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The Rhetoric Of The Methodist Camp Meeting Movement: 1800-1850

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The Rhetoric Of The Methodist Camp Meeting Movement: 1800-1850

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Content 72-6110
SODERWALL, Lorin Harris,- 1929-
THE RHETORIC OF THE METHODIST CAMP MEETING
MOVEMENT: 1800-1850.
University of Southern California, Ph.D., 1971
Speech
i University Microfilms, A X E R O X Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan
C opyright © by
LORIN HARRIS SODERW ALL
1971
THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED
THE RHETORIC OF THE METHODIST CAMP MEETING
MOVEMENT: 1800-1850
by
Lorin Harris Soderwall
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(Speech Communication)
June 1971
UNIVERSITY O F SO UTH ER N CALIFORNIA
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY PARK
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 9 0 0 0 7
This dissertation, w ritten by
under the direction of his Dissertation C o m
mittee, and a pproved by all its members, has
been presented to and accepted by T he G radu
ate School, in partial fulfillm ent of require
ments of the degree of
iv.o.r.m.Haxxi^..S.o.der.wail.,
D O C T O R O F P H I L O S O P H Y
O
Dean
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
*
.....
^ / O Chairman Chairman
PLEASE NOTE:
Some Pages have indistinct
print. Filmed as received.
UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I. THE STUDY........................................ 1
Introduct ion
The Problem
Scope of the Study
Review of the Literature
Methodology and Sources
Plan of Reporting
II. HISTORY OF THE CAMP MEETING MOVEMENT............33
The Early Years: 1800-1805
The Middle Years: 1805-1840
Decline of the Camp Meeting Movement
Summary and Evaluation of the Camp Meeting
III. THE RHETORIC OF THE METHODIST CAMP MEETING
MOVEMENT: AN EVOLUTIONARY THEORY.............. 108
The Evolutionary Theory
The Period of Genesis
The Period of the "Generalized Other"
The Period of Demise
IV. CAMP MEETING APOLOGETICS: THE RHETORIC OF
CONSOLIDATION ................................... 183
History of Camp Meeting Apologetics
Apologetical Literature
General Arguments and Strategies
Camp Meeting Mythology
ii
Chapter
V. CAMP MEETING PREACHING AND HYMNOLOGY
Camp Meeting Preaching
Camp Meeting Hymnology
VI. CONCLUSION.......................
Summary of the Study
Conclusions of the Study
Implications of the Study
Areas for Future Investigation
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..............................
iii
CHAPTER I
THE STUDY
Introduction
An editorial published in the Methodist Review, Octo
ber, 1861, confronts Methodist constituency with the
thought-provoking question, "Is the Modern Camp Meeting a
Failure?" The subsequent detailed defense of Methodism's
most effective form of frontier evangelism, while more
sophisticated in its treatment, differs little in principle
from the earliest apologetic writings which accompanied the
camp meeting movement almost from its inception in the late
1790's. The numerous defenses of the Methodist camp meeting
which are found in the literature of the first half of the
nineteenth century indicate that American Protestantism in
general, and Methodism in particular, viewed frontier
revivalism and its accompanying phenomena with wonder— a
wonder that generated both extreme jubilation and sharp
criticism. The ardent defense of the camp meeting by its
1
2
Methodist adherents was in answer to the attacks which
precipitated a most interesting and lively controversy in
the history of religion in America. This study is directed
to the Methodist camp meeting movement as it existed between
1800 and 1850; its primary concern is the rhetorical factors
of the movement, which had its origin in what is commonly
called the "Second Great Awakening."
Defenders of the camp meeting maintained that it
served a function that no other evangelistic instrument of
the church could as effectively fulfill: it ministered to
the needs of the pioneer in the primitive circumstances of
the frontier; it was characterized by democratic principles;
it catered to the individualism of the pioneer; it provided
spiritual and social fulfillment for frontier people in a
way that no other institution could; and it was an instru
ment of refinement which ultimately contributed an element
of civilization to the raucous settlements of the American
West. Critics of the camp meeting decried the extreme
emotionalism which typified its worship, the intellectual
and theological ignorance of its spokesmen, the questionable
nature of some of its unscheduled and spontaneous activities,
and claimed that little good could come from such primitive
endeavors. Both sides overstated their respective cases.
3
But one fact concerning the camp meeting is certain: it
was one of the most important means used by the church to
bring religion to the American frontier.
The general significance of religion in the shaping
of western American culture is attested to by a number of
historians. Avery Craven maintains that "regardless of the
quality of those who preached, their churches formed the
center about which the social structure arose, the one place
of intellectual stimulation for adults, the one point of
emotional outlet."'*' Fredrick Jackson Turner wrote that
"the most effective efforts of the East to regulate the
frontier came through its educational and religious activ
ity, exerted by interstate migration and by organized
2
societies." He went on to point out that the religious
aspects of the American frontier provide an area of histori
cal study that needs further research (p. 226). Bernard A.
Weisberger asserts that rural and frontier America repre
sented the greatest part of the population until the
■'■"The Advance of Civilization into the Middle West in
the Period of Settlement," Sources of Culture in the Middle
West, ed. Dixon Ryan Fox (New York, 1964), p. 61.
2
The Significance of the Frontier in American History
(Ann Arbor, 1966), p. 225.
4
twentieth century and it was here that "native American
3
Protestantism (developed) its culture and values."
Nineteenth-century revivalism, according to Weisberger, was
a major influence in this development.
Proceeding on the assumption that religion and
revivalism were significant in the development of western
American culture, this writer contends that the camp meeting
movement, as an expression of religion that had its origin
on the frontier, was a vital factor which influenced
Protestantism in America and was instrumental in the
cultural development of the western frontier. The camp
meeting was a form of revivalism that lent itself easily to
the frontier way of life by providing an extended series
of open-air preaching services, held in areas central to a
given territory, to which pioneer families could travel by
foot, by horse, and by wagon, bringing with them equipment
and provisions sufficient for a number of days or even weeks
of outdoor camping. Charles A. Johnson, author of what is
probably the most comprehensive study of the subject, has
called the camp meeting movement "a natural product of the
frontier environment, and one of the most important social
3 ....
They Gathered at the River (Chicago, 1966), pp. 18-19.
institutions in the trans-Allegheny West in the first half
4
of the Nineteenth century." Elizabeth Nottingham, who
researched the early history of Methodism in Indiana, main
tains that the effects of the camp meeting movement left an
"imprint on the thought and practice of all early
5
nineteenth-century frontier sects." A study of camp meet
ing rhetoric that is sufficiently broad to encompass the
multifaceted expression of the movement should provide in
sight into the origin and development of this early Method
ist institution as well as social movements in general.
The Problem
Statement of the Problem
The purpose of this study was to analyze the rhetori
cal aspects of the camp meeting movement in the Methodist
Episcopal Church in America with respect to: (1) the
history of the camp meeting on the American frontier with
special emphasis upon Methodism's use of this particular
kind of evangelistic outreach; (2) a study of the rhetoric
4
The Frontier Camp Meeting: Religion's Harvest Time
(Dallas, 1955), p. 7.
5
Methodism and the Frontier (New York, 1966), p. 25.
6
of the Methodist camp meeting movement including preaching,
written discourse, and hymnology; (3) the formulation of
conclusions regarding the origin, development, and demise
of the Methodist camp meeting movement.
The study attempted to answer the question: in what
ways and to what extent did the rhetoric of the Methodist
camp meeting movement influence the religious and social
life of the American frontier? Proceeding on the premise
that the camp meeting was "one of the many techniques that
the church of John Wesley devised to keep in touch with a
g
people on the move," the study also sought to evaluate the
success of frontier camp meetings and to discover the
factors which contributed to that success. Finally, in
focusing upon the rhetorical aspects of the camp meeting
movement, the study was an attempt to trace the growth and
development of an important social and religious institution
by examining the rhetoric that surrounded it and which could
provide fresh insight into rhetorical theory.
Significance of the Problem
A rhetorical study of the camp meeting movement is in
g
Johnson, p. 5.
7
order for a number of reasons. First, very little research
has focused upon the rhetoric of camp meeting preaching, and
what attention has been given to the oratory of the camp
meeting has been mainly descriptive. Preaching was central
to the camp meeting in the same manner that it was central
to the Protestant Reformation. That is, as the pulpit was
an important factor to the Reformation in that it became
7
"one of the first signs" of the movement, so the camp
meeting, as a reformation of Christianity on the American
frontier, was marked by its special form of preaching.
Descriptions of the frontier camp meeting are not only
historically interesting, but they also reveal the rhetori
cal practices of circuit riders, lay preachers, and ex-
horters, as well as those of the ordained Methodist clergy
of eastern training whose attempts to adjust to the unre
fined tastes of the pioneer audiences often resulted in
humorous and frustrating experiences. Camp meeting preach
ing reflected the demands made upon frontier preachers by
their audiences, as well as the rhetorical strategies used
by the evangelists to move their congregations.
7
Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, 8
vols. (Grand Rapids, 1963), VI, 679.
8
Contemporary appraisals of early nineteenth-century
revivalism have tended either to overlook the importance of
camp meeting preaching or to stereotype frontier religious
rhetoric without actually providing sufficient data on which
to base such conclusions. Only incidental mention is made
of the camp meeting in DeWitte Holland's Preaching in
g
American History. Earnest G. Bormann examined the rhetor
ical theory of a Methodist evangelist who had served briefly
9
as a circuit rider. But Bormann offers very little insight
into or information about camp meeting preaching in general.
Other studies have been undertaken of individual orators
who might have been important to the camp meeting in the
Methodist Church. But these studies have been primarily
concerned with individual speakers and not with the camp
meeting movement. A possible reason for the scarcity of
research on camp meeting preaching is that samples of such
oratory are not plentiful, especially for the early years
of the movement. The fact that the camp meeting was never
acknowledged by Methodism as an official institution of the
^Nashville, 1969.
9
"The Rhetorical Theory of William Henry Milburn,"
Speech Monographs, XXXVI (March 1969), 28-37.
9
church, that early Methodists displayed a strong aversion
toward the written and prepared manuscript in preaching,
especially on the frontier, and that the camp meeting was
very spontaneous by nature, served to curtail the number
of sermons available for analysis by subsequent generations
of researchers.
Still, contemporary writers apparently feel little
trepidation in graphically describing camp meeting preach
ing, even though they offer little evidence to substantiate
what they portray, and it is generally left for the reader
to speculate where they gleaned their descriptions.
Certainly, much of what they write is reflected in the
historical materials that were examined by this writer. But
one might also suspect that some contemporary accounts of
camp meeting preaching are based more upon tradition than
accurate fact. For example, Alice Felt Tyler, in describing
the emotional excitement of camp meeting activity, sees a
direct relationship between religious hysteria on the fron
tier and the kind of preaching exhibited by the clergymen
of that day. She writes:
The attitude of the preachers usually determined
the quantity and the variety of the extravagances. The
better educated preachers, especially the Presbyterians,
opposed the most intense excitement. Where the preachers
10
themselves were calm and controlled there were few
excesses; a period of quiet prayer was a sure cure for
an epidemic of jerks. The Methodist and Baptist itin
erant preachers used physical exercises to procure
conversions. Hysterical preachers had a hypnotic ef
fect upon the people, and their ranting was often the
signal for mass hysteria.10
Nottingham maintains that the camp meeting era was a
period of intensive cultivation of oratorical power.
Some preachers deliberately set themselves by studied
peculiarities of voice and manner to stimulate the
reflex phenomena which they believed to be manifesta
tions of the power of grace— or, at any rate, gratify
ing witnesses to the power of their own preaching.
Weisberger states that the Methodist clergymen of this
period were adept at achieving a high level of emotional
content in their preaching, since many of them had entered
the Kingdom of Heaven through dramatic and intensely
12
phrenetic experiences. This writer has little information
that would contradict the preceding accounts but, at the
same time, has found that his research substantiates the
fact that such bizarre activity was more typical of camp
meeting preaching in its earliest phase and that such be
havior on the part of clergymen has a logical and rhetor
ically significant place in the emergence of the camp
“ ^Freedom's Ferment (New York, 1962), p. 39.
11 12
Nottingham, p. 187.____________Weisberger, p. 48.
11
meeting movement.
Critics who lived during the time of the camp meeting
movement selected out its worst aspects to justify their
complaints, and the preachers became major targets for their
attacks. Frances Trollop, Mark Twain, Johnson Hooper, and
other nineteenth-century humorists, caricature the frontier
preacher in the most entertaining and droll fashion. But
historians also have presented unbalanced pictures of the
camp meeting. Johnson complains that many scholars have
considered the camp meeting as "the sum total of Methodism
in the West," and that in so doing they have presented an
unfair account of Methodism and its ministers. He writes:
Patent distortions in nineteenth-century accounts are
repeated in many present-day studies of western soci
ety. Reputable historical scholars have been inclined
to overemphasize the spectacular and the unusual in
the backwoods revival. In magnifying the purely re
ligious, they have also largely ignored the social sig
nificance of the camp meeting. Many writers, themselves
products of an urban culture, are repelled by the turbu
lence of the revival and forget that this socioreligious
institution flourished on the American frontier side by
side with the militia muster, with the cabin raising and
the political barbecue. - * - 3
Therefore, a major concern of this study is to achieve
an accurate understanding of the oratory that was central to
Johnson, pp. 5-6.
12
the camp meeting movement, the changes which it underwent
as it developed over the years, and how the oratory con
tributed to the effectiveness of camp meeting evangelism.
In addition to the preaching, the rhetoric of the
Methodist camp meeting movement is also to be found in the
controversy which surrounded this frontier type of evange
lism, especially in the literature of its defense. Of major
interest in this second area of study is the manner in which
its defenders rallied to the support of the camp meeting.
All manner of writings, from editorials and articles found
in Methodist publications to formal treatises and collec
tions of testimonials, provide the researcher with fresh
insight into the nature of the camp meeting controversy
which continued throughout the first half of the nineteenth
century. Several such documents, not previously treated
by other authors, were discovered by this writer in the
archives of Methodist historical collections. A considera
tion of camp meeting apologetics is vital to any conclusion
concerning the effects of the camp meeting movement upon
religion in the western American culture.
Closely related to the apologetics of camp meeting
rhetoric is the subject of mythology as it pertains to the
phenomenal results purportedly achieved through the outdoor
13
revival services. Accounts of miraculous and wonderful
events, some of which defied logical explanation, spread
throughout the frontier and heralded the message that divine
unction rested upon the camp meeting movement. Many of
these stories found their way into the historical accounts
of Methodist revivalism and were conveyed as fact or offered
in substantiation of the argument that all Methodists should
totally support this unique mode of evangelism. A study of
camp meeting mythology is therefore included in this
investigation of camp meeting rhetoric.
Finally, the literature of the camp meeting movement
should include the songs and hymns which reflect an impor
tant aspect of the rhetoric of nineteenth-century frontier
Methodism. An editorial published in the Methodist Review
in 1859, treated the subject of "Early Camp Meeting Song
Writers," and the author maintained:
Singing, as a part of divine worship, is not to be
considered a device of man's invention, but a product
of the activities of his spiritual nature when it
desposes itself for worship. The hymns of the church
are not primarily designed to afford instruction in
doctrine, but to open a channel for the expression of
feeling.I4
14
B. St. James Fry, "The Early Camp Meeting Song
Writers," Methodist Review. XLV (1859), 401-413.
14
Proceeding on the broad definition of "rhetoric"
provided by Kenneth Burke, which is the use of language to
bring about persuasion or cooperation,^ camp meeting
hymnology has been examined in order to discover what
rhetorical elements might have been manifested in the songs
of Methodist revival. While "expression of feeling" is
understood to be an underlying element in poetic composition
and recitation, such expression often reflected doctrinal
and denominational bias, and camp meeting hymns were some
times used as vehicles for instruction and mass persuasion.
Closely related to camp meeting hymnology are the
samples of poetry composed for the purpose of persuading
readers either that the camp meeting was undesirable or, on
the other side, that it was the manifest blessing of God.
Many letters and treatises, written in defense of the camp
meeting, contain selections of poetry and portions of
Wesleyan hymns which were intended to enhance the point of
view held by Methodist apologists. Aside from the preach
ing, then, such ancillary forms of rhetoric as apologetic
writings, hymnology and poetics, and mythological materials
are included in this study of the camp meeting movement.
15
A Rhetoric of Motives (Berkeley, 1969), p. 43.
15
Scope of the Study
This study encompasses the camp meeting movement from
1800 to 1850. While camp meetings of sorts can be found in
historical records prior to the nineteenth century, and
while the term "camp meeting" is commonly used to designate
religious retreats and conferences even in the present day,
it is generally agreed that the Second Great Awakening
marked the beginning of the camp meeting movement in America
and that Methodist participation in the movement became most
16
significant after 1805. By 1840 the camp meeting was
beginning to fade as the frontier became more settled. Camp
meeting organizations continued to function but with a more
structured and refined approach which featured summer
religious encampments that eventually led to the type of
enterprise that is best known in the Chautauqua movement
(p. 253). Peter Mode, church historian and authority on
frontier religion in America, concluded that while the first
four decades of the nineteenth century, "was an era of
almost continual turmoil of local revivals, because it was
dominated by the institution of the camp meeting," the
middle of the 1850's brought about a change and revivals
Johnson, p. 6.
16
17
lost in popularity. He went on to state:
The Finney campaign stirred the larger centers, but
much more after the fashion of the colonial awakenings,
and the Moody campaign was largely confined to the
cities. It is true, of course, that since Moody's day
thousands of churches still persist in the seasonal
special efforts; nevertheless, the aggregate revivalistic
effort of the last fifty years does not begin to compare
proportionally with that of the earlier half of the
century. (p. 352)
The study focused only on Methodist participation in
the camp meeting movement. More than any other religious
denomination or sect, the Methodist Episcopal Church made
successful use of the camp meeting as a means of reaching
18
frontier America with the Christian Gospel. Also, it was
primarily the Methodists who defended this form of frontier
revivalism and attributed their denominational expansion in
the West to camp meeting revivalism. In 1851 Rev. James
Porter, Methodist clergyman and historian, recounted the
early history of camp meeting revivals in the following
manner:
This (the camp meeting) was something new, and
attracted great attention. . . . The different denom-
17
"Revivalism as a Phase of Frontier Life," Journal of
Religion. 1:4 (June 1921), 337-354.
18 .
Weisberger, p. 21.
17
inations, seeing that God was in the measure, gave it
their countenance; but one after another withdrew, un
til it was left almost exclusively to the Methodists.
Since that time, they have employed it to good purpose,
notwithstanding its old friends have said many hard
things against it. . . .In the course of the eight
years following their (the camp meetings) introduction,
the net increase of the church was eighty-two thousand
six hundred and sixty four members and a corresponding
increase of preachers.19
Johnson maintains that after 1805 the Methodists "were
almost the only denomination to utilize this evangelical
20
method." While the Baptists made some use of the camp
meeting, and certain segments of the Presbyterians also
found protracted outdoor encampments valuable in their work,
the Methodists most readily adapted their frontier efforts
to this kind of outreach, and for all practical purposes a
study of the camp meeting movement after 1805 is a study
21
of frontier Methodism.
Review of the Literature
Little research has been undertaken on the subject
of the camp meeting movement. The University Microfilm
19
A Compendium of Methodism (Boston, 1856), p. 147.
20Johnson, p. 4.
"Tfi lliam Warren Sweet, "Religion on the American Fron
tier; 1783-1840," 4 vols., The Methodists (Chicago, 1946),
IV, 68._________________________________________________________
18
Daitrix Service uncovered no studies relative to the sub
ject. No dissertations or theses concerning the rhetoric
Df the camp meeting were discovered by this writer. One
iissertation has been completed which deals with the rhetor
ical theory of Francis Asbury, who was probably the most
energetic proponent of camp meetings in the early phase of
the movement. Asbury was the second bishop of the Methodist
church in America, and, as such, he was to American Method
ism what John Wesley was to the Methodists of England. Mark
Brooks Lloyd, a faculty member at Asbury College in Ken
tucky, wrote a "Rhetorical Analysis of the Preaching of
22
Francis Asbury." While Lloyd's study represents an ex
haustive examination of Asbury's works, no sermon manu
scripts were ever left by Asbury, and much of Lloyd's in
quiry deals with conjecture and offers no insight into the
rhetoric of camp meetings in general. A Master's thesis on
the history of the camp meeting in Ohio was consulted, but
it was found to be mainly a collation of materials readily
available to this researcher and made no conclusions re-
23
jarding rhetorical analysis of the camp meeting movement.
22
Unpublished Ph.D dissertation, Michigan State Uni
versity, 1967.
23
_______Ernest Carter. "The Early Camp Meeting Movement in
19
A number of scholarly works were examined for back
ground material on subjects closely related to the rhetoric
of the Methodist camp meeting movement. Elmer G. Cutshall
presented a Ph.D dissertation on "The Doctrinal Training of
24
the Traveling Ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church,"
which provided insight and resource materials relative to
the educational preparation of circuit riders and camp
meeting evangelists. Closely related to the same subject,
Ivan Cushing Howard researched "Controversies in Methodism
25
over Methods of Education of Ministers up to 1856." Both
of these works were important in shedding light on the re
lationship of education to preaching, as well as showing the
effects of Methodist attitudes toward education upon the
rhetoric of the camp meeting movement. Edwin H. Enzor
studied "The Preaching of James McGready: Frontier Re-
26
vivalist," and his dissertation was consulted for general
the Ohio Valley," (Unpublished Master's thesis, Ohio Wes
leyan University, 1922).
24
Unpublished Ph.D dissertation, University of Chicago,
1922.
25
Unpublished Ph.D dissertation, University of Iowa,
1965.
26
Unpublished Ph.D dissertation, Louisiana State Uni
versity, 1964.
20
background on the early phase of the camp meeting with
special emphasis upon the oratory of this pioneer preacher.
McGready was a Presbyterian, and even though he is often
called "the father of the camp meeting," he was associated
with the movement for a limited time only. Enzor's study
was helpful in gaining a general background on the origin of
the camp meeting movement.
A recent study by Kenneth Wilkerson entitled "A
Framework for a Theory of Rhetoric Based on the Writings of
27
George Herbert Mead," was examined for information con
cerning the usefulness of Mead's formulation of social
psychology in application to a theory of rhetorical criti
cism for movement studies. However, Wilkerson's study was
found to be more pertinent to communication theory than
rhetorical criticism and proved to be of less help in ex
amining the camp meeting movement than this writer had an
ticipated. Wilkerson's research was helpful in providing
bibliographical materials and general orientation to
Mead's writings.
James Cecil Downey recently completed a Ph.D disser
tation on the subject, "The Music of American
27
L968 Unpublished Ph.D dissertation, University of Florida,
21
28
Revivalism." Downey's study is concerned with the later
eighteenth century, 1740 to 1800. His review of gospel
music prior to the Second Great Awakening is important for
understanding the tradition out of which much of the camp
meeting music emerged, but he does not treat revivalism in
the nineteenth century. However, Downey notes that an ex
amination of camp meeting hymnology is in order. It is not
the intention of this writer to provide a comprehensive
study of revival hymnology. Rather, a section on the rhet
oric of camp meeting song is included in this study, and
Downey's research is valuable in providing information con
cerning the rich heritage of American revival songs that
prepared the way for nineteenth-century frontier evangelism.
Several scholarly books on the subject of the camp
meeting are available and have served this study well.
Charles A. Johnson's The Frontier Camp Meeting; Religion's
Harvest Time, is the most important work on the movement.
Johnson's is mainly a descriptive tratment of the camp
meeting and provides a valuable bibliography as well as a
great deal of information concerning the general camp
28
Unpublished Ph.D dissertation, Tulane University,
1968.
22
meeting movement. Elizabeth Nottingham's Methodism on the
Frontier; Indiana Proving Ground treats frontier Methodism
not only in Indiana, but also examines revivalism on the
frontier in general and Methodist participation in revival
activities in detail. In addition to her treatment of the
early camp meeting period, Nottingham also provides a study
of Methodist evangelism in later years. Especially useful
is her final chapter on "The Revival Tradition in America."
No historical research on Methodism would be complete
without examining the works of William Warren Sweet, Ameri
can church historian and faculty member at the University
of Chicago and, later, at Southern Methodist University.
Two books by Sweet will be mentioned at this point.
29
Methodism in American History provides a general chrono
logical treatment of the growth of the Methodist Episcopal
Church from Revolutionary times and contains important
statistics and biographical sketches of Methodist leaders.
"Religion on the American Frontier: 1783-1840, " Volume IV,
The Methodists, is primarily a resource book which contains
reproductions of original documents significant to Methodism
in America, including journals of early circuit riders,
29New York, 1954.
23
official reports of Methodist conferences, letters by early
Methodist leaders, and several camp meeting sermons and
manuals. The latter work was especially helpful to this
study since it contains a complete bibliography and guide
to Methodist historical collections in the United States.
Methodology and Sources
The study of the Methodist camp meeting movement is
clearly historical in nature. Movement studies in the field
of rhetorical criticism have provided scholars with a
valuable dimension in research, and it is just such an
emphasis that characterizes this study of the Methodist
camp meeting. Most prominent in the field of movement
studies would be Leland Griffin whose examination of the
30
antimasonic movement, published in 1966, and more recent
work on movement studies in relation to the rhetorical
31
theory of Kenneth Burke, have caused his name to become
most frequently associated with this kind of research.
Griffin's latest work frees his earlier approach to movement
30
"The Rhetorical Structure of the Antimasonic Move
ment, " The Rhetorical Idiom, ed. Donald C. Bryant (New York,
1966), pp. 145-159.
31
"A Dramatistic Theory of the Rhetorxc of Movements,"
Critical Responses to Kenneth Burke, ed. W. H. Rueckert
(Mineapolis, 1969), pp. 456-478.______________________________
24
studies from the sort of weakness that Edwin Black criti
cized when he contended that "if one appraises a historical
movement in terms 'indigenous to the times,1 one would be
voluntarily sacrificing one of the distinct advantages of
32
historical perspective, and without compensatory gain."
Griffin's latest contribution to movement studies evidences
sufficient flexibility to encompass a high degree of
improvisation, and this study on the Methodist camp meeting
movement approaches the subject from a direction far dif
ferent from that of Griffin.
Using the collected writings of social-psychologist
and philosopher George Herbert Mead, a rhetorical theory
analogous to the evolutionary process of personality devel
opment has been formulated from an examination of the
Methodist camp meeting movement. Mead envisioned person
ality development, as well as that of social institutions,
as progressing by means of a role-playing process in which
an objective self, or a self outside the self, serves as an
agent which enables the individual to see and address him
self as he perceives others see and address him. Thus,
32
Edwin Black, Rhetorical Criticism (New York, 1965),
p. 21.
25
through the means of internal communication, or thought, the
personality emerges as a composite of images and impressions
perceived by the individual through dialogue with society.
Dividing the movement into three distinct phases which
correspond generally to the pattern set forth by Charles
Johnson in his study of the camp meeting, each period has
been analyzed with the intention of illustrating how his
torical movements naturally evolve through a process of
communication and dialogue both within the movement itself
as well as between adherents of the movement and the society
in which they exist. The term "evolutionary rhetoric" is
used by this writer to convey the idea that historical
movements arise naturally in response to their social en
vironment, do not lend themselves easily to predictable
patterns of rhetorical activity, and are characterized by
an intrinsic struggle for maturity which is manifested in
the ability of the evolving institution to accurately per
ceive and respond to stimuli from its society.
Three major Methodist historical repositories were
visited by this writer who traveled over six thousand miles
by automobile to accomplish his research. The Methodist
historical collection housed in Beeghly Library, on the
campus of Ohio Wesleyan University, contains the complete
26
collection of the Western Christian Advocate, a weekly
Methodist publication which began in 1834. Pour articles
pertinent to the camp meeting were found in this Methodist
paper. The James B. Finley Papers were also examined at
Ohio Wesleyan University. Finley was an outstanding
Methodist leader and camp meeting preacher. From 26 sermon
manuscripts addressed to the subjects of slavery, temper
ance, and religion included in the Finley collection, one
sermon was selected for this study as representative of the
kind of preaching that characterized circuit riders and
camp meeting preachers. The subject of the sermon is church
government and reflects the sort of contention that sprang
up within the frontier Methodist church in the 1820's.
Finley's addresses have not yet been catalogued or tran
scribed from their original handwritten form, and they are
extremely difficult to read. In addition to Finley's
papers, a rare copy of a camp meeting sermon preached by
the Rev. Jesse T. Peck in 1836 was obtained from the Ohio
Wesleyan archives. An explanation attached to the document
explains that the sermon was published by request of the
preacher and congregation in attendance at the meeting. The
sermon is an example of doctrinal preaching which was
characteristic of camp meeting rhetoric. Seven copies of
27
rare books, mainly biographical in nature, were also ex
amined and used in this study. Such works as Thomas
33
Hudson's autobiography, which contained eyewitness
descriptions of camp meetings and a collection of his ser-
34
mons, and that of John B. Hudson, a local elder of the
Methodist church in New York who described the first camp
meeting ever held in the Genesee District in 1805, were of
significance to the study. Finally, James Porter's An
35
Essay on Camp Meetings was examined. Porter's work is
probably the most complete defense of the camp meeting and,
prior to this study, had remained as an anonymous work,
since Porter had not affixed his name to the publication.
His treatise provides important insight into camp meeting
apologetics.
The largest collection of unpublished manuscripts was
found at the William R. Perkins Library at Duke University.
There, in the well-organized manuscript department, this
33
Life and Times of Rev. Thomas M. Hudson (Cincinnati,
1871) .
34
Narrative of the Christian Experience. Travels and
Labors of John B. Hudson (Rochester, 1838).
35
An Essay on Camp Meetings by the Author of "The True
Evangelist" (New York, 1849).
28
1
i
writer sifted through thousands of personal items found in
such collections as the W. C. Doub Papers, the Jarrath-
Puryear collection, the James Iredell letters and manu
scripts, the Eugene R. Hendrix papers, the Lyndon Swain
collection, and other items of pertinence to this study.
Here the writer found original materials which, to his
knowledge, had not been used in previous studies on the camp
meeting. Letters, journals, and documents describing camp
meeting preaching and activities were extremely valuable to
this study.
The Methodist historical collection at Perkins School
of Theology, Southern Methodist University, contains a fine
collection of rare publications and some primary sources
relative to the camp meeting movement. A fairly complete
collection of the Methodist Magazine, dating from 1818, is
housed in this collection. A lengthy series of articles
concerned with western revivalism and the Methodist camp
meeting was found in this publication. In addition, four
other articles dealing with the Methodist camp meeting and
Methodist preaching were located in issues dating between
1825 and 1861 and proved to be helpful to this writer. Rare
manuscripts included a poem in criticism of the Methodist
camp meetings published in
29
3 6
1807, two manuals written in defense of the camp meeting
3 V 38
published in 1806 and 1810, and two copies of collected
testimonials by ministers and laymen concerning the effec-
39
tiveness of camp meetings. Several biographical and
historical books of fairly rare quality were examined in
this collection including one autobiography which provided
useful information concerning camp meetings held in New
40
England. Roche's biographical study of John Price Durbin,
early Methodist preacher in the Ohio Valley, and two volumes
of McFerrin's history of Methodism in Tennessee were pro
vided for this writer on an extended library loan and con
tained historical materials and information of an extensive
nature concerning the preaching of Durbin.
36
A Poem on a Methodist Camp Meeting (New York, 1807).
37
S. K. Jennings, A Defence of the Camp Meetings (North
America) in Six Objections Stated and Answered (Liverpool,
1806) .
3 8
A. J., An Apology for Camp-Meetings, Illustrative of
Their Good Effects, and Answering the Principal Objections
Urged Against Them (New York, 1810).
39
Lorenzo Dow, Extracts from Original Letters to the
Methodist Bishops. Mostly from their Preachers and Members
in North America (London, 1806); Ezekiel Cooper and John
Wilson, Extracts of Letters Containing Some Account of the
Work of God Since the Year 1800 (no city, 1805).
40
_______ Narrative of William Swayze, Minister of the_________
30
In addition to the above mentioned historical collec
tions, a visit was made to the library at Asbury Theological
Seminary in Kentucky where this writer was able to borrow,
on an extended library loan, two volumes of sermons by the
Rev. Leonides Hamline, circuit rider and later bishop in
the Methodist church. A newly-acquired historical collec
tion at the Southern California School of Theology in
Claremont, California, was found to be very useful for
acquiring standard, but generally scarce, historical and
biographical volumes. The Huntington Library in San Marino,
the University of Southern California Library, and a small
historical collection at Azusa Pacific College were also
consulted and provided information of a general background
nature for the study.
Religious and historical periodicals as well as
histories of the period under examination were used for
purposes of orientation. Timothy Smith's Revivalism and
41 42
Social Reform, Winthrop S. Hudson1s Religion in America,
43
Stow Persons' American Minds, and Merle Curti1s Growth
Gospel, Written by Himself. 2 vols. (Cincinnati, 1839).
41 42
New York, 1957. New York, 1965.
43
New York, 1958.
31
44
of American Thought. were among many works that provided
information that was helpful in understanding the camp
meeting movement as a part of the social and intellectual
development of America in the nineteenth century.
Plan of Reporting
The study has been organized into a pattern which this
writer feels most clearly provides readers with accurate
insight into the rhetoric of the camp meeting movement.
Chapter I presents a rationale for the study. Chapter II
considers the history of the camp meeting movement in
America. Chapter III, entitled "The Rhetoric of the
Methodist Camp Meeting Movement: An Evolutionary Theory,"
examines the writings of George Herbert Mead and treats the
implications of his philosophy for a rhetorical study of
the camp meeting. Camp meeting preaching and its signifi
cance in the movement is the major consideration of this
chapter. In Chapter IV, "Camp Meeting Apologetics: The
Rhetoric of Consolidation," published criticisms of the
camp meeting, formal defenses of camp meetings, camp meeting
mythology and miscellaneous appeals for support of camp
44
New York, 1943.
meetings are examined to show how these various modes of
rhetoric were used to establish credibility for camp meet
ings among American Methodists. Chapter V, entitled "Camp
Meeting Preaching and Hymnology," provides a descriptive
study of the rhetoric that was intrinsic to the movement
and which served to establish a sense of community among
frontier Methodists. Finally, Chapter VI treats the con
clusions and implications of the study.
CHAPTER II
HISTORY OP THE CAMP MEETING MOVEMENT
Behind institutions, behind constitutional forms
and modifications, lie the vital forces that call these
organs into life and shape them to meet the changing
conditions. The peculiarity of American institutions
is, the fact that they have been compelled to adapt
themselves to the changes of an expanding people— to
the changes involved in crossing a continent, in win
ning a wilderness, and in developing at each area of
this progress out of the primitive economic and polit
ical conditions of the frontier into a complexity of
city life. Said Calhoun in 1817, "We are great, and
rapidly— I was about to fay fearfully— growing."
— Fredrick Jackson Turnery-
One of the conditions of the Treaty of Peace signed
with Great Britain in 1783 was the extension of America's
territorial holdings westward to the Mississippi River. To
the burgeoning population of the seaboard communities, the
new frontier must have seemed a natural avenue to greater
economic opportunity as well as a means of relieving
"The Significance of the Frontier in American History"
Frontier and Section: Selected Essays of Fredrick Jackson
Turner, ed. Ray Billington (Englewood Cliffs, 1961), p. 37.
33
34
pressures in population centers and satiating pioneer in
stincts. Only a few primitive settlements existed in the
Ohio Valley in 1783, but in the years immediately following
the Revolutionary War, the westward migration poured out of
the East and established new colonies of frontiersmen. By
1790 Kentucky settlements boasted a population of approx
imately 50,000, and it has been estimated that almost
2
120,000 were living west of the Appalachians. By 1796
both Kentucky and Tennessee had been admitted to the Union,
and in only a few short years Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana,
Alabama, Illinois, Mississippi, and Missouri would take
their places as full-fledged states. Out of eleven new
states admitted to the Union by 1829, nine were west of the
Alleghenies and represented at least one third of the
nation's total population (p. 239).
Aside from the soaring population, augmented by great
numbers of immigrants from Europe and the improved means of
bransportation westward by river and road, the chief appeal
for the mass movement seems to have been land. From 1800
bo 1820 Congress, in three separate acts, reduced the price
2
Clifton E. Olmstead, History of Religion in the
Jnited States (Englewood Cliffs, 1960), p. 239.
35
of land from one-half section at two dollars an acre to
80 acres at one dollar and twenty cents an acre, thus en-
3
couraging a rapid movement toward the new territories.
While some historians question the role that cheap land
4
played in the westward migration, the fact remains that
land in the West was still cheaper than that in Europe or
the eastern United States. Billington contends that "this
differential can never be ignored in explaining the migra-
5 . .
tion process." The desire for cheap land was significant
not only in perpetrating the movement west, but also serves
to explain the kind of people who were attracted to the
frontier and the resulting social and political system which
sprang from frontier life. Many of those who moved west
were impoverished people looking for security and prosper
ity, or were gripped by the desire for adventure and ex
citement which could come from settling new territories.
3
Russel B. Nye, "The Young Republic: The Jeffersonian
Era, 1800-1824," The Democratic Experience (Glenview, 1968) ,
pp. 100-101.
4
See Murray Kane, "Some Considerations on the Frontier
Concept of Fredrick Jackson Turner," Mississippi Valley
Historical Review, XXVIII (December 1940), 379-400.
5
Billington, p. 14.
36
Land was a highly sought after commodity.
The concern for new land created a situation on the
frontier which was characterized by a number of important
traits. First, a greater distribution of property brought
about a demand for political participation by many people
who had never before experienced the privilege of land
ownership. Settlers had a personal interest in the struc
ture of their local governments because they had an invest
ment to protect. Isolated from the eastern population, it
was imperative that some sort of political framework be
provided to establish local agencies for law and order in
the new territories. Therefore, the need for democratic
political and social institutions, tailored to fit the var
ious localities began to form, and a growing middle class
population, which shared a common economic and social
status, became the basis upon which these institutions were
grounded.
A second important trait of the frontier was the
personal independance of the pioneer which was a natural
product of the isolation endured by those who first settled
the new country. Before communities began to form, the
earliest pioneers reached the frontier and began to develop
land wherever it was available to them. In the inhospitable
37
wilderness most of the cultural and religious refinements,
marks of a former social environment, rapidly faded and were
gradually replaced by a sharp emphasis upon individualism
that often defied past traditions. As William Warren
Sweet noted:
The disasterous effects of migration upon civilization
and culture in general and upon religion, the matrix
of culture in particular, may be readily ascertained
by an appeal to the history of migrating peoples. It
is difficult for a people in motion to carry their
cultural roots with them. . . . The vast labor and the
rough, uncouth hardships which of necessity accompany
pioneering in any new land, react upon the people
themselves and the result is an uncouth and partially
wild society.6
Accordingly, as a society disintegrates so do the
institutions of that society. Sweet continued: "A frontier
society is strongly individualistic and, pretty generally,
institutions, whether civil or religious, were left behind"
(pp. 134-135). To the pioneer on the American frontier,
cut off from the civilization of the East, often lacking in
education and unable to provide even the most rudimentary
training for his children, plagued by both sickness and
savage, alone in his isolation and lacking even the simplest
Religion in the Development of American Culture (New
York, 1952), pp. 134-135.
38
luxuries, life was hard and his pleasures were meager.
Frontier life became characterized by lawlessness, violence,
loose morals, illiteracy, and superstition. The shock of
the frontier wildness often led visitors to recoil with
disgust and provoked religious spokesmen into condemning
roundly the primitive behavior of the pioneer barbarians.
Horace Bushnell, preaching in 1847, claimed that as the
tastes of the pioneer grew
wild, their resentments will grow violent and their
enjoyments coarse. The salutary restraints of society
being, to a great extent, removed, they will think it
no degradation to do before the woods and wild animals,
what, in the presence of a cultivated social state,
they would blush to perpetuate. They are likely even
to look upon the indulgence of low vices and brutal
pleasures, as the necessary garnish of their life of
adventure.7
While Bushnell's description of pioneer life was
probably exaggerated, the typical frontiersman nonetheless
fell considerably short of the dignity and general social
stature of the eastern citizen. In a journal of his
travels, the following entry was made in September of 1796
by Andrew Ellicott describing his impression of the general
conditions of Ohio settlements:
7 .
Cited in William Warren Sweet, Revivalism in America
(New York, 1944), p. 3.
39
The buildings on the river banks except in the
towns are generally of the poorest kind, and the in
habitants, who are commonly sellers of liquor, as
dirty as their cabins, which are equally open to their
children, poultry, and pigs. This is generally the
case in new settlements, the land being fresh produces
with little labour the immediate necessities of life;
from this circumstance the habit of industry is dimin
ished and with it the habit of c l e a n l i n e s s . ^
The quality of the general western population was
described by Timothy Dwight, president of Yale University,
in the most unsavory terms. He considered the western
pioneers to be irresponsible, vain, foolish, poor, power-
9
hungry, and unruly. A sample of the tumultuous conditions
of the frontier is provided in the autobiography of Peter
Cartwright, early Methodist circuit rider and one of the
most active participants in the camp meeting movement. He
recorded in graphic detail many an'attack upon his camp
meetings. One attack in particular involved a drunken
crowd of fun-loving unbelievers who were turned back from
their charge only after the rugged preacher smashed the
leader of the group from his horse with a mighty swing of a
g
Cited in Cathrine C. Cleveland, The Great Revival in
the West: 1797-1805 (Chicago, 1916), p. 7.
9
Travels in New England and New York (New Haven, 1821),
II, 461.
40
10
club, and then returned to his preaching service.
In the early stages, population on the frontier was
sparce, and settlers lived their dreary lives in isolation
and labored with little recreation. When religious re
vivals in the form of camp meetings began to appear on the
frontier, they were received by the inhabitants as a natural
opportunity for social diversion. Frances M. Trollope, an
Englishwoman who lived in the frontier town of Cincinnati
between 1827 and 1831, later wrote of her impressions of
America and included in her writings a chapter describing
frontier revivalism as the most common means of amusement.
Clement Eaton, distinguished scholar of the ante-bellum
South and the Civil War Confederacy, speaks of the frontier
camp meeting as having "constituted the great American
12
entertainment." Eaton basis his evaluation of frontier
religion on collected writings of the 1830's and 1840's,
and he states further:
~^The Autobiography of Peter Cartwright, ed. Charles L.
Wallis (New York, 1956), pp. 160-161.
“ ^Domestic Manners of the Americans, ed. Donald Smalley
(New York, 1949), pp. 74-81.
12
The Leaven of Democracy, ed. Clement Eaton (New York,
1963), p. 351.
41
The American people of this era wanted an emotional
religion that centered on immortality and escape from
the supposed torments of hell. The camp meetings were
dominated by this thought, and the preachers of these
religious meetings in the woods exhorted their simple
audiences against "sin" and sought to "save souls."
Many people in the South as well as in the North con
demned the excesses, the emotional orgies of the camp
meetings, but nevertheless they continued to have a
powerful attraction, for they represented much more
than a religious service; they provided an emotional
outlet for thousands of rural people who lived drab,
lonely lives. (p. 351)
The isolated conditions of the frontier, then, produced
not only an independent spirit among the pioneers, but
caused religion to become as important a vehicle for social
activity as for spiritual stimulation. Thus, a third
important trait of the frontier was the peculiar brand of
religious excitement which sprang up at the end of the
eighteenth century and generally characterized rural Prot
estantism for the first four decades of the 1900's. The
social aspects of the camp meeting point up the significance
of this unique revivalism in the development of the West
and of the religious institutions that were fostered by
frontier America.
In light of the prodigious growth of American Method
ism during the first half of the nineteenth century, from a
membership of 14,988 in 1785 to 825,908 in 1840, and in
view of the fact that this increase was most pronounced in
42
the frontier areas of the West, it may be concluded that
the camp meeting, which was a major means of implementing
Methodism, had an immense and lasting effect upon American
Protestantism as well as upon the society in which it
13
ministered. One writer has observed that the camp meet
ing, as an unusual aspect of frontier life,
reveals frontier ideas, customs and character in a
vivid manner; and since the frontier has played so
large a part in shaping American institutions and
temperment, we cannot ignore that phase of it re
vealed by the literature dealing with the camp
meetings.14
The Early Years; 1800-1805
Just where and at what exact time the camp meeting
originated in America is a subject of disagreement among
historians. Outdoor evangelism was a part of Methodism froir
the day John Wesley first began his ministry in England.
As in England, so in America when there was no building
sufficiently large to hold the audience, religious meetings
13
Sweet, Religion on the American Frontier. IV, 51, 64.
Statistics are taken from the annual conferences of the
Methodist Episcopal Church for both years.
14
Robert L. Shurter, "The Camp Meeting in the Early
Life and Literature of the Mid-West," Eastern Tennessee
Historical Publication. V, 142-149.
43
often took to woodland areas, to the impressive and in
spiring cathedrals provided by nature. In many areas of
the American frontier little more was available than barns
and cabins, sometimes of the rudist quality, in which
worshippers could gather. Outdoor religious meetings were
common before the beginning of the camp meeting movement
and do not constitute a unique characteristic of nineteenth-
century revivalism. The uniqueness of the camp meeting lay
in the fact that the services extended over a period of
several days or even weeks while most of the participants
remained on the grounds, sleeping in tents or wagons and
cooking their meals over camp fires. During the early years
of the movement, camp meetings generally lacked organiza
tion, were marked by extreme displays of emotionalism, and
exhibited a primitiveness that reflected the intemperate
conditions which typified the frontier.
As early as 1769, a Separatist Baptist by the name
of John Waller was holding services which he actually called
"camp meetings." According to Charles Johnson, these meet
ings were very similar to the type of religious services
that were to spring into popularity at the turn of the
century; they featured a number of tents and wagons in which
44
15
people slept over night. The difference between Waller's
meetings and those which Methodism later adapted to the
frontier were, in the opinion of this writer, so minor as
to be insignificant. In fact, it is not so much in the
physical characteristics of the camp meeting that the impor
tant features of the movement lie. Rather, it is the
spectacular upsurge in the popularity and use of this type
of religious service that makes the period between 1800 and
1850 of special interest. The number of camp meetings that
quite suddenly came into existence at the turn of the cen
tury is evidence of a movement, a vast and important move
ment, that became a social institution before it ran its
full course. Beginning with the first of such meetings at
Cane Ridge in 1801, and tracing the movement up to 1820, it
can be seen that the first two decades of the 1900's wit
nessed an increase in camp meeting evangelism that reached
a peak of 1,000 annual services sponsored by Methodism
alone (p. 280).
While secular historians have exhibited a mild
curiosity about the origin of the camp meeting, early
Methodist writers were quite concerned about claiming credit
Johnson, p. 26.
45
for the inovation for their own denomination. The frontier
camp meeting movement had its beginnings in the Second Great
Awakening, and it spread rapidly across the western terri
tories. While the Second Great Awakening was not confined
to the frontier alone (it was, in fact, extremely important
to the churches of the East), its bizarre emotionalism and
out-of-doors gatherings were more typical of the unsophis
ticated meetings held in pioneer settlements, and even more
specifically, of Methodist evangelism. As Olmstead points
out, revivalism "could be, and frequently was, dignified
and orderly, especially in the older and more settled com
munities where there was naturally a larger measure of
16
decorum." He goes on to say that revivalism on the
frontier
as it was conducted by the Presbyterians and Congre-
gationalists . . . did not differ radically from the
revival in the East. Inasmuch as it presented a Gos
pel which was Calvinistically interpreted, offering
salvation to the elect alone, its range of influence
was decidedly limited. The masses had little enthu
siasm for such an "undemocratic" theological system
and were suspicious of the educated clergy who
preached it. As conducted by the Methodists and the
Baptists, however, the revival touched the lives of
thousands who would otherwise have remained unmoved.
Its offer, presented mainly on an emotional basis,
16
Olmstead, p. 257.
46
was salvation for all who would accept it in faith.
It attracted so many people that it was frequently
necessary to hold great revival meetings out of doors
in order to accomodate the surging throngs. (p. 257)
Similar to the Great Awakening of the early eighteenth
century, this later resurgence of religious excitement was
felt significantly in the colleges and universities of the .
East, such as Amherst, Yale, Dartmouth, and others. The
date 1790 is generally assigned to the beginning of the
Second Great Awakening; it was experienced mainly among the
Oongregationalists of New England. James McGready, possibly
the most well-known of the firey camp meeting preachers
during the early years of the revival, joined the Presby
terian ministry as a result of the renewed spiritual awak
ening and carried the spirit of religious excitement to the
17
frontier lands of Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolxnas.
The Second Great Awakening, then, was eventually felt
throughout the United States, but it was manifested in its
most unique manner on the western frontier. The signifi
cance of the Second Great Awakening, according to Olmstead,
Ls that it signaled the passing influence of French ration
alism and the beginning of a new age of romantic idealism
17
Winthrop Hudson, p. 135.
47
characterized by popular democracy and crusading evange
lism; this was the age when "America's spiritual recovery
„18
began."
Revivalism in both the East and the West at the turn
of the century should be viewed as two distinct facets of a
singular renewed thrust of religion in America, with the
camp meeting springing up in the West as a unique instrument
of frontier Christianity. Hudson contends that Methodists
were prone to be more exhuberant wherever they were and
implies that the revivalism of the frontier was strikingly
19
similar to Methodism in the East. While such an assertion
might be appropriate to the later years of the camp meeting
movement, Hudson evidently fails to appreciate the influence
that the more primitive frontier conditions exerted upon
western revivalism during the period of inception, a factor
which this writer feels is paramount in the treatment of
camp meeting rhetoric and which seems to be sustained by
the sources consulted for this study.
The camp meeting movement of the Second Great Awak
ening probably began among the Presbyterians of Logan
County, Kentucky. Under the preaching of James McGready,
18 19
Olmstead, p. 7. Winthrop Hudson, pp. 134-137.
48
it spread rapidly through the western territories, even
tually influencing evangelism among the Methodists in the
East as well. James Porter, an early Methodist preacher
and writer, dates the first camp meeting in 1799 and locates
20
it on the Red River in Kentucky. His‘ findings generally
parallel those of other Methodist historians and attribute
the beginning of the movement to the efforts of Rev. John
McGee who, along with his brother William, was present when
McGready struck the first sparks of revival at the Red River
sacramental service. John McGee was a Methodist minister,
and his brother was ordained a Presbyterian. Both men were
visiting McGready's church, having traveled there from
Tennessee. So impressed were they with the results of the
Red River meeting that they continued the evangelistic
efforts throughout the immediate area with dramatic results.
The Red River meeting was held in one of three
churches on the circuit which McGready served. Following
this initial eruption, the revival spirit increased in each
of the other churches, next at Muddy River and then at
Gasper River, all in the southwestern portion of Kentucky.
It was at Gasper River, according to Johnson, that the
20
An Essay on Camp Meetings, p. 7.
