Author Beecher Edward

recognizable and oldest building is Blanchard Hall, a limestone tower built as the Central College Building in 1853 and, subsequently, named in honor of the college's first two presidents. Of New England Congregationalist stock, Blanchard had a clear vision for evangelical cooperation in gospel work and social reform. He named the church he cultivated on the campus of Wheaton College "The First Church of Christ in Wheaton." Blanchard insisted that the church go on public record with its opposition to slavery and secret societies and its support for temperance.[3] It was said that, on almost every conceivable political or social issue, Jonathan Blanchard was a reactionary. He was a driving force behind, and the first president of, the National Christian Association, which appeared in the early 1860s, and he worked closely with Charles. G. Finney in opposition to the "insidious influence of [secret] societies." Blanchard and the NCA were determined to, "through tracts, lectures and sermons, introduce those embroiled with orders, both Christian and non, to the freedom promised by Jesus Christ, who performed His ministry not secretly but openly."[4] In 1882, Blanchard was a candidate for the Presidency of the United States on the Anti-Masonic Party ticket. On September 13th of that year, he gave an hour-and-a-half lecture on "Christian Politics" at the anti-Masonic convention. The platform of the anti-Masonic Party was very brief, and espoused christianity, temperance, the abolition of secret societies, and a direct vote for President and Vice-President of the United States instead of an electoral college.[5]