Sectarianism and Orestes Brownson in the American Religious Marketplace PDF
Preview Sectarianism and Orestes Brownson in the American Religious Marketplace
Histories of the Sacred and Secular, – 1700 2000 Series Editor David Nash Department of History Oxford Brookes University Oxford, United Kingdom This series reflects the awakened and expanding profile of the history of religionwithintheacademyinrecentyears.Itintendspublishingexciting newandhighqualityworkonthehistoryofreligionandbeliefsince1700 and will encourage the production of interdisciplinary proposals and the use of innovative methodologies. The series will also welcome book proposals on the history of Atheism, Secularism, Humanism and unbe- lief/secularity and to encourage research agendas in this area alongside thoseinreligiousbelief.Theserieswillbehappytoreflecttheworkofnew scholarsenteringthefieldaswellastheworkofestablishedscholars.The serieswelcomesproposalscoveringsubjectsinBritain,Europe,theUnited States andOceania. More information aboutthisseries at http://www.springer.com/series/14868 ÁngelCortés Sectarianism and Orestes Brownson in the American Religious Marketplace ÁngelCortés DepartmentofHistory HolyCrossCollege NotreDame,Indiana,USA HistoriesoftheSacredandSecular,1700–2000 ISBN978-3-319-51876-3 ISBN978-3-319-51877-0(eBook) DOI10.1007/978-3-319-51877-0 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017939697 ©TheEditor(s)(ifapplicable)andTheAuthor(s)2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher,whetherthewholeorpartofthematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsof translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodology nowknownorhereafterdeveloped. Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthis publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesare exemptfromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformation in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publishernortheauthorsortheeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespectto thematerialcontainedhereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.The publisherremainsneutralwithregardtojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitu- tionalaffiliations. Coverillustration©LuismiX/GettyImages Printedonacid-freepaper ThisPalgraveMacmillanimprintispublishedbySpringerNature TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerInternationalPublishingAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland ParaMami A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS Like every scholar, I benefited from the assistance of many individuals in writingthisbook.AtNotreDame,IthanklibrariansSusanFeirick,Kristie Clark, and Nancy Kambol and those who assisted in the crucial area of Interlibrary Loans, especially Therese Bauters. The Cushwa Center’s Director, Kathleen Sprows Cummings, and Administrative Coordinator, ShaneUlbrich,expandedmyaccesstothecollectionsofHesburghlibrary. WilliamKevinCawleyattheNotreDameArchivesandJamesCachey,Ken Kinslow, and Trudy Mullins at Rare Books and Special Collections were particularly helpful. At St. Mary’s College, Kate Ward helped me secure needed items through Interlibrary Loans during the summer months. At myhomeinstitution,Holy Cross,helpcamefromlibrariansSeanWalton and Mary Ellen Hegedus. A special thanks goes to David Lutz, whose leadership and advocacy secured desperately needed funds to defray research expenses. I also benefited from archival assistance on the road, particularlyfromKateFeigheryattheArchivesfortheArchdioceseofNew York, andThomasLester, atthe Archives ofthe Archdiocese ofBoston. I thank reviewers for their careful and close read of my manuscript, especially James Turner, who read each of my chapters, one by one. Jon ColemanprovidedusefulfeedbackonmyBookProposal,helpingtochisel it intoshape. Iaminfinitelygratefultomyfamilyforsupportingmeinthisendeavor: Marcy, who has always provided a ballast to my sails; Bernal, whose busy lifeprovidesmewithausefulwavethatIcanride;TobyandMia,whoare myradiantsunshine. vii C ONTENTS 1 Preface 1 2 An Ageof ‘Crisis andDiscontinuity’: Brownson’s Early ReligiousConfusionandMobility 7 3 ‘A Seaof SectarianRivalries’: The Second Great Awakening and ReligiousConflict 15 4 ‘I am SlavetonoSect’: Brownson’sDefense of Intellectual Freedom andDoubt 37 5 ‘I WishedtoUniteMen’:A Visionof Religious Calm in the Midstof an IntellectualStorm 55 6 ‘We must have clothinganda shelter’: The Search for aReligious Home 75 7 ‘We are OurselvesToo Polemical’:Formation of a RhetoricalPugilist 101 8 ‘A DangerousandPestilent Fellow’: Return to ReligiousLiberalism 119 ix x CONTENTS 9 ‘An UncompromisingCatholicanda Thoroughgoing Papist’: Endof aLong Journey 139 10 Epilogue 149 Index 161 CHAPTER1 Preface The former slave and great abolitionist orator Frederick Douglass once saidthat,‘forpracticalbenefit,weareoftenaboutasmuchindebtedtoour enemies,astoourfriends;asmuchtothemenwhohiss,astothosewho applaud;foritmaybewithmenassomeonehassaidabouttea;thatifyou wishtogetitsstrength,youmustputitintohotwater.’OrestesBrownson (1803–1876), the individual at the center of this book, may not always have been prepared to celebrate the truth of this observation, but in his moremeditativemomentshemostassuredlywouldhavehadtorecognize its wisdom. The ‘hot water’ applied to Brownson was supplied by the religiousmarketplaceoftheearlyrepublic.HereBrownsonwasrepeatedly provokedbyinternalandexternalcriticsofhisreligiousconfessionaswell asoutrightenemies.ThisdoesnotmeanthatBrownsonwasatthemercy ofhisfoes—fornoonedeterminedBrownson’schoices.Whatitsuggests, rather,isthatBrownson’sengagementwiththosewithwhomhediffered hada way of reshaping his fundamentalbeliefs regarding hisown confes- sion, a process that often eventually resulted in Brownson’s search for a new communitywith whichto associate. MyaimwillbetorenderBrownsonatonceshapedandreshapedbythis marketplace,butatthesametimefreetomakechoices.InthiswayIhope topresentBrownsonasembeddedinhistime,butalsoabletodetermine his attachments and shape his destiny. In sum, Brownson will remain an agent—butonewhoiseverworkingwithintheveryrealparametersofthe American religiousmarketplace. ©TheAuthor(s)2017 1 Á.Cortés,SectarianismandOrestesBrownsonintheAmerican ReligiousMarketplace,HistoriesoftheSacredandSecular,1700–2000, DOI10.1007/978-3-319-51877-0_1
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