49
first planned camp meeting was held in America, "if not in
the world," since at the previous services "only one man
reportedly came with his wagon filled with provisions and
21
'lived on the ground' throughout the meeting." The
Gasper River revival was the pinnacle of McGready's evange
listic success. The throngs of worshippers who swarmed
into the camp had been given prior notice to come prepared
for an extended series of meetings. McGready called his
meetings "sacramental services" because they were high
lighted by a eucharistic celebration which generally cli
maxed the gatherings. McGready wrote of his Gasper River
meetings:
No person seemed to wish to go home— hunger and sleep
seemed to effect nobody— eternal things were the vast
concern. Here awakening and converting work was to be
found in every part of the multitude. . . . Sober pro
fessors, who had been communicants for many years, now
lying prostrate on the ground, crying out in such lan
guage as this: "I have been a sober professor: I have
been a communicant; . . . 01 I see that religion is a
sensible thing. . . . I feel the pains of hell in my
soul and body! 01 How I would have dispised any person
a few days ago, who would have acted as I am doing
nowl— But 0! I cannot help it!" Little children, young
men and women, and old grey-headed people, persons of
every description, white and black, were to found in
every part of the multitude . . . crying out for mercy
in the most extreme distress. (pp. 34-36)
21
Johnson, pp. 34-36.
50
The date of 1799 has been questioned by a number of
historians writing on the subject of the camp meeting move
ment. Enzor, in his study on McGready, includes a detailed
discussion concerning the problem of dating these McGready
revivals. It has been assumed that John McGee, in a letter
written in 1820, recalled the time of the revival as being
in 1799. But Enzor argues that McGee was actually referring
to the date when he and his brother decided to make the
journey to McGready's circuit to observe the results of the
22
work being conducted by the Kentucky evangelist.
Methodist writers, zealous of placing their denomination
at the origin of the movement, used McGee's reference to
substantiate Methodist participation in this early meeting.
Redford, for example, cites McGee1s letter and attributes
the success of the Red River services to Methodist influ-
23
ence.
A much earlier date is assigned to the camp meeting
movement by Albert M. Shipp, a Methodist historian whose
History of Methodism in South Carolina is considered to be
22
Enzor, p. 105.
23
A. H. Redford, History of Methodism in Kentucky
(Nashville, 1868), I, 265.
51
a valuable resource for studies in frontier religion. Shipp
wrote of camp meetings being held as early as 1794 in con
nection with North Carolina's earliest Methodist church.
His account reads as follows:
The first Methodist church in North Carolina west
of the Catawba River was built in Lincoln County in
1791, in the neighborhood in which Daniel Asbury set
tled when he located, and was called Rehoboth. Before
the erection of this church, the congregation was ac
customed to worship in the grove in the midst of which
it was built, and these meetings in the forest resulted
in great good, and were often continued throughout the
day and night. In 1794 the leading male members of the
church consulted together and agreed to hold a camp-
meeting in this forest for a number of days and nights.
The meeting was accordingly appointed and was conducted
by Daniel Asbury, William McKendree (afterward made
bishop), Nicholas Watters, and William Fulwood, who
were evidently aided by Dr. James Hall, a celebrated
pioneer preacher among the Presbyterians in Iredell
County. The success of this first camp-meeting, at
which it was estimated that three hundred souls were
converted, led to the appointment of another the fol
lowing year (1795) at Bethel, about a mile from the
famous Rock Spring, and subsequently of yet another by
Daniel Asbury and Dr. Hall, which was known as the
great Union Camp-meeting, at Shepherd's Cross Roads, in
Iredell County. The manifest blessing of God upon these
meetings, resulting in the conversion of hundreds of
souls, gave them great favor with both the Presbyterians
and Methodists, and caused them to be kept up continu
ously in the South Carolina Conference.24
The significance of Shipp's account of these early
camp meetings can be seen when he points out that John McGee
24
(Nashville, 1883), pp. 271-272.
52
was given charge of the Lincoln circuit in 1792 and remained
in the general vicinity where these camp meetings were
popular until 1798, at which time he move to Tennesee.
Shipp concludes:
It was a great service rendered the church at large
when he transferred these meetings from the Catawba
River to the banks of the Red River, in Kentucky, and
the Cumberland River, in Tennessee, and five years
after their origin made known practically to the West
ern country an instrumentality by'which, under the
blessing of God, thousands were brought to the knowl
edge of salvation. (pp. 272-273)
Shipp completely ignores McGready1s contribution to
the camp meeting movement and actually assigns the credit
25 26
to John McGee. But most authorities— Johnson, Sweet,
27
and Weisburger — agree that the series of meetings held on
McGready1s circuit in 1800 was the prelude to the awakening
in the West, and from it came the greatest emphasis upon
the use of camp meetings to forward the work of evangelism.
From McGready1s circuit the flame of revival was
carried to Bourbon County, Kentucky, by a close associate
and convert of McGready, Barton Stone. Stone, a
25
Johnson, p. 32.
26
Sweet, Religion in the Development, p. 149.
27
Weisberger, pp. 23-25.
53
Presbyterian minister, served two churches, one at Concord
and the other at Cane Ridge, which was near Lexington,
Kentucky. It was at Cane Ridge, August 6, 1801, where
probably the most spectabular service in the history of the
camp meeting movement took place. Here, again, a sacra
mental service had been announced. Thirty thousand partici
pants were estimated as having attended the meetings, and
utter confusion marked the worship activity. Peter Cart
wright recalled that the meetings lasted for several
28
weeks. Because of the huge numbers in attendance, rein
forcements were called for by Stone, and Methodist as well
as Baptist ministers set up preaching stands throughout the
camp. William Burke, a Methodist minister who attended the
Cane Ridge revival, provided an interesting account of the
event. A number of things are significant about Burke's
view of Cane Ridge. First, he did not feel that Cane Ridge
should be thought of as a camp meeting and is quite explicit
in his argument:
There is a mistaken opinion with regard to this
meeting. Some writers of late represent it as having
been a camp meeting. It is true that there were a
number of wagons and carriages, which remained on the
ground night and day; but not a single tent was to be
28
Cartwright, p. 34.
54
found, neither was any such thing as camp meetings
heard of at that time. Preaching in the woods was a
common thing at popular meetings, as meeting-houses
in the west were not sufficient to hold the large
number of people that attended on such occasions.
This was the case at Cane R i d g e . 29
However, Burke1s reluctance to call Cane Ridge a camp
meeting might stem from one of two possible reasons: either
Burke was not willing to attribute such success to Pres
byterians, or, and probably more likely, Burke was unhappy
with the treatment which he alleged had been accorded him
and his Methodist brethren at these meetings. Burke thought
that the Methodist clergymen had been ignored by the Pres
byterians in charge, and here is evidence that an antago
nistic spirit existed between religious denominations even
during the earliest years of the camp meeting movement.
Burke's complaint was that the Presbyterians insisted upon
"occupying the stand" so that Methodist clergymen were left
with no central platform for preaching. He recounted a
confrontation that took place between him and Barton Stone
concerning preparation for the eucharistic service which was
scheduled for the final Sunday of the meetings. He wrote:
29
James B. Finley, Sketches of Western Methodism:
Biographical, Historical, and Miscellaneous (Cincinnati,
1854), pp. 78-79.
56
about four days (p. 78). By Burke's estimate, as many as
500 worshippers were lying on the ground at one time in
spiritual struggle. The work continued night and day.
Burke claimed that he had been given an estimate of as many
as 20,000 people attending the Cane Ridge services on one
Sunday alone (p. 79).
Stone provided quite another perspective of the Cane
Ridge services in a description that makes no mention of
denominational friction. His account reads as follows:
This memorable meeting came on Thursday or Friday
before the third Lord's Day in August, 1801. The
roads were literally crowded with wagons, carriages,
horsemen, and footmen, moving to the solemn camp. The
sight was affecting. It was judged by military men on
the ground, that there were between twenty and thirty
thousand collected. Four or five preachers were fre
quently speaking at the same time, in different parts
of the encampment, without confusion. The Methodist
and Baptist preachers aided in the work, and all ap
peared cordially united in it— of one mind and one
soul, and the salvation of sinners seemed to be the
great object of all. We all engaged in singing the
same songs of praise— all united in prayer— all preached
the same things— free salvation urged upon all by faith
and repentance. A particular description of this meet
ing would fill a large volume; and then the half would
not be told. The numbers converted will be known only
in eternity. Many things transpired there which were
so much like miracles, that if they were not, they had
the same effect as miracles on infidels and unbelievers;
for many of them by these were convinced that Jesus was
the Christ, and bowed in submission to him. This meet
ing continued six or seven days and nights, and would
have continued longer, but provisions for such a multi
tude failed in the neighborhood. To this meeting many
55
On Sunday morning Mr. Stone, with some of the elders
of the session, waited upon me to have a conference
on the subject of the approaching sacrament, which
was to be administered in the afternoon. The object
in calling upon me was, that I should make from the
stand a public declaration how the Methodists held
certain doctrines, etc. I told him we preached every
day, and that our doctrines were published to the
world through the press. Come and hear; go and read;
and if that was the condition on which we were to
unite in the sacrament, "Every man to his tent, 0
Israel;" for I should require of him to make a public
declaration of their belief in certain doctrines. He
then replied that we had better drop the subject; that
he was perfectly satisfied, but that some of his elders
. were not. I observed that they might do as they thought;
but the subject got out among the Methodists, and a
number did not partake of the Sacrament, as none of our
preachers were invited to assist in the administering.
(p. 77)
Burke did, however, get to preach at Cane Ridge.
According to his own account, it was a highly successful
effort. His platform was a fallen tree which projected
about fifteen feet above the ground. He prepared a make
shift stand and, in a spot of shade created by an umbrella
held above his head by an associate, he "commenced reading
a hymn," by the conclusion of which he estimated that about
10,000 people had crowed around him. Before he had con
cluded reading his text his voice could not be heard "for
the groans of the distressed and the shouts of triumph.
Hundreds fell prostrate to the ground, and the work con
tinued on that spot till Wednesday afternoon," a span of
57
had come from Ohio and other distant parts, who re
turned home and diffused the same spirit in their
neighborhoods, and the same works followed.30
Another eyewitness account is provided by James B.
Finley, who was converted as a result of the Cane Ridge
meetings and later became a leading evangelist and writer
in the Methodist Church. Finley visited the camp as a
spectator and was so overcome by the revival spirit that he
left the encampment in terror. Before he reached his home
in Ohio, he experienced a great inward struggle and finally
repented. To Finley the noise of Cane Ridge was like the
"roar of the Niagara," and "the vast sea of human beings
seemed to be agitated as if by a storm." He wrote further:
At one time I saw at least five hundred swept down in
a moment, as if a battery of a thousand guns had been
opened upon them, and then immediately followed shrieks
and shouts that rent the very heavens. My hair rose on
my head, my whole frame trembled, the blood ran cold in
my veins, and I fled for the woods . . . and wished
that I had staid at home.31
Finley counted as many as seven preachers conducting
services in various parts of the camp at the same time. The
30
W. E. Arnold, The History of Methodism m Kentucky
(Louisville, 1935), I, 203-204.
31
James B. Finley, Autobiography of James B. Finley, ox
Pioneer Life in the West, ed. W. P. Strickland (Cincinnati,
1853), p. 167.
58
multitudes that he reported as having been "swept down" were
an example of the extreme physical manifestations that
accompanied camp meeting evangelism in the primitive period
of the movement's history and which became the focal point
for criticism directed against the frontier revival. These
"exercises," as they were called, were exhibited in a
variety of forms, including such strange afflictions as
"jerking," "running," "dancing," "barking," "singing," and
"laughing," and they appeared repeatedly during the Cane
Ridge services, thus adding to the confusion of the revival.
According to Stone's description of a "falling" exercise,
"the subject of this exercise would, generally, with a
piercing scream, fall like a log on the floor, earth, or
mud, and appear as dead" (p. 209). Combined with the other
more muscular activities, the tumult of Cane Ridge must have
been spectacular. Preaching was carried on by large numbers
of pastors and exhorters simultaneously, and throngs of
worshippers milled about from one preaching stand to an
other, or gathered in small groups to pray, or socialized,
or ministered to the fallen. At night the scene must have
been awsome as hundreds of fires from the campgrounds
illumined the night along with the brighter torches from the
preaching area. In the stillness of the night the screams
59
of the convicted could be heard mingled with the singing of
hymns, shouts of praise, and the general noise of the masses
of people moving about the camp. A visitor to the scene
left this impressive description of Cane Ridge at night:
At night, the whole scene was awfully sublime. The
ranges of tents, the fires, reflecting light amidst
the branches of the towering trees; the candles and
lamps illuminating the encampment; hundreds moving
to and fro, with lights or torches, like Gideon's
army; the preaching, praying, singing and shouting
all heard at once, rushing from different parts of
the ground, like the sound of many waters, was enough
to swallow up all the powers of contemplation. Sin
ners falling, and shrieks and cries for mercy awak
ened in the mind a lively apprehension of that scene,
when the awful sound will be heard, "arise ye dead
and come to judgment!32
Johnson terms the Cane Ridge meeting as the "turning
point in the history of the camp meeting, " as well as a
"phenomenon of the Second Great Awakening." Cane Ridge,
according to Johnson, was "in all probability, the most
disorderly, the most hysterical, and the largest revival
33
ever held in early-day America." It is at Cane Ridge
where all the irregularities of frontier revivalism were
highlighted, and this tremendous gathering became the
32
The Methodist Magazine (New York, 1819), II, 273.
33
Johnson, p. 63.
60
example most commonly used by camp meeting critics to depict
the raw emotionalism and the questionable activity that
purportedly accompanied the entire movement. James Finley
commented on the undesirable vices that marked the extra
religious interests of some Cane Ridge worshippers and main
tained that while services were being conducted in the camp
34
"all manner of wickedness was going on without." Johnson
contends that more sexual irregularities attended these
meetings than any other of the frontier revivals, although
35
he offers little evidence to substantiate the point. In
any event, Cane Ridge marked the beginning of the camp
meeting movement across the western frontier. It also be
came a point of controversy and, ultimately, of division
within the Presbyterian church. Finally, Cane Ridge laid
the groundwork for the Methodist approproation of this
unique evangelistic outreach which was destined to propel
the church of John Wesley into the largest single denomina
tion in Western America.
The Middle Years; 1805-1840
Aside from the phenomenal growth, the middle years
34 35
Finley, Autobiography, p. 364. Johnson, p. 65.
61
of the camp meeting movement were years of maturation high
lighted by an increase in organization and planning, by the
curbing of extreme emotionalism, and by doctrinal and
apologetic rhetoric delivered both from the pulpit and
through written discourse.
Camp Meeting Growth and Expansion
No denomination was as well prepared to adapt the new
frontier evangelism to their work as were the Methodists.
Theologically as well as ecclesiastically the Methodist
system blended easily with frontier life. Methodism was
Arminian in its thrust, denying the predestinationism of
the Calvinistic Presbyterians and Baptists. The independent
frontiersman was much more attracted to the concept of
salvation which gave him the primary responsibility for
choosing his own eternity, and having made that decision,
it was equally his responsibility to maintain his spiritual
life. As Weisberger writes:
Thus fortified with "conditional election" and
"free will," the Methodists had a head start in adopt
ing the revival tradition. Salvation was potentially
available to all. The sincere penitent might expect
that the help of the Holy Spirit would not be denied
to him. The miscreant who grew old in his sins might
be passing up a genuine chance at heaven, not merely
a speculative and unlikely one. On this basis it
made sense to exhort the crowd to repent, to believe,
62
36
to wriggle free of the suction of hell.
In addition to its more democratic doctrine, Methodism
arrived on the frontier with a church polity that needed
little modification in order to function efficiently in the
rapidly growing revival. The key to the Methodist system
was its itinerancy which began with Wesley and remains a
part of the Methodist structure even today. The circuit
rider, who was the hub around which the Methodist Church
moved on the frontier, was a modification of the system of
itinerancy practiced in England. Wesley believed that if
his ministers did not move from place to place often enough,
37
the churches would become static. When Francis Asbury
arrived in America in 1771 as an emissary to the Colonies
from the Wesleyans in England, he established the system of
itinerancy among American Methodists and set an example by
his own indefatigable circuit riding.
His home was on "the road." He had no other. When he
came to America he rented no house, he hired no lodgings,
he made no arrangements to board anywhere, but he simply
set out upon the Long Road, and was traveling forty-five
years later when death finally caught up with him.38
36 3 V
Weisberger, p. 43. Sweet, The Methodists, p. 43.
38
Ezra S. Tipple, Francis Asbury; The Profit on the
Long Road (New York, 1916), pp. 158-159.
63
The use of the circuit made it possible for clergymen
to keep up with the moving population. Individual congre
gations, or "classes," were established wherever groups of
Methodists could be gathered. The classes were tied to
gether by a circuit, which was traveled by dedicated pastors
who visited one congregation after another. Some circuits
were so spread out, especially in the less settled areas,
that it was not uncommon for a Methodist preacher to spend
from four to six weeks completing one tour of his assigned
communities. In his absence, class leaders were placed in
charge of the local congregations which, for the most part,
did not have church buildings, but simply held services in
cabins or local business establishments. Often class
leaders themselves .became circuit riders as the work ex
panded. Because of the tendency for local laymen to move
up to the ministry, Methodism on the frontier tended to be
come somewhat imbred with pioneer talent, and, as will be
seen in the next chapter, this was a vital factor in the
kind of preaching that characterized the camp meeting.
The circuit was part of a larger district overseered
by a presiding elder, simply referred to as a "P.E." These
regional districts were governed democratically by quarterly
and annual conferences. The highest ruling body was the
64
General Conference which met every four years to conduct
the business of the denomination. The General Conference
was comprised of ministers who represented their local con
ferences and circuits. Therefore, it can be seen that
Methodism was democratic in nature, both in its ecclesiasti
cal structure as well as in the theological dogma which
characterized Wesleyanism, and it appealed to the individ
ualism which was so characteristic of frontier America.
The circuit system exerted at least two important
influences upon Methodist preaching in the West. First, the
tendency to introduce local talent into the work often
attracted men of little education. As Johnson writes:
In the system of appointment to the itineracy the
centralized character of Methodist church policy was
also mirrored. A man who exhibited speaking ability
in the local unit— the class— was encouraged by the
class leader to "exercise his gifts." As an exhorter
on trial, he was quickly offered a chance to prove his
talent. If the local circuit rider and presiding elder
were favorably impressed he was awarded the title of
"licensed exhorter" at the "quarterly conference."
This authority, effective for only one year, granted
the recipient the power "to exhort" and little more.
Perhaps he used his gifts of persuasion after the
local preacher gave a sermon; often he assisted a
traveling preacher on his circuit rounds. Frequently
these laymen became itinerants themselves.39
39
Johnson, p. 20.
65
A lack of formal training was an advantage on the
frontier. The local circuit rider had a much better oppor
tunity of identifying with the people whom he served than
did the eastern-trained clergymen of the more formal
churches. But the second important influence of the circuit
system was one of limitation. The nature of the circuit,
its size and the length of time which normally passed be
tween visits to each congregation, contributed to a lack of
variety in preaching? one sermon could be used over and
again by the circuit rider as he preached in a different
locality and addressed a completely different congregation
each Sabbath. As the frontier revival grew in size camp
meetings took on a semblance of the circuit with evangelists
moving from one meeting to another in the same manner that
the circuit rider made his rounds. Camp meetings became
almost as common to the circuit rider as his class meetings,
and the journals of these early Methodist preachers were
often simply chronological lists of camp meetings attended.
While his text might have varied from sermon to sermon, the
camp meeting orator could use the same basic content in
each presentation. The Methodist itinerant was seldom undei
pressure to provide variety in his preaching.
What was true of the West might be applied to a lesser
66
degree to the East. While the camp meeting movement began
primarily as a western phenomenon, it quickly spread to
eastern Methodism. In 1806 Francis Asbury addressed a
letter to Thomas Coke, the first missionary of Methodism to
the Colonies, in which he told of his travels through the
East and of the encouraging signs of a growing revival that
he had witnessed at camp meetings. He wrote:
From New York I took a trip to Portland, Dartmouth,
Vermont, to the'hights and rocks of White River, and
down Onion River to Burlington, upon Lake Champlain,
Ticonderoga and Crown Point, 1000 miles back to New
York. Oh the glorious prospects in general. I sup
pose that North of New York there has been and will
be 20 camp meetings since the first of May 1806 to
the end of the year. But the Eastern shore excells
all, we have good reason to believe that 4000 souls
- have been converted in the Two Districts and 1000
sanctified. Dr. Chandler writes 40 nights in the
woods since conference held in Philadelphia April 14th
1806 and the Dr. says 110 nights more to think of 150
nights in the woods at camp and two meetings. Our
people calculate largely of thousands that attend. Some
go from 10,000 to 15,000. They talk camp meeting to be
gin today near Dover, at which they expect 20,000 souls.
At a camp meeting in Sussex Deleware held June from
12-17— 1765 converted toward 4 thousand, I calculated
upon. 606 sanctified, they do not include persons con
victed, and restored. These things stretch the credi
bility of our British Brethren. I need not write often
in this marvelous manner once in a year will do as to
the increase in numbers you will see in the minutes.40
40
Eugene Russell Hendrix Papers, Duke University.
67
Again in 1807 Asbury wrote of the growth of the camp
meeting movement in the East:
I have either seen, or heard, directly, or indi
rectly, from most of the 35 districts, but some great
official letters, are not come to hand. But from what
I have collected, campmeetings are as common now, as
quarter meetings were 20 years back, in many districts,
happy hundreds have been converted; in others happy
thousands! Glory,' glory,' glory! Reputable report
says, in the east of Maryland, last August, campmeet-
ing ten days, 2500 or 3000 converted. Oh my brother
doubt not, the good news you bring, will come to be
general, and not only general but universal.41
The quarterly meetings soon became another opportunity
for camp meeting evangelism and came to be known as the
42
"yearly camp meeting." By 1827 the Quarterly Conference
of the Salisbury circuit, North Carolina, was extended to
three days by constitutional action so that in addition to
the business that was necessary to conduct, there could be
43
ample time for preaching and "religious exercises." The
camp meetings had come to exert a significant influence
upon Methodism.
41
The Journal and Letters of Francis Asbury, ed. Man
ning J. Potts, 3 vols. (Nashville, 1958), III, 380.
42
Lankin MSS, August 31, 1810, in Sweet, The Method
ists. p. 238.
43
William Clark Daub Papers, Duke University.
68
It was on the western front that the camp meeting was
seen in its most frenzied manifestations. Like the frontier
itself, the early camp meeting needed strong leadership to
curb its excesses and to direct its raw power. It was
mainly on the frontier that the most disorderly meetings
took place, even after some regulation had been attempted.
Clearly, one of the reasons for the hesitancy of the
Methodist Church to include the camp meeting as an official
aspect of its program was the extreme emotionalism and
questionable moral activities that became a part of the
camp meeting reputation. The primitive conditions of the
frontier were not always left behind when worshippers
entered the Methodist camp. In fact, Nottingham sees the
intense emotionalism of the camp meeting as the key to its
success, an emotionalism that could easily have led to
improprieties. She writes:
The importance of the camp meeting in the develop
ment of revivalism was due to the psychological fact
that human emotions become intensified if stimulated
continuously over a long period. The most stable per
sonality can become unbalanced if subjected to a
lengthy bombardment, accompanied by close and exclu
sive association with persons obsessed by a single
idea. Lack of sleep and the practice of continuing
meetings far into the night furnished additional means
69
44
for inducing a receptive state.
The "receptive state" to which Nottingham refers
might have included more than "ideas, " and at least one
sceptic has suggested that there were more souls "begotten"
45
during the camp meetings than were converted. The same
conditions that caused the Presbyterians to abandon the
camp meeting brought rules and regulations to the Methodist
encampments. Johnson, in fact, cites regulation as the
chief characteristic of the middle years of the camp meeting
46
movement. While regulation was certainly a significant
aspect of the camp meeting maturation process, possibly even
the most significant, this writer thinks that other factors,
such as a gradual rise in educational levels of the frontier
communities, an interest in doctrinal preaching, and the
general trend toward law and order in the West, also served
to bring a calming influence to the camp meeting movement.
The middle years of the camp meeting movement have
been designated roughly from 1805 to 1840. But the expan-
44
Nottingham, p. 206.
45
James G. Leyburn, Frontier Folkways (New Haven, 1935)
p. 197.
46, .
Johnson, p. 98.
70
sion of camp meeting evangelism cannot be confined string
ently to one particular period of time. Camp meetings would
tend to reflect the degree of sophistication achieved by
the particular communities in which the meetings took place.
Turner contended that in the United States especially, the
process of evolving institutions recurred with each frontier
area. He wrote:
Thus, American development has exhibited not merely
advance along a single line, but a return to primi
tive conditions on a continually advancing frontier
line, and a new development for that area. American
social development has been continually beginning
over again on the frontier. This perennial rebirth,
this fluidity of American life, this expansion west
ward with its new opportunities, its continuous touch
with the simplicity of primitive society, furnishes
the forces dominating American character. . . . In
this advance, the frontier is the outer edge of the
wave— the meeting point between savagery and civili
zation. 47
So then the camp meeting movement progressed through
each stage of development. Beginning with the early years
marked by extreme emotionalism, disorganization and even
chaos, through the middle years which exhibited an increased
emphasis upon organization and planning, and, finally, into
the period of decline during which a great deal of effort
47
Turner, p. 38.
71
was exerted by Methodist leaders to prolong its effective
ness, the camp meeting movement advanced across the new
territories seeking out the 1 1 spiritually needy" on each con
secutive frontier. As the primitive frontier moved westward
and as the pioneering Americans left the more settled com
munities behind them, the portion of untamed lands in which
the boisterous and frentic type of revivalism would most
naturally exist diminished, and the influence of camp meet
ings in the West waned.
The growth of Methodism during the first half of the
nineteenth century bore witness to the effectiveness of its
frontier evangelism. Eight years after the first appoint
ment of a Methodist minister west of the Alleghenies (1792),
Methodist records show about 5, 700 members and 35 circuit
riders on the frontier. By 1804 the Western Conference
boasted nearly 12,000 members and 46 preachers with 25 cir
cuits comprising four districts. By 1820 Methodism could
count over 100,000 members west of the Alleghenies, 340
preachers on 200 circuits and 27 districts. The Western
Conference by then represented one third of Methodism in
48
America. Certainly other factors must be considered when
48 .
Emory S. Bucke, The History of American Methodism. 3
vols. (New York, 1964), I, 507._______________________________
72
assessing the phenomenal growth of the Methodist Episcopal
Church in the West. But the tireless efforts of the circuit
riders combined with the innovation of the camp meeting
would have to rank high among the elements that brought
many into the Wesleyan fold.
General Description
The location and time of the camp meeting could not
be arbitrary, and in spite of the seeming spontaneity of
the occasion, no camp meeting could just happen. It took
planning and extensive organization to provide a successful
encampment. Descriptions of camp meetings usually offer
pictures of forest beauty with fertile fields bordering on
lakes or rivers. Such scenes were not incidental. Water
and grass were essential to the frontier camp meeting, as
essential as were the preaching and praying which marked
its services. Water was needed not only for cooking and
drinking, but, equally as important, for the live stock
which were so much a part of the transportation used on the
frontier. In addition to water, horses needed grazing land
on which to subsist for the length of the meetings, normally
from four to eight days but occasionally for as long as four
73
49
weeks. One outsider to Methodism described his first
impressions of a camp meeting by exclaiming, "horses,
50
horses, all around." In 1837 an article appeared in the
Western Christian Advocate in which a plan for establishing
more effective camp meetings was proposed, and one of the
important considerations was that a sufficient quantity of
51
good water should be available. Permanent camp locations
were established on lakes and rivers, and camp meetings
throughout America quite often became known by the body of
water on which they were located, such as Hogan Creek on
the Lawrenceburg Circuit in Indiana, Paint Creek in Ohio,
and Stillwater in New York. In 1841 another letter to the
Western Christian Advocate noted that camp meetings had be
come so abundant that grazing land was no longer an impor
tant consideration in locating meeting grounds, since people
did not have to travel far from home to attend camp meetings
and could send their teams home after arriving at the
49
Cartwright, p. 43.
50
Curran Swaim, "A Pilgrimage from Western Virginia to
the City of Gotham in the Year 1852," unpublished MS in the
Lyndon Swaim collection, Duke University, Durham, North
Carolina.
^^Western Christian Advocate. Cincinnati, July 28,
1837, p. 1.
74
services (W.C.A., May 28, 1841). One author envisioned the
need for water as having Biblical significance and pointed
out that John the Baptist preached where there was water not
because immersion was important for baptism, but for the
reason that whenever people travel great distances and plan
to stay for several days, a good deal of water is needed
for drinking, cooking, and livestock (W.C.A., July 31, 1840).
Therefore, in preparing for camp meetings, a good deal of
consideration was given to the practicality of the location
in regard to the maintainance of livestock, and the need
for water and for pasture land often provided a natural
beauty for the outdoor meetings which were held in wooded
groves that provided shade by day and filtered moonlight
and blackened shadows by night. Johnson contends that the
beauty and the wildness of camp meet-settings "gave the
52
open air revival its great religious power."
Camp meetings usually began on Fridays and continued
through Monday noon of the following week. The largest
services and the sacramental observance were usually held
on Sunday afternoon. In some parts of the country six to
eight day camp meetings were common. The day's activities
52Johnson, p. 41.
75
usually began with the sound of the trumpet awakening the
campers and calling them to prayer in their tents. The time
of rising was normally about daybreak. After prayer,
breakfast and clean-up would be scheduled and preparations
would be made for the first service of the day. The eight
o'clock service was again signaled by the trumpet. The
first sermon of the day was delivered at this time; it was
followed, in most cases, by one or two exhortations pre
sented by either visiting ministers or licensed exhorters.
Since union camp meetings involving a number of circuits
were common, there were usually several ministers ready to
take their places in the stand. A larger service was
normally scheduled for the eleven o'clock hour, followed
again by fervent exhortations. The exhortations were im
promptu in nature, highly personal and sometimes were
directed to the congregation from a position which was to
the side of the pulpit or in front of the preachers' stand.
The exhortation was geared to moving the audience to re
pentance and preparing them for the time of prayer and
"mourning" activities which followed the preaching service.
Another service was usually scheduled for the afternoon,
and a final meeting took place in the evening following the
dinner hour.
76
The evening service was probably the most impressive.
Shadows, cast by camp fires surrounding the preaching area
and by larger fires lighted atop fire pedestals beside the
preachers' stand, would play eerily upon the scene. Those
who wrote about the camp meetings almost always dwelt at
length upon the impressive beauty of the night setting. One
writer described the scene in the following manner:
At length the day closed. The purple curtain of night
fell over the earth from the darkening sky. God's
golden fire flashed out of heaven, and men below kindled
their watch-fires. The encampment, a village of snowy
tents, was illuminated with a brilliancy that caused
every leaf to shine and sparkle as if all the trees
were burnished with phosphorescent flame. It was like
a theater. It was a theater in the open air, on the
green sward, beneath the starry blue, incomparably more
picturesque and gorgeous than any stage scenery, pre
pared within walls of brick or marble, where the elite
of cities throng to feast their eyes on beauty and
their ears on music of silvery s o u n d .53
Micha Flint, in his poem entitled "The Camp Meeting," offers
his impression of a camp meeting in the Tennessee mountains:
At length the hour of evening worship came;
And on their rustic seats, fresh-cleft, and hewn
From the huge poplars, and in many a range
Of circling rows dispos'd, in quiet sat
The expectant multitude. 0, 'twas a scene!
The silent thousands that were listening there,
53
Finley, Autobiography, pp. 321-322.
77
Midst the gray columns of that ancient wood,
Its dark green roof, the rows of whitening tents,
That circled in the distance, and the clear
And sparkling waters of the mountain stream,
In torch-light gleaming, as it danc'd along;
And more than all, the rustling leaves that caught
On their moist surfaces the light, and wav'd
On every bough, now in their native green,
And now in burnished gold.54
Each service was followed by an informal altar meeting
at which time the greatest display of emotionalism usually
took place. This was the time when penitents sought to
"pray through" and find release from their sins. The altar
service took place in the front benches reserved for this
purpose. Situated immediately in front of the preachers'
stand, the mourners' benches were sometimes enclosed in such
a way as to provide a separate area for the altar service.
The enclosure was most often affected by providing a railing
around the benches to keep out those who were only curious
observers. As camp meetings became more refined, prayer
tents were erected which gave the mourners a small degree of
privacy. The minister would give an invitation to the con
gregation to come forward to the mourners' benches, and the
exhorter would begin to harangue while singing filled the
54
Wxlliam T. Coggleshall, The Poets and Poetry of the
West (Columbus, 1860), p. 59.
78
air. If the sermon had been effective, or even if the ex-
horter was successful in saving a poor preaching effort, the
front benches would be filled with kneeling penitents. One
camp meeting visitor recorded such an altar service which
followed a poignant anecdote offered by the minister in
conclusion to his sermon:
At the conclusion to this solemn story— the sobs
and groans among the congregation told that the iron
was hot and it was time to begin to strike. Now, said
he, if there's any who wish to seek the salvation of
their souls— let them come forward and kneel at these
front benches— while the brethren sing "Come ye sinners
poor and needy." The brethren rose and commenced. . . .
We outsiders crowded around the railing to see the fun.
"Thank God some1s a cominl" exclaimed the preacher—
"come on young men and young ladies— come sinner thou—
seek the Lord while he may be found— this may be the
(only) opportunity you'll ever have— let us all pray—
Brother Smith— pray with us— and brother Smith (prayed)
through his nose a fervent and sounding prayer— then
they commenced singing again. The principal "working
member" now came forward— he knelt down by a broad
shouldered, red necked, kinky headed fellow— threw a
quid out of his mouth and began to talk to him with
great earnestness— but in so low a tone that I could
not hear what he said. The "mourner" lay with his head
on the bench and a convulsive (churning) of his big
carcass told of the agony that rocked his soul . . .
The seven preachers all came down among the crowd—
and as they went stooping among the mourners— whispering
a word of encouragement to each— they reminded me of a
gang of graceless boys in a watermelon patch— going from
one to another thumping them to see which was r i p e . 55
55
Swaxm, MSS.
79
Another description of Methodist religious fervor is
found in a letter written from Newbern, North Carolina, in
1807. The writer, a Mr. Thomas Houghton, wrote to James
Iredell, then governor of North Carolina, about the growing
number of Methodists in the vicinity of Newbern, something
about which Mr. Houghton seemed mildly concerned. The
handwriting is difficult to decipher, but the critical
nature of the writer's observations is easily detected.
I will endeavour to give you a laconic description of
the Methodists as they make by far the most noise of
any class of people in Newbern. About a week past
there was a Methodist conference, in this place, which
lasted seven or eight days & nights with very little
intermission, during which there was a large concourse
of people of various (colors), classes & (. . .) as
sembled for various purposes— confusion, shouting,
praying, singing, laughing, talking, amorous engage
ments, falling down, kicking, squealing, and a thousand
other (ludicrous) things prevailed the most of the time
and frequently of the nights, all at once— in short it
was the most destructable (farscical) scene that ever I
beheld— there were 70 or 80 preachers, the height of
whose ambition seemed to be, to deal out fanaticism and
ignorance to this society and the rabble, who swallowed
it like a dying man would medicine which he believed
would relieve him— I expect in a few years half Newbern
will fall victems to this enthuiastic sect— during the
last great meeting they made 30 or 40 converts— they
march up to the pulpit to be prayed for in crowds— the
preachers assemble about them, and all begin to pray at
once— then for the yelling, during which scenes will be
heard the articulate word(s) "Do Lord, Come Lord, glory,
glory" and each of those favorite words is accompanied
with a clap of the hands. I will forbear to say any
thing more of their proceedings, but you might think
the picture exaggerated; and for another reason, because
80
no one of understanding can attend with pleasure to a
long description of nonsense: but the picture which I
have drawn I believe to be correct.56
The above description would seem to be of a General Confer
ence camp meeting, since it involved 70 or 80 preachers and
was held in February. Naturally, the warm months were best
for camp meetings. But it was not unusual for conferences
and camp meetings to be held in the winter months in areas
that enjoyed mild climates, or, if a church building was
available on or near the grounds, the business sessions
57
could be moved indoors during inclement weather.
The noise and confusion of the camp meeting activities
were humorously portrayed in a letter written by Richard
Puryear on November 15, 1832. An exerpt of the letter is
included here to show how Methodist emotionalism, even dur
ing the middle years of the camp meeting movement, brought
criticism and ridicule upon their revival efforts:
Camp meetings were very abundant here this fall. Some
say there was much good done. Many got their spiritual
strength renewed and some were born again notwithstand-
56 l
Letter from Thomas Houghton to James Iredell, Febru
ary 11, 1807, in the James Iredell papers, Duke University.
57
Asbury, Journal and Letters, II, 525. Asbury tells
of preaching at open-air services at the General Conference
in Georgia, December 29, 1806.
81
ing their broad shoulders. I attended only one which
I can at least give the reputation of being very noisy.
The females seem to take the lead in the uproar and
contributed largely to the confusion.
The people came from many ways
Some to see fun, some God to praise
Some came to be at the camp meeting
And some perhaps to get good eating
But those who came for the last reason
Will not be there the coming season
For invitations were not many
And good eating hardly any
The preachers thought the time was come
When every sinner should pray some
That many a Christian ought to shout
While some knocked down, some dropped out
And [. . . ] in short the work began
And many a soul refused to stand
And down they tumbled in the straw
Obedient to God's Wholy law
The altar soon was filled with lasses
Some kicked so high they showed their A-S-as
Just at this time I left the ground
And heard no more the boistrous sound.58
But the noise of the camp meeting and the confusion
which seemed to plague its proceedings did not reflect the
general order that its leaders strove for and eventually
succeeded in achieving. As the Methodists gained experience:
in camp meeting evangelism, precautions were taken to insure:
a greater degree of decorum. Peter Cartwright recorded his
efforts to "regulate, renovate, and cleanse the altar of
God," by prohibiting idle onlookers from approaching near
58
In the Jarrath-Puryear Collection,Duke University.
82
the mourners' benches. So successful was his first effort
at such regulation, he was able to boast that this particu
lar series of services "was among the best camp-meetings
59
ever held in Logan County."
Order and control in camp meeting evangelism was also
achieved by the more deliberate planning that went into the
preparations for revival services. Aside from locating the
most suitable grounds for camp meetings, order was sought
after through the design of the camp grounds. Even at
Cane Ridge there was some semblance of pattern and planning.
Bucke offers the following description of the Cane Ridge
encampment as collated from a number of eyewitness accounts:
Stone's church stood in a beautifyl grove, "finely
shaded and watered and admirably adapted to (the)
purpose of an encampment." The host congregation
had prepared carefully, clearing and leveling a
central area two hundred to three hundred yards long.
The preachers' stand was at one end and, with a spa
cious tent, designed as shelter from heat or rain for
a large assembly. The ground adjoining was laid off
in regular streets, along which the tents were pitched,
while the preachers' lodge was the church building
itself
Johnson describes three traditional designs for laying
out the camp grounds, but there was probably a great deal of
59
Cartwright, pp. 158-159.
6°Bucke, pp. 511-512.
83
variety depending upon the land that was available. Nor
mally the layout would follow that described by Curran
Swaim; he pictured the horses as being pastured at the out
ermost limits of the camp; next to the horses would be the
wagons and carriages along with the tents, situated among
the trees and shaded areas; finally, the worship area it
self with the preachers' stand, altar, and log seats pre-
61
pared for the congregation. Peter Cartwright contended
that the Methodist camp meetings were patterned after those
at Cane Ridge and offered this general description of the
camp design;
They would erect their camps with logs or frame them,
and cover them with clapboards or shingles. They would
also erect a shed, sufficiently large to protect five
thousand people from wind and rain, and cover it with
boards or shingles; build a large stand, seat the shed,
and here they would collect together from forty to
fifty miles around, sometimes further than that. Ten,
twenty, and sometimes thirty ministers, of different
denominations, would come together and preach night
and day, four or five days together.62
Camp meetings in the middle years of the movement's
history began to take on a more permanent pattern of struc
ture and organization as land was purchased by the church
^ ^Swaim, MSS.
62
Cartwright, p.. 43.
84
for the explicit purpose of annual conferences and meetings.
Rev. Thomas Hudson described a September 1825 camp meeting
that took place in Clarksburg, Harrison County, Virginia,
as having refinements that were generally lacking in
western Methodism. According to Hudson, the camp meeting
was "arranged on a grand scale. Instead of tents of the
ordinary kind they had erected comfortable, well-furnished
houses. There was great display of fine clothing and 'Old
Virginia' hospitality. The people fared sumptuously every
6 3
day." Hudson expressed dismay that the congregation re
mained generally unmoved by the powerful preaching at the
meetings and the fact that when the services were concluded
the people would retire to their quarters and "eulogize the
preaching" (p. 81). Possibly he imagined that there was a
relationship between the comforts of the camp and the lack
of spiritual depth of the people. Another Methodist clergy
man described a camp known as the "Goshen Camp-Meeting,"
at which William McKendree preached in 1807. There was
an arbor large enough to hold or shelter six or seven
hundred people. The arbor was built in the form of an
L. The stand was erected in an unsheltered spot, be
tween two squares, so that the congregation could sit
63
Thomas Hudson, p. 81.
85
under each wing and hear preaching. We also had a
small log meeting-house built near the camp ground,
in which we held our first Quarterly-meeting con
ference.^^
In 1809 Jesse Lee, one of Methodism's earliest his
torians, described camp meeting facilities that featured
such luxuries as individual parking slots behind each tent
for wagons and carriages with the horses situated just
behind the carriages where they could conveniently be cared
65
for. At some meetings tents were sufficiently large to
accomodate as many as a hundred individuals, so it can be
assumed that on certain occasions several families would
66
pool their resources and camp together.
The center of attraction at camp meetings was always
the preachers' stand and pulpit. Depending upon the
sophistication of the accomodations, the stand would be
raised above the congregation and normally was large enough
to hold several preachers on a bench behind the speaker.
Often the stand was covered to provide shade and protection
64
John B. McFernn, History of Methodism m Tennessee,
3 vols. (Nashville, 1888), I 459.
65
Jesse Lee, A Short History of the Methodists in the
United States of America, 1766-1809 (Baltimore, 1810), p. 365.
66
Nathan Bangs, A History of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, 4 vols. (New York, 1853), II, 266.
86
from sudden rain storms. If the camp was large enough,
more than one stand was provided. Asbury thought that camp
grounds should always have two stands, for, he reasoned,
"if the work should break out at one, you can go to an-
6 V
other." Evidently, he believed that the spirit of revival
should not disrupt the scheduled activities of the encamp
ment and that the noise of the altar services could be
confined to one end of the grounds where the spontaneity of
revival would continue without bringing the entire program
to a halt. Seating, sometimes of the most primitive kind,
was arranged in rows before the stand with separate
facilities being maintained for men and women. The separa
tion of the sexes was one way that camp meeting leaders
sought to bring control to the services. Cartwright in
sisted that this demarcation should always be observed, and
he related one incident where he would not begin preaching
until some young men had removed themselves from the ladies'
68
pews. Some of the camp meeting rowdism of which Cart
wright wrote occurred when young people refused to observe
the separation of sexes during the preaching service, and
67
Asbury, p. 300.
68Cartwright, pp. 94-95, 101-102.
87
he found it necessary to have the rule enforced (pp. 94-95,
101-102).
Aside from the separation of sexes, division between
white and black was customary. Usually Negros were allowed
a place behind the preachers1 stand where they could listen
to the sermon and be ministered to by black religious
leaders. In a handwritten manuscript found in the Eugene
Russell Hendrix papers at Duke University, the subject of
the "people of color" is dealt with in detail. The report
is identified as an item of business which was adopted by
the South Carolina Conference and forwarded in 1846 to the
General Conference for acceptance. One part.of the document
treats the subject of camp meetings and states:
At our camp meetings, let such accomodations be
furnished at the back of the stand or pulpit, as shall
" be convenient for the holding of prayer-meetings among
the colored people, after preaching as is usual with
the whites in front of the stand. And let the presid
ing minister appoint one or more of their preachers to
conduct these prayer meetings, with the aid of the
colored leaders, from time to time.69
Black preachers sometimes preached in a separate part
of the camp, and living facilities were also kept separate.
But on the last day of the meetings, it was customary for
69
Hendrix Papers, Report No. 8.7.
88
the congregation to merge into one group, black and white
together, in a triumphant march through the camp. The
"marching ceremony" often took place after the plank parti
tion, which had served to separate the races, was torn down,
perhaps in a symbolic act that anticipated the day when, in
eternity, race would no longer be a factor causing separa-
70
tion among Christians.
Enforcing the rules of the camp meeting became a major
problem in maintaining camp meeting decorum. As the camp
meeting matured it exhibited a much greater degree of order.
The Presbyterians had abandoned the boistrous camp meeting
type of evangelism because of its chaotic nature. Method
ists attempted to tame the camp meeting and make it
respectable. However, the rules were not drawn up primarily
to curb the emotionalism. In fact, emotionalism was an
accepted part of nineteenth-century Methodist worship.
Methodists tended toward a muscular type of religion. For
example, D. W. Clarke describes a Methodist prayer meeting
occurring about 1850 at which Bishop Elijah Hedding presided
and which was attended only by clergymen. As they kneeled
to pray they began to lift their chairs and pound them on
^Johnson, p. 46.
89
the floor until, at the conclusion of the meeting, the
furniture was a shambles. This was done, according to
Hedding, without intention, and Clarke offers the following
commentary on the story:
The propriety of such vehement and absorbing zeal may
be called in question; but it is certainly preferable
to a precise and frigid uniformality, which cramps the
energies of the soul and robs religion of its agressive
power. Those were times of great spiritual darkness
and of fearful apathy on the subject of religion, and
it required extraordinary means to break that apathy;
and if those means sometimes came rather harshly across
some of the nicer rules of propriety, they, neverthe
less, were effective in bringing about great and good
results.71
Aside from the emotionalism of camp meeting worship,
it was the questionable activities that such emotionalism
could produce that became a concern to Methodist leaders.
The noise and excitement of the altar services, the strange
religious "exercises" that could cause spectacular disrup
tion of the meetings, the improprieties that could and ofter
did take place, attracted some people who had in mind
interests that were other than spiritual.
Drinking was a major problem, and many accounts of
camp meeting rowdiness attributed the problems to those who
71
Life and Times of Rev. Elijah Hedding (New York,
1855), p. 633.
90
brought and shared whisky. Some were known to sell whisky
on the grounds. At other times, nonMethodists would set up
places for selling whisky close by the camp grounds. These
"tents of wickedness," as they were sometimes called, were
not uncommon. In fact, the main road leading to the camp
ground might even take on a holiday atmosphere with hawkers
vending various kinds of wares such as gingerbread, whisky,
72
and watermelons. These businesses flourished partly be
cause of regulations imposed by Methodist leaders which
curtailed social activity of most sorts on the camp grounds.
The reputation of the camp meeting as a center of social,
rather than spiritual, activity followed it for most of
the movement's history.
In spite of camp regulations, visitors to the meetings
were often annoyed by the emphasis upon socializing. One
letter to the Western Christian Advocate complained about
the constant visiting in tents, the vast amount of freeload-
ing by those who were too "avaricious, indolent, or proud to
provide for themselves," and that the spirit of the meetings
was lost for those unfortunate women who had to do all the
72
Curran Swaim, MSS. Swaim writes that "tents of
wickedness" were always situated about a half mile from the
camp grounds.___________ ___ ________ ______
91
73
cooking and meal preparation. Curran Swaim provided a
critical description of the elaborate preparations for din
ner that took place during the preaching and altar services
of one camp meeting. Evidently his description is that of
a central kitchen the use of which became fairly common
during the later years of the camp meeting movement, and
Swaim provides a valuable insight into the kind of organiza
tion that marked the camp meeting movement in its mature
phase.
We got tired of looking at this mournful scene
(altar service), and went back and took a seat. I got
where I could see through a tent— and what was going
on behind it— a young lady with a little nigger girl—
had each of them a chicken by the legs which they were
dipping into a pot and then snatching off the feathers
and scattering them around at a great rate. Two other
young ladies with naked arms were standing by looking
on— and they all seemed to be chattering with great
liveliness and good humor. I thus had a glimpse of the
power behind the tents— which kept all going— for they
must have something to eat at these meetings. Instead
of five loaves and a few little fishes— they have any
quantity of loaves and a whole flock of chickens— and
mighty good dinners do they get at camp meetings. They
have good things canned as well as spiritual. Preach
ing and shouting and eating and drinking— praying and
mourning and picking of chickens— "fuss and feathers"—
thus the zion of Methodism is builded up. Happy fel
lows must these preachers be— riding about and pro
claiming glad tidings of great joy to all people—
darkening the shine of all competitions among the
73
Western Christian Advocate, July 28, 1837, p. 1.
92
women— with souls for their hire and chicken for the
dinner— they need be in no hurry to get "home to
glory."— they have glory enough on this side of Jordan
to satisfy the desires of humble and reasonable men.74
Rules regarding social activities were established
not only for the misguided Methodist worshipper, they were
also intended for those who came to camp meeting with the
explicit purpose of destroying its revival atmosphere. Al
most from the beginning the Methodists had to be prepared
for persecution from outside forces. Peter Cartwright's
journal is witness to this fact, and entry follows entry
with accounts of fierce battles that took place between
worshippers and rowdies who sought to disrupt the services.
Since liquor was an important factor in this persecution,
it might be speculated that the firm stand taken by Method
ists concerning temperance was reinforced through camp
meeting incidents of a disorderly nature. Fist fights broke
out between preachers and hecklers. Cartwright who was well
over six feet tall and weighed above 200 pounds, often found
it necessary (and evidently quite satisfying) to physically
incapacitate hostile visitors. Sometimes he used his fists,
and on other occasions he appropriated such weapons as he
74
Curran Swaim, MSS.
93
could find. Clubs and guns were not unusual means of en
forcement, and many a peeled sapling branch was used to
sustain order.
Eventually special groups of vigilantes were appointed
to enforce camp meeting regulations and patrolled the camp
grounds day and night. Edward Eggleston, a former circuit
rider who later turned author, includes an entire chapter
in his book, The Circuit Rider, devoted to the heroism of
75
camp meeting police. Egglestone drew from his own experi
ences as a circuit rider and camp meeting evangelist which
provides an "invaluable contribution to our religious and
76
social history." While his book might have limitations as
a novel, the description of camp meetings in which the
Methodists engaged in physical combat with hostile intruders
appears to provide an accurate documentation of the sort of
problems that had to be solved before such frontier evange
lism could gain respectability.
Since local authorities were often powerless to deal
with the problem or, possibly, were unconcerned about it,
75(New York, 1847), Chapter 27.
76
Walter Blair, The Literature of the United States.
2 vols. (Chicago, 1953), II, 351.
94
on many occasions camp ground police had to subdue and
capture antagonists and hold them for a day or two until
justice could be meted out by law enforcement agencies.
Most often, according to Cartwright's journal, the perse
cutors escaped, but only after receiving a sound beating for
their efforts. Some agitators were forced to remain and
hear the Gospel preached to them, and some were converted
because of it. A humorous incident from the memoirs of
Jesse Lee concerns a gang of drunken sailors who attempted
to raise havoc at one of his camp meetings. The seamen
began their disturbance after the midnight hour, and Lee,
using a good degree of psychology, invited them to be seated
in the preaching area to hear a sermon prepared especially
for them. They complied, with the idea of bringing ridicule
upon the preacher. As the sermon progressed, however, the
warm night air, the sounds of the forest, the dimly lighted
grove, the monotonous tone of the preacher1s voice, and the
generous amount of alcohol they had consumed, soon put them
all to sleep. The rest of the campers retired peacefully,
and in the morning Lee told of cold, stiff mariners huddling
about fires and attempting to warm themselves, softly
cursing the preacher who had fooled them while in their
77
drunken stupor.
