Evangelicals at a Crossroads: Revivalism and Social Reform in Boston, 1860-1910

302 Pages·2011·7.041 MB·English

by  Benjamin L. Hartley

Evangelicals at a Crossroads
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revisiting new england: the new regionalism
Series Editors
Siobhan Senier, University of New Hampshire
Darren Ranco, Dartmouth College
Adam Sweeting, Boston University
David H. Watters, University of New Hampshire
This series presents fresh discussions of the distinctiveness of New England culture.
The editors seek manuscripts examining the history of New England regionalism; the
way its culture came to represent American national culture; the interaction between
that “official” New England culture and the people who lived in the region; and local,
subregional, or even biographical subjects as microcosms that explicitly open up and
consider larger issues. The series welcomes new theoretical and historical perspectives
and is designed to cross disciplinary boundaries and appeal to a wide audience.
For a complete list of books available in this series, please visit www.upne.com
Benjamin L. Hartley, Evangelicals at a Crossroads: Revivalism and Social Reform in
Boston, 1860–1910
Ronald J. Zboray and Mary Saracino Zboray, Voices without Votes: Women and Politics in
Antebellum New England
James W. Baker, Thanksgiving: The Biography of an American Holiday
Monica Chiu, editor, Asian Americans in New England: Culture and Community
Aífe Murray, Maid as Muse: How Servants Changed Emily Dickinson’s Life and Language
Scott Molloy, Irish Titan, Irish Toilers: Joseph Banigan and Nineteenth-Century New
England Labor
Joseph A. Conforti, editor, Creating Portland: History and Place in Northern New
England
Deborah Pickman Clifford and Nicholas R. Clifford, “The Troubled Roar of the Waters”:
Vermont in Flood and Recovery, 1927–1931
JerriAnne Boggis, Eve Allegra Raimon, and Barbara A. White, editors, Harriet Wilson’s
New England: Race, Writing, and Region
Kimberly A. Jarvis, Franconia Notch and the Women Who Saved It
Christopher Johnson, This Grand and Magnificent Place: The Wilderness Heritage of the
White Mountains
William Brown and Joanne Pope Melish, editors, The Life of William J. Brown of
Providence, R.I.
Denis R. Caron, A Century in Captivity: The Life and Trials of Prince Mortimer, a
Connecticut Slave
David L. Richards, Poland Spring: A Tale of the Gilded Age, 1860–1900
Paul M. Searls, Two Vermonts: Geography and Identity, 1865–1910
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benjamin l. hartley
Evangelicals
at a
Crossroads
revivalism &
social reform
in boston,
1860–1910
university of new hampshire press
Durham, New Hampshire
Published by
university press of new england
Hanover and London
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university of new hampshire press
published by University Press of New England
www.upne.com
© 2011 University of New Hampshire
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Typeset in Miller Text and Display by Michelle Grald
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Initiative. The paper used in this book meets their minimum
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For permission to reproduce any of the material in this book, contact
Permissions, University Press of New England, One Court Street,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hartley, Benjamin L. (Benjamin Loren)
Evangelicals at a crossroads : revivalism and social reform in Boston,
1860–1910 / Benjamin L. Hartley. – 1st ed.
p. cm. — (Revisiting New England : the new regionalism)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-1-58465-928-0 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn 978-1-58465-929-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Evangelicalism—Massachusetts—Boston—History—19th
century. 2. Evangelicalism—Social aspects—Massachusetts—
Boston—History—19th century. 3. Church and social problems—
Massachusetts—Boston—History—19th century. 4. Revivals—
Massachusetts—Boston—History—19th century. 5. Boston
(Mass.)—Church history—19th century. 6. Boston (Mass.)—Social
conditions—19th century. I. Title.
bv3775.b7h37 2010
277.44’61081—dc22 2010031299
5 4 3 2 1
Recipient of the Jesse Lee Prize awarded by the General Commission
on Archives and History of the United Methodist Church.
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For Dale Suderman
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contents
Acknowledgments · ix
Introduction · 1
chapter one
D. L. Moody Arrives in a Changing Boston · 15
“There Is a Magnetism in His Voice”
chapter two
The Early Years of Evangelical Institution Building, 1858–1883 · 33
“Good! You’ve Got the Fire in You”
chapter three
Evangelicals and Boston Politics · 65
“The Next Protestant Move Will Be No Boys’ Play”
chapter four
The Salvation Army and Other Evangelical Organizations Led
by Women, 1884–1892 · 93
“Aggressive Christianity”
chapter five
Evangelical Consensus and Division · 117
“All of This Confusion and Hurt”
chapter six
The North End and the South End in the 1890s · 137
“Let Us Re-take the North End for Methodism”
Conclusion · 165
“The Most Marvelous Revival of All of Her History”
Notes · 181
Bibliography · 255
Index · 277
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acknowledgments
Crossroads—both literal and figurative—can be creative places where one
feels gratitude for one’s companions along the way, or they can be places of
considerable loneliness and confusion. The writing of this book has thank-
fully been characterized far more by the former than the latter. The people I
