Northern evangelicals of the era backed antislavery and immigrant public schooling

Evidence

While it is true that many Southerners, notably James Henley Thornwell and Robert Lewis Dabney, defended slavery, many evangelicals in the North sought to end the scourge of slavery. Some evangelicals were caught up in nativist sentiments, but a far greater number supported such initiatives as public education, known then as common schools, so that the children of immigrants and those less fortunate could toe the ladder of upward mobility. “Common schools are the glory of our land,” a writer declared in the Christian Spectator, “where even the beggar’s child is taught to read, and write, and think, for himself.” — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith, 48

Categorization

• XREF: Contrasts with the later chapters’ premise that the Religious Right’s race politics grew from Southern segregationism, not northern reformism. — connects to: Northern evangelicals led abolition and common-school movements for poor and immigrant children — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the…, 47; American evangelicalism was politically reformist long before it aligned with the right — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the…, 41; Antebellum evangelicals pursued education, prison reform, women’s rights, and even gun control — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the…, 46 (+1 more)

Related

• Northern evangelicals led abolition and common-school movements for poor and immigrant children (similarity 0.94)
• Antebellum evangelicals pursued education, prison reform, women’s rights, and even gun control (similarity 0.86)
• Antebellum evangelicals campaigned for causes the modern Religious Right opposes (similarity 0.82)
• American evangelicalism was politically reformist long before it aligned with the right (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Northern evangelicals led abolition and common-school movements for poor and immigrant children #corroborates (0.95) — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith, 47
• Antebellum evangelicals campaigned for causes the modern Religious Right opposes #expands (0.90) — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith, 47
• American evangelicalism was politically reformist long before it aligned with the right #expands (0.85) — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith, 41
• Antebellum evangelicals pursued education, prison reform, women’s rights, and even gun control #expands (0.85) — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith, 46