Among the Early Evangelicals

“readers of james gorman’s illuminating among the early evangelicals will learn a great deal not only about

the origins of the Stone-Campbell Movement, but also about the shaping of early evangelical Christianity in

Britain, Ireland, and America. I recommend Gorman’s book enthusiastically.”

— THOMAS S. KIDD, DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

“Thoroughly informed by transatlantic studies and meticulous in his original research, James Gorman has

provided the most comprehensive account to date of the Campbells’ crucial interconnectedness with their

British evangelical precursors.”

— DOUGLAS A. FOSTER, PROFESSOR OF CHURCH HISTORY, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR RESTORATION STUDIES, ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

“The work of Thomas and Alexander Campbell in creating a new religious tradition that developed into

the various branches of the Churches of Christ and Disciples has been seen as a specifically American

phenomenon. James Gorman shows that such an estimate is a mistake. On the contrary, their program was

rooted in the missions movement of the eighteenth century, culminating in the 1790s, that marked the whole

Evangelical world. By the 1790s, there was enthusiasm for discarding denominational obstacles to the spread

of the gospel in England, Ireland, and Scotland, and the Campbells imbibed that spirit. This book is a major

reinterpretation of the Campbell movement, but it is also more: a case-study that forms a powerful critique

of American religious exceptionalism.”

—DAVID BEBBINGTON, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING

“It’s not every day that a historian upsets the historiographical applecart with new perspectives that

essentially transform the way we understand a given subject, but that is exactly what James Gorman has

done. He has demonstrated that the transatlantic evangelical missions movement of the late eighteenth

century shaped the Campbells’ thinking on virtually all the key issues that defined the Stone-Campbell

tradition—restoration of a simple gospel, missions, the unity of all Christians, and the coming millennial age.”

—RICHARD T. HUGHES, AUTHOR, REVIVING THE ANCIENT FAITH: THE STORY OF CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN AMERICA

contents

chapter one...................................................................... 13

Reframing the Religious and Historical Context of the

Campbell Movement

Chapter Two...................................................................... 25

The Rise of Transatlantic Evangelical Missions in the

Eighteenth Century

Chapter Three.................................................................... 55

The Explosion of Transatlantic Evangelical Missions in the 1790s

Chapter Four..................................................................... 95

Thomas Campbell’s Formative Background in Irish

Evangelical Missions

Chapter Five..................................................................... 125

The Influence of Scottish Evangelical Missions on

Alexander Campbell

Chapter Six ...................................................................... 153

From the British Isles to the United States:

The Christian Association of Washington, 1809–1812

Chapter Seven .................................................................. 189

A Baptist and Anti-Missionary Viewpoint, 1812–1830

Chapter Eight .................................................................. 209

Conclusion: The Campbell Movement’s Roots in Transatlantic

Evangelical Missions

Postscript........................................................................ 215

Viewing Campbell Movement Churches through a New Lens

Bibliography..................................................................... 219