Why Methodism?

How did geography affect the spread of religious revivalism and early Methodism in the early years of the Republic? In terms of numbers, Methodism exploded in terms of popularity during the early years of the Republic, growing from around 1,000 adherents in 1700 to more than 250,000 in 1830 and nearly 500,000 in 1830. [1] Historians of Methodism often point to the frontier, from the prevalence of Methodist congregants in frontier communities and to ability of Methodism to adapt to the environment of the frontier, to explain the dynamic growth of Methodism and other revivalistic religious movements.

But the relationship between the frontier and religion is a complicated one. Frederick Jackson Turner’s theory that the frontier brought about the forging of American identity, an identity that was democratic, individualistic and independent has had a large impact in scholarship on religion in America, as many have applied Turner’s thesis about the frontier to the religious movements that flourished there. The success and expansion of revivalistic traditions such as the Methodist and Baptists can best be explained, for many historians, by the dynamics of the frontier and the desire for religion that worked with the changing frontier culture.

While the Frontier Thesis has been challenged in recent years, the narrative of the frontier as an essential component in the success of revivalism and the history of Methodism can still be heard in discussions of these religious movements. However, there has not been much sustained study of the geographic characteristics of those areas where Methodism and other revivalistic traditions did thrive. Were these really areas on the edges of American society? How did Methodism fare in urban areas? Are there any patterns beyond that of the frontier that can be discerned?

My investigation is motivated by the question of whether geospatial analysis can offer helpful insights to these historiographical questions by revealing informative patterns or point to new areas of inquiry. As a proof of concept, this project focuses on the particular case of Lorenzo Dow, a religious itinerant who canvased the United States during the years of the early Republic promoting Methodism, though not directly attached to the Methodist church. Dow more than most travelled extensively throughout the states and territories during the period when Methodism was expanding. Although he received some endorsements from the Methodist church, he was never giving a license to preach, in part because his desire to travel as the Spirit led put him at odds with the Methodist leadership who preferred to assign preachers to specific circuits. Because of this breath of travel, Dow provides a way of discerning something of the scope of Methodist influence and an analysis of his stops, preaching engagements, and conversion reports provides a way of determining whether his preaching was indeed most successful at the edges of the frontier. 

My source for the details of Lorenzo's journey is his published journal, The Dealings of God, Man, and the Devil; as Exemplified in the Life, Experiences, and Travels of Lorenzo Dow. I translated the information from Lorenzo's narrative into a standardized CSV format manually.