Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1964 The rP eaching of James M'gready; Frontier Revivalist. Edwin Harold Enzor Jr Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Enzor, Edwin Harold Jr, "The rP eaching of James M'gready; Frontier Revivalist." (1964). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 940. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/940 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 Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This dissertation has been 64—13,253 microfilmed exactly as received ENZOR, Jr., Edwin Harold, 1935- THE PREACHING OF JAMES M'GREADY; FRONTIER REVIVALIST. Louisiana State University, Ph.D., 1964 Speech—Theater University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan THE PREACHING OF JAMES M'GREADY; FRONTIER REVIVALIST A D issertatio n 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 Speech by Edwin Harold Enzor, Jr. B.A. , David Lipscomb College, 1957 M. A. , Abilene Christian College, 1959 May, 1964 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS « The writer acknowledges his indebtedness to all who have contributed to the completion of the research and transcription of this dissertation. Particularly, he is indebted to his wife, Norma, for her unstinting assistance and constant encouragement in every phase of this project; to Dr. Waldo W. Braden, who directed the study, provided initial motivation, continuing guidance and criti­ cism; to Drs. Berle Noggle, John Pennybacker, Owen Peterson, and Claude Shaver for counsel and suggestions; and to Dr. Claude Spencer, Curator of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society, who made the M’Gready sermons available and shared his know­ ledge of frontier American religion. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 M'Gready in American Religious H istory ................................. 3 Major Sources .......................................................................................... 17 II. EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION .................................. 27 Parentage and Early Y e ars .............................................................. 27 M'Gready's Advanced Education ..................................................... 38 Conclusions .............................................................................................. 64 III. CAROLINA REVIVAL D A Y S ................................................................ 67 Hampden-Sydney Revival and First P reaching..................... 67 Preaching at Caldwell's Academ y ................................................. 72 Revival in Carolina .............................................................................. 76 Effect of the Carolina P e rio d .......................................................... 82 IV. M'GREADY AND THE BEGINNING OF THE REVIVAL OF 1800 .................................................................................. 85 Preliminaries to the Kentucky R evival ..................................... 86 "A Few Drops Before a Mighty R ain"......................................... 91 "A Mighty R ain " ...........................................................................................103 Effect of James M'Gready on the Revival of 1800 ................. 121 V. THE YEARS OF DECLINE .........................................................................126 Early Presbyterian Opposition .......................................................... 128 Cumberland Presbytery; Liberalism and Education . 130 M'Gready and the Cumberland C h u rc h ........................ 142 Conclusions ...................................................................................................145 VI. THEOLOGICAL AND HOMILETIC VIEW S ........................................ 147 Calvinism and M'Gready*s Theology .................................................147 M'Gready's Independent Religious V iew s ......................................159 Homiletic V iew s ...................................................................................... 168 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) CHAPTER PAGE VII. AUDIENCE AND SETTIN G .........................................................................176 General Aspect of Cumberland A udiences .....................................177 Progressive Development of M'Gready's Meetings .... 186 Settings of the M'Gready M eetings .....................................................189 Conclusions ......................................................................................................197 VIII. PREPARATION AND SERMON PR O O FS ............................................200 Speech Preparation..................................................................................... 204 E thical A p p e a l ..............................................................................................209 Logical A ppeal............................................................................. ....231 Emotional A ppeal......................................................................................... 258 C o n c lu s io n s ......................................................................................................276 IX. ARRANGEMENT, STYLE, AND DELIVERY ................................... 281 Arrangement ................................................................................................. 281 Speech Style......................................................................................................305 D e liv e r y ..............................................................................................................325 Conclusions ......................................................................................................338 X. CONCLUSIONS.....................................................................................................341 General Summary ................................................................................. 342 Special Findings as a Result of this S tudy ....................................349 ABSTRACT This study analyzes the speaking methods and accomplishments of James M'Gready, one of America's most influential western evangelists. An early leader of the Kentucky Revival of 1800, origi­ nator and promoter of the planned camp meeting, M'Gready earned the title of Father of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Basic sources are forty-two sermons in The Posthumous Works of James M'Gready, personal letters, and denominational histories. M'Gready's education is reconstructed from primary evidence and the known prac­ tices of John McMillan and Joseph Smith, the Redstone seminarians. M'Gready's ministerial training uniquely prepared him for successful frontier evangelism. He was taught by College of New Jersey graduates, accomplished ministers who stressed persuasive public address. Throughout his career, M'Gready emphasized three themes: (a) acceptance of the Bible as true and infallible; (b) possible salvation for every sufficiently penitent believer; and (c) the need for a theopathic experience as evidence of salvation. His theological position provided an intense, personalized message. In 1799 and 1800, M'Gready experimented with methods designed to enhance the effectiveness of his preaching. The result was the evolvement of the "planned camp meeting, " a device which provided for the assemblage of large audiences within a propitious setting, allowing sufficient time to effect changes in audience convictions and attitudes. Based upon an analysis of twenty-five selected sermons, this study revealed that M'Gready followed a well-defined pattern of spee ch organization developed through careful preparation. While he prepared manuscript sermons, he had a fluent delivery which gave the im pres­ sion of thoughtful, impassioned, extemporaneous speaking. M'Gready began each sermon with a factual introduction based on a Bible text. After previewing his major points, he presented a reasoned discussion which served as a foundation for an emotional conclusion. M'Gready utilized three types of conclusions: (a) fram ­ ing the last minor discussion division into a conclusion; (b) presenting hypothetical questions; and (c) making an "application, " emotionally dominated assertions designed to stress the responsibilities implied by his discussed Bible doctrine. M'Gready developed his sermons by deductive reasoning, utilizing quotations and allusions from the Bible, his fundamental proof source. While stressing the beneficent social benefits of Christianity, his emotional appeals emphasized an imminent, fiery hell in contrast to the proffered security of heaven. He employed a narrow range of emotional appeals and quoted few secular authorities. The revivalist's organization and language pattern focused the listener's attention toward one broad religious premise or doctrinal assertion. Adopting a complex arrangement of minor divisions, he weakened his ability to indoctrinate audiences with a sufficiently large fund of knowledge from which to make