National Character A Thanksgiving Discourse Delivered November 15th, 1855, in the Franklin Street Presbyterian Church

National Character: A Thanksgiving Discourse Delivered November 15th, 1855, in the Franklin Street Presbyterian Church by Nathaniel Clark Burt offers a forceful meditation on faith, civic duty, and gratitude that still resonates for modern listeners. Preached in Baltimore to a congregation summoned by the governor, Burt grounds his sermon in Psalm 33:12—"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord"—and examines how religious conviction shapes public life, moral responsibility, and national identity. This 1855 Thanksgiving sermon blends pastoral exhortation with reflection on providence and communal virtue at a pivotal moment in antebellum America. Burt addresses themes of thankfulness, national character, and the role of the church in cultivating civic ethics, using rhetoric characteristic of mid-19th-century Presbyterian preaching. The discourse captures both religious sentiment and historical context, illuminating how faith communities responded to social and political anxieties of the era. Ideal for listeners interested in religion, American history, sermons, and Thanksgiving traditions, this audiobook provides a compact window into 19th-century theological thought and civic discourse. Scholars, clergy, and curious history buffs will find Burt’s message a valuable resource for understanding how religion informed ideas of nationhood before the Civil War.