The various stories of how Methodists coped with
rowdiness eventually became a part of camp meeting myth
ology— a subject which is treated in a later chapter of
this study. As the camp meeting movement matured and more
efficient control was exercised by its leaders, the myth
ology surrounding such figures as Peter Cartwright, Jesse
Lee, James Finley, Allen Wiley, and others came to have a
kind of hallowed import similar to the sacred traditions of
ancient Christianity. These stories would eventually have
a significant part in the continuing of camp meeting revival
long after the primitive nature of its frontier phase had
passed, and, therefore, such mythology has a part in the
rhetoric of the camp meeting movement. While some of the
stories became more elaborate with age, they were evidence
of the sincere desire of the Methodists to bring respect
ability to the camp meeting. In 1804 Francis Asbury wrote
to Daniel Hitt, presiding elder in the Alexandria District
of the Baltimore Conference:
I wish you to be singularly careful of order: sixteen
or twenty men as watchmen, to have their hours of
77
LeRoy M. Lee, The Life and Times of the Rev. Jesse
Lee (Nashville, 1860), p. 485.________________________________
96
watching. I would have them to bear long, white,
peeled rods, that they may be known by all the camp,
and be honored. Let them be the most respectable
elders among the laity. . . . I believe, after we
have established the credit of camp-meetings and
animated the citizens, we must storm the devil's
strongholds.78
While incidents of misconduct continued to plague the
camp meeting movement throughout its entire history, gener
ally speaking, regulation and order became more common
characteristics of Methodist revivalism in the years follow
ing 1805.
Decline of the Camp Meeting Movement
The prime years of the camp meeting movement fall
between 1805, when order, control and respectability enablec
the frontier type of evangelism to gain general acceptace
and popularity throughout the western and rural communities
of the United States, and 1840, when a gradual decline in
camp meeting literature, attendance and scheduling indicated
a decreasing enthusiasm for the outdoor religious encamp
ments. The growing disinterest in camp meetings after 1840
can be attributed to such obvious causes as a settling of
the frontier in general, the improved means of transporta-
^Asbury, III, 300.
97
tion in the form of stage coach routes, railroads and better
highways, and the eventual overexposure of this form of
79
revivalism. With the increased number of settlers who
followed the early pioneers came schools, law enforcement
agencies, churches, and other refinements which brought
sophistication to the West. Certainly, there remained many
isolated and primitive communities that lagged behind the
trend toward urbanization, but by 1840 these were in the
minority in the trans-Allegheny West. The increased mobil
ity of the western population naturally brought about more
social refinements, more luxuries, and a greater sense of
community consciousness. The circuit rider, fording rivers
and traveling wilderness trails, became a less common
figure. Settled communities meant permanent church build
ings with increased comforts and a more urban type of minis
try. With the building of schools the demand for a more
educated clergy also increased, and this was bound to effect
the kind of evangelism, as well as the kind of preaching,
used in the West. Nottingham writes concerning the progress
of the West and its effect upon Methodism:
79
Johnson, Chapter 13.
98
Methodism, too, was changing its character. The
stationed preacher was entrusted with the continuous
care of a particular congregation. His work naturally
came to be of a more pastoral kind. He preached to the
same congregation Sunday after Sunday, and thus his
contacts with his people were far closer than those
afforded by a monthly or bimonthly preaching appoint
ment. These station appointments were much coveted
by Methodist preachers.80
The reputation of the camp meeting and the apparent
lack of stable results issuing from it were also factors
contributing to the decline of the movement. Allen Wiley,
a pioneer Methodist circuit rider in Indiana and staunch
defender of the camp meeting, admitted that many of the
converts of this form of evangelism tended to "backslide"
and did not become substantial members of the church. He
wrote in 1846:
The shrinkage after our great revivals has been to
me a matter of apinful observation for many years.
Take the western country in general, so far as I am
acquainted with it, and (observe that) there are many
thousands that were once connected with the Methodist
Episcopal Church . . . who have no connection with it,
or any other Christian church. I would think the per
sons in this condition would number nearly, or quite,
half as many as our present membership. (p. 66)
The question of permanence in conversion experiences
also became an issue in camp meeting rhetoric, since some of
^Nottingham, p. 75.
99
the critics of frontier evangelism pointed to the apparent
uselessness of altar struggles which were soon forgotten by
temporary penitents. However, frontier evangelists could
point to numbers of additional names on Methodist class
rolls, and the records of the Methodist Episcopal Church
witnessed to the fact that the church was rapidly growing.
The increased comforts that came with the settling
of the frontier might also be seen as contributing to the
decline of the camp meeting. At least, this could have
discouraged worshippers from tenting on the grounds. By
1855 one writer reported that few tents were to be seen on
camp grounds, and that these few campers were constantly
beseiged by requests for food, and such freeloading, he
complained, was reducing camp meeting enthusiasm. In addi
tion to the lack of campers, the observer further complained
that the camp meeting had come to be used by the clergy witl
little discretion, the implication being that the prolifera
tion of camp meetings and the lack of adequate planning for
them was creating general disenchantment with such evange
listic efforts. He wrote that
preachers in the ardor of their zeal, insist earnestly
in having camp meetings, or perhaps without due con
sideration and consultation proceed to appoint them,
and some of the people, in the goodness of their hearts,
100
finally resolve to attend them, burdensome as they
are rather than to offend the preacher, wound his
feelings, or be thought indifferent to the interests
of the Church. The meeting comes on, and with such
feelings on the part of those who are to support it,
the result may easily be f o r t o l d . ^ 1
The author proposed that permanent camp facilities
should be established with rules requiring everyone who
attended to provide for himself and his family either by
bringing adequate provisions or using facilities that could
be provided, for a fee, by the Methodist church in charge.
The above observations reflect the changing thought con
cerning camp meetings that eventually resulted in the summer
conference and Chaurauqua activities of the later nine
teenth century.
Another result of the growing aversion to "roughing
it" at camp meetings was the move toward protracted meetings
that were held in established church buildings. The growing
number of station churches brought forth a new kind of
evangelist; he would travel from community to community
holding services in established churches to which the mem
bers and their neighbors would come in the evenings and
81
"Camp Meetings— What They Are— And What They Might
Be, " reprinted in the Annals of Southern Methodism for 1855,
ed. Charles Deems (New York, 1856), pp. 370-371.
101
return home following each meeting. These traveling
evangelists, more educated than the early circuit rider,
brought about a new kind of evangelism that featured such
great leaders as Charles Finney, Dwight L. Moody and Billy
Sunday.
Finally, with the continued settling of the frontier,
new froms of entertainment and social activity came to sup
plant the camp meeting. A denser population offered cul
tural as well as educational benefits. Political activity
and social reform movements concerned with temperance,
abolition of slavery, prison conditions and other equali-
tarian interests which intensified during the years 1830 to
1850, attracted a great deal of attention away from the
churches, although the camp meeting certainly fostered a
good deal of interest in such matters. The camp meeting
continued in many areas of America into the twentieth
century, but after 1840 it began to lose the impetus that
had made it such a valuable religious and social institution
in America.
Summary and Evaluation of the Camp Meeting
The camp meeting was marked by a number of obvious
weaknesses. It appealed mainly to that segment of the
102
population that desired an emotional and climactic religious
experience and, therefore, tended toward hysteria and con
fusion in its form. The camp meeting was typical of a
large segment in frontier religion that built upon ignorance
and fostered anti-intellectualism in western America. The
obsession of camp meeting preachers with the holiness and
piety of the individual Christian served, in part, to blunt
the concern of nineteenth-century American Methodists for
social reform, a concern that was eventually espoused by
societies outside of the church. Finally, the popularity
of the camp meeting as promoted by the Methodists brought
a strong emphasis upon individualism; it was an individual
ism which sprang from the frontier spirit and infected
American Protestantism with a drift toward dissention and
disunity that eventually developed into an unhealthy atti
tude of competition between and the proliferation of
denominations.
In spite of its weaknesses, the camp meeting movement
made some valuable contributions to the social, intellec
tual, and religious development of America. It arose in
answer to the needs of the early frontier, and when those
needs were no longer demanding, it faded away or found ex
pression in new modes. At a time when the western
103
population of America needed spiritual strength, the camp
meeting took the place of established and organized
Christianity. The primitive barbarianism that characterized
the wilderness way of life was met and, in part, tamed
through the use of camp meeting evangelism. Its social
attraction had a broad appeal even to those for whom re
ligion held little interest, and the camp meeting became a
social as well as a religious experience for those who par
ticipated in it. Through this means the Methodist Episcopal
Church was able to minister to people who otherwise may not
have encountered the Gospel.
Out of the ranks of those who labored in the camp
meetings came leaders who influenced the country politically
as well as religiously. Peter Cartwright eventually
entered politics and served in the lower house of the Illi
nois General Assembly, being elected to office in 1828 and
again in 1832. Of the 1832 election, Abraham Lincoln, who
opposed Cartwright for the office, later commented that
this was "the only time I ever have been beaten by the
82
people." John Price Durbin, Jesse Lee, and William H.
Milburn all served as circuit riders and camp meeting
82
Cartwright, p. 8.
104
preachers and eventually held posts as Chaplain in either
the United States Senate or the House of Representatives.
Milburn held both posts and, like John Durbin, supplied de
tailed accounts of the rhetorical activities in the Americar
Congress. Edward Tiffin, who served as a local Methodist
preacher, later became the first governor of Ohio.
It was only natural that successful Methodist clergy
men emerged from the camp meeting movement and the circuit
to become active in local and national politics, since
public speaking was the major avenue for both religious and
political activity. Sweet contends that Methodism on the
frontier "trained laymen in the art of public speaking and
83
public leadership as perhaps nothing else was able to do."
Because Methodism drew heavily on local talent to fill its
ministerial ranks on the frontier, it can be assumed that
preaching on the circuit and in the camp meeting was ex
cellent preparation for politics. The frontier preacher whc
was a product of the West obviously had an interest in its
political development, and sometimes that interest became
more compelling to him than the business of the church.
83
William Warren Sweet, The Rise of Methodism in the
West (Nashville, 1920), p. 70.
105
Politics was an important factor in the frontiersman's life,
and the camp meeting, on occasion, became a place for polit
ical discussion during hours between services. Evidently,
Methodist leaders were known to express some concern over
the interest that camp meeting participants showed toward
politics as opposed to religious matters. For example, in
a letter dated August 12, 1828, a John Butner, who was
probably running for office in a local election, made the
following remarks about camp meeting rules:
I was at the Camp Meeting on Monday Evening and Thurs
day morning, and there [heard] it was against the rules
to Electioneer nor did I come with that intention, for
I always have and shall hold all places of divine wor
ship to sacred (nor never will Break any rules of any
society whatsoever) to go purposely for that intention,
I saw it was impossible to remain from shaking hands
and discoursing on the subject. Which induced me to
leave there to prevent any Mistrust, that I was there
[. . . ] for that intent.84
The increased interest in politics and social issues,
accented by the growing tension between North and South, was
strongly felt in the Methodist Episcopal Church which, in
1845, divided over the issue of slavery. The tragedy of
broken friendships and bitter feelings that cut into the
effectiveness of the Church's ministry is clearly recorded
84
William Clark Daub Papers.
106
in the historical documents of American Methodism. The
camp meeting was to continue as an important means of summer
evangelism in both the North and the South, but its char
acter would be so changed by the events of the mid nine
teenth century that it would never again be the same.
The camp meeting movement also provided an important
influence for nineteenth-century rhetoric. Aside from the
valuable training in public speaking that such evangelism
offered the lay preacher and circuit rider, the popularity
of the camp meeting created an atmosphere of acceptability
for a new and different style of preaching. Formality of
style and mannerism from the pulpit was seriously chal
lenged by the western dialect so effectively used by the
frontier camp meeting preacher. Of the frontier circuit
rider and camp meeting preachers Weisberger writes:
They created an atmosphere of intensity and zeal
which lingered after them, and they gave respectability,
of a sort, to plain, ungrammatical and almost chatty
talk about eternal concerns. They turned Jesus, the
host of heaven and the powers of hell into villians
and heroes as recognizable as Indians and claimjumpers.
The revival of the nineteenth century finally came to
be a series of mass meetings addressed in plain lan
guage with emotional zest by a man untutored in tech
nical divinity. Such meetings first took place on
the frontier under the revivalistic Presbyterians;
such meetings were rivited into American experience
107
by the traveling Methodists.85
Even though the camp meeting ceased to be an effective
influence after 1840, it found expression in new ways; the
protracted series of revival meetings held in local church
es, the political contribution of former preachers and cir
cuit riders, the kind of preaching that became characteris
tic of later nineteenth-century revivalists, were all resi
dues of the camp meeting movement. Veteran Methodist
preachers could not envision the lingering effects of their
work upon American culture. Like Peter Cartwright, they
were apt to lament:
I am sorry to say that the Methodist Episcopal Church
of late years, since they have become numerous and
wealthy, have almost let camp meetings die out. I am
very certain that the most successful part of my minis
try has been on the camp-ground. There the word of God
has reached the hearts of thousands that otherwise, in
all probability, never would have been reached by the
ordinary means of grace. Their practicability and use
fulness have, to some extent, been tested this year,
1856, in my district, Pleasant Plains, and I greatly de
sire to see a revival of camp-meetings in the Methodist
Episcopal Church before I go hence and am no more, or
before I leave the walls of Zion. Come, my Methodist
brethren, you can well afford to spend one week in each
year, in each circuit, or station, on the tented field.
But there must be a general rally; it will be but a
small burden if there is a general turn out, but if a
few only tent, it will be burdensome, and will finally
destroy camp-meetings altogether.86
85 86
Weisberger, p. 50. Cartwright, p. 339.
CHAPTER III
THE RHETORIC OF THE METHODIST CAMP MEETING MOVEMENT:
AN EVOLUTIONARY THEORY
The peculiar character possessed by our human so
cial environment belongs to it by virtue of the pecu
liar character of human social activity; and that
character, as we have seen, is to be found in the
process of communication.
— George Herbert Mead-*-
Edwin Black is one of the more prominent voices that
has questioned traditional approaches to rhetorical criti
cism and represents a "dramatic challenge" to the method
first posited by Herbert Wilchelns and then widely accepted
2
in subsequent years by researchers in the field of speech.
Black asserted that "variety is wanting in methods of
rhetoric and that the options available to the critic need
George Herbert Mead, Mind. Self and Society: From the
Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist, ed. Charles W. Morris
(Chicago, 1934), p. 145.
2
Walter R. Fisher, "Method in Rhetorical Criticism,"
Southern Speech Journal, XXXV:2 (Winter 1969), 104.
108
109
3
to be multiplied. ..." Among the critics who have of
fered a fresh look at rhetorical studies, Black cited
Griffin's concept of the movement study as a "new and ex
citing prospect to rhetorical criticism" (p. 22). This
writer has undertaken an investigation of the Methodist
camp meeting movement using a methodology based upon the
writings of George Herbert Mead and which reflects important
elements of Griffin's approach to the study of historical-
rhetorical movements.
The Evolutionary Theory
George Herbert Mead, leader in the school of pragma
tism, sought to combine scientific evolution with a philo
sophic concept of man. Central to his theory was the
conviction that the fundamental human act is essentially a
social act which involves the individual with his society
and dynamically effects the relationship between man and
his environment. The essentially social nature of human
existence, established through vocal communication, is the
source of "language proper and all derivative symbolism;
4
and so of mind," according to Mead. Mead's primary concerr
^Black, p. viii.
4
______ Mead. Mind, Self and Society, p. xxn._________________
110
is not with mind as the source of humane studies, but with
society and the social process which begins with the "so
cial gesture." Social gesture is defined by Mead as a
movement of the organism serving as stimulus to bring forth
an appropriate response of a second organism (p. 13, ft.
nt. 9). Mind, or thought, is a development of the social
process and is conducted by means of role-playing which,
according to Mead, is indispensable to human behavior. The
role-playing activity of the mind is the means whereby the
individual assumes the place of others and conducts himself
in accordance with his interpretation of their various
roles. Charles Morris summarizes Mead's philosophy in the
following manner:
Mead's social psychology shows the method by which the
individual members of human society are able through
human communication to take over into themselves the
social act in which they play a part— a part which they
themselves can control in terms of their now understood
relation to the whole. Mind, as involving the symbolic
internalization of the complete social act, and the
self, as an object that has itself for an object, are
on this view seen as social emergents made possible
through the process of linguistic communication within
the social act— a position which Mead has elaborated
in the greatest detail. . . .5
5
George Herbert Mead, The Philosophy of the Act, ed.
Charles W. Morris (Chicago, 1938), p. ix.
Ill
Closely related to Mead's concept of mind, and also
emerging from observation of man's use of language, is his
theory of the "objective self." Briefly stated, Mead
posited the idea that a significant aspect of human person
ality development— that which differientiates human from
other forms of animal life— is the ability of the human
organism to view itself in an objective manner. Emergence
of the objective self, or the self outside the real self,
serves as a significant constituent in the process of per
sonality evolvement, and it is made possible by the role-
playing activity of the mind. Morris states: "In so far
as one can take the role of the other, he can, as it were,
look back upon himself from (respond to himself from) that
g
perspective, and so become an object to himself." Through
what is essentially a social process, then, the self emerges
as a composite of images gained through linguistic inter
change with other individuals. Mead attached great signif
icance to the linguistic process whereby the self developed
and wrote:
That the person should be responding to himself is
necessary to the self, and it is this sort of social
g
Mead, Mind. Self and Society, p. xxiv.
112
conduct that provides behavior within which the self
appears. I know of no other form of behavior than the
linguistic in which the individual is an object to
himself, and, so far as I can see, the individual is
not a self in the reflexive sense unless he is an ob
ject to himself. It is this fact that gives a criti
cal importance to communication, since this is a type
of behavior in which the individual does so respond
to himself. (p. 142)
Mead contended that this social process was so essen
tial to human personality development that "the self is not
there as a self apart from this type of experience" (p.
142). In another place, he claimed:
A self can arise only where there is a social pro
cess within which this self has had its initiation.
It arises within that process. For that process the
communication and participation to which I have re
ferred is essential. That is the way in which selves
as such have arisen. That is where the individual is
in a social process in which he is a part, where he
does influence himself as he does others. There the
self arises. And there he turns back upon himself,
directs himself. He takes over those experiences
which belong to his organism. He identifies them with
himself. What constitutes the particular structure of
his experience is what we call his 'thought.1 It is
the conversation which goes on within the self.7
The role-playing activity which ultimately results in
the emergence of the objective self bears a striking simi
larity to Kenneth Burke's concept of the process of
7
George Herbert Mead, Movements of Thought in the
Nineteenth Century, ed. Merritt H. Moore (Chicago, 1936),
pp. 384-385._________________________________________________
113
identification. Kenneth Wilkerson speculates that Burke
was probably influenced by Mead's writings. However, as
Wilkerson sees it, Burke's rhetorical theory is more heavily
. . £
weighted toward identification as method than as condition.
Wilkerson writes:
Burke's identification refers to a method (or a class
of methods) used by communicators to construct symbolic
grounds in which socially divided units are merged.
Whereas Burke directs attention to the use of such de
vices, Mead's account of communication in terms of sig
nificant symbols goes some way toward describing the
functional mechnaisms which make such use possible.
(p. 47)
Wilkerson's point is well taken, for, in fact, Burke
maintains that Mead formulates a theory in which incipient
acts, particularly attitudes, are used in an introductory
capacity rather than a substitutive manner; that is, while
an attitude can replace an action, it can likewise serve as
the first step toward that same action. According to Burke,
the vocal gestures which are so important to Mead's theory
of language as a social phenomenon simply serve to "arouse
in ourselves the attitudes that language serves to arouse
in others; and thereby we adopt the 'attitude of the other'
0
Wilkerson, p. 47.
114
9
in the formation of our moral consciousness." Hugh Dalziel
Duncan, late Professor of Sociology and English at Southern
llllinois University, expresses a similar view when he
writes that "while Mead's model of the act is a communica
tive model, the communication within the act is about
'knowing,' not 'acting.in another place, Duncan com
plains that Mead failed to provide a consistent model of the
act as it functions in communication.But Mead seemed not
to be concerned with models. Rather, his interest lay in
exploring the role-playing process whereby the self emerges
and matures in the social context. If anything, Mead
stressed the fact that the line of demarcation that distin
guishes "knowing" from "acting" is not easily drawn. Mead
distinguished four progressive stages in the complete act
(impulse, perception, manipulation, and consummation), but
he envisioned the possibility that the first half of the
process, which concludes with perception, could embody the
9
Kenneth Burke, A Grammar of Motives (Berkeley, 1969),
p. 236.
^°"The Search for a Social Theory of Communication in
American Sociology," Human Communication Theory, ed. Frank
E. X. Dance (New York, 1967), p. 246.
■^Hugh Dalziel Duncan, Communication and Social Order
(New York, 1962), p. 103.
115
entire act. He referred to perception as a "collapsed
12
act." In other words, anticipation of the responses of
others to the possible acts initiated by the self is the
essence of human judgment and is stimulated by initial per
ception. Such judgment is not possible without role-
playing which enables the self to predict the attitudes of
others. Even attitudes are a form of act as far as Mead
was concerned; he referred to them as "truncated acts,"
since one attitude stimulates responding attitudes in others
which, in turn, activate the modification of attitudes in
13
the self. This "conversation of gestures" is a continu
ance of the act initiated by the primary attitude expressed
14
by the self.
While it might seem appropriate to differentiate
Mead's treatment of role-playing from Burke's theory of
identification, both actually share some important charac
teristics. Both have the same common purpose; that of
adjustment to, and acceptance by, one's environment.
Neither mode of adjustment is an end in itself but leads to
12
Mead, Philosophy of the Act, p. 128.
13
George Herbert Mead, Selected Writings, ed. Andrew J.
Reck (Indianapolis, 1964), p. 109.
14
_______ Mead, Mind, Self and Society, p. 167.
116
further modification of attitudes and acts. Both are
hazardous processes that depend for their success upon one's
accurate interpretation of stimuli. One significant dif
ference that should be noted, however, is that while both
concepts arise from a basic human need for social accep
tance, Burkean identification, while recognizing the natural
and unconscious aspects of communication, is deliberately
strategic, while Mead sees role-playing as a process of
unconscious cooperation which brings about the development
of self in an essentially social environment. Role-playing
in its most basic form is described by Mead in the follow
ing manner:
We are more or less unconsciously seeing ourselves
as others see us. We are unconsciously addressing our
selves as others address us; in the same way as the
sparrow takes up the note of the canary we pick up the
dialects about us. Of course, there must be these par
ticular responses to our own mechanism. We are calling
out in the other person something we are calling out in
ourselves, so that unconsciously we take over these at
titudes. We are unconsciously putting ourselves in the
place of others and acting as others act. (pp. 68-69)
As the self emerges the role-playing process becomes
more reflective and self-conscious leading to an ability on
the part of the individual to exercise control over his own
117
15
response. Control, as the end product of role-taking, is
seen by Mead as a most significant aspect of human behavior
because "it carries the process of co-operative activity
farther than it can be carried in the herd as such, or in
16
the insect society." Role-taking becomes synonymous with
self-criticism "serving to integrate the individual and his
actions with reference to the organized social process of
experience and behavior in which he is implicated" (pp. 254-
255). For Burke, identification conveys a deliberate
strategy to overcome his natural isolation; for Mead, role-
playing describes an inherent process by which the self
emerges and developes in integration with its society.
Mead's theory is significant to this study in at
least two ways: first, it provides a fresh approach to the
process of identification that functions in rhetorical dis
course by explaining this process as a natural aspect of
15
Bernard N. Meltzer critizes Mead's lack of specifi
city in the use of role-taking and cautions that "the reader
of Mead must bear in mind that the latter type of 'role-
playing' [unwitting] is not what Mead usually has in mind
when he employs the concept." Jerome G. Manis and Bernard
N. Meltzer, Symbolic Interaction: A Reader in Social Psy
chology (Boston, 1967), p. 20.
16
Mead, Mind. Self and Society, pp. 254-255.
118
personality evolvement which* while emphasizing its self-
conscious nature, is chiefly concerned with the manner in
which language serves as a vehicle for the appearance of
17
mind and self; secondly, Mead supplied broad implications
for his theory that form an important foundation for move
ment studies. What is true of the evolutionary process of
personality development for the individual self is equally
applicable, according to Mead, to social institutions.
Mead contended that:
the institutions of society are organized forms of
group or social activity— forms so organized that the
individual members of society can act adequately and
socially by taking the attitudes of others toward these
activities. . . . In any case, without social institu
tions of some sort, without the organized social atti
tudes and activities by which social institutions are
constituted, there could be no fully mature individual
selves or personalities at all; for the individuals in
volved in the general social life-process of which so
cial institutions are organized manifestations can de
velop and possess fully mature selves or personalities
only in so far as each one of them reflects or prehends
in his individual experience these organized social at
titudes and activities which social institutions embody
or represent. Social institutions, like individual
selves, are developments within, or particular and
formalized manifestations of, the social-life process
at its human evolutionary level.I8
17
Meltzer feels that this is one of the significant
contributions that Mead has provided. Manis and Meltzer,
p. 23.
18
Mead, Mind. Self and Society, pp. 261-262.
119
Mead also maintained that
the structure of the complete self is . . . a reflec
tion of the complete social process. The organization
and unification of a social group is identical with
the organization and unification of any one of the
selves arising within the social process in which the
group is engaged, or which it is carrying on. (p. 144)
Again, Mead stated: "What I want to make evident is that
the development, the evolution, of mind as well as institu
tion, is a social evolution. . . . Society in its organiza
tion is a form, a species that has developed; and it has
19
many forms developing within it." Thus, Mead has pro
vided a theory which can be adapted to rhetorical studies
of social institutions and movements. Rather than examin
ing the strategies used by men in overtly seeking to
influence others, Mead's social psychology leads to a study
of the genesis and growth of social institutions and move
ments through an examination of language usage which brings
it all about.
One interesting aspect of using Mead's theory of the
emerging self in rhetorical studies of social movements is
its lack of predicability. Rhetorical criticism based upon
19
Mead, Movements of Thought in the Nineteenth Century,
p. 383.
120
evolution of the self cannot be confined to a predetermined
set of criteria. Such is not the case, for example, with
20
Griffin's methodology. Griffin's contribution to rhetor
ical criticism is valuable in that it discloses a general
pattern of discourse which surrounds typical historical
movements and which is carefully marked by certain attri
butes that indicate each stage of development. Griffin
divides the rhetoric of movement studies into three major
phases. First, he distinguishes the period of "inception"
and contends that it is characterized by negative rhetoric
which builds upon dissatisfaction. The second phase, that
of "rhetorical crisis," is distinguished by the attempted
destruction of old forms and the establishment of new order.
Finally, the period of "consumation" completes the movement
study and is marked by efforts to reaffirm the movement's
purposes and to "actualize the perfecting myth of the move
ment" in opposition to new leadership and fresh movements
which arise to challenge established authority. Thus, the
type of rhetoric at any given period in a movement's history
can be anticipated by the researcher who utilizes Griffin's
20
Leland M. Griffin, "A Dramatistic Theory of the Rhet
oric of Movements," in Critical Responses to Kenneth Burke,
ed. William H. Rueckert (Minneapolis, 1969), pp. 456-478.
121
methodology.
Evolutionary rhetoric based upon Mead's theory of the
emerging self, on the other hand, cannot be predicted nor is
it confined to a particular set of characteristics. By
examining the process through which the self evolves in
social contact and dialogue, it is possible only to desig
nate certain personality traits and idiosyncrasies as
symptomatic of the environment in which such evolution took
place. In addition, certain conjectures could be made as
to the ultimate results of particular influences upon the
individual brought about by circumstances occurring during
the process of development, but such conjectures would be
highly specualtive. For this very reason psychology cannot
glibly answer the problems of personality development and
abnormality, since what is true of one individual might be
completely opposite of another person exposed to the same
set of environmental circumstances— depending upon their
ability to accurately perceive and interpret stimuli. When
applied to rhetorical studies of social movements, such as
that of the Methodist camp meeting, Mead's theory calls for
a careful examination of the developing self-image of the
movement as seen in the evolution of the rhetoric emanating
from its spokesmen: rhetoric which arises in response to,
122
as well as through the addressing of, the social environment
in which the movement exists. The result is a much more
flexible methodology than Griffin provides and is easily
applicable to movements such as the Methodist camp meeting
which do not necessarily fit the typical pattern of move
ment studies.
Mead envisioned the emergence of the self, and there
fore the institution, as progressing through two general
stages. The first phase will be called the "genesis" period
of development, and the second phase will be referred to as
the "generalized other." The first phase is characterized
by the emergence of the self through the perception and
interpretation of attitudes expressed by others toward the
self or toward each other. The second phase, marked by a
higher degree of maturity of the self, is distinguished by
the "organization of the social attitudes of the generalized
other or the social group as a whole to which he [the self]
21
belongs." Of the second stage, Mead wrote:
These social or group attitudes are brought within the
individual's field of direct experience, and are in
cluded as elements in the structure or constitution of
his self, in the same way that the attitudes of partic-
21
Mead, Mind, Self and Society, p. 158.
123
ular other individuals are; and the individual arrives
at them, or succeeds in taking them, by means of fur
ther organizing, and then generalizing, the attitudes
of particular other individuals in terms of their
organized social bearings and implications. So the
self reaches its full development by organizing these
individual attitudes of others into the organized so
cial or group attitudes, and by thus becoming an in
dividual reflection of the general systematic pattern
of social or group behavior in which it and others are
all involved— a pattern which enters as a whole into
the individual's experience in terms of these organized
group attitudes which, through the mechanism of his
central nervous system, he takes toward himself, just
as he takes the individual attitudes of others. (p. 158)
While Mead separated the process of personality
development into two general phases, there are no further
conjectures as to patterns of communication that would
typify either phase. Mead simply stated that such communi
cation as is necessary to the developmental process will
exist throught the evolution of the self. It is the goal
of this study to investigate the kinds of rhetorical dis
course that marked each phase of the evolution of the
Methodist camp meeting movement. The genesis phase, which
has already been designated as those years between 1800 and
1805, and the second phase, or that of the generalized
other, which spans roughly the years between 1806 and 1840,
will be given primary consideration. The final period in
the camp meeting movement, which Johnson designates as that
of gradual but inevitable decline, and which Griffin would
124
call the period of consumation, will be examined for those
factors which contributed to the ultimate demise of camp
meeting evangelism.
Since Mead's concern was with human personality
development and maturation, a period of decline or consuma-
tion was beyond his consideration. However, the continued
development of the self through communication with society
is naturally dependent upon the awareness and sensitivity
of individuals to the attitude-stimuli of their social en
vironment, for such awareness is essential to dialogue.
When adjustment through such communication is no longer
possible, the institution, as well as the individual self,
passes quite naturally into disintegration.
A number of characteristics establish the Methodist
camp meeting movement as uniquely suited for a study based
upon an evolutionary theory of rhetoric. First, the camp
meeting movement did not rise as an anti-movement and, in
light of Griffin's approach to movement studies, was
atypical of historical movements in general. Camp meeting
rhetoric did not build upon dissatisfaction nor was it
marked by negativism, except in the sense that the rhetoric
of Christianity has always been judgmental of human be
havior. To begin with, there was nothing unique about the
125
preaching in the wooded groves that distinguished it from
preaching that took place in the pioneer cabin or general
store where the circuit riders most often held forth. But
with the burgeoning of camp meeting attendance and the
hysteria that characterized the meetings, the preaching
certainly acquired identifiable qualities that associated
it with a particular movement. Nor did the camp meeting
build upon a foundation of concerned dialogue such as that
which characterized other historical religious movements.
Luther's 95 theses, which signaled the beginning of the
Reformation, were nailed to the door of the Castle Church
in Wittenberg as a part of the continuing dialogue on papal
corruption, a dialogue which could be traced back to the
twelfth century. And even John Wesley's Methodism built
upon the religious society movement which began at least 50
years before Wesley's Aldersgate experience. The camp meet
ing revivals, however, were preceded by little more than
the traditional activity of the Methodist Church to propa
gate the Christian Gospel. The camp meeting movement arose
spontaneously and without deliberate preparation and was as
much a surprise to church leaders as it was to its frontier
adherents.
A second distinguishing characteristic of the camp
126
meeting movement was the lack of emphasis upon structure
and organization. There was little attempt to organize a
camp meeting polity, and the movement never existed inde
pendent from the Methodist Church. The fact that it was
never recognized as an official branch of Methodism is even
more astonishing in light of its tremendous success in
building church membership. The camp meeting was viewed
more as a technique than a department of evangelism, and no
provisions were allowed for its continuance or increased
efficiency, at least on an official denominational scale.
Jesse Lee, early Methodist preacher and denominational
historian, spoke of the lack of organization in camp meeting
revivals as follows:
Indeed these meetings have never been authorized by
the Methodists either at their general or annual con
ferences. They have been allowed of; but we as a body
of people, have never made any rules or regulations
about them; we allow our presiding elders and traveling
preachers to appoint them, when and where they please,
and to conduct them in what manner they think fit.22
Camp meeting manuals, hymnbooks, and permanently es
tablished conference grounds became common throughout Amer
ican Methodism, but whatever structure the camp meeting
22
Jesse Lee, p. 367.
127
movement enjoyed was primarily on a conference level.
Leaders of the camp meeting movement were leaders within
the Methodist Church, many of whom rose to prominence
through camp meeting activity, but they were never separate
from or free of denominational authority. The camp meeting
movement had no independence from Methodism, and its goals
were identical with the goals of the Methodist Church.
Finally, and possibly most important, rhetoric should
be viewed as a product rather than a cause of the camp meet
ing movement; it was a very important product, the study of
which leads to some significant insights into this particu
lar social institution. It has already been stated that
the earliest stage of the camp meeting movement was not
marked by a rhetoric of dissent or negativism. But even
further, rhetoric had no deliberate part in the genesis of
the movement. In some instances preaching was incidental
to the success of the camp meeting and served more as a
vehicle for its activity than a cause of it. The rhetoric
of the Methodist camp meeting movement, especially in the
earliest years of the revival, became more of a form than a
force. But it was an important form, an expressive form
that, like the uncertain utterances of the individual self,
was directed toward constitution of mind and personality
128
through dialogue with its environment.
In addition to preaching, there were other important
forms of rhetoric that emerged from the camp meeting move
ment. Significant literature included formal treatises and
periodical materials published in defense of camp meetings,
hymns, and a miscellany of stories and descriptions of early
camp meetings which eventually became a part of the myth
ology surrounding the movement. But preaching was the most
important expression of the movement, especially in the
earliest phase of development. It is in the preaching, more
than any other aspect of its rhetoric, that the evolution
of the camp meeting movement can be traced. This chapter
is primarily concerned with the place that preaching held
in the camp meeting movement, how preaching influenced the
camp meeting movement, as well as how camp meeting preachinc
was effected by those factors which contributed to the
progressive development of the camp meeting movement. A
descriptive analysis of camp meeting preaching, hymnology
and apologetical literature will be presented in Chapters
IV and V of the study.
The Period of Genesis
At least three significant factors can be seen as
129
vital in shaping the kind of rhetoric that characterized
the earliest phase of the Methodist camp meeting movement.
First, the primitive conditions of frontier life form the
environment into which the camp meeting was born and
certainly exerted an important influence upon its character.
Secondly, the obvious lack of education that marked re
ligious leader and layman alike limited the movement to a
kind of oratory that encouraged the frenzied activity that
was typical of early camp meetings. Finally, the Methodist
system of itinerancy, as described in Chapter II, tended to
perpetuate the lack of sophistication that was so charac
teristic of camp meeting preaching during the early years.
Probably the most important of these influencing forces was
that of education.
With few notable exceptions, the circuit rider and
camp meeting evangelist was uneducated, lacking in polished
manners and crude in self-expression to the point of em
barrassment for eastern church leadership. For the most
part, the circuit rider owed his cultural inadequacies to
the environment in which he ministered and, for many a one,
the environment out of which he came. It is difficult to
separate the influence of the itinerancy from the education
al inadequacies of frontier Methodism, for to a large degree
13 0
the one was generator of the other. Using the itinerant
system on the frontier, Methodism drew upon local talent to
serve its circuit churches. The result was a fairly in
digenous western church that not only made possible the
rapid expansion of the camp meeting movement, but also en
couraged the kind of preaching that came from a poor edu
cational foundation.
Those who gathered for the religious meetings in the
woods were stout people who struggled against difficult
conditions in order to maintain their survival. Curti
enumerates the obstacles to intellectualism on the western
frontier and mentions indians, hard toil, sickness, and
23
perils of natural calamity. There was little time for
reading books when so much of the frontiersman1s time was
demanded for the daily tasks of living. Because of educa
tional inadequacies the frontiersmen shared a general aver
sion to intellectual achievement in others. Curti writes:
In view of the large proportion of illiterate
people on the frontier and in view of the fact that
academic learning was not only useless but often con
sidered a handicap in the work of clearing forests,
fighting indians, and the like, the widespread preju
dice against intellectuals, against education, was
23
Curti, pp. 266-268.
131
natural enough. Self-reliant and versatile by neces
sity, the frontiersmen distrusted the claims of the
expert. Ignorant of any way of life except his own,
the pioneer was apt to ridicule the man of learning.
Indeed, much of the learning represented by scholars
on the frontier was, as it appeared to the untutored,
dry, cold, and impractical. To the democratic fron
tiersman this was still further occasion for resentment
for, in the words of a keen observer, Judge James Hall,
the pioneer would not be 'patronized or high-hatted'.
(p. 268)
There is a good deal of evidence to support Curti's
claim that the anti-intellectualism of the common frontiers
man was "confirmed by the unlettered preachers" (p. 268).
For the Methodist circuit rider who was drawn from the ranks
of the common people and who embarked upon his ministry with
little or no formal education, the task was approached with
a greater degree of dedication than preparation. The cir
cuit became his place of learning, and the lonely hours
spent riding from one community to the next provided him
with some time, albiet limited, for study. For some who
could not read, even this time was lost for education. The
number of illiterate itinerants was probably small, however,
and some of the traditional stories used to humorously il
lustrate the ignorance of the circuit riders are either
apocryphal or mistakenly referring to unordained exhorters.
A license to preach was even denied on occasion because the
132
24
applicant could not read. The Methodist Discipline ex
horted ministers to read daily as well as to carry on other
25
activities of self-improvement. The assumption of such
a regulation would be that Methodist ministers could at
least read.
But circuit riders and camp meeting preachers with
formal education were the exception rather than the rule.
The success of the frontier preacher in winning converts,
the fact that education was of little interest to the
frontiersmen, and the limited usefulness of formal educatior
in the wild territory west of the Alleghanies, reinforced
the conviction among many western Methodists that education
for the clergy was unnecessary. Francis Asbury and William
McKendree were both men of little formal education, and yet
they served as the first two Bishops of American Methodism.
Peter Cartwright, who was probably the most famous of all .
camp meeting preachers, wrote of himself and his fellow
circuit riders:
24
Abel Stevens, History of the Methodist Episcopal
Church in the United States of America. 4 vols. (New York,
1867), p. 206.
25
Journal of the General Conference of the Methodist
Episcopal Church: 1796-1836 (New York, 1855), I, 160-161.
133
But it must be remembered that many of us early
traveling preachers, who entered the vast wilderness
of the West at an early day, had little or no educa
tion; no books, and no time to read or study them if
we could have them. We had no colleges nor even a
respectable common school, within hundreds of miles.26
The writings of other early Methodist leaders bear
testimony to the fact that education was wanting for many
Methodist preachers in the West. James Finley, early camp
meeting preacher and circuit rider, collected the biogra
phies of 30 prominent Methodist ministers of the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries out of which only one had com-
27
pleted a college education. Ivan Howard contends that
this one exception to the rule cannot be considered as sig
nificant since the minister in question entered the ec
clesiastical lists after 1832, and he cannot therefore be
28
classified as an "early" Methodist preacher. Howard goes
on to point out that although the early circuit rider lacked
formal education, he was not necessarily ignorant nor did
he deserve the caricature made of him by some of the
humorists who wrote about the frontier.
26
Cartwright, p. 11.
27
Finley, Sketches of Western Methodism, Chapter XL.
28
Howard, p. 22.
134
The journals and autobiographies of some of the early
circuit riders, such as Peter Cartwright, Benjamin Lankin
and Jesse Lee, provide evidence that these preachers were
aware of their inadequacies and invested as much time as
possible to improving themselves through reading and study.
Thomas Ware, circuit rider and presiding elder at the turn
of the nineteenth century, defended the Methodist ministers
of his day in the following manner:
In practical wisdom they appeared to me to excell? and,
although few of them affected the scholar, yet they
prized learning as a desirable accomplishment. Some of
them were acquainted with the learned languages; and
most of them were not deficient in general and polite
literature. . . . In preaching and in debate they were
workman that needed not to be ashamed; and they made
wise and useful improvement of the knowledge they
possessed. . . .29
The journal of Benjamine Lankin, circuit rider during
the years of 1794 to 1813, is a good record of the kind of
concern felt by many of the frontier Methodist preachers
for more adequate education. Lankin was well aware of his
3£
deficiencies and gave much of his time to self-improvement.
29 !
The Life and Travels of Rev. Thomas Ware (Mew York,
1842), p. 107.
30
No information is available on Lankin’s formal educa
tion, but W. W. Sweet feels that he was above average amongj
early circuit riders (see The Methodists, p. 203) . Through-;
135
Looking back upon the early days of frontier preaching,
Peter Cartwright recalled:
We had at this early day no course of study pre
scribed, as at the present; but William McKendree,
afterward bishop, but then my presiding elder, directed
me to a proper course of reading and study. He selected
books for me, both literary and theological; and cor
rected my errors, if I had fallen into any. He delighted
to instruct me in English grammar.3i
Probably the most notable success in self-education was
achieved by John Price Durbin, whose autobiography revealed
32
his rigorous schedule of daily study. Durbin later became
out Lankin's journal numerous references can be found con
cerning his wide range of reading and his concern to be
fully trained and prepared for the ministry. See Sweet, The
Methodists, pp. 207, 229, 233, 235.
31
Cartwright, p. 63.
32
John A Roche, The Life of John Price Durbin wxth an
Analysis of His Homiletic Skill and Sacred Oratory (New
York, 1889), pp. 18-19. From his writings, the following
schedule of time given to study is recorded by Durbin:
"Some might be at a loss to know how I found time and means
in such a circuit Greenville Circuit to read so much. I
answer thus:
1. I made it a rule to go to bed at nine and rise at five.
This gave me sixteen hours for business.
2. I made it a rule to be ready to read at six, after hav
ing washed, said my prayers, and taken a walk.
3. I made it a rule always to have my books, paper, pen,
and ink at hand.
4. I made it a rule immediately after preaching to sit
down to read, even before dinner, or while the people
were not yet all gone; and if- any wished to talk with
me merely out of civility or sociability, and not on
136
a stationed minister, but at the time of his intensive pro
gram of self-education he was a circuit rider and serves
as an example of how the early Methodist preacher could
achieve broader knowledge through a determination to do so.
But it became a virtue for a man to enter the ministry
with little or no formal education, and early Methodist
writers often extolled the lives of various camp meeting
preachers with such phrases as "Jesse Walker was a plain,
unlettered man, but he was also an intrepid, laborious,
33
perservering, useful preacher. ..." Or, as it was
written of Rev. James Gwin, "his early educational oppor
tunities were limited, but he was a great student of nature,
and had wonderful fluency of speech" (p. 430) . It was
precisely this attitude of reverence for limited education
necessary business, I gave them so careless an answer,
continuing to read at the same time, that, after making
repeated trials to converse with me without effect,
they departed.
5. When people saw that I was bent on improving my time,
instead of being offended they seemed pleased, and
afforded me every facility in their power, such as the
following: lent me books, provided me candles, and
when this could not be done provided dry wood or bark
to give light, give me a room to myself, or when they
had no room to give, ruled the children into silence
that I might have an opportunity to read.
Under these regulations I prospered much in knowledge and
piety, and came to the Conference with a good report."
v
33
McPerrin, p. 423.
13 7
that become so evident in western Methodism and led to an
espousal of anti-intellectualism which strongly influenced
early camp meeting oratory. McCurdy points out that "the
people were inclined to think that pulpit eloquence ex
pressed more of the divine when it flowed from the lips of
an uneducated man. . . . A brilliant mind and a high degree
of education were of little value for the preacher to
34
frontier groups."
While such an authority as Sweet denies that the
spirit of anti-intellectualism existed in western Methodism,
the fact remains that during the early phase of the camp
meeting movement there was a strong aversion to an educated
clergy."" Peter Cartwright was probably the most outspoken
critic of formal training for Methodist ministers. While
he was courteous toward the efforts of Methodism to encour
age education for their ministers, he maintained a
34
Frances Lea McCurdy, Stump, Bar, and Pulpit: Speech-
making on the Missouri Frontier (Columbia, 1969), p. 162.
35
Throughout his writings concerning frontier Method
ism, William Warren Sweet consistently defends the early
circuit riders and frontier preachers as not opposed to ed
ucation, although obviously lacking in formal training them
selves. A good deal of evidence, however, seems to point
to the fact that while Methodists were quick to establish
schools and colleges in the West, majority opinion among the
clergy was that education was unnecessary for ministers.
138
consistent attitude of derision and contempt toward the
preacher who relied upon formal training rather than rugged
in-field experience. Throughout his autobiography Cart
wright referred cynically to the "downy-faced" ministers of
eastern training and provided more than one humorous illus
tration of camp meeting reaction to the formal preaching of
educated clergymen to support his prejudice against them.
!\t the same time that Cartwright wrote his autobiography
the Methodist Church was engaged in a struggle over theo
logical training for its ministers, and he recalled the
trials and tribulations of circuit riding during the early
days of the camp meeting movement. He remarked:
0, ye downy doctors and learned presidents and pro
fessors, heads of the Methodist literature of the present
day, remember the above course of training was the col
leges in which we early Methodists preachers graduated,
and from which we took our diplomas! Here we solved our
mathmatical problems, declined our nouns and conjugated
our verbs, parsed our sentences, and became proficient
in the dead languages of the Indian and backwoods dia
lect. . . . Suppose these illiterate early Methodist
preachers had held back, or waited for a better educa
tion, or for these educational times, where would the
Methodist Church have been today in this vast valley of
the Mississippi? Suppose the thousands of early settlers
and scores of early Methodist preachers, by some provi
dential intervention, had blundered on a Biblical Insti
tute, or a theological factory, where they dress up
little pedantic things they call preachers; suppose ye
would have known them from a ram's horn? Surely n o t . 36
36
Cartwright, pp. 312-316.
13 9
And certainly no review of Cartwright's attitude toward an
educated clergy would be complete without his classical
statement:
I do not wish to undervalue education, but really I
have seen so many of these educated preachers who
forcibly remind me of lettuce growing under the shade
of a peach tree or like a gosling that had got the
straddles by wading in the dew, that I turn away sick
and faint. (p. 64)
John Strange, a successful and popular circuit rider,
praised the attributes of "Brush College," the place where
most of his fellow clergymen attained their education, and
he compared this ancient frontier "institution" most favor-
37
ably with the large eastern colleges. Francis Asbury did
not place education high on the list of preparations for the
circuit rider; he wrote:
Again it may be said, this man speaks well; he is a
scholar! But you are mistaken. He has only a com
mon education— a plowman, a tailor, a carpenter, or
a shoemaker! Then he must be taught of God, if he
is not taught of man. Then we may rationally con
clude that learning is not an essential qualifica
tion to preach the gospel. It may be said no man
but a fool will speak against learning. I have not
spoken against learning. I have only said that it
37
Cited in J. C. Smith, Reminiscences of Early
Methodism in Indiana (Indianapolis, 1879), pp. 38-39.
140
cannot be said to be an essential qualification to
preach the gospel. . . .38
That formal education was not normally a part of the
circuit rider's attributes, then, should be abundantly
clear. Nor did his constituents demand education for him.
Time and again the lack of education became the major criti
cism of the frontier preacher and his congregations. Some
times these evaluations were the unfair and prejudiced
criticisms of clergy representing more formal denominations
or of visitors to the West who were appalled by the un
orthodox methods of frontier evangelists. Baynard Hall,
Presbyterian minister and frontier author of the early nine
teenth century, depicts the ignorance of a supposed back
woods preacher who claimed:
I are a poor, humble man— and I doesn't know a single
letter in the A B C's, and couldn't read a chapter in
the Bible no how you could fix it, bless the Lord!— I
jist preach like Old Peter and Poll, by the Spirit.
Yes, we don't ax pay in cash nor trade nither for the
Gospel, and aren't no hirlings like them highflow'd
college-larned sheepskins. . . .39
Such humorous portrayals of frontier clergymen were not un
common in the writings of authors like Johnson Hooper and
3 8
Asbury, III, 481.
39
Cited in Curti, p. 269.
141
Mark Twain, but such gross ignorance was probably not
typical of the majority of ordained circuit riders. Method
ist lay preachers and exhorters, who were licensed rather
than ordained, and who preached mainly in the absence of the
ordained clergy, were more apt to fit the description of
ignorance.
But the educational factor is important in understand
ing the success of the frontier camp meeting. A close re
lationship was easily established between preacher and con
gregation because they shared a common environment and were
produced from a common mold. Nottingham contends that the
rise of revivalism through the use of the camp meeting was
fostered by the lack of education which marked the fron
tiersmen. She writes:
Revivalism usually appeals to persons who have
little education or critical thinking. Their emotions
are apt to pass swiftly and impulsively into action.
Such impulsive action may take the form of a political
revolution, a lynching, or a 'red-hot' revival. It is
at least interesting that those parts of Kentucky such
as Logan County, for instance, which in the nineteenth
century were most famous for their revival meetings
were also most notorious for the number and violence
of the lynching mobs.40
If such a generalization is true, and certainly the
40
Nottingham, pp. 175-176.
142
anti-intellectualism of western Methodism was founded partly
upon the belief that formal education dampened the revival
spirit, then it can be seen that the illiteracy shared by
frontier preacher and layman was a key to the effectiveness
of camp meeting rhetoric. The circuit rider and camp meet
ing preacher was able to relate intimately to his congrega
tion in a manner that was not possible to an "outsider" to
the frontier. Even more significant, because of this close
audience relationship, the preacher himself became suscep
tible to his own preaching, he became part of the "target"
of his own rhetoric. Mead understood this process of
self-persuasion to be an integral part of the role-playing
activity in the evolution of the self. In an effort to
emphasize the unconscious nature of this process Mead wrote:
I want simply to isolate the general mechanism here,
because it is of very fundamental importance in the
development of what we call self-consciousness and the
appearance of the self. We are, especially through
the use of vocal gestures, continually arousing in
ourselves those responses which we call out in other
persons, so that we are taking the attitudes of the
other persons into our own conduct. The critical
importance of language in the development of human
experience lies in this fact that the stimulus is one
that can react upon the speaking individual as it re
acts upon others.41 (underline mine)
41
Mead, Mind, Self and Society, p. 69.
