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1. Essays

Universalists on the Prairie

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By Jeremy J. Brigham, Cedar Rapids, Iowa for presentation at the Prairie Star District Professional Leaders Meeting, April, 1986

Theme

The theme of this paper is the planting, flowering, and withering of Universalism as a denomination in the Prairie States—Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota. To understand the growth of Universalism at all, we need to understand the appeal of the Prairie States to New Englanders in the period after 1830. It was a prime agricultural area, in the northern part of the country, which would be sympathetic to the style of personal integrity of these people—anti-slavery, temperance, woman’s rights, positive outlook on the human career. The debates that characterized New England and upstate New York would be shifted west of the Mississippi. My thesis is that Universalism grew in the early stages (1830–1860) in reaction to theological damnation, which was perceived as morally repugnant. It flowered in the period from the Civil War to the beginning of the 20th century. This had to do with the conjunction of its positive view of the human career and the encouragement to women to enter its ministry. It withered in the period from 1900 to 1930 and beyond because of growing urbanization, the rise of a male-dominated work force and ministry, and the great dashing of hopes for humanity caused by the event of World War I. The growing strength of Unitarianism was also a factor in the downfall of Universalism.

Background

What needs to be said about Universalism? I will assume some common understandings of the role of George de Benneville in the Philadelphia area, of John Murray in New England, of Elhanon Winchester up and down the East Coast, all in the 18th century. I will assume an understanding of the rural character of Universalists, and an awareness of the major conflict about Universalists at the beginning of the 19th century, between the Restorationists and the Death and Glory Universalists. Will the soul pay for the sins of the body?

I will assume an awareness of the method of extension practiced by the Universalists—circuit-riding on the frontier. I am assuming more, also, in order to get on to the story of Universalism on the Prairie, our chief topic of interest today.

Prairie States (1830–1860)

Two events of significance to Universalism occurred in the Prairie States in 1838—both of them in Iowa. One was the arrival of Abner Kneeland in southeastern Iowa, where he established his utopian commune, “Salubria.” The other was the gathering of Universalists in the then-state capital, Iowa City. Three years later a pair of events in the same places is of further significance. In 1841 Salubria folded and the Universalists in Iowa City organized.

This is important because Kneelandism became the point of attack for the Methodist revivalist, Peter Cartwright. Kneelandism was the godless atheism Cartwright came to cleanse Iowa of. The Universalism in Iowa City became the center point for its further growth in Iowa.

To understand the place of Universalism, we need to understand that Methodism and Congregationalism were the dominant pioneering denominations to enter the area: Methodists through camp meetings and itinerant ministers; Congregationalists by establishing an “academy” in Denmark in southeastern Iowa; and through the “Iowa Band,” graduates of Yale who came to Iowa and settled over churches, serving often 30–40 years. These two denominations characterize the dilemma Presbyterians, who cooperated with the Congregationalists in those years, often face—that between “order” and “ardor.”

Universalists, on the other hand, adopted the method of the Methodists in using circuit riders, but instead of rousing camp meetings, they would hold public debates seeking to demonstrate a superior understanding of the Bible over against whatever opponents would accept the challenge of the debate. The Universalists also depended on publishing books and pamphlets as a way of carrying their word to the larger public.

Two of the early circuit-riding public debaters were T. H. Eaton and Erasmus Manford. Manford in 1873 published 25 Years in the West, in which he describes this method and its effect. He had traveled from Ohio to Kansas, from Minnesota to Missouri, braving the elements and the arguments.

Based on information in Dorothy Grant’s 1964 study, Universalism in Iowa, 1830–1963, 19 societies were organized in Iowa by 1865. There were doubtless other groups, perhaps without buildings, which organized during that period. In other states the only Universalist church I know established during this time was the First Universalist Church in Minneapolis, established in 1859.

