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Home , Christian Messenger, Churches of Christ, Earl Irvin West, Restoration Movement, Second Great Awakening

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ISBN: 978-1-5165-3845-4 (pbk)/ 978-1-5165-3846-1 (br) CONTENTS

1 | The Columbian Exchange 1 from Food in World History BY JEFFREY PILCHER

2 | A Short History of the 11 from Saints, Sinners, and the of the World BY ANDREW MALLORY

3 | Native Americans and the Problem of History, Part I 25 from History’s Shadow: Native Americans and Historical Consciousness in the Nineteenth Century BY STEVEN CONN

4 | Counter Reconstruction 63 from Reconstruction after the Civil War BY JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN AND MICHAEL W. FITZGERALD

5 | Death at the Machine: Critiques of Industrial Capitalism in the Fiction of Labor Activist Lizzy Holmes 77 BY RUTH PERCY

6 | The Second and the Myth of the Stone-Campbell Movement 105 from The Myth of the Stone-Campbell Movement BY JIM COOK

7 | Worrisome Changes in U.S. Labor Force and Employment since 2007 119 BY ROBERT RIGGS

8 | If Corporations Are Not People, What Are They? 127 from Corporations Are Not People: Reclaiming Democracy from Big Money and Global Corporations BY JEFFREY CLEMENTS CHAPTER SIX The and the Myth of the Stone-Campbell Movement

FROM The Myth of the Stone-Campbell Movement BY JIM COOK

INTRODUCTION1 BY JIM COOK

The Stone-Campbell Movement was created in 1832 when Barton Stone’s “Christ-ians” from the West merged with Alexander Campbell’s “Reforming .” By the beginning of the Civil War it was the sixth-largest religious movement in the United States. In the twentieth century the movement split into three main branches that exist today. In recent years, scholars from these branches have worked to better understand their nineteenth- century roots. A historical subfield often called “ history” has emerged in which historians and other scholars debate the influence of Stone and Campbell on specific characteristics of the existing branches. Of special note is Leroy Garret’s seminal study

titled The Stone-Campbell Movement.1 My book uses the writings of both Stone and Campbell to show that Stone was never a viable leader of the movement after 1832, and his ideas were never part of what influenced the twentieth-century branches of the movement. The debates going on between “restoration historians” are thus predicated on the false assumption that Stone influenced people within the movements. The evidence presented in this book proves that Stone was an outsider in the movement that bears his name. It furthermore provides evidence that Stone’s broad and inclusive view of was an influence on another

1 Text in this piece originally appeared in Jim Cook, The Myth of the Stone-Campbell Movement. Copyright © 2007 by Jim Cook. Entire book will be published in 2019 by Lexington Press.

105 106 | Problems in U.S. History

group called the Christian Connexion which partly grew out of Stoneite churches that openly rejected the 1832 union with Campbell.

***

The first half of the nineteenth cen- Edwards’s revival—Old Lights versus tury was in many ways a golden age for New Lights—would melt away. More Protestant Christianity in the United than anything else, Christian unity was States. Christian movements flourished the ideal that drove the Second Great to a degree never before seen. People ex- Awakening. perimented with their religious convic- In 1832, two Christian movements tions in unique ways, from the utopian came together in an attempt to practice perfectionism of to the tran- this ideal Christian unity. One was led by scendentalism of Emerson. Historians Barton Stone, a from the west- refer to the period as the Second Great ern regions and leader of the Cane Ridge Awakening in that it was a religious Revivals. The other was led by Alexander awakening that followed the one that Campbell, a prolific writer and Christian occurred in eighteenth-century colonial leader who had caused much controversy America, led by Jonathan Edwards. among the Baptists. United, the “Stone- The two “awakenings” were divided Campbell Movement” became an impor- by the and its tant part of American Christianity. The immediate aftermath. It is tempting to main purpose of this study is to present see them as one phenomenon, at least evidence that Stone was never a leader in until their very different motivations the movement and was not an influence are understood. Edwards’s awakening on those who moved it in the direction was an attempt to revive a purer form it went after the Civil War. Furthermore, of , while the nineteenth- if Stone was never a leader in the move- century awakening was an attempt to ment that bears his name, then the discredit Calvinism altogether. Mixed “Stone-Campbell Movement” is a myth with this anti-Calvinist fervor at the of sorts, and Stone’s legacy lies elsewhere. beginning of the nineteenth century was The word “myth” is not used here in the a in republicanism, the equality of traditional sense of a story used to ex- all , and a burning desire to plain the origins of a culture or . restore the true . This restoration Here, we mean “myth” in a modern sense would, of necessity, bring all Christians as an erroneous understanding or percep- together. All the distinctions that had tion. Stone’s role in the Stone-Campbell developed over time would cease to Movement, understood as it is by most divide the of Christ. historians today, is just such an erroneous Even the divisions that developed during understanding or perception. The Second Great Awakening and the Myth of the Stone-Campbell Movement | 107

