“A Wicked Contradiction”: Religion, Slavery, and the American Revolution

Event Details

In 1818, former President John Adams wrote, “The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people, a change in their religious sentiments of their duties and obligations.” 

What was this change in religious thinking? And what were their new duties and obligations? In this lecture, Dr. Lowe explores how revolutionaries condemned the “wicked contradiction” of colonists fighting for liberty while maintaining chattel slavery. By merging theology with Revolutionary ideals, patriots pioneered ideas that demanded immediate abolition.

John T. Lowe is a Professor in the History Department at the University of Louisville and holds teaching appointments at both Spalding and Bellarmine Universities. He earned a PhD from the Free University of Amsterdam.  He is also a Research Fellow for the Jonathan Edwards Center in the Netherlands and an Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in London.