RICE UNIVERSITY From Border South to Solid South: Religion, Race, and the Making of Confederate Kentucky 1830-1880 by Luke Edward Harlow A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE Doctor of Philosophy APPROVED, THESIS COMMITTEE: ?? t k**Xs" Johr/B. Boles, Chair William P. Hobby Professor of History JVIMJ/M (1. Rebecca A. Goetz,' ' Assistant Professor of History O. Emerson, Allyn R. and ^ Gladys M. Cline Professor of Sociology Orville Vernon Burton, Burroughs Professor of Southern History and Culture, Coastal Carolina University HOUSTON, TEXAS MAY 2009 UMI Number: 3362238 Copyright 2009 by Harlow, Luke Edward INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI® UMI Microform 3362238 Copyright 2009 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright Luke Edward Harlow 2009 ABSTRACT From Border South to Solid South: Religion Race and the Making of Confederate Kentucky, 1830-1880 by Luke Edward Harlow This dissertation demonstrates the central role of proslavery theology in the politics and collective identity of white American southerners—not just before, but also during and after the Civil War. It examines, more generally, the way that nineteenth-century Americans used evangelical religion to legitimate, defend, and debate political and social arrangements. Through an analysis of sermons, evangelical newspapers, and ministers' correspondence in Kentucky, this study contends that proslavery theological arguments formulated before the war were recast in the post-slavery era as justifications for Jim Crow and as sources of neo-Confederate identity. Recent studies of the interface between religion, politics, and culture in the postbellum South acknowledge that proslavery ideology continued to exert enormous influence on the shaping of the late nineteenth-century South's segregationist order. Yet most histories, by positing the Civil War as a period divide, overlook important continuities that spanned the era. If historians are aware that proslavery ideology remained vital after the Civil War, scholars have yet to explain precisely how that thought evolved and survived, especially after the death of legal slavery. The key to the persistence of proslavery ideology, this project argues, lies in the persistent power of proslavery theology. Kentucky, the geographic focus of this dissertation, offers an ideal opportunity to explore the long life of proslavery religious thought. As a border slave state, it remained with the Union during the Civil War. However, after the Thirteenth Amendment ended slavery in 1865—eight months after Confederate surrender—white Kentuckians embraced a decidedly pro-Confederate stance. White religious understandings of slavery and racial difference were key to the forging of Confederate identity in the postbellum Bluegrass State. Kentucky's postbellum white population, led by clergy and laity who rejected civil rights for African Americans, came to a broad embrace of Confederate ideas and paved the way for the emergence of a dominant white Democratic political bloc in the state. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am pleased to acknowledge those who have played a central role in enabling me to complete this dissertation. I am grateful for the generous financial support I have received from Rice University, the History Department, the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, the Filson Historical Society, and the Kentucky Historical Society. I owe tremendous thanks to the exceptional administrative staff in the Rice History Department: Paula Piatt, Rachel Zepeda, Anita Smith, and Lisa Tate. Without Fondren Library's Interlibrary Loan office and Kelley Center for Government Information and Microforms, it would have been impossible to begin or complete the necessary research for this project. Portions of this dissertation, albeit in different form, were presented to the University of Alabama's Conference on Race and Place, the Society of Civil War Historians, and the Houston Area Southern Historians. Parts have appeared in print in Slavery and Abolition, Ohio Valley History, and a 2007 volume of essays I co-edited with Mark Noll, Religion and American Politics: From the Colonial Period to the Present. I thank the many editors, reviewers, commentators, and audiences who have helped shape the ideas that appear in the pages that follow. Numerous historians and archivists made my research trips to Kentucky fruitful excursions. At the Filson Historical Society, I thank Glenn Crothers, Jim Holmberg, Mike Veach, and Mark Wetherington, but I especially want to recognize the efforts of Jacob Lee, who on more than one occasion tracked down answers to arbitrary research questions and regularly sent me helpful emails and photocopies of critical documents. At the Kentucky Historical