The first order of business in clearing strictly hierarchal denominations lost up such a myth is to understand the the attention of the people to itinerant unique American environment that who roamed the cities and gave birth to Christian movements like countryside, proposing a democratic Stone’s and Campbell’s. The two decades approach to Christianity.3 Within this after the American Revolution were radical revolution in American churches, ones of tremendous idealism mixed with primitivism and began to a nagging insecurity. Everyone wanted flourish, based on the belief that this was to believe that a republican government the time set aside by God to bring back could really work, but the evidence did or restore the original church. These not always support that belief. Many newly radical American Christians be- citizens of the new American republic lieved that the true church had virtually turned to their religion to justify their disappeared during the long centuries new republican values. They started of apostasy. The reforms of Wycliffe to see Christianity as a way to prove and Luther had failed to restore it.4 The that republicanism worked. The added job before them now was to tear down benefit of such an approach was the these tightly structured denominations way it undermined the centralized and replace them with one universal authority that was an essential part of “Catholic” church as it existed in the . Thus, it is possible to say first century. that in America after the revolution, This was not a new idea. The Christianity had a French Revolution. Puritans in the seventeenth century The patriotic church-goers did not revolt had advocated a particular version of according to the conservative American this primitivist-restorationist ideal. model but rather according to the radi- Indeed, it was not a new idea even for cal French model. American churches them. As historian Theodore Bozeman tapped into a new democratic urge that points out, most Christian views are changed them permanently. The effect primitivistic because they reach back was electrifying. It was felt even in old to a pure beginning. The Puritans who , where France’s revolution trans- came to America starting around 1620 formed European societies.2 In America, were simply the next link in a chain of ordained ministers functioning within primitivist-restorationist ideologies that had always guided Christianity through 2 Sidney E. Ahlstrom, “Religion, Revolution, its many phases. According to Bozeman, and the Rise of Modern Nationalism: Reflections the Puritans’ unique contribution was on the American Experience,” in American Church History: A Reader, Henry W. Bowden and P.C. Kemeny, eds. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998), 3 Nathan O. Hatch, The Democratization 24–36. Ahlstrom’s essay stresses the impact that of American Christianity (New Haven: Yale the American and French Revolutions had on all University Press, 1989), 5. Western societies. 4 Ibid., 167–168. 108 | Problems in U.S. History their rejection of all human invention called themselves the Disciples of in religion. They rejected Anglican dual- Christ, although they never fully agreed ity which taught that on names and titles. With as many as prevailed in all matters of , but 300,000 members, the Disciples of human authority prevailed in matters of Christ/Christians were the sixth largest church governance.5 More than all the religious group in the United States medieval reforms, and more than Luther on the eve of the Civil War.7 Often himself, the Puritans fought for a sole au- overlooked by historians who write thority of scripture as the foundation for about the Second Great Awakening, the their restoration of the true church. So Stone-Campbell movement was indeed the primitivist-restorationist ideal that a significant part of the religious land- existed within the newly democratized scape of nineteenth-century America. churches after the American Revolution Revealing misperceptions and “myths” rested on a Puritan foundation, even as it about Stone’s role in the group is vital rejected the Puritans’ Calvinism. in understanding not only the tradition Restorationism, republicanism, itself, but also in understanding the de- and anti-Calvinism inspired many velopment of the three branches of the new Christian groups during the tradition in the twentieth century. The early years of the new republic. This first division was in 1906 when conser- is the environment that gave birth to vative Southern-oriented congregations the Stone and Campbell movements () split from the at the beginning of the nineteenth main body (Disciples of Christ). A later century. Barton Stone’s movement was division occurred within the main body, often referred to as the “Christians” or forming a third branch (Independent sometimes hyphenated as “Christ-ians” Christian Churches). in order to distinguish them from other Christian groups. Alexander Campbell’s Conflicts within movement associated itself with the the Tradition Today Baptists and came to be known as the “Reformers” or “Reforming Baptists.”6 Jumping ahead to recent years, the In 1832, after much prodding from churches that have developed out of this leaders on both sides, these two move- “Stone-Campbell myth” still struggle to ments came together as one. Adherents understand their influences and identi- ties. In February 2006 Abilene Christian 5 Theodore Bozeman,To Live Ancient Lives: University (ACU), located in West The Primitivist Dimension in Puritanism (Chapel Hill, : University of Carolina Press, 1988), 57. 7 . The Search for the Ancient 6 D. Newell Williams, Barton Stone: A Order: A History of the , Spiritual Biography (St. Louis, : Chalice 1800–1865, Vol. 1 (Delight, Arkansas: Press, 2000), 183. Light Publishing Company, 2002), 129. The Second Great Awakening and the Myth of the Stone-Campbell Movement | 109