143
Mead reemphasized this idea when he contended that
"the importance . . . of the vocal stimulus lies in this
fact that the individual can hear what he says and in hear
ing what he says is tending to respond as the other person
responds" (pp. 69-70). This writer contends that there was
no other single factor in the rise of the camp meeting that
was as important to its development during the genesis
period as the process of what might be called "cyclical
persuasion" which characterized frontier preaching. The
preacher-orator geared his rhetoric to the understanding of
his audience, but, at the same time, was a member of that
audience in the most intimate sense. The Methodist preacher
and circuit rider had no problem with audience analysis, he
was in no way separate from his audience. Consubstantia-
tion, to use a Burkean term, was a fact, not a problem. In
the most integral fashion, the camp meeting preacher was a
part of the movement. His was not a managerial rhetoric,
nor was it classical in the sense that it relied on inven
tive or organizational principles. These were almost
entirely unknown to the frontier preacher. Except for the
most rudimentary rules of public address, the camp meeting
orator was not trained in rhetoric. This close relationship
between frontier preacher and his congregation was viewed
144
by Otto Nall, twentieth-century Methodist historian and
scholar, as one of the vital constituents of the success
experienced by western Methodism. In a paper presented to
the Bicentennial Celebration of American Methodism in 1966,
Nall used the term "reductionism" to describe the rhetori
cal situation which was basic to frontier revivalism. He
maintained:
Reductionism, or the adaptation of intellectualism
to the primitive thinking and acting of the frontier,
has been another characteristic of the Methodist move
ment. The priesthood of all believers meant that the
laity could rise to the level of the clergy, or by a
kind of Gresham's law in ecclesiology, the clergy seeks
the theological and moral level of the laity. . . .
This reductionism goes by the current name of "identi
fication" . . .42 •
Nall envisions the process of identification between preach
er and layman as a deliberate attempt to achieve the spirit
of oneness. But, again, the thrust of the evolutionary
theory of rhetorical criticism as formulated in this study
is its unconscious and totally natural functioning.
In addition to the fact that the camp meeting preacher
was a product of the frontier environment, there were
"Enduring Issues in Methodism," in Forever Beginning:
1766-1966. Historical Papers Presented at American Method
ism's Bicentennial Celebration, Baltimore. Maryland, April
21-24, 1966 (Lake Junaluska, 1967), pp. 234-242.
145
several aspects of his ministry that served to enhance his
identification with camp meeting audiences. First, he
worked closely with laymen, and when he was absent from the
community while engaged in his lengthy circuit rounds, his
class leaders and exhorters would carry on his work. Such
an arragement naturally produced a sympathy between clergy
man and parishoners. A second factor which united preacher
and layman in the work of the church was the hospitality of
parishoners who provided lodgings and food for their pastor
when he visited their community. He would eat what they
ate, share their sometimes primitive comforts, spend long
evenings in discussion and instruction, and, in general,
establish close relations with those to whom he ministered.
When he stood to preach at the camp meeting his was a
rhetoric of the people. As Able Stevens, early Methodist
historian, wrote: "Our fathers, more than any modern minis
try, preached ad populum. They came out from the people,
43
and knew how to address the people."
Camp meeting oratory was an exercise in self-identi
fication very similar to the kind of dialogue that Mead
43
"Methodist Preaching," Methodist Quarterly Review,
Northern. XXXIV (New York, 1852), 71.
146
described as attending the emergence of the self in the
primitive period of development. The orator had very little
concern, if any, for what existed beyond the frontier com
munity. For many circuit riders who faithfully conducted
their ministries in the limited experiences of the wilder
ness, there was little knowledge of what was happening in
the world about them. There was a strong personal element
in their preaching directed to the transgressions of their
immediate society, those sins which were peculiarly promi
nent in their primitive environment. Preaching was
judgmental and demanded change through personal repentance.
It was a kind of preaching that required individualistic
response and easily lent itself to the extreme emotionalism
which marked the early period of the camp meeting movement.
Pastor and congregation interacted in a most dynamic sense
to build an aura of intense excitement. In some cases
emotional outbursts preceded the preaching as worshippers
reacted to the charged atmosphere of the camp and burst
forth with song, "holy" laughter, physical contortions, and
other evidences of "spiritual experience." Sometimes the
common reaction to fervent prayer or camp meeting hymn
resulted in the same sort of activity. As the movement
spread, worshippers gathered with a sense of expectancy and
147
leaders attempted to duplicate conditions that might have
prevailed at an earlier successful camp meeting. Preaching
followed certain standards recognized by the congregation
as being "of the Spirit." Such devices of public speaking
that might have been appropriate in the eastern churches
were often vigorously condemned by frontier audiences.
Manuscripts and pulpit notes were thought to have an in
hibiting effect upon divine blessing. Outdoor conditions
necessitated volume, and a boistrous delivery soon became
typical of camp meeting preaching. The informal style of
camp meeting oratory was appalling to easterners. As
McCurdy records:
The Princeton-educated Nicholas Patterson recognized
the necessity of adapting to the religious climate of
the frontier and acknowledged the superior effective
ness of some of the plain, uneducated preachers. He
thought the Methodists knew how to address the people
to the best effect, as they used words and phrases
that the people understood and spoke with the eloquence
of nature. The phrases and figures that would sound
barbarous and uncouth to the educated ear, he said,
had point and meaning to the bear— and bee hunters who
formed the congregations.44
A number of examples can be offered to substantiate
the fact that the preacher was a very real part of the
44
McCurdy, pp. 161-162.
148
emotional reaction to the camp meeting service, and was
quite often a victim of his own preaching. Jacob Young
offered an account of a Presbyterian minister who would be
striken by the "jerks" in the midst of his preaching. Of
this clergyman he wrote:
,The affection would often seize him in the pulpit,
with so much severity, that a spectator might fear it
would break his neck and dislocate his joints. He
would laugh immoderately, stand and halloo at the top
of his voice, finally leap from the pulpit and run to
the woods, screaming like a crazy man. When the exer
cise was over, he would return to the Church as ra
tional and calm as e v e r . 45
McFerrin offered a detailed description of the ec
centric John A. Granade, a camp meeting preacher who was
instrumental in the leadership of early camp meeting re
vivals. According to Granade1s own account, he was often
caught up with his congregation in the frenzied excitement
of the services. He wrote concerning hiw own religious
fervor:
Sometimes I shouted for two or three hours, and even
fainted under the hand of the Lord. I was ready to
cry out at the name of Jesus, and what I saw by faith,
and felt by sweet communion with God, I was afraid to
relate to my best friends. The brightness of heaven
rested continually upon my soul, so that I was often
45
Cited in Shurter, V, 142-149.
149
prevented from sleeping, eating, reading, writing, or
preaching. I would sing a song, or pray, or exhort a
few minutes, and the fire would break out among the
people; and thus everywhere the slain of the Lord were
many. I have spent nine nights out of ten (beside my
day meetings and long, hard rides) until past midnight
with the slain of the L o r d . 46
On another occasion, at a union sacramental meeting between
Methodists and Presbyterians, Granade told of standing in
the pulpit and shouting "with all my strength" for 15
minutes (p. 401). At Gasper River, the first prominent
service that led to the camp meeting revivals, the same
kind of emotionalism was exhibited by preacher John McGee
who was overcome by strange passion as the spirit of re
ligious excitement gripped the congregation, and McGee sat
down on the platform until, overcome by a fervor of ex-
haltation, he began moving through the audience "shouting
47
and exhorting with all possible energy and ecstacy."
If the preachers themselves were not struck down by
the religious hysteria that inflamed their audiences, they
were nonetheless effected by the intense emotionalism that
46
McFernn, p. 399.
47
Z. F. Smith, "The Great Revival of 1800: The First
Camp Meeting," Kentucky Historical Society Register, VII
(1909), cited in Weisberger, p. 281.
150
pervaded the camp. Because the Methodist circuit rider was
the product of frontier life, he was quite understandably
susceptible to the unrestrained spirit that marked such
social-religious gatherings as the camp meeting. He was
one step away from the superstition that typified primitive
frontier society. Journals of these early preachers often
reveal their deep and mystical emotionalism, and conversion
for them was likely to have been dramatic and overtly
supernatural in its manifestation. Cartwright, for example,
related the terrible struggle he had experienced as a young
man when he felt the conviction of his sinful ways. Ac
cording to his account, he was temporarily struck with
blindness and heard a voice from heaven calling him by
name, very similar to the conversion story of the Apostle
Paul. For Cartwright, the process continued for several
months of deep inward struggle which culminated in a camp
meeting held at McGready’s church which was located just a
few miles from the Cartwright home. Here he heard the words
48
of assurance from heaven, "Thy sxns be forgxven thee."
James Finley was converted as a result of the Cane Ridge
revival, and he described the torment and misery of the
48
Cartwrxght, p. 38.
151
spiritual battle leading up to his repentance. His vivid
account describes the hysteria that pervaded his whole being
causing him to cry aloud to God for mercy before falling in
49
a stupor to the ground. Other frontier preachers recorded
in the journals and autobiographies their continued sense
of the immediate presence of God in their earthly battles
50
with conscience and devotion to their work. Of these men
Weisberger writes:
Men who "got religion1 in such ways thought that preach
ing was a failure if it did not induce an identical sav
ing agony in their listeners. Worship without excite
ment— without tears of glory and shouts of penitence—
was a 1 sham.' A service lacking in thunder and light
ning might just as well be carried on by machines.
49
Finley, Pioneer Life in the West, pp. 168-170.
50
In a lengthy handwritten manuscript which formed a
part of his journal and autobiography, Peter Daub devoted
several pages to the lengthy struggle which preceded his
conversion. He told of a graphic vision he experienced
while in a deep trance (lying in the mourner's area in front
of the altar) in which he saw the earth opening to swallow
him into hell. Daub later became a Methodist circuit rider
and camp meeting preacher. Peter Daub, MSS.
51
Weisberger, p. 48. Stevens contended that the fron
tier preachers were concerned with clear results in their
preaching. He maintained: "A sermon that had not some vis
ible effect was hardly satisfactory, whatever might be the
hope of its future results. It was usual with them [preach
ers] to end the discourse with a home-directed and over
whelming application, and often to follow it immediately
with exercises of prayer, that they might gather up the
shaken fruit on the spot. Hence revivals flamed along their
extended ciruits." (p. 74)
152
In summary, then, the earliest phase of the camp
meeting movement was marked by an emotionalism that sprang
from the primitive nature of the frontier, and it was in
tensified by the frenetic preaching of uneducated and
mystical circuit riders who were themselves products of the
frontier. Their messages were preached in the vernacular
of the pioneers because they were of the same stock. They
thoroughly understood the audiences to which they preached,
audiences who would listen to speakers cut from the same
rough cloth of pioneer life, who would respond easily to the
excitement engendered in the camp meeting atmosphere, who
yearned for the strange mixture of social and spiritual
activity provided by such occasions, and who encouraged
their preachers on to even more overt sensationalism in
their oratory. In this primitive phase the camp meeting
produced a cyclical effect between preacher and congregation
which brought about a building of emotionalism unique in the
annals of religious revivalism. This is what marked the
camp meeting movement in its infant stage, and it was this
uncontrolled excitement that had to be overcome before the
camp meeting could become respectable to Methodism at large.
As a child begins to perceive life about him, his
personality begins to develop as a reflection of the
153
attitudes of those with whom he comes into contact. As he
continues to orient himself with his immediate environment
the idea of the self begins to emerge. To begin with, his
perceptions are confined only to the immediate circle of
individuals that comprise his infant world. Later he begins
to generalize, to project beyond his immediate situation,
to structure a composite of attitudes which form the "gen
eralized other" which represents the broad society in which
he exists. All of this is brought about through his
dialogue with society as well as with himself. As an adult,
he represents a product of many attitudes, both real and
j
imagined, that he has perceived throughout the process of
his maturation. This was the sort of process through which
the camp meeting movement emerged to become an important
institution for western America, for Methodism, and for
American Protestantism. The struggle for maturity in the
camp meeting movement, the reaching out to attain an under
standing of the generalized other, is the story of its
preaching, its written rhetoric, its conflicts with society
and the church following the year 1805.
The Period of the "Generalized Other"
The generalized other represents, what Mead thought of
154
as, the matured personality, and it exhibits two distinct
attributes. First, as the self reaches the stage of adult
maturation, it reflects the organization of attitudes which
are held in common by the group to which the self belongs.
Mead used the term the "generalized other" and offered the
following explanation of it:
A person is a personality because he belongs to a com
munity, because he takes over the institutions of that
community into his own conduct. He takes its language
as a medium by which he gets his personality, and then
through a process of taking the different roles that
all the others furnish he comes to get the attitude of
the members of the community. Such, in a certain sense,
is the structure of a man's personality. There are cer
tain common responses which each individual has toward
certain common things, and in so far as those common
responses are awakened in the individual when he is af
fecting other persons he arouses his own self. The
structure, then, on which the self is built is this
response which is common to all, for one has to be a
member of a community to be a self. Such responses
are abstract attitudes, but they constitute just what
we term a man1s character. They give him what we term
his principles, the acknowledged attitudes of all mem
bers of the community toward what are the values of
that community. He is putting himself in the place of
the generalized other, which represents the organized
responses of all the members of the group. It is that
which guides conduct controlled by principles, and a
person who has such an organized group of responses is
a man whom we say has character, in the moral sense. . . .
It is a structure of attitudes, then, which goes to
make up a self, as distinct from a group of habits.52
52
Mead, Mind, Self and Society, pp. 162-163.
155
Secondly, the achievement of the generalized other in
the development of the self brings about what Mead called
"institutional form." That is, when "the whole community
acts toward the individual under certain circumstances in
an identical way . . . we call that the formation of the
institution" (p. 167). As the camp meeting movement gained
prominence and popularity, a number of changes took place
that affected these two phases of maturation.
Probably the most important change was the spirit of
schism that arose in the early stages of the movement: what
had begun in spontaneous ecumenicity among formerly compet
ing religious denominations became the focal point for
bitter division. The result of such division was a move
toward strong denominationalism in camp meeting preaching.
Unfriendly feelings had long existed between Methodists and
Presbyterians before the appearance of camp meetings on the
frontier. But the earliest records of revival in 1801
stress the general atmosphere of brotherhood and unanimity
that was felt between clergymen of varied denominational
affiliations who took part in the camp meetings. Hostili
ties arose on two fronts. First, the hysterical emotion
alism of the genesis phase of the frontier camp meeting
movement brought immediate and bitter criticism upon
156
frontier revivalism by orthodox Presbyterians. Criticism
soon festered into division in the Presbyterian Church and
in 1803 resulted in a formal separation of the revival
Presbyterians (New Light Presbyterians) from the larger
denomination. The Methodist camp meeting movement, as
shall be seen, was soon to be effected by Presbyterian
quarreling.
The second front for hostility was in the matter of
doctrine. It was pointed out in Chapter II that a strong
aversion to the Calvinism espoused by the Presbyterian
church had caused many frontiersmen to embrace Methodism
with its emphasis upon free grace for all. Presbyterians
were unwavering in their adherence to the propagation of
divine election and eternal security of the believer. The
predominent philosophy of the frontier was Jeffersonian, anc
western Americans were prone to reject almost anything that
hinted of strong autocracy or seemed to be closely related
to eastern culture and education. The Presbyterians were
guilty on both acounts and became popular targets for camp
meeting preaching.
Due to the serious divisions within their ranks, the
orthodox body of Presbyterians attacked, both in writing anc
preaching, the camp meeting movement and withdrew from all
157
association with it, leaving such tactics of evangelism to
the less sophisticated Methodists and New Lighters. At
best, the critics reasoned, the camp' meeting was a primitive
tool of frontier evangelists. But more often Presbyterians
were prepared to label it as hypocrisy, devil possession,
53
and even witchcraft. It was only a few short years from
Cane Ridge where, according to Finley's eye-witness account,
the unified efforts of Methodists and Presbyterians had
"excited the curiosity of vast multitudes" who came to the
meetings primarily to view such a unique demonstration of
54
unity, to the time when Presbyterians would caustically
condemn such rowdy revivalism. Cartwright spoke of the
antagonism that grew between the two religious bodies, and,
typically, he charged the Presbyterians with responsibility
for the conflict. He maintained that while the Methodists
remained "moderately balanced" throughout all the emotion
alism of the early revival period, the Presbyterians, both
ministers and laymen, unaccustomed to such display, "when
they yielded to it went to great extremes and downright
wilderness sic] , to the great injury of the cause of
53
Cleveland, p. 60.
54
Finley, Pioneer Life m the West, p. 362.
158
55
God." In addition, Cartwright blamed the Presbyterians
for stubbornly holding to the doctrines of unconditional
perserverance for the saints and divine election, the two
most obvious tenets of Calvinism that became prime targets
for Methodist camp meeting preachers (p. 44).
With the growth of division among Presbyterians,
even greater diversity of doctrine was to be experienced in
western Christendom. The New Light Presbyterians could not
agree on a uniform theology and continued in further doc
trinal struggles that effected the camp meeting movement.
The New Light group was joined by a substantial number of
dissident Methodists who had separated from their church
during the 1790's in what was known as the "0'Kelley con
troversy." With this union the Methodist Episcopal Church
came under fire from both the orthodox Presbyterians, who
criticized the camp meeting, and from the new group of
Presbyterian-Methodists who continued to utilize the camp
meeting as a tool both for evangelism and doctrinal pole
mics. As Cartwright recalled: "Then the Methodist
Episcopal Church had war, and rumors of war, almost on
every side" (p. 35).
55
Cartwright, p. 43.
159
The complexity of the struggle was further emphasized
with the tensions that existed between Methodists and
Baptists. Baptists also embraced a form of Calvinism, but
the most aggravating aspect of their doctrine, as far as
the Methodists were concerned, was their strict adherence
to adult immersion as opposed to infant baptism. For the
Baptists, total immersion of the adult convert was the only
acceptable application of this important Christian sacra
ment, while the Methodists held to the baptism of infants
as well as of adult converts. Frontier Christians, who
easily spoiled for a fight, actively campaigned in their
camp meetings for the side which they ardently supported.
McKendree summed up the Methodist feeling when he wrote
in 1802:
About two years ago, there was a great ingathering
among the Baptists: but they are a strange people.
When there was a Work among them it was of the Lord,
when it was with the Methodists and Presbyterians, it
was of the devil, in the judgment of some of them.
They unchurch all other, consider them as unbaptized
heathens, refuse communion with them, and still if
they can get one of these into the Water, upon his
present experience, they roundly assert he is as
sure of Heaven as the happy angels are, and thus
make a Saviour of water.5°
eg
Cited in Cleveland, pp. 202-205.
160
As divisions between denominations became more pro
nounced, sectarianism became very popular in camp meeting
preaching. Cartwright recorded a sermon that he preached
on baptism at a camp meeting on the Goose Creek Circuit in
about 1821. The sermon was intended primarily for a Baptist
minister who was visiting the Methodist service. The
sermon lasted over two hours and ended when the Baptist
clergyman left the camp in anger. In his discourse Cart
wright reasoned that since all children, by virtue of their
innocence, would be swept away to Heaven in death, there
would be no children found in Hell. By the same token, he
conjectured, since the names of no children were to be founc
in the official membership records of the Baptist church,
57
the Baptist church must then be like Hell. James Finley
told of his "war with the Baptists," which was highlighted
by a four-hour debate with a Rev. Thomas Shalton, who he
described as "the champion of the whole Baptist denomina-
58
tion." James Erwin, early circuit rider in the central
New York Conference, .spoke of a Rev. Gould, later known as
the "sleeping preacher," who delivered a fiery sermon in
57
Cartwright, p. 155.
58
Finley, Sketches of Western Methodism, p. 54.
161
response to a message preached by a Baptist brother. The
"elder Calvinist was silenced," Erwin proudly recorded, "and
59
never visited there again." Rev. Heman Bangs told of a
camp meeting at which he preached at Newburgh Village. He
reported that hundreds of worshippers " f e l l to the ground,"
but that order prevailed in the services. "I never felt
such power," wrote Bangs, "and never preached so decidedly
6 0
against Calvinism." William Swayze, a Methodist preacher
in New England, described the kind of preaching that
accompanied a camp meeting he attended. Aside from the
evangelistic themes, he recorded that preachers were:
battering down the enemies1s fortress, in which they
were so snugly entrenched— such as, 'there is no God,
no devil, no heaven, no hell;1 or what seemed equally
accomodating, and fully as safe, less suspected, and
more popular, 'that God had forordained whatsoever
comes to pass.'61
Allen Wiley, renown Indiana circuit rider and camp
meeting evangelist, was a highly argumentative preacher who
often dwelt on doctrinal themes. According to his
59
Reminiscences of Early Circuit Life (Toledo, 1884),
pp. 77-78.
6 0
The Autobiography and Journal of Rev. Heman Bangs,
ed. by his daughters (New York, 1872), p. 70.
61
Swayze, p. 150.
162
biographer, however, Wiley's style of preaching changed in
later years "when the Church became established, and the
doctrines of Methodism were almost universally believed
6 2
throughout his fields of labor. ..." Finally, from the
journal of Peter Daub evidence of doctrinal preaching is
found in the form of an outlined sermon which he preached
at Salem Church Camp Meeting in North Carolina. Underlined
twice in pencil, Daub stressed the fourth point of his
message, which was entitled "The extent of Christ's atone
ment: the whole human family," a fairly clear reference
6 3
to Calvinistic election.
In 1819 a series of articles on revivals among the
Methodists in the western country was carried in the
Methodist Magazine. The author touched upon the sectarian
ism among camp meeting adherents and maintained that while
the revival Presbyterians had accepted Methodist doctrines
during the early years of the camp meeting period, they soor
62
The Life and Times of Rev. Allen Wiley, Containing
Sketches of Early Methodist Preachers in Indiana, and No
tices of the Introduction and Progress of Methodism in the
State? Also including His Original Letters, Entitled. "A
Help to the Performance of Ministerial Duties," ed. D. W.
Clark (Cincinnati, 1853), p. 111.
^Peter Daub Journal.
163
became antagonistic to both Methodist Armenianism and
Presbyterian polity. "Having discarded both, he wrote,
"they ran wild." He went on to say:
The preachers of this new order [New Light Presbyterians]
were unwilling, or their expectations were now too high
to stop on any middle or safe ground: indeed, this ap
pears to be charged upon them by one of those ministers
who started with them. Having broke the fetters of
fatalism, he says, their expectations were too great;
that by their broad system, they had prepared themselves
to sweep all the other churches; and so to set up, as
we may suppose, like the French Revolutionists, for un
iversal dominion: like them, too, they have had their
dreadful fall.64
The terms of battle and the attitude of judgment that
are found in the above-quoted material are typical of the
attitudes of Methodists during this secondary period of
camp meeting development. Sectarianism was a vital force
in the molding of camp meeting preaching.
As camp meeting preachers turned from purely evan
gelistic efforts to doctrinal exhortations, the camp meetinc
movement took on an identity that was Methodist in doctrine,
militant in attitude, and cohesive in its effect. Preaching
reflected a bias that brought closer affiliation between
64
[Thomas Hind], "Account of the Rise and Progress of
the Work of God in the Western Country," The Methodist
Magazine, II (New York, 1819), 350-351.
164
western and eastern Methodism, and the camp meeting spread
throughout the East as well. But the doctrinal themes were
only one aspect of camp meeting rhetoric that served to
bring identity to the movement. Other factors included the
increased order of camp meeting activity which was brought
about through efforts of the clergy to restrain camp meet
ing hysteria, the influence of urbanization, and the varied
themes of social involvement. The latter, as will be seen
shortly, also created tension that eventually divided the
Methodist Church between North and South.
Beside the growing emphasis upon sectarianism, another
change was seen in camp meeting preaching. It has already
been noted that during the genesis phase of the movement,
camp meeting preaching had a cyclical effect which operated
between preacher and audience to create a storm of emotion
that brought the camp meeting under critical attack. Before:
the camp meeting movement could become acceptable to the
rest of Methodism and gain respect as an established insti
tution, a certain degree of order and propriety was needed.
It had to begin with the preachers. It was not only the
Presbyterians that dispised the disorder and confusion of
camp meetings. Some Methodists also condemned the wild
extravagances of early revivalism on the frontier. Such
165
criticism resulted in a general debate within Methodism con
cerning the usefulness of camp meetings out of which issued
camp meeting handbooks, manuals of defense, and lengthy dis
cussions in Methodist publications. The clergy, however,
exerted the most important influence in establishing order.
It was often necessary to use physical force to main
tain order in camp meetings. In most cases such force was
directed toward rowdies and other dissidents who delibertly
attempted to disrupt the proceedings. Agitation from out
side of the movement, however, did not present as serious a
threat to the reputation of camp meeting evangelism as did
the extreme emotionalism within the meetings. A fair ex
ample of the problem faced by camp meeting preachers was
provided by Jesse Lee who recorded the events of a camp
meeting held during the early years of the movement in Olive:
Branch, Brunswick County, Virginia. A certain female wor
shipper, who Lee carefully identified as "not a member of
our church," evidently put on quite a display of spiritual
exercises which included the jerks, dancing, and something
that this researcher has not found in any other writings
65
simply called the "basking exercise." Since Lee failed
65
LeRoy M. Lee, pp. 418-419.
166
to describe the latter activity in any detail, it would be
impractical to use the account to substantiate camp meeting
improprieties. But from a position outside the bounds of
scholarly limitations, the label used by Lee conjures a
graphic picture of some of the camp meeting excesses. Ac
cording to Lee1s account of the affair, he put an immediate
stop to such activity in his meetings. In 1806, a Rev.
Joseph Moore wrote to Lee concerning other interesting dis
plays at camp meetings and attributed them mainly to Pres
byterians who were in attendance at his services. In addi
tion to the traditional list of exercises, Moore spoke of a
"marrying exercise." His letter reads as follows:
Some of the Presbyterians got into some extremes, and
brought a reproach upon the good work. They got into
what they call the dancing exercise, marrying exercise,
etc. Sometimes a whole set of them would get together
and begin dancing about at a most extravagant rate.
Sometimes they would be exercised about getting married,
and one would tell another he or she had a particular
revelation that they must be married; and if the one
thus addressed did not consent, he or she must expect
to be damned. . . . Thus many got married, and it was
said some old maids who had nearly gotten antiquated,
managed in this way to get husbands. (p. 420)
Cartwright believed that fervent prayer would help
quiet the emotional congregations in which individuals were
seized with the most common of the religious exercises, the
167
66
jerks. He also maintained that Methodist preachers did
not encourage such emotionalism and generally preached
against it (p. 46). In 1805, Asbury, in a letter to Thomas
Sargent, discussed his general concern for decorum in
Methodist meetings and concluded with the following: "My
continual cry to the Presiding Elders is, order, order, gooc
order. All things must be arranged temporally and spiri-
6 7
tually like a well-disciplined army." By 1809 he could
claim with confidence, "A great decency and attention are
manifest in cities, towns, and in all parts of the country
(whether we have tired opposition; for you know we American
Methodists pray, preach, and sing and shout aloud); but so
it is; and I am inclined to think a general conviction pre
vails" (p. 407). This statement was made at a time just
prior to the rise of Shakerism in western America, a com
munistic and pacifist sect which originated in England and
sought to use the camp meetings of the revival Presbyterians
as a vehicle for propagating their beliefs. The resulting
disruption and chaos of the Presbyterian camp meetings
brought even greater disrepute upon camp meeting emotion-
66
Cartwright, p. 46
6 7
Asbury, III, p. 332.
168
alism in general.
In 1834 the editor of the Western Christian Advocate
recommended that "all extravagant exercises, such as rant
ing, wild fire songs, processions, blowing of trumpets as
a part of public service, and other imitations of military
operations, should be prudently discouraged." He went on
to call for more order in all aspects of the worship at
6 8
camp meetings. In 1849 James Porter, in an extensive
defense of camp meetings, pointed out that much of the noise
was unavoidable, and even sometimes desirable. He did,
69
however, call for more refinement. But the noise of
Methodism was seen by many as an attribute, and one camp
meeting hymn concluded with such rousing words as:
They [the Methodists] are despised by Satan's train
Because they shout and preach so plain.
I'm bound to march in endless bliss
And die a shouting Methodist.70
The common claim in much of the Methodist literature
following 1805 was that the camp meeting had attained
greater order and respectability. Much of this control was
6 Q
Bucke, I, 521.
69
Porter, An Essay on Camp Meetings, pp. 68-86.
70
Cited m Bucke, p. 522.
169
due to a concern on the part of Methodist preachers to dis
courage excessive emotionalism in order to avoid criticism.
Preaching became less of a contributing factor to emotion
alism, at least to the overt physical kind of emotional
display that had marked the early period of the movement.
In addition to a deliberate effort at curbing emotionalism,
the natural increase in educated clergymen and the growing
refinement on a large part of the frontier were stultifying
influences upon excessive disorders. But these latter
factors were to come only as the camp meeting movement prog
ressed through the period of the "generalized other." Be
fore the camp meeting could gain respectability, before it
could develop an acceptable image in relation to its larger
society, a deliberate effort had to be made by its leaders
to bring it under control. Most of the camp meeting manuals
and the essays of defense written in support of this spe
cial kind of evangelism were, in fact, responses to criti
cisms concerning camp meeting disorders. These will be
examined in greater detail in the next chapter. But a stud^
of Methodism, as it was manifested in the camp meeting move
ment, shows that the reputation for disorder and noise was
to follow throughout the years encompassed by this study.
Therefore, while the camp meeting gained respectability and
170
acceptance as an institution, it was always to be known by
Methodists as a time for shouting, vigorous singing and
cataclysmic conversion experiences. Outside the bounds of
Methodism, society would most often view the protracted
camping services with cynicism. But for the first half of
the nineteenth century, the camp meeting was an integral
movement within the Methodist Church and would later lead
to more sophisticated urban revival meetings and such
intellectual pursuits as the Chautauqua lecture and study
programs.
The Period of Demise
Mead's interest in personality development was natural
ly exclusive of those factors which accompany the demise of
the self. However, Mead did deal with problems which are
encountered in achieving the ideal level of communication
in human society. Such problems are indicative of the kinds
of inhibiting influences that could disrupt personality
development to the extent that an individual could no
longer enter into the activity of role-playing with any
degree of effectiveness. Since role-playing is the essen
tial key to Mead's theory of personality development, any
thing that contributes to its ineffectiveness leads to
171
maladjustment. Whether maladjustment is conceived as the
breakdown of personality or, as in the case of this study,
the fading out of the camp meeting movement, the central
aspect of Mead's theory is that healthy role-playing is
grounded upon the ability of the self to perceive accurately
the stimuli that come from its surroundings and to respond
to that stimuli in an appropriate manner. A successful
social movement, a movement that can continue to grow in
its influence and image in its society, is that movement
which changes its communication— its dialogue with society—
to meet the ever evolving moods, values, and circumstances
which naturally accompany social change.
One inhibiting factor to good communication, accord
ing to Mead, is the size of the community in which the self
exists. If society becomes too large, it is impossible for
the individual to take the roles of all the other individ
uals in that society. Also, Mead considered social castes
which develop within human society as preventing the in
dividual from freely entering into another's experience.
Of these problems Mead wrote:
The ideal of human society is one which does bring
people so closely together in their interrelationships,
so fully develops the necessary system of communica
tion, that the individuals who exercise their own
172
peculiar functions can take the attitude of those whom
they effect. The development of communication is not
simply a matter of abstract ideas, but is a process of
putting one's self in the place of the other person's
attitude, communicating through significant symbols.
Remember that what is essential to a significant symbol
is that the gesture which affects others should affect
the individual himself in the same way. It is only
when the stimulus which one gives another arouses in
himself the same or like response that the symbol is a
significant symbol. Human communication takes place
through such significant symbols, and the problem is
one of organizing a community which makes this possible.
If that system of communication could be made theoret
ically perfect, the individual would affect himself as
he affects others in every way. That would be the ideal
of communication, an ideal attained in logical discourse
whereever it is understood.71
In addition to the size of the community and the
sectarianism that arises naturally within it, there are
other factors that could disrupt communication between the
individual and his environment. The key term to keep in
mind is "isolation." Whatever the cause, whenever the self
is isolated from accurate perception of stimuli from its
society, it can no longer react rationally to or enter into
meaningful dialogue with others. For all practical purposes
that individual no longer has meaningful existence. Such
would be the case when considering the individual self or
a social movement.
71
Mead, Mind, Self and Society, pp. 327-328.
173
In some respects, the decline of the camp meeting was
natural and inevitable. At the same time, the movement
continued to live on in new forms. In Chapter II the vari
ous factors adversely effecting the progress of camp meet
ings were identified; for example, the increased urbaniza
tion of frontier communities, greater emphasis upon educa-
-N
tion among frontiersmen brought about both by the establish
ing of schools and the influx of more educated easterners,
more sophisticated systems of transportation, and new and
varied forms of entertainment and social activity. Camp
meetings no longer attracted large segments of the popula
tion as they once did, and they became more of an exercise
of Methodist in-group activity. Some Methodist camp meetinc
preachers moved on to new frontiers where they continued to
propagate the gospel in the time-tested ways of primitive
western evangelism. For those who remained behind, their
choice was either to change with society or be relegated
to oblivion.
One important change in camp meeting preaching was
the inclusion of social problems as one of its themes.
Ironically, while the increased emphasis on social themes
was a fair indication that the camp meeting reflected some
of the interests and concerns of its society, the agitation
174
of social conscience among camp meeting participants even
tually led to the demise of the movement. In particular,
the slavery question loomed large among social problems
with which Christians were confronted by their preachers.
Sincere Methodists were sensitive to the conflict which
existed between slavery and the Christian Gospel, but reso
lution was often postponed or achieved through biblical
defense of the practice. Still, many religious leaders and
laymen who were active in the camp meeting movement saw
slavery as an evil and eventually addressed themselves to
its abolishment among Christians. As early as 1802 William
McKendree considered the upsurge of religious interest on
the frontier and concluded:
There is one more thing which I think deserves a
thought. According to the reports, there is a great
revival of religions in this country: and we are very
sincere Republicans; but alasi as yet their united
strength is utterly too weak to abolish Slavery in
Kentucky and Cumberland.72 ^
Philip Gatch, Methodist preacher and circuit rider, wrote tc
a colleague from the Little Miami Valley of Southwestern
Ohio:
72
Cited in Cleveland, p. 205.
175
Slavery is not yet among us[.] some Whish for it but
I hope God will never permit it. I pray against it,
and talk against it, but I hope the greater part of
our People are against it, at present our gover[n]ment
is fleeting but I expect it will be more permanent and
sufficiently garded fsic] against slavery.^3
And James H. Keys wrote to Edward Dromgolle, Methodist
circuit rider turned planter, about his concern for the
institution of slavery in which he had been caught up:
Lord, brother, I wish I never owned, or was master
of negrosi They are hell to us in this world, and I
fear they will be so in the next. But what to do with
them, I know not. We can't live with them or without
them; and what to [do] is a question. If they make a
little, they steal it as soon after as they can; and
unless the whip is forever on the creatures backs they
do nothing [and] Therefore become a charge. Is this a
life for a Christian to lead? I wish some good advice
upon this head. (p. 159)
At first, the camp meeting movement did little to deal
with the slavery problem. As it was noted in Chapter II,
separate facilities were provided during the services for
both black and white worshippers. But regardless of how
ingrained the institution of slavery might have been in the
South, earnest Christians could not dwell upon spiritual
revival without being touched by the plight of the black
man. As Cleveland wrote:
73
Reproduced in Sweet, The Methodists, p. 155.
176
The influence of the Great Revival upon the problem
of slavery is too important to remain unnoticed. While
no general emancipating movement developed, the number
of manumissions increased under the influence of the
great excitement. The earlier movements for emancipa
tion among the Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians
had culminated before the beginning of the revival,
though many members of these denominations still un
hesitatingly denounced the system and their preachers
labored earnestly with slaveholders to persuade them to
free their slaves. The revival intensified this s p i r i t . 74
Slavery did not become a vibrant issue in the early
years of the camp meeting for at least two reasons. First,
the camp meeting was mainly a revival movement, and its
preaching was directed to evangelism and personal piety.
Religious experience of the most personal sort, which pre
pared the penitent more for eternity than for life in this
world, predominated the preaching. As for evangelists,
"opposition to social evil was often an occasional skirmish
75
in their war on personal wickedness." Secondly, the camp
meeting had its origin in the South and its participants
did not easily see the evils of slavery. In spite of these
inhibiting factors, many of the circuit riders, themselves
not being sufficiently solvent to own slaves, certainly
were not hesitant to condemn the practice, if not in public
74
Cleveland, pp. 156-157.
75
Timothy Smith, p. 141.
177
surely in private. Benjamine Lakin wrote in his journal
for January 12, 1814:
After preaching at night at Edward Pattisons, I felt
a sensible pain in heareing [sic] of the cruelties ex
ercised on the poor slaves. The Whites about Christ
mas and New Year had been danceing, and the Negoes in
imitation of them collected one night and had a dance.
One woman among them got so intoxicated that she laid
out and died in the woods— the rest were taken before
a majestrate and received 10 to 35 lashes for thus
brake [breaking] a law they never consented to— This
is Republicanism in Kentucky— If there is justice in
the univerce, does not the blood of these people cry
out for vengence and will not God soon avenge their
cause on their oppressors. . . .76
How much of Lakin's indignation stemmed from the fact
that social dancing and the use of intoxicants entered into
the incident is of interesting conjecture. Both indulgences
were denounced by Methodists as social evils, and the fact
that slaves were imitating such white men's sins might have
offended the preacher. But Lakin's fervent sensitivity to
i
the plight of the black man would of necessity become a
part of his preaching. It must be assumed that other
Methodist clergymen also took up the cause. James Gilruth
wrote in his journal for March 1, 1835 that a number of
tracts on slavery were given to him after he had preached
76
Sweet, The Methodists, p. 248.
178
an evening sermon at a quarterly conference, "the reading
of which waked up Many feelings on the subject. ..." (p.
425). On March 14 of the same year Gilruth reported that
following a morning sermon he spent the afternoon discussing
slavery and "was led to show my reasons for not supporting
the colonization society and My views of emancipation" (p.
427). Undoubtedly slavery became one of the underlying
concerns of Methodist preachers, but it probably was not
until the camp meeting movement began to encompass the
northern and eastern sections of the country that preaching
on the subject became more vocal. Even now, this researcher
is hard-pressed to produce more than a few examples of such
concern. Ironically, the issue that eventually brought the
Wesleyan separation from the Methodist Episcopal Church in
1843 was over the right of Bishop Andrew, of Georgia, to
72
keep slaves that he had inherited by marriage.
By the time that the slavery issue had become a more
common concern among camp meeting evangelists, the breach
between Methodists of the North and South was well on its
way to becoming a reality, and this division probably aided
in bringing an end to the effectiveness of the camp meeting
72
Nottingham, p. 13 9.
179
as well. Other social issues, such as temperance and
women's rights, were incidently considered by camp meeting
preachers. But for the most part, the pulpit was reserved
for evangelistic themes and doctrinal expositions. Had
American Methodism been unified on the slavery issue, the
camp meeting might have continued to influence society. But
since social issues more often caused controversy which
threatened unity, camp meeting preachers found more support
when they addressed themselves to the more traditional
revival themes. Thus the camp meeting became increasingly
less of a force within its society because its leaders
failed to continue in meaningful dialogue with the various
agencies and individuals who comprised that society. As
the frontier moved closer to urbanization, the camp meeting
began to lose contact with and to become isolated from the
issues and the people who were a part of social change. It
was left to the urban revivalists to take up the cudgel of
social injustices. Smith compares revivalism of the first
half of the nineteenth century with that of the second
in the following manner:
The rapid growth of concern with purely social is
sues such as poverty, workingmen's rights, the liquor
traffic, slum housing, and racial bitterness is the
chief feature distinguishing American religion after
180
1865 from that of the first half of the nineteenth
century. Such matters in some cases supplanted en
tirely the earlier pre-occupation with salvation from
personal sin and the life hereafter. Seminaries re
organized their programs to stress sociology. Insti
tutional churches and social settlement work became
prominent in the cities. Crusades for the rights of
oppressed groups of all sorts absorbed the energies
of hundreds of clergymen.73
Camp meetings continued throughout the last half of
the nineteenth century. For the most part they retained
their primitive characteristics only on the newer frontiers
and in rural areas. In the more settled communities they
took on the form of the protracted revival series in estab
lished church buildings or became summer conferences on
permanently assigned camp-grounds.
In summary, the Methodist camp meeting emerged
spontaneously into society, grew naturally as a social in
stitution, and faded into oblivion in much the same manner
that Mead envisioned the development of the human mind and
personality. Proceeding on the assumption that institutions
like human mind and personality, are products of social
environment brought about through communication within so
ciety, three phases of evolution in the camp meeting move
ment have been noted. The period of genesis, 1800 to 1805,
73
Timothy Smith, p. 148.
181
featured preaching that was highly emotional in its appeal,
lacking noticeably in rhetorical sophistication, directed
mainly to uneducated frontiersmen, and explicitly geared to
producing religious hysteria. Preaching in the genesis
period was analogous to the primitive dialogue of the im
mature human self, chiefly concerned with adjusting to the
demands of an immediate environment by means of role-playinc
and creating a cyclical process of persuasion that resulted
in the intense emotionalism of the early frontier camp meet
ing service.
Between 1805 and 1840 camp meeting preaching under
went a gradual change marked by a new emphasis upon control
of revival services by the Methodist clergy, a growing con
cern for order in worship, more rational appeals in preach
ing that featured doctrinal and polemical content resulting
from an increased sectarianism. Much of this change was
brought about through response to criticism, both from
within and outside of Methodism, concerning the hysteria
and improper behavior which became part of the camp meeting
reputation. The concept of the "generalized other," as seen
in the works of George Herbert Mead, was applied to the
second phase of the camp meeting movement in an attempt to
show that the growing concern for social approval arrested
182
the undesirable characteristics of camp meeting preaching
and tended toward more socially acceptable means of
evangelism.
Finally, the camp meeting movement diminished in
strength mainly because of urbanization and settlement of
the frontier and the failure of camp meeting leaders to ad
just their methods and message to the rapidly changing so
ciety in which they ministered.
CHAPTER IV
CAMP MEETING APOLOGETICS:
THE RHETORIC OF CONSOLIDATION
As num'rous crowds, to the lone woodland rove,
Their vocal thunders shake the sylvan grove:
Loud jarring tumults rend the limpid air,
And fill the soul with wildness and despair:
There towering frenzy, wakes the soul's alarms,
And reason stoops oppress'd, beneath her arms.l
Christianity has not traditionally maintained that the
essential truth of the Gospel is demonstrable by purely
logical or scientific means. Rather, from the earliest
years of the Church's existence, it has been the task of
Christian apologists to present logical and scientific evi
dence for the purpose of showing that it is entirely within
the bounds of reason for men to accept the precepts of the
Christian message. Such apologetics have generally been
~ ^A Poem on a Methodist Camp Meeting (New York, 1807),
cover.
183
184
seen as a defense of the faith that is intended to establish
the fact that mankind needs a religion, that Christianity
is the most reasonable and beneficial religion, and that
those who profess to be Christians should adhere to the most
orthodox expression of their faith.
History of Camp Meeting Apologetics
The apologetics of the camp meeting movement differed
from the traditional defense of the Christian faith in that
there was little concern on the part of Methodist writers
to establish the credibility of Christianity in general.
Rather, their concern was with the orthodox faith, and it
was their desire to identify the camp meeting movement with
conventional Christianity and, particularly, the Methodist
Church. Camp meeting apologetics rested on the assumption
that Methodism was squarely in the mainstream of Christian
tradition, and the defenders of the movement left polemics
and interdenominational wrangling to camp meeting orators.
Camp meeting apologetics was directed toward establishing
as orthodox the "enthusiastic" expression of the Christian
faith while, at the same time, minimizing the ecstatic
nature of the Methodist camp meeting.
Methodism had always been troubled by the eagerness
185
with which its critics associated Wesleyanism with other
fanatical sects such as Puritanism, Quakerism, or the French
prophets whose hysterical babblings during the days of
Queen Ann were purportedly evidences of divine unction. The
most common criticism brought against the Methodists in
England was that they were enthusiasts, a term which gen
erally conveyed the idea of falsely laying claim to miracu
lous powers from the Holy Spirit. Plato first used the term
to denote that intuitive power, supposedly derived from
divine indwelling, associated with a prophet, poet or
philosopher. It was in this sense that the term was first
introduced in England in the seventeenth century, but by the
eighteenth century the word had come to mean false or
imagined inspiration. John Locke best summarized the latter
understanding of the word "enthusiasm" when he wrote:
Enthusiasm, though founded neither on reason nor
divine revelation, but rising from the conceits of a
warmed or over-weening brain, works yet, where it once
gets footing, more powerfully on the persuasions and
actions of men, than either of those two, or both to
gether: men being most forwardly obedient to the im
pulses they receive from themselves; and the whole man
is sure to act more vigorously, where the whole man is
carried by a natural motion. For strong conceit, like
a new principle, carries all easily with it, when got
above common sense, and freed from all restraint of
reason, and check of reflection, it is heightened
186
into a divine authority, in concurrence with our own
temper and inclination.2
Early critics of Methodism accused Wesley of propagat
ing enthusiasm. Evidence for the charge came from Wesley's
own testimony concerning his Aldersgate conversion experi
ence, which became the basis for his sect. Paraphrasing
Paul's epistle to the Romans, Wesley said of this experi
ence: "The Spirit itself bore witness to my spirit that I
was a child of God, gave me an evidence hereof, and I im-
3
mediately cried, Abba, Father." This concern with the
"witness of the Spirit" became central to Wesley's theology
in which the doctrine of assurance was a fundamental tenet.
The experience of spiritual redemption, as achieved through
conversion to Christianity, was accompanied, according to
Wesley, by a vivid sense of assurance that one's transgres
sions had in fact been forgiven him. Such assurance al
legedly came by means of the Holy Spirit's indwelling the
life of the believer.
2
"Essay Concerning Human Understanding, " Locke Selec
tions, ed. Sterling P. Lamprecht (Chicago, 1928), p. 17.
3
John Wesley, The Standard Sermons of John Wesley, ed.
Edward H. Sugden, 2 vols. (London, 1951), II, 350.
187
While Wesley denied any association with enthusiasm
and actually inveighed against it to his followers, the re
ligious excitement that was generated among the common
people who were attracted to Methodism became the target
for reprach from Wesley's critics. They called his doc
trine of divine assurance and inspiration devil possession,
4
insanity or, at least, hypocrisy. The reason for such
condemnation rested upon the exaggerated concern of the
Methodist penitent to gain spiritual satisfaction, complete
release from his feelings of guilt and absolute confidence
that he was redeemed. This spiritual experience was sought
after through an emotional struggle that became character
istic of Methodist revival— especially in the frontier camp
meeting in western America.
Closely allied with Wesley's doctrine of assurance
was the tendency within Methodism toward an over-emphasis
upon individualism. The non-Calvinistic cast of Methodism,
with its emphasis upon the individual's responsibility for
accepting the divine terms of salvation, was further en
hanced by Wesley's concern for the literal internal witness
4
Albert M. Lyles, Methodism Mocked (London, 1960),
pp. 34-36.
188
of the Holy Spirit which tended to encourage introspection
and an undue preoccupation with one's relationship to God.
Carlyle perfectly expressed the point when he wrote:
Methodism with its eye forever turned on its own
navel; asking itself with torturing anxiety of Hope
and Fear, "Am I right? am I wrong? Shall I be saved?
Shall I not be damned?"— what is this at bottom, but
a new phasis of Egoism, stretched out into the Infi
nite; not always the heavenlier for its infinitude
Methodist concern for the witness of the Spirit deeply
affected the camp meeting movement. Camp meeting evangelisn,
was marked by the terrible struggles of convicted sinners
to find release from their transgressions, struggles that
sometimes lasted for hours and were climaxed by sudden joy
ous shouts of victory and exhaltations of release. When
hundreds of pentitents sought salvation at one time, the
effect was bound to be traumatic. Voices of the preachers
would be drowned out by the din of spiritual battle as
"the slain" wreathed and contorted in their agony, while
friends and ministers sought to pray with them and bring
comfort. When release was finally accomplished, it was time
to sing, to shout, to praise, to laugh. It is little
5
Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present (Boston, n.d.),
p. 115.
189
wonder that Jesse Lee reported that at one camp meeting in
Delaware state, where thousands of people gathered for re
vival services, "the noise occasioned by the cries of the
distressed and the shouts of the saints, was heard at the
distance of three miles.Lee was overwhelmed by the ex
perience and concluded that "surely the Lord was in that
place" (p. 311) .
The problem facing the camp meeting apologists re
lated to the excess emotionalism and the attendant evils
which, according to critics, were an inevitable part of this
frontier revivalism. From the beginning of the movement
leaders sought strong disciplinary measures which could
curb immorality, drunkeness, and various other improprieties
that accompanied large gatherings of unsophisticated fron
tiersmen. But they were not wholly successful in their
efforts. Supporters of the camp meeting saw no inherent
relationship between the emotionalism of their faith and
the misbehavior of irreligious attendants of the revival
services. But to the sceptics such a relationship seemed
obvious. Therefore, it was incumbent upon camp meeting
apologists to deal with those attacks that tended to degrade
g
Jesse Lee, p. 311.
190
Methodist revivalism on the grounds that it naturally led
to undesirable behavior. Camp meeting apologetics was not
only a justification of Methodist frontier evangelism; it
was also a defense of Wesley's doctrine of divine assurance.
Significantly, such apologetics was directed primarily
to members of the Methodist Church and to those followers
of Wesleyanism who might have been entertaining serious
doubts about the use of camp meetings. Like a maiden who
must decide between two suitors, nineteenth-century Method-
sim was courted by both the supporters and the critics of
the camp meetings. As the camp meeting movement matured
and reached the period of decline, camp meeting apologetics
became more analogous to the kind of rhetoric that accom
panies disenchantment; Methodism no longer faced a choice
between two spirited suppliants but, rather, pondered the
wisdom of its selection and weighed the advantages of dis
continuing the relationship. Thus it can be seen that
throughout the history of the movement, camp meeting apolo
getics was an attempt to unite Methodists in support of the
cause. It was a rhetoric of consolidation.
For purposes of convenience, this writer has divided
camp meeting apologetics into intrinsic and extrinsic modes
of expression. Intrinsic modes, such as preaching and hymn
191
singing, emerged from within the movement and were directed
toward unifying camp meeting adherents and attendants.
These will be treated in the next chapter. Extrinsic modes
would be the apologetics of the movement and would include
such literature as formal treatises of defense, collections
of testimonials by participants involved in the movement,
articles appearing in Methodist publications which were
obviously intended to enhance the credibility of camp meet
ing evangelism, and a body of material drawn from various
sources within the camp meeting and other Methodist litera
ture that forms what might be referred to as camp meeting
mythology. Before examining the kinds of appeals and
arguments used by defenders of the camp meeting, a brief
review of the apologetical literature is in order.
Formal Treatises of Defense
The published body of materials that serves as the
formal defense of the Methodist camp meeting movement is
not extensive. Countless references in support of camp
meetings can be found in the journals and letters of early
circuit riders and other Methodist leaders. But such
materials did not comprise the formal apologetical litera
ture of the camp meeting movement, and, aside from providing
192
some background for understanding the controversy, are not
significant in this particular aspect of the study. Three
major publications of camp meeting defense comprise the
formal literature with which this study is concerned.
