Redeeming America: Evangelicals and the Road to Civil War (American Ways) - Softcover

Johnson, Curtis D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1566630320 ISBN 13: 9781566630320

Publisher: Ivan R. Dee, 1993

Synopsis

In the decades before the Civil War, evangelical Protestants struggled for the mind and soul of America. Their impact on American life had immediate as well as far-reaching consequences, and is the subject of Curtis Johnson's concise and discerning account of a major force in the nation's history. The religious combatants described by Mr. Johnson not only sought to rescue America from Catholics and unbelievers, they battled one another over the meaning, practice, and social implications of their common faith. While prosperous evangelicals often tried to impose their religious understanding on the social and political order, common whites resented this elite meddling in their lives, and black Americans achieved a measure of autonomy by forging a liberating faith. Evangelical battles over biblical interpretation, the Second Birth, personal and national righteousness, and the Second Coming released forces that reverberated throughout antebellum culture. White evangelicals disagreed over the importance of education, the role of emotion, the possibility of personal perfection, and political philosophy. But when large numbers of black and white evangelicals agreed that God could not bless the nation until slavery was abolished, they abandoned their slaveholding co-religionists, and America moved toward Civil War. American Ways Series.

About this title

From the Back Cover

In the decades before the Civil War, evangelical Protestants struggled for the mind and soul of America, seeking to rescue the nation from Catholics and unbelievers. In this lucid and discerning account of a major force in the nation's history, Curtis D. Johnson explains why these battles had immediate as well as far-reaching consequences for American life and culture. While saving souls, evangelicals also wrestled with one another over the meaning, practice, and social implications of their common faith. Prosperous evangelicals from the more prestigious denominations often tried to impose their understanding on the social and political order - and order, along with decorum, was what they craved. Common whites resented upper-class power and elite meddling in their religious and secular lives; they preferred less formal and more spontaneous experiences. Black Americans, meanwhile, forged a liberating faith that gave them a measure of autonomy within the suffocating confines of slavery. Beyond these internal conflicts, evangelical forces in the larger culture influenced politics, law, literacy, social custom, and social organization in ways that are still with us. Mr. Johnson shows how the evangelical emphasis on Bible reading encouraged literacy, created support for public education, and led to the formation of dozens of American colleges. A flood of religious literature spawned innovative printing and bureaucratic techniques later adopted by secular presses and organizations. Devotionalism promoted sentimentality among the American middle classes, and perfectionism had its secular parallels in diet reform, the water cure, and phrenology. Evangelical disputes often spread into thepolitical arena and helped shape partisan arguments. But when large numbers of black and white evangelicals agreed that God could not bless the nation until slavery was abolished, evangelicals abandoned their slaveholding co-religionists, and America moved toward Civil War.

About the Author

Curtis D. Johnson teaches history at Mount Saint Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He has also written Islands of Holiness.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 1566630320
• ISBN 13: 9781566630320
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224