Peter Cartwright (September 1, 1785-September 25, 1872) was a Methodist circuit-riding preacher. He was one of the most famous evangelists and planters of new churches in the West. Peter Cartwright preached nearly 15,000 sermons and baptized almost 10,000 converts. In 1824, he left Kentucky and Tennessee because of his disdain for slavery, and moved to Illinois, where he ran for Congress. He lost his bid for Congress in 1846 to Abraham Lincoln. In recalling his own conversion, Peter Cartwright shared:
<I went with weeping multitudes and bowed before the preaching stand, and earnestly prayed for mercy. In the midst of a solemn struggle of soul, an impression was made upon my mind, as though a voice said to me: "Thy sins are all forgiven thee."> 1785PC001
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1785PC001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Peter Cartwright. The Autobiography of Peter Cartwright (New York: Carlton & Porter, 1856), p. 38. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg's Heart'N Home, Inc., 1991), 9.1. "The Return of the Spirit" (Carol Stream, IL: Christian History), Vol. VIII, No. 3, Issue 23, p. 26.