties they had with New England. In such circumstances where political status and landownership were also insecure many found religious status to be equally important leading to numerous individuals turning to Christianity. The conversion of numerous settlers during this period led to it being referred to as the period of the Great Awakening in Nova Scotia. This awakening was led by Alline, who message touched on the issues facing an audience that was trying to come to terms with the difficulties of day-to-day life and the quickly changing developments around them over which they had no control. His message was anti-institutional, anti-materialistic and mystic which allowed ...