View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Carolina Digital Repository Careers Across Color Lines: American Women Missionaries and Race Relations, 1870-1920 Kimberly DeJoie Hill A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History. Chapel Hill 2008 Approved By: Dr. W. Fitzhugh Brundage Dr. Heather Williams Dr. Michael Hunt Dr. Laurie Maffly-Kipp Dr. Grant Wacker © 2008 Kimberly DeJoie Hill ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT KIMBERLY DEJOIE HILL: Careers Across Color Lines: American Women Missionaries and Race Relations, 1870-1920 (under the direction of W. Fitzhugh Brundage) This dissertation traces the careers of three American female missionaries as they interacted with people of different races and nationalities at home and abroad between 1870 and 1920. Each of these women confronted or defied stereotypes to become a spiritual leader. The missionaries modeled various ways that American norms of cultural superiority and racial prejudice played out in a global context during the Jim Crow era. Martha Crawford convinced Southern Baptist leaders that Chinese Christian women were helpless without her, but she grew less reliant on American values near the end of her career. Methodist evangelist Amanda Smith preached a message of spiritual transformation that included criticism of racial prejudice, and she acted out her message by working among white Americans. Finally, Maria Fearing’s career within a racially integrated Presbyterian mission in Congo brought her leadership opportunities that her denomination denied to black people in the United States. Each woman’s experience provided a glimpse of how leaders in the largest American Protestant denominations understood interracial relationships as part of their quest to spread Christianity throughout the world. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project is a tribute to many family members, colleagues, and friends who provided me with advice, constructive criticism, financial assistance, resources, and quality time. I thank them for taking an active role in the writing process and pointing out mistakes along the way. For guiding this project and giving me encouraging models of academic life, I thank my advisor, W. Fitzhugh Brundage, and my committee members: Michael Hunt, Laurie Maffly-Kipp, Grant Wacker, and Heather Williams. For reading drafts of my work and holding me to a high standard, I thank Sylvia M. Jacobs, my classmates in the UNC History Department, and my writing group: Kate Bowler, Jenette Crowley, Pam Lach, Patrick O’Neil, Brendan Pietsch, Nancy Schoonmaker, and Montgomery Wolf. Professors Jacqueline Hall, Jerma Jackson, Lisa Lindsay, Genna Rae McNeil, Theda Perdue, and Charlene Regester provided generous help. Many people shared intriguing stories about missionary life that helped me consider overall themes. Financial support from the Archie K. Davis Fellowship, Mowry Dissertation Award, and Quinn Fellowship allowed me to finish my dissertation on time. I also thank the staff of Davis Library at UNC, the Presbyterian Historical Society in Montreat, the North Carolina Baptist Collection at Wake Forest University, the Talladega College Library, and Duke University Special Collections. Members of FOCUS Intervarsity, Church of the Good Shepherd, and the African American History Working Group gave me a community. I thank my parents for their continual care and love. I thank God for guiding me, even through shadowy times. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES…………...…………………………………………………………..vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS……………..………………………………………………viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………..1 The Woman’s ‘Civilizing’ Missionary Impulse………………………………..8 Racism and the Foreign Missionary Impulse............................................12 Racial Uplift in Women's Mission Work.....................................................20 Results of Mission Work: Conversion and Heathenism……...……………23 Chapter Overviews…………………………………………………………….26 2. “NEXT TO NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE FOR THE COLORED PEOPLE:" DOMESTIC MISSION WORK AND RACIAL ISSUES, 1865-1920………………………………………...………28 African Methodist Episcopal Church: Independent/Institutional…………..38 Methodist Episcopal Church: Integrated/Pragmatic………………………..44 Southern Baptist Convention: Separatist/Exclusionary……………………51 Presbyterian Church in the United States: Separatist/Paternalistic ……...55 3. DISGRUNTLED SHEPHERDS AND “FEEBLE LAMBS:” MARTHA FOSTER CRAWFORD’S LEADERSHIP OF CHINESE BAPTIST WOMEN, 1868-1891……………………………….……..65 "All these long years of toil and going from house to house:" Female Mission Work and Martha Crawford's Frustrations……………….71 v “From the Condition of a Thing to the Dignity of a Sister:” Racial Stereotypes and the Role of Chinese Women in American Missions……………………………….