AFTERLIFE BELIEFS in the DEEP SOUTH, 1820–1865 by DONNA
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VIEWS OF THE FUTURE STATE: AFTERLIFE BELIEFS IN THE DEEP SOUTH, 1820–1865 by DONNA COX BAKER GEORGE C. RABLE, COMMITTEE CHAIR MARGARET ABRUZZO JOHN M. GIGGIE CHARLES A. ISRAEL JOSHUA D. ROTHMAN A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosopy in the Department of History in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2014 Copyright Donna Cox Baker 2014 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT This dissertation examines shifting conceptions of the afterlife among white literate inhabitants of the Deep South between 1820 and 1865, as the challenges of scientific study, universalism, and otherworldly mysticism encouraged questioning. In 1820, ideas of what lay beyond death were relatively static and limited in scope, holding closely to the few images available in the King James Bible. Attempts to squelch superstition in the early nineteenth century had stifled the magical and mystical in the literate southern worldview, further dampening imagination in the contemplation of the world beyond death. Debates over heaven and hell centered on who would get there and how—not on what they would find there. As the published work of scientists around the world—increasingly available by the late 1820s—began to call into question biblical references to such things as the age of the earth, and raised speculation about life on other planets, doubt surfaced also as to the trustworthiness of scriptural translation. Within this environment of skepticism, universalism gained adherents. A growing number found compelling evidence within the flood of exegetical studies questioning whether the scribes of Holy Writ had ever intended to suggest an eternal punishment when they used the words interpreted as “hell” in modern translations of Scripture. As traditional views began to gray at the edges, and skepticism became fashionable, new waves of mysticism—particularly those of Mesmerism and Spiritualism—found curious audiences and committed practitioners. These ideas were never institutionalized to the degree they were in the North, but the impact of this broader thinking reveals itself in the markedly changed reading habits of the South by the ii advent of the Civil War. Hell had softened, though the terrifying images of old were resurrected by clergy when soldiers faced battle unconverted. The personal writing during the war reflected a very vibrant view of heaven—one that went beyond Scripture to suggest an environment like home, only better. With it came an expanded freedom to question and to imagine. iii DEDICATION I present this dissertation in honor of my mother, Elaine Harrell Cox, who taught us to love learning and books; in memory of my father, Billy Joe Cox, who made college a priority and modelled selfless hard work for his four daughters; and in dedication to my husband, Mason McDaniel Baker Jr., who loved and supported me through the tough climb. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Acknowledgment of support must begin with George Rable, who had the patience to stick by me for more than the average number of years, as I finished this dissertation while continuing a career. I thank him for believing I could. I am grateful for his forebearance, as I continually reshaped the vision. And I count myself incredibly lucky to have chosen a dissertation chairman who also happens to be a spectacular editor. I am grateful to the remaining members of my committee, each of whom has had a hand in teaching me the craft, as the years have passed. Margaret Abruzzo, John Giggie, Charles Israel, and Joshua Rothman offered wise counsel for this document and for the future project that may emerge from it. I appreciate the hours invested, the honest critique, and the encouragement. I also owe a debt to several staff members of the history department who supported the professors and helped me along the way: Kay Branyon and Fay Wheat, now retired, and Ellen Pledger, who got me through the red tape to this day. I could not have managed a dissertation and a demanding career, had it not been for the advances in the library sciences that make it possible to do substantial research remotely. So I must thank ProQuest, EBSCO, Readex/NewsBank, and all the universities who have developed remote resources and who sent me material through interlibrary loan. I thank Dean Louis Pitschmann for heading up the University of Alabama Libraries with such vision, and for hiring staff like Brett Spencer, who can find anything, anywhere—and is the historian’s best friend at UA. v I gladly acknowledge the friends and colleagues who helped to carry my load, when the dissertation took over in the last months and pushed career to the back burner. Many thanks to my boss, Hank Lazer, who negotiated extra time with the graduate school, cheered me on, and insisted I finish. Dan Waterman at the University of Alabama Press was a lifesaver in keeping my book projects moving down the pipeline. The entire team at Alabama Heritage magazine filled in the gaps and made sure the magazine kept rolling out the doors despite a very sporadic editor-in-chief. Sara Martin, Cindy Sanford, and Rebecca Minder were, as always, can-do professionals. Thanks to the excellent work of Susan Reynolds, no one could tell I was missing. I was able to finish because they all freed me from worry, and I am grateful. I am eternally grateful to the University of Alabama, my employer, for the funding and flexibility that made this possible. I thank my family for putting up with all the events I missed over the years, and with my distracted state when I did show up. Most of all, I thank my husband for unconditional love. vi CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ v INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER I. PERCEPTIONS OF AFTERLIFE, CIRCA 1820 .................................................. 12 VAGUE OUTCOMES IN AGREEMENT ....................................................................... 13 DISPUTES OVER PATHS AND PROTOCOLS ............................................................ 26 PLANTING THE AFTERLIFE CONSCIOUSNESS ...................................................... 30 CULTIVATING THE AFTERLIFE CONSCIOUSNESS WITHIN ............................... 39 CHAPTER II. SUPERSTITION, SCIENCE, AND CHALLENGES TO REVELATION ......... 56 THE SHEDDING OF SUPERSTITION .......................................................................... 57 SCIENCE, PHILOSOPHY, AND “VEXING QUESTIONS” ......................................... 71 THE CHALLENGES OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY ................................................... 80 CHAPTER III. QUESTIONING HELL AND THE TRANSLATION OF SCRIPTURE ......... 108 THE UNIVERSALIST DENOMINATION ................................................................... 112 THE UNIVERSALIST IDEA......................................................................................... 123 THE BATTLE OVER HELL ......................................................................................... 143 CHAPTER IV. QUESTIONING OTHERWORLDS: MYSTICAL PATHS TO THE BEYOND ........................................................................................................................ 157 VICARIOUS MYSTICISM ........................................................................................... 159 ACCESSIBLE MYSTICISM ......................................................................................... 183 vii CHAPTER V. THE FATE OF SKEPTICISM, RATIONALISM, AND “ISMS” IN GENERAL: THE CIVIL WAR ERA ............................................................................. 219 THE AFTERLIFE IN PUBLISHED LITERATURE 1859–1860 .................................. 220 AFTERLIFE HOPES AND FEARS IN THE CIVIL WAR SOUTH ............................ 232 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 269 WORKS CITED ......................................................................................................................... 273 viii INTRODUCTION “It is a long time since you have seen death. Strange that people will not see it as it is. Life is but the germ of Death, and death the development of a higher Life.” “Higher in the sense of heavenly immortality?” “You may call it heavenly if you choose.” —Doctor Hartwell to Beulah Benton in Augusta Evans, Beulah As Augusta Evans put the finishing touches on her novel Beulah, she hoped it would address the spiritual questioning that, in her view, permeated southern society—a skepticism she later called “the Upas-tree [poison] of the age.”1 In the character of Beulah Benton—who eagerly pursued then discarded one philosophy after another, seeking something to fill the void created by her anger at the God who let her sister die—Evans offered a glimpse into her similar crisis of faith.2 Any literate person with access to books, magazines, and newspapers in the antebellum South was bound to encounter new layers of questions about the fate of souls. While the South stood at a peripheral vantage point—generally not at the source—of