Americans in the mid nineteenth century had a profound sense of religious freedom. According to the First Amendment to the Constitution, Congress could make "no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." At the level of organized religion, this provision meant that each faith had to operate its churches without government assistance. At the personal level, the First Amendment left individuals free to follow their consciences. Even after they joined religious groups, Americans retained their sense of personal control. Individuals or groups were free to reform existing faiths or to create new ones. Many people listened to their religious leaders but arranged their lives in accord with their own personal interpretations.
Between 1850 and 1877 Protestantism was the single largest religious sect in the United States. Protestants did not consider themselves one huge group; they were acutely.....
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