On Writing the History of the American Bible Society–Update #57

Brigham Young requested Bibles from the ABS

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I managed to squeeze in a three hour writing session this morning before heading off to Messiah College to hear our President’s annual “State of the College” address.  

I realized this morning that I have way to much material for Chapter Three.  It looks like I am going to need to split this chapter into two separate chapters.  The first chapter (which will be Chapter Three) will focus on the role of local and state Bible societies.  The second chapter (which will be Chapter Four) will focus on the so-called “General Supply.”  Here is my very rough outline for Chapter Three:

I.  Introduction

II.  The role of local and state Bible auxiliaries in constructing the American Bible Society’s vision of Christian nationalism

III.  The ABS use of print culture and stories to construct its vision of Christian nationalism

IV.  ABS distribution to native Americans, Blacks, mariners, boatmen, prisons, and the blind

V.  The contribution of women to the ABS vision of Christian nationalism

VI.  The ABS as part of the “Benevolent Empire” of the early 19th century and its intersection with the plan to “civilize” the west, the Sunday School movement, the Temperance Movement, and the Second Great Awakening.

Stay tuned.

RECOMMENDED READING

Bringing the Bible to the Jim Crow South LONG FORM: Frederick Douglass and the Challenge of Seeing Clearly FORUM: The New Shape of Christian Public Discourse John Erickson, champion of the Bible cause, 1933-2022