Keepers of the covenant frontier missions and the decline of Congregationalism, 1774-1818 - Rohrer, James R. 1960- (Oxford University Press, 1995)
Includes bibliographical references (pages 181-193) and index
1. Historians and Congregational Evangelism; 2. The Missionary Impulse; 3. The Committee on Missions, 1792-1797; 4. The Connecticut Missionary Society; 5. CMS Missionaries and Revivalism; 6. The CMS and the Republican Frontier; 7. The CMS and Republican Religion; 8. Congregational Declension Reconsidered; Notes; Bibliography; Index
The first book-length treatment of its topic, this study is aimed at abolishing the old cliche that Congregationalism failed to adapt to the democratizing culture of the westward migration. Drawing on hundreds of previously unused letters, journals, and sermons, the author argues that Congregational missionaries were aggressive evangelists who successfully adjusted to the egalitarian demands of the early republican frontier. Keepers of the Covenant critically examines the various explanations for the decline of Congregationalism after the American Revolution, and in the process, overturns gene