HIST 4377-001: Religious Politics in the Early

American Republic
Fall 2008 Prof. Eric R. Schlereth
SOM 2.901 schlereth@utdallas.edu
Tuesday and Thursday 10:00-11:15 Office: JO 5.708, 972-883-2168
Office Hours: T and TH 2:30-4:30 or by Appt.

Course Overview
This course explores the history of the American Revolution and its aftermath by
focusing on the inextricable links between religion and politics during this period. American
politics and religion changed dramatically after 1776. Political independence, adoption of the
Constitution, and the development of political parties all contributed to a political system that
was democratized but also fractured across fault lines of region, race, and gender. This tension
within American politics expanded electoral options for some Americans while decreasing the
options of others. Religious disestablishment, an explosion of new religious sects and
institutions, and immigration from Europe fractured American religion along fault lines of piety,
belief, and religious affiliation. Instead of viewing these political and religious changes in
isolation, this course brings them together.
 This course will cover elections, political ideas, and the ways that ordinary Americans
participated in the political world around them. The course will also address changes in religious
belief, the institutional structure of American religion, and the wide variety of religious ideas and
practices in the early republic, both Christian and non-Christian alike. Ultimately, this course will
investigate the ways that Americans in the generations following the Revolution addressed
tangled questions about how best to reconcile the demands of religious belief with political ideas
and practices. Themes in this course will include debates over the separation of church and state,
the religious and political implications of capitalism, the intersections of gender with religious
beliefs and political change, and slavery. Course readings include books by historians as well as
primary sources such as newspapers, speeches, celebratory toasts, sermons, diaries and political
cartoons from the period.

Course Objectives:
1. To understand key changes and themes in the history of American politics and religion
in the early national United States (1776-1830).
2. To identify the connections between American religious and political history during
this period and broader economic, social, and cultural developments.
3. To develop your own interpretation of the religious and political history of the early
national United States through essay exams and writing assignments.

Required Readings:
The following books can be purchased at the UTD bookstore or at Off Campus Books,
581 W. Campbell Road, #201. All additional weekly readings are available on Web
CT.

1. Robert H. Abzug, Cosmos Crumbling: American Reform and the Religious

Imagination, Paperback, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994) ISBN: 0195045680

2. Paul E. Johnson, The Early American Republic, 1789-1829, Paperback, (New York:
Oxford University Press, 2006) ISBN: 0195154231

3. Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz, The Kingdom of Matthias: A Story of Sex and
Salvation in the 19th Century, Paperback, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995)
ISBN: 0195098358

4. James Brewer Stewart, Holy Warriors: The Abolitionists and American Slavery,
Revised Edition (New York: Hill and Wang, 1996) ISBN: 080901596X

Assignments:
1. You are expected to come to class prepared to discuss issues and topics from the assigned
readings. Assigned readings will be discussed the week they are assigned. Therefore
they should be completed before the first class meeting of each week. Regular class
participation is absolutely crucial to your grade.
2. There will be one mid-term examination. The mid-term will cover all course lectures
and readings through the day of the exam. The mid-term is on Tuesday, October 14.
3. There will be two writing assignments. The first is a brief (2 page) essay summarizing
and critiquing one of the book chapters or articles you have read during the first five
weeks of class. The critical essay is due at the beginning of class on Thursday,
 September 18. The second assignment is a slightly longer (8-10 page) paper on a pre-
circulated question or a research topic of your choice. The second paper is due at the
beginning of class on Thursday, November 20. Details about both papers will be
discussed in class well before the respective due dates.
4. A final exam will be given during the scheduled exam period. The final exam will cover
all course lectures and readings between the mid-term exam and the final class. There
will also be on cumulative question that covers course lectures and readings from the
entire semester.

