UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The nation invisible : American civil religion and the American political tradition 1838- 1925 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5cx450x4 Author Gómez, Adam Joseph Publication Date 2010 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO THE NATION INVISIBLE: AMERICAN CIVIL RELIGION AND THE AMERICAN POLITICAL TRADITION 1838-1925 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the Requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science by Adam Joseph Gómez Committee in charge: Professor Tracy B. Strong, Chair Professor Harvey S. Goldman, Co-Chair Professor John Evans Professor Richard Madsen Professor Victor Magagna 2010 Copyright Adam Joseph Gomez, 2010 All rights reserved. The Dissertation of Adam Joseph Gomez is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: Co-Chair Chair UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO 2010 iii DEDICATION For Kate iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature page................................................................................................................................. iii Dedication......................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents........................................................................................................................... v List of Figures.................................................................................................................................. vii Acknowledgements....................................................................................................................... viii Vita ....................................................................................................................................................... xi Abstract of the Dissertation ...................................................................................................... xii INTRODUCTION AMERICAN CIVIL RELIGION: MISSION AND MODEL ............................................... 1 1. Previous Research on American Civil Religion ............................................. 7 2. Dissertation Outline .................................................................................................. 14 1. DEUS VULT! JOHN L. O’SULLIVAN AND THE NATION AS CRUSADE............... 19 1. Piracy, Early Burial, and Old Hickory ................................................................ 25 2. The Nation as Crusade ............................................................................................. 28 3. Narrowing the Boundaries of Citizenship….................................................... 32 4. …And Expanding the Borders of Liberty.......................................................... 39 5. Democratic Sacrament............................................................................................. 48 6. Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 61 2. BOUND BY MYSTIC CHORDS: ABRAHAM LINCOLN AS PRIEST....................... 64 1. Religious Background............................................................................................... 73 2. Minister of Union........................................................................................................ 80 3. The God of Abraham ................................................................................................. 82 4. Union and Liberty ...................................................................................................... 94 5. Our Strife Pertains to Ourselves .......................................................................... 103 6. The Unfinished Work................................................................................................ 118 7. Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 131 3. THE DEMOCRACY OF THE FALL: ABRAHAM LINCOLN AS PROPHET ............. 133 1. The Beginning of Wisdom ...................................................................................... 138 2. God Wills This Contest ............................................................................................. 148 3. We Have Forgotten God........................................................................................... 154 4. A More Religious Feeling ........................................................................................ 160 5. And the War Came ..................................................................................................... 170 6. Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 188 4. THE SPIRIT OF THE CRUSADES: WOODROW WILSON AND THE v DEMOCRATIC MISSION............................................................................................ 194 1. Religion, Leadership, and the State .................................................................... 197 2. Mediator and Messiah.............................................................................................. 211 3. The Crusade.................................................................................................................. 217 4. Spreading the Word .................................................................................................. 226 5. Peace and Covenant .................................................................................................. 233 6. Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 239 5. VOX DEI, VOX POPULI: WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN AND THE RIGHTEOUS MULTITUDE ............................................................................... 245 1. Academic Attitudes toward Bryan and the Populists................................. 251 2. Biography and Religious Background............................................................... 255 3. The Irresistible Power of Truth and the Virtuous Majority..................... 260 4. The Crusade for Peace and the People’s War................................................. 268 5. Egalitarian Racism ..................................................................................................... 278 6. A Mother’s Love Against the Demon Rum....................................................... 284 7. The Law of Love.......................................................................................................... 297 8. Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 305 CONCLUSION THE CHECKERED PAST AND UNCERTAIN FUTURE OF AMERICAN CIVIL RELIGION......................................................................................................... 309 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................ 319 vi LIST OF FIGURES FIgure 1: Anonymous. “Pershing’s Crusaders.” 1918. ................................................ 228 FIgure 2: Joseph Pennel. “That Liberty Shall Not Perish.” 1918............................. 231 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is only at the end of this project that I find myself understanding the debt that I owe to the many people who helped and supported me in the years between its inception and completion. I am more grateful to them than I can say. Let me begin by thanking my doctoral committee for everything that they’ve done to help me in writing and thinking through this dissertation. My conversations with John Evans have helped me to keep my dissertation grounded in the political conflicts that emerge at the intersection of religion and politics. The influence of Richard Madsen is pervasive in my project, and is especially felt in terms of framing the fundamental questions that structure this dissertation. My gratitude for the guidance of Victor Magagna is profound. He not only made available to me his startling breadth of knowledge, but has also been supportive of me throughout my experience in graduate school, through good times and bad. He has been more than a teacher and mentor, he has been my friend. I thank especially my committee chairs, Harvey Goldman and Tracy Strong. Harvey’s warm humanity is combined with a keen insight that cut through more than one Gordian knot I’d tied for myself. I am thankful for both. Tracy has influenced my thinking at the most foundational levels. More than once, when reading his work or in conversation with him, I have found myself thinking, “Oh. So that’s where I get that.” I am grateful also to Stephen Cox, who never lets his disagreement prevent him from acknowledging a good argument, nor allows his agreement to let pass a weak one. My thanks also to the political theory graduate students who comprised viii Theory Group across the years: Christian Donath, Ivo Gatzinski, David Leitch, Andrew Poe, David Selby, and Richard Allen Bolar. Your attention to the strengths and weaknesses of my thought and writing was how I learned the rules of the game. To Antony Lyon, comrade of a thousand days at the coffee shop. His conversation, friendship and advice there was crucial to the completion of this project. I’ve been unreasonably