CHAPTER 7

THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, 1790-1820

STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS

7.a.1

Effects of the American Revolution

7.f.3

Democratic Religions Religions

7.f.5

Joseph Smith

7.f.6

Book of Mormon

7.f.7

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)

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[a.1]

AFFECTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1776-1791

The Revolution triggered a variety of changes.

  1. 13 colonies become independent states.

  2. US receives vast title to lands out to the Mississippi River.

  3. Republican governments replace royal and proprietary rule.

  4. Gradually broader participation in government by all Americans.

  5. Confiscation of royal, loyalist, and proprietary land brought about a more equitable distribution of land.

  6. Quit rents abolished. No more feudal dues paid to landlords. Completed following the Anti-Rent War in New York, 1846. New state constitution banned lease-holds lasting more than 12 years

  7. Entail and primogeniture abolished, 1776-1791. This hurt father's ability to maintain "competence." [a.5]

  8. State Churches disestablished previously supported by taxes. [f.1]
    • Anglican disestablished 1776-1786.

    • The Puritan (Congregationalist Church) disestablished in Massachusettes in 1833.

  9. Slave trade prohibited or heavily taxed in 11 states, 1776-1786. Slavery abolished during the Revolution in:
    • Massachusetts, 1780
    • New Hampshire, 1784

      gradual emancipation adopted in:

    • Pennsylvania, 1780
    • Connecticut, 1784
    • Rhode Island, 1784

  10. Penal codes and prisons reformed.
    • Modern penitentiary system founded in New York in 1824.
    • Last debtor prison abolished in Alabama in 1847.

  11. Education secularizes and reaches more people.

[f.2]

CIRCUIT RIDERS

Generally, Circuit Riders were Methodists who served an area comprising of 20-40 "appointments." They typically rode horseback, which fit their austere lifestyle and need for mobility. They were usually lay ministers, which meant that they did not have formal degrees in theology. They preached forcefully and were effective in converting thousands during the Second Great Awakening.

[f.3]

THE DEMOCRATIC RELIGIONS

Religious fervor of the 2nd Great Awakening.

The period between 1816-1840 has been called the Second Great Awakening. Huge crowds attended the outdoor meetings to receive the new "Democratic Religions". Fiery preachers such as Charles Finney and Theodore Weld achieved particular success in a region in middle New York called the "Burned-Over District." The following list captures the essence of the 2d Great Awakening:

  1. Rejected Calvinist doctrine of predestination & the Deist belief that God does not reaveal his will to mankind.

  2. Salvation is open to all men and women, not just a select few as the old Calvinists believed.

  3. Work prevents sin (the "work ethic").

  4. All men are equal before God (Blacks and Indians?).

impact of the Democratic religions.

The notion that "heaven could be attained on earth" prepared the way for abolitionism, temperance societies, antidueling, educational reform, sabbatarianism, and utopian socialism of the 1830's up to the Civil War.

Restorationist Churches more radical.

Some religions sects did not follow the mainstream of the Second Great Awakening. Restorationists were one such schism. They were found among Baptists (A. Campbell), Presbyterians (Warren Stone), and the Methodists. Around 1830, many restorationist churches united, some calling themselves Disciples of Christ, and others the Church of Christ. Others included Shakers, Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and Mormons. Below were some commonly held restorationist beliefs:

  1. Competition between the "democratic sects" had fragmented Christianity.

  2. Restorationistst rejected creeds, believing the Bible to be the soul source of religious authority.

  3. Restorationists Churches, like the other democratic sects, challenged the elitism of the established Churches. In so doing they challenged old republican acceptance of social classes.

  4. Restorationists looked forward to the 2d coming of Christ and the 1000 years of peace that would follow.

  5. Most restorationsts believed in baptism by immersion.

Mormon Restorationists

Sydney Rigdon, a popular Disciple leader in Ohio, accepted the message of Mormon missionaries carrying the word of heavenly visititions to Joseph Smith in Palmyra, New York, and of the "Gold Bible" (Book of Mormon). To Rigdon and his congregation, the Mormon message was what they had been waiting for. Rigdon's entire congregation converted to Mormonism with him.