Texas (a region where the Churches of thinking perhaps was that all this talk Christ thrives) held their eighty-eighth of ecumenicity and embracing of other annual lectureship, which was also the branches of the Stone-Campbell tradi- centennial of the school’s founding in tion was merely a needed corrective to 1906.8 Long labeled a “progressive” the excessive exclusionism of the past. university within the Churches of Christ There had always been calls to unity, system, most who attended these but never one that was not predicated lectureships expected ACU to do and on other groups seeing their biblical say unorthodox things. A theme of unity errors and giving some ground on them. and ecumenicity had been included in Indeed, that was the proud tradition of the lectureships for years now. Leading Churches of Christ, who were known writers, scholars and ministers within as people of the Word, willing to argue the tradition—loosely labeled “restora- for a correct interpretation of scriptures tion historians”—had been using the as their studious, “common sense” ap- ACU lectureships as a platform for proach led them. It was a style they had change within the Churches of Christ inherited from Campbell himself. Many as far back as the 1960s. They called for within the group were unwilling to give a rejection of the movement’s history those things up in order to have unity of condemning other church traditions with other groups. and denominations. They called for The centennial lectureships began more tolerance and cooperation, with an opening ceremony at ACU’s especially between the three branches Moody Coliseum on a Sunday night. of the Stone-Campbell tradition. They The keynote speakers were Royce called for more attention to be given the Money, the president of ACU, and Don group’s nineteenth-century origins. The Jeanes, president of Milligan College, desire was to move cautiously away from which is affiliated with the Independent the exclusionism that had always been a Christian Churches. Together they called part of the Churches of Christ branch for unity between the two churches and toward more cooperation with the asked mainline Churches of Christ to set other branches of the Stone-Campbell aside their differences with the Christian tradition. Churches and to repent of their past Many were not prepared for the contentiousness. The hermeneutic issues extent to which the progressives at that separated the two churches should ACU were willing to embrace change be set aside, they claimed, in the interest at these centennial lectureships. The of Christian unity. Issues such as the use of instrumental music in 8 This author attended the event and spoke and the role of women in the church with some of the participants as part of the should be seen as matters of opinion, research in preparation for writing about they implied, although without directly the “Stone-Campbell” tradition. 110 | Problems in U.S. History engaging those key issues. It was a bold long-fought-for stand on biblical purity yet cautious push toward unity: bold and right-headed, rational interpreta- because the keynote speaker position tion of scripture. They were selling out was being shared with a college president on the doctrinal and interpretational from the Christian Churches, cautious stances that defined the Churches of because they spoke in a way that danced Christ and gave them their distinctive around many of the points of contention role as seekers of exact scriptural truth. between the two churches. Most of the Who had authorized ACU to make audience applauded. such a choice? Who was in charge here The next day at a “Restoration Unity anyway? What was going to happen Forum” a panel of and now? Christian Church leaders (including All the above questions were asked at one woman) gave testimony to the need the 2006 ACU centennial lectureships. for unity among the two factions of the They were rarely asked publicly because Stone-Campbell tradition. Again, as in the ACU agenda of unity prevailed in the opening ceremonies, most people in all the public speaking engagements. the audience seemed to agree with the Privately, however, these fearful ques- changes being discussed. Comments tions were asked among many Churches indicated that many saw these changes of Christ members who were uncom- as something the churches had been fortable with the attempted uniting of working toward for a very long time. their church with those they had always However, a fair amount of the audience disagreed with on important issues. The displayed uneasiness and apprehen- fearful questions continued after the sion. How willing would the mainline lectureships as the drive toward unity Churches of Christ be to give up their spread to other cities in West such cherished stance on instrumental mu- as Lubbock. Churches of Christ and sic, the role of women in the church, Christian Churches there began to and other biblical issues that defined move toward some sort of historical rec- their beliefs in restorationism and onciliation. Many members within the anti-denominationalism? After all these Churches of Christ were against these years of being exclusive, could they unity efforts and, therefore, were not successfully fellowship with Christian consulted when attempts to carry them Churches? Could they all go back to out began. Those behind the unity efforts their roots in the Stone-Campbell tra- (and the media reporting them) simply dition and find some common ground assumed that anyone not interested in upon which to unite? Many doubted joining the unity effort was entrenched that such a thing would be possible or in the old exclusionism. In a newspaper even desirable. Many traditionalists article about the unity phenomenon, felt that ACU was giving away their critics of it got barely a mention, and it The Second Great Awakening and the Myth of the Stone-Campbell Movement | 111 was a negative one.9 Still many thought this paradox, for how can a church that the whole question of the nature of embrace an absolute understanding of unity and the cost of unity to individual scripture yet be united with those who freedom should have been re-addressed. disagree with that understanding? On a Instead the unity efforts moved forward, basic level, it seems that one must choose without further debate. Despite this, it is either unity or truth. Trying to have both doubtful how successful they ultimately at the same time does not work. This will be, given the internal resistance to dilemma was at the foundation of the them. This stalemate between progres- Stone-Campbell union in 1832, where sives and traditionalists is exacerbated Barton Stone’s “Christ-ians” from the by the inability or unwillingness of these West joined with Campbell’s Reformed churches to agree on the meaning of Baptists. This union of the two groups their nineteenth-century roots. The was pushed forward, even though the hope is that this study’s focus on a cor- differences between Stone and Campbell rect analysis of Stone and his real con- were considerable. Therefore, this study tributions to American Christianity will will focus on a particular answer to this aid these churches in getting past some unity-truth dilemma. The answer leads us of the conflicts they now face. Seeing back to the central thesis: Barton Stone, Barton Stone in a new light may change although he supported the 1832 union, the debate over whether Christian unity did not consequently become a leader in is a mandate from God or a hopelessly the consolidated movement that union impossible dream. created. His understanding of Christian unity and truth were so universal and The Problem of Unity and Truth broad compared to Campbell’s that his voice was effectively muted within the Another purpose of this study is to movement from the very beginning. understand, within the context of the In short, Stone was never a leader in the Stone-Campbell tradition, the paradoxi- Stone-Campbell Movement. He was cal urge to embrace unity and at the same always a voice on the outside, urging all time seek absolute truth in scripture. The to embrace a broad Christian path. As a Churches of Christ branch exemplifies whole, the Stone-Campbell Movement was more interested in defining itself