Academic Lecture Topics Readings

Calendar
Week 1. Introduction
Thu. Aug. 21 Does Religion have a
Political History?
Week 2. A Revolution in Favor of Religion?
Tue. Aug. 26 The Religious Landscape of
British North America circa
1750
Thu. Aug. 28 Political Independence and
Religious Belief
Week 3. Religious Freedom or Religious Toleration?
Tue. Sep. 2 Constitutions
**All readings must be completed by the
first meeting of the week they are assigned**
No Reading
Reading:
-Johnson, 112-134
-Robert A. Ferguson, “The Dialectic of Liberty:
Law and Religion in Anglo-American Culture,”
Modern Intellectual History, Vol. 1, No. 1
(2004): 27-54.
-Gregory E. Dowd, “Thinking and Believing:
Nativism and Unity in the Ages of Pontiac and
Tecumseh,” American Indian Quarterly, Vol.
16, No. 3 (Summer, 1992): 309-335.
-Rhys Isaac, “Evangelical Revolt: The Nature
of the Baptists’ Challenge to the Traditional
Order Virginia, 1765-1775,” The William and
Mary Quarterly, Vol. 31, No. 3 (1974): 346-
368.
-Declaration of Independence.
-Boston Slave Petitions.
Reading:
-Johnson, 3-29.
-Abzug, 3-29.
-United States Constitution.
-Isaac Backus, An Appeal for Religious Liberty
Thu. Sep. 4 Disestablishment: National (1773), excerpt.
and Local Varieties -Ezra Stiles, The United States Elevated to
Honor and Glory (1783), excerpt.
-Philadelphia Jews Seek Equality Before the
Law (1783).
-James Madison, Memorial and Remonstrance
Against Religious Assessments (1785).
-Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1786).
Week 4. Religious Partisans, Partisan Religion
Tue. Sep. 9 The French Revolution and Reading:
the Crisis of Infidelity -Johnson, 31-53.
-David Waldstreicher and Stephen R.
Grossbart, “Abraham Bishop’s Vocation; or,
Thu. Sep. 11 Fears of an Atheist President the Mediation of Jeffersonian Politics,” Journal
in the Election of 1800 of the Early Republic, Vol. 18, No. 4 (1998):
617-657.
-Colin Wells, “Timothy Dwight’s American
‘Dunciad: The Triumph of Infidelity’ and the
Universalist Controversy,” Early American
Literature, Vol. 33, No. 2 (1998): 173-191.
-Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury
Baptists (1802).
-Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason (1794),
excerpts.
-Campaign Literature from the election of 1800
-Treaty of Tripoli (1797).
Week 5. Religion’s Vexed Relationship with Democracy
Tue. Sep. 16 Theological Change and Reading:
Institutional Growth -Johnson, 55-83
-Abzug, 30-55
-Eric Baldwin, “‘The Devil Begins to Roar:’
Opposition to Early Methodists in New
England,” Church History 75 (2006): 94-119.
-Peter N. Moore, “Family Dynamics and the
Great Revival: Religious Conversion in the
South Carolina Piedmont,” Journal of Southern
History 70 (2004): 35-62.
-James D. Bratt, “Religious Anti-Revivalism in
Antebellum America,” Journal of the Early
Republic, Vol. 24, No. 1 (2004): 65-106.
-Contemporary views on evangelicalism.
-Charles Grandison Finney
Thu. Sep. 18 Evangelicalism and its
Critical Essay Discontents
Due at the
Beginning of
Class
Week 6. God and Mammon
Tue. Sep. 23 Market Revolutions Reading:
-Richard Carwardine, “‘Antinomians’ and
Thu. Sep. 25 The Religion Business ‘Arminians’: Methodists and the Market
Revolution,” in Melvyn Stokes and Stephen
Conway eds., The Market Revolution in
America (1996): 281-307.
-Mark S. Schantz, “Religious Tracts,
Evangelical Reform, and the Market Revolution
in Antebellum America,” Journal of the Early
Republic Vol. 17, No. 3, (1997): 425-466.
-Ronald Schultz, “God and Workingmen:
Popular Religion and the Formation of
Philadelphia’s Working Class, 1790-1830,” in
Ronald Hoffman and Peter J. Albert eds.,
Religion in a Revolutionary Age (1994):
-Contemporary views on religion and the
economy.
Week 7. Slavery and Belief: Accommodations
Tue. Sep. 30 Library Tour, Professor Reading:
Absent -Johnson, 85-109.
Thu. Oct. 2 The Rebirth of Southern -Sylvia R. Frey and Betty Wood, Come
Slavery Shouting to Zion: African-American
Protestantism in the American South and the
British Caribbean to 1830 (1998): 149-213.
-Primary Sources on religion in the slave south.
Week 8. Slavery and Belief: Tensions
Tue. Oct. 7 Slavery and Religious Reading:
Controversy -Abzug, 129-162
-Monica Najar, “‘Meddling with
Emancipation’: Baptists, Authority, and the Rift
Thu. Oct. 9 No Class Mid-Term Study Over Slavery in the Upper South,” Journal of
Day the Early Republic 25 (2005): 157-186.
-Reactions to Nat Turner.
Week 9. Abolitionism, Act One
Tue. Oct. 14 Mid-Term Reading:
-Stewart, 3-96.

