Strangers and Pilgrims : Female Preaching in America, 1740-1845

Margaret Meuse Clay, who barely escaped a public whipping in the 1760s for preaching without a license; "Old Elizabeth," an ex-slave who courageously traveled to the South to preach against slavery in the early nineteenth century; Harriet Livermore, who spoke in front of Congress four times between 1827 and 1844--these are just a few of the extraordinary women profiled in this, the first comprehensive history of female preaching in early America. Drawing on a wide range of sources, Catherine Brekus examines the lives of more than a hundred female preachers--both white and African American--who crisscrossed the country between 1740 and 1845. Outspoken, visionary, and sometimes contentious, these women stepped into the pulpit long before twentieth-century battles over female ordination began. They were charismatic, popular preachers, who spoke to hundreds and even thousands of people at camp and revival meetings, and yet with but a few notable exceptions--such as Sojourner Truth--these women have essentially vanished from our history. Recovering their stories, Brekus shows, forces us to rethink many of our common assumptions about eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American culture. Catherine Brekus Tells The Story Of Several Generations Of Women - Both White And African American - Who Struggled To Forge An Enduring Tradition Of Female Religious Leadership In Colonial And Antebellum America. Piecing Together Evidence From A Wide Range Of Sources, Including Religious Magazines And Newspapers, Clergymen's Autobiographies, Church Records, And Female Preachers' Own Memoirs And Letters, She Examines The Lives Of More Than A Hundred Female Preachers Who Crisscrossed The Country Between 1740 And 1845. Focusing On The Lives Of These Forgotten Women, Brekus Explores The Changing Meaning Of Femininity After The American Revolution, The Growth Of Religious Freedom, The Conservatism Of Evangelical Revivals, The Upheaval Wrought By The Market Revolution, The Popularity Of Apocalyptic Beliefs, And The Fragility Of Historical Memory.--book Jacket. Recovering The History Of Female Preaching In America -- There Is Neither Male Nor Female -- Caught Up In God: Female Evangelism In The Eighteenth-century Revivals -- Women In The Wilderness: Female Religious Leadership In The Age Of Revolution -- Sisters In Christ, Mothers In Israel -- Female Laborers In The Harvest: Female Preaching In The Early Nineteenth Century -- The Last Shall Be First: Conversion And The Call To Preach -- Lift Up Thy Voice Like A Trumpet: Evangelical Women In The Pulpit -- God And Mammon: Female Peddlers Of The Word -- Let Your Women Keep Silence -- Suffer Not A Woman To Teach: The Battle Over Female Preaching -- Your Sons And Daughters Shall Prohesy: Female Preaching In The Millerite Movement -- Write The Vision -- Female Preachers And Exhorters In America, 1740-1845. Catherine A. Brekus. Papers Presented At Several Seminars And Conferences. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [425]-452) And Index.