9 An article in the Lubbock Avalanche Journal and distinguishing itself from other on April 1, 2006 (by Beth Pratt, in the Vista Christian churches. Stone’s universal section B1 & B2), says, “Opposition to the message was ignored. unity movement is equally adamant that unity This analysis of the problem of is a wicked compromise.” The implication is that those against these unity efforts are against all unity and truth begins by showing unity and are therefore exclusivists. In reality, the deep divide that existed between these “exclusivists” claim to have unity agendas of these two men. Barton Stone and their own. 112 | Problems in U.S. History

Alexander Campbell, when they united Restoration Historians their two Christian movements, were far from being in agreement on any of Over the past four decades, a notable the key theological, philosophical, or body of work has developed in the field political ideas of their time. In many called “restoration history.” The writ- ways, they were complete opposites, ers and scholars who participate in contradicting themselves in so many this field are mostly from the modern ways that it almost seems bizarre in ret- churches that are derived from the rospect that they ever brought together Stone-Campbell tradition. They are their movements in the first place. Once too numerous to list here, for this is a these differences are established, it field that has attracted many religious will then be possible to move toward and historical scholars over the past the understanding that Campbell was few decades, and many of them have the only true influence in the move- been influential in my own research. ment after 1832. It is common for the But the following have made important “restoration historians” who study this contributions that particularly stand out part of American religious history to as vital to my conclusions, and therefore debate over the various influences that they deserve mention. Stone and Campbell had within the Richard T. Hughes was one of the movement. Some characteristics are ex- first voices in restoration history. He plained as being the result of Campbell’s has written extensively about it since influence, while others are explained the 1960s. In an article published in in lieu of Stone. By showing how these Religion and American Culture in arguments wrongly assume that Stone 1992 he proposed what he termed an had an influence on the movement, it “apocalyptic” understanding of Stone’s is then possible to look at the history of worldview which became the basis for the movement in a new light. The events the Southern-dominated Churches of at ACU in 2006 are understood differ- Christ division in the twentieth century. ently when we see them as not being the He went on to show how modernism result of a Stone versus Campbell con- finally prevailed in the Churches of flict. It also helps to put Stone in a more Christ.10 His embrace of Stone as this accurate historical context, for although sort of alternate leadership within the he has no influence on the movement movement led to a tradition of pitting that bears his name, his unique voice Stone against Campbell in regard to the does resonate in other Christian groups ongoing historical development of the who embrace his broad Christian view. 10 Richard T. Hughes, “The Apocalyptic Origins of Churches of Christ and the Triumph of Modernism,” American Origins of Churches of Christ (Abilene, Texas: ACU Press). The Second Great Awakening and the Myth of the Stone-Campbell Movement | 113 movement. More recently, Hughes has builds on years of research to show that written about the role of myth in the the Churches of Christ are now mov- American , which ing away from modernism. Together, appears to be a successful attempt to Hughes and Allen represent the ap- broaden the previous discussions to proach to restoration studies in keeping include restorationism and primitivism with intellectual history. They tend to in a discussion of American religious see events as motivated by ideas. In 1988 history in general.11 This blending of res- Hughes and Allen, along with Michael toration history with the broader field of Weed, wrote a book called The Worldly American religious history can only have Church: A Call for Biblical Renewal.14 positive results for our understanding of This small but