The Exodus Narrative in Antebellum America was repeatedly used in early American history. Both slaves and slaveowners used the traditional biblical story of the Exodus to not only form their respective identities but also to define their purpose in America.
The motif of the Exodus was first used in American history in 1630 by John Winthrop, aboard the Arabella in his famous sermon "A Modell for Christian Charity". In this sermon Winthrop introduced the idea that the Puritans, had inherited the divine covenant first given to the Hebrews, making them New Israel. In this conception, the crossing of the Atlantic was equated to the Exodus. From this moment on, early Americans would adopt this narrative as their founding myth.
During the 19th century, slaveowners also used this narrative to explain their situation and give them a purpose. The slaveowners set themselves up as New Israel, the "Redeemer Nation". [1] In this understanding, slaveowners were "to reach the pinnacle of perfection and to carry liberty and the gospel around the globe." [1]
As with slaveowners, slaves also used the Exodus narrative to frame their situation. Although in their version however, slaveowners were cast in the role of Pharaoh, instead of New Israel, and the slaves corresponded to the Israelites. [2] The Exodus narrative not only became an instrument of hope for the enslaved, but also allowed them to make sense of their situation and provided a blueprint for their deliverance. This can be most best seen in their spirituals, such as "Go Down Moses" and "Deep River". By appropriating the narrative of Exodus the slaves did more than simply try to understand their situation and their past; they created for themselves a national identity and, equally importantly, a mythic past. [3]
The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the late 18th to early 19th century in the United States. It spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching and sparked a number of reform movements. Revivals were a key part of the movement and attracted hundreds of converts to new Protestant denominations. The Methodist Church used circuit riders to reach people in frontier locations.
The historicity of the Bible is the question of the Bible's relationship to history—covering not just the Bible's acceptability as history but also the ability to understand the literary forms of biblical narrative. One can extend biblical historicity to the evaluation of whether or not the Christian New Testament is an accurate record of the historical Jesus and of the Apostolic Age. This tends to vary depending upon the opinion of the scholar.
A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. Elements of the sermon often include exposition, exhortation, and practical application. The act of delivering a sermon is called preaching. In secular usage, the word sermon may refer, often disparagingly, to a lecture on morals.
Christian views on slavery are varied regionally, historically and spiritually. Slavery in various forms has been a part of the social environment for much of Christianity's history, spanning well over eighteen centuries. Saint Augustine described slavery as being against God's intention and resulting from sin. In the eighteenth century the abolition movement took shape among Christians across the globe.
The Exodus is the founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four of the five books of the Pentateuch.
During antebellum America, a hush harbor was a place where enslaved African Americans would gather in secret to practice religious traditions.
Historically, slavery has been regulated, supported, or opposed on religious grounds.
First African Baptist Church, located in Savannah, Georgia, claims to be derived from the first black Baptist congregation in North America. While it was not officially organized until 1788, it grew from members who founded a congregation in 1773. Its claim of "first" is contested by the Silver Bluff Baptist Church, Aiken County, South Carolina (1773), and the First Baptist Church of Petersburg, Virginia, whose congregation officially organized in 1774.
Religion of Black Americans refers to the religious and spiritual practices of African Americans. Historians generally agree that the religious life of Black Americans "forms the foundation of their community life". Before 1775 there was scattered evidence of organized religion among Black people in the Thirteen Colonies. The Methodist and Baptist churches became much more active in the 1780s. Their growth was quite rapid for the next 150 years, until their membership included the majority of Black Americans.
Solomon Bayley was a formerly enslaved African American who is best known for his 1825 autobiography entitled A Narrative of Some Remarkable Incidents in the Life of Solomon Bayley, Formerly a Slave in the State of Delaware, North America. Published in London, it is among the early slave narratives written by enslaved people who gained freedom before the American Civil War and emancipation. Bayley was born into slavery in Delaware. After escaping and being recaptured, he bought his freedom, including his wife and children. He worked as a farmer and at a sawmill. In their later years, he and his wife emigrated in 1827 to the new colony of Liberia, where he worked as a missionary and farmer. His short book about the colony was published in Delaware in 1833.
Albert Jordy Raboteau II was an American scholar of African and African-American religions. Since 1982, he had been affiliated with Princeton University, where he was Henry W. Putnam Professor of Religion.
The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South is a book written by American historian John W. Blassingame. Published in 1972, it is one of the first historical studies of slavery in the United States to be presented from the perspective of the enslaved. The Slave Community contradicted those historians who had interpreted history to suggest that African-American slaves were docile and submissive "Sambos" who enjoyed the benefits of a paternalistic master–slave relationship on southern plantations. Using psychology, Blassingame analyzes fugitive slave narratives published in the 19th century to conclude that an independent culture developed among the enslaved and that there were a variety of personality types exhibited by slaves.
The Bible contains many references to slavery, which was a common practice in antiquity. Biblical texts outline sources and the legal status of slaves, economic roles of slavery, types of slavery, and debt slavery, which thoroughly explain the institution of slavery in Israel in antiquity. The Bible stipulates the treatment of slaves, especially in the Old Testament. There are also references to slavery in the New Testament.
First Baptist Church was the first Baptist church in Petersburg, Virginia; one of the first African-American Baptist congregations in the United States, and one of the oldest black churches in the nation. It established one of the first local schools for black children in the nation.
Gillfield Baptist Church is the second-oldest black Baptist congregation in Petersburg, Virginia and one of the oldest in the nation. It has the oldest handwritten record book of any black church. It was organized in 1797 as a separate, integrated congregation. In 1818 it built its first church at its current lot on Perry Street.
Invisible churches among enslaved African Americans in the United States were informal Christian groups where enslaved people listened to preachers that they chose without their slaveholder's knowledge. The Invisible churches taught a different message from white-controlled churches and did not emphasize obedience to slave masters. Some slaves could not contact invisible churches and others did not agree with an invisible church's message but many slaves were comforted by the invisible churches.
Walter Johnson is an American historian, and a professor of History and of African and African-American Studies at Harvard University, where he previously (2014-2020) directed the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History.
"A Model of Christian Charity" is a sermon of disputed authorship, historically attributed to Puritan leader John Winthrop and possibly written by John Wilson or George Phillips. It is also known as "City upon a Hill" and denotes the notion of American exceptionalism. The sermon was preserved by the New-York Historical Society, but it was not published until the 1830s.
Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States is a collection of histories by formerly enslaved people undertaken by the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration from 1936 to 1938. It was the simultaneous effort of state-level branches of FWP in seventeen states, working largely separately from each other. FWP administrators sought to develop a new appreciation for the elements of American life from different backgrounds, including that from the last generation of formerly enslaved individuals. The collections of life histories and materials on African American life that resulted gave impetus to the collection.
The Identity Question: Blacks and Jews in Europe and America, by Robert Philipson, is a diasporic study of Black and Jewish consciousness in Europe and America throughout history. The book is separated into three parts, exploring different historical and philosophical perspectives on race over time.