The earliest work is that of Samuel K. Jennings and
was published in England in 1806. Jennings was a medical
doctor and ordained Methodist minister who lived in Balti
more. He eventually became one of the founders of the
Methodist Protestant Church which split off from the
Methodist Episcopal Church in the 1820's over issues in
volving church polity. The importance of this early publi
cation, entitled A Defence of the Camp Meetings, (North
America) In Six Objections, Stated and Answered, lies in
its relationship to the work of Lorenzo Dow, a Methodist
circuit rider from America who sought to establish camp
meeting evangelism in England. After serving the Methodist
Church in America for several years, Dow went to England
in 1805 and began preaching to the Methodists about the
virtues of camp meetings. For the most part, Methodists in
England were unimpressed by the American camp meetings. But
Dow attracted a number of malcontents who objected to the
somewhat temperate trends in British Methodism. The excite
ment of frontier revivalism in America was appealing to
193
them, and Dow encouraged them to activate their own camp
meeting movement.
One English Methodist in particular, Hugh Bourne,
was sold on the idea of camp meetings after he had read two
books which were purportedly given to him by Dow. Both
books were addressed to the subject of camp meetings, and
7
one of the books was that which was written by Jennings.
In 1807 Bourne and a group of followers scheduled the first
camp meetings to be held in England. The series of meetings
was held at Mow Cop in the spring and was attended by
thousands of people. A second series of camp meetings was
scheduled for the fall of the same year. At both series of
meetings the worshippers became so excited and the nature
of the services was so frenetic, that leaders of the Method
ist Church in England were aroused to action. Bourne was
expelled from the church and camp meetings were condemned
g
by the Quarterly meeting of the denomination in June 1808.
7
H. B. Kendall, The Origin and History of the Primitive
Methodist Church (London, n.d.), p. 61.
g
Minutes of the Methodist Conferences from the First
Held in London . . . 1744, II, 403, cited in Bucke, The His
tory of American Methodism. I, 631. The Conference minutes
read as follows: "Even supposing such meetings to be al
lowable in America, they are highly improper in England, anc
likely to be productive of considerable mischief. And we
disclaim all connection with them."
194
Bourne went on to become one of the founders of the Primi
tive Methodist Church, also known as the Camp Meeting
Methodists.
Evidently, the 1806 edition of Jennings1 pamphlet was
a second printing. Included in the introductory materials
of the work is a letter by Jennings addressed to Rev. Sith
Mead and dated in 1805. In the letter Jennings explained
that he had written the treatise at Mead's request. From
what this writer can gather, Mead was a presiding elder in
the Georgia District who probably worked at the printing
business. A number of letters by Francis Asbury indicate
that Mead carried on his church work while supporting him-
9
self as a printer. Also, a collection of revival music
known as the Sith Mead Hymns was circulated during the early
years of the camp meeting movement, and the hymnbook prob
ably gained its name from its printer. Jennings probably
wrote his original treatise on the camp meeting for Mead
who published it in the States in 1805. The 1806 edition,
published in England, must have been reprinted by Lorenzo
Dow for the purpose of aiding him in his campaign for camp
meetings there. This second edition of the pamphlet is
9Asbury, III, 193, 196, 239, 321.
195
accompanied by several brief articles written by Dow. In
1849 the pamphlet was published again in a collection of
writings by Dow, along with a history of the Primitive
Methodist Church.^ The importance of Jennings' work in
camp meeting apologetics lies not simply in the influence
that it had on the founders of Primitive Methodism. Much
more significant for this study is the fact that Jennings
organized the criticisms which had been voiced against the
camp meeting movement into a viable structure which became
a common pattern for later defensive works.
Jennings1 pamphlet was written in semi-dialogue
fashion as though he were answering questions directed to
him by sceptics to whom the camp meeting was objectionable.
The body of the argument is 21 pages in length and is fol
lowed by a six-page appendix, which is mainly a scriptural
defense of emotionalism in religious exercise. Dow's arti
cles are appended to this, one of which dealt with a
descriptive treatment of American camp meetings and the
other treated general religious subjects.
The second formal defense of camp meetings was written
"^Lorenzo Dow, The Dealings of God, Man, and the Devil;
as Exemplified in the Life, Experience, and Travels of Lor
enzo Dow (Middletown, 1849).
196
in 1810 and its author was identified simply as "A. J."
The pamphlet was printed in New York and is entitled An
Apology for Camp Meetings Illustrative of their Good Effects
and Answering the Principal Objections Urged Against Them.
While the author remained anonymous, a footnote early in
the booklet indicates that it was written, at least in part,
during a camp meeting held at "Tuckey-Hoe, " June 5, 1810.
Possibly the author had reference to Tuckaho Creek which
was in Caroline County, Maryland. A reference to "Turkey-
ho" can be found in the letters of Francis Asbury and is
12
probably the same place. It can only be conjectured that
whoever wrote the pamphlet attended camp meetings in the
Tuckaho area and possibly lived there. The text of the
pamphlet runs 39 pages and is followed by a brief history
of camp meetings and some suggestions for their improvement.
The third formal defense of the camp meeting move
ment was written by Rev. James Porter in 1849. Porter was
a Methodist preacher and writer. He served the church
mainly in the New York and Massachusetts areas. His apolo
getic work, entitled An Essay on Camp Meetings, was pub-
i:Lp. 12.
12
Asbury, III, 294.
197
lished in New York and is the most extensive defense of the
camp meeting movement that this author has found. Accordinc
to the preface. Porter had preached a sermon on the subject
of camp meetings in Southampton, Massachusetts in the
summer of 1848. The sermon was delivered at a camp meeting
and then expanded upon by request of church leaders and
published in book form. The Essay is 86 pages in length
and is divided into seven chapters. The first two chapters
treat the origin and history of camp meetings and their
rationale. Chapter Three considers additional arguments in
favor of the camp meeting's continued use by the Methodist
Church. In the fourth chapter the author begins his treat
ment of objections to the use of camp meetings and continues
through Chapter Five with his refutation. The final two
chapters are concerned with how camp meetings can be im
proved and the responsibility of Methodists to give them
positive support.
Porter's work is well organized and was published in
hard cover. The author did not include his name on the
title page but simply identified himself as "the author of
THE TRUE EVANGELIST." Until this study of the camp meeting
movement was undertaken, evidently no effort had been made
to identify exactly who had written the work. However, in
198
1856 Porter published a study on the Methodist Church and
included a chapter on camp meetings which is an extract of
13
the longer essay. In his later book Porter allowed his
name to appear along with a list of other works he had
authored, including The True Evangelist. The chapter on
camp meetings is only 11 pages in length, and in the final
paragraph the author concludes: "We should be glad to dis
cuss this subject more fully; but, as we have done this in
another work, we forbear" (p. 479). This final sentence is
then footnoted and the reader is directed to the Essay on
Camp Meetings.
If there exist any other formal treatises in defense
of the camp meeting movement, this author is not aware of
them. Porter maintained that at the date of his writing
14
little had been published on the subject. The three
apologies herein presented for study represent the entire
spectrum of the camp meeting movement. The two earliest
treatises are addressed to the same kinds of criticism,
namely that camp meetings are conducive to undesirable en
thusiasm and result in the sort of chaos and disorder
13
Porter, A Compendium of Methodism.
14
Essay on Camp Meetings, p. 11.
199
that is not only irreligious but leads to acts of gross
immorality. To be sure, other criticisms are treated, but
these appear to be of lesser importance to camp meeting
apologetics. In fact, some of the arguments appear to be
of a "straw man" nature and are possibly included to direct
critics away from the more obvious weaknesses of the camp
meeting movement. The charge of enthusiasm was not simply
an attack upon the camp meeting; it was a criticism of
Methodism. In focusing upon the subject of enthusiasm, camp
meeting apologists were more apt to gain the support of
Methodists for their cause.
The concern of early camp meeting apologists for the
complaint which centered in the subject of enthusiasm can
be demonstrated by comparing the number of pages in their
treatises that are devoted to refutation of such a charge.
In Jennings' pamphlet six objections to camp meetings are
refuted. Of the 21 pages which deal with all objections,
13 pages are directly concerned with defending the camp
meeting movement against the charge of enthusiasm, leaving
only nine pages to consider the remaining objections. The
1810 apology, written by A. J., was 39 pages in length.
Twenty-four of these pages are in refutation of the allega
tion that camp meeting religion was enthusiastic in nature.
200
Porter's work, on the other hand, treated the subject of
enthusiasm and its attendant improprieties in 18 pages out
of the 86 pages which comprise the entire work. Since the
latter work was written in 1849, it can be assumed that by
the time Porter entered the field of apologetics, the dis
order and chaos of camp meeting worship was becoming a thine
of the past and Methodist revivalism of the frontier type
had achieved a greater element of respectability. For this
reason, Porter needed to give less space for a discussion
of camp meeting disorders and direct his attention more
fully to those objections which originated within Methodism
and which were posing a more important threat to the future
of the camp meeting movement. This writer concludes that
camp meeting apologetics moved progressively from a concern
for attacks from outside of the Methodist Church to a
defensive position which was almost exclusively a dialogue
within Methodism itself. By 1850 Methodists were finding
interest in other pursuits, and Porter's work represents an
effort by camp meeting supporters to reinstate the waning
movement.
Methodist Publications
Camp meeting apologetics naturally found a place in
201
the books and magazines published under the auspices of the
Methodist Church in America. The various periodicals of
nineteenth-century Methodism often contained articles and
letters devoted to the defense of camp meetings. Some of
these articles offered suggestions for improving camp meet
ings and making them more effective. While their authors
did not always deal directly with criticisms against the
movement, the implication of their writing was that if cer
tain steps were taken to improve the meetings, a wider
acceptance of camp meeting evangelism would take place amonc
the Methodists. One article that did come to grips with
specific criticisms of the camp meeting movement was
written in 1819 by a J. Emory and appeared in two parts in
the Methodist Magazine. Emory attempted a point by point
rebuttal of criticisms which had been directed to the camp
15
meeting by a Presbyterian minister. An editorial in the
Western Christian Advocate, July 28, 1837, argued for more
16
extensive planning and organization of camp meetings. In
15
"Dr. Ely's Review of 'Methodist Error' Reviewed,"
Methodist Magazine. II (New York, 1819), 429-433, 470-474.
16
"Camp Meetings," Western Christian Advocate. C.
Elliott and L. L. Hamline, Editors, IV (July 28, 1837), 1.
202
1856 a similar editorial appeared in the Annals of Southern
Methodism which evaluated Methodist camp meetings and
17
offered suggestions for their improvement. The article,
which was reprinted from the St. Louis Advocate, indicated
that camp meetings were losing in popularity but could be
more effective if a greater degree of organization and more
permanent construction of camp grounds could be achieved.
The author noted the importance of camp meetings to Method
ist revivalism and advocated their continued use.
Finally, in 1861, a rather lengthy defense of camp
18
meetings appeared in the Methodist Review. The editorial
was 22 pages in length and contained the same kinds of
arguments that were generally used by camp meeting apolo
gists. The author's primary concern was with the camp
meeting's fading popularity. Except for the last four pages
of the article, there is little that differed in this
apology from earlier works that have already been mentioned
in this study. However, the concluding four pages of the
17
"Camp Meetings— What They Are— And What They Might
Be," Annals of Southern Methodism (New York, 1856), pp.
370-371.
18
"Is the Modern Camp Meeting a Failure?" Methodist
Review. XLII (New York, 1861), 582-604.
203
editorial do treat an interesting problem which indicates
that the camp meeting was undergoing an important transfor
mation. The author's final argument had to do with the
commercialism that was plaguing Methodist revivalism. Ac
cording to his view, camp meetings had become a means by
which vendors of all sorts of products and services were
attempting to profit. Patent medicines, food stuffs, and
even tonsorial services, complained the author, were being
advertised from pulpits prior to the beginning of camp
meeting services. In one instance "tooth pulling" facili
ties were announced from the platform by a minister who ob
viously favored a certain dentist in the congregation. The
author also charged that some "converts" were getting re
ligion mainly for the opportunity of advertising their
wares, such as one he mentioned who took time during a
prayer meeting to publicize his boot-blacking.
But the author1s greatest concern was with the practice
of allowing privately owned tents to be permanently estab
lished on the camp grounds. He charged that during the
worship services hundreds of people remained in their tents
socializing. While such a practice was against the rules,
he contended that there was no way of enforcing regulations
in such a situation. He concluded his article with a plea
204
for stricter organization and control of camp grounds with
no private tents and much fewer conveniences being provided
for campers. "Thank God," he wrote, "the camp meeting has
nobly weathered the hostility of its enemies; we trust it
may as triumphantly survive the mismanagement of its
friends" (p. 604).
Aside from essays written in Methodist periodicals
and intended to serve as camp meeting apologetics, arguments
in favor of the movement can be found in other assorted
writings. For example, in 1819 the Methodist Magazine pub
lished a series of articles on the history of Methodism in
the West. The entire series is generously laced with
praise for the kind of revivalism that marked the early
19
Methodist movement in America. In several places the
author argues in defense of the camp meeting. Generally,
Methodist historians included flattering reviews of early
camp meetings in their studies of American Methodism which
possibly influenced their fellow Wesleyans to seriously con
sider the merits of this type of evangelism. One such
19
"Account of the Rise and Progress of the Work of God
in the Western Country, " The Methodist Magazine, II (New
York, 1819), 184-187, 221-224, 272-274, 304-308, 349-353,
393-397, 434-439.
205
author, Nathan Bangs, treated the subject of nineteenth-
century Methodism in what later became a classical text of
Methodist history, and his evaluation of the camp meeting
movement held nothing but praise for its methods and re
sults. Following a lengthy section on the historical back
ground of camp meetings, Bangs offered ten arguments in
defense of the camp meeting and the emotionalism that
accompanied it. He concluded this apology by stating:
"These remarks are submitted to the candid reader with the
hope that they may assist him in making up an unbiased
20
judgment in respect to these things." McFerrin1s study
of the Methodist Church in Tennessee would be another good
example of camp meeting apologetics inserted into an
21
historical study. These and other works will be examined
in the next few pages.
Testimonials
Camp meeting apologetics also took the form of
testimonials. Early in the history of the camp meeting
movement Francis Asbury called for a collection of
20
Nathan Bangs, pp. 118-119.
21
McFerrin, I, 339.
206
testimonials by clergy who had preached and labored in camp
meetings throughout America. Asbury was concerned that the
history of Methodism in America be permanently recorded,
especially the revival movement which he had so enthusias
tically endorsed. In January of 1801 Asbury wrote to
Sith Mead:
I wish the most perfect union to subsist between the
Episcopacy, and the presiding eldership, and at least
a circumstantial account by letter, every half year:
that they may be eyes, ears, and mouth, and pens, from
the Episcopacy, to the preachers, and people; and the
same from the preachers and people, to the Episcopacy,
giving an account of the work, for the press if need
be; as also to lay before the yearly conference the
great things God is doing in our land, and then by the
press, before the whole w o r l d . 2 2
Just 10 days later Asbury wrote to Daniel Hitt, pre
siding elder of the Alexandria District of Virginia, with
the same kind of suggestion:
Once in every year I wish to hear circumstantially
from the president elders, that we may collect, as in
a medium, the most pleasing and interesting things of
the work of God, not only for the Episcopacy, but the
Conferences, and the press. I think we have paid but
little attention to the work of God, or pure history
of religion in America. Except my journals and a few
letters, and our Annual Minutes, what have we to show
of the great things God hath done with us, for us, and
by us, for thirty years? If the Magazine [Methodist
Magazine] of necessity must fail, a very choice
22
Asbury, III, 196.
207
collection, or selection, of the most pure American
papers will be introduced; and it would be well for
those who have been of standing in the work to write
the beginning of their lives, and religion, and labors,
and it will be more easily finished in the memoirs of
their deaths.23
As a result of Asbury's concern, a booklet entitled
Extracts of Letters Containing Some Accounts of the Work of
God Since the Year 1800 was published in 1805. Since the
most significant aspect of Methodist history in America at
this time was the great revival, and since camp meetings
had become a most important vehicle of Methodist evangelism
between 1800 and 1805, any historical treatment of Methodisir
in America would be primarily concerned with the camp meet
ing movement. Those who were most elated by Methodism's
progress in America were actively involved in the camp
meeting. And, since Asbury had been such an outspoken ad
vocate of the use of camp meetings, it was only natural
that the letters included in this publication would be
heavily weighted toward proclaiming the success of camp
meetings throughout America. For this reason, the publica
tion became useful as an apologetic work in support of camp
23
Asbury, III, 197. The Methodist Magazine began
publication in 1797 and ceased publication in 1798. It be
gan again in 1819.
208
meetings. The glowing accounts of camp meeting experiences
and the vast numbers of converts being won into the church
through this means was intended to be an inspiration to
Methodists everywhere.
The significance of the Extracts to this study can
be seen by the fact that the following year saw a second
printing of the book in England. The second edition was
entitled Extracts from Original Letters, to the Methodist
Bishops, Mostly from Their Preachers and Members in North
America Giving an Account of the Work of God, Since the
Year 1800. The importance of this second edition in estab
lishing the Extracts as a significant apologetical work
for the camp meeting movement is that attached to it, and
announced on the cover as well, is a sketch of camp meet
ings by Lorenzo Dow. The Liverpool printer is the same
company that published Jennings 1 camp meeting defense in
1806. It is probable that the 1806 version of the Extracts
is one of the books which was purportedly given to Hugh
Bourne by Dow and which excited the English Methodist to
begin his own camp meeting movement in Britain.
Most of the letters in the Extracts are general in
nature and quite similar in content. Emphasis is usually
placed by each letter writer upon the numbers of converts
209
and the miraculous displays of divine power and interven
tion. Prom time to time writers stressed the fact that
order accompanied their meetings. Generally, these are
letters of praise and exhaltation, rather than accurate
accounts of historical events. But such materials as these
were important in carrying forward the cause of the camp
meeting. One of the most popular arguments used by camp
meeting apologists was that the vast numbers of converts
and the thousands of new members brought into the Methodist
Church as a result of camp meeting evangelism made it
incumbent upon the church to continue with this vital means
of evangelism. Rather than presenting a formal argument
in support of the camp meeting, the Extracts simply present
the irrefutable "facts" as witnessed by those who were
intimately involved in the movement. The same kind of
literature can be found in other Methodist periodicals where
reports of camp meeting victories and conference revivals
continued to reinforce the belief in the minds of sincere
Methodists that the camp meeting was a vehicle of God’s
power and grace.
An excellent example of the apologetical testimony
is found in the Methodist Magazine for
210
24
1825. Here an article of about one and a fourth pages in
length details the accounts of two camp meetings held in
New York State during which the writer witnessed great
blessings from God. Written in letter form by a Rev.
Thomas Madden, the report summarized the events in a general
narration which included strong emphasis upon the fact that
good order was maintained at both encampments and many
conversions were counted. The writer’s preoccupation with
orderliness might indicate the sensitivity of Methodists to
the criticism that chaos reigned at most of their camp
meetings. Madden introduced his report by expressing his
concern for the attacks made upon camp meetings and wrote:
In America, perhaps, no single means has been more
successfully used for awakening and conversion of sin
ners, than campmeetings. Prejudices against them are,
to be sure, strong in the minds of many, especially
among the higher classes of society. And by the tongue
of slander, under the influence of a mind darkened by
ignorance and biased by prejudice, many injurious re
ports, as unjust as they are unfounded, have been
circulated respecting them. But the one now about to
be noticed claims an exception from all such animadver
sions and may be recorded on account of the very
commendable behavior of all present, as well as for
the divine blessings that attended it. (p. 41)
24
Thomas Madden, "Good Effects of Camp Meetings, "
Methodist Magazine. VIII (New York, 1825), 320-322.
211
The writer made a strong point of the orderliness that
characterized the affair and concluded that "the conduct
of the assembly during the whole meeting is worthy of remark
and panegyrick. No instance of disorder occurred on the
encampment" (p. 41). Other articles of similar nature and
generally reporting the accomplishments of camp meeting
revivals throughout America, were so numerous in Methodist
periodicals that this writer can only conclude that these
general testimonials of praise were an important influence
in prolonging the life of the camp meeting movement.
General Arguments and Strategies
An example of the kind of attacks that were directed
against the camp meeting movement, especially in the early
and middle years of its existence, is found in an article
25
that was published in a Unitarian periodical in 1823.
The major complaint voiced by the author was that Methodist
camp meetings were highlighted by exercises in a highly
enthusiastic brand of worship that inevitably led to in
temperate behavior. It is clear that the author used the
25
"What is the Character of the Methodists Camp Meet
ings, and How Do You Account for the Effects There Pro
duced? " The Christian Disciple and Theological Review. V
(Boston, 1823), 170-178._______________________________________
212
term "enthusiasm" in the eighteenth-century context thereby
associating the Methodist camp meeting with the kind of
criticism that Wesley and his followers encountered as the
Methodist movement gained prominence in England. The
author contended that camp meeting emotionalism, as well
as the improper behavior that accompanied it, was insepar
able from the theological nature of Methodism. A portion
of the article is included so that the reader may sample
the kind of attack against which the camp meeting apologists
reacted. The reader is asked to note two aspects of the
article in particular: (1) the assumption by the author
that camp meetings had become an inherent part of Methodism;
(2) the camp meeting, with all of its chaos and disorder,
was a natural product of Methodist doctrine and practice.
Among the peculiar regulations, which have been
adopted by the Methodists, for keeping alive and prop
agating their faith, we may consider their practice of
field-preaching as one of the most efficient, as well
as most characteristic. It was resorted to by the first
founders of the sect; and became in their hands a power
ful engine for producing that vast religious movement,
which they effected. Their excesses in devotion, and
extravagances with regard to the new birth, had excluded
them from preaching in the regular churches. This cir
cumstance, as well as the immense multitudes, that
flocked to hear them, more numerous than any church
could contain, first compelled them to take the field.
Such is the origin of the Methodist camp meetings; and
though commenced from necessity, they were afterwards
continued as means for producing revivals, and became,
213
at length, an important part of their system.
The effects which are produced at these meetings
form one of the most remarkable traits of Methodism,
and are worthy to be carefully examined as curious
phenomena illustrating interesting principles of our
nature. The first founders of this sect were not only
enthusiasts themselves, but the cause of still greater
enthusiasm in others. They produced upon susceptible
subjects a physical affection of bodily disease, pecu
liar, and highly infectious; which both by those who
excited and those who experienced it, was believed to
be part of the process of regeneration, and, therefore,
the work of God. The first subjects, having no example
to encourage them, naturally suppressed their feelings,
as much as they could; they fell, however, into convul
sive motions, and could not refrain from uttering cries.
These extravagances at first gave offence, and occa
sioned some dispute in the society; but being, at length
unanimously declared to be the work of grace, the people
were led to throw off all restraint, and to abandon
themselves without reserve to their mixed sensations.
The consequences were such as might have been antici
pated. Scenes of the wildest vociferation and fanati
cism frequenty ensued, and the voice of the preacher
was sometimes lost amid the groans and shrieks of his
suffering and raving auditors; while the ground was
strewed with bodies in a state of convulsion or
insensibility. . . .
Such are some of the phenomena which occur at camp-
meetings. They were, at first, variously accounted for,
as proceeding from imposture, from the agency of evil
spirits, or from the perceptible influence of the Holy
Ghost. Wesley referred all the cases without exception
to the last named causes . . . (pp. 170-173)
The author of the article then went on to ascribe the
chaotic conditions of Methodist revivalism to preachers who,
in spite of a cautioning influence exerted by the "more
enlightened of the sect," persisted in allowing "the Lord
to work in his own way" (p. 173). He described camp meeting
214
preachers as graphically delineating the horrors of hell,
the degeneracy of the human soul, and the terror of divine
judgment in contrast to the love of God and the peace of
mind that comes from conversion. The author contended that
the preachers "address the conscience, the imagination, and
all the mainsprings of the human mind" (p. 175). He
charged:
They feel and express an honest and anxious concern
for the salvation of souls. They melt into tears at
the insensibility of sinners to their own danger; and
they sometimes actually sink down, exhausted by the
strength of their own emotions. All this, accompanied
with a loud tone of voice, vehement gestures, wild
looks, must strongly operate on susceptible minds. And
when a human being is taught to believe that his in-
ternal feelinqs are the monitions of God, and the striv-
ings of his holy spirit, it is impossible to say, into
what extravagancies he may be carried. (p. 175)
The author's description of camp meetings, not in
cluded in the above quoted materials, was probably quite
exaggerated. Nevertheless, such impressions were common
and, as detailed in previous chapters, had a logical basis.
The important point, however, is that the excessive emo
tionalism of camp meeting services and the resulting mis
behavior that presumably accompanied it, were seen by
critics to result from theological beliefs that were impor
tant to Methodism: namely, the witness of the Holy Spirit
215
within the convert that was generally referred to as the
doctrine of assurance. These "peculiar doctrines of the
Methodists, " the author stated, "and their powerful way of
urging and enforcing them furnish, we think, a sufficient
exciting cause" (p. 175).
Camp meeting apologists attempted to answer their
critics by explaining the religious values of emotionalism
as well as pointing to the unfounded and exaggerated
charges which, they maintained, comprised the major part of
unfavorable accounts of Methodist evangelism. Their argu
ments would often assume a sectarian attitude as they rose
to the defense of Methodist traditions. For example,
Emory attempted to "turn the tables" on his Presbyterian
critic by structuring a syllogism based upon Presbyterian
Calvinism. The critic, a Dr. Eley, had written in the
Quarterly Theological Review allegedly reporting his im
pressions of a chaotic Methodist camp meeting which he had
visited. Emory sought to cast doubt upon the critic's
credibility and then asserted that the following syllogism
could be used in support of camp meeting improprieties:
God, from all eternity, did unchangeably ordain whatso
ever comes to pass;
216
But then these things [camp meeting improprieties] came
to pass;
Therefore, God ordained them.26
Proceeding further, Emory constructed a second syllogism:
Whatsoever God ordains must be right;
But God ordained these things;
Therefore, these things must be right. (p. 471)
While Emory offered his argument facetiously, his manner of
writing is indicative of the strong sectarian conflict that
was a part of the camp meeting controversy. He went on in
his refutation to scoff at the critic's charges that
Methodists behaved imprudently at their camp meetings,
maintaining that such attacks were exaggerated, malicious,
and the product of a mind that lacked understanding of true
religion.
The argument most commonly used by camp meeting
apologists concerned the scriptural defense of religious
emotionalism. Naturally, the use of scripture carried an
authoritative ring within Methodism, a sect that gave abso-
27
lute priority to the divine inspiration of the Bible.
26_
Emory, p. 471.
27
William R. Cannon, The Theology of John Wesley
(New York, 1946), p. 20.
217
While critics of Methodism pointed to the disorderly and
indecorous behavior of camp meeting worshippers, defenders
of the movement offered biblical injunctions and appeals to
Christian tradition in substantiating the propriety of
their emotionalism. To the objection that Methodist preach
ers themselves created a great deal of the confusion through
sensationalism and their appeals to the irrational nature
of their audiences, Jennings replied, in his early apology,
by citing numerous examples from the Bible to support
emotionalism in worship. The New Testament, according to
Jennings, was replete with admonitions to the Christian
which compelled him to rejoice outwardly, to shout, to sing,
to exhalt in his praise of God. Jennings also found ex
amples in the Old Testament, such as in the book of Ezra
where it is recorded that "all the people shouted with a
great shout, when they praised the Lord, and the noise was
2 8
heard afar off." Jennings concluded that "with examples
and precepts like these, surely the people ought at least
to be indulged, who in the integrity of their hearts adopt
29
this mode of expressing their devout emotions." Through
28 ., .
Ezra, 3:11-13.
29
Jennings, p. 18.
218
an intricate pattern of reasoning, Jennings presented an
expository treatment of another Old Testament passage in
which he sought to prove that when the prophet Ezra required
God's Holy Law to be read to the people, it was a reading
that proceeded in the same fashion as camp meeting worship.
That is, over 100 priests read simultaneously, shouting out
loud the divine ordinances (pp. 19-20). Finally, he con
cluded his argument by drawing an analogy between camp
meeting critics and those protestors in Jerusalem who
demanded that Christ, upon his entry into the city at the
beginning of the Passover celebration, should command his
followers to remain silent and cease in their praises. At
this point Jennings reached a high point of emotion when
he wrote:
Hark! ye gainsayers of every party, sect and denomina
tion among men, who in conformity to your disposition
to 'love the praise of men more than the praise of God,'
would fain lay down rules for the MOST HIGH, and limit
the HOLY ONE of Israel, and persuade yourself that sal
vation must come through a certain mode or form, or
all is delusion, enthusiasm, hypocrisy, and wild fire.
I tell you 'that if these should hold their peace, the
stones would immediately cry out;' God would raise up
instruments more unlikely than these to celebrate his
praise. (p. 21)
In the same fashion that Jennings defended the emotion
alism of camp meeting worship, the 1810 apology followed a
219
similar pattern of defense. The author of the later work
also used the New Testament analogy of Jesus entering
Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week. Again, much of
the same Old Testament Scripture was relied upon by the
author to substantiate the acceptability of noise and
spontaneous expressions of joy as part of proper Christian
worship. In this later apology the author carried the
defense a step further by justifying the falling exercises
and other muscular manifestations of religious ardor. Here
the subject of enthusiasm was treated in its typical
eighteenth-century meaning. The writer pointed his critics
to both Old and New Testament scriptures in an effort to
substantiate the fact that in biblical times not only the
wicked fell prostrate before God's power, but the righteous
often received their visions and divine instructions from
above while in a comatose condition identical to that ex
perienced by many camp meeting worshippers who jerked or
30
tumbled to the ground as if dead. The writer concluded:
The only confusion that exists, is in the minds of
those who raise the objection, and is the offspring
of a dissipated, unstable mind, or a certain prejudice
of education, which takes it for granted, that no
30A. J., pp. 17-19.
220
religious exercises can be right, or agreeable to the
order of God, but such as correspond with the straight
laced regulations of modern decorum: the moral sense
of which, differs but very little from supposing, that
a man cannot worship God as acceptably in the habit of
common custom; and would generally produce as much
confusion (tho1 of another kind" in the minds and con
duct of a proud congregation of Sunday, meeting-house
Christians, to witness such an innocent, indifferent
circumstance, as do the extraordinary exercises of
Camp-meetings. (p. 20)
The writer then went on to cite the story of Pentecost
as found in the New Testament book of Acts and concluded
that "perhaps there was never a more striking instance, of
what the saints of the world call confusion, among Chris
tians, than on that occasion; or the spectators would' not
have viewed them as a company of noisy gabbling drunkards"
(p. 21). His final argument was that the "different
exercises . . . are sanctioned by the divine presence, and
saving grace of the Son of God" (p. 22). Naturally, those
who criticized them were obviously not Christians.
At the same time, the author of the 1810 apology
was willing to admit that sexual improprieties had taken
place, on occasion, at camp meetings, but he contended that
such immorality was not common and, even more important,
involved the very kind of unregenerate sinners that the
camp meeting was intended to reach with the gospel (p. 27).
In this fashion, the writer attempted to separate what he
221
thought of as isolated instances of sexual license from the
emotionalism of Methodist religion, a separation that most
camp meeting critics were not willing to acknowledge. In
fact, the most antagonistic skeptics of the camp meeting
movement tended to see a direct relationship between the
fervor of Methodism and whatever questionable activities
they believed were common to the frontier encampments. An
excellent example of such criticism is found in a poem that
31
was written and published in 1807. The poet withheld
his name from the pamphlet, which was twelve pages in
length. His work was intended to cast doubt upon the pro
priety of camp meetings and was mainly concerned with the
subject of enthusiasm. The following explanatory statement
is found at the beginning of the work:
It is hoped that the following Poem will not be
considered as any burlesque on those who conduct their
religion with propriety and sincerity. But if those
who exchange mild precepts of reason and sincerity, for
the mere productions of an unbridled passion, and the
effusions of enthusiastic frenzy . . . if they think
the reflections applicable to themselves, they are wel
come to receive them. When the worship of God is car
ried beyond the bounds of reason and decency, instead
of its producing any beneficial effects, is productive
of the most pernicious consequences: and that the con
duct of many of the Methodists at the Camp-Meeting,
31
A Poem on a Methodist Camp Meeting.
222
was beyond the sphere of reason, and the limits of
decency, is a self-evident fact. Impressed with these
sentiments, I have thought proper to occupy a few of
my leisure moments in writing the following POEM.
(no page number)
The author offered no substantiation for the implied
indiscretions contained in his poem. He simply states them
as fact. The following exerpt from the poem provides the
reader with an example of this critical work:
The strange manoeures, with common sway,
Almost make rock with crimson blushes say
They are amaz'd, astonish'd, and confus'd,
Alarm'd, distress'd, insulted, and abus'd:
The lofty trees, of't wav'd by zephyr's gales,
Appear dejected, while the camp prevails:
The short-liv'd insects in thick crowd retire,
Far from this tumult and this sacred war;
Save the Mosquetoes who in war's array,
In throngs of millions, dreadful scenes display;
On slumbering infants, they in anger press,
Nor heed the cries of widows in distress.
Dreadful the scene I to see each blooming maid,
(On whose fair cheeks, gay smiles and blushes spread.)
Who by those ruffians, with assuming air,
Receive rude insults on the bosom fair;
No flags of truce will sooth their savage rage,
Nor virgin's smiles, their mad career assuage:
Through the pale night, the battle's sounding bray,
Through the lone grove, spread wonder and dismay.
Now demi-gods, on scaffold rais'd in air,
Like lightening poles, attract electric fire;
As from the head, converging fires combin'd,
Burst with explosion, and distract the mind;
The gaping crowds, struck with forboding fear,
Turn social bliss to horror wild and drear.
As skunks retir'd far from this sacred ground,
and fail to spread perfume and ordours round;
Fair nymphs and swains, besmear'd with mud and sand,
223
make stronger fragrance through the grove expand.
As night's dark mantle hides the light of day,
And swift wing'd fires, nocturnal lights display:
Many, who wearied by much toil and care,
In bundling crowds, to canvas huts repair:
There downey pleasure opes her friendly arms
And love delicious sooths the souls alarms: (pp. 7-8)
Along with his poetry, the author offered numerous
footnotes which were intended to clarify, but certainly did
not substantiate, the charges which he made against Method
ist camp meetings. His first footnote was quite lengthy,
but it is important because it is typical of the sort of
criticsim that continued to plague the camp meeting movement,
throughout the early and middle years of its history. The
writer remarked:
There are various opinions respecting the cause
which make such convulsions in the mind of many who
attend the Methodist camp-meetings. Some people sup
pose it to be a supernatural power, that causes them
to fall down, and appear in such agitation. Others
impute it an evil spirit. But it is more probable
that they are affected by their own wild conjectures;
conjured up by their own disordered imaginations;
leading them from the stationary points of reason, to
the lurid gloom of enthusiasm, and superstitious ab
surdities. When reason and decency have no restraint
on the human mind, to what a surprising degree does
the power of enthusiasm enkindle the passions! To see
multitudes of people of every description, collected
together in a wood; spending several days and nights
there; neglecting their business at home; some of them
shouting, shrieking, and spatting on their hands; some
of them falling down, and rolling on the ground— others
engaged in the degrading scenes of vice, lewdness, and
224
debauchery. To see people conducting in such a man
ner, seems as if they had broken every restraint of
reason, and surpressed every desire for social dig
nity. (p. A2)
Just how important this poem and other similar writ
ings might have been in establishing an unfavorable reputa
tion for Methodist camp meetings is impossible to determine.
But certainly such unsupported allegations were nonetheless
influential in structuring a strong bias against Methodist
revivalism. The lewd implications of the poem would make
attractive reading to those who enjoyed such disparagement
of religion and certainly would have been passed on to
other readers. But, by the same token, enough eyewitnesses
had provided astonishing accounts of camp meeting chaos to
justify its poor reputation, and such literature as the
poem under consideration would naturally be readily accepted,
as truth by those who held suspicions of the Methodist
activity. It can be seen, then, that during the early and
middle years of the movement, its apologists sought to
consolidate Methodism in support of their cause. Their
most important strategy was to identify camp meeting
evangelism with Methodist doctrine and tradition so that
an attack upon the camp meeting was an attack upon Method
ism. Using the Bible as their final authority, they argued
225
mainly from scripture and attempted to defend emotionalism
as a natural and necessary part of true religious worship.
As for those who attacked the camp meeting and charged
that such encampments were a primary cause of improper and
immoral behavior, they were passed off as liars, perse
cutors, and ignorant or unspiritual observers who knew
little or nothing of true Christianity.
Apologetical works of the later years differed in
several ways from those of the first two decades of the
movement's existence. First, an examination of camp meet
ing apologetics in the period of decline reveals little
of the persecution complex that was so much a part of
earlier writings. Secondly, there was a more positive con
cern with improving the camp meeting. It would seem that
later camp meeting apologists, while strongly advocating
the continued use of camp meeting evangelism, were more
willing to take an objective view of the criticisms they
faced. Finally, the literature of camp meeting defense in
the period of decline appears to be much more sophisticated
than that which marked the early years of the movement.
Porter's work is the most extensive example of camp
meeting apologetics in the final period. An examination of
his Essay on Camp Meetings reveals a much more polished and
226
well-structured treatment of the subject than is found in
works of earlier years. The Essay reflects a deliberate
attempt to bring respectability to camp meetings by using
appeals other than that of scriptural precedent. Porter
reasoned that camp meetings were to Methodism what holy
celebrations and gatherings were to other religions, and he
32
particularly cited Roman Catholicism as an example. Con
servative Protestantism had traditionally taken an attitude
of disparagement toward the Catholic Church, and even thougl
Porter acknowledged the typical evangelical criticisms of
Romanism, his analogy represented a significant departure
from attitudes previously exhibited by Methodists. Porter's
argument was that general assemblies, such as the camp
meeting, are important to the consolidation and strength
ening of brotherhood and unanimity among men of like
philosophies. This, he explained, was the reason why God
instituted religious observances among the Jews in Old
Testament times (pp. 16-18). He described the Jewish feasts
and holy days as times of singing and celebration, not un
like some of the religious zeal which had been exhibited
over the years at camp meetings.
32
Porter, Essay on Camp Meetings, p. 15.
227
The first three chapters of Porter's book systemati
cally, and in a positive manner, structured a logical basis
for the use of camp meetings,- He made no reference to
criticisms of camp meeting activities nor did he treat the
common objections that were of concern to previous apolo
gists. It was not until Chapter Four that Porter took up
the arguments commonly used to discredit camp meetings.
Looking back over the history of the camp meeting movement
from a relatively safe position near mid-century, he
attributed most of the reports concerning alleged indiscre
tions to sour critics of the past whose exaggerations and
false testimonials were normal expressions of persecution .
(p. 40). In this manner Porter passed over the criticism
of former years and approached the subject with the positive;
attitude that while Methodism had successfully used this
God-given means of reaching men with the Christian message,
improvements could be made that would provide ~n even
greater degree of effectiveness to camp meeting evangelism.
Porter offered three major arguments in considering
the manner in which camp meetings had been conducted. First,
he contended that certain evils were inherently a part of
religious and social gatherings and did not necessarily
reflect upon the camp meeting alone. Such evils, he
228
argued, were perpetrated by individuals who desired social
rather than religious fulfillment and were common to other
kinds of religious gatherings as well. "But we are not
responsible for their conduct," Porter wrote, "and we will
not be implicated by it" (p. 43). Very carefully he
attempted to separate the rabble rousers from the Christians
and indicated that whatever undesirable conduct had become
associated with camp meetings was the result of non-
Methodist attendants. He concluded:
The objections seem to be applied to camp meetings
only. Why is this? We fear there is undue prejudice
in the way. Generally if people see the wicked driving
and hallooing along the street, they blame them, and
not the occasion, or its patrons. But when they see
them doing the same thing in conexion [.sic] with a
camp-meeting, they blame the Methodists, and their
meeting. I ask again, Why is this? Where is the jus
tice or consistency of it? We cannot consent to such
one-sided jurisprudence. It is ridiculous! (p. 46)
Having separated camp meeting improprieties from
Methodist revivalism, Porter's second argument concerned
the nature of true worship and a consideration of enthusiasm
in religion. Acknowledging that two definitions of the
word "enthusiasm" were commonly used in relation to reli
gion, he preferred the more contemporary nineteenth-century
meaning which conveyed "vigour of thought, fervour of
spirit, vivacity, and strength, that elevate the soul to
229
higher aspirations than unimpassioned reason ever attains"
(p. 51). In this respect, Porter saw the camp meeting as
"calculated to quicken and elevate" the sincere spiritual
longings of the human soul. On the other hand, enthusiasm
of the eighteenth-century variety, was always an imminent
danger wherever emotional excitement should be increased,
but Porter took the position that such a danger need not
become reality if proper precautions would be taken: He
wrote:
Enthusiasm is not the necessary or frequent result of
deep experience, or of the means which promote it.
However, profoundly we may enter into its divine pur
ity and earnestness, there is next to no danger, if
we properly guard against the temptations incident to
the Christian profession. (p. 53)
The precautions urged by the author formed the third
argument in Chapter Four of the Essay. Admitting that
Methodist camp meetings often had a tendency to become
boistrous and confusing, Porter suggested that people with
weak emotional constitutions would be better off staying
away from camp meetings and drily remarked:
We know some persons who never ought to go to camp-
meeting, or to any other place where there is any
considerable excitement, either in reference to this
world or the next. There is a weakness in their
mental machinery, which occasions a predisposition
to insanity, utterly incompatible with their safety
230
at such places. But to prevent their going is very
difficult, since they generally seek them with more
avidity than persons differently constituted. Still
an effort should he made, that our camp-meetings may
not he disturbed hy the ravings of insanity, in any
of its stages; or hlamed for effects directly charge
able to organic imbecilities. (p. 54)
The almost complete absence of scriptural references
in support of camp meetings plus the aloofness with which
Porter met criticisms of the camp meeting movement reflect
an objectivity that was missing from earlier apologetics.
Porter challenged Methodism to examine itself, its methods,
and its progress. For those who avidely championed the
continued use of the camp meeting, he reviewed the weak
nesses of the movement and provided extensive advice on how
such services could be immeasurably improved. To those
whose criticisms threatened to suspend the use of camp
meetings, he offered what he felt were sound reasons for
their further consideration of the subject and suggested
ways in which they could prepare themselves for more bene
ficial participation in the movement. Unlike the apologists
of earlier years, Porter did not view the camp meeting as
a sacred institution, nor did he see Methodism severely
threatened simply because its methods of evangelism were
brought into critical scrutiny. He reasoned that the camp
meeting had been and could be a most effective means of
231
furthering Methodism in America. Whatever shortcomings the
camp meeting movement might have exhibited in the past,
Porter seemed convinced that they were easily remediable
and should not be the cause for dispensing with so important
a means of Christian evnagelization.
Thirteen years later the editors of the Methodist
Review asked the question "Is the Modern Camp Meeting a
Failure?" and sought to provide the answer by generally
comparing camp meeting costs with the results. While draw
ing comparisons between the camp meeting movement and re
ligious festivals described in the Old Testament, the
article denied that any scriptural precedent, such as had
been so carefully maintained by early apologists, could be
established and firmly contended that:
The strongest advocate of the modern camp-meeting
would hardly appeal to any explicit scriptural command,
or to any exact scriptural example, in support of his
preference. A regularly attested biblical paternity
that institution can never claim. The 'tented grove,1
with its wealth of memories, so dear and sacred to the
hearts of thousands, is nowhere mentioned in the word
of God. It had no existence until centuries after the
last book of inspiration had enriched the world. Its
very origin was providential if not fortuitous, and
its subsequent recognition as a religious instrumen
tality has wholly resulted from its supposed efficiency
in this r e s p e c t . 33
33
"Is the Modern Camp Meeting a Failure?", p. 582.
232
Stressing the vast numbers that were being reached
with Christian preaching, the atmosphere of concentrated
spiritual activity and concern, and the variety of minis
terial talent that was afforded by camp meetings, the arti
cle quickly passed over, as unimportant, the complaints of
disorder and confusion that were always a part of the camp
meeting tradition. "The practical efficiency of a religious
enterprise can never be fully estimated from its direct
results," the authors maintained, "the question of utility
is, we think, chiefly determined by the number that can be
induced to hear the Gospel" (pp. 596-597). Therefore, the
rationale of expanding and improving camp meeting facilities
was clear; the better the facilities the more people would
be brought under the influence of Christian preaching.
After providing careful estimates of cost, the article con
cluded that camp meetings, marked by all the necessary
improvements that would be needed to make them successful,
would probably equal an investment of about fifty cents per
person "as the necessary expenditure during a session of
ordinary length ..." (p. 599). The article's preoccupa
tion with camp meeting costs reflects the fact that by this
time in the history of the camp meeting movement, the
complaint most commonly being voiced by Methodists was that
233
camp meetings were too expensive to keep in operation.
Apologetics of this later period tended toward a
practical appeal that urged Methodists back to the tented
grove on the premise that camp meetings, as a tried and
true method of evangelism, could once again become a sig
nificant factor in the growth and expansion of the Methodist
Church if steps were taken to improve their efficiency and
organization. Certainly, the apologists in the period of
decline made a strong and logical appeal for their cause.
Camp meetings were continued by Methodism throughout the
nineteenth century, but their character was so changed that
for all practical purposes the movement, as it existed
during the first half of the century, was dead. Summer
encampments became vacation centers with a religious empha
sis. Permanent facilities marked by comfortable appoint
ments and the conveniences of home life took the place of
the straw-floored tents and rough, hard benches. Methodism
had made its choice. The suitor who had at one time made
such an attractive appeal, no longer seemed interesting.
There were too many other facinating pursuits with which
Methodists were concerned.
234
Camp Meeting Mythology
Christianity traditionally has been viewed by its
adherents as an historic religion; not simply in the sense
that it finds its origin and leadership in specific in
stances and personalities in time, but, rather, that certair
significant historical events are interpreted as religious
events which gain significance through the belief that they
have occurred as a result of divine intervention in human
affairs. Herbert Butterfield, British historian and Pro
fessor of Modern History at Cambridge University, contends
that by the terms of its very existence, an historic
religion "implies a certain conception of God, a certain
view of the universe, a certain doctrine about human life
and a certain idea concerning the course of things in
34
time." He goes on to say:
By its fundamental assumptions it insists upon a God
who stretches out his arms to human beings presumed
to be groping in grave distress and blind bewilder
ment. It asserts that eternity is brought into rela
tion with time, and that the supra-terrestrial realm,
the kingdom of the spirit, is not locked away, for it
is here and now, and the two planes of existence inter
sect. . . . On this view there can be no case of an
absentee God leaving mankind at the mercy of chance
34
Christianity and History (New York, 1950), p. 120.
235
in a universe blind, stark and bleak. And a real
drama— not a madman1s nightmare or a tissue of flimsy
dreams— is being enacted on the stage of all human
history— a real conflict between good and evil is
taking place, events do matter, and something is being
achieved irrespective of our apparent success or fail
ure. (pp. 120-121)
The historic concept of Christianity is based upon,
and serves to reinforce, the believer1s firm conviction that
the miraculous is indeed explainable in terms of divine
intervention and, further, that such intervention in behalf
of the individual believer is not uncommon— at least for
those who obey God's will or come under the relentless power
of his love. The Methodists, by the nature of their
theology, were strongly inclined to an historic faith, and
the charge of enthusiasm with which they had to contend,
sprang quite naturally from this type of conviction. One
of Wesley's critics, Rev. Charles Wheatley, accused the
Methodists in England of being "rapturous enthusiasts,
preaching up unaccountable sensations, violent emotions, anc
sudden changes; boasting of immediate inspirations, and lay
ing a blasphemous claim to greater miracles than were ever
35
wrought by Christ Himself." As to his belief in miracles,
35
Sugden, II, 84.
236
Wesley answered: "I do not know that God hath anyway
precluded Himself from thus exerting His sovergn power, from
working miracles in any kind or degree, in any age, to the
end of the world" (p. 85). Again, in his sermon on "The
Nature of Enthusiasm," Wesley acknowledged that there were
some who erroneously claimed divine power in accomplishing
what seemed to be miracles and were, therefore, true en
thusiasts. Still, he contended that "God can, and some
times does . . . exert His own immediate power" in human
affairs" (p. 85).
Enthusiasm encompassed the concept of the miraculous,
and certainly Methodism, with its emphasis upon the real
presence and witness of God's Spirit within the believer,
tended to provide an avenue for the less stable individual
to become involved in error. This factor, along with the
natural propensity of social movements to become preoccu
pied with their own mythology, created within the camp
meeting movement a reverence for the miraculous which
became an important part of the apologist's appeal.
The outdoor setting in which camp meetings took place
provided numerous incidents which easily lent a sense of
mystery and miracle to the proceedings, When it appeared
that no human explanation could be provided for their
237
occurrence, or when such strange happenings seemed to be a
direct answer to prayer, Methodists were more than willing
to ascribe divine intervention to such events. In the
early years of the camp meeting movement especially, when
most of its adherents were poorly educated and superstitious
frontiersmen, a close relationship to and a vital depend
ence upon their environment had taught worshippers to
respect and to fear the natural forces which could provide
the circumstances for either a successful crop or the
destruction of years of labor. The natural environment
could be man's friend or his awsome enemy. Naturally, the
Methodist believed that God could control the forces of
nature, and even more so when the cause of the Christian
Church was at stake. Numerous accounts of violent storms
being used by God for his own purposes are found in camp
meeting literature. One such example is recorded in an
account of the preaching of Rev. Henry Birchett as told by
a Mr. John Carr. He wrote:
He was an excellent preacher, and I do not hesitate
in saying that I believe he was the most holy, devoted
Christian I have ever known. He was a man of great
faith, of which I will give an example that came under
my own notice. Once on the Sabbath-day, at Norris's
Meeting-house, on Big Station Creek, he was preaching
to a large congregation. The preaching was from a
stand erected in the woods. Soon after he had begun
238
his sermon, a most fearful cloud, dark and angry,
appeared and spread over the heavens, just above the
heads of the people, and from it issued most terrific
thunder and lightning. The people became alarmed,
panic-struck, and were in the act of scattering from
the place. But just then the preacher succeeded in
gaining their attention, and told them to stay and
unite with him in prayer to God. He bowed, and I have
never heard such a prayer I He prayed for the clouds
to be dispersed, that they might have a peaceable and
quiet waiting upon God. At length, when we arose from
our knees, the cloud had changed its course, and passed
away, and we were not interrupted by rain. The direct
answer to prayer, so evident to all, had a most gra
cious effect upon the congregation, even the wicked
believing God had heard the prayer of the p r e a c h e r . 3 6
Violent rain storms could ruin a camp meeting, but, at
the same time, there were occasions when rain was desper
ately needed for abundant crops. The story was told of
Rev. James Axley, early Methodist camp meeting preacher in
Tennessee, who preached at Muddy Creek Campground in Roane
County during a devestating time of drought which had con
tinued for an alarming period of time. In his prayer which
immediately preceded the sermon, Axley pled fervently for
rain. When the prayer was concluded, Axley evidently
didn't feel relieved from his burden and, after lining out
a hymn, commenced praying again. Still not satisfied,
Axley led the congregation in prayer a third time. He
36
Cited in McFerrin, I, 139.
239
concluded his prayer, announced his text, and began to
preach. According to the eye-witness account, "ere that
sermon was ended, the darkened horizon and the distant
37
thunders announced the coming of ram."
