Subject Area

History, Humanities, Humanities, Religion

Abstract

The end of slavery in Texas and the South undercut more than just the economic, labor, and social foundations in Texas. It undercut doctrinal certainty for white Baptists and Methodists and called into question two of their most valued beliefs: the biblical legitimacy of slavery and the divine appointment of white (and male) supremacy. This thesis asks and attempts to answer the question of how white Baptists and Methodists reacted when they were no longer able to practice slavery as a legally sanctioned religiously underpinned institution. By examining denominational documents, church minute books, writings by influential Baptist and Methodist figures, and late Nineteenth Century social examinations of freedmen, this project concludes that white Baptists and Methodists readjusted their beliefs to preserve inequality while further separating black from white society which laid the religious, social, and psychological foundations among whites for the foundation and perpetration of Jim Crow.

Degree Date

Summer 8-2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Department

History

Advisor

Kate Carte

Second Advisor

Edward Countryman

Third Advisor

Ariel Ron

Notes

The end of slavery in Texas and the South undercut more than just the economic, labor, and social foundations in Texas. It undercut doctrinal certainty for white Baptists and Methodists and called into question two of their most valued beliefs: the biblical legitimacy of slavery and the divine appointment of white (and male) supremacy. This thesis asks and attempts to answer the question of how white Baptists and Methodists reacted when they were no longer able to practice slavery as a legally sanctioned religiously underpinned institution. By examining denominational documents, church minute books, writings by influential Baptist and Methodist figures, and late Nineteenth Century social examinations of freedmen, this project concludes that white Baptists and Methodists readjusted their beliefs to preserve inequality while further separating black from white society which laid the religious, social, and psychological foundations among whites for the foundation and perpetration of Jim Crow.

Number of Pages

96

Format

.pdf

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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