What impact has Presbyterianism had on America?
The earliest settlers in the American Colonies were primarily Reformed Protestant exiles from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the European Continent. Many of these were ardent Presbyterians. The largest group of Presbyterians was the Scotch-Irish immigrants from Northern Ireland who settled primarily in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Carolinas. The first Presbyterian churches were formed in America in the late Seventeenth Century, and the first Presbytery was formed about 1706 by Francis Makemie, the “Father of American Presbyterianism.” Makemie landed in Maryland in 1683 as a missionary from Northern Ireland. He immediately began traveling up and down the eastern seaboard establishing new Presbyterian churches, five of which are still in existence. He traveled to Great Britain and brought back new preachers and, around 1706, he formed a handful of Presbyterian clergy into our first U.S. Presbytery. This Presbytery is widely recognized as the first organized denomination in the U
