(January 12, 1723–November 29, 1797), was the president of Harvard University and a member of the New Hampshire Convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution, 1788. He was an original member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
On May 31, 1775, Harvard President Samuel Langdon addressed the Massachusetts Provincial Congress:
Wherefore is all this evil upon us? Is it not because we have forsaken the Lord? Can we say we are innocent of crimes against God? No, surely it becomes us to humble ourselves under His mighty hand, that He may exalt us in due time. …
We have rebelled against God. We have lost the true spirit of Christianity, though we retain the outward profession and form of it. … By many, the Gospel is corrupted into a superficial system of moral philosophy, little better than ancient Platonism. …
My brethren, let us repent and implore the divine mercy. Let us amend our ways and our doings, reform everything that has been provoking the Most High, and thus endeavor to obtain the gracious interpositions of Providence for our deliverance. …
If God be for us, who can be against us? The enemy has reproached us for calling on His name and professing our trust in Him. They have made a mock of our solemn fasts and every appearance of serious Christianity in the land. …
May our land be purged from all its sins! Then the Lord will be our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble, and we will have no reason to be afraid, though thousands of enemies set themselves against us round about.
May the Lord hear us in this day of trouble. … We will rejoice in His salvation, and in the name of our God, we will set up our banners!605