Date of Award
5-1969
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
History
Abstract
If the Virginia denominations could have forecast President Lincoln's request that the Commonwealth supply 2,340 troops to enforce the suppression of her sister southern states, unanimity would have prevailed from 1859 onward, and this paper would be unnecessary except for a single statement: The religious elements in Virginia endorsed secession. Although many of the clergy professed gifts of prophecy, their vision was eternal rather than secular. A religious calling meant exemplary stewardship as God's vassal, and as such their interests and concerns transcended political affairs. The men of the cloth kept abreast of current events, but as God's vice-regents, felt a responsibility not to blemish their religious calling in unsanctified, mundane matters. The attitude of Virginia to the developing secession crisis was reflected in the attitude of its religious community.
Recommended Citation
Sweet, Leonard Ira, "The Virginia Protestant reaction to the secession crisis : October 1859-May 1861" (1969). Honors Theses. 799.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses/799