[Colwell, Stephen]. Politics for American Christians: A Word upon Our Example as a Nation, Our Labour, Our Trade, Elections, Education, and Congressional Legislation. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1852. First Edition. [10494]
Cloth spine with plain boards, backstrip missing, front board detached, 9 x 6 inches, private emboss stamp on ffep, Smithsonian & Library of Congress ink stamps on title page, final fly page torn. 134 pp. plus 34-pp., publisher's catalogue. Fair. Hardcover.
"No Christian can rightfully separate his religion from his politics, from his business, his profession, or from his career in life, whatever it may be." - p. iii.
The topics are Our Position in reference to Foreign Politics; The Rewards of Labor; The Relations of industry with Trade; Public Education, Elections, Legislation, Legislative Bodies, and the Moral Position of our National Legislature.
Stephen Colwell (1800-1872), born in Brooke County, Virginia; died in Philadelphia, Pa. Cowell was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1821 and moved to Pittsburgh, Pa, where he was in practice for ten years. He became an iron merchant in Philadelphia about 1831, at which trade he acquired great wealth, contributing much of his resources to charitable works.
“He acquired large wealth, which he devoted to charitable purposes, to the endowment of professorships, to the encouragement of scientific investigation, and to the collection of a large and valuable library, including a very complete selection of works on his favorite topics of political and social science. During the civil war Mr. Colwell was among the foremost supporters of the National government in its struggle against secession. He lent his name and his money to the cause, and strengthened the hands of the administration by every means in his power. He was one of the founders of the Union league of Philadelphia, and an associate member of the United States Sanitary Commission. After the war he was appointed a commissioner to examine the whole internal revenue system of the United States, with a view to suggesting such modifications as would distribute and lighten the necessary burdens of taxation--a problem of peculiar importance at that crisis of the nation's history. To this work he devoted much time and study, and his advice had due weight in determining the financial policy of the government. He bequeathed his library to the University of Pennsylvania with an endowment for a professorship of social science.” - Appletons.