The Burned-over District: The Social and Intellectual History of Enthusiastic Re

The Nile on eBay   The Burned-over District by Whitney R. Cross

During the first half of the nineteenth century the wooded hills and the valleys of western New York State were swept by fires of the spirit. The fervent religiosity of the region caused historians to call it the "burned-over...

FORMATPaperback LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description

"Burned-over District was a name applied to a small region, during a limited period of history, to indicate a particular phase of development. It described the religious character of western New York during the first half of the nineteenth century. Time, subject, and area have thus all combined to confine the scope of this book. The study has nevertheless seemed rewarding, mainly because its implications transcend all three limitations. "The meaning expands in a geographical sense because this one area provides a case history in the westward transit of New England culture. Likewise, it is representative as a sample of the change from youth to maturity in a single section affected by continuing westward movement. The subject of religion has broader significance in this period and locality than might at first appear. This section was the storm center, and religious forces were the driving propellants of social movements important for the whole country in that generation. As far as time goes, this book is an illustration of the way in which the minds of one era help to form the destinies of succeeding generations.Neither the causes of the Civil War nor the origins of national prohibition, to cite only two prominent examples, can be thoroughly understood without reference to the Burned-over District."-from the Preface

Author Biography

Whitney R. Cross (1913-1955) was born in Rochester, New York. He received his Ph.D. in history from Harvard University in 1945. Cross served as the first head of the Local and Regional History Collection at Cornell University and held teaching positions at Connecticut College, Smith College, and West Virginia University.

Table of Contents

Preface List of Maps BOOK I. ORIGINS: 1800-1825 Chapter 1. The Great Revival Chapter 2. Yankee Benevolence Chapter 3. Premonitions BOOK II. ENVIRONMENT: 1825-1850 Chapter 4. Canal Days Chapter 5. Social Patterns BOOK III. PORTENTS: 1825-1831 Chapter 6. The Martyr Chapter 7. Yorker Benevolence Chapter 8. The Prophet Chapter 9. The Evangelist BOOK IV. GENESIS OF ULTRAISM: 1826-1837 Chapter 10. New Measures Chapter 11. New Men Chapter 12. New Ideas BOOK V. HARVEST: 1830-1845 Chapter 13. A Moral Reformation Chapter 14. Perfect Sanctification Chapter 15. Schism Chapter 16. The Pattern of Dispersing Ultraism BOOK VI. AFTERMATH: 1840-1850 Chapter 17. The End of the World Chapter 18. Utopia Now Chapter 19. World without End Chapter 20. The Passing Era Appendix. Notes on Maps Index

Review

"The remarkable flowering of spiritual activity in the 'burned-over district' has long puzzled historians; but until this book never received full-length treatment. Cross roamed the archives and manuscript repositories of western New York; he went through the files of obscure country newspapers and forgotten religious magazines; and the result of his patient and exact research is a major contribution to American social and intellectual history. He has drawn the social background of the burned-over district in rich detail and amplitude. Moving out of this background, he can bring revivalism, Mormonism, and the other new sects into fresh and enlightening perspective. His comments on Joseph Smith, on Mormonism and the frontier, on the development of Finney's theology, on the entry of Swedenborgianism as a catch-all for the ultraist faiths, and on the vagaries of spiritualism are the product of sharp insight and steady judgment... Cross has written an indispensable chapter in our intellectual history."-Arthur Schlesinger Jr., The Nation "The title of this volume would lead the reader to believe that only a microcosmic study of nineteenth-century religion in upper New York had been covered. However, it soon becomes evident that the scope of the book is much wider. It is an intensive study of the social, cultural, economic, political, and ideological causations of the great religious upheavals of the time and their far-reaching effects upon American culture."-Pennsylvania History "This tour through the psychological highways and byways of enthusiastic religion is richly rewarding."-Mississippi Valley Historical Review "This is an excellent piece of social historical writing."-American Journal of Sociology "Cross has given us by far our best record of a famous chapter in the history of American religion."-Church History

Long Description

During the first half of the nineteenth century the wooded hills and the valleys of western New York State were swept by fires of the spirit. The fervent religiosity of the region caused historians to call it the "burned-over district."

Review Quote

"This tour through the psychological highways and byways of enthusiastic religion is richly rewarding."-Mississippi Valley Historical Review

Details ISBN0801492327 Author Whitney R. Cross Short Title BURNED-OVER DISTRICT Publisher Cornell University Press Language English ISBN-10 0801492327 ISBN-13 9780801492327 Media Book Format Paperback Imprint Cornell University Press Place of Publication Ithaca Country of Publication United States Edition 1st Illustrations 25 Maps Pages 382 DOI 10.1604/9780801492327 UK Release Date 1981-12-31 AU Release Date 1981-12-31 NZ Release Date 1981-12-31 US Release Date 1981-12-31 Year 1981 Publication Date 1981-12-31 Subtitle The Social and Intellectual History of Enthusiastic Religion in Western New York, 1800–1850 Alternative 9780801477003 DEWEY 269.24097479 Audience Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly We've got this

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