Jonathan Mayhew

About the Author

Jonathan Mayhew was a prominent 18th-century American Congregational minister and theologian whose writings profoundly influenced the intellectual currents leading to the American Revolution. Born in 1720 in Marblehead, Massachusetts, Mayhew studied at Harvard College and became pastor of Boston's West Church in 1747, where he served until his death in 1766. Renowned for his bold advocacy of religious liberty and resistance to tyranny, he argued passionately against the divine right of kings and British overreach, earning him the moniker 'the father of American liberty' among contemporaries. His sermons and essays, blending sharp theological insight with political fervor, inspired key revolutionary figures like John Adams and Samuel Adams. Mayhew's legacy endures as a bridge between Puritan piety and Enlightenment republicanism, shaping the moral foundation of the fledgling United States.