Dr. John Ellis, assistant professor of history at Bemidji State University, explores the early history of the American Methodist movement and how its emphasis on youth helped it become the largest Christian body in America. Ellis is presenting his research as part of BSU's Honors Council Lecture Series.

1. “Great Men Are Not Always Wise
Neither Do the Aged Understand
Judgment”: Methodism and
Intergenerational Change in Post-
Revolutionary America
Presentation copyright, John Ellis, March 2014

2. Opening Vignette: ThomasOpening Vignette: Thomas
Hinde Meets His Match, circaHinde Meets His Match, circa
1790s1790s

3. Core Question:
Why did Methodism forge a movement of young
reformers, and in what ways did its converts both
reflect and accelerate the intergenerational changes
underway between the sect’s roots in the 1770s and
its growth into a mainstream religion by the 1820s?

4. A)A)The Methodists' Appeal: By the NumbersThe Methodists' Appeal: By the Numbers
1)1)Between 1780 and 1820, the Methodist Episcopal Church becameBetween 1780 and 1820, the Methodist Episcopal Church became
the largest Protestant body in America as it grew from a sect 8,300the largest Protestant body in America as it grew from a sect 8,300
members into a denomination of 250,000.members into a denomination of 250,000.
2)2)A conservative six-to-one ratio of adherents to members indicatesA conservative six-to-one ratio of adherents to members indicates
that about fifteen percent of all Americans became Methodistthat about fifteen percent of all Americans became Methodist
adherents between 1776 and 1810.adherents between 1776 and 1810.
3)3)Contemporary accounts stressed that teenagers and young adultsContemporary accounts stressed that teenagers and young adults
predominated the movement’s revivals, and church records indicatepredominated the movement’s revivals, and church records indicate
most of its itinerant clergy were unmarried young men.most of its itinerant clergy were unmarried young men.
Right = By 1810, 8% of Maryland's
population formally belonged to the ME
Church.

5. Faith Tradition Adherents in 1776 Adherents in 1850
Episcopalians 65940 273727
Congregationalists 85177 313252
Presbyterians 79360 905675
Catholics 7323 1088016
Baptists 70479 1602323
Methodists 10507 2679751

6. B)B)The Context of Methodist GrowthThe Context of Methodist Growth
1)1)Before the Revolution, the locally oriented colonies of the UpperBefore the Revolution, the locally oriented colonies of the Upper
South were characterized by communal and deferential values,South were characterized by communal and deferential values,
driven by face-to-face economics, and led by established gentry whodriven by face-to-face economics, and led by established gentry who
valued the stability of a comprehensive socio-political hierarchy.valued the stability of a comprehensive socio-political hierarchy.
a)a)Examples of Communalism: Huskings, Bees, Kin NetworksExamples of Communalism: Huskings, Bees, Kin Networks
b)b)Examples of Deference: Voting Day, Established ReligionExamples of Deference: Voting Day, Established Religion

7. B)B)The Context of Methodist GrowthThe Context of Methodist Growth
1)1)After 1776, ordinary people, who were inspired by principles ofAfter 1776, ordinary people, who were inspired by principles of
freedom and equality, embraced a worldview that valued individualfreedom and equality, embraced a worldview that valued individual
expression and self-empowerment over cultural cohesion.expression and self-empowerment over cultural cohesion.
a)a)First Example: Disestablishment of ReligionFirst Example: Disestablishment of Religion
b)b)Second Example: Democratization of PoliticsSecond Example: Democratization of Politics
c)c)Third Example: The Market RevolutionThird Example: The Market Revolution
d)d)Fourth Example: The FrontierFourth Example: The Frontier

8. C)C)Methodism and HierarchyMethodism and Hierarchy
1)1)Francis Asbury likened himself to Washington and pictured himselfFrancis Asbury likened himself to Washington and pictured himself
as a first character ensuring the harmony of an integrated whole, butas a first character ensuring the harmony of an integrated whole, but
he differed from the gentry by arguing that his national hierarchyhe differed from the gentry by arguing that his national hierarchy
could level social distinctions, if it created an egalitarian discipline.could level social distinctions, if it created an egalitarian discipline.
a)a)O'Kelly theorized that Asbury ordained circuit riding “novices” toO'Kelly theorized that Asbury ordained circuit riding “novices” to
gain their loyalty for his “tyrannical” scheme.gain their loyalty for his “tyrannical” scheme.
b)b)Members were tried for adultery, drunkenness, and wife beating.Members were tried for adultery, drunkenness, and wife beating.
Rigid imposition of Methodist rules
led the laity to object that twenty-
four-year-old John Early, was a
“hot-headed youth” after he “drubbed”
O’Kelly’s ideas in NC during 1810.