William Swayze told of a camp meeting which he
attended at Cow Bay on' Long Island where a tremendous storm
arose during the service. Deluged with high winds and
heavy rains coming off the Atlantic Ocean, the service none
theless continued undisturbed, and Swayze reported that
throughout the storm "to the astonishment of the people,
the candles remained undisturbed, emitting their usual
3 8
light." Swayze maintained that this extraordinary inci
dent was published at the time, and he asked rhetorically,
"what is it but the exercise of that power which controlled
the agitated elements in the neighborhood of Galilee?" (p.
156). Swayze also told of the prayer of Francis Asbury
just prior to preaching, when a terrible "drouth" had
gripped the country for many weeks. Asbury prayed fervently
for rain and then preached an eloquent sermon. According
to Swayze, "just as he closed, in his usual pathetic style,
37
Cited in McFerrin, II, 54-55.
38
Swayze, p. 156.
240
the heavens poured forth an abundant shower" (p. 151).
Swayze used this latter story to defend the "bodily exer
cises" which had caused the camp meetings, especially in
the New England area, to come under criticism. Wrote
Swayze: "I furnished all the Scripture warrant, proof,
etc., that was in my power to grasp, in defense of this
work" (p. 150) . But Asbury's prayer, according to Swayze,
was the best evidence of God's approval of camp meeting
emotionalism.
Many stories involving miraculous incidents were
repeated for the purpose of convincing the doubter that the
camp meeting was blessed by God. The superstitious pioneer
was quick to identify mysterious phenomena as signs from
God, and as the years passed most of these traditional
stories were accepted by Methodists as truth. The earth
quakes of 1811 and 1812, which were felt mainly in the
Mississippi Valley, were of tremendous influence in bringing
new interest to the camp meetings. Allen Wiley, Indiana
circuit rider, wrote that "the whole country became alarmed
and the most vile and hardened sinners began to tremble and
39
quake, and go to meeting and weep and pray ..."
39
Cited in Nottingham, p. 60.
241
Peter Cartwright wrote that thousands joined the Methodist
40
Church as a result of the earthquakes. Understandably,
the natural respect and sense of wonder that the pioneer
felt for nature1s forces became a part of the traditions
that went to make up camp meeting mythology.
More closely related to the subject of enthusiasm
were the stories concerning the peculiar activities which
accompanied camp meeting worship. The muscular exercises
which included dancing, laughing, falling, jerking, barking,
etc., were a source of wonder as well as concern among the
Methodists. Numerous studies have been conducted concern
ing revival hysteria. One author has attributed the
strange manifestations to insanity and has intimated that
Methodism would have to accept the responsibility for con
tributing to the instability of minds which tended naturally
41
toward superstitious excitability. Fredrick Morgan
40
Cartwright, p. 126.
41
Sydney G. Dimond, The Psychology of the Methodist
Revival; An Empirical and Descriptive Study (London, 1926),
pp. 138-139. Dimond1s study was concerned with Wesley's
revival in England, but his application is made generally
to all Methodist revivalism. He wrote: "Methodism has beer
adversely criticized on account of the strange scenes and
emotional excesses which accompanied its origin under the
early revival preaching. A common result of crowd emotion
and religious excitement is chronic mental derangement;
242
Davenport, writing in the early part of the twentieth
century, attributed much of the muscular phenomena of the
42
camp meeting revival to religious lunacy. Revival
leaders, puzzeled by these very chaotic and frenzied exer
cises explained them as supernatural. The writings of
Peter Cartwright, James Finley, and others included numer
ous accounts of these strange manifestations which were
reminiscent of epileptic seizures, and, depending upon the
occasion, were explained either as blessings to some or as
signs of judgment from God upon others.
Stories of how cynics and camp meeting rowdies were
suddenly overtaken by sieges of the jerks, so violent that
on occasion they could be fatal, were used as proof that
43
God was the author of camp meeting revival. Jesse Lee
recorded an incident that purportedly took place at a camp
meeting in Virginia in 1806. He told of a young girl who
was striken with the "falling" exercise and who remained in
a comotose condition for nine days and nights without
. . . Methodism may well be content to accept the verdict
of history as to the health and sanity of its influence on
the life of the people."
42
Primitive Traits in Religious Revivals (New York,
1905), p. 238.
43
_______ Cartwright, p. 46._____________________________________
243
44
speaking or eating. Similar stories, possibly taken from
the same original source, appear in the literature of other
camp meeting historians and writers. For example, Thomas
Hinde, writing in the Methodist Magazine in 1819, related
a story almost identical to that of Lee's, but the setting
45
was in Kentucky and occurred in 1802. The earliest
source of a story of this type can be found in a letter
written by a Col. Robert Patterson in 1801. Patterson told
of a young lady who scoffed at the Gospel and was struck
down. He reported that she remained incapacitated for
46
three weeks. James Finley related a similar experience
also involving a young lady who remained unconscious for
32 hours after falling under conviction following the con
clusion of a camp meeting service. Finley's account is a
good example of how such stories became a part of camp meet
ing apologetics. After relating the story, Finley observed
that had such a phenomenon been of the devil the victim
44
Jesse Lee, p. 316 ff.
45
Hinde, p. 305.
46
"An Account of the Revival of Religion which began
in the Eastern Part of the State of Kentuckeye in May
1801,” from the Draper MSS, cited in Cleveland, pp. 196-
201.
244
would have continued in her sinful ways upon recovering.
But since she, and others who were similarly afflicted, ex
hibited a dramatic change of attitude, Finley concluded
that such physical manifestation was the result of divine
power visited upon certain individuals which brought con-
47
version in a traumatic and irresistable manner.
Another kind of emotional excitement that attended
the camp meeting movement was a kind of "prophetic" outburst
that was supposidly prompted by divine power. This exhibi
tion of spiritual insight was almost identical to the sort
of enthusiasm that troubled so many critics of early
Methodism. Camp meeting literature is replete with examples
of such prophecy and, even more impressive, it often in
volved children. Stories of children preaching in the
language of adults are not uncommon in camp meeting myth
ology and, as in the case of other strange incidents, were
interpreted as evidence of God's presence at and blessing
upon Methodist endeavors to win men to Christianity, es
pecially by means of camp meetings. Richard McNemar, Pres
byterian preacher and active participant in the earliest
camp meetings, recorded the story of a twelve-year-old boy
47 .
Finley, Autobiography, p. 231.
245
who was so overcome during a camp meeting at Indian Creek,
Kentucky, that he stood for over an hour, supported by two
men, and preached eloquently until he fell in exhaustion.
At the conclusion to his message, many adults who had stood
48
by listening fell to the ground in repentance. A similar
occurrence was recorded, this time involving a little girl
of about 10 years, where a sermon of two hours resulted
from what seemed to be divine power (p. 90). At Cane Ridge
an eyewitness reported that a girl of about seven preached
to hundreds of people while perched on the shoulders of a
man (p. 78). Barton Stone, pastor of the Cane Ridge church,
wrote about two little girls who were "struck down" during
a camp meeting at Concord and, as a result, preached im-
49
pressively to the crowds there.
These and similar stories appear many times in Method
ist camp meeting literature and are important not only in
that they are used to support and defend camp meeting emo
tionalism as being sent from God, but such stories convey
an experience that appeared to border closely on the
glossolalia, or the phenomenon of speaking in "tongues"
48
Cited m Cleveland, p. 90.
^Arnold, I, 199.
246
that erupts from time to time throughout the history of the
Christian Church. Finley directly credited the incidents
of children preaching to divine inspiration. He also
offered an account of a 12-year-old boy preaching to adults
at a camp meeting and possibly had reference to McNemar’s
story. Finley commented that "children were often made
50
the instruments through which the Lord wrought." Bangs
wrote about a camp meeting held at Desha's Creek near the
Cumberland River where falling exercises were common. He
contended that many children "spoke with a power and elo
quence which 'confounded the wisdom of the learned,' and
exhorted the confession from many an unhumbled pharisee,
51
that 'God was with them of a truth.'" Bangs included
this statement in a section of his book which was intended
as a defense of camp meetings. A. H. Redford also used the
same illustrations in his history of Methodism in Kentucky
and inserted a letter from John McGee written to the
Methodist Magazine in 1821 in which McGee described the
Desha's Creek meeting. McGee wrote:
50
Finley, Autobiography. p. 366.
51
Nathan Bangs, II, 105.
247
Amongst these [who were effected by the services] were
many small home-bred boys who spoke with the tongue,
wisdom and eloquence of the learned— and truly they
were learned, for they were all taught of God, who had
taken their feet out of the mire and clay, and put a
new song in their mouths.52
When Hinde recorded his history of western revivalism
in the Methodist Magazine he alluded to a number of examples
where children preached and prophesied at early camp meet
ings. He commented:
the exhortations delivered upon those occasions by
all ranks and colors; and especially by small children,
were evidently of a divine power. Such exhortations
and addresses were not unfrequently heard from such as
were unlearned, and also of the most bashful and un
popular cast of mind. Such little ones of eight or
ten years of age, raised upon the shoulders, or held
up in the arms of someone, in the midst of vast multi
tudes, would speak in a manner so marvelous and aston
ishing, that persons of the most rugged passions would
disolve into tearsi Deep indeed were the effects of
truth falling from the lips, and in the simple language
of a child.53
Church historian Philip Schaff casually associated the
Methodism of Wesley's day with the phenomenon of speaking
in tongues, but there is actually no evidence to support
such a practice among American Methodists during the camp
54
meeting movement. In fact, Peter Cartwright recorded an
32Redford, I, 271.
54Schaff, I. 237.
33Hind, p. 305.
248
incident which occurred during a camp meeting in Morgan
County, Illinois. A number of Mormons appeared at the
meeting, and one woman among them disrupted the service by
speaking out in an unknown tongue. Cartwright silenced her
immediately. "I came right up to them," he recalled, "and
took hold of her arm, and ordered her peremptorily to hush
that gibberish; that I would have no more of it; that it was
55
presemptuous, and blasphemous nonsense." Cartwright's
attitude was probably typical among the Methodists. A con
temporary authority on Methodism contends that "by no
stretch of the imagination can one read into the history of
this period that tongues-speaking was a part of Methodist
56
frontier revivalism." But the many often repeated refer
ences in camp meeting literature to children speaking in
the language of adults under the power of the Spirit of God
comes very close to the idea of glossolalia. Finley re
marked about the many camp meetings in the Ohio Valley dur
ing 1817 that "vast numbers were awakened and converted.
All were at work. Men, women, and even children spoke with
55
Cartwright, pp. 226-227.
56
Jerry L. Mercer, "Tongues Phenomena in Church His
tory, " The Wesleyan Methodist, CXXIV (April 1966), 7.
249
57
new tongues and sung new songs." Certainly, Finley's
remarks were figurative in nature, but the fact of the mat
ter is that a very thin line separated the prophecies of
small children from the "gibberish" of tongues that Cart
wright condemned.
The fact that camp meeting critics remained silent
on the stories of children preaching under the divine in
fluence and never once, to the knowledge of this writer,
associated camp meeting enthusiasm with speaking in tongues,
would seem sufficient proof to conclude that the strange
phenomenon of glossolalia was never a part of Methodist
frontier evangelism in America. In fact, the eyewitness
accounts of children participating in prophecies and visions
might have been one of the more effective arguments put
forth by camp meeting supporters to show that those who
took part in the emotionalism of the revival were not en
thusiasts in the eighteenth-century meaning of the term.
Rather, it could be argued that the innocence of childhood
would preclude the sort of deliberate deception that charac
terized enthusiasm. Granted that these incidents were
dramatized and exaggerated, especially as they were retold
57
Finley, Autobiography, p. 297.
250
in later years, imitation by children of adults would be a
difficult feat to sustain for any length of time, even
under the most hysterical circumstances. Cleveland, writing
in 1916, sought to explain this strange activity by stating
58
that "children react almost immediately to suggestion."
And Nottingham remarks: "The average six-year old may well
have heard hundreds of gospel sermons and much religious
testimony, and the biblical phraseology which elicited the
amazed admiration of his elders could have been previously
59
embedded in his subconscious." But such conjectures have
been offered in the twentieth century and do not reflect the
attitudes of earlier writers. Even the critics seemed to
be stilled concerning the unique outbursts of children at
camp meetings. Possibly sensing the potential of such
illustrations, camp meeting adherents repeated the stories
many times in an attempt to demonstrate the validity of the
movement. Having described the wonders of camp meeting
demonstrations, including the stories of children preaching
in the eloquence of adults, Finley concluded:
I trust I have said enough on this subject to en
able my readers to judge how far the charge of enthusiasm
58 59
Cleveland, p. 119. Nottingham, p. 201.
251
and delusion is applicable to this work, unequaled
for power and for the entire change of the hearts and
lives of so many thousands of men and women . . .
Never were there more genuine marks of that humility
which disclaims the merits of its own works, and looks
to the Lord Jesus Christ as the only way of acceptance
with God. Christ was all and in all their exercises
and religion, and their Gospel, and all believers in
their highest attainments seemed most sensible of their
entire dependence upon Divine g r a c e ;60
Camp meeting mythology also included a variety of
traditions which were preserved throughout the years and
served to enhance Methodist adherence to the movement. Man}
such stories were retold simply for their interest, but be
came a part of camp meeting folklore and were invested with
a certain degree of respect, if not reverence. Peter
Cartwright became a legend in his own time as stories of
his physical prowess in defeating rowdies and others who
attempted to disrupt camp meetings were spread over the
frontier. Cartwright enjoyed relating such incidents, and
his autobiography is well-seasoned with illustrations of
how he bested those who would persecute God's people. James
Finley included an extensive passage in his autobiography
concerning Cartwright's bravery in fighting off rowdies at
camp meetings, and he commented that Cartwright's battles,
6 0
Finley, Autobiography, p. 368.
252
"though always apparently in the defensive, were as numer
ous as the celebrated Bowie. The only difference was,"
according to Finley, "that Bowie fought with deadly weapons,
while Mr. ____________ used his enormous fist, which was as
effective, however, in the speedy settlement of belligerent
61
issues as any knife or pistol ever forged out of steel."
And Edward Eggleston immortalized Cartwright in his fic-
6 2
tional work. The Circuit Rider. Although neither author
used Cartwright1s name in their work, the incidents about
which they wrote appeared in Cartwright's autobiography
which was published subsequently to their books. Cartwright
became to the Methodist camp meeting movement what other
legendary characters, such as Paul Bunyan or Davy Crockett,
were to American folklore. In fact, Richard M. Dorson in
cludes a reference to Cartwright in his book, American
6 3
Folklore. Dorson alluded to Cartwright's celebrated fight
with Mike Fink at a camp meeting in Sangamon County in 1830.
But Cartwright denied that this encounter ever took place
and wrote in his autobiography:
61
Finley, Autobiography, pp. 326-327.
62
Eggleston, Chapter 27.
(Chicago, 1959), p. 97.
253
Somewhere about this time, in 1829-30, the cele
brated camp-meeting took place in Sangamon County and
Circuit; and, as I suppose, out of incidents that then
occurred was concocted that wonderful story about my
fight with Mike Fink, which has no foundation in fact.
. . . The story to which I have alluded was published
in "The National Magazine," and Brother Finley's Auto
biography. It originated, I believe, in a paper, pub
lished in New York, called "The Sunday Times;" from
this paper, it has been republished almost all round
the Union.64
It can be seen from his concern about the source of the
story that Cartwright had become a heroic figure to the
camp meeting movement. Wherever Methodists gathered the
name of this famed circuit rider brought forth treasures of
sentimental folklore that caused Christians to long for the
sort of religious revival that marked the early years of
the camp meeting movement.
Similar but isolated incidents and personalities
also became a part of camp meeting mythology. One in par
ticular provides a good example of such folklore. James
Erwin tells of a lay preacher, a Brother Gould, who carried
on his work in Ohio. Gould had gained the title of "the
sleeping preacher" because he did his best preaching in bed
at night. Somewhat timid and retiring, Brother Gould
evidently became inspired while in sleep, and his wife
64
Cartwrxght, pp. 206, 207.
254
invited people in to his room to hear him preach. Accord
ing to Erwin, "he held several meetings and never had any
65
recollection of it when he awoke in the morning." Gould
was an active exhorter and lay preacher in camp meetings
in the 1830's.
Such was the nature of camp meeting mythology. It
served to reinforce the Christians' belief that camp meet
ings were instituted by God. It was an apologetic influence
as well as a source of sentimental recollection of Methodist
revivalism in its best moment. The numbers of people
attracted to and converted at Methodist camp meetings be
came a part of the mythology and was used to appeal to
Methodists in support of continuing the practice. In 1853
D. W. Clark writing the biography of Allen Wiley, wrote the
following plea:
The glorious results of such meetings will never
be fully known till God shall collect his redeemed
children home. "The Lord shall count, when he righteth
up the people, that this man was born there;" for many
of the children of Zion shall date their spiritual
birthplace upon the camp-ground. Why should we give
up the camp meeting?— desert the venerable groves,
65
Erwin, pp. 71-78.
255
"God's ancient sanctuaries, and adore
Only among the crowd, and under roofs
that our frail hands have raised?"
True, we have our churches; hut there are many who
never enter them, or, if they do, it is but occasion
ally, and only for a brief hour. The current of worldly
thought is hardly arrested. "But there are disorders
at camp meetings." So there are in our town and city
churches. Camp meetings do not make bad men, though bad
men attend them, and men who have gone to scoff have re
mined to pray. "But it is a needless exposure of health
to camp in the woods." We are not so certain but what
it is conducive to health. If it had been dangerous to
life or health, would God have required the Jews to en
camp in booths for a week every year? We say, give us
the camp meeting, where, day after day and night after
night, the mind shall be called off from the world, and
directed to the great subject of personal salvation.
Let us hear the eloquence that is called forth by the
presence of assembled thousands, and the music that
ascends from a thousand pious hearts, as, with united
voice, they join to sing the songs of Zion. Let us
again see weeping hundreds crowd the camp meeting altar;
and 0, let us again hear the shoutings of the newly-
converted, as they arise and testify that Christ hath
power on earth to forgive sins. There shall be in that
innumerable company before the throne a mighty host who
were converted at camp meetings.66
66
Clark, Life and Times of Rev. Allen Wiley, pp. 36-
CHAPTER V
CAMP MEETING PREACHING AND HYMNOLOGY
Indeed, when a minister of Christ feels the infinite
importance of his subject, when it presses upon his
soul as involving the everlasting interests of himself
and his listening audience, though he be naturally "rude
in speech," he will be eloquent. He will, indeed as one
observes, "forget method, forget order, he will forget
himself," being lost in the tremendous importance of his
subject, and carried out of himself. . . .
The rhetoric of the camp meeting movement was a rhet
oric of consolidation. In appealing to their Methodist
constituents, camp meeting apologists sought to enlist the
support of many in participation in and defense of the fron
tier methods of evangelism. Such appeals were extrinsic to
the camp meeting and were published in pamphlets and de
nominational publications which were sent throughout the
states. But within the camp meeting movement itself other
^■"The Importance of Study to a Minister of the Gos
pel, " The Methodist Magazine, VI (April 1823), 142.
256
257
means were used to provide a spirit of community. Preach
ing and congregational singing provided the camp meeting
movement with two modes of rhetorical expression that had
a significant effect on building a strong sense of unity
among Methodist worshippers.
The Methodist camp meeting movement exerted a social
izing influence on the frontier in two ways. First, it made
an attractive appeal to frontier society in general. The
camp meeting was a vital expression of pioneer culture both
in its manner of preaching and its activities. It became
the socioreligious focal point of people who had left civi
lization behind, crossed over the Alleghanies, and settled
in the rough, unfriendly territory toward which America had
begun to look even before the Revolutionary War. Although
Christianity might not have appealed to all the settlers,
the majority of those who comprised the trans-Alleghany
west were easily drawn to the outdoor religious affairs for
social if not spiritual purposes. The effect of the camp
meeting was one of socialization on the sparcely settled
frontier: it was a place where people could gather when
there was no other occasion that could serve the same pur
pose. Long before the political rally, the camp meeting
served as a meeting place for lonely settlers. Its
258
preaching and singing drew the multitudes together in a way
that no other agency had been able to do.
But once the movement became established, preaching
and congregational singing also had a unifying influence
upon those who were its adherents. Against its persecutors,
its critics, and other hostile influences, camp meeting
orators raised their voices in sermon and lined out gospel
songs, stressing themes that deliberately created a spirit
of unity and oneness within the camp meeting movement.
Preaching and congregational singing were agencies of per
suasion designed to build a sense of community among those
who had committed themselves to the Christian way of life,
while at the same time seeking to increase the circle of
believers through fresh conversions.
Camp Meeting Preaching
A study of camp meeting preaching reveals a number of
presuppositions that played a significant role in the kind
of oratory that issued from the Methodist movement. Per
haps the most important assumption made by camp meeting
preachers was that the Bible, as the inspired word of God,
was infallible in its content and ultimate in its authority.
Such was good Methodist doctrine, and it was accepted as
259
truth by the circuit rider in the same manner as any
Methodist preacher assumed biblical inerrancy to be an un
questioned fact. Because the Bible was accepted as the ex
pression of ultimate truth in nineteenth-century Methodism,
the camp meeting orator found a consuming interest in
mastering its content. If he examined nothing else, the
Bible was never neglected by the frontier Methodist preach
er. The Bible provided for him the only legitimate basis
for preaching. Topical sermons were the least popular mode
of sermonizing; exposition of the Holy Sciptures was the
ideal approach to pulpit duties and was normally preceded
by sincere prayer and introspection. Texts were carefully
selected, though sometimes erroneously treated. For ex
ample, Methodist circuit rider George Peck told of an ignor
ant colleague who sincerely attempted to provide additional
understanding of the nineteenth chapter of the Gospel of
Luke. Taking as his text the phrase "thou art an austere
man," the unlearned preacher addressed himself to the sub-
2
ject of "the oyster man."
While formal education was not common among early
2
Past and Present— A Semi-Centennial Sermon, cited in
Ivan Cushing Howard, p. 26.
260
Methodist clergymen on the frontier, knowledge of the Bible
was their forte. Personal libraries, as a general rule,
were scarce in the West, but the Bible was an almost uni
versal household item in pioneer homes. For many a second
generation frontiersman, the Bible had been the primer by
which his meager education was obtained. Its stories were
equally as important to frontier tradition as the folklore
that sprang up in the western environment. While he might
not always have practiced scriptural precepts, the fron
tiersman generally held to their universal truth. As for
the Methodist circuit rider, the Bible not only played an
important part in his education, it was the major tool of
his trade. He might have had little contact with other
books, but the Bible was his ever-present companion. He
studied it, lived it, and preached it to his parishoners.
Since Methodism laid such great stress upon Scriptural in
fallibility, the preacher1s greatest authority was derived
3
from holy writ. It was an authority that, for the most
part, went unchallenged in his frontier congregation.
3
The Methodist Discipline, 1784, referred to the
Scriptures as that "of whose authority was never any doubt
in the Church." Cited in Nathan Bangs, A History of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. I, 168.
261
A second presupposition of camp meeting oratory was
the unwavering conviction among Methodists that preaching
was God's ordained vehicle for the propagation of the
Christian Gospel. According to the Methodist Discipline.
preaching was the first and foremost responsibility of the
4
minister: the pulpit was to be his first concern. Allen
Wiley believed that preaching fulfilled a heavenly edict
and was convinced that Methodism had acted in complete
accordance with divine concern in "placing preaching as the
first duty of those whose office makes them the teachers
5
of religion."
Next to their conversion experience, Methodist preach
ers envisioned their "call" to the ministry as the most
important aspect of their religious lives. Thomas Hudson,
in a sermon preached before the Barnesville District Asso
ciation, observed:
The office of the Gospel ministry is from God.
"The Holy Ghost hath made you overseers." It is the
prerogative of the Holy Spirit to designate men to the
office and work of the Christian ministry, and those
who are authorized to preach the Gospel are as certain
ly called of God as was Aaron or Paul. They have not
4
Cited in Jno. J. Tigert, A Constitutional History of
American Episcopal Methodism (Nashville, 1913), p. 550.
5
Clark, Life and Times of Rev. Allen Wiley, p. 175.
262
assumed this sacred office with its fearful responsi
bility; the Holy Ghost hath called them, appointed them,
made them overseers. Their credentials have been signed
and sealed in heaven. And without this divine commis
sion no man is authorized to preach the Gospel of Christ.6
Elijah Hedding, an early circuit rider who later be
came a bishop in the Methodist Church, wrote of his entrance
into the ministry that God had surely called him, and had
this not been so, he maintained, he would not have chosen
that particular profession. He went on to say:
I had no expectation, and I may say no desire of
ever being a preacher capable of giving satisfaction
in polished and enlightened congregations; but, as I
believed God called me, I thought I might be able to
speak so as to be understood and acceptable among the
unpolished people of the wilderness, the new countries,
and the poor circuits; and this was the height of my
expectations and of my desire.^
Some entered the ministry only after lengthy struggles
which were sometimes as traumatic as their conversion ex-
g
periences. The pitifully small salaries, the constant
g
Thomas Hudson, pp. 334-335.
7
Clark, Life and Times of E. H. Hedding, pp. 630-631.
g
Finley, Autobiography, pp. 188-189. Finley told about
the resistence he exerted against entering the ministry and
concluded that "after many hard struggles of mind in regard
to giving myself up exclusively to the work of a minister
of the Gospel, I settled into an acquiescence to the
Divine will."
263
danger associated with their frontier responsibilities,
the sheer discomfort which they were forced to endure al
most daily, required sincere dedication to the task by the
circuit riders. Most often it was a dedication that de
manded acute sacrifice for complete fulfillment. The cir
cuit rider was expected to set aside all personal aspira
tions in his desire to serve the church. "A holy disinter
ested Ministry, 1 1 wrote John Sale from his Ohio circuit in
1807, "has been the Glory of the Methodist Church, & great
9
care should be taken to keep it so."
The fact that the Methodist circuit rider regarded
preaching as being divinely ordained and established also
led to the attitude that there was more power to preaching
than that which resulted simply from well-studied and well-
organized preaching efforts. One of the assumptions of the
anti-intellectualism that was so readily accepted by
frontier preachers and congregations was that formal educa
tion could hinder the natural inspiration that God supplied
those who followed his call to preach. If God so called
a man, they reasoned, God would likewise empower him to
preach. Cartwright looked back upon his circuit riding
9Cited in Sweet, The Methodists. IV, 160.
264
career with much of this attitude and observed:
when I consider the insurmountable disadvantages and
difficulties that the early pioneer Methodist preachers
labored under in spreading the Gospel in these Western
wilds in the great valley of the Mississippi, and con
trast the disabilities which surrounded them on every
hand, and the glorious human advantages that are en
joyed by their present successors, it is confoundingly
miraculous to me that our modern preachers cannot preach
better, and do more good than they do. Many nights, in
early times, the itinerant had to camp out, without fire
or food for man or beast. Our pocket Bible, Hymn Book,
and Discipline constituted our library. It is true we
could not many of us, conjugate a verb or parce a sen
tence, and murdered the king's English almost every
lick. But there was a Divine power of God and thus
the Methodist Episcopal Church was planted firmly in
this Western wilderness, and many glorious signs have
followed, and will follow, to the end of time.10
James Finley recalled his first preaching experience
and felt that it had been successful only because God had
provided the power for its effectiveness. His topic was
repentance, and he wrote concerning this incident:
Although I knew little concerning the theory of repen
tance, yet I had a deep and wonderful experience. When
I came to speak of conversion, and the blotting out of
sin, with refreshing from the presence of the Lord, my
soul fired with the theme, and the Holy Spirit shed
abroad its hallowed influences, and the divine power
pervaded every heart, so that all the house were more
or less effected: some shouting salvation, and others
crying aloud for mercy. The meeting lasted till evening,
and I announced that, after a short intermission, we
"^Cartwright, p. 12.
265
would have a prayer meeting. When the time arrived
the people came together again, and, during the exer
cise of singing, prayer, and exhortation, many were
converted, and one brother professed sanctification.
At this point the excitement increased, and several
were taken with the jerks. The next day I went home
through the woods, and was so happy that I sung and
shouted alternately during almost the entire journey.H
(underline mine)
References to God's enabling camp meeting preachers
to have "liberty" and freedom in their exhortations are so
many as to be impractical to review. Time and again in the
various journals and records of the circuit riders the con
viction is carefully stated and reinforced that successful
preaching is not guaranteed through any means save that of
God's special power.
A third presupposition underlying the preaching of
the camp meeting movement was the Methodist doctrine of man.
Wesleyan theology viewed man as a fallen, sinful creature
who was destined for an eternity of hopeless damnation un
less conversion to Christianity could take place. Such
conversion could be achieved only through a rational choice
based upon personal faith in the truth of the Christian
Gospel. The Wesleyan approach to preaching differed from
the earlier Calvinistic emphasis of eighteenth-century
■^Finley, Autobioqraphy, pp. 183-184.
266
American revivalism in that the obligation to receive God's
salvation was personal and not destined by providential
predestination. Before he could become a Christian, an
individual had to be convinced that the Gospel was true.
Therefore, in the Methodist Discipline, the method of
preaching required the following pattern: to convince, to
offer Christ, to build up, and "to do this in some Measure
.,12
in every sermon."
In addition to his rational nature, there was an
emotional side to every man, and Allen Wiley admonished the
preacher to "recollect that his audience are beings pos
sessed of passions, which must be operated on, or they will
consent to all that may be said, but remain careless as
13
heretofore." The reputation of the early camp meetings
in the genesis phase of the movement grew from the extreme
emphasis that was placed upon emotional appeal, and regard
less of how sophisticated the homiletical efforts of later
camp meeting preachers might have been, by comparison to
the preaching in more formal churches of the urban locali
ties, the pathetic pleas and fearful warnings, the glorious
12
Tigert, p. 566.
13
Clark, Wiley, p. 166.
267
shouting and rejoicing which accompanied religious victor
ies, and the use of hymns which tended toward emotional
expression, seemed fairly primitive. Francis Asbury said
of his own preaching: "I spoke alarming and close . . . I
14
spoke dreadful things to a lifeless people." William
Swayze liked to conclude his sermons with dramatic death
bed scenes which, he recalled, tended to bring dramatic
15
results. George Peck complained that at a camp meeting
in the state of New York in 1816, one preacher, a Bishop
George, preached a sermon that consisted mainly of "bursts
of holy joy, and the preacher and the people shouted to
gether."^ Robert Davidson, Presbyterian historian, wrote
of Rev. William McGee that "he would sometimes exhort after
the sermon, standing on the floor, or sitting, or lying
in the dust, his eyes streaming, and his heart so full that
17
he could only ejaculate, 'Jesus, Jesus.'" Such was the
14Asbury, I, 543, 541.
15
Swayze, p. 146.
16
George Peck, The Life and Times of Rev. George Peck,
P.P. (New York, 1874), p. 62.
17
Robert Davidson, History of the Presbyterian Church
in the State of Kentucky (New York, 1847), p. 263.
268
procedure of some camp meeting preachers whose talents con
sisted mainly of being able to reach the people with emo
tional appeals. But most preaching in camp meetings pro
ceeded on the assumption that man was a rational being and,
when provided with arguments from scripture and the proper
amount of pathetic appeal, could decide for himself his own
eternal destiny.
The Genesis Period
Sacred rhetoric in the genesis phase of the camp
meeting movement can hardly be said to have a foundation in
any particular school of rhetorical theory. The camp meet
ing arose after the Methodist circuit rider had appeared
on the frontier, and the lack of formal education that
helped to shape frontier preaching naturally effected camp
meeting preaching as well. Indeed, it is futile to search
the teachings and trends of rhetorical training that per
vaded the schools and colleges of America at the turn of
the nineteenth century in quest of theory that might have
been influential to camp meeting preaching. While the
classical writings of Aristotle, Quintilian, and Cicero
might have combined with the later works of the English
rhetoricians, Blair and Campbell, to create an important
269
influence throughout nineteenth-century American educa-
18
tion, little of this influence was felt by the camp meet
ing orators, especially during the genesis period of the
movement. Camp meeting preaching in the early years of the
movement was of the meanest quality and was often times
spontaneous in nature. Style was mainly colloquial, lackinc
in the formality that characterized the pulpit oratory of
eastern clergymen. Intellectual resources were few and, in
some cases, even nonexistent. And yet the camp meeting
orators of the genesis period were eloquent among their
peers and effective beyond any doubt in achieving their
desired ends.
Eyewitness accounts of camp meeting preaching are
the major sources of information regarding the preaching
of camp meeting orators during the early years. Since a
majority of the camp meetings during the primitive phase of
the movement's history were union or sacramental meetings
and were jointly sponsored by Baptists, Presbyterians, and
Methodists, preaching during this time was, of necessity,
quite general in its appeal with the greatest amount of
18
John P. Hoshor, "American Contributions to Rhetorical
Theory and Homiletics," A History of Speech Education in
America, ed. Karl R. Wallace (New York, 1954), p. 129.
270
attention being given to evangelistic themes. While the
spirit of ecumenicity was strong during the genesis phase
of the camp meeting movement, the characteristic doctrines
of each denomination were carefully guarded but seldom
preached. During the sacramental services the Baptists,
who practiced a closed communion, withdrew from the meet
ings while Presbyterians and Methodists joined together in
the celebration of the Eucharist. Interdenominational
themes, such as that of universal redemption based upon
personal faith in Jesus Christ, the reality of eternity,
and the consideration of proper Christian behavior achieved
through strength provided by God, were the major considera
tions of camp meeting preachers. Couched in the vivid
language of the frontiersman, dramatic descriptions of
eternal suffering and damnation of the lost was a major
preoccupation of the frontier evangelists. Presbyterian
minister James McGready was perhaps the most talented in
this hind of preaching. It was said of McGready that "he
would so array hell before the wicked that they would
tremble and quake, imagining a lake of fire and brimstone
yawning to overwhelm them and the hand of the Almighty
thrusting them down the horrible
271
19
abyss." Robert Davidson wrote of McGready that "the
fierceness of his invective derived additional terror from
the hideousness of his visage and the thunder of his
20
tones." An exerpt from one of McGready's sermons, pub
lished posthumously, illustrates his style of preaching:
The Character, History and End of the Fool.— He died
accursed of God when his soul was separated from his
body and the black flaming vultures of hell began to
encircle him on every side. Then all the horrid crimes
of his past life stared him in his face in all their
glowing colors; then the remembrance of misimproved
sermons and sacramental occasion flashed like streams
of forked lightening through his tortured soul? then
the reflection that he had slighted the mercy and the
blood of the Son of God— that he had dispised and re
jected him— was like a poisoned arrow piercing his
heart. When the fiends of hell dragged him into the
eternal gulf, he roared and screamed and yelled like
the devil. When, while Indians, Pagans, and Moham
medans stood amazed and upbraided him, falling like
Lucifer, from the meridian blaze of the Gospel and
the threshold of heaven, sinking into the liquid,
boiling waves of hell, and accursed sinners of Tyre
and Sidon and Sodom and Gomorrah sprang to the right
and left and made way for him to pass them and fall
lower down even to the deepest cavern in the flaming
abyss. Here his consciousness like a never dying worm
stings him and forever gnaws his soul; and the slighted
blood of the Son of God communicates ten thousand hells
in one! Now through the blazing flames of hell he sees
what heaven he has lost— that exceeding great and
19
Rev. William Barnett, in the Life and Times of Finis
Ewing, F. R. Cossitt, cited in Davenport, p. 67.
2CL . , ,
Davidson, p. 132.
272
eternal weight of glory he has sold for the devil's
pottage! In those pure regions he sees his father,
or mother, his sisters, or brothers, or those persons
who sat under the same means of grace with him, and
whom he derided as fools, fanatics, and hypocrites.
They are far beyond the impassable gulf; they shine
brighter than the sun when he shineth in his strength
and walk the golden streets of the New Jerusalem; but
he is lost and damned f o r e v e r . 21
Naturally, such vigorous and graphic descriptions of
eternal punishment brought immediate and startling results
from camp meeting audiences comprised of superstitious and
impressionable frontiersmen. Cleveland said of the preach
ing during this early period of the revival:
The style of preaching in vogue among the promoters
of the revival stirred up the emotions to such a pitch
that in many cases the very intensity of the emotion
demanded some outward expression. The terrors of hell
were so vividly portrayed that even the unimaginative
were profoundly moved, and the more sensitive were so
wrought upon that they actually felt in nascent form
the evil pictured. (p. 118)
Delivery was vigorous, extemporaneous, and dramatic,
ideally matched to the emotional style of the preacher.
Exhortations were often personal and directed to individ
uals in the congregations by name. Poised on the preachers'
stand, elevated considerably above the audience, the
preacher roared down upon the congregation his warnings of
21
Cleveland, pp. 45-46.
273
the wrath to come. Sound was easily absorbed in the sur
rounding stands of timber and brush thus calling for a
supreme effort on the part of the evangelist to be heard
throughout the camp. The sheer effort to be heard would
lend a certain force to the preacher1s oratorical efforts,
especially for those in the congregation who were unfortun
ate enough to be located near the stand. Finley called
these early camp meeting preachers, "sons of thunder," which
was a biblical name for two of Christ's desciples, the
22
brothers James and John. It was a fitting title that
described the kind of personalities that were best suited
to frontier evangelism. Sometimes preachers of contrasting
appeal would be paired in their evangelistic efforts. For
example, Nottingham describes the following scene:
The great event of the camp-meeting day was the
eleven o'clock sermon. This was usually a prepared
sermon and was the formal part of the day's proceedings.
As a rule, two successive sermons were preached. The
meeting might 'have moved a little slowly' until Brother
Williams, perhaps, got into the stand 'and preached one
of his more terrific exhortations made up, almost ex
clusively, of hell fire and damnation'— a discourse that
would be delivered with so much feeling that the thought
less multitude would 'quail before the terrors of the
Lord.' Brother Williams would probably be followed by
22
Finley, Sketches of Western Methodism, p. 26.
274
a preacher of the tearful persuasion, a man 'whose
whole soul melted with sympathy for the wicked,' who
would call on the people by name begging them to yield
to God and seek salvation.23
Camp meeting preaching was not only extemporaneous,
it was often impromptu. If preparation was given to the
sermon, it was mainly in selection of a Scripture text and
a few main points of exposition. No manuscripts or sermon
notes used by preachers during the genesis phase of the
camp meeting movement have been located by this researcher.
In its early years the camp meeting movement was marked by
spontaneity, and planned sermons were often aborted by the
dramatic response of the crowds or an unplanned exhortation
by another clergyman. William Swayze told of a camp meeting
where another preacher interrupted him after he had led the
singing, read his text, and prayed. At first Swayze was
astounded at the preacher's action, but was soon convinced
that "it was of the Lord." Swayze testified of this
spontaneous sermon that "The Lord made bare his arm: such
a display of Divine power I never witnessed. Truly, the
slain of the Lord were many. It appeared that the God of
armies had truly come down to the camp of Israel, to
23
Nottingham, p. 62.
275
deliver. "2^
It was not uncommon for camp meeting leaders to call
upon a visiting preacher to preside in the pulpit, without
preparation or advanced notice. The evangelist, in this
case, was expected to rise to the occasion simply by the
power of God who had called him to the ministry. While most
early preachers were critical of their colleagues who would
preach without proper preparation, circustances often called
for the impromptu sermon. One of Allen Wiley's most suc
cessful camp meeting efforts, according to his own testi
mony, resulted from his being ashed to preach without any
preparation when the featured speaker of the day failed to
25
arrive in the camp on time for the service. William Burke
tells of a similar experience when he was asked to preach
at a Presbyterian-led camp meeting shortly after he arrived
on the grounds exhausted from his travels. The occasion,
according to Burke, was highly successful and left the
2 6
Presbyterian ministers astonished.
The difficult circumstances under which frontier
24
Swayze, pp. 154-155.
2^Clark, Wiley, p. 34.
26
Finley, Sketches of Western Methodism, p. 75.
276
preachers were forced to speak also served to call forth
inspiration and ideas for sermons on the spur of the moment.
An incident which was related in Chapter II of this study
concerned a midnight sermon preached by Rev. P. Courtney
for a group of drunken and disorderly sailors who wanted to
disrupt a camp meeting in Virginia. Courtney preached a
special sermon for the occasion, taking his text from the
Acts of the Apostles where it is written: "At midnight Paul
27
and Silas prayed and sang praises to God." Allen Wiley
told of the time when he was expected to preach a funeral
sermon, but he was detained by a flooded river. The congre
gation stood on one side of the river and watched as the
circuit rider plunged into the raging waters and struggled
across to the other side. After quickly changing his
clothing, Wiley preached his sermon from the text: "For
we must all needs die, and are as water spilled on the
28
ground, which cannot be gathered up again."
The main purpose of preaching at camp meetings was
the conversion of men and women to Christianity, and, there
fore, the texts most often used would be those that could
27
LeRoy M. Lee, pp. 485-486.
no
Clark, Wiley, pp. 38-39.
277
be easily applied to evangelism. Asbury's advice to his
preachers was to keep their sermons short and pointed,
"briefly explanatory," and that they should conclude with
an effort to "press the people to conviction, repentance,
29
faith and holiness." For the most part, Asbury's advice
was followed by camp meeting preachers during the genesis
and middle periods of the camp meeting movement, and they
were amazingly successful in their efforts. Those were
days of excitement and anticipation in religious revival as
it spread across the new frontiers of America. As Bishop
Foster later observed:
The country was new. The age was uncritical. The
pulpit was the great throne of power. The pen and
printed page were less in use. The people were eager
to hear. Impassioned speech thrilled and swayed the
expectant assemblies who rushed for miles to hear the
fameous orator. There was eloquence in the air. All
the circumstances conspired to kindle enthusiasm. It
was inevitable that, standing in the focus of such
forces, the speaker should be at his best. The effect
was inchoate before he began. Hungry of combustion,
the assembly took fire at the first spark. On the
eager flame, the orator himself more impassioned, rose
and soared to the sublimest heights of inspired elo
quence. The effect was often magical. It is impossible
for this generation to conceive of it. The waves of
feeling that rushed over the assembly were as visible
as the effect of the storm on ocean or forest. Hun
dreds would rise to their feet under unconscious
29
Asbury, III, 66.
278
impulse, lean forward, press toward the speaker, weep
ing, sobbing, or shouting, under the thrilling appeal.
Many times the numbers fell like the slain in battle.
Under Durbin and Bascom I have repeatedly witnessed
all these effects myself. It would not accord with
the truth to say there are not as great men now living;
but the times make it impossible that any should pro
duce such visible signs of emotion as attended these
mighty and glorious m e n .30
The Middle Years
During the middle years of the camp meeting movement
preaching became more structured, somewhat more formal, and
broader in the kinds of themes that were used from the
pulpit. As clergy and laymen slowly gained a greater degree
of education, the natural trend among Methodist camp meet
ing preachers was toward better sermon preparation and more
rational appeals to their congregations. Preaching still
retained its spontaneous characteristics, especially in
impromptu delivery, but sources in addition to the Bible
became a part of the preacher's inspiration in preparing
for his pulpit work. The Methodist Discipline exhorted the
itinerant to read extensively in addition to his biblical
study, to "read the most useful Books, and that regularly
30
Cited in Arnold, I, 258.
279
31
and constantly." A total of five hours a day was the
recommended time that the itinerant was to be employed in
such reading. But it cannot be presumed that the schedule
was followed, since there was no way in which such a rule
could be enforced. In fact, the Methodist Discipline ap
parently contradicted the above admonition when it placed
higher on the list of ministerial responsibilities that of
parishoner visitation. If faced with a shortage to time,
the preacher was to care for his congregation by making
personal calls in their homes. "Gaining knowledge is a
good Thing," the Discipline reads, "but saving souls is a
better. By this very Thing you will gain the most excellent
Knowledge, that of God and Eternity. . . . But if you can
do but one, let your Studies alone. I would throw by all
the libraries in the World rather than be guilty of the
32
loss of one Soul."
Howard suggests the possibility that ministerial read
ing and education between 1800 and 1816 lagged considerably
31
Tigert, p. 563. In the same passage of the Disci
pline the following admonishment is found: "... read,
the Scripture with Mr. Wesley1s Notes, partly the closely
practical Parts of what he has published . . . the Christian
Library, and other pious Books."
32
_______ Tigert. p. 542._________________________________________
280
so that the General Conference of 1816 saw fit to take
action to encourage Methodist preachers in their self-
33
improvement. Even though the Methodist Church adopted a
general course of reading and self-improvement in 1816, sue*
action seemed to be taken reluctantly by the denomination
and was not vigorously enforced. Methodist historian
Nathan Bangs concluded of the period between 1800 and 1816
that "it appears education of all sorts as well as writing
for the public eye" were not vital considerations of the
34
church. It is probable, therefore, that preaching during
the first ten years of the middle period in camp meeting
history differed little from that of the genesis phase of
the movement. In the 15 years that passed from the time
that Peter Cartwright joined the Methodist Church, to the
General Conference of- 1816, there seems to have been little
improvement in the educational level of the Methodist
itinerant. From 1816 onward, a general interest in raising
the quality of ministerial training increased. In 1830 the
Ohio Conference specified that a candidate for ordination
must have studied history, geography, grammar, rhetoric,
33
Howard, p. 54.
34
Bangs, A History of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
II, 318.
281
logic, and philosophy, and such works as Blair's Lectures
on Rhetoric, Claude's Essay on Preaching, and should at
35
least be familiar with Whately's Elements of Rhetoric.
But improvement came slowly to the circuit rider of the
western frontier, as can be seen by comparing the course of
study adopted by the New England Conference in 1839 with
the required reading list for Methodist clergymen in Indiana
for the same year. Thirty-one books were recommended to
the New England preacher, while in the Indiana Conference
36
only 10 books were listed as important reading.
Such concern came too late for Cartwright's genera
tion, and the general rise in the educational level of the
Methodist circuit rider on the frontier, with few exceptions
was considerably less than for his eastern counterpart.
While it has been shown that such an ambitious preacher as
John Price Durbin observed a strict and rigorous schedule
of self-improvement, Thomas Hudson complained that circuit
riding was not in the least conducive to academic pursuits
since he was generally forced to stay in the one-room cabins
35
Paul H. Boase, "The Methodist Circuit Rider on the
Ohio Frontier," (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University
of Wisconsin, 1952), p. 132.
36
Howard, p. 69.
282
of his parishoners which abounded with noisy children and
37
talkative adults. Even though the Discipline admonished
preachers to arise at four o'clock in the morning for
devotions and study, it was probable that many a weary and
trail-worn circuit rider found such an hour most incon
venient for purposes of intellectual activities. Hudson
maintained late hours of study which interfered with early
rising. He wrote in a rather amusing fashion about his
problem:
The habit of late night study interfered with early
rising, and was sometimes the cause of embarrassment
to me. On one occasion I was spending the night with
an old friend, who was also a minister. He was cele
brated for his piety, but not for his intelligence.
I had slept rather late in the morning, and thought
it was necessary to make an apology. I did so by tell
ing the old man that I had acquired a habit of studying
to a late hour of the night, which often rendered it
difficult for me to rise early in the morning. He
seemed delighted, and said to me, "That is evidence of
a strong mind; that is just my own case." This opin
ion doubtless yielded him much pleasure, but to me it
afforded very little comfort, for I had witnessed its
failure in two cases, at least— his and my own.
(pp. 36-37)
When circuits were large and sparcely populated, and
when the distance between preaching stations was long and
entailed an arduous journey, the natural tendency was for
37
Thomas Hudson, pp. 36-37.
283
the circuit rider to use one or two of his most successful
sermons over and over again. The same was true of camp
meeting preachers who would service the outdoor encampments
where numerous circuits would join together for a week or
more of meetings. Usually an abundance of ministerial
talent would be available from widely scattered areas, and
in such a situation a speaker could easily rely upon a
tried and tested sermon which he had used many times while
making the arduous rounds of his circuit. Wiley noted that
one important difference that existed between circuit
riders and stationed preachers was in the manner in which
they approached sermon preparation. The circuit rider,
he reasoned, had to preach sermons of a much broader nature
since he might address the same congregation only once a
38
month or even less. George Peck complained in his auto
biography that stationed ministers had a much more difficult
task of preaching since they were forced to address the
same congregations at least three times a week. After he
accepted a station church, he wrote:
I could no longer devote the greater part of my time
to general reading, and prepare my sermons at irregu
lar periods when all things were favorable. Preaching
38
Clark, Wiley, p. 179.
284
was now an affair of labor and anxiety, and preparation
for it became a department of daily toil. My position
demanded a constant supply of new sermons, thoroughly
elaborated, and however much they cost me, however well
they were received, they could be delivered only once
in my charge.39
The implication of Peck’s complaint was that when he was
riding a circuit such demands were not placed upon him, and
he was able to make one sermon do for any number of
occasions.
As frontier communities grew, station churches became
more common. Acquiring a station church became the desire
of many circuit riders, especially those who were married.
Station churches represented a more substantial remunera
tion, more comfortable housing, and a less rigorous travel
ing schedule. Naturally, those circuit riders who were
reputed preachers and more well-known among the frontier
communities were prime choices for the station churches.
Frontier circuits became less easy to fill, and it was often
necessary for Methodist leaders to rely upon itinerants of
inferior talent and education to take the frontier respon
sibilities. Closely related to the increase in station
churches was the practice of "locating," which became quite
39
Peck, p. 123. Peck received his first station ap-
pointment in 1821._____________ _____ _____
285
popular during the first 20 years of the nineteenth century.
For many itinerants who, primarily because of marriage,
could no longer continue to move about the country, the
practice of permanently locating in a community, where they
would continue to serve as local preachers, was one way in
which they could still fulfill their divine call and support,
a family. Such a practice, like the move toward station
churches, seriously hindered the frontier circuit system.
In the report of the Ways and Means Committee to the Genera].
Conference of 1816, the problem was stated in the following
manner:
The many locations . . . have a manifest tendency to
weaken and embarrass the itinerancy by obliging us to
fill up the vacancies with persons not competent to
work assigned them, and to commit the administration,
in some important branches, to the hands of young and
inexperienced m e n .40
To understand the significance of this problem and
its effects upon frontier preaching, it should be noted that,
of the 1,616 preachers received into the Methodist ministry
up to 1814, 821 had located, mostly after a brief period
40
Journals General Conference of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. 1796-1836 (New York, 1855), pp. 148-149.
286
41
of circuit life. The frontier circuit and camp meeting
clearly suffered from an educational lag brought about by
the numbers of ill-prepared clergymen who were pressed into
service due to a lack of qualified preachers. This is not
to say that the quality of their pastoral work or even the
effectiveness of their preaching was deficient. The writer
has simply offered an explanation for the fact that on the
frontier, camp meeting preaching tended to be less sophis
ticated then elsewhere in the Methodist Church.
Depending upon the locality of the camp meeting and
its size, preachers varied in their oratorical abilities.
Large camp meetings and quarterly conferences were often
visited by denominational leaders and noted speakers. Sun
day was the most important day in the camp meeting schedule,
and Sabbath congregations were apt to be treated to a
dignitary in the pulpit. Dignitaries too might rely upon a
few choice sermons as they made their rounds of camp meet
ings, but such ministers most often represented the more
capable and educated leaders of the denomination. For this
reason, camp meeting congregations in the urban areas were
more apt to expect well-prepared and intellectually
41
Sweet, p. 50.
287
stimulating sermons.
