Rev. James Henley Thornwell was a prominent 19th-century Presbyterian pastor who believed that slavery was morally right and fully justified by the teachings of Christianity. A staunch supporter of the Confederacy, Thornwell argued that those who opposed slavery, particularly Republicans and abolitionists, were not just politically misguided, but spiritually opposed to the Christian faith itself.
James Henley Thornwell, born on December 9, 1812, in Marlboro District, South Carolina, was a leading 19th-century American Presbyterian preacher, religious writer, educator, and slaveowner. Operating out of South Carolina during the 19th century, Thornwell used his pulpit, pen, and academic influence to present slavery not only as a social necessity but as a divinely sanctioned institution. Unlike many defenders of slavery who dehumanized Africans entirely, Thornwell preached that enslaved African people were fully human, created in the image of God, and deserving of Christian brotherhood, while still maintaining that their bondage was just and Biblically approved by the Christian God.
A slaveowner himself, Thornwell came to embody the Southern Christian intellectual defense of slavery. He served as president of South Carolina College and taught at Columbia Theological Seminary. Through his leadership in the Old School Presbyterian Church and his role as editor of several influential publications, Thornwell helped shape pro-slavery theology in support of the Confederate cause. He delivered the first sermon and wrote the founding address for the Presbyterian Church in the Confederacy.
Thornwell had very strong beliefs and was firmly against abolitionists, not just for political reasons, but because he believed they were going against God. He accused anti-slavery Republicans and reformers of being enemies of both God and social order. In one of his most well-known statements, he wrote:
“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.”
To Thornwell, abolition was not simply a political mistake, it was a spiritual rebellion. He believed that those who sought to end slavery were attacking the very foundations of Christian civilization.
Thornwell, like many Southern preachers and theologians of his time, turned to the Bible to justify slavery. He claimed that the scriptures provided divine approval for the master-slave relationship and framed abolitionism as a rejection of God’s word. Several Biblical passages were repeatedly cited to defend the institution of slavery:
Ephesians 6:5 – “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ.”
Colossians 3:22 – “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.”
1 Timothy 6:1 – “Let all who are under the yoke as slaves regard their own masters as worthy of all honor.”
Genesis 9:25 – “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.” (Often twisted to claim that African people were divinely destined for slavery.)
Thornwell and his contemporaries used these verses to argue that slavery was not just tolerated by God, but a part of His divine social order. They insisted that Christianity wasn’t about changing the social system or starting revolts, but about finding spiritual salvation while accepting the roles people already had, even in something as cruel as chattel slavery.
Thornwell died in 1862 from tuberculosis, never living to see the Confederacy’s defeat or the abolition of slavery. He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Columbia, South Carolina. While some praise him for his intellectual rigor and theological contributions to Presbyterianism, his legacy is stained by his deep commitment to preserving human bondage through the authority of Christian doctrine.
Sources:
https://archive.org/details/rightsandduties00thorgoog/page/n16/mode/1up
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0144039X.2015.1060072?scroll=top&needAccess=true