9. D)D)Methodism and the Marketplace of ReligionMethodism and the Marketplace of Religion
1)1)Methodists commodified religion. Traditionalists' indictments wereMethodists commodified religion. Traditionalists' indictments were
grounded on the conventional assumption that competition at thegrounded on the conventional assumption that competition at the
cost of communal unity and ordered hierarchy was greed’s product.cost of communal unity and ordered hierarchy was greed’s product.
a)a)Example: John Porter vs. Valentine CookeExample: John Porter vs. Valentine Cooke
Porter wrote in the Pittsburgh Press,
“Those creatures, who . . . menace their
innocent neighbors . . . [by daring] the
peaceable inhabitant to a religious boxing
match, in presence of the crowd, who are
to award the laurel to the conqueror . . .
ought all, without exception, to be deemed
animals, and treated such.” Porter then
compared the typical Methodist preacher
To a “robber” who threatened to “enter my
peaceable precincts . . . without obtaining
permission to make sport for the people.”

10. In 1802, one Episcopalian charged in a Maryland gazette that his town’s itinerant “made
converts to wear,” and Methodism was a ladder whereby young men “climb” to “power”
and produce “disorder.” The Methodists realized that only popularity averted religion’s
obsolescence in a democratic society. The Ohio Valley circuit rider, Henry Smith,
contended, “When but few people in a neighborhood leave their business . . . to come to
hear a sermon, it is cruel . . . to send them away with a little dry exhortation . . . Give
them a heart-warming sermon . . . and they will come again and bring others.”
In one instance, John Early offended a slave speculator’s wife by calling him “among the
blackest characters” during his sermon. When her angry husband later demanded that
he apologize, Early quipped, “I was sorry I had injured his wife and further (I was sorry)
she had a negro speculator for a husband.” In another instance, he berated a widow for
wearing her wedding ring to the service. When he asked her if she had converted, she
replied that she “had the gold,” to which he responded, “Sure enough . . . there it is [on
your finger].” His belligerent sarcasm led some listeners to conclude that he was
mentally disturbed, but this only drew crowds. He explained, “Curiosity led out some
people from a distance for it had been noised that I was distracted.” In a region where
cock fights, duels, and fisticuffs drew spectators, the preachers’ assaults convinced
listeners that abusive wordplay was an equally brutal sport and equally entertaining.

11. D)D)Methodism and the Marketplace of ReligionMethodism and the Marketplace of Religion
2)2)Traditionalists prioritized collectivity over individuality. They idealizedTraditionalists prioritized collectivity over individuality. They idealized
cohesive localities guarded by fatherly ministers and the gentry tocohesive localities guarded by fatherly ministers and the gentry to
protect neighborly consensus from alien incursion. The Methodistsprotect neighborly consensus from alien incursion. The Methodists
instead melted insularity by creating an associational community thatinstead melted insularity by creating an associational community that
linked distant converts through a national network of itinerants.linked distant converts through a national network of itinerants.
Devereux Jarratt summarized the Methodist
threat when he protested, “Peripatetic
pastors [itinerants] . . . [are] subversive of
the unity of the Christian church . . . How is
it possible for settled [i.e. localized] pastors
to maintain love, unity, harmony and peace
among their respective flocks, while . . .
peripatetics are continually intruding upon
their province, and seeking by all means to
draw away disciples after them?”