mention here must know that my gratitude is far deeper than their placement
on mere lists can convey.
This project began when archivist Stephen Pentek at the Boston University
School of Theology Library suggested I track down some material he thought
might be stored at the New England Deaconess Association in Concord, Mas-
sachusetts. His hunch proved correct, and I realized afresh the invaluable
contributions archivists and librarians make to the historian’s craft. The staff
at archives, libraries, local churches, and social service agencies I have visited
in the course of my research have been very patient in providing me with op-
portunities to explore their archival treasures. First to be thanked are those
organizations, like the New England Deaconess Association, which are not
set up for the purposes of entertaining researchers but are nevertheless very
hospitable in doing so. The Reverend Sara Irwin at the Emmanuel Episco-
pal Church, Lt. Colonel Fred Van Brunt and Bill Ticehurst at the Salvation
Army’s Massachusetts Divisional Headquarters, the Home for Little Wander-
ers, and the Boston Rescue Mission were all generous in allowing me to look
through the historical materials they possessed.
Scott Bedio and Susan Mitchem at the Salvation Army Archives and Re-
search Center in Alexandria, Virginia, made my visit to the Washington, dc,
area a productive one and were kind enough to forward additional materials
to me by mail upon my request. Jason Wood at the Simmons College archives
was also helpful in retrieving materials from that institution’s rich holdings
on nineteenth-century social welfare institutions. Librarians and archivists at
Boston University School of Theology and then at Palmer Theological Semi-
nary were invaluable in helping me to track down some particularly obscure
items.
The staff at the following institutions must also be thanked, even if I did
not always get to know them by name since my time in their library was rel-
atively brief and the helpful persons I encountered were too numerous to
mention: The American Antiquarian Society (Worcester, Mass.), Andover-
Harvard Library at Harvard Divinity School, the Archives at the New England
Conservatory of Music, the Archives at the Billy Graham Center (Wheaton,
Ill.), Boston Public Library, Congregational Library and Archives, Crowell
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Library at Moody Bible Institute (Chicago), Mary Baker Eddy Library, Mas-
sachusetts Historical Society, Emerson College Library, Goddard Library
at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Healey Library at University of
Massachusetts at Boston, Humanities Library at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, O’Neill Library at Boston College, Snell Library at Northeastern
University, Trask Library at Andover-Newton Theological Seminary, and the
United Methodist Archives Center at Drew University (Madison, nj).
Teachers, colleagues, and friends at Boston University helped to guide
this project along in its earliest stages. My doctoral adviser, Professor Dana
Robert, remembered my enthusiasm in discovering the Deaconess archives
and wisely suggested that I continue to explore the world of Boston’s late-
nineteenth-century Methodists and other evangelicals. I continue to grow in
my appreciation for her vocation as scholar, teacher, and colleague. Professor
David Hempton, now at Harvard University, introduced me to the rich histo-
riography of nineteenth-century European urban religion and helped me to
see the potential for similar studies of North American cities. My friend Glen
Messer was a great support in Boston as we encouraged one another in our
dissertation research. His encouragement in the latter stages of writing and
his passion for excellence in teaching are things I have gained from him as
well. Other friends during my time in Boston like Eric Baldwin, Billy Francis,
Julian Gotobed, Mi-Soon Im, Yeonseung Lee, Bilal Ozaslan, Gary VanderPol,
and Roman Williams were helpful in providing encouragement in the early
stages of this project.
Shortly after my move from Boston to Philadelphia I was fortunate to have
received not one but two awards for the manuscript in its dissertation phase
of existence. In 2007 the manuscript received the Outstanding Dissertation
Award from the Wesleyan Theological Society and the Jesse Lee Prize, given
once every four years by the General Commission on Archives and History
of the United Methodist Church. The financial subsidy provided through the
prize has helped many books on Methodist history to be published over the
years. I have benefited a great deal from works by senior scholars who were
previous recipients of the Jesse Lee Prize and am humbled to have my book
follow in their footsteps—at least in this one way.
I am thankful as well to the faculty, administration, and staff at Palmer
Theological Seminary and the wider Eastern University community for the
support they have so generously offered to me as a faculty member. I am es-
pecially grateful for the friendship and encouragement I have received from
Donald Brash, Elizabeth Congdon-Martin, Colleen DiRaddo, Melody Mazuk,
Francesca Nuzzolese, Peter Schreck, and Al Tizon during these past few years
at Palmer. I currently co-teach Methodist history with Rev. Joseph DiPaolo,
whose knowledge of Philadelphia Methodism has helped me appreciate Bos-
ton’s history in new ways. I am thankful as well for the many students in
my classes on Methodism, mission, and world Christianity who inspire me
x · Acknowledgments
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