Identifier
etd-03082014-105351
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
History
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
This dissertation examines the politicization of clergymen during the American Revolution and explains the direct impact this process had on the development of a national polity and a distinct American national identity in the early republic. Both during and after the Revolution, clergymen utilized providential rhetoric and biblical symbolism to assign greater religious and moral significance to political events. Focusing on the period between 1775 and 1800, this dissertation describes and analyzes the extent to which national political leaders relied on local clergymen when securing independence and thereafter inventing a new nation. Ultimately, it argues that clergymen were essential to these processes as political figures, and not merely as religious leaders giving a spiritual perspective of Revolutionary events to their congregations. This dissertation thoroughly evaluates the political participation of clergymen in six key moments in the processes of American state-formation and nation-building: 1) the political benefits of days of fasting and prayer declared by the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War; 2) the political origins and impact of congressional prayer; 3) the way loyalist, moderate, and patriot clergymen navigated the social tumult of the war; 4) the key political roles of clergymen as Federalists and Anti-Federalists in the ratification debates of 1787-88; 5) the partisan activity of ministers as political party’s emerged in the 1790s; 6) and the creation of the “myth of the Christian president” as a result of the Federalists’ political calculations in the election of 1800 and in the decades that immediately followed. Dismissing the “Christian Nation” question as an entirely inadequate construct by which historians can capture the complexity and ambiguity of early American political culture, this dissertation breathes new life into the discussion of the role religion played in the politics of the founding era.
Date
2014
Document Availability at the Time of Submission
Secure the entire work for patent and/or proprietary purposes for a period of one year. Student has submitted appropriate documentation which states: During this period the copyright owner also agrees not to exercise her/his ownership rights, including public use in works, without prior authorization from LSU. At the end of the one year period, either we or LSU may request an automatic extension for one additional year. At the end of the one year secure period (or its extension, if such is requested), the work will be released for access worldwide.
Recommended Citation
McBride, Spencer W., "The Pulpit and the Nation: Clergymen, Political Culture, and the Creation of an American National Identity" (2014). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 2230.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2230
Committee Chair
Andrew Burstein
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.2230