Clergymen, Political Culture, and the Creation of an American National Identity Spencer W
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2014 The Pulpit and the Nation: Clergymen, Political Culture, and the Creation of an American National Identity Spencer W. McBride Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation McBride, Spencer W., "The ulpP it and the Nation: Clergymen, Political Culture, and the Creation of an American National Identity" (2014). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 2230. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2230 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. THE PULPIT AND THE NATION: CLERGYMEN, POLITICAL CULTURE, AND THE CREATION OF AN AMERICAN NATIONAL IDENTITY A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of History by Spencer W. McBride B.A., Brigham Young University – Hawaii, 2007 M.A., Louisiana State University, 2010 May 2014 © 2014 Spencer McBride All rights reserved ii To Lindsay iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS At times, historical research and writing can feel like an extremely solitary process. Yet, rarely is this actually the case. I could not have completed this dissertation without the support of many friends, family members, colleagues, and institutions. My advisor, Andrew Burstein, has given freely of his time, talents, and energy to support my research. He provided much needed encouragement and guidance throughout the entire dissertation process and constantly pushed me to develop the findings of my research to the furthest extent possible. He has been instrumental in my growth as a historian and, where mentors are concerned, surely ranks among the very best. I also benefited from the vast historical knowledge and keen editorial eye of Nancy Isenberg, and this dissertation is better because of her thoughtful criticisms. Additionally, Michael Pasquier generously shared his time and expertise to help me navigate the intersections of history and religious studies throughout the research and writing processes. For many years, the Department of History at Louisiana State University has provided me a collegial and intellectually vigorous environment in which to work. In addition to the deeply committed members of my dissertation committee listed above, other professors at LSU provided essential support to my research, writing, and development as a historian, including Stephen Andes, William Cooper, Maribel Dietz, Rand Dotson, Gaines Foster, Carolyn Lewis, Suzanne Marchand, Robert Outland, Paul Paskoff, Charles Royster, Charles Shindo, and Victor Stater. I enjoyed the rigor of graduate school in large part because of the friendship of my fellow graduate students. I am particularly grateful to Geoffrey Cunningham, Terry Wagner, and Andrew Wegmann for their companionship through the highs and lows of the past several years, and to Ashley Baggett, Scott Berg, Rebecca Bond, Nathan Buman, Chris Childers, Michael Frawley, Erin Halloren, David Lilly, Adam Pratt, Kat Sawyer Robinson, Michael Robinson, Stu iv Tully, Vanessa Varin, Jason Wolfe, and Andrew Wollard for further fostering the vibrant academic community of which I was so fortunate to have been a part. Additionally, I would be remiss not to thank the professors who, prior to my education at LSU, first piqued by interest in questions of religion, politics, and national identity, particularly Michael Allen, Matthew Kester, Jared Ludlow, Kerry Muhlestein, and James Tueller, I have also benefited from the insightful commentary of great scholars throughout the country who offered feedback on early versions of my research at various conferences, including Steven Bullock, Matthew Dennis, Kevin Doyle, Sara Georgini, Amy Greenberg, Adam Jortner, Natalie Mears, Alec Ryrie, and Tara Thompson Strauch. An early version of chapter one will be published as an essay in a forthcoming volume on national worship in international perspective, and I express thanks for the thoughtful commentary and critiques of the editors of that collection. I am similarly grateful for the editorial team at the Journal of Religion, Identity, and Politics, in which an early version of a portion of chapter two was published. The research for this dissertation brought me to archives throughout the country, and I marvel at the sheer volume of resources available in this day and age to those who study the past. I am equally impressed with the knowledge of the archivists who facilitate such study. Several institutions deserve special acknowledgement for going above and beyond the call of duty in assisting me. Through funding from the Department of History and the Graduate School at Louisiana State University, I was able to travel to more than a dozen historical repositories and participate in numerous historical conferences. A generous Andrew W. Mellon fellowship from the Virginia Historical Society facilitated my work in its magnificent library. While there, Frances Pollard and E. Lee Shepard took a particular interest in my work, and the finished product is certainly better for the suggestions they offered. At the American Antiquarian v Society, Tom Knowles proved an invaluable guide in finding pertinent sources in the Society’s vast collections. Without the support of my family, this dissertation would not exist. My parents, Monroe and Laurie McBride, fostered a love of reading and learning in all of their children, and it has continued to serve me well in adulthood. They were my first teachers, and remain my greatest. Kris and Gail Budinger have been enthusiastic supporters of my work since I married their daughter nearly nine years ago. Additionally, my three children, Erik, Laney, and Joshua, were always willing to play with me, never worrying that my mind often seemed trapped in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. They have been a significant source of inspiration for me in my academic pursuits, perhaps more than they will ever realize. My wife, Lindsay, has supported this project from the very beginning. She has demonstrated an admirable combination of patience and encouragement. For this reason, and thousands of others, I have lovingly dedicated this dissertation to her. Alas, while each of the aforementioned individuals and institutions has aided me in the completion of this work, I accept full responsibility for it. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………………………….. ……iv ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………………………viii INTRODUCTION. BEYOND THE CHRISTIAN NATION QUESTION……………………..1 CHAPTER 1. CONGRESS AND THE COURTSHIP OF PROVIDENCE …………………...17 CHAPTER 2. REVOLUTIONIZING CHAPLAINS …………………………………………..59 CHAPTER 3. NAVIGATING REVOLUTION ………………………………………………104 CHAPTER 4. CLERGYMEN AND THE CONSTITUTION …………………………...........156 CHAPTER 5. PREACHING PARTY ………………………………………………………...194 CHAPTER 6. THE MYTH OF THE CHRISTIAN PRESIDENT ……………………………224 CONCLUSION. MORE THAN A QUESTION OF CHURCH AND STATE ………………260 BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………………………………..265 VITA …………………………………………………………………………………………...292 vii ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the politicization of clergymen during the American Revolution and explains the direct impact this process had on the development of a national polity and a distinct American national identity in the early republic. Both during and after the Revolution, clergymen utilized providential rhetoric and biblical symbolism to assign greater religious and moral significance to political events. Focusing on the period between 1775 and 1800, this dissertation describes and analyzes the extent to which national political leaders relied on local clergymen when securing independence and thereafter inventing a new nation. Ultimately, it argues that clergymen were essential to these processes as political figures, and not merely as religious leaders giving a spiritual perspective of Revolutionary events to their congregations. This dissertation thoroughly evaluates the political participation of clergymen in six key moments in the processes of American state-formation and nation-building: 1) the political benefits of days of fasting and prayer declared by the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War; 2) the political origins and impact of congressional prayer; 3) the way loyalist, moderate, and patriot clergymen navigated the social tumult of the war; 4) the key political roles of clergymen as Federalists and Anti-Federalists in the ratification debates of 1787-88; 5) the partisan activity of ministers as political party’s emerged in the 1790s; 6) and the creation of the “myth of the Christian president” as a result of the Federalists’ political calculations in the election of 1800 and in the decades that immediately followed. Dismissing the “Christian Nation” question as an entirely inadequate construct by which historians can capture the complexity and ambiguity of early American political culture, this dissertation breathes new life into the discussion of the role religion played in the politics of the founding era. viii INTRODUCTION BEYOND THE “CHRISTIAN NATION” QUESTION Parents instruct their children to avoid