A Revolutionary Conscience

Theodore Parker and Antebellum America

Paul E. Teed

Theodore Parker was one of the most controversial theologians and social activists in pre-Civil War America. A vocal critic of traditional Christian thought and a militant opponent of American slavery, he led a huge congregation of religious dissenters in the very heart of Boston, Massachusetts, during the 1840s and 1850s. This book argues that Parker’s radical vision and contemporary appeal stemmed from his abiding faith in the human conscience and in the principles of the American revolutionary tradition. A leading figure in Boston’s resistance to the Fugitive Slave Law, Parker became a key supporter of John Brown’s dramatic but ill-fated raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859. Propelled by a revolutionary conscience, Theodore Parker stood out as one of the most fearless religious reformers and social activists of his generation.

University Press of America

Pages: 308 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7618-5963-5 • Paperback • August 2012 • $47.99 • (£37.00)

978-0-7618-5964-2 • eBook • August 2012 • $45.50 • (£35.00)

Subjects: Social Science / Sociology of Religion, History / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877), Religion / RELIGION / Politics & State, Social Science / Slavery

A Revolutionary Conscience

Theodore Parker and Antebellum America

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Theodore Parker was one of the most controversial theologians and social activists in pre-Civil War America. A vocal critic of traditional Christian thought and a militant opponent of American slavery, he led a huge congregation of religious dissenters in the very heart of Boston, Massachusetts, during the 1840s and 1850s. This book argues that Parker’s radical vision and contemporary appeal stemmed from his abiding faith in the human conscience and in the principles of the American revolutionary tradition. A leading figure in Boston’s resistance to the Fugitive Slave Law, Parker became a key supporter of John Brown’s dramatic but ill-fated raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859. Propelled by a revolutionary conscience, Theodore Parker stood out as one of the most fearless religious reformers and social activists of his generation.

Details

University Press of America

Pages: 308 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7618-5963-5 • Paperback • August 2012 • $47.99 • (£37.00)

978-0-7618-5964-2 • eBook • August 2012 • $45.50 • (£35.00)

Subjects: Social Science / Sociology of Religion, History / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877), Religion / RELIGION / Politics & State, Social Science / Slavery

Author

Paul E. Teed is professor of history at Saginaw Valley State University where he has taught since 1997. He is the author of John Quincy Adams: Yankee Nationalist. His articles have appeared in Civil War History, the Journal of the Early Republic, and American Studies. In 2012, he was chosen as Distinguished Professor of the Year by the Presidents Council of the State Universities of Michigan.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. “Bred Up Amid the Memories”
2. Divinity School and Beyond
3. Spiritual Indifference
4. The Transcendentalist Controversy
5. The Making of a Public Radical
6. A Reckoning with Ministers
7. Church and Society
8. Classes, Families and Reform
9. Slavery, Politics and the Revolution
10. Making Antislavery Culture
11. Conscience and the Fugitive Slave Act
12. Continual Alarms
13. Race, Politics and Antislavery Violence
14. Conscience, Politics and Religion
15. The Anthony Burns Crisis
16. The Politics of Confrontation
17. The Idea That Blood Must Flow
18. Principles, Parties and Partings
19. The Final Journey
20. Conclusion
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index

A Revolutionary Conscience

Theodore Parker and Antebellum America

Paul E. Teed

A Revolutionary Conscience

Theodore Parker and Antebellum America

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