Descriptions of camp meeting preaching are, in most
cases, hopelessly biased in favor of the speakers. Eye-
witnessess often recorded samples of eloquence which were
rivaled only by the descriptions provided by the writers
themselves. For example, George Peck described a camp
meeting sermon preached by Timothy Dewey, sometimes re
ferred to as Father Dewey, in the following way:
There was a large number of wicked in attendance, and
they had been troublesome, and seemed reckless. The
hearts of the brethren were faint. Father Dewey was
just the man for the occasion. He stood before the
crowd like a giant among pigmies, and his voice was
clear as a trumpet, and terrible as thunder. He came
down upon the wicked in such sort that hundreds of
them, who had been apparently as careless as so many
cattle, listened with amazement and terror. God's
people took heart, and began to struggle mightily for
victory. There was an unbroken roar of fervent sup-
lication all over the ground, while the awful voice of
the preacher resounded above this tempest of prayer,
and every word was heard as distinctly as if in the
silence of midnight. 1 1 0 sinner, sinner, " thundered
the preacher, "are you determined to take hell by
storm? Can you dwell in the devouring fire? Can you
stand the eternal burnings? Are your bones iron, and
your flesh brass, that you plunge headlong into the
lake of f i r e ? "42
Rev. W. D. Spotswood recalled the preaching of John
Price Durbin at a camp meeting in about 1832. Spotswood's
42
Peck, p. 63.
288
description was dramatic:
On that Sabbath morning the orator's voice very soon
lost its drawl, monotone, and tameness, and then reach
ing the richest tones it rang out rapidly, clearly, and
in the fullest volume. His eloquence came "like the
outbreaking of a fountain from the earth, or the burst
ing forth of volcanic fires, with spontaneous, native,
and original force." And his peroration was a picuture
inspired by a vivid imagination, and so graphically
word-painted by the aid of superior descriptive talent
in its best estate that it seemed a picture of terrible
ness, real and present to the sight, and the writer
remembers that a tremor passed all over him, as it did,
no doubt, over others also. . . .4 3
A stirring description of Henry Bascom's preaching at
a camp meeting at Blue Springs, near Huntsville, Tennessee,
was supplied by McFerrin in his history of the Methodist
Church in Tennessee. He wrote:
At 11 o'clock he took the stand, and, after a solemn
hymn, sung as camp meeting congregations alone can
sing, and a solemn prayer, the preacher announced his
text: "The Lord is Risen indeed!" Every eye was on
the speaker, a profound silence reigned throughout the
encampment; only one sound was heard, and that was the
voice of the preacher. The exordium fixed the atten
tion of every hearer; the argument followed: infidelity
was demolished, skepticism blushed for shame, objections
were swept as chaff before the wind, the faith of be
lievers was confirmed, the cause of Christ maintained,
and the triumphs of Christianity portrayed in colors
that none but the preacher could paint. The conclusion
43
John A. Roche, The Life of John Price Durbin (New
York, 1889), p. 206.
289
was irresistable. The vast multitude was spell-bound;
every mind was convinced, every heart subdued, every
bosom heaved with emotion, but a profound silence per
vaded the whole assembly; then the multitude sat as if
petrified— the stillness was like that which precedes
an earthquake. On and on went the preacher; "peal on
peal" excited to greater intensity the interest of the
wondering crowd. Finally, with a grand climax, the
sermon closed, and the preacher, exhausted, sank upon
his seat. For a moment the silence became more pro
found; and then came the reaction, when, in subdued
tones or audible shouts, the whole audience exclaimed:
THE LORD IS RISEN INDEED:44
McFerrin1s treatment of the occasion was more dramatic
than helpful in understanding the kind of oratory that
usually characterized the camp meeting. Looking back over
40 years to describe that impressive service, his evaluatior
was apt to border on exaggeration as he attempted to convey
something which had been emotionally stimulating for him.
The kind of preaching for which both John Price Durbin and
Henry Bascom were famous was the product of diligent self-
education. Bascom later became a bishop of the Methodist
Church, South, and both he and Durbin served the position
of Chaplain to the United States Congress. These were not
traditional frontier preachers, but they were camp meeting
orators of high intellectual quality and, in contrast to
to the more common circuit rider, illustrate the fact that
44McFerrin, III, 233-234.
290
there was a wide range of preaching talent in the camp
meeting movement.
In general, camp meeting preaching was plain and to
the point. The style was more coloquiel in the frontier
areas, but Methodist preaching as a rule retained the
quality of the common man. Methodists strongly supported
the practice of extemporaneous preaching, and camp meeting
congregations would quickly become disenchanted with the
minister who sought to read his sermon. Manuscript preach
ing and formal education were closely related in the minds
of frontier Methodists who firmly believed that extempor
aneous preaching was God1s way of speaking to his people
through the chosen orator. Cartwright had nothing good to
say about manuscript preaching. He told of an incident
when a "little hot-house reader" with seminary education
attempted to preach at a quarterly meeting where Cartwright
was presiding. "The congregation paid a heavy penance and
became restive; he balked, and hemmed, and coughed at a
disgusting rate. At the end of about thirty minutes the
great blessing came: he closed, to the great satisfaction
45
of all the congregation." Wiley made a strong plea for
45
_______Cartwright, p. 244.___________________________________
291
extemporaneous preaching when he wrote: "Preaching should
never he exchanged for pulpit reading. The free coloquial
style of extempore preaching certainly has the sanction of
the great Teacher, is sustained by apostolic example, and
has been adopted by the most distinguished and effective
46
pulpit speakers, both in the pulpit and at the bar." In
1852 Able Stevens wrote that the strength of early Methodist
preaching was its "coloquial directness and force," which
he maintained was "an inestimable excellence in popular
address." He went on to say:
It brought the truth not only to the hearing of the
people, but to their comprehension; and not only to
their comprehension, but to their interest. Men
will readily fall asleep under the literary style of
a manuscript sermon, but an earnest conversational
style keeps the attention; it leads the mind of the
hearer into a sort of interlocution with the speaker,
and thus the truth insinuates itself into the conscience
and the heart. Thus was the style of the great Teacher
himself.47
Stevens went on to treat the subject of extemporaneous
preaching and indicated that at the time of his writing,
manuscript preaching was becoming more prevelent among
Methodist clergymen. Looking back upon the early years of
46Clark, Wiley, p. 134.
47
[Able Stevens], "Methodist Preaching," p. 72.
292
America's frontier, he wrote:
We cannot, indeed, conceive of the preaching we have
described as other than extemporaneous. Reading never
could be preaching, in this sense, any more than the
letters of one word spell the other. How these heroic
men could have gone thundering through the land,
prostrating multitudes to the earth, or melting them
to tears, by the reading of manuscripts, is a problem
which certainly no experiment ever solved, and no logic
can show. It is, in fact, quite clear, a priori, that
they would have been an entirely different class of
men, and Methodism a quite different affair, if they
had been readers instead of what they pre-eminently
were— preachers. (p. 78)
Extemporaneous preaching continued to be the most
acceptable mode of delivery in the frontier camp meeting,
even though the general trend in Methodist preaching during
the first half of the nineteenth century was toward the
acceptance of manuscript reading. Extemporaneous preaching
was important in relation to the kinds of themes preached
upon at camp meetings. Camp meetings were primarily con
cerned with evangelism, and personal appeals directed
forcefully to the congregations were the order of the day.
Camp meetings were not conducive to learned disputations or
deep theological or philosophical subjects. Even though
sectarianism called forth doctrinal sermons, such themes
were applied directly to the audiences who were warned
against the dangers of heresy. As we shall see from
2 93
examining sermon outlines preached by camp meeting evange
lists, their major interests were with the members of their
congregations and not with the more academic considerations
of theology. Perhaps this attention to audiences is what
brought such success to camp meeting preaching. Harold
Bosley contends that a "religious faith that will not
concern itself with the vital issues in the life of a per
son or a people is a mean and doomed thing. It is more a
delusion than an opiate and deserves the scorn which
48
ethically sensitive people are not slow to heap upon it."
The camp meeting preacher was never far removed from the
personal problems of his frontier congregations. Usually
he was a product of that frontier and encountered the same
problems that faced those who came to hear him preach. A
personal, direct, and plain-spoken sermon preached from
the heart, and not from a manuscript, was the most effective
way of ministering to the simple pioneers who looked upon
their preachers as men who were called of God and who could
supply strength and comfort during difficult times.
Religion was one of the important considerations of
48
"The Role of Preaching in American History, " Preach
ing in American History, ed. DeWitte Holland (Nashville,
1969), p. 33.
294
those who faithfully attended the camp meeting services.
While the frontiersmen faced a variety of physical dangers
including sickness, natural catastrophe, and indian attacks,
their preoccupation was not always with physical security.
Of primary importance was the challenge of living a sound
religious life in an environment fraught with temptations
and pitfalls. Even though at first many people attended
camp meetings out of a concern for social satisfaction, the
protracted outdoor services were first and foremost re
ligious meetings. Themes for preaching were intended to
apply to spiritual needs. A collection of 10 sermon out
lines prepared and preached by Allen Wiley shows that he
treated such subjects as Christ's atonement for sins,
Obedience to God's Word, eternal damnation, the power of
prayer, and the Christian's responsibility in converting
the "lost" to Christianity. Of these general themes, judg
ment and Christian responsibility were the most popular with
Wiley. Each of the sermon outlines included highly per
sonal applications which exhorted his hearers to apply the
truths of his message. The sermon outlines were only
slightly developed and included only the basic points of
each message with a few comments about each point. An
additional sermon outline was left by Wil^y from a message
2 95
preached in 1827. This particular sermon was topical in
nature, treating the subject of "religion," and presenting
various biblical texts in which the word was found. In the
sermon Wiley treated the origin, nature, tendency, and end
of religion, concluding again with a personal invitation
for the penitent to receive the good news of the Christian
Gospel. Wiley's biographer commented on this sermon and
wrote:
Some of my readers may have heard Wiley preach the
sermon of which the above is a meagre sketch. If so,
they will not ask the question, can these dry bones
live? They remember how he clothed them with flesh,
in beautiful proportions, and breathed into them life
and animation, and how, as he progressed with his sub
ject and warmed with his theme, he presented the re
ligion of the Christian to the delighted and enraptured
minds of his hearers in its purity, its grandure, and
its power, as the last yet glorious hope of humanity—
having the promise of the life that now is and of that
which is to come.49
Thomas Hudson left a complete manuscript of a sermon
on the subject of "restitution." He preached against such
sins as theft, slander, and seduction. The latter trans
gression seemed to hold the greatest amount of concern for
Hudson, and he devoted several pages to developing and
describing the degenerate character of the seducer. In his
^Clark, Wiley, p. 41
296
conclusion he appeared to seek for a high degree of elo
quence when he wrote:
Restitution, in his case, is absolutly impossible.
Had he only committed the sin of murder, he would have
been less guilty; but he has committed a crime against
virtue and innocence for which tears of blood could
not atone. . . . He is one of hell's most degraded
agents; and if he die unpardoned and unwashed, the most
guilty and deformed devil in perdition would not ex
change with him his character and d o o m .50
Against this bleak picture of guilt and condemnation,
Hudson then contrasted the love of God and the pardon found
in Jesus, concluding his sermon with the traditional invi
tation for the sinner to come to repentance.
An examination of seven hand written sermon outlines
from the journal of Peter Daub reveals that this Methodist
circuit rider preached mainly on evangelistic themes, such
as repentance, backsliding, Christian behavior, and prepar
ation for eternity. One outline in particular was of a
sermon preached at a camp meeting at the Salem Church camp
grounds, North Carolina. The preacher's text was Hebrews
11:4, and the preacher carefully treated the traditional
evangelistic message beginning with the sinful condition of
humanity, the character and office of Jesus Christ, the
50
Thomas Hudson, pp. 345-354.
297
incarnation of Christ, the extent of his atonement, and
the benefits derived from Christ's sacrificial death.
Daub included no introduction or conclusion in his resume
of the sermon, but a personal invitation to penitents prob-
51
ably served to bring his preaching effort to a close.
In addition to the usual evangelistic preaching
that was so common at camp meetings, special themes were
also given consideration. Methodists were traditionally
anti-liquor, and temperance-oriented sermons were common
at camp meetings. Finley wrote that on the early frontier
the Methodist Church was the only agency that raised the
standard against alcohol. Finley preached against the "use
of ardent spirits in any form," and he often received
violent reactions from his pioneer parishoners, as well as
from those outside the Methodist Church. In his autobiog-
rpahy he wrote:
I suffered no opportunity to pass that I did not im
prove in portraying the physical, social, and moral
evils resulting from intemperance. I dwelt particu
larly upon its sad and ruiness effects in a religious
point of view, and made strong appeals to the religion
and patriotism of my congregation. Frequently I would
pledge whole congregations, standing upon their feet,
^Journal of Peter Daub, W. C. Daub Collection.
298
to the temperance cause; and during my rounds I am
certain the better portion of the entire community
became the friends and advocates of temperance, and
on this circuit alone, at least one thousand had
solemnly taken the pledge of total abstinence. This
was before temperance societies were heard of in this
country. It was simply the carrying out of the Method
ist Discipline on the subject.52
James Axley was another Methodist frontier preacher
that strongly opposed intemperance. Axley composed a sermon
for which he became well-known. Axley's temperance sermon
was fameous in the region of Eastern Tennessee for more
than 30 years and was certainly preached many times at camp
53
meetings throughout the area.
At a camp meeting near Moira Corners, New York, in
1836, Jesse Peck, later to become a bishop in the Methodist
Church, preached a message on the Person of Christ which
was evidently a defense of Methodist christology against
the growing popularity of Universalism. The sermon was so
successful that local Methodist leaders requested that he
have the sermon published. Naturally, Peck revised and
polished the published sermon and perhaps added some mater
ial that was not included in the original
52
Finley, Autobiography, p. 251.
53
Finley, Sketches of Western Methodism, p. 23 9.
2 99
54
presentation. The printed sermon is 16 pages of very-
fine print that would probably take several hours to
preach. Peck provided a detailed development of his sub
ject, dividing his message into three general areas of con
sideration: the divine nature of Christ, his human nature,
and the union of the two natures. The published sermon is
the most scholarly effort to come out of the camp meeting
movement that this researcher had discovered. It more
closely resembles a lecture than a sermon, having few
audience applications no anecdotes or illustrations, and
only a brief admonition to sinners to come to Christ for
salvation. The value of the manuscript is that it reveals
that by 1836 camp meeting audiences were provided with some
thing other than the traditional evangelistic sermon, and
that such audiences had evidently achieved a fair degree of
intellectual proficiency, thus making it feasible to preach
on such subjects. The same presuppositions that supported
54
Jesse T. Peck, A Sermon on the Person of Christ
(Watertown, 1836). On the front cover of the pamphlet Peck
wrote: "In submitting this discourse to the candour and
indulgence of his friends and the publick, the author begs
to state, that it was composed and preached without the
remotest idea to publication. In preparing it for the
press, therefore, he has taken the liberty to make such
improvements as he has deemed important."
300
earlier camp meeting preaching are evident in Peek's sermon
as well. The one difference, aside from the style and
delivery of the sermon, would be in the almost total ab
sence of pathetic appeals in Peck's preaching. It is also
quite possible that Peck preached from a manuscript, since
the detailed and scholarly effort would have probably
rendered an extemporaneous delivery impractical. When he
preached his sermon in 1836, Peck was only 25 years of age.
He went on to become a bishop in the Methodist Church in
1872.
Another important theme that must have been a part
of camp meeting preaching was that of church government.
In the years between 1820 and 1835 a great deal of contro
versy took place in Methodism over the episcopal form of
government. A sermon delivered by James Finley and ad
dressed to the members of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Meeting, which was probably a quarterly camp meeting, dealt
with the subject of church government. Finley urged his
listeners to be loyal to the order which God had purportedly
established in the Methodist Church. Scrawled in pen and
ink on long manuscript paper, the sermon followed no
perceptible outline and offered no clear division of ideas.
The significance of the sermon for this study is that it
301
indicates how Finley prepared for his preaching services,
it offers an example of special themes in preaching; and it
supports the general idea that Methodist camp meeting
preachers normally began with the Scriptures, called upon
the authority of God1s Word for enforcement of their ideas,
and were very much concerned with internal problems faced
55
by the Methodist Church.
Fifteen years before Jesse Peck preached his sermon
on the nature of Christ, Cartwright preached.a similar mes
sage at a camp meeting held on the Roaring River Circuit
in the Tennessee-Kentucky area. His text was taken from
the Acts of the Apostles: "To the unknown God, whom ye
ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you." His sermon
lasted two hours and he "held listening thousands spell
bound" while he "defended the supreme Divinity of Jesus
56
Christ, and riddled Arianism." Cartwright described his
sermon as follows:
I not only gained audience, but there was solemn si
lence and profound attention; for, by the blessing of
God, I succeeded in interesting the whole congregation
55
From 26 sermons by James B. Finley, Finley Collec
tion, Ohio-Wesleyan University, Deleware, Ohio.
56
Cartwright, pp. 150-151.
302
in the sublime subject under discussion. And when I
came to show that if Jesus Christ was not the supreme
God, that all heaven and earth was filled with idola
trous devotions, and that angels and men, and redeemed
spirits had been, were now, and eternally would be,
nothing more or less than gross idolators. (pp. 150-151)
According to Cartwright, the results of the sermon
were dramatic and represented a victory against the "legions
of devils that rose from the stagnant pools of Arianism,
Unitarianism, and Socinianism" (pp. 150-151).
In addition to preaching sermons at regularly sched
uled camp meeting services, most preachers were expected
to exhort on occasion after another brother had presented
the prepared message. Exhorting was a typical Methodist
practice which called upon a minister's ability to speak in
an impromptu fashion and urge congregations to action.
After the speaker of the hour had presented his sermon, one
or two preachers were asked to harangue the audience until
the mourners' area was satisfactorily filled with penitents.
James Axley was noted for his energetic and pointed exhor
tations, laced with humor and sarcasm. On occasion, when
called upon to exhort, he would humorously upbraid individ
uals in the audience that he had observed sleeping during
the sermon, or talking, or who were dressed in finery that
did not meet the Methodist standard of
303
57
plainness. James Erwin recalled an exhortation by a
Brother Gould that was a rebuttal to the sermon which had
just been preached by a guest Baptist minister. According
to Erwin, Gould began by quoting a Wesleyan hymn, and then
he proceeded to "show the fallacy of the sermon, to point
out the teachings of the Bible in its doctrines, warnings,
encouragements and promises, and waxing warmer and clearer
in his exposition, he demolished the dangerous dogma of
'once in grace always in grace, 1 showing that it was the
lullaby of the devil, sung as he rocked converts and older
58
Christians into the deep sleep of carnal security."
A description of how exhorting was carried out is
found in Finley's sketch of Samuel Parker. At a conference
meeting in Cincinnati in 1813, two sermons were preached
at the 11 o'clock services on Sunday which were held in a
location normally used for a market place. After the ser
mons, two exhortations were presented, and Finley offered
the following description:
57
A description of one of Axley's exhortations is found
in William H. Milburn, The Pioneer Preacher: or Rifle. Axe,
and Saddlebag (New York, 1857), pp. 72-75. Also reproduced
in Sweet, The Methodists, pp. 728-730.
58
Erwin, pp. 77-78.
304
After he [the second preacher] had concluded, brother
James Ward gave an exhortation after the manner of
olden time. Then followed brother John Collins, who,
from the same butcher1s block whereon the preacher
had stood, commenced, with a soft and silvery voice,
to sell the shambles— as only John Collins could— in
the market. These he made emblematic of a full sal
vation without money and without price. It was not
long till the vast assembly were in tears at the melt
ing, moving strains of the eloquent preacher. On
invitation a large number came forward, and kneeled
down for an interest in the prayers of God's people.
We joined with them, and other ministers who were
present, heartily in the work, and before that meeting
closed in the market-house, many souls were happily
converted to G o d .59
Exhortations were often the most informal part of the
preaching service and could be presented by licensed ex-
horters, preachers who were not ordained but who either
assisted the local circuit rider or were located in a
permanent manner and served in a lay capacity. Since the
invitation to sinners to come forward for prayer was the
focal point of most every camp meeting sermon, the general
invitation, which consisted of hymn-singing and exhortations
tended to be lengthy and drawn out in order to achieve the
greatest results. Lay-exhorters could become highly emo
tional in their appeals to the congregations, and even
though Methodist ministers might have desired to control
59
Finley, Sketches of Western Methodism, p. 208.
305
the more overt responses of their congregations, exhorters
often contributed to the chaotic conditions that sometimes
prevailed in camp meeting services. One description of a
camp meeting service at Northern Neck, Virginia in 1834,
provides us with an account of how such an invitation pro
ceeded:
Exhortation and singing were renewed; and it proposed
that they [the ministers] should go down and pass among
the people, for the purpose of conversing with them and
inducing them to come forward; and fervent prayer of a
suitable character was offered in their behalf. . . .
Other exhortations, of a lower but more noisy character
were made, with endless signing; favourite couplets
would be taken up and repeated without end. The effect
was various, but it was not good. Some with their
feelings worn out, had passed the crisis, and it was
in vain to seek to impress them; while others were un
duly and unprofitably e x c i t e d . 60
Together with close friends and ministering pastors,
the penitents struggled and agonized their way into the
Kingdom. Converts were welcomed into the family of God
amid shouts of victory and tears of joy. Exhausted preach
ers could retire to their tents at night convinced that God
had visited the camp and endowed their oratorical efforts
with fearful power.
6 0
Andrew Reed and James Matheson, A Narrative of the
Visit to the American Churches, by the Deputation from the
Congregational Union of England and Wales, 2 vols. (New
York. 1835). I. 281-283; cited in Johnson, pp. 142-143.
3 06
Briefly summarized, the preaching of the middle years
of the camp meeting movement stressed a corporate theme
that served to consolidate Methodist support for the pro
gram of outdoor evangelism. The most important, as well as
the most prevalent, theme was evangelistic, with preachers
urging upon their congregations the urgent need for con
version, explaining the means by which salvation could be
attained, and inviting them to avail themselves of the
opportunity to enter into God's Kingdom. The message was
highlighted by the most graphic and fearful descriptions of
eternal judgment. The invitation to join God's family came
as welcome relief from the pictures of horror and suffering
which had been used to describe the sinner's eternal fate.
The language of the preachers was plain and informal,
appealing to the worshipper in words that drove home the
message with force and clarity. Exhortations, led by
visiting or lay preachers, were reinforced by congregational
singing, praying, and various emotional outbursts from
worshippers which summoned the sinner who was outside the
fold to become a part of the family of God. Such endearing
titles as "sister" and "brother" were used to designate
those who were already members of the fellowship and served
to enhance the sense of community that existed for those
307
who would become members of God's household. Camping to
gether for days at a time increased the sense of close
relationship.
An additional sense of community among camp meeting
worshippers was derived from preaching themes that stressed
the propriety of Methodist doctrine as opposed to the
theology of other denominations. Being a part of God's
Church was being apart of Methodism* as far as the camp
meeting orators of the middle years of the movement's his
tory were concerned. The emphasis upon proper Christian
conduct as understood in the Methodist Discipline, proper
plainness of dress, and abstinence from liquor, all were
themes which not only guided the Christian in his daily
life, but also provided a standard whereby he could identify
with the group. There was seen a close relationship betweer
the individual's loyality to the Kingdom of God and to the
regulations of frontier Methodism. The mourners' area was
the place where that relationship became an established
fact as penitents struggled in an agony of prayer to be
"born again" into the family of God. The preacher's respon
sibility was to urge the individual on to this new role as
a member of God's family. The authority of God's Word and
the divine nature of the preacher's office combined with
308
emotional appeals to accomplish the preacher's task. The
close relationship between preacher and people tended to
enhance the effectiveness of the spoken word. The unique
sense of corporate spirit was a powerful force in bringing
success to the camp meeting movement, and the pulpit was
the focal point of that force. Said James Porter in defense
of the camp meetings:
They bring together members from different parts of
the country, circumstanced variously, and in all pos
sible states of religious interest, where, with friendly
greetings, social songs, prayers and conversation, they
become fused and blended into a holy brotherhood, and
resolve, with solemn purpose, to be faithful and meet
in heaven. The stiffness, formality, and parade of the
temple made with hands— the pride and pomp of the city,
with the multiplied cares and distinctions of society,
are laid aside, and all meet as members of one family,
entitled to equal attention and destined to the same
immortality. 0, how pure and abiding are the friend
ships thus formed, and how important to the harmony
and stability of the Church!61
The Period of Decline
The urbanization of the frontier brought less need for
the camp meeting's offer to the western American of becoming
a part of a family body and sharing in a vital relationship
with other members of that body. There were new and
61
Porter, An Essay on Camp Meetings, pp. 20-21.
309
interesting ways of answering these needs which did not
include the stringent demands that were handed down by
Methodism on the frontier. Abolition and temperance move
ments could provide the same sense of corporate membership
while at the same time stressing a broad social concern
more in keeping with the times. Where the camp meeting
once stood as the only agency through which social activity
could be gained on the frontier, now a variety of organiza
tions and substantial local churches could fulfill that
need. Religious practice still occupied the time of a great
number of people, but it was a more sophisticated involve
ment that contrasted sharply with the boistrous and emotion
al exercises encouraged by the earlier circuit riders and
camp meeting preachers.
Where once the camp meeting had served a vital purpose
for the lonely pioneers, where once it had supplied spir
itual strength in the absence of a substantial church, after
1840 the protracted encampments seemed to become burdensome
to those who had grown accustomed to urban comforts. In
order to attract people into the services, camp meeting
leaders offered more sophisticated facilities, more emphasis
upon social activity, and a less rigorous schedule of re
ligious observance. Preaching was still central to the
310
program, but ministers were forced to compete with the more
overt interest of Methodists in camp meeting socializing.
As in the period of genesis, preaching in the declining
years of the camp meeting movement became more of a form
than a force. But in the latter period it was a less pro
ductive form. The decreased emphasis upon emotionalism
tended to bring fewer converts into the church and less
dramatic results in the mourners' area. Due to the increase
in the level of education in the West, preaching necessarily
took on a less emotional character. As Sweet observed:
Where there are educated persons in any congregation
and an educated ministry in the pulpit, there is a
small chance that an extreme emotional revivalism will
arise. On the other hand, a congregation made up of
people with little education or critical training may
easily be led into emotional excess by a revivalistic
preacher, who gives way to his own deep feelings, who
shouts and gesticulates wildly, while tears stream
down his face as he speaks. . . . In pioneer communi
ties, where the emphasis was placed upon bodily devel
opment at the expense of mental equipment and where
there were no people of educational attainment, reviv
alism of the extreme emotional type naturally flourished.
It was the changing cultural climate that has been
responsible for the elimination of much of the extrav
agant type of revivalism.62
The trend away from a primarily emotional appeal in
6 2
William Warren Sweet, Revivalism in America: Its
Origin. Growth and Decline (New York, 1944), pp. 164-165.
311
camp meeting preaching was seen by some as the cause for
the increasing sterility of the movement. In 1838 Nathan
Bangs defended the emotional excitement of the earlier
years in camp meeting history and contended that the rela
tionship between emotional and physical excitement was
natural in human nature. In answer to the complaint that
earlier camp meeting preachers had traded on emotionalism,
Bangs admitted the validity of the charge, and his answer
reflected the possible influence of British rhetorical
theory in Methodism when he contended:
I would by no means plead for a religion which does
not enter into the judgment, and influence the under
standing as well as the affections. But yet, man is a
creature of passions as well as of intellect. And as
Christianity is not intended to destroy, but to regu
late the passions, as well as to enlighten the under
standing and sanctify the heart, we must expect the
passions to be moved, and the emotions of fear, hope,
love, and joy to be excited in religious as well as
in all other exercises. To these passions Christianity
certainly addresses itself, as well as to the judgment,
and moves men to action from fear, from hope, and from
the promise of pardon, comfort, and protection, as well
as from the eternal reward hereafter, which makes the
Christian joyfully anticipate the pleasures of the
future life. Those therefore who address themselves
to the understanding only, as if men were merely intel
lectual beings, avail themselves of not one half of the
motives with which the gospel furnishes its servants, to
induce sinners to repent and believe in Christ, and to
encourage believers to persevere in the path of d u t y . 63
Nathan Bangs, II, 116-117.
312
In 1861 an author writing in the Methodist Review
attributed the failure of camp meetings to the increased
emphasis upon a "calm, business-like consideration of re
ligion, " and charged that the reason for few converts being
won into the faith through camp meetings was that the newer
approach to preaching could not reach the reticent sinner
who would not easily succumb to the more intellectual ap
peal. He further elaborated his position:
The preacher who merely urges the general obligation
of love, gratitude, and obedience to God, would be un
able, during a patriarchal lifetime, to build up a
church of steadfast and laborious worshippers. The
vast majority who heard his doctrines would remain
wholly unmoved, and the heavy sleep of sin be only
deepened as down the perilous stream of worldly inter
est and pleasure they drifted. If, therefore, they are
to be saved by religious effort they must be awakened
by it; and if one method fails another must follow, more
powerful and startling than the first. If unimpassioned
and formal declarations of duty be insufficient to com
mand obedience, if the love of Christ constrain not, and
the goodness of God leadeth not to repentance, then by
the terrors of the law men must be persuaded. And the
simple verbal utterance of the sternest penal sanctions,
though a thousand times repeated, is not enough. The
awful importance of the theme should be fully reflected
in the manner of the speaker. The fire of his soul
should be revealed in the flash of his eye. The solemn
notes of warning should be re-echoed as with the blast
of a trumpet, and every gesture and movement should add
impressive power to the words that proclaim the fearful
destiny of the impenitent s o u l . ^ 4
64
"Is the Modern Camp-Meeting a Failure?" Methodist
Review, XLIII (October 1861), 591.________________________
313
The author of the above article, who remained anony
mous, apparently spoke more out of nostalgia than from the
position of a trained observer. He questioned much of the
new approach to Methodist evangelism, condemning the in
creased comforts of camp meeting facilities and the growing
emphasis upon socializing. His writing recalled the ex
citement of the past and the thrill of spiritual victories
won during the wilderness encampments. He condemned "those
brilliant exemplars of apostolic zeal, whose highest con
ception of ministerial fidelity is realized in the quarterly
installments of a comfortable salary, with a comfortable
prospect of its indefinite continuance," whom he fully ex
pected to disagree with his philosophy. It was they who
would criticize the emotionalism of the camp meeting, "but,"
he observed, "not they who daily groan beneath the crushing
burdens of their sacred vocation" (p. 592). Although he
may have expressed himself less elegantly, Cartwright held
essentially the same view: "However education may be
desirable, and however much the progress of this age may
demand an improved ministry, especially an improved pulpit
eloquence, I would rather have the gift of a devil-dislodg
ing power than all of the college lore or Biblical institute
knowledge that can be obtained from mortal
314
65
man." But Cartwright and the Methodist camp meeting
movement were vestiges of the past, and the type of preach
ing by which both were characterized was as much out of
place by 1850 as had been the useless lectures by educated
clergymen who read from their manuscripts to the unruly and
unappreciative frontier audiences during the first half of
the nineteenth century.
Camp Meeting Hymnology
In his recent study of revival hymnology, James
Downey stated that music scholars have yet to research the
66
religious awakenings between 1800 and 1875. Any analysis
of frontier culture would be incomplete unless it recognizee,
the importance of music to pioneer life in western America.
In studying the rhetoric of the camp meeting, the hymns of
-the Methodist revival movement are of great importance. It
has already been noted that Cartwright reported the fact
that his saddlebag library consisted of only three books:
the Bible, the Methodist Discipline, and the Methodist
Hymnal. In that order, apparently, the circuit rider and
65
Cartwright, p. 265.
66
Downey, p. v.
315
camp meeting preacher emphasized those aspects of his min
istry which he felt were most significant in drawing men
and women into the Christian fold. Singing was a very im
portant aspect of the corporate appeal made by the leaders
of the camp meeting movement.
The Genesis Period
Prom its beginning Wesleyanism displayed a strong
propensity toward singing. Prior to the inception of the
Methodist movement, the Church of England had no official
hymnal and gave little prominence to the use of congrega-
6 V
tional music in worship. According to one source, "the
rhythmic element in human nature was one of the most potent
forces displayed in the technique of the Methodist revival"
in England, and the organization of Wesley's revival move
ment depended a great deal upon the new hymns which were
introduced to his followers and which provided the power of
suggestion, educational value, and musical effect to bring
a sense of corporate unity to Methodism (p. 119).
While the hymnal published by the Methodist Church
might have been important to the library of the circuit
0 7
Dimond, p. 119.
316
rider, the hymns of Charles Wesley were not the major source
of camp meeting song, at least in the period of genesis.
It is true, that as the Methodists became more involved in
the camp meeting revival, it was their hymns and songs that
came to be most widely used. Robert Davidson noted that
the Methodists were successful in introducing "their own
6 8
stirring hymns" into the camp meeting movement. Thomas
Hinde, who compiled a hymnal that was to become one of the
popular song books used in the frontier revivals, recalled
that the Methodist hymnal was very scarce during the early
years of the camp meeting, and what few copies could be
found were often cut up and distributed among the frontiers
men. In this fashion, the songs could be committed to
memory by those who could read and, in turn, passed on to
69
others.
But the stately hymns written by the Wesleys were less
apt to express the true feelings of the pioneer. The most
important music of camp meeting revivalism was that which
originated with the people themselves. George P. Jackson
maintained that as the circuit rider became more successful
^Davidson, p. 141.
69
[Thomas Hinde], II, 304.
317
with frontier revival methods, he began to flout his
"episcopal song edicts and to take up the lively homespun
songs which the self-ostracized brands of Baptists and
70
others had been singing for many years." Especially dur
ing the genesis phase of the camp meeting movement were the
songs of worship more eclectic in nature, combining the
folk singing of the frontier communities with the religious
themes borrowed from a variety of denominational sources.
To begin with, most of the camp meeting songs were
"lined out" by ministers while the crowd followed along
using familiar folk songs and hymns to which the words were
added. Naturally, such singing was quite simple and was
characterized by a good deal of repetition in both musical
composition and lyrics which, at the discretion of the min
ister in charge, could be changed to suit the mood and the
occasion. According to Jackson, camp meeting zealots com
pletely controlled frontier hymnody during the early years
70
George Pullen Jackson, White and Negro Spirituals:
Their Life Span and Kinship (New York, 1943), p. 82. Jack
son wrote: "No denomination has been ready to confess
officially that it had fathered the definitely disreputable
'ditties.1 . . . the songs in question came from the mem
ories and immediate experiences of the singing crowds— from
Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians of the free and
less controlled turn of mind. ..."
318
of the nineteenth century. "Individual makers of religious
songs had less and less a part in the matter. Denomination
al authority retired disgusted from the roistering scene"
(p. 83). The more traditional hymns of Methodism failed to
provide the frontiersmen with an adequate vehicle for ex
pressing their religious experience, and camp meeting
worshippers found greater satisfaction in creating their
own forms of musical expression. Naturally, such expression
is important to our study of the camp meeting movement,
since it represents another mode of rhetorical expression.
In every phase of the camp meeting movement, congre
gational hymn singing served to intensify the sense of
community among the worshippers. The spiritual songs of
frontier revival appealed emotionally to the individuals
who verged on repentance, or provided a means of exhuberant
catharsis for those who needed to pour out their feelings
of praise and joy. In 1803 two Baptist ministers related
their experience in the North Carolina area:
Singing was attended to with great blessing. . . . We
might truly say, the time of the singing of birds had
come, and the voice of the turtle was heard in our land.
At every meeting before the minister began to preach
the congregation was melodiously entertained with num
bers singing delightfully, while all the congregations
seemed in lively exercises. Nothing seemed to engage
the attention of the people more; and the children and
319
servants at every house were singing these melodious
songs. From experience, we think we can assure our
readers that we have reason to hope that this, with
other means, proved a blessing in this revival.7^
The characteristic of hymn singing that was most
peculiar to the genesis period of the camp meeting movement
was the high degree of emotion that sometimes captured
whole congregations in a state of ecstasy. Aside from the
"jerks," singing exercises were also a part of the strange
behavior that disrupted camp meeting services. Barton Stone
told of singing exercises that he witnessed in early camp
meetings in Kentucky. He wrote:
The subject, in a very happy state of mind, would sing
most melodiously, not from the mouth or nose, but en
tirely from the chest, the sound issuing thence. Such
music silenced everything, and attracted the attention
of all. It was most heavenly. None could ever be
tired of hearing it.72
Another description of the early revival in Kentucky
is found in a letter dated August 16, 1801, which has no
salutation or signature. The writer described the scene of
meetings in Lexington, Kentucky in the following way:
71
Elders Lemuel Burkett and Jesse Read, History of the
Kehukee Baptist Association, reproduced in Cleveland,
p. 191.
72
Cited in Arnold, p. 211.
320
There were four large collections hearing preaching
(on Saturday at noon) while I believe, nearly as large
a number were collected in different little collections
praying for those that the power of God had struck
lifeless, singing and exhorting notwithstanding it was
requested by the Ministers, that no exercises should
be carried on during sermons; yet there was singing
in one part of the camp without intermission from the
time I first arrived until I left the place which was
Tuesday ten o'clock containing a term of seventy-two
hours. . . .73
Closely related to singing exercises were the spon
taneous bursts of song that caught up entire congregations.
At Cane Ridge, for example, witnesses record that at times
as many as six different hymns were sung simultaneously by
various segments of the congregation. Such ecstatic ex
pression, while not deliberately intended to stress the
community spirit of the camp meeting, served to underline
the importance of singing to the frontier revival. From
the earliest years, adherents of the camp meetings were
captured by the spirit of song and were moved to religious
commitment by such melodious utterance.
Except for preaching and exhortation, congregational
singing was apt to occupy the greatest portion of time at
camp meeting services. In addition to being summoned by
the trumpet1s call, campers throughout the grounds knew
73
Reproduced in Cleveland, p. 78.
321
that services were beginning when they could hear the as
sembled congregation joining together in a rousing song of
triumph. The opening song might be addressed to the strong
sense of unity that was felt by the believers as they would
joyously proclaim:
Our souls in love together knit
Cemented into one,
One hope, one heart, one mind, one voice,
'Tis heaven on earth begun.
Our hearts have burned while Jesus spake,
And glowed with sacred fire;
He stoop'd, and talk'd, and fed and blest
And fill'd th' enlarg'd desire.
Then lifting their voices in lusty unison, all the camp
could joyously unite on the chorus:
"A Saviour!" let creation sing!
"A Saviour!" let all heaven ring!
He's God with us, we feel him ours,
His fulness on our souls he pours:.
'Tis almost done, 'tis almost o'er,
We're following those who've gone before;
We soon shall reach the blissful shore
Where we shall meet to part no more.^
There were many verses which could have been sung, and
possibly additional words were added by the song leader.
Little imagination is required to envision the campers
74
Orange Scott, "The Band of Love," The New and Im
proved Camp Meeting Hymn Book (Springfield, 1835), p. 41.
322
gathering from their breakfast fires or following paths
upon which were cast shadows from the light of burning
torches to add their voices to the stirring music which
rang throughout the forest. Between 1805 and 1843 at least
75
17 Methodist camp meeting song books were published.
These were primarily books of lyrics. No music was included
for the simple reason that few of the campers could read
music. Even more important, the spontaneous nature of the
camp meeting often called for a different tune to be used
each time a song' was sung, depending upon the preacher in
charge, so that there was no need for musical scores to be
included. Probably the two most popular camp meeting hymn
books were Hinde's The Pilgrim Songster and Orange Scott1s
Camp Meeting Hymnbook. But during the genesis period of
the movement such booklets were not available, and congre
gations relied mainly upon memory and the preacher's ability
to line out the hymns.
Singing prepared the worshipper for the sermon. Sing
ing also was a highly emotional and very persuasive means
of calling the penitent to the mourners' area. At the con
clusion to the message, and after the exhortation had been
75
Johnson, p. 193.
323
made, while the preacher was still pleading with the people,
the congregation might quietly begin to sing:
Delay not, delay not, 0 sinner draw near!
The waters of life are now flowing for thee;
No price is demanded, the Saviour is here
Redemption is purchas'd, salvation is free.
Delay not, delay not, 0 sinner to come I
For mercy still lingers, and calls thee to-day;
Her voice is not heard in the vale of the tomb
Her message unheeded will soon pass away.
Delay not, Delay not, the hour is at hand—
The earth shall disolve and the heavens shall fade;
The dead, small and great, in the judgment shall stand;
What pow'r then, 0 sinner! Shall lend thee its aidI?®
Like the preaching of the frontier circuit rider, so
the singing of the camp meeting congregations represented a
true expression of the fears, the joys, and the problems
faced on the wilderness frontier. In contrast to the
troubled life on this earth, the Christian could sing with
his brethren of hope in the life to come:
Sweet rivers of redeeming love
Lie just before mine eye;
Had I the pinions of a dove
I'd to those rivers fly.
I'd rise superior to my pain,
With joy outstrip the wind;
I'd cross bold Jordan's stormy main,
And leave the world behind.
76
Scott, p. 207.
324
A few more days, or years at most,
My troubles will be o'er;
I hope to join the heavenly .host
On Canaan's happy shore ?
My rapturous soul shall drink and feast
In love's unbounded sea;
This glorious hope of endless rest
Is ravishing to me.77
Other songs spoke courage to those who, upon the con
clusion to the meetings, must once again return to lonely
and forboding isolation. In fact, parting at camp meetings
eventually became a ritual which accentuated the spirit of
unity in Methodism. In a letter to a friend dated July 7,
1802, a certain Ebenezer H. Cummins described a large camp
meeting held in the district of Spartanburgh, South Caro
lina. According to Cummins, the final moments in the week
of meetings were dramatic:
I cannot say, that the parting was not one of the
most moving and affecting scenes which presented it
self throughout the whole. Families, who had never
seen each other, until they met on the ground would
pour forth the tears of sympathy, like streams of
water, many friendships were formed, and many attach
ments contracted, which although the persons may never
meet again will never be disolved.78
77
Written by John A. Granade, cited m B. St. James
Fry, p. 410.
78
Reproduced in Cleveland, p. 168.
325
Later camp meeting leaders capitalized on the pathos
that accompanied the final moments before campers separated
to return to their homes. Nottingham records a service of
parting following a lengthy camp meeting held within the
bounds of the Lawrenceburg Circuit, Indiana, in 1817, at
which Allen Wiley was present. The significance of congre
gational singing in reinforcing the corporate spirit among
camp meeting worshippers was obvious in the description:
Bigelow had the congregation formed into a company
like soldiers in double file, and they marched around
the encampment singing appropriate farewell hymns.
Both the martial manner and the farewell hymn were
typical of camp meeting singing at this time. It was
not surprising that those who had grown up fighting
against indians and other perils of the wilderness
should apply to the Christian experience the vivid
imagery of warfare. Bigelow, in organizing this
soldierlike march, was but dramatizing the settlers'
idea of themselves as an army on the march against
sin, the world, and the devil. They may well have
sung stanza's from such a 'recruiting' hymn as this:
The gospel calls for volunteers
To come with sword in hand
Where is there one for Christ appears
Against the foe to stand?
Here's dress and food and drink and arms
And pay, and victory sure,
This every Christian soldier claims
And makes him war endure.
He did, and does, and always will
Maintain his armies well
And save them from temptation's snare
326
and after death from h e l l . 79
In consideration of the significance associated with
final parting at camp meetings, the singing of hymns of
separation was an especially moving and effective means of
enhancing the corporate spirit of the camp meeting. Ob
servers of a camp meeting held in 1803 wrote:
Shaking hands while singing was a mean (though simple
in itself) for to further the work. The ministers
used frequently, at the close of worship, to sing a
spiritual song suited to the occasion, and go through
the congregation and shake hands with the people while
singing; and several when relating their experience at
the time of their admission into church fellowship,
declared that this was the first means of their con
viction. The act seemed so friendly, the ministers
appeared so loving that the party with whom the min
ister shook hands would often be melted in tears.
The hymn:
'I long to see the happy time,
When sinners all come flocking home;
To taste the riches of his love,
And to enjoy the realms above.'
And especially that part of it,
1 Take your companion by the hand,
And all your children in the band,1
— many times had a powerful e f f e c t . 8 8
79
Cited m Nottingham, pp. 69-70.
80
Burkett and Read, cited in Cleveland, p. 192.
327
A report published in the Methodist Magazine by a
John Collins described the feelings of worshippers at a
camp meeting in 1819 when the time came for parting. The
letter reads as follows:
The thoughts of parting to meet no more, or of meeting
to part no more, produced the melody of those groans
and shouts which far exceed all description. When we
for the last time marched in order around the camp and
sung our parting hymn, the scene was truly solemn and
impressive. The tents struck; the waggons in readiness;
weeping circles of young converts folded in each other's
arms; ministers surrounded with weeping hundreds, cry
ing out as they presented the parting hand, 'pray for
me and mine!'81
The same source offered a description of another kind
of religious service— not near as popular with Methodists
as with Baptists— where singing was an essential aspect. A
baptismal service was a dramatic event when, at the close
of a series of camp meeting services, new converts were
taken to a near-by creek or lake and officially welcomed
into God's family by immersing them in the often icy waters.
Thousands would gather on the banks to witness the rite of
initiation and rejoice in the victories that had been won.
A part of their rejoicing was expressed in song as the
81
John Collins, a letter printed in The Methodist
Magazine. II (New York, 1819), 234-235.
328
catecumens and the congregation might sing together a hymn
such as:
Come all ye mourning souls who seek rest in Jesus' love,
Who set your whole affection on things that are above;
Come let us join together and hand in hand go on,
Until we come to Canaan where we no more shall m o u r n . 82
It can be seen that the spontaneity of the early camp
meeting revival found expression not only in the preaching
and the strange exercises that were exhibited by the con
gregations, but also in the singing that seemed to rise
naturally from hearts filled with religious ecstacy, fearful
conviction, or, most important, a desire for fellowship
found in the company of Christians who gathered for their
forest encampments. As the early Methodist historian,
Nathan Bangs, wrote of the primitive years in the camp
meeting movement:
These songs, though they possessed but little of the
spirit of poetry, and therefore added nothing to true
intellectual taste, served to excite the feelings of
devotion, and keep alive that spirit of excitement
which characterized the worshippers in those assem
blies. 83
82
Cited in Cleveland, p. 193.
83
Nathan Bangs, II, 105.
329
The Middle Years
Whatever changes took place in hymn singing during
the middle years of the camp meeting movement reflect the
general developments that have already heen discussed
relative to preaching. Since the Methodists became the
almost exclusive promoters of successful camp meetings fol
lowing the early years of the Second Great Awakening, it
was natural that the songs of praise which were most com
monly used during these services were Methodist in character
and reflected doctrines and traits which were native to the
rapidly growing denomination. Building a sense of community
was still important, but now the Kingdom of God and the
Methodist Church were merged in a plea for loyality to the
camp meeting movement. With the publishing of such song-
books as the Seth Mead Hymns and Spiritual Songs, in 1805,
Hinde's Pilgrim Songster. 1810, and Orange Scott's more
complete pocket size Camp Meeting Hymnbook, in 1829, singinc
at camp meetings became distinctly Methodist. Songs com
posed by the "western poets" of Methodism, John Alexander
Granade and Caleb Jarvis Taylor, "were among the most
popular hymns which were sung at those camp meetings, and
perhaps became the fruitful source whence sprung the numer
ous ditties with which the church was, for some time,
330
almost deluged" (p. 105).
Camp meeting hymns became militant in nature as the
movement grew. Some have suggested that such militancy
resulted from the many dangers that the frontiersmen had
to face each day. Following close upon the years of the
Revolutionary War, it also might have been that the western
settlers still savored the spirit of battle and allowed it
84
to influence their religious perspective. But a more
important factor, it would appear, was the increase of
persecution from outside the movement, the spirit of war
fare that constantly surrounded the Methodist camp, that
caused the frontier Christians to take a belligerent and
military-like stance. Camps were often patterned after a
military motif, with guards being assigned to warn and pro
tect campers when trouble makers were near. George Peck
tells of constructing "walls" of brush and trees which had
been cleared to provide open space for the camp. Such walls
85
were intended to serve as protection against intruders.
84
B. St. James Fry, p. 408. Fry contended that "the
martial spirit of the Revolution had been kept alive and de
veloped in Kentucky to a greater extent than in any other
part of the Union, through the Indian wars, and many of the
elderly men who were now prominent in the revival, had
shouldered the rifle at a moment's warning, and hastened to
meet the treacherous foe."
85
_______ George Peck, p. 149.____________________________________
331
Occasionally* when the brush had dried out* the walls were
set on fire by rowdies who wished to disrupt the proceed
ings. The sense of persecution that resulted from many
attempts to break up camp meetings created a strong concern
for solidarity among the Methodists. Those who collected
within the bounds of the camp envisioned themselves as an
army facing an unfriendly world. They saw themselves as
warriors for the Lord* an army led by Christ himself. Such
militancy was not new to Christianity and could easily be
supported by Scripture. Perhaps the militant church could
find no more effective expression than in the sense of
community that came from congregational singing. What coulc
have been more stirring to the frontier Christian than to
join with his fellow Methodists in singing words of chal
lenge such as those written by Caleb Jarvis Taylor:
Hark, brethren* don't you hear the sound?
The martial trumpets now are blowing;
Men in order listing round
And soldiers to the standards flowing.
Bounty offered* joy and peace;
To every soldier this is given;
When from toils of war they cease
A mansion bright prepared in heaven.
The battle is not to the strong*
The burden's on our captain's shoulder;
None so aged or so young
But he may list and be a soldier.
332
Those who cannot fight or fly,
Beneath his banner find protection;
None who on his name rely,
Shall be reduced to base subjection.
The battle, brethren, is begun;
Behold the army now in motion]
Some by faith behold the crown,
And almost grasp their future portion.
Hark] the victor's singing loud,
Emanuel's chariot wheels are rumbling;
Mourners weeping through the crowd,
A nd S a t a n ' s k in g d o m down i s t u m b l i n g . 86
In similar fashion, the song "Fight the Good Fight of
Faith" was based upon Holy Scripture and included at least
87
11 verses of military-like expression. The military
theme most effectively expressed the communal spirit of
camp meeting worship. A congregation could be drawn to
gether as they sang in lusty enthusiasm:
Brethren, while we sojourn here
Fight we must, but should not fear;
Foes we have, but we've a friend,
One that loves us to the end;
Long we cannot dwell below;
Soon the joyful news will come,
Child, your Father calls— come home.®®
In similar fashion a camp meeting congregation might
sing the rousing words of such an enthusiastic song as that
86 87
B. St. James Fry, p. 408. Scott, p. 14.
88
Scott, "Hymn No. 22," p. 31.
333
which is listed in the Orange Scott hymn book simply as
"Hymn 34."
The trumpets sound, the armies shout,
The hosts of hell are driven,
Fight on, fight on ye conqu1 ring souls,
The prize will soon be given.
Chorus:
We're all united, heart and hand;
All in one band completely:
We're marching through Immanuel's land
Where the waters flow most sweetly.
(P. 47)
Aside from the military themes, Methodist doctrines
and Scriptural exhortation served as themes for congrega
tional singing. Camp meeting preachers especially consid
ered the topic of God's forgiveness for sin. Methodists,
who had assurance of spiritual redemption, could sing
enthusiastically:
How happy every child of grace,
Who knows his sins forgiven!
This earth, he cries, is not my place,
I seek my place in heaven!
A country far from mortal sight:
Yet, 0! by faith I see
The land of rest, the saints delight,
The heaven prepared for me.89
89
Scott, "Hymn No. 103," p. 150.
