Editing Presbyterian Church (USA) (section)

===Origins===
[[Presbyterians]] trace their history to the [[Protestant Reformation]] in the 16th century. The Presbyterian heritage, and much of its theology, began with the French theologian and lawyer [[John Calvin]] (1509–1564), whose writings solidified much of the [[Reformed tradition]] that came before him in the form of the sermons and writings of [[Huldrych Zwingli]]. From Calvin's headquarters in [[Geneva]], the Reformed movement spread to other parts of Europe.<ref name=HistoftheChurch>{{cite web | title = History of the Church | work = Presbyterian Historical Society | url = http://www.history.pcusa.org/history-online/presbyterian-history/history-church | access-date = January 6, 2015 | archive-date = January 8, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150108034232/http://www.history.pcusa.org/history-online/presbyterian-history/history-church | url-status = live }}</ref> [[John Knox]], a former Roman Catholic priest from Scotland who studied with Calvin in Geneva, took Calvin's teachings back to Scotland and led the [[Scottish Reformation]] of 1560. Because of this reform movement, the [[Church of Scotland]] embraced Reformed theology and [[presbyterian polity]].<ref name=JohnKnox>{{cite web | title = John Knox: Scottish Reformer | date = October 2, 2014 | publisher = Presbyterian Historical Society | url = http://www.history.pcusa.org/history-online/exhibits/john-knox-scottish-reformer-page-8 | access-date = January 6, 2015 | archive-date = January 6, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150106104500/http://www.history.pcusa.org/history-online/exhibits/john-knox-scottish-reformer-page-8 | url-status = live }}</ref> The [[Ulster Scots people|Ulster Scots]] brought their Presbyterian faith with them to Ireland, where they laid the foundation of what would become the [[Presbyterian Church in Ireland]].<ref name=IrishPresby>{{cite web | title = About Us | publisher = Presbyterian Church of Ireland | url = https://www.presbyterianireland.org/About-Us | access-date = January 6, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130228113758/http://www.presbyterianireland.org/About-Us | url-status = dead | archive-date = February 28, 2013 | df = mdy-all }}</ref>

Immigrants from [[Scottish Americans|Scotland]] and [[Irish Americans|Ireland]] brought Presbyterianism to [[British colonization of the Americas|North America]] as early as 1640, and immigration would remain a large source of growth throughout the [[Colonial history of the United States|colonial era]].{{Sfn | Hall | 1982 |pp=101 }} Another source of growth were a number of New England [[Puritans]] who left the [[Congregationalism in the United States|Congregational churches]] because they preferred presbyterian polity. In 1706, seven ministers led by [[Francis Makemie]] established the first American [[Presbytery (church polity)|presbytery]] at [[Philadelphia]] in the [[Province of Pennsylvania]], which was followed by the creation of the [[Synod of Philadelphia]] in 1717.{{Sfn | Longfield | 2013 |pp=2–3 }}

The [[First Great Awakening]] and the [[Christian revival|revivalism]] it generated had a major impact on American Presbyterians. Ministers such as [[William Tennent|William]] and [[Gilbert Tennent]], a friend of [[George Whitefield]], emphasized the necessity of a conscious [[Born again (Christianity)|conversion experience]] and pushed for higher moral standards among the clergy.{{Sfn | Longfield | 2013 |pp=7–8 }} Disagreements over revivalism, [[Itinerant minister|itinerant preaching]], and educational requirements for clergy led to a division known as the [[Old Side–New Side Controversy]] that lasted from 1741 to 1758.{{Sfn | Longfield | 2013 |pp=15 }}

[[File:John Witherspoon3.jpg|thumb|upright|[[John Witherspoon]], a [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father]] of the United States and first moderator of the [[Presbyterian Church in the United States of America]]]]

In the South, the Presbyterians were evangelical [[dissenter]]s, mostly [[Scotch-Irish Americans|Scotch-Irish]], who expanded into Virginia between 1740 and 1758. Spangler in ''Virginians Reborn: Anglican Monopoly, Evangelical Dissent, and the Rise of the Baptists in the Late Eighteenth Century'' (2008)<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0RVN0vx50gC |title=Virginians Reborn: Anglican Monopoly, Evangelical Dissent, and the Rise of the Baptists in the Late Eighteenth Century |author=Gerald W. McDermott |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8139-2679-7 |access-date=4 January 2025}}</ref> argues they were more energetic and held frequent services better attuned to the frontier conditions of the colony. Presbyterianism grew in frontier areas where the [[Anglican]]s had made little impression. Uneducated whites and blacks were attracted to the emotional worship of the denomination, its emphasis on biblical simplicity, and its psalm singing.

Some local Presbyterian churches, such as [[Briery Presbyterian Church|Briery]] in Prince Edward County, owned slaves. The Briery church purchased five slaves in 1766 and raised money for church expenses by hiring them out to local planters.{{Sfn | Oast | 2010 |pp=867 }}

[[File:1st Presby Baltimore 01.JPG|thumb|upright|[[First Presbyterian Church and Manse (Baltimore, Maryland)|First Presbyterian Church and Manse]] in [[Baltimore, Maryland]]]]

After the [[United States Declaration of Independence|United States achieved independence from Great Britain]], Presbyterian leaders felt that a national Presbyterian denomination was needed, and the [[Presbyterian Church in the United States of America]] (PCUSA) was organized. The first [[Presbyterian general assembly|general assembly]] was held in Philadelphia in 1789.{{Sfn | Longfield | 2013 |pp=48–50 }} [[John Witherspoon]], president of [[Princeton University]] and the only minister to sign the [[Declaration of Independence (United States)|Declaration of Independence]], was the first [[Moderator of the General Assembly|moderator]].

Not all American Presbyterians participated in the creation of the PCUSA General Assembly because the divisions then occurring in the Church of Scotland were replicated in America. In 1751, Scottish [[Covenanter]]s began sending ministers to America, and the [[Seceders]] were doing the same by 1753. In 1858, the majority of Covenanters and Seceders merged to create the [[United Presbyterian Church of North America]] (UPCNA).{{Sfn | Hall | 1982 |pp=106 }}