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Publication Type honors thesis
School or College College of Humanities
Department History
Thesis Supervisor Paul E. Johnson
Honors Advisor/Mentor Ronald M. Smelser
Creator Machin, April Joy Anderson
Title Christian masters and christian slaves in the ante-bellum south
Date 1998-06
Year graduated 1998
Description The late eighteen century found the American South in the midst of a revolution as evangelical Christianity rewrote Southern morality. The religion grew from a populist, minority movement to become the foundation of Southern life. Converting rich and poor, black and white, it changed forever the peculiar social structure of the slave-holding South. Slavery and evangelical Christianity were transformed by their confrontation; each adapted to accommodate the other. Whites developed a theology which both Christianized and justified slavery, while blacks developed a faith that sanctified their suffering and predicted liberation from "Egyptian" bondage. These changes on both sides brought a new dimension to the relationship between masters and bondsmen. Religion had the power to make the relationship more benevolent or more cruel. It might be used to strengthen the masters' authority or to subvert it. It could allay slaves' worldly woes or unite them to stand up against oppression. Although Christianity was adopted from white culture, it became a clarion call for race unity and group identity among black slaves. Religion found its way into emotional life, politics, ideas of race, and into cultural and individual identities. Among both blacks and whites there existed a myriad of opinions about slave religion, but all were aware of its powerful influence on the master-slave relationship.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Slavery and the church -- Southern States -- History; Evangelicalism -- Southern States -- History
Language eng
Rights Management (c) April Joy Anderson Machin
Format Medium application/pdf
ARK ark:/87278/s6gf5024
Setname ir_htca
ID 1349024
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6gf5024

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Title Page 49
Setname ir_htca
ID 1349073
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6gf5024/1349073