334
A militant spirit could also be found in the doctrinal
controversies which became an important influence in camp
meeting rhetoric. A great deal of solidarity could be
promoted by uniting Methodists against other denominations
and religious groups whose "heresies" could be seen as
detrimental to the Wesleyan system. From the Seth Mead
Hymns and Spiritual Songs comes the hymn entitled "The
Methodist," which was quoted earlier in the study. The
entire song expresses the corporate feeling that camp meet
ing leaders desired to emphasize among Methodist worship
pers :
The WORLD, the DEVIL, and TOM PAINE,
Have try'd their force, but all in vain,
They can't prevail, the reason is,
The Lord defends the Methodist.
They pray, they sing, they preach the best,
And do the Devil most molest,
If Satan has his vicious way,
He'd kill and damn them all today.
They are dispised by Satan's train,
Because they shout and preach so plain,
I'm bound to march in endless bliss,
And die a shouting Methodist.90
The spiritual songs that sprang out of the camp meet
ing movement, like preaching in frontier revival, were
90 . , .
Cited m Nottingham, pp. 25-26.
335
graphic in their descriptions of eternity, of its punishment
and suffering. The emotional appeals that were voiced by
exhorters from the preaching stands were often reflected
even more strongly in the congregational singing that ac
companied the invitation given to sinners to come forward
to the mourners' area. A song composed by John Granade
described the poignant scene that must have been experienced
in the thousands of camp meetings that took place in
western America and was one of the most common hymns of
invitation:
Sinners through the camp are falling;
Deep distress their souls pervade,
Wondering why they are not rolling
In the dark infernal shade.
Grace and mercy long neglected,
Now they ardently implore;
In an hour when least expected
Jesus bids them weep no more.
Hear them then their God extolling,
Tell the wonders he has done;
While they rise see others fallingI
Light into their hearts hath shone.
Prayer, and praise, and exhortation,
Blend in one perpetual sound;
Music sweet beyond expression,
To rejoicing saints around.91
Another example of the graphic descriptions found in
91
B. St. James Fry, p. 413.
336
invitational hymns is taken from the Orange Scott book.
Seven verses long, the hymn depicts the judgment of a sinner
who turned away from the Christian message. It is not dif
ficult to imagine the fear that must have welled up in many
a hesitant heart as camp meeting worshippers struggled with
their consciences while others around them sang:
See the eternal Judge descending,
Seated on his Father's throne;
Now, poor sinner, Christ will show thee
That he 1s with the Father, one.
Trumpets call thee
Stand and hear their awful doom.
Hear the sinners now lamenting
At the sight of fiercer pain;
Cries and tears he now is venting,
But he weeps and cries in vain;
Greatly mourning
That he ne'er was born again.
Hail! ye ghosts that dwell in darkness,
Groaning, rattling of your chains!
Christ has now pronounced my sentence,
I'm to dwell in endless pain;
Down I'm rolling,
Never to return again.92
Graphic descriptions of death bed scenes, poignant
accounts of eternal separation from loved ones, gentle in
vitations to the sinner to partake of God's grace in repen
tance, and songs of victory and release all formed a part
92
Scott, "Hymn No. 32," pp. 44-45.
337
of the camp meeting rhetoric as expressed in hymnology.
These songs were reserved almost exclusively for the camp
ground, and the statelier hymns of Charles Wesley or Isaac
Watts were used for the more formal services of Methodist
worship. Because they originated with the frontier culture,
and because they expressed in simple language the experience
of those who were a part of the camp meeting movement, such
spiritual songs provided a means of uniting Methodists in
an emotional bond which created a strong sense of unity in
and support of camp meetings during the middle years of the
movement's history. As Nottingham remarks:
Gone were the stately hymns of the eastern seaboard,
hymns that had been brought from Europe, and in their
place were substituted rough and ready rhymns set to
rousing popular tunes. Such corporate singing had a
definite social as well as religious function in the
lives of people to whom secular music, like secular
literature, was practically unknown and whose concep
tion of religion would have prohibited the music hall,
had music halls and vaudeville been accessible to
them.93
Period of Decline
In 1944 William Warren Sweet wrote that "the great
number of old Methodist camp meeting grounds to be found all
over the United States, still owned by the Conferences or
93
Nottingham, p. 26.
338
camp meeting associations but now turned into middle-class
summer resorts . . . are mute witnesses to the social,
religious, and cultural change which has taken place in
94
American Methodism." It could also be said that such
change chould be gauged by examining the hymns of Methodism
through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. By 1830
the camp meeting evangelism of western America and the more
moderate urban revivalism of the eastern states, led by such
personalities as Lyman Beecher and Asahel Nettleton, com
bined in the protracted evangelistic services that stormed
urban America under the leadership of Charles G. Finney.
Revival music changed, as did the doctrinal emphasis of
American Protestantism. With the growing concern for a
broader social application of the Christian faith, the
highly individualistic and emotional religion, practiced
in the early camp meetings, was no longer in demand. The
kind of spiritual songs, as well as the kind of preaching,
that had characterized camp meeting evangelism began to
fade. Such hymnology was no longer expressive of the
Christian's experience. Certainly, the hymns of the "old
time religion" were still treasured and sung by those who
94
Sweet, Revivalism in America, p. 165.
339
continued to stand by the camp meeting movement. But, like
the preaching, the singing of the camp meeting movement in
its declining years became a form of expression that was
lacking in vital meaning. The words conveyed experiences
of past generations and were applicable to conditions that
had faded with the settling of the frontier. The music was
of another day and did not fit the formal atmosphere of
the urban church.
Charles Johnson maintains that "insofar as song texts
are concerned, camp meeting songs have left no visible im-
95
print on present-day Methodist hymnody." The same might
be said for camp meeting preaching, especially that of the
early years on the western frontier, that it exerts little
influence on contemporary Methodist preaching. But the
real significance of camp meeting rhetoric, both in preach
ing and singing, is not so much in the influence it exerted
on subsequent generations of Methodists. Rather, the
rhetoric of the camp meeting movement was an important
expression of the nineteenth-century frontier culture. It
resulted from a desire on the part of people, who neces
sarily lived isolated and lonely lives, to bridge their
95
Johnson, p. 207.
340
solitude. It was perpetuated by and, in turn, served to
perpetuate a desire for religious fulfillment. It appealed
to the human need for corporate existence. The rhetoric
of the camp meeting movement, as it was expressed in sermon
and song, was a social phenomenon that exemplfies the truth
that effective human communication arises naturally in
response to a pressing need, assumes a mode that most ap
propriately fits the circumstances in which it arises, and
is most effective when freed from preconceived standards
and imposed rules of criticism that are alien to its
natural environment. When the circumstances that necessi
tated a certain kind of rhetoric no longer exist, new forms
of rhetorical appeal arise to meet a new and different need.
CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSION
The gift of America to Christianity was not the
New England theology. That was only the echo of the
debates of the theologians of Europe, which died away,
as all echoes do. . . . America has made anew of
Christianity what it was in Galilee— an enthusiasm, a
heroism, a passion of the heart of man to accomplish
the will of God on earth. And the work has been done
not in the eastern centers of thought and culture, not
in the studies of learned divines, but out in the open
where man conquered the forests and built homes for a
nation of a hundred million men.l
The Methodist camp meeting movement was born on the
western frontier and was a product of frontier circum
stances, tailored to meet the peculiar needs of the western
American settler. Even though the camp meeting movement
increased and eventually influenced evangelical Protestant-
sim throughout America, nowhere else was it as effective as
it was on the western frontier. Beginning at the turn of
John Martin Thomas, "Influence of Frontier Life on
American Christianity," Proceedings of the New Jersey His
torical Society, XI (January 1926), 17-18.
341
342
the nineteenth century, camp meeting revivalism swept
through the isolation of the rural West and was implimented
by the Methodists who were the religious denomination most
willing and able to use this new form of evangelism.
The camp meeting movement began as a spontaneous
and ecumenical revival, but it soon splintered into various
camps of contention causing the majority of Presbyterians
and Baptists to withdraw from further cooperation with the
Methodists. Gaining members in phenomenal numbers, Method
ists were faced with sever criticism by religious groups
who had traditionally opposed their enthusiastic form of
worship and now begrudged them their rapid expansion. But
dissatisfaction with camp meeting activities was also felt
within the Methodist Church by those who expressed concern
for the overt emotionalism which, according to some eye
witnesses, often culminated in shameful and scandelous con
duct. Such criticism caused the Methodists to examine more
closely the spectacular methods being used by their frontier
evangelists and circuit riders to win converts for their
cause. From the camp meeting movement issued a rhetoric
that was intended to defend frontier revivalism while, at
the same time, increasing the number of its converts. This
study has been an attempt to trace the growth and
343
development of an important socioreligious institution by-
analyzing the rhetoric that emanated from the movement,
including preaching, written discourse, and hymnology.
Summary of the Study
The history of the camp meeting movement can be
divided into three general periods, three stages in the
evolution of frontier revivalism. Using the writings of
George Herbert Mead as a basis for the investigation, an
evolutional, or ontogenetic, theory of rhetoric has been
formulated to show how the camp meeting movement emerged as
a product of its environment and developed through means
of a continuing dialogue with the frontier society.
Mead's theory of human personality development is
based upon the ability of the human organism to view itself
in an objective manner. Through a process of role-playing,
the objective self, or the self outside the real self,
emerges as a composite of images gained through linguistic
interchange with other individuals. Mead envisioned this
process as taking place not only in human personality
development, but also in the development of society and the
institutions which are an integral part of that society.
According to Mead, the emergence of the self, as well as
344
the social institution, progresses through two general
stages. The first, or "genesis" period, is characterized
by the emergence of the self through the perception and
interpretation of attitudes expressed by others toward the
self or toward each other. The second phase, that of the
"generalized other," is marked by a higher degree of matur
ity of the self as evidenced in the organization of the
collective attitudes of that society of which the individ
ual self is a part. The third phase, or period of decline,
is not specifically accounted for by Mead. It has been
the assumption of this study that when awareness of and
sensitivity to the attitude-stimuli of the social environ
ment is no longer possible, the institution, as well as the
individual, passes quite naturally into disintegration.
The emergence of the camp meeting movement and the
rhetoric that characterized it has been seen to closely
parallel the kind of communication that is essential to
Mead's theory of the emerging self. In the earliest stages
of the camp meeting movement, roughly between 1800 and 1805,
rhetoric functioned in a cyclical process similar to the
kind of eternal dialogue that Mead described in reference
to the role-playing activity of the developing personality.
Such a process was made possible by the establishment of a
345
complete sense of identification between orators and con
gregations— an identification which resulted from the
general use of local talent, such as class leaders and ex-
horters, to supply the pulpits. A great number of these
lay leaders commonly advanced to the status of full ordin
ation, thereby creating an almost indigenous situation in
western Methodism.
During the.genesis years of the movement's history,
camp meeting preachers were generally lacking in formal
education, as were their congregations. This lack of aca
demic training seems to have been chiefly responsible for
the type of preaching that typified the camp meeting. Camp
meeting preaching was plain in style, colloquial in nature,
personal in its appeal, and tended more toward emotional
than reasoned discourse. Although the educational level of
the Methodist clergy gradually increased during the first
four decades of the nineteenth century, the style of preach
ing tended to retain the plain and colloquial quality that
marked the earlier years.
The middle years of the camp meeting movement, gen
erally estimated as between 1805 and 1840, witnessed a
change in rhetoric which was reflective of a desire on the
part of Methodist leaders to attract the support of a
346
greater portion of their constituency to this unique type
of evangelism, as well as to unify those who readily ac
knowledged the value of the camp meeting approach. During
the middle years, camp meeting rhetoric assumed a two-fold
mode of expression. Extrinsically, camp meeting rhetoric
was concerned with the apologetics of the movement and
adopted such forms as collections of personal testimonials
intended to emphasize the value and results of camp meet
ings, formal defenses of the camp meeting movement published
in pamphlets and various organs of the Methodist Church,
miscellaneous pleas in defense of camp meetings, and the
collected stories of miracles and mysterious events which
were used to support the argument that God's approval rested
on the camp meeting movement. Intrinsically, preaching
and hymn singing were used to establish a feeling of unity
among worshippers which strengthened the sense of community
that had been evident in the early years of frontier re
vivalism. Such unity was described in terms of a family
relationship into which the new convert was welcomed, and
it was further enhanced by an emphasis upon sectarianism
which sprang up in response to the opposition directed
toward the camp meeting movement by other religious denom
inations. The frontier Methodists responded to such
347
persecution by preaching and singing of their loyality to
God's family and the Methodist Church.
Throughout the history of the camp meeting movement,
preaching and hymn singing were intended to engender loyalty
and enthusiasm for the camp meeting by urging sinners to
be converted and Christians to be piously dedicated to God's
work. The underlying authority to which camp meeting
orators looked was the Bible, along with the assumption
that God had called them to preach. In a typically Armenian
fashion, Methodist preachers saw man as responsible for
receiving God's offer of salvation, and they supplemented
this philosophy with strong emotional appeals. Likewise,
camp meeting apologists pointed to the Bible for their
arguments supporting the out-of-doors religious encampments,
at least they did so during the early years of the middle
period. Later, as criticism from non-Methodist sources
lessened, these writers sought to instill new life into the
lagging movement with more practical arguments that stressed
a higher degree of reasoned discourse.
Less has been said about the declining years of the
camp meeting movement than about the genesis and middle
periods, and this is due primarily to the difficulty en
countered in attempting to circumscribe the exact years
348
encompassed by the frontier revivals. Hudson cites the
1820's with the rise of Charles G. Finney's protracted
meetings, as the beginning of the end for the camp meeting
2
movement. Coulter contends that camp meetings were a part
of the American religious scene for many years following
3
the Civil War. The problem stems mainly from the con
tinued westward movement of the American frontier which
created demands for revival on new frontiers while, at the
same time, leaving behind settled communities on the old
frontiers with stationed churches and increased urban re
finements which made the camp meeting obsolete. This study
has confined the camp meeting movement to the trans-
Allegheny West where, in the 1840's, the modern camp grounds
and summer conferences began to supplant the more rugged
outdoor encampment that marked the early years of the
frontier revival.
A second difficulty in providing a detailed study
of the camp meeting movement's decline is that there ap
peared to be little change in the rhetoric of the period of
2
Winthrop S. Hudson, p. 141.
3
E. Merton Coulter, William G. Brownlow, Fighting Par
son of the Southern Highlands (Chapel Hill, 1937), p. 12,
cited in Johnson, p. 244.______________________________________
349
demise. The fact that little adjustment can be found in
the preaching of the later period has been one of the fac
tors pointed to in this study as a cause for the camp
meeting's decline. The camp meeting arose in response to
particular needs which were inherent to the American fron
tier. When those needs no longer existed, the institution
faded also. Its style of preaching and its social advant
ages were no longer attractive to urbanized America. The
camp meeting failed to recognize the new demands of a later
society, and its rhetoric was more sentimental than vital.
In the period of decline, camp meeting rhetoric represented
more of a relic from the past than a force for the present.
The failure of camp meeting leaders to adjust their message
and their techniques to a changing society forced the move
ment to surrender its followers to more contemporary
interests. Not that the camp meeting would have always
continued to serve its original purposes in American so
ciety. Rather, the failure to update the message and the
modes of appeal caused the Methodist Church to relinquish
revival leadership to the more urban appeals of Finney and
his supporters. The camp meeting became the summer retreat,
the religious conference, the cultural seminar of the
Chautauqua species.
350
Conclusions of the Study
Aside from the descriptive nature of this study,
several conclusions have been drawn regarding the nature
of rhetorical criticism and movement studies. To begin
with, an attempt has been made to provide a methodology for
criticism that would be useful in examining historical
movements that seem to defy traditional classification.
That is to say, the application of a methodology such as
is suggested by Griffin is not always workable and, when
4
forced, tends to become artificial. On the other hand,
movement studies might be more appropriately undertaken
when the researcher envisions rhetoric as a natural product
of a developing institution, a product which gains its
character not from deliberate efforts to persuade, but from
a combination of social influences which help to shape and
direct the institution.
The camp meeting movement has been seen as an unusual
institution, one that required something other than a tradi
tional methodology for criticism. The Methodist camp
4
See Leland M. Griffin, "The Rhetorical Structure of
the Antimasonic Movement, " The Rhetorical Idiom, ed. Donald
C. Bryant (New York, 1966), pp. 145-159; "A Dramatistic
Theory of the Rhetoric of Movements," Critical Responses to
Kenneth Burke, ed. William H. Rueckert (Minneapolis, 1969),
351
meeting movement began as a spontaneous response to the
social and religious needs of the American frontier. It
was not deliberately planned evangelism, nor did it fit the
description of an "anti-movement," such as would be impor
tant to Griffin's methodology for criticism of historical
movements. Griffin contends that during the period of in
ception the rhetoric of a movement is negative and builds
upon dissatisfaction. The camp meeting did not attack or
seek to displace any other institution during its formative
years. Nor did the camp meeting movement ever develop an
organic structure: it never had any formal organization.
It was an institution within the Methodist Church, but it
never received recognition as an official branch of the
denomination. But on the frontier, the camp meeting move
ment was an important institution in which rhetoric was a
significant factor. By its very nature, therefore, the camp
movement does not lend itself to Griffin's methodology of
investigation.
Equally as important to a critical investigation, the
rhetoric of the camp meeting movement has been seen more as
a form than a force. Generally, studies in rhetorical
criticism concentrate on the speaker, the speech, or a
collection of both into a movement
352
5
study. But the rhetoric of the camp meeting movement re
veals something more than what the above classifications
provide. Camp meeting rhetoric served more as an integrat
ing factor for the frontier society and provided a means
whereby the social and spiritual needs of the settlers coulc
be satisfied. In the early years of the movement, there
were times when preaching was, for all practical purposes,
dispensed with while the exciting activities of revival
continued without hesitation. In the final phase of the
movement's history, preaching once again tended more toward
form than force, but at this later date it lacked vitality
simply because it no longer met the needs of a demanding
society. To study the rhetoric of the camp meeting move
ment without recognizing it as an important form that did
not always function in a persuasive manner, is for the
researcher to miss the idea that rhetoric can serve the
very important purpose of providing a vehicle for the
integration of society.
Camp meeting preaching limited its appeal to a per
sonal and introspective kind of exhortation. The reputation
5
Black, Chapter II. Black treats the traditional cate
gories of criticism as the psychological, the neo-
Aristotelian, and the movement studies._______________________
353
of emotionalism that followed the camp meeting movement
throughout all of its history, resulted from an extreme
concern on the part of its adherents to fulfill the Wesleyan
doctrine of Divine assurance. Gripped by a desire to ex
perience the "witness of the Spirit," which supposidly
resulted in an inward peace and the certain knowledge of
eternal redemption, camp meeting worshippers fervently
sought a personal piety while paying little heed to con
temporary social problems. For this reason, the camp meet
ing movement was destined for an early demise, since the
general transition in America from an agrarian to an indus
trial environment, a growing concern for abolition, and
other needs for social reform, created issues that came to
demand more and more attention from the western population.
The camp meeting movement provided little leadership in
these matters and was eventually overshadowed by newer
movements which were more politically oriented.
Finally, an examination of camp meeting rhetoric
reveals that much of the general contemporary evaluation of
the nineteenth century camp meeting movement is founded
upon reports and descriptions which either represent the
biased opinions and interpretations of outside critics or
are limited to the more primitive years of the movement's
354
history. Camp meeting descriptions, such as those cited
in the first chapter of this study, do not reflect a clear
understanding of how the camp meeting developed during the
second, or "generalized other," phase of the movement’s
evolution. The contrast between preaching during the
genesis period and the later years of camp meeting history
clearly shows in the order and control that was exerted by
camp meeting leaders in an attempt to gain the respect and
the support of the Methodist Church. Undoubtedly, camp
meeting worship on the frontier was always informal, lacking
in the graces of the more liturgical or urban religious
observance. But it was mainly in its formative years that
the camp meeting was the uproarious and hysterical confusion
of emotionalism described by so many contemporary scholars.
To concentrate mainly upon the untamed quality of camp
meeting preaching and activity is to limit one's perspec
tive to the earliest years of camp meeting history as well
as to overlook the valuable contribution made by the move
ment in meeting spiritual and social needs on America1s
frontier.
Implications of the Study
A significant question that arises as a result of
355
this study relates to the rhetoric of revivalism in general:
what is the relationship between reasoned discourse and
evangelical Protestant revivalism? The answer appears to
be that the relationship is very weak. But such a conclu
sion should not be interpreted as criticism of Protestant
revivalism, for it is conceivable that reasoned discourse
does not always hold the answers to human problems. Based
on his study of frontier revivalism, Peter Mode concluded:
It is true, of course, that since Moody's day thou
sands of churches still persist in the seasonal spe
cial efforts? nevertheless, the aggregate revivalistic
effort of the last fifty years does not begin to com
pare proportionately with that of the earlier half of
the nineteenth century. Its persistence, moreover, is
especially in areas whose emergence from frontier
conditions is comparatively recent. Urban communities
have been showing increasing disposition to resort to
methods more educational in character. The explanation
of this change is not far to seek. Ministerial forces
have become more adequate to the demands of religious
leadership. The cultural cravings of the ministry have
made itineracy increasingly distasteful. More elaborate
academic training has given preachers an inclination
and aptitude for the reasoned discourse rather than the
emotional appeal. The wider range of human interests
and the contacts among folks, even the most isolated,
with community and national currents of thinking, have
given a wierdness and unreality to appeals that once
were compelling. The latent fear of the frontiersman
so easily played upon by the "hell-fire damnation"
preacher has given way before the complacency of the
comfortable materialism.®
6Mode, pp. 352-353.
356
It is at least surprising that in 1921 Mode could so
easily relegate the "latent fear of the frontiersman" to
the frontier only. Coming away from one of the most disil
lusioning wars faced by his generation, and witnessing the
rise of fundamentalism in conflict with the modernist
movement, it seems strange that Mode found the source of
revivalism to be the primitivism that characterized the
earlier frontier. Ignorance and fear exist in every gener
ation and become the viable qualities to which the rhetoric
of any number of movements is addressed. Religious re
vivalism is only one example.
It is typical that some scholars attribute religious
revivalism to a lack of cultural development and a low level
of education. Both Nottingham and Davenport draw question
able parallels between the emotionalism of the "red hot"
Kentucky revivals and the high incidence of lynchings that
took place simultaneously in Logan County, the Kentucky
7
birthplace of the camp meeting movement. Undoubtedly,
this study has substantiated the fact that the rhetoric of
the camp meeting movement appealed mainly to an uneducated
and superstitious segment of the western population. But
7
Nottingham, pp. 175-176; Davenport, pp. 68-69.
357
to establish education and materialism as the chief level
ing forces of religious revivalism is to discount the recent
rise of religious enthusiasm in twentieth-century America—
in a society that enjoys a high degree of both education
and materialism. Recent revivals of religious interest in
American Protestantism, beginning in the late 1940's with
the Billy Graham crusades, but especially among the college-
age youth of today who are active in such movements as the
well-organized evangelism of Campus Crusade for Christ, or
the more militant Christian World Liberation Front, or the
many "agape" and other similar unorganized expressions of
religious fervency, bear striking similarities to the rise
8
of the camp meeting movement m the nineteenth century.
Such characteristics as emotionalism, the building of a
sense of community, plain and unpolished rhetorical appeals
intended to bring about immediate and personal conversion,
and new forms of folk music fitted with religious messages,
are not confined to revival movements of the past. The
fresh interest in evangelical forms of Protestantism, as
evidenced by the rapid growth of Pentecostal-type churches,
g
For a review of some of the new revivalistic movements
among Protestant youth see "The Jesus Movement Is Upon Us,"
Look Magazine. XXXV (February 9, 1971), 15-21.
358
possibly emphasizes the fact that when society desires
comfort for its fears, or encouragement to counter disil
lusionment, or even redress for its social evils, such
relief is found in something other than well-reasoned dis
course. Waldo Beach, distinguished faculty member of the
Duke University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, pic
tures a dismal mood pervading the American scene to which,
possibly, the above-mentioned religious movements are a
common reaction. He writes:
A common mood of . . . American life, urbanized
and industrialized, is a sense of loss, of bewilder
ment, of moral confusion. In the stead of the positive
terms of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century language—
progress, growth, hope, character, vision— the seman
tics of twentieth-century man is negative: crisis,
dilemma, loss, predicament, anxiety, dread, fear— these
are the key title terms. It is the "Age of Anxiety, 1 1
rather than of hope. This distemper appears in the
areas of an economy of abundance, among people of
plenty, where according to the American dream one would
expect to hear only the idylls of happiness. Instead,
one hears of "a suburban sadness," or dislocation, an
"aimlessness, a low-keyed unpleasure." It is not nor
mally a savage or bitter despair. It is rather a
quiet desperation, a gentle disillusionment, a cautious
despair, a sense of lost purpose. . . .9
When all of the romanticism is swept away, the fron
tiersmen endured similar currents of insecurity and
g
Christian Community and American Society (Philadel
phia, 1969), pp. 93-94.
359
uncertainty due to the very nature of his rugged existence.
He found an element of comfort in such religious activity
as the camp meeting. The rhetoric of the camp meeting move
ment was simple and unadorned. So were camp meeting con
gregations on the frontier. But there is no certainty that
camp meeting rhetoric would have been markedly more sophis
ticated had its congregations been substantially more
educated. Rather, it might be conjectured that the circum
stances of the frontier created an atmosphere of pressing
need where plain and colloquial rhetoric attracted the
masses. Whether it be fear of murderous Indian attack or
disintegration by atomic warfare, when a disquieted society
seeks relief from its apprehensions, the rhetoric of its
popular movements will most probably be plain, colloquial,
and emotional in nature. In essence, religious revivalism,
like political revolution, is most successful when it is
articulated in the tongue of the common man.
The dichotomy of faith and intellect resides inher
ently in human religious affairs, so that in times of crisis
and despair men sometimes find it necessary to subdue the
rational in favor of that which is irrational. John
Mecklin, who traced the history of American religious and
political dissent to its origin on the American frontier,
360
was troubled by the presence of primitivism in evangelical
Christianity which, he maintained, has been traditionally
manifested in the dissenting churches. He wrote:
This atmosphere of primitive realism was taken
over uncritically by the sects. It appears in the
experiences of the early Quakers who found in the New
Testament sample justification for the guidance of
their "Inner Light." It is constantly in evidence in
the biographies of the early dissenting-revivalistic
preachers, such as Cartwright, James, Abbott, and
Garrettson. . . . This naive primitive supernaturalism
has become deeply ingrained in the habits and beliefs
of Americans born and reared under the influence of
the dissenting-revivalistic piety. It constitutes the
deadliest handicap of American Protestantism in its
strenuous efforts to adjust itself to a society that
bases its values upon democracy and looks to science
for intellectual guidance.
But the issue, as this writer views it, is not whether
man should retain his faith in the supernatural. Rather,
it would seem that revivalism with its emphasis upon anti-
intellectualism is a constant expression of a human desire
to be removed from the verities of scientific knowledge and
reason which tells man that there is no hope, and to seek
hope in the intuitive principles of Christianity. The
simple rhetoric of revivalism might be an evidence of man's
desire to fulfill this basic need. The Biblical injunction
~ ^The Story of American Dissent (New York, 1934),
P. 367.___________________________________________________
361
concerning the use of intelligible speech as opposed to
that which is simply "speaking into the air"^ possibly
indicates that wherever evangelical Protestantism enjoys a
revival of interest and participation in an attempt to
capture the primitive faith of early Christianity, such a
movement will be characterized by plain and unadorned
rhetoric directed more to emotional appeal than intellectual
consideration.
The inherency of plain rhetoric in Christian reviv
alism can be further illustrated by comparing the camp
meeting movement with the Finney revivals that ultimately
eclipsed the Methodist efforts at frontier revivalism.
Finney's style of preaching, like that of the camp meeting
orators, was simple and direct. Finney maintained that he
deliberately used language that would be attractive to the
common man. 1 - I e wrote:
Before I was converted I had a different tendency.
In writing and speaking, I had sometimes allowed my
self to use ornate language. But when I came to
preach the Gospel, my mind was so anxious to be
thoroughly understood, that I studied in the most
earnest manner, on the one hand to avoid what was
vulgar, and on the other to express my thoughts
^1 Corinthians 14:9.
362
with the greatest simplicity of l a n g u a g e .12
Finney was an educated attorney, not a backwoods re
vivalist. But his preaching was so similar to that of the
camp meeting orators that, like them, he was criticized by
those who disliked the plain and colloquial style of ora
tory from the pulpit. In fact, Hudson commented that
Finney's preaching was so similar to that of the camp meet
ing, that "in a very real sense, the protracted meeting was
13
the camp meeting brought to town." It mxght be that
Hudson's statement could be broadened to emphasize the fact
that the camp meeting was the epitome of Protestant reviv
alism adapting to particular circumstances and needs, call
ing men back to something more than human strivings and
knowledge. When Mecklin declared that "fundamentalism
insists that if this naive primitive supernaturalism be
rejected it means death of the dissenting-revivalistic type
of piety and the utter collapse of traditional historic
Christianity," it might be that, at this point at least,
12
Charles G. Finney, Memoirs of Rev. Charles G. Finney
(New York, 1876), p. 81.
13
Winthrop S. Hudson, p. 144.
363
14
fundamentalism is correct. It would seem that the rhet
oric of Protestant revivalism will always be simple,
colloquial, personal, and with an emphasis upon emotional
appeal and primitive supernaturalism, rather than reasoned
discourse. When revival movements mature and seek a higher
degree of organization and refinement, then the process
will likely begin anew with fresh revivalism.
A second implication of this study concerns the nature
of rhetoric in human affairs and its ultimate effect upon
society. The definition of "rhetoric" that has served this
study is that of Kenneth Burke and was stated in Chapter I
as "the use of language to bring about persuasion and
15
cooperation." A key term in Burke's rhetorical theory
is "identification," and it is closely related to, if not
synonymous with, another key word, "consubstantiality,"
which Burke evidently borrowed from Christian theology. For
Burke rhetoric springs from the natural division that exists
in human society. Burke has written:
Identification is affirmed with earnestness pre
cisely because there is division. Identification is
compensatory to division. If men were not apart from
14
Mecklim, p. 368.
15
See Chapter I, p. 14.
364
one another, there would be no need for the rhetori
cian to proclaim their unity. If men were wholly and
truly of one substance, absolute communication would
be of man's very essence. It would not be an ideal,
as it now is, partly embodied in material conditions
and partly frustrated by these same conditions; rather
it would be as natural, spontaneous, and total as with
those ideal prototypes of communication, the theolo
gian's angels, or "messengers."16
Burke goes on to say that "one need not scrutinize
the concept of 'identification' very sharply to see, im
plied in it at every turn, it's ironic counterpart; divi
sion" (p. 22). For Burke the term "consubstantiality"
represents the ultimate effect of successful rhetoric, it
springs from identification, it is the oneness between men
arrived at through language. He explains his idea in the
following manner:
A is not identical with his colleague B. But in
sofar as their interests are joined, A is identified
with B. Or he may identify himself with B even when
their interests are not joined, if he assumes that
they are, or is persuaded to believe so. Here are
ambiguities of substance. In being identified with
B, A is "substantially one" with a person other than
himself. Yet at the same time he remains unique, an
individual locus of motives. Thus he is both joined
and separate, at once distant substance and onsub-
stantial with another. (p. 21)
The above statement is strikingly similar to the
16
Burke, A Rhetoric of Motives, p. 22.
365
wording of Christendom's Definition of Chalcedon which
stated that Christ was "of one substance with the Father
regards His Godhead and at the same time of one substance
17
with us regards His manhood." The Council of Chalcedon
sought to explain how two separate natures could exist in
one person (Christ) and yet remain separate and uneffected
by each other, each retaining its fundamental substance
while continually having one common interpenetration. The
resulting doctrine defied analogy.
In the same fashion, Martin Luther sought to explain
the mystery of the eucharistic celebration, and from his
efforts came the term "consubstantiation" to describe what
took place. Luther contended that the substance of the
bread and the wine became fused with the substance of
Christ while, at the same time, retaining the physical ac
cidents of bread and wine. In this fashion the Reformation
idea of the Eucharist differed from the Roman concept of
"transubstantiation," or the idea that the bread and wine
actually changed completely into the substance of the body
17
Henry Bettenson, Documents of the Christian Church
(London, 1947), pp. 72-73.
366
18
of Christ.
When Burke uses the term "consubstantiality" to ex
plain the desired product of rhetoric, he unwittingly ac
knowledges an undesirable by-product of the successful
rhetorical effort: division. And at this point the
Methodist camp meeting movement provides us with a vivid
illustration of the problem facing the rhetorician. The
irony of the camp meeting movement was that while it tended
to produce a sense of community among lonely and isolated
settlers, at the same time it fostered a vivid spirit of
sectarianism that divided Methodist Christians from the
rest of the frontier. The camp meeting was the chief
source of converts to frontier Methodism whose local classes
rapidly filled with neophtes who were taught the Methodist
Discipline and then returned to reinforce the camp meeting
revival. Belonging to the Methodist segment of the family
of God created separation between the individual and the
rest of society whose standards of moral behavior, manner
of dress, and religious practice stood in sharp contrast to
the instructions contained in the Methodist Discipline. As
18
"Consubstantiation" was not Luther's choice of ter
minology, but was adopted by his followers who thought that
the term best expressed the reformer's idea.
367
Finley wrote, Methodists were a "peculiar people in their
personal appearance and manners, and could be distinguished
19
from the world at a single glance."
In addition to their strange conduct, Methodists
countenanced an aggressive spirit of sectarianism in camp
meeting preaching which mitigated against the ecumenical
atmosphere that briefly prevailed in the early years of the
frontier revival. As the years passed, Methodists sought
to preserve the sense of community in the camp meeting
movement by opposing the doctrines of Presbyterians,
Baptists, Shakers, Mormons, and other religious sects that
posed competition to their work. T. Scott Miyakawa, pro
fessor of sociology at Boston University, states that
"accentuating strong denominational loyalty was considered
an easy way to maintain local morale and to promote various
activities; hence, there was no enthusiasm for interdenom
inational co-operation" on the western frontier, and the
camp meeting movement was an excellent example of such
20
division. The result of sectarianism was a multiplicity
19
Finley, Sketches of Western Methodxsm, p. 109.
20
T. Scott Miyakawa, Protestants and Pioneers (Chicago,
1964), p. 128.
368
of small local churches, all competing with each other for
a few citizens of each community and offering little by
way of spiritual strength and vitality that could meet the
needs of their members. Miyakawa contends that "so
thoroughly was this division institutionalized that a cen
tury later it sill remains a major western, indeed American,
Protestant weakness" (p. 129).
A study of camp meeting rhetoric, perhaps more than
any other social movement, provides us with an illustration
of the seemingly inherent divisiveness that plagues human
rhetorical communication. The persuasive plea, regardless
of its intent to establish consubstantiality between men,
necessarily creates separation and further division in
society. The drawing together of individuals in support
of a cause creates distance between them and those who do
not choose to join with them. In the very attempt at pro
viding a sense of community, the camp meeting movement
destroyed other ties that had served as means of identifi
cation between frontiersmen.
Naturally, Burke envisions the process of identifi
cation as functioning on many different levels, so that
individuals who are divided in one area could find common
interests in another. But religious revivalism and
369
sectarianism are probably not as easily opened to consub
stantiality with outside interests as are other types of
movements. For example, a political philosophy does not
necessarily effect an individual's religious commitment.
But religion, on the other hand, often dictates political
allegiance. The camp meeting movement made demands upon
its Methodist constituents by creating a fairly strong anti-’
intellectualism, by attacking other sects and denominations,
by encouraging an enthusiastic form of religious worship,
and by establishing obedience to the Methodist Discipline
as the expected norm for true Christians. The kind of zeal
that was called for by the camp meeting created levels of
identification between its adherents that were sufficiently
strong to create a vital sense of community, while, at the
same time, effectively limiting the areas of identification
with the rest of society that could be distracting to its
members.
The strength of the camp meeting movement in the
earlier years lay in the fact that its leaders could make
severe demands upon their constituency while providing
satisfaction for their needs. As these needs diminished,
a more cosmopolitan spirit pervaded the movement, causing
religious zeal to dampen. It seems obvious that the degree
370
of commitment to any cause or institution is directly re
lated to the number of areas of identification that can be
shared by its adherents and which serve to divide its
members from the rest of society. The rhetoric of the camp
meeting movement attempted to establish a sense of commun
ity among its adherents, but it could not avoid bringing
division among men.
Finally, this study raises some questions concerning
the nature of religious revivalism and the concept of com
munity in Christianity. One scholar has made the following
observation:
One article to which since the Renaissance we have
clung with astonishing tenacity is a humanistic no
tion of the individual. With single-minded intensity
the Western world has concentrated upon man the in
dividual, upon his value, his worth, his rights, and
his freedom with the result that the sense of the
meaning and purpose of community has been evaporating.21
Of paramount significance to the vitality of Christi
anity is the spirit of community, that which theologians
refer to as the "corporate activity" which results from a
"deliberate self-identification of the worshipper with his
21
G. E. Wright, The Biblical Doctrine of Man xn
Society (London, 1964), p. 20.
371
22
fellows." Fredrick William Bush, professor of Old Testa
ment at Fuller Theological Seminary, defines the church not
simply as an institution, but as "the fellowship of those
who believe— life-in-common based on the corporate life of
23
Jesus Christ." Waldo Beach interprets "community" as the
"quality of relationships of men as they stand under the
24
kingship of God."
Jaymes P. Morgan, professor of systematic theology
at Fuller Theological Seminary, points to at least two major
factors which have been influential in eclipsing the spirit
of community in American Protestantism, namely the role of
the frontier and the impact of modern evangelism. The
frontier fostered a strong spirit of individualism which
did not lend itself to religious community, Morgan main
tains, and modern revivalism, he adds, was born on the
25
frontier. Morgan would agree with Winthrop Hudson that
22
E. R. Micklem, "Psychological Considerations,"
Christian Worship: Studies in its History and Meaning by
Members of Mansfield College, ed. Nathaniel Micklem (London,
1959), p. 197.
23
Fredrick William Bush, "The Biblical Basis of Commun
ity, " Theology, News and Notes. XVI (January 1970), 5.
24
Beach, p. 17.
25
"The Eclipse of Community in American Protestantism,"
Theology, News and Notes, XVI (January 1970) . 7,8.__________
372
the Second Great Awakening stands as the "watershed" be-
26
jtween the old and modern revivalism. Hudson differenti
ates between old and modern revivalism on the basis of
technique. Revivalism in the eighteenth century, he cliams,
was spontaneous, while nineteenth century revival ulti
mately became a matter of contrivance and the utilization
of planned spiritual renewal. Charles G. Finney epitomized
this idea when he wrote that revival "is not a miracle, or
dependent upon a miracle in any sense. It is a purely
philosophical result of the right use of the constituted
27
means. . . ."
This study has substantiated the fact that the camp
meeting movement was characterized by an increasing emphasis
upon organization, structure and planning. By the 1840's
camp meeting leaders and orators were directing their
appeals to Methodists in an attempt to re-establish the
sense of community which had been such a vital part of the
earlier and more spontaneous years of the movement's
history. But the message of the camp meeting was still
26
Winthrop S. Hudson, p. 136.
27
Lectures on Revivals of Religion (New York, 1868),
p. 12.
373
preached to the individual. It was an invitation to per
sonal redemption and piety which had become characteristic
of camp meeting rhetoric. Miyakawa contends that the
"introspective and emotional" appeals which characterized
the rhetoric of revivalism in the nineteenth century, and
which this study has shown were an integral part of camp
meeting preaching, tended to dilute enthusiasm for intel
lectual and cultural pursuits as well as to complicate
28
denominational discipline and religious life. He further
explains that by concentrating only on the introspective
and emotional factors, revivalistic preaching interpreted
salvation as a purely "spiritual" process in which the
environment was relegated to the "sensual" or "material"
realm and bore little relevance to spiritual life. The end
result, concludes Miyakawa, was a dulling of interest in
social problems and a waning interest in loyalty to the
church (p. 169). Applied to the camp meeting movement, the
rhetoric of revivalism, with its strong appeal to individ
ualism, actually created an atmosphere which succeeded in
weakening and possibly destroying the sense of community
in American Protestantism, and it was that sense of
28
Miyakawa, p. 169.
3 74
community that camp meeting preachers sought to build. In
a very real sense, camp meeting preaching was self-
defeating.
The problem in attempting to capture the sense of
community in Christianity seems to lie in the limited defi
nition of the idea that appeals to so many evangelical
churchmen in contemporary society. The sense of community,
as it is so clearly emphasized in the New Testament, is not
entirely an internal relationship among those who actively
practice their Christian faith. There is a very real sense
in which Christian community includes a relationship with
all men, both within and outside of the Christian fellow
ship. True community reaches outside the church to offer
all men help and friendship. If the rhetoric of revivalism
confines itself to personal conversion primarily, revivalisit
will never be a potent force in future generations.
Areas for Future Investigation
A movement study, of necessity, deals with the general
rhetorical discourse of a prescribed historical era with
little opportunity for researching, in depth, the abilities,
practices, and effectiveness of individual spokesmen within
the movement itself. During the process of this
375
investigation, the writer has encountered the names of a
number of personalities who made significant contributions
to the rhetoric of the camp meeting movement. The collec
tion of sermons by James Finley, for example, now kept in
the files of the Ohio Wesleyan University library, would
provide fertile ground for a rhetorical study of one of
Methodism's most colorful and capable frontier preachers.
Paul Boase relied heavily on Finley's writings in his study
29
of Methodism in Ohio. But this writer is not aware of
any systematic rhetorical analysis of Finley's preaching
that is available in dissertation or published form. Other
Methodist camp meeting preachers, such as James Axley,
Allen Wiley, George Peck, and William McKendree, would pro
vide excellent subjects for rhetorical studies that would
help complete the historical information concerning frontier
preaching and the camp meeting movement. There are yet
many collections of original materials, relatively untouched
by scholars, waiting in Methodist historical repositories
throughout the country to be catalogued, transcribed, and
examined as the basis for scholarly research.
29
Boase, "The Methodist Circuit Rider on the Ohio
Frontier."
376
The camp meeting movement in England is also an area
that is relatively untouched by scholars. The published
histories of camp meeting Methodists in England barely touch
upon the rhetoric of the movement. Some of the gatherings
at Mow Cop and other localities attracted thousands of
worshippers and became the basis for Primitive Methodism
in England and, later, in America. The rhetorical abilities
of Hugh Bourne and other leaders of the camp meeting move
ment in England, or a movement study of camp meetings in
England, would add significantly to our knowledge of nine
teenth-century revivalism and British public address.
A rhetorical study which would compare the Methodist
camp meeting movement of the first half of the nineteenth
century with the holiness movement of the second half of
the century might provide important insight into the preach
ing of pietistic movements in American history. Finney's
emphasis upon sanctification prepared the ground for an
intense interest among evangelical Protestants in personal
Christian perfection. Hudson contends that the revivals of
the first part of the nineteenth century created a climate
30
for the holiness movement. The national association for
30
Winthrop S. Hudson, p. 342.
377
the Promotion of Holiness was established in 1867 as the re
sult of the remarkable efforts of a Methodist laywoman, Mrs.
Phoebe Palmer. The holiness movement was especially appeal
ing to Methodists who expressed concern over the growing
laxity toward obedience to the Discipline. The result of
the fresh emphasis upon holiness was numerous sects and de
nominations which, by Hudson's estimate, had grown to
slightly more than 1,500,000 members by 1960 (p. 345). Many
of these holiness groups continue to manifest the kind of
rhetoric that was characteristic of camp meeting preaching.
As Ernest Bormann wrote: "Today the heirs of William Henry
Milburn and Peter Cartwright are largely out of style, but
some still speak in small enclaves in the Midwest, far West,
and South, in tabernacles, tents, and camp meetings, over
local radio stations, and sometimes we even hear an echo
31
from the television receivers." A rhetorical study of the
holiness movement would contribute to our further knowledge
concerning the influence of the camp meeting movement upon
subsequent generations of American Protestants. It is quite
possible that the "heirs of Peter Cartwright" are more in
fluential in contemporary Christianity than Bormann was
willing to admit.
31
_______ Bormann, pp. 28-37._____________________________________
B I B L I OG RA PH Y
378
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Good Effects, and Answering the Principal Objections
Urged Against Them. New York: John C. Totten, 1810.
Cooper, Ezekiel and John Wilson. Extracts of Letters Con
taining Some Account of the Work of God Since the Year
1800 (Written by the Preachers and Members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, to Their Bishops). No
city: John C. Totten, 1805.
Dow, Lorenzo. Extracts from Original Letters to the Bish
ops, Mostly from Their Preachers and Members, in North
America Giving an Account of the Work of God, Since
the Year 1800. London: H. Forshaw, 1806.
390
Peck, Jesse T. A Sermon on the Person of Christ. Water
town: n.p., 1836.
A Poem on a Methodist Camp Meeting. Printed for the Pur
chaser, New York: 1807.
Porter, James. An Essay on Camp Meetings by the Author of
the "True Evangelist." New York: Lane and Scott,
1849.
Revival Melodies, or Songs of Zion. Boston: John Putnam,
1842.
Scott, Orange. The New and Improved Camp Meeting Hymn Book:
Being a Choice Selection of Hymns from the Most Ap
proved Authors, Designed to Aid in the Public and Pri
vate Devotion of Christians. Springfield: G. and C.
Merriam, 183 5.
Periodical and Journal Articles
Boase, Paul H. "The Education of a Circuit Rider," Quar
terly Journal of Speech. XL (April 1954), 130-136.
Bormann, Ernest G. "The Rhetorical Theory of William Henry
Milburn," Speech Monographs, XXXVI (March 1969), 28-37.
Bush, Fredrick William. "The Biblical Basis of Community,"
Theology. News and Notes, XVI (January 1970), 4-6.
"Camp-Meetings— What They Are— and What They Might Be," re
printed in the Annals of Southern Methodism for 1855,
ed. Charles Deems, New York: 1856, pp. 370-371
Collins, John. A letter printed in The Methodist Magazine,
II (New York, 1819), 234-235.
Emory, J. "Dr. Ely's Review of 'Methodist Error' Reviewed,"
The Methodist Magazine, II (New York, 1819)^, 429-433,
470-474.
391
Fisher, Walter R. "Method in Rhetorical Criticism,"
Southern Speech Journal, XXXV:2 (Winter 1969), 101-109.
[Fry, B. St. James.] "The Early Camp Meeting Song Writers,"
Methodist Review, XLV (1859), 401-413.
[Hind, Thomas.] "Account of the Rise and Progress of the
Work of God in the Western Country." The Methodist
Magazine, II (New York, 1819), 184-187, 221-224, 272-
274, 304-308, 349-353, 393-397, 434-439.
"The Importance of Study to a Minister of the Gospel,"
Methodist Magazine, VI (April 1823), 142.
"Is the Modern Camp Meeting a Failure," Methodist Review,
XLII (New York, 1861), 582-604.
"The Jesus Movement Is Upon Us," Look Magazine, XXXV (Feb
ruary 9, 1971) , 15-21.
Kane, Murray. "Some Considerations on the Frontier Concept
of Fredrick Jackson Turner," Mississippi Valley His
torical Review, XXVIII (December 1940), 379-400.
Madden, Rev. Thomas. "Good Effects of Campmeetings, "
Methodist Magazine, VIII (New York, 1825), 320-322.
Mercer, Jerry L. "Tongues Phenomena in Church History, "
The Wesleyan Methodist, CXXIV (April 1966), 7-8.
Mode, Peter. "Revivalism as a Phase of Frontier Life,"
Journal of Religion, 1:4 (June 1921), 337-354.
Morgan, Jaymes P. "The Eclipse of Community in American
Protestantism," Theology, News and Notes, XVI (Janu
ary 1970), 7-8, 13.
Nall, Otto. "Enduring Issues in Methodism," Forever Be
ginning: 1766-1966. Historical Papers Presented at
American Methodism's Bicentennial Celebration, Balti
more, Maryland, April 21-24, 1966. Lake Junaluski,
n.p., 1967.
3 92
Shurter, Robert L. "The Camp Meeting in the Early Life and
Literature of the Mid-West," Eastern Tennessee Histori
cal Publication, V (n.d.), 142-149.
[Stevens, Able.] "Methodist Preaching," Methodist Quarterly
Review Northern, XXXIV (New York, 1852), 66-81.
Thomas, John Martin. "Influence of Frontier Life on Ameri
can Christianity," Proceedings of the New Jersey His
torical Society, XI (January 1926), 17-18.
Western Christian Advocate, Cincinnati, Ohio.
"What is the Character of the Methodist Camp-Meetings, and
How Do You Account for the Effects There Produced?"
Christian Disciple and Theological Review. V (Boston,
1823), 170-178.
Manuscript Collections
Daub, Peter. "Autobiography of Peter Daub," Diary MSS
(handwritten), letters and miscellaneous items. Wil
liam C. Daub Papers, Duke University, Durham, North
Carolina.
Finley, James. Twenty-six addresses on slavery, temperance,
and religion. MSS (handwritten), James Finley file,
Ohio-Wesleyan University, Deleware, Ohio.
Henrix, Eugene Russell. MSS (handwritten) including let
ters, papers and miscellaneous items. Duke Univeristy,
Durham, North Carolina.
Iredell, James Sr., and Jr. MSS (handwritten) including
letters, papers and miscellaneous items. Duke Univer
sity, Durham, North Carolina.
Jarratt-Pureyear. Family papers, letters and miscellaneous
items, 1807-1918. Duke University, Durham, N. C.
Swaim, Curran. "A Pilgrimage from Western Virginia to the
City of Gotham in the Year 1852," Lyndon Swaim MSS,
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
3 93
Unpublished Material
Boase, Paul H. "The Methodist Circuit Rider on the Ohio
Frontier." Unpublished Ph.D dissertation, University
of Wisconsin, 1952.
Carter, Ernest. "The Early Camp Meeting Movement in the
Ohio Valley." Unpublished master's thesis, Ohio
Wesleyan University, 1922.
Cutshall, Elmer G. "The.Doctrinal Training of the Traveling
Ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church." Unpub
lished Ph.D dissertation, University of Chicago, 1922.
I
Downey, James Cecil. "The Music of American Revivalism."
Unpublished Ph.D dissertation, Tulane University, 1968.
Enzor, Edwin H. "The Preaching of James McGready: Frontier
Revivalist." Unpublished Ph.D dissertation, Louisiana
State University, 1964.
Howard, Ivan Cushing. "Controversies in Methodism over
Methods of Education of Ministers up to 1856." Unpub
lished Ph.D dissertation, University of Iowa, 1965.
Lloyd, Mark Brooks. "Rhetorical Analysis of the Preaching
of Francis Asbury." Unpublished Ph.D dissertation,
Michigan State University, 1967.
Wilkerson, Kenneth. "A Framework for a Theory of Rhetoric
Based on the Writings of George Herbert Mead." Unpub
lished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Florida,
1968.

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Creator Soderwall, Lorin Harris (author)

Core Title The Rhetoric Of The Methodist Camp Meeting Movement: 1800-1850

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Speech Communication

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest,Speech Communication

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Fisher, Walter R. (committee chair), McBath, James H. (committee member), Miller, Howard S. (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-564234

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Document Type Dissertation

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