tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post7389422765372321365..comments2024-03-26T11:33:59.219-06:00Comments on Religion in American History: "Benevolent." "Empire." Discuss.Paul Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881964303772343114noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-58415389787649297852015-09-03T14:17:51.338-06:002015-09-03T14:17:51.338-06:00Elesha,
Sorry for the delay. With the beginning of...Elesha,<br />Sorry for the delay. With the beginning of the semester, I'm behind on everything.<br /><br />First, I would observe that when these advocates are talking about benevolence, it should be seen through the theological lens, as love for God (in Edwards's formulation, benevolence to Being in General). Hence, they're not just thinking they are doing good but expressing love of God, primarily.<br /><br />Second, to follow Emily's self-promotion, I think Elias Boudinot is an important figure to work into the story, for understanding both goals and strategies. Not surprisingly, he has a significant chapter in _Patriotism and Piety: Federalist Politics and Religious Struggle in the New American Nation. Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14372548161435515544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-88819059389140650192015-08-19T15:25:31.716-06:002015-08-19T15:25:31.716-06:00Ditto what Emily said. I love Robert Abzug's C...Ditto what Emily said. I love Robert Abzug's Cosmos Crumbling about the dissolving of the worldview that held these institutions, and the churches they represented, together. Kyle Volk's Moral Minorities might also be helpful to see how different groups challenged this attempt at both benevolence and empire. I lean toward the complexity/failure approach!Carol Faulknerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00319958735077361375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-81290919229244697102015-08-19T11:28:59.912-06:002015-08-19T11:28:59.912-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05112083262988308131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-42646614389983490852015-08-19T10:11:36.699-06:002015-08-19T10:11:36.699-06:00Great questions (and I want to read what you come ...Great questions (and I want to read what you come up with!). I think the issues you raise about the terminology of "benevolence" is actually a really great opportunity. As you say, there needs to some clarity between using the term as a value judgment (if we call this reform work "benevolent" it was good, which opens you up to the problem of arguing about whether or not it was actually good work) and using it as a historical descriptive term (referring to a range of reforms that understood themselves to be doing good). This is fascinating and opens up the space for a real engagement with 19th century understandings of what "doing good" would look like--including what this meant for understandings of race, class, gender, and religious difference. That seems like essential work. I second the Ryan recommendation above, and Nancy Hewitt's classic Women's Activism and Social Change is also really great at figuring out how to talk about the differences between the benevolence folks and other reform groups (which gets at some of your questions about empire terminology and the false sense of cohesion that it suggests). And (please forgive the self-promotion) I've been working on some of these questions in relation to the ABCFM in my book Christian Imperialism: Converting the World in the Early American Republic, which is out next week and might be helpful on the use of "empire" here. Emily Conroy-Krutzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11059673296269730089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-4238419614901711642015-08-19T09:51:05.884-06:002015-08-19T09:51:05.884-06:00". . . except my library only has it in elect...". . . except my library only has it in electronic form. (I hate that.)"<br /><br />Word. <br /><br />Paul Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13881964303772343114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-90478718046415133672015-08-19T09:48:05.824-06:002015-08-19T09:48:05.824-06:00Susan Ryan's The Grammar of Good Intentions: R...Susan Ryan's The Grammar of Good Intentions: Race and the Antebellum Culture of Violence (2005) is an incredible bookJohn Modernhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02712270035410176395noreply@blogger.com