Skepticism and American faith: from the Revolution to the Civil War PDF
Preview Skepticism and American faith: from the Revolution to the Civil War
Skepticism and American Faith Skepticism and American Faith From the Revolution to the Civil War CHRISTOPHER GRASSO 1 1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © Oxford University Press 2018 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Grasso, Christopher, author. Title: Skepticism and American faith : from the Revolution to the Civil War / Christopher Grasso. Description: New York : Oxford University Press, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: LCCN 2017038186 (print) | LCCN 2017058966 (ebook) | ISBN 9780190494384 (Updf) | ISBN 9780190494391 (Epub) | ISBN 9780190494377 (hardcover : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: United States—Church history—19th century. | United States—Church history—18th century. | Skepticism—United States—19th century. | Skepticism—United States—18th century. | United States—Religion—19th century. | United States—Religion—18th century. Classification: LCC BR525 (ebook) | LCC BR525 .G665 2018 (print) | DDC 277.3/081—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017038186 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America For Karin CONTENTS Note on Sources ix Introduction 1 PART ONE REVOLUTIONS, 1775–1815 1. Deist Hero, Deist Monster: On Religious Common Sense in the Wake of the American Revolution 25 2. Souls Rising: The Authority of the Inner Witness, and Its Limits 65 3. Instituting Skepticism: The Emergence of Organized Deism 97 4. Instituting Skepticism: Contention, Endurance, and Invisibility 118 PART TWO ENLIGHTENMENTS, 1790–1840 5. Skeptical Enlightenment: An American Education in Jeffersonian Pennsylvania 159 6. Christian Enlightenment: Eastern Cities and the Great West 193 7. Christian Enlightenment: Faith into Practice in Marion, Missouri 227 8. Revelation and Reason: New Englanders in the Early Nineteenth Century 250 PART THREE REFORMS, 1820–1850 9. Faith in Reform: Remaking Society, Body, and Soul 279 viii contents 10. Infidels, Protestants, and Catholics: Religion and Reform in Boston 323 11. Converting Skeptics: Infidel and Protestant Economies 357 PART FOUR SACRED CAUSES, 1830–1865 12. Political Hermeneutics: Nullifying the Bible and Consolidating Proslavery Christianity 397 13. Lived Experience and the Sacred Cause: Faith, Skepticism, and Civil War 441 Epilogue: Death and Politics 480 Appendix: Grounds of Faith and Modes of Skepticism 493 Acknowledgments 507 Notes 511 References 593 Index 633 NOTE ON SOURCES I have preserved spelling, capitalization, and punctuation from the original sources. In a very few instances, I have supplied clarifications within brackets. Full cita- tions of the primary sources appear in the notes. Citations of secondary sources are shortened in the notes, with full bibliographic information available in the references list. ix
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