"Puritan Hypocrisy" and "Conservative Catholicity" : How Roman Catholic Clergy in the Border States Interpreted the U.S
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University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 5-2016 "Puritan hypocrisy" and "conservative Catholicity" : how Roman Catholic clergy in the border states interpreted the U.S. Civil War. Carl C. Creason University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Part of the Catholic Studies Commons, Cultural History Commons, History of Religion Commons, Intellectual History Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Creason, Carl C., ""Puritan hypocrisy" and "conservative Catholicity" : how Roman Catholic clergy in the border states interpreted the U.S. Civil War." (2016). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2430. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/2430 This Master's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The nivU ersity of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The nivU ersity of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “PURITAN HYPOCRISY” AND “CONSERVATIVE CATHOLICITY”: HOW ROMAN CATHOLIC CLERGY IN THE BORDER STATES INTERPRETED THE U.S. CIVIL WAR By Carl C. Creason B.A., Murray State University, 2011 A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Louisville in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in History Department of History University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky May 2016 Copyright 2016 by Carl C. Creason All rights reserved “PURITAN HYPOCRISY” AND “CONSERVATIVE CATHOLICITY”: HOW ROMAN CATHOLIC CLERGY IN THE BORDER STATES INTERPRETED THE U.S. CIVIL WAR By Carl C. Creason B.A., Murray State University, 2011 A Thesis Approved on April 14, 2016 by the following Thesis Committee: ___________________________ Dr. Thomas C. Mackey ___________________________ Dr. A. Glenn Crothers ________________________ Dr. Jasmine Farrier ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my grandmother, Mrs. Nina Letanosky (1941-2013), a fellow bookworm, student of history, unbelievable cook, and best friend. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As many historians have noted, no piece of scholarship constitutes the work of a single individual. Having read many acknowledgement sections during my undergraduate and graduate careers, I finally have the opportunity to write my own and thank everyone who has helped me achieve my academic goals. Although graduate students spend much of their time alone writing in an empty apartment, reading in a silent nook in the library, or researching at an archives, they rely on advisors, friends, and family for guidance, support, and an escape from the intellectual grind. While earning my M.A. in United States History at the University of Louisville, Dr. Thomas C. Mackey remained the ideal advisor. Always in his office or at the computer responding to emails, Dr. Mackey never hesitated to answer questions, read drafts of my work, write recommendation letters for scholarships, or to chat about history, historiography, the academy, politics, or life after graduate school. I owe Dr. Mackey my sincerest gratitude for guiding me through the process of writing this thesis and for improving its arguments and prose along the way. In addition to Dr. Mackey, I thank Dr. A. Glenn Crothers for encouraging me to pursue the topic and for agreeing to serve as the second reader on my thesis committee. Dr. Jasmine Farrier also deserves recognition for serving as the third reader and for agreeing to join the committee late during the semester. I also want to thank other members of the University of Louisville Department of History, especially those who served on the Graduate Committee and awarded me a Graduate Teaching Assistantship during the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 academic years. iv The GTA position afforded me the opportunity to gain post-secondary teaching experience as well as provided a generous stipend that allowed me to focus on research and writing. Furthermore, I want to recognize Drs. Malissa Taylor and John McLeod, both of whom accepted me as a teaching assistant and served as valuable mentors. As I have learned during the final weeks of my graduate career, the reading, research, and writing components of the M.A. degree often constitute the “easy parts” of the process. Completing paperwork, organizing committees and defense dates, and formatting the thesis to the required style have produced several “hiccups and headaches.” Fortunately for me and my classmates, Dr. Daniel Krebs, Director of Graduate Studies, and Lee Keeling, Senior Program Assistant, offered timely and invaluable assistance throughout the process. In fact, I doubt any department has a more efficient and accommodating administrative duo than the Department of History. Robin Carroll and Lee Keeling have been remarkable in helping me allocate funding for research trips and ensuring that I adhered to all required deadlines during the last two years. I also thank Lee for her “motherly” attributes and regular treats. In addition to the faculty and staff in the department, members of my cohort—especially Hannah O’Daniel[s], Benjamin Gies, and Eric Brumfield—helped make my experience worthwhile and enjoyable. Together we learned much about history and historiography, engaged in thought-provoking political discussions, and shared an inordinate number of laughs but not enough beers. I would not have succeeded at the University of Louisville without the guidance and tutelage I received while earning my B.A. in History at Murray State University. Drs. Duane Bolin and James Humphreys, and Mr. Ted F. Belue have and continue to be great friends, teachers, and mentors. In particular, Dr. Humphreys encouraged me to v pursue graduate studies in History, seek publication opportunities, and present papers at academic conferences. I thank him for his guidance and for helping me “build a C.V.” before beginning graduate work. In writing this thesis, I have relied on several professionals outside of the academy, particularly staff members at The Filson Historical Society, the Kentucky Historical Society, the University of Notre Dame Archives, and the Associated Archives at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, Maryland. I extend a special token of gratitude to Joe Smith (UNDA) and Alison Foley (AAB) for all the copies and scans of documents. Furthermore, I want to thank the staff of University of Louisville’s Ekstrom Library, especially the ILL Department, and Rena Schergen, Archivist at the Archdiocese of St. Louis, for arranging a special loan integral to this thesis. Finally, I want to recognize those who have offered me the most support during my academic career. I can state without equivocation that I could not have earned my undergraduate or graduate degrees without the sacrifices made by my mother, Janet Creason. She has been a constant source of love, encouragement, and support throughout my life, and I cannot thank her enough. I love you, mom. Furthermore, my sister, Courtney Creason, has always supported my goals in higher education and provided an important escape from academics to discuss college sports. Undoubtedly the most important male role model in my life, my grandfather, Louis Letanosky, instilled in me the importance of hard work and family loyalty. This thesis is dedicated to his late wife and my grandmother, Nina Letanosky, who nurtured my interest in history, taught me important life lessons, and kept my stomach filled with delicious meals during the formative years of my life. As of April 15, 2016, Kellie Money and I have been in a vi relationship for five years. After meeting during our undergraduate careers at Murray State, we have remained study-buddies, travel companions, fellow foodies, and best friends. I have learned much from her and have become a better student and person due to her presence in my life. I look forward to our future together and to nailing our shoes to “The Shoe Tree” in Murray. I also want to thank her immediate family—Lee, Linda, and Elizabeth—who accepted me into their home as a “son” and “brother.” As a final point, all errors, mistakes, and omissions are my own; however, I hope there are not many. vii ABSTRACT “PURITAN HYPOCRISY” AND “CONSERVATIVE CATHOLICITY”: HOW ROMAN CATHOLIC CLERGY IN THE BORDER STATES INTERPRETED THE U.S. CIVIL WAR Carl C. Creason April 14, 2016 This thesis analyzes how Roman Catholic clergy in the Border States—Missouri, Kentucky, and Maryland—interpreted the United States Civil War. Overall, it argues that prelates and priests from the region viewed the war through a religious lens informed by their Catholic worldview. Influenced by their experiences with anti-Catholicism and nativism as well as the arguments of the Catholic apologist movement, the clergy interpreted the war as a product of the ill-effects of Protestantism in the country. In response, the clergy argued that if more Americans had practiced Catholicism then the war could and would have been avoided. Furthermore, this thesis illustrates how the interconnectedness of the anti-Catholic and antislavery movements shaped the clergy’s interpretations of the war and the political parties of the era. By analyzing how the clergy responded to the election of 1860, the secession