12. One vestryman hit the matter's heart when he wrote to William Colbert, “[I am a] devout
and respectable [member] of this parish [and therefore order you] to direct you doctrines
another way and not endeavor to confuse the weak minds of the weak of this Parish.”
A Presbyterian on one of Peter Cartwright’s Kentucky circuits repeatedly entered class
meetings. The matter came to a head when Cartwright asked the woman if she planned
to join the church. After she said, “No [because] I do not care a fig for your rules,” he
forcibly removed her as she screamed, “You can’t shut me out of heaven.”
A Baptist jabbed in the press, “It is to be lamented that some young preachers, for want
of other matter, spend too much of their time in the pulpit, in condemning other
denominations.” He then specified the Methodists by writing, “I think they would prosper
more if they were to desist shutting themselves up, excluding respectable people.”

13. D)D)Methodism and the Marketplace of ReligionMethodism and the Marketplace of Religion
3)3)Young men were not fully regarded as adults until they had marriedYoung men were not fully regarded as adults until they had married
and owned land. The young preachers defied these domains ofand owned land. The young preachers defied these domains of
authority for both ideological and pragmatic reasons.authority for both ideological and pragmatic reasons.
a)a)Ideology: Subjective Feeling over Patriarchal PowerIdeology: Subjective Feeling over Patriarchal Power
b)b)Pragmatism: Extensive Conversion over Intensive CatechizationPragmatism: Extensive Conversion over Intensive Catechization
i.i. Average Age Methodist Preacher Retired: 35Average Age Methodist Preacher Retired: 35
ii.ii.The Circuit Rider Attitude toward MarriageThe Circuit Rider Attitude toward Marriage
c)c)Case Studies: Brantley York, Jeremiah Minter, and James KeysCase Studies: Brantley York, Jeremiah Minter, and James Keys

14. James O'Kelly complained in the 1790s, “Boys with their Keys. These striplings rule
Methodism.” Another former Methodist agreed, “There is a species of pride peculiar to
[these itinerants] . . . Being young and ignorant, they realize their own importance.”
Instead, authority should remain with the “aged and wise” preachers.
The Virginian, Devereux Jarratt, complained in the 1780s that the Methodists’ “unqualified
young volunteers” who ruined “the peace of neighborhoods.” The typical circuit rider was
a “a young and bold adventurer” whose aspirations “blow him up like a bladder.
A Carolinian sighed, “[Methodists] take foolish inexperienced young men and place them
at the helm.” He labeled the local preacher an “ignorant green horn kind of a boy.”
Keys echoed that idealistic “young preachers,” rather than “sober” adults, led the church.

15. E)E)Methodism and ConscienceMethodism and Conscience
1)1)In contrast to the gentry’s patriarchalism and stress on local unity,In contrast to the gentry’s patriarchalism and stress on local unity,
Methodism was typified by the inclusiveness of cottage religion.Methodism was typified by the inclusiveness of cottage religion.
a)a)Examples of Cottage Religion: Mary Markland; Stith MeadExamples of Cottage Religion: Mary Markland; Stith Mead
2)2)Conscience vs. ShameConscience vs. Shame
a)a)Examples of Conscience: William Ormond; Freeborn GarrettsonExamples of Conscience: William Ormond; Freeborn Garrettson
After a service in which William
Colbert’s black listeners began
to “shout aloud, jump, and fall,”
a livid white woman told him that
she wished he would kill himself.
James Meacham was pleased
that after a mob of white men
beat the worshipping slaves at a
service with “sticks, clubs, and
canes,” because a bloodied slave
proclaimed, “This is what I got for
praising my dear Jesus.”

16. F)F)Methodism and SlaveryMethodism and Slavery
1)1)In the Revolution's wake, American politicians struck a balance byIn the Revolution's wake, American politicians struck a balance by
democratizing prospects for married white men, while guarding thedemocratizing prospects for married white men, while guarding the
gentry’s power. Methodist preachers reversed the balance andgentry’s power. Methodist preachers reversed the balance and
opened chances for religious leadership among women, blacks, andopened chances for religious leadership among women, blacks, and
young people at the cost of local prerogatives and manly freedoms.young people at the cost of local prerogatives and manly freedoms.
a)a)Example: 1787 Ban on Methodist SlaveholdersExample: 1787 Ban on Methodist Slaveholders
b)b)Example: 1800 General Conference Address on SlaveryExample: 1800 General Conference Address on Slavery
c)c)Example: Bennett Dowler makes national headlines, 1820Example: Bennett Dowler makes national headlines, 1820
By 1810, over one third of the
Methodists in three states
were blacks.