Universalism From 1865–1900

Hosea Ballou had died in 1852. His son Hosea Ballou II carried on the family leadership in Universalism, and became its first historian. Adin Ballou, a cousin, founded Hopedale, and promoted non-violent resistance, contributing to its use and promotion by Tolstoy, Gandhi, and M. L. King, Jr., and current leaders in the Philippines and South Africa. Horace Greeley founded the New York Tribune in 1841 and promoted all forms of social reform leading up to his presidential race against U.S. Grant in 1872. Losing the election, he also lost his mind and died shortly thereafter. Still, prior to 1872, he was a leading figure on the Universalist scene, helping them shift from a primarily theological stance increasingly toward a universal brotherhood, social reform stance.

A major characteristic of Universalism in this period was its receptivity toward women as ministers. Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois, became the first college to accept women as students when it opened in 1851. Other Universalist colleges were among the leaders in accepting women as students, and Universalist conventions were the first to ordain women into the ministry. Olympia Brown, Antoinette Blackwell, and Augusta Jane Chapin are among the best known figures in this movement.

Less well known is the involvement of Julia Ward Howe. We remember her primarily as the author of the poem “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” However, she was a major figure in the organization of woman’s clubs during the period after the Civil War. She also provided leadership for the establishment of the Woman’s Ministerial Conference in 1874, working together with Olympia Brown and others. This nationally known figure provided tremendous support and encouragement to women who sought a more prominent role in public life.

The role of Unitarian/Quaker Susan B. Anthony, Universalist Clara Barton’s work, and Unitarian Dorothea Dix in leading the fight for woman’s suffrage and social reforms is intricately connected to the rise of Universalism in the Prairie States. Further, we should not overlook the prominence of Mary Livermore, who was tremendously encouraging to the aspirations of women in the Universalist ministry. When we look at the interconnections between these people, the dynamism of their lives and the times is palpable.

The role of women contributed considerably to the rise of Universalism in the Prairie States in the latter third of the 19th century.

Prairie States (1865–1900)

After the Civil War the nation began to move into a new phase of life. The Prairie States were directly in the path of some of the greatest growth at this period of our history. The population of Iowa, for instance, grew from about half a million in 1865, to one and a half million in 1875, and over two million by 1900. The other states grew at a similar rate.

The Universalists grew also during this period, sprouting all over the prairie. Often the churches were small, serving only a handful of families. They were under attack by other denominations and, drawing from their tradition of public debate, attacked in return. Fiercely independent, it was difficult to form state conventions with any clout, let alone national organizations. It was hard to raise money to pay the ministers, or to support the theological schools. The 1870s were a time of financial crisis, with many banks closing in panic, compounding the problem.

One of the strengths during this time (primarily 1865–1915) was the role of women in the denomination. In the 1975 study of the Universalist Historical Society, 24 women are listed who at one time or another served churches or were ordained in the Prairie States, most of them in Iowa, but some in Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas. Women ministers were also involved in attempts to establish churches in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Fargo, North Dakota.

Many of these women shared a position with their husbands, and some continued on after their husbands died or if single continued in lay positions after marriage.

Among these churches are Mitchellville, Boone, Mt. Pleasant, Manchester, Osage, and Waterloo in Iowa; in Minnesota were Albert Lea, Olmsted, Rochester, Anoka, and Owatonna; in Kansas, Concordia, Delphos, and Seneca; there was one woman each in Nebraska and Kansas who carried on circuit-riding efforts for several years. Women were instrumental in establishing a Universalist church in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1870, but financial problems overwhelmed it in the 1890s. Unitarians took over the property when they organized in 1898.

Some of the women served several churches and helped to build a sense of community and continuity in the region. Among them were Augusta Jane Chapin, who served Mt. Pleasant in 1868–69, Iowa City in 1870–74, and Omaha in 1894–96; Mary Garard Andrews, in Mitchellville and Boone, Iowa in the 1880s; Sophonia L. Burch Watson Cram, in Boone and Manchester in the 1890s; Jennie Lyon Bartholomew Hitchcock, Laddonia, Missouri, and Boone, Mitchellville, and Osage, Iowa, in the early 1900s; Effie McCollum Jones, Waterloo in the 1890s with her husband, then as a widow from 1904–1916, and later in Webster City from 1922 to her death in 1952; and Laura Bowman Galer in Mitchellville in the ’10s and in Mt. Pleasant from 1922–49. Many of the women served Iowa churches early in their careers and then went West and East to larger communities or went into other educational or publishing careers.