Thu. Oct. 16 Free African Americans

Challenge Slavery
Week 10. Abolitionism, Act Two
Tue. Oct. 21 Religious Critiques of Reading:
Slavery -Stewart, 97-206
Thu. Oct. 23 Methods of Opposing -Varieties of Anti-Slavery Writing
Slavery
Week 11. The West as a Religious Problem
Tue. Oct. 28 The Geography of National Reading:
Expansion -Abzug, 57-75.
-Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz, The
Thu. Oct. 30 Religious Anxiety About Kingdom of Matthias, ix-47.
National Expansion -Mary Young, “The Cherokee Nation: Mirror of
the Republic,” American Quarterly Vol. 33, No.
5 (1981): 502-524.
-Howard Miller, “Stephen F. Austin and the
Anglo-Texan Response to the Religious
Establishment in Mexico, 1821-1836,”
Southwestern Historical Quarterly 91 (1987-
88).
-Cherokee Views of Missionaries
-Lyman Beecher, “Plea for the West” (1835)
Week 12. Religious Diversity and its Discontents
Tue. Nov. 4 Film: The Shakers Reading:
-Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz, The
Kingdom of Matthias, 49-179.
-Anti-Catholic Views
-Anti-Mormon Views
Thu. Nov. 6 Catholicism, Mormonism,
Judaism
Week 13. Religion and the Reformation of Women’s Political Power
Tue. Nov. 11 Women’s Religious Reading:
Experience -Abzug, 183-229
-Susan Juster, Disorderly Women: Sexual
Politics and Evangelicalism in Revolutionary
Thu. Nov. 13 The Politics of Female New England (1994): 145-179.
Religious Belief -Christine Leigh Heyrman, Southern Cross: The
Beginnings of the Bible Belt (1997): 161-205.
-Diary entries.
-Petitions.
-Essays
Week 14. Disbelief
Tue. Nov. 18 The Forms of Disbelief Reading:
Thu. Nov. 20 The Politics of Disbelief -Lori D. Ginzberg, “‘The Hearts of Your
Paper Readers Will Shudder’: Fanny Wright,
Due at the Infidelity, and American Freethought,”
Beginning of American Quarterly Vol. 42, No.2 (1994): 195-
Class 226.
-Christopher Grasso, “Skepticism and
American Faith: Infidels, Converts, and
Religious Doubt in the Early Nineteenth
Century,” Journal of the Early Republic Vol.
22, No. 3 (2002): 465-508.
-Eric R. Schlereth, “Fits of Political Religion:
Stalking Infidelity and the Politics of Moral
Reform in Antebellum America,” Early
American Studies Vol. 5, No. 2 (2007): 288-
323.
-Frances Wright
-Robert Dale Owen
-Infidel Conversion Narratives
-Thomas Paine Birthday Celebrations
Week 15. Religion and the Body
Tue. Nov. 25 Bumpy Heads, Bad Livers, Reading:
and Open Marriage -Abzug, 79-104 and 163-182.
-Anti-Drinking Literature
Thu. Nov. 27 No Class -Free Love Theology

Thanksgiving
Week 16. Religion, the State, and the Second Party System
Tue. Dec. 2 1828 Reading:
-Johnson, 137-165.
-Abzug, 105-124.
-Richard R. John, “Taking Sabbatarianism
Seriously: The Postal System, the Sabbath, and
the Transformation of American Political
Culture,” Journal of the Early Republic Vol. 10,
No. 4 (1990): 517-567.
Thu. Dec. 4 The Sabbath
-Daniel Walker Howe, “The Evangelical
Movement and Political Culture in the North
During the Second Party System,” Journal of
American History Vol. 77, No. 4 (1991): 1216-
1239.
-Johnson’s Senate Report
-Sabbath Petitions
FINAL EXAM at scheduled time
Grading and Important Dates:
Critical Essay 10% 9/18
Mid-Term Examination 25% 10/14
Second Paper 20% 11/20
Final Exam 30% Scheduled Exam Time
Class Participation 15%

Requirements and Expectations:

1. You are allowed 2 excused absences without explanation from the class. You do not
need to inform the professor that you will be missing class the first two times that you do
so. Following that you must speak to the professor beforehand if you have to miss class.
Legitimate reasons for absences beyond the first two include religious observance of
holiday, university sanctioned activities (such as sports), or serious illness excused with
medical verification. For each unexcused absence after that your participation grade will
drop a full letter grade.
2. Students are expected to be on time. Late arrivals disrupt the class and are disrespectful
of the professor and classmates. Consistent late arrivals will be noted, a warning will be
given, and subsequent infractions will result in a grade penalty. CELL PHONES MUST
BE TURNED OFF.
3. All course communication not conducted in class will be made using UTD email
addresses, and UTD email ONLY.
4. Any student who misses the mid-term examination may make it up at the professor’s
discretion but only if the student has a valid reason.
5. Papers are due in class on the date noted in the syllabus. Late papers will be accepted
with a valid reason and after consultation with the professor.

Student Conduct & Discipline:

The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have rules and
regulations for the orderly and efficient conduct of their business. It is the responsibility of each
student and each student organization to be knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which
govern student conduct and activities. General information on student conduct and discipline is
contained in the UTD publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all registered students each
academic year.