influential book was this and other American church tradi- the beginning of attempts by scholars tions. However, Hughes’ polarization within the Churches of Christ tradition of the Stone-Campbell movement leads to awaken members to the underlying to my questions: What if the evidence theological themes that the movement requires that you take Stone out of the is rooted in. They proposed a new sort leadership equation? What new perspec- of sectarianism, which amounted to tives on the movement would emerge? a return to a more counter-cultural Hopefully the chapters that follow will approach to society. The Churches of shed some light on those questions. Christ, they claimed, had become too C. Leonard Allen co-wrote a book beholden to the world, too comfortable with Hughes called Illusions of Innocence: in their mainstream role. Some saw this Protestant Primitivism in America, book as a thinly veiled plea to reject the 1630–1875.12 This book attempted to “Campbell” side of the tradition and em- show how the Stone-Campbell tradi- brace the “Stone” side. Again, if evidence tion (as well as other primitivist efforts) required that we take Stone out of the was grounded in these apocalyptic urges leadership equation, the message of this of grass-roots Christian movements book would have to be re-evaluated on after the American Revolution. Allen those new terms. has recently published a valuable book David E. Harrell represents the other called Thing Unseen: Churches of Christ side to restoration studies. He presents in (and after) the Modern Age,13 which a social historian’s view of the tradition. Back in 1964 he wrote his influential 11 Richard T. Hughes, Myths America Lives By (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2004). 12 Richard T. Hughes and C. Leonard Allen, Age (Siloam Springs, Arkansas: Leafwood Illusions of Innocence: Protestant Primitivism in Publishers, 2004). America, 1630–1875 (Chicago: University of 14 Richard Hughes, C. Leonard Allen, and Chicago Press, 1988). Michael Weed, The Worldly Church: A Call 13 C. Leonard Allen, Things Unseen: for Biblical Renewal (Abilene, Texas: ACU Churches of Christ in (and after) the Modern Press, 1988). 114 | Problems in U.S. History article, “The Sectional Origins of of Christ and the sectarian Churches of Churches of Christ”15 which clearly Christ.18 showed the importance of the Civil War Nathan O. Hatch, who is not in the impending division of the Stone- directly attached to the Stone-Campbell Campbell tradition. Then inQuest for a tradition, is best known for his astute Christian America16 he further advances assessment of the role of American his view that religious divisions in the democracy in the creation of the Campbell tradition occurred because of Second Great Awakening. His book social factors more often than because of The Democratization of American theological differences. More recently, Christianity19 shows how periph- Harrell has written a very thorough eral Christian movements from roughly history of the Churches of Christ in 1790 to 1830 were attempts to create the twentieth century,17 which has been a “bottom-up” church structure that an important source for my project. rejected the centralized, authoritative Harrell’s roots in the anti-institutional system of the established denomina- Churches of Christ give him a unique tions. Democracy infused Christianity perspective on issues and events in the in a significant and radical way, and twentieth century. to a certain extent, the early Stone and Two historians from the Independent Campbell movements were a part of Christian Church branch, Henry Webb that. In an engaging fashion, Hatch and James North, also represent this shows how Calvin’s “elect” were tossed social-versus-intellectual approach to out in favor of a Jeffersonian-egalitarian restoration studies. Webb tends to work view of Christianity. through a social history perspective Historian and church activist Leroy while North works through an intellec- Garrett figures prominently in restora- tual history perspective. Together they tion studies. He has been a dissident reflect what is sometimes called a middle voice within the Churches of Christ approach between the liberal Disciples since the 1950s. His ideas have recently gained a following in certain pockets of the movement, and his story is a big part

