A measure of success : Protestants and public culture in antebellum Cleveland / Michael J. McTighe. [electronic resource]

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McTighe, Michael J., 1948-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christianity and culture--History--19th century.

Christianity and culture.

Protestant churches--Ohio--History--19th century.

Protestant churches.

Cleveland (Ohio)--Church history--19th century.

Cleveland (Ohio).

Ohio--Church history--19th century.

Ohio.

Christianity and culture--History--19th century--Ohio.

Protestant churches--History--19th century.

Genre:

Church history.

History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 283 p. ) ill. ;

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c1994.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book examines the role Protestants played in the formation of the public culture of antebellum Cleveland, a developing commercial city typical of many cities throughout the Midwest. The author analyzes the extent to which, and the way in which, Protestants were able to exercise power in the city, concluding that they achieved a measure of success during the years 1836 to 1860, after which their power began to erode.

As a framework for this analysis, he develops a methodology for measuring the success, or influence, of religion in a particular society.

By focusing on the public culture, this book encompasses both the formal and informal uses of power and the public, quasi-public, and private activities of Protestants.

This allows for a discussion of a broader spectrum of culture-shaping activity that is usually included in studies of religion and society, including an examination of contests within the Protestant community over identity and commitments and attitudes toward economic development, benevolent work, temperance agitation, antislavery campaigns, participation in civic rituals and the social bases of Protestant influence.

Contents:

pt. 1. Protestants and Public Culture. 1. Reverend Pickands, the Bridge War, and the Public Culture. 2. The Emerald City of the Lakes. 3. The Contests Within the Contest: Defining and Mobilizing the Protestant Community

pt. 2. Vying for Power. 4. Anointing the Commercial Economy. 5. Benevolence and the Establishment of an Ethos of Obligation. 6. Temperance: The Cold Water Army Tastes Defeat. 7. Cowardly Castles?: Protestant Involvement in Antislavery Debates. 8. Rituals of Community Life

pt. 3. A Measure of Success. 9. A Substantial but Eroding Presence.

Notes:

Revision of thesis (Ph. D.--University of Chicago, 1983) originally presented under title: Embattled establishment.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [233]-275) and index.

ISBN:

1-4384-1268-1

0-585-04444-9