author
F. A. (Frederick Augustus) Ross
1796–1883
A 19th-century Presbyterian minister and polemical writer, he is chiefly remembered for "Slavery Ordained of God" (1857), a work that defended slavery on theological grounds. His career also included preaching, editing, and publishing in the American South.
1 Audiobook
Slavery Ordained of God
by F. A. (Frederick Augustus) Ross
About the author
Born in Virginia in 1796 and dying in Alabama in 1883, Frederick Augustus Ross was a Presbyterian clergyman who worked in places including Tennessee and Alabama. Sources consistently describe him as a minister, publisher, and editor, as well as an outspoken pro-slavery author.
Ross is best known today for his 1857 book Slavery Ordained of God, which argued that slavery was justified by scripture. Because of that book and the views it promoted, he is usually discussed in the context of antebellum religious defenses of slavery rather than as a literary figure in the broader sense.
His life and writing reflect the deep religious and political conflicts of the United States before the Civil War. For modern readers, his work is most significant as historical evidence of how some clergy used theology to support slavery.