15 David E. Harrell, “The Sectional Origins of Churches of Christ,” American Origins of 18 Henry E. Webb, In Search of Christian Churches of Christ (Abilene, Texas: ACU Press). Unity: A History of the Restoration Movement 16 David E. Harrell, Quest for a Christian (: Standard Publishing Company, America: The Disciples of Christ and American 1990) and James North, Union in Truth: An Society to 1866 (Nashville, : Disciples Interpretive History of the Restoration Movement of Christ Historical Society, 1966). (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing Company, 17 David E. Harrell, The Churches of Christ 1994). in the 20th Century: ’s Personal 19 Nathan O. Hatch, The Democratization Journey of (Tuscaloosa, : The of American Christianity (New Haven: Yale University of Alabama Press, 2000). University Press, 1989). The Second Great Awakening and the Myth of the Stone-Campbell Movement | 115 of the developments within Churches had so little in common. It also speaks of Christ in recent years. He was the to Stone’s view of unity as a thing that first one to write a comprehensive his- embraces all differences. tory of the Stone-Campbell movement The above-mentioned Dunnavant that treated all divisions more or less and Williams are both scholars from equally.20 Part of Garrett’s appeal is his the Disciples of Christ branch of the sense of fairness and openness to the Campbell tradition.23 They are preceded variety of opinions and beliefs that exist by earlier Disciples scholars, all of whom within the Campbell tradition. contributed various studies to the Building on the more ecumenical Campbell tradition. Two of these earlier stance that Garrett helped create, other scholars are Winfred Ernest Garrison men such as Douglas Foster, professor and Alfred T. DeGroot.24 Also, George and director of restoration studies at Beazley, Jr. edited a collection of works Abilene Christian University, have on the Disciples of Christ which offers written and edited numerous books an analysis within a cultural context.25 on restoration subjects. Along with Many scholars outside the Stone- Paul Blowers, Anthony L. Dunnavant, Campbell tradition such as George and D. Newell Williams, Foster has Marsden, Mark Noll, Theodore edited the first detailed encyclopedia Bozeman, and Grant Wacker have of the “Stone-Campbell” Movement.21 done similar studies of other Christian D. Newell Williams has also written a traditions with much the same effect. “spiritual biography” of Stone, which Referred to as the “new evangelical was valuable to the completion of this historians,”26 they have attempted to work. Newell’s thesis is that Stone never help certain Christian traditions revive fully abandoned his Presbyterian roots.22 themselves and often redefine themselves Seeing Stone as clinging to Presbyterian traditions helps to understand his 23 Anthony Dunnavant. “David Lipsomb complexities and why he would want to and the ‘Preferential Option for the Poor’ unite with Campbell even though they among Postbellum Churches of Christ,” in The Stone-Campbell Movement, Douglas Foster, ed. (Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press, 2002), 435–454. 20 Leroy Garrett, The Stone-Campbell 24 Winfred Ernest Garrison and Alfred T. Movement: The Story of the DeGroot, The Disciples of Christ: A History Movement (Joplin, Missouri: College Press (St. Louis, Missouri: The Bethany Press, 1948). Publishing Co., 1981). 25 George Beazley, Jr., ed., The Christian 21 Douglas Foster et al., eds, The Encyclopedia Church (Disciples of Christ): An Interpretive of the Stone-Campbell Movement (Grand Rapids, Examination in the Cultural Context (Ontario, : William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., : Bethany Press, 1973). 