Disciples of Christ Restorationists

The Disciples of Christ were founded in Scotland by Thomas Campbell. In 1811, T. Campbell and his son, Alexander, organized their followers into a sect called the "reformers" in southwest PA. During the 1820's the group affiliated with the Baptists. The Reformer branch believed, however, in stricter doctrinal simplicity based on the Bible. By 1830 the Refomers had been driven out of Baptists churches. At this time similar restorationists sects organized themselves as Disciples of Christ. In 1906, a disagreement arose among the Disciples over the use of musical instruments. The progressives who allowed it retained the name Disciples; those who oppposed it broke away and called themselves Church of Christ. Today the Disciples (now known as "the Christian Churches") claim 1.1 million members.

SOURCES: Columbia Enclyclopedia (1993); Reader's Companion to American History; Encyclopedia of American Religious Experience, 845.

[f.5]

JOSPEH SMITH (1805-1844)

Founder of Mormon Church

Joseph Smith founded the Mormon Church in 1830. As a boy of 14 he claimed to have received a commandment from God and Jesus Christ not to join any of the established religions of the "Burned-Over District." Later, Smith claimed to have translated the Book of Mormon from golden plates. Joseph Smith was extremely charismatic.

Growing political power & death

By 1842, Smith's political power in Nauvoo, Illinois, the Mormon town on the upper Mississippi River, earned the hatred of those opposed to him and his strange religion. On 27 June 1844, a mob killed Smith and his brother while they were being held in jail on charges of violating the freedom of the press. Mormons revere Joseph Smith as a prophet whose stature is exceeded only by Moses.

[f.6]

BOOK OF MORMON (1830)

The Book of Mormon (1830) was published by J. Smith. He claimed to have translated it from gold plates inscribed by ancient prophets on the American continent. Basically, the book reads much the same as the Bible. The book's most dramatic episode is an account of Christ's visit to the America's after his resurrection in Jerusalem. Mormons accept the Book of Mormon as sacred scripture along with the Bible.

[f.7]

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS (MORMONS)

A global church

The nickname of a restoration church officially known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Mormon church is the only native born American religion of the Second Great Awakening to have gained global recognition. Below are some facts about Mormons:

  1. Founded: 1830, by Joseph Smith, Jr., at Fayette, NY

  2. Headquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah.

  3. Membership: 13 million world-wide.

  4. Are Mormons Christians? Mormons consider themselves Christians. The Mormon godhead consists of God himself, Jesus Christ, both of whom Mormons claim have bodies, and the Holy Ghost. Mormon are therefore polythesitic. Scholars such as Jan Shipps suggest that Mormonism represents a completely new religious tradition that is neither totally Judeo nor totally Christian.

  5. Do Mormons have any special rules? Yes, many, but the most well-known is Smith's 1833 injunction to refrain from alcohol, tobacco, coffee, and tea.

  6. What is a Mormon Temple? Mormon temples are different from their regular churches. There are about 70 temples world-wide. Two main ceremonies take place in Temples: eternal marriages ("sealings") and baptism for the dead by proxy.

  7. Do Mormon have more than one wife? Until 1890, many did, and many did after until the more definitive 1904 manifesto was issued. Estimates vary from 5-25%. Nowadays, the Church excommunicates anyone practicing plural marriage. Some split-off groups continue the practice in remote areas of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada.

  8. What do Mormons claim as their source of authority? Mormons believe God restored the primitive church through Joseph Smith, the Prophet. This restoration included the translation of the Book of Mormon and the visitation of heavenly messengers which included ancient apostles Peter, James, and John and John the Baptist. Today, a prophet/president presides over the Church assisted by 12 Apostles. His word is considered binding on the Church.

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