| dc.description.abstract | This dissertation is a thematic exploration of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the early national period of American history. Between the years 1784 and 1835, the denomination achieved unprecedented numeric growth, autonomy from its English counterpart, established a distinct but complex form of church government, and transited from an apolitical, small, loosely confederated group of Societies to a fully functioning, mammoth religious organization that was involved in almost all parts of American society.
The thematic explorations present in this dissertation reveal a number of important elements related to the identity of early American Methodism. Among those critical attributes is that the early Methodists were, to some extent, the architects of their own story. The Methodist Episcopal Church, and Methodism broadly conceived, was not simply caught up in the unfolding tapestry of important trends in American history. They were not mere byproduct of the market, democratic fervor, revivalism, or political tensions that characterized the early American Republic. In fact, some of the transitions in early American Methodism, which might be conceived as corollaries to these events, were as much the product of personality conflicts, as anything. | |