2004). 26 Michael Casey and Douglas Foster, eds., 22 D. Newell Williams, Barton Stone: A The Stone-Campbell Movement: An International Spiritual Biography (St. Louis, Missouri: Chalice Religious Tradition (Knoxville: The University of Press, 2000). Tennessee Press, 2002), 4. 116 | Problems in U.S. History by looking to the past for clues as to why ’s volumes from 1826 their movements are the way they are. In to 1844. I was fortunate to have access other words, the goal of these writers is to them at ACU. Early documents such to create a usable past for these traditions as Stone’s “Last Will and Testament of that have often been ignorant of their the ” and Thomas historical roots. Within the Campbell Campbell’s “” tradition this approach has sparked were important to this analysis also. much controversy and debate, often Stone’s autobiography30 was valuable, pitting the churches and universities especially in understanding the deep against one another. It seems reasonable divide that existed between Stone and to suggest that there is a need for more Campbell after 1832. It was also helpful secular-oriented academic institutions to compare what Stone said in his narra- to enter these debates and contribute tive to the way he wrote in The Christian to the discussions taking place. Such an Messenger. Campbell’s important theo- outside perspective would be valuable. logical treatise, The Christian System,31 The archives and library of Abilene first published in 1836, provides the best Christian University have provided an look at his ideas regarding and extensive collection of primary sources, specific worldviews. especially in regard to the writings of Another important primary source Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell. was Robert Richardson’s biography of Their respective journals in the 1820s, Alexander Campbell,32 written after The Christian Messenger27 and The Campbell’s death. Richardson not only ,28 offer a look into the was an important part of this history minds of these two Christian leaders as but perhaps still Campbell’s finest biog- they struggled to find common ground rapher. Because he had access to many even as their theological views remained primary source documents now lost very separate. Interestingly, Campbell’s to modern scholars, his biography still writing is very accessible to scholars. The stands as the best there is. ,29 his second and most influential journal, is widely avail- able. However, Stone’s work is less avail- able. An effort by Star Publications 30 Barton W. Stone and John Rogers, has collected and restored most of The The Biography of Barton Warren Stone (Cincinnati: J.A. & U.P. James. 1847). 31 Alexander Campbell, The Christian System 27 Barton W. Stone, ed., The Christian (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing Co., 1836). Messenger. Georgetown, (1826–1844). 32 Robert Richardson, Memoirs of Alexander 28 Alexander Campbell, ed., The Christian Campbell, Embracing a View of the Origins, Baptist. Buffalo, B.C. Virginia (1824–1830). Progress and Principles of the Religious 29 Alexander Campbell, ed., Millennial Which He Advocated (Reprint, Delight, Arkansas: Harbinger, Bethany, Virginia (1830–1866). Gospel Light Publishing Co.). The Second Great Awakening and the Myth of the Stone-Campbell Movement | 117

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What is the myth of the Stone-Campbell movement? 2. How did early Americans use Christianity to justify republicanism? 3. Describe the primitivist-restorationist tradition within Christianity. 4. What happened at the 2006 Abilene Christian University lectureship? 5. What is the “unity-truth dilemma”?