Short, Andrew Kevin; (2022) ‘To Spread Abroad the Gospel’: The Home Missionary Enterprise in Gilded Age America, 1870-1902. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Between the Civil War and the end of the nineteenth century, the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions transformed from a modest denominational body to a continental missionary corporation whose influence extended from the mansions of millionaires in Manhattan to schoolhouses in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Sitka, Alaska. The Board, its home missionaries and supporters had raised millions of dollars for their cause and extended their institutional reach throughout the nation. “Our Land For Christ,” was their motto and their ambition was clear: to evangelise the United States of America. Utilising all the powers of the pulpit, the pen, persuasion and patronage, this home missionary society sought to make their Christian gospel the pervading influence in the life of the nation and in the hearts of its citizenry. My thesis asks three questions: how did the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions pursue their evangelical mission; in what ways did this missionary organisation fundraise and manage its own financial resources; and what kind of relationship did the Board and its missionaries have with the state? In answering these questions, I demonstrate the broad web of relationships and dependencies that were pivotal to the operations of home missionary societies, particularly their relationship with Federal government agencies and officials, and with elite supporters and Presbyterian congregations at ‘home’. By tugging at the threads of this connecting web, the history of one denominational home missionary society unfolds to reveal broader historical insights about the state, non-governmental and voluntary organisations, philanthropy and faith in late-nineteenth century America. Across six chapters I analyse these complex relationships, transformations and the persistent efforts of home missionaries to evangelise their nation. Yet in the end, the missionary goal of a ‘Christian America’ proved elusive. The home missionary enterprise had sought to transform America, but their greatest transformation was themselves.

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