17. In a diary entry, William Colbert vented his frustrations with his congregants after whites
criticized him for calling the blacks at a service “brethren and sisters.” He perceptively
penned, “[The congregants] thought . . . that calling them Brother and Sister will make
them proud, [but] I fear their unwillingness to call them brother and sister springs from
pride.” From the older, hierarchical worldview, demands for racial equality were prideful,
but from Colbert’s alternative outlook, equality’s absence was vanity’s real product.
William Colbert exhibited the circuit riders’ typical bluntness during a chance encounter
with a slave trader. As the trader passed Colbert along a road, he asked him if he was
interested in purchasing his merchandise. Colbert quipped, “I was not a negro buyer,
but that I look’d upon them to be the grandest set of villains on this side of hell.”
The 1800 General Conference Address’s coincidence with Gabriel Prosser’s failed revolt
in 1800 confirmed the racist fear that open talk of emancipation fostered black brutality.
A critic in the press wrote, “[Liberty] has been . . . preached by the Methodists . . .
without any sort of reserve. What else then could we expect?”
Moments of racial transcendence were common enough during the Methodists’ revivals
that cultural traditionalists charged them with raising the specter of racial amalgamation.
In 1801, a Philadelphia critic lampooned the “all-moving spirit” at the integrated services,
writing that at them, “Religion, instead of cooling, grows hotter and hotter every night!”

18. G)G)Methodism and Romantic LoveMethodism and Romantic Love
1)1)In an emotionally charged sect in which most converts were youngIn an emotionally charged sect in which most converts were young
women and the majority of leaders were bachelors, the patriarchs’women and the majority of leaders were bachelors, the patriarchs’
greatest fear with their daughters’ conversions was the possibilitygreatest fear with their daughters’ conversions was the possibility
that they were sexually motivated. By the late 1700s, few marriagesthat they were sexually motivated. By the late 1700s, few marriages
were purely economic pairings, but patriarchs still expected theirwere purely economic pairings, but patriarchs still expected their
daughters’ suitors to fit the traditional mold of an honorable man.daughters’ suitors to fit the traditional mold of an honorable man.
a)a)Example: Susannah Brooks marries John JohnsonExample: Susannah Brooks marries John Johnson
Recalling the heated exchange in her
memoir, Brooks wrote that her parents
fumed, “You’re a stranger here; nobody
knows anything about you—where you
are from, or who you are.”

19. One newspaper article declared in 1792 that within Methodism, “very frequent, very
familiar, and often very private” intercourse between men and women often led the
converts to “slippery ground.” Articles alleging the preachers’ philandering conveyed
the charge. In 1802, one Maryland patriarch contended in the press that his wife spotted
a circuit rider in the bedroom of an unmarried local woman. When his wife entered, the
preacher took both women by the hands and impudently declared, “Farewell honies.”
A teenager coyly lamented to Jeremiah Norman, “It was mighty hard for a young woman
to have religion. How could they pray while the beautiful men were in their sight?”
After hearing Stith Mead preach, one young woman wrote with the same idolizing
obsession that teens would later direct toward pop stars. She asked Mead to continue
“in a single line till I shall be blessed with one more sight of your person . . . [so I may]
make bold to express my love to you.” Her religious feeling and sexual attraction
overlapped when in a second letter she asked Mead to “carry me in . . . prayer before
the Lord that my faith fail not,” but added, “[I am] your captive.”
Imagine the horror of teenage Jane Henderson’s parents, if they discovered that the
itinerant who they trusted to pray with their daughter privately in late night sessions in
their house later dreamed that he “had converse with her . . . [with her] above me.”
After Thomas Brooks refused John Johnson’s request to marry his daughter, Johnson
informed him that he would wed Susannah without his permission because, “We felt
assured that our . . . eternal interests were at stake.”

20. Between the 1770s and 1820s, the young Methodist
preachers forged a liminal movement that enveloped the
shifting American dualities of equality and hierarchy,
nationalism and localism, and rugged individualism and
tight community. Methodism therefore offered traction for
young Americans with one foot in older traditions as they
stepped into the precarious world of democratic choice.