The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within the procedures of
recognized and established due process. Procedures are defined and described in the Rules and
Regulations, Board of Regents, The University of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter VI, Section 3,
and in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities of the university’s Handbook of
Operating Procedures. Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the
Office of the Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in
interpreting the rules and regulations (SU 1.602, 972/883-6391).

A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the responsibilities of citizenship.
He or she is expected to obey federal, state, and local laws as well as the Regents’ Rules,
university regulations, and administrative rules. Students are subject to discipline for violating
the standards of conduct whether such conduct takes place on or off campus, or whether civil or
criminal penalties are also imposed for such conduct.

Academic Integrity:

The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic honesty.
Because the value of an academic degree depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done
by the student for that degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of
individual honor in his or her scholastic work.

Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or omissions related to
applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission as one’s own work or
material that is not one’s own. As a general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the
following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic records. Students
suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and from any
other source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the university’s policy on plagiarism
(see general catalog for details). This course will use the resources of turnitin.com, which
searches the web for possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective.

Email Use:

The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of communication
between faculty/staff and students through electronic mail. At the same time, email raises some
issues concerning security and the identity of each individual in an email exchange. The
university encourages all official student email correspondence be sent only to a student’s U.T.
Dallas email address and that faculty and staff consider email from students official only if it
originates from a UTD student account. This allows the university to maintain a high degree of
confidence in the identity of all individual corresponding and the security of the transmitted
information. UTD furnishes each student with a free email account that is to be used in all
communication with university personnel. The Department of Information Resources at U.T.
Dallas provides a method for students to have their U.T. Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.
Withdrawal from Class

The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any college-level
courses. These dates and times are published in that semester's course catalog. Administration
procedures must be followed. It is the student's responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements
from any class. In other words, I cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the proper
paperwork to ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if you choose not to
attend the class once you are enrolled.

Student Grievance Procedures:

Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities,
of the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures.
In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or other
fulfillments of academic responsibility, it is the obligation of the student first to make a serious
effort to resolve the matter with the instructor, supervisor, administrator, or committee with
whom the grievance originates (hereafter called “the respondent”). Individual faculty members
retain primary responsibility for assigning grades and evaluations. If the matter cannot be
resolved at that level, the grievance must be submitted in writing to the respondent with a copy
of the respondent’s School Dean. If the matter is not resolved by the written response provided
by the respondent, the student may submit a written appeal to the School Dean. If the grievance
is not resolved by the School Dean’s decision, the student may make a written appeal to the Dean
of Graduate or Undergraduate Education, and the deal will appoint and convene an Academic
Appeals Panel. The decision of the Academic Appeals Panel is final. The results of the
academic appeals process will be distributed to all involved parties.

Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of
Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and
regulations.

Incomplete Grade Policy:

As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work unavoidably missed at
the semester’s end and only if 70% of the course work has been completed. An incomplete
grade must be resolved within eight (8) weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester.
If the required work to complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted
by the specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of F.

Disability Services:

The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities educational opportunities
equal to those of their non-disabled peers. Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in the
Student Union. Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and
Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:

The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)

Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those reasonable adjustments
necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability. For example, it may be
necessary to remove classroom prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case of dog
guides) for students who are blind. Occasionally an assignment requirement may be substituted
(for example, a research paper versus an oral presentation for a student who is hearing impaired).
Classes enrolled students with mobility impairments may have to be rescheduled in accessible
facilities. The college or university may need to provide special services such as registration,
note-taking, or mobility assistance.
It is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for such an
accommodation. Disability Services provides students with letters to present to faculty members
to verify that the student has a disability and needs accommodations. Individuals requiring
special accommodation should contact the professor after class or during office hours.

Religious Holy Days:

The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other required activities for
the travel to and observance of a religious holy day for a religion whose places of worship are
exempt from property tax under Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated.
The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as possible
regarding the absence, preferably in advance of the assignment. The student, so excused, will be
allowed to take the exam or complete the assignment within a reasonable time after the absence:
a period equal to the length of the absence, up to a maximum of one week. A student who
notifies the instructor and completes any missed exam or assignment may not be penalized for
the absence. A student who fails to complete the exam or assignment within the prescribed
period may receive a failing grade for that exam or assignment.
If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for the purpose of
observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar disagreement about whether the student has
been given a reasonable time to complete any missed assignments or examinations, either the
student or the instructor may request a ruling from the chief executive officer of the institution,
or his or her designee. The chief executive officer or designee must take into account the
legislative intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student and instructor will abide by the decision of
the chief executive officer or designee.

** The professor reserves the right to amend this syllabus as needed throughout the
semester. Any changes made to this syllabus will be announced in class.**