Society, I benefited immensely from the assistance of Nelson Dawson, Darrell Meadows, and Beth V Van Allen. Shannon Wilson and Jaime Bradley at Berea College went above and beyond any normal expectations. I also wish to thank the archival staffs at Centre College, Eastern Kentucky University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and Western Kentucky University. Lodging and meals often put a significant dent into research and conference budgets, but I was able to save considerable sums—often extending trips—thanks to the generous provision of several friends and family members, including Adam and Bonnie Garbinski, Gary and Bette Harlow, Tommy and Ruby Kidd, Mike and Betty Miller, Keith and Christen Morgan, Ethan Schrum, and Larry and Sheila Witten. In September 2008, early on in my final academic year at Rice, Hurricane Ike smashed the Texas Gulf Coast and left my wife, Amber, and me without electricity for 22 days. Without a hint of discontent, Brian and Lee Ann Payne graciously allowed us to stay in a spare bedroom for two weeks. Then, Bruce and Sara Williams gave us their home for our final week without power. These acts of generosity provided a necessary source of stability in an overwhelming and demanding season; I cannot overstate my gratitude to such friends. My primary academic debt is owed to John Boles, who supervised this dissertation. I simply could not have asked for a better doctoral advisor. Not only was he the ideal scholar to direct a research project on religion and race in the nineteenth-century American South, but also his seemingly endless personal enthusiasm, energy, and encouragement made my time at Rice a joy. It will be my pleasure to continue to seek his advice. vi I thank also the members of my dissertation committee. Vernon Burton has, in general, been an unflagging cheerleader. He saw long before I did the significance of Kentucky to nineteenth-century American history and gently pushed me to seek answers to the questions that led to this dissertation. Rebecca Goetz was a perceptive, superlative critic of my work and knew precisely when to offer words of encouragement. Michael Emerson has taught me as much as any scholar about American religion and the problem of race and has influenced many of the ideas in this study. Additionally, I also acknowledge and thank Mark Noll, who guided this project in its very earliest stages, read and critiqued much of my work at Rice, and has provided a sustaining confidence in my research pursuits. Randal Hall has proved an indispensable advisor and friend. From the start of my time at Rice, his editorial office at the Journal of Southern History has been a site of countless rewarding exchanges. Without the solid undergraduate instruction and mentorship of Marion Lucas and Larry Snyder at Western Kentucky University I probably would have never been interested in the histories of the U.S. South or American religion. Kathryn Long continued to fan the flames of my intellectual curiosity as an M. A. student at Wheaton College. I gained much as a Rice doctoral student from courses and interactions with Carl Caldwell, Ira Gruber, Thomas Haskell, Allen Matusow, Carol Quillen, and Martin Wiener. Caleb McDaniel joined the Rice history faculty in my final year in the program, but his contribution to this project was not small. A wonderful conversation partner, his insights about slavery and abolition, race, and religion in the nineteenth-century United States have greatly expanded my knowledge of the field. vii Rice graduate students know well the tremendous additional scholarly resources provided by the Journal of Southern History's presence and I am grateful to a group of editors who allowed me to quite frequently drop by the office for help. Pat Burgess was always a warm and welcoming presence. Bethany Johnson arrived late in my graduate career, but her editorial care and ongoing willingness to read my work spared me from many problematic formulations. Karl Gunther read much of this dissertation—many times following an eleventh-hour behest—and discussed even more of it, helping me to better comprehend the historical relationship between religion and politics. Ethan Schrum has ceaselessly and encouragingly followed this project from its inception. Darren Grem frequently called or emailed to check in on my progress, which always led to fruitful and energizing dialogue. Paul Harvey, Charles Irons, and Mitchell Snay helpfully read and commented on earlier versions of the material in this dissertation. My graduate school colleagues at Rice University were an amazingly supportive group. Rusty Hawkins has been an invaluable friend. We began the Rice graduate program at the same time and shared a broad research interest that, from day one, has made for first-rate interactions.