Unfortunately, the story of the male ministers of the same time is not nearly so well told, or I have not found the resources for it. Here lies a project for the future!

Turn of the Century

Nationally, there were some shifts in ground among the Unitarians and Universalists that affected the growth and direction of each of them.

The World Parliament of Religions was held in Chicago in 1893. Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Executive Secretary of the Western Conference of Unitarians, was a leading figure there. Augusta Jane Chapin was also one of the directors and organizers. After this, Unitarians moved more in the direction of seeking a common basis for religion across the world. Universalists, however, began to move back in the direction of a Christian-centered religious expression.

Early Twentieth Century on the Plains

In Iowa the Unitarians and Universalists began to have triennial joint state conventions, often in Boone. At this point the number of Unitarian and Universalist churches was about the same—eight each.

Records of the conventions of 1911 and 1914, found at the State Historical Society, are instructive. Topics considered were social settlements, missionary movements, the Bible and Jesus in the life of today, and a consideration of “What is the Matter with the Church?” Participants in 1911 included Joseph Fort Newton of Cedar Rapids and Johnson Brigham of Des Moines, the state librarian and a cousin of Brigham Young. In 1914, churches represented among the trustees were Webster City, Boone, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Mt. Pleasant, Osage, and Mitchellville. The major address was given by Jenkin Lloyd Jones, “The Gates to the Future Stand Wide Open.”

The Withering—Why?

What brought about the withering of the Universalist churches?

One factor that may relate to the decline of Universalism is the growth of the lodges—Freemasons, Odd Fellows, and others. Henry Lafayette Gillespie wrote a pamphlet in 1910 comparing the relative size of Universalists and Freemasons, finding them parallel up to 1850, but with the Masons greatly superior by 1900. Their philosophy paralleled the Universalists in some regards, but Gillespie found them narrow. Their appeal was to men, their charity was limited to their members, their meetings were closed and secret. Gillespie pointed out how it was the lodge men who made the decision to close down some of the struggling churches in small communities—Strawberry Point, Manchester, and Greeley, Iowa, for example.

Universalism came to the Prairie States as the frontier opened up. It debated other religions, but never successfully established the organization necessary to sustain itself and continue to grow. Following the Civil War, it often preached a social reform message and was strengthened by being the only denomination women could preach in until the Unitarians began to accept women. At the time of the Unitarian Iowa Sisterhood, the women Universalists were also strong in the area. But with the demoralization of First World War, urbanization, and the westward movement drawing youth away from the Prairie States, and possibly the growth of the lodges drawing on Universalist theology but narrowing it, Universalism entered into distinct decline.

Probably the greatest problem it had was its own lack of clear and coherent response to the times as they changed. Some Universalists aimed for universal brotherhood, others sought to spread Universalism as a Christian denomination worldwide, and still others sought to spread the social gospel.

After 1900, there were no more new Universalist churches in the Prairie States and a rapid dying off of many. The Cedar Rapids church, begun as Universalists, went through a liberal Christian phase under Joseph Fort Newton from 1908–17, and became Unitarian in 1928. The Waterloo church merged in 1962 with the Cedar Falls Unitarian fellowship. Universalist churches in smaller communities found other routes. The church in Mt. Pleasant merged with the Congregationalists. The church in Mitchellville sold its property to the state of Iowa to use for weddings, funerals, and other appropriate functions. The church in Webster City continued longest, finally becoming inactive about 1980. Thus the era of Universalism in Iowa drew to a close, leaving behind a legacy of much excitement, challenge, and in the first half of the twentieth century, a warm family feeling. It is an important part of our heritage, from which we can gain strength.

Resources

Background material

Historical documents

Contemporary studies of Universalist history

Interviews