…………………………80 “To Save Her by Dismissing Her:” Disciplining the Bible Women…..……89 “It is not our business to foreignize, but to Christianize:” Martha Crawford's Friendship Strategy and Chinese Christian Women’s Responses to Baptist Mission Work………………………….…………….105 4. THE "COLORED WASHERWOMAN" WITH "A VERY NEW THING:” AMANDA BERRY SMITH AND THE SEARCH FOR RACIAL RECONCILIATION IN A SEGREGATED ERA, 1869-1880……………………………………………………………...117 Amanda Smith’s Background……………………………………………….118 Amanda Smith's Traveling Ministry………………………………………...124 Amanda Smith's Camp Meeting Audience………………………………..135 “She Belongs to Us:” Modeling the Christian Race Woman...................141 “Their Successful Effort at Woman Building:” Modeling the Supervised Leader…………………………………………………………...152 5. A FREED WOMAN WHO RESCUED SLAVES: MARIA FEARING AND THE RACIAL INTEGRATION OF THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN CONGO MISSION, 1894 TO 1915…….……………..172 "Aunt Maria Winston:" Seeking Leadership in the Wake of Slavery, 1863-1994………………………………………………….……179 "Mamu" Fearing: Foster Care and Slavery, 1894-1909………………….183 "Miss Maria Fearing:" The Cultural Context of an Official Missionary, 1896-1910………………………………………………………192 Maria Fearing, American: Citizenship, Status, and Racial Uplift, 1903-1915……………………………………………………..205 6. CONCLUSION……..…………………………………………………………..217 BIBLIOGRAPHY……..….……………….…………….……….......…………228 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Map of Martha Crawford’s Frequent Destinations in China……………...…...75 3.1 Map Featuring Eight of Amanda Smith’s Destinations in the United States………………………………………………………...128 3.2 Map Featuring Seven of Amanda Smith’s Destinations in the United Kingdom……………………………………………………..155 4.1 Location of Maria Fearing’s Mission Station Within a Modern Map of Congo…………………………………………………....182 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AME African Methodist Episcopal Church Founded in 1816; Amanda Berry Smith retained membership in this denomination. ME Methodist Episcopal Church/Northern Methodists Founded in 1780; Amanda Smith preached in America and England with members of this denomination. PCUS Presbyterian Church in the United States/ Southern Presbyterians Founded in 1861; Maria Fearing worked for the PCUS in Congo. SBC Southern Baptist Convention Founded in 1845; Martha Foster Crawford worked for the SBC in China. viii Introduction In 1947, an editorial in a Hawaiian newspaper criticized a group of Southern Baptist short-term missionaries visiting the territory. The writer wondered if the missionaries planned to introduce “undemocratic prejudices” during their stay. He could not be sure of their motives, but, as a representative of all Hawaiians, the writer "reserve[d] the right to question the appropriateness of missionaries coming from a bi- racial, segregation-hamstrung, caste culture to bring the light of truth to us.”1 In his opinion, if Christian religion came to Hawaii laden with signs of racial prejudice, then the religion was not worth having. American Christian missionaries traveled to help other groups of people find spiritual salvation, but sometimes their message of freedom contained the legacy of bondage. Missionaries contended with the consequences of American slavery, specifically racial prejudice and segregation. People who dedicated their careers to establishing cross-cultural relationships could not avoid racial issues. Women missionaries in the late nineteenth century faced an extra challenge because of the type of domestic ministry they performed.2 American women 1 Foy Valentine, A Historical Study of Southern Baptists and Race Relations, 1917-1947 (New York: Arno Press, 1980), 3-4. 2 For analysis of women’s mission work, see: Rhonda Anne Semple, Missionary Women: Gender, Professionalism and the Victorian Idea of Christian Mission (Rochester, NY: The Boydell Press, 2003); Peggy Pascoe, Relations of Rescue: the Search For Female Moral Authority in the American West, 1874-1939 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990); Dana Robert, American Women in Mission (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1996); David T. Morgan, Southern Baptist Sisters: In Search of Status, 1845-2000 (Macon, GA: Mercer Univ. Press, 2003); Susan Hill Lindley, “You Have Stept Out of Your Place:” A History of Women and Religion in America (Louisville: missionaries tried to teach through personal connections; they wanted to take the message of Christ into other people's homes or other non-threatening venues. These women needed to integrate themselves into communities in China and Africa so that they could introduce their views on personal topics like housekeeping, education, and spiritual transformation. The missionaries