Lutherans in the 19Th Century United States

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Lutherans in the United States1800-1900 by Scott Petri, February 3, 2007

Lutherans in the 19th Century United States

The role of religion is critical for understanding the unfolding of US history in the 19th century. Please select a religious group who were active in the US’s 19th century (sect, denomination, or the like) and answer as many of the following questions as possible (hint – don’t be afraid to ask for help from librarians):
1. What was is approximate size overtime (1800, 1820, 1860, 1900)?
2. What was its ethnic composition? Did this change over time?
3. What were its core beliefs that set it apart from other groups?
4. Who were some of its leaders?
5. Did the group have tendency to support one political party over another? If so, why?
6. What was its position on slavery, if any?
In order to get a passing grade for this assignment, you must include footnotes or a bibliography stating where your information came from. (3-7 pages)
When completed please email to

Scott Petri

History of the United States 1800-1900

UCLA Extension

February 3, 2007

The Roman Catholic Church essentially ruled Europe life during the Middle Ages, however, the reform movement started by Martin Luther (1483-1546) led to a remarkable break with the Church. Already weakened by recurring bouts of the Black Plague that killed off 75 million Europeans between the 1340s and 1700s, the Catholic Church lost even more power after the Protestant Reformation. Reformers like Wycliffe, Luther, Calvin and Hus created new branches of Christianity. During this chaotic period, the Lutherans, Calvinists, Anabaptists and Presbyterians who emerged after the Reformation did not always see eye to eye on religious matters. Much like the modern-day Shi’ite and Sunni Islamic population in Iraq, these sects found it difficult to get along with each other, not to mention the Catholics. Conflict was frequent and bloody. Emigrating for religious freedom became not only popular, but necessary.

Freedom to practice one’s own religion was a powerful magnet. Religious sects residing in intolerant regions became eager to emigrate to the new world. The New World became a place where rulers could get rid of radical sects. Thus, most of the earliest settlers in the United States had a zeal for religion. Understanding this background, it is easy to see how religion had a significant impact in the colonization of the United States and in the formation of the republic itself.

One of the first groups to migrate was the Lutherans. This paper will discuss the origins of Lutheranism, outline the core beliefs in the religion, profile individual Lutheran leaders, analyze their political affiliations and examine the ethnic composition of Lutherans between 1800 and 1900. Finally, I will conclude by noting Lutheran contributions to American culture.

Origins of Lutheranism

Lutheranism began in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517. Protesting corruption in the Catholic Church, German Monk, Martin Luther, nailed his ninety-five theses, or complaints to the door of the Castle Church. Followers of Martin Luther spread throughout Germany and the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland. Lutherans created an independent church in each country. However, as the Lutherans arrived and diffused throughout the United States, each linguistic group established its own autonomous church. Thus, national origin and language became what defined the Lutherans more so than religious denomination.[1]

Lutheranism was brought to the new world by the colonists of New Nether land and New Sweden. The first Lutherans to head to the Americas settled in the West Indies.[2] In 1619, before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, a Lutheran pastor named Rasmus Jensen (1579–1620) was part of a Dutch colony on Manitoba in Hudson’s Bay. This is now known as Fort Churchill, Canada’s only port to the Artic Ocean. Only three survivors made it back to Denmark the following spring. Lutherans would not set foot in North America again for the next 100 years.[3]

Lutheranism was first established by Swedes in Fort Cristina, (now Wilmington, Delaware) on the Delaware River in 1638[4]. The Swedes were joined by German Lutherans who began settling in Pennsylvania in the last half of the 17th century.[5] These colonists spread Lutheranism throughout the Middle Colonies in the 18th century.[6] By 1750, there were 40,000 Lutherans in Pennsylvania.[7] By the end of the American Revolution, there were 120,000 Lutherans in 300 congregations in the United States.[8],

The Second Great Awakening (1790-1830) expanded Protestant Christianity as many Americans were attracted to the preaching of spiritual equality. This Second Great Awakening was responsible for creating new denominations of already existing churches.[9] Lutheranism expanded significantly under these favorable conditions.

Core Beliefs

Lutherans believe that Jesus is the Savior and that God exists in the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. They believe in a literal interpretation of the entire Bible. Lutherans along with the Catholics and the Orthodox Christians emphasize liturgy. Unlike the Catholics, however, Lutherans only use two sacraments 1) baptism and 2) the Eucharist. Founder Martin Luther rejected the Catholic idea of a celibate priesthood because it had no biblical basis.[10] Luther also rejected other Roman Catholic practices like making pilgrimages, radical fasting, wearing hair-shirts, and using the rosary. Because Lutherans could interpret the Bible for themselves, various individual church leaders have caused division in the Lutheran community, often splintering from the “mother” church and forming an additional synod, or church government. Different synods observed strict rules of separatism from their previous churches and as a result, unification was difficult for the Lutherans to achieve.

Lutheran Leaders

The separatism embraced by Lutherans made it difficult for them to form a cohesive voting bloc like the Irish did with the Democratic Party in New York. This made Lutheran candidates better local candidates than national candidates. John Lind (1854-1930) was a Minnesota Lutheran who was elected to Congress three times and then switched parties from Republican to Democrat to become the Governor of Minnesota.[11] However, John Hanson (1750-1783) was regarded by some as the first President of the United States. Hanson was elected in 1781 under the Articles of Confederation, and served a one year term. His father was a Lutheran pastor.[12] Frederick Muhlenberg (1750-1801) was also a Lutheran pastor and the first Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Internationally, astronomer, Johannes Kepler, mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz and philosopher, Immanuel Kant were Lutheran thinkers that helped lay the foundations for modern science. Minister and publisher, William Alfred Passavant (1821-1894) devoted his life to establishing benevolent institutions. He and his wife established the first Protestant hospital in America.

Political Affiliations

Lutheranism encouraged separatism. Thus, it is difficult to gage their earlier political affiliations. Many German-speaking Lutherans were British loyalists or Hessians who fought as mercenaries in the American Revolution. Many of these German-speaking Lutherans were slow to assimilate. They established German newspapers and schools. After the war, many were discriminated against. The following passage by Ben Franklin illustrates this discrimination.

And now they are coming to our country in great numbers. Few of their children know English. They bring in much of their own reading from their homeland and print newspapers in their own language. In some parts of our state, ads, street signs, and even so me legal documents are in their own language and allowed in courts.

Unless the stream of these people can be turned away from their country to other countries, they will soon outnumber us so that we will not be able to save our language or our government. However, I am not in favor of keeping them out entirely. All that seems necessary is to distribute them more evenly among us and set up more schools that teach English. In this way, we will preserve the true heritage of our country.[13]

Despite this discrimination, many English-speaking Lutherans were willing to participate in mainstream American culture. As interpreters of the Bible, many Lutherans recognized the ethical and scriptural implications of the slave system. They lined up along moral principles and showed sympathy for anti-slavery and temperance movements.[14] As early as 1845, the Pittsburgh Lutheran Synod called slavery “a moral and national evil.”[15] While many Lutherans agreed with this statement, others believed that the Bible provided a divine decree for slavery. Dr. Carl F.W. Walther (1811-1887), however was convinced that the scriptures supported slavery.[16] Thus, it cannot be said that the Lutherans were not involved in slavery. John Bachman (1790-1874), a South Carolina pastor said the prayer at the convention when South Carolina voted to secede.[17]

Although voting records cannot be produced to support this, it can be generalized that most German and Scandinavian Lutherans would be considered conservative in terms of their morality, being that they take the Bible literally, and as such Lutherans were probably more likely to have voted Republican that Democratic.

Ethnic Composition of Lutherans in the United States

Lutherans have traditionally come from Germany and Scandinavia, specifically the countries of Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Many Lutherans spoke different languages and had slightly different beliefs about specific scriptures. Churches split along linguistic and nationalistic lines. New immigrants were problematic, because their background was different from “Americanized” Lutherans who had been in the New World for generations. The Lutherans continued to split into several synods and argued over “what was truly Lutheran in faith and practice.”[18]

During the 1830s and 1840s, Lutherans fled from Prussia, Saxony, Norway, and Sweden for political, religious, and economic reasons.[19] Between 1840 and 1875, massive immigration from Lutheran countries took place. During these years, fifty-eight new Lutheran synods were formed in the United States.[20]

Conclusion

The Lutherans came to this country between 1800 and 1900 often bringing nothing with them, but their religious convictions. Since they believed in the literal interpretation of the Bible, they trusted that God would provide for them. Taking a leap of faith, they left their homelands and founded communities and churches throughout the Middle Colonies and the Midwest. Lutherans along with other Protestant sects like the Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists contributed toward this country’s hardworking Christian heritage and strong moral backbone. Lutherans established schools and made moral issues the centerpieces of their lives. A disgraced Lutheran would confess his sin with great sorrow in front of his entire congregation. The truly repentant were forgiven by both God and the flock. In short, Lