John Leland : a Jeffersonian Baptist in early America / Eric C. Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Eric C., 1977- author.

Contributor:

Edith E. Clark Endowment Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Leland, John, 1754-1841.

Leland, John.

Baptists--Clergy--Biography.

Baptists.

Baptists--Clergy.

Religion and state.

History.

Separate Baptists.

United States.

Separate Baptists--Biography.

Baptists--United States--History.

Second Great Awakening.

Church and state--United States--History.

Church and state.

Religion and state--United States--History.

United States--Religion--To 1800.

Religion.

United States--Religion--19th century.

Genre:

Biographies.

History.

Physical Description:

x, 268 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2022]

Summary:

"A tireless activist for the rights of conscience, Leland also waged a decades-long war for disestablishment, advocating for full religious freedom for all. He reportedly negotiated a deal with James Madison to include a Bill of Rights in the Constitution for Baptist voter support. Leland would become "mad for politics" in early America, delivering political orations, publishing tracts, and mobilizing New England's Baptists on behalf of the Jeffersonian Republicans. He crowned his political activity by famously delivering a 1,200-pound cheese to Thomas Jefferson's White House. Leland also stood among eighteenth-century Virginia's most powerful anti-slavery advocates, and convinced one wealthy planter to emancipate over 400 of his slaves. Though among the most popular Baptists in America, Leland's fierce individualism and personal eccentricity often placed him at odds with other Baptist leaders. He refused ordination, abstained from the Lord's Supper, and violently opposed the rise of Baptist denominationalism. Ultimatlely, he contributed to the radical individualization of the Baptist people in America. In the first-ever biography of Leland, Eric C. Smith recounts the story of this pivotal figure from American Religious History, whose long and eventful life provides a unique window into the remarkable transformations that swept American society from 1760 to 1840"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. "High-Flying, Separate New Light": The Forging of an Individualist

2. "Young and Roving": Itinerating in Virginia

3. "Religion Is a Matter between God and Individuals": The Rights of Conscience

4. "A Bow Too Great for My Stiff Neck": Resisting the Baptist Church

5. "I Dare Not Pull Up Stakes": The Persistence of Populist Calvinism

6. "A Very Prince among Democrats": Baptist Preacher, Party Whip

7. "Consistent with the Principles of Good Policy": A Long Journey with Slavery

8. "In the Tub of Diogenes": Evangelical Contrarian

9. "Awakened in a New World": Baptist Rip Van Winkle.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Edith E. Clark Endowment Fund.

Other Format:

Online version: Smith, Eric C., 1977- John Leland and the transformation of early America

ISBN:

9780197606674

0197606679

OCLC:

1268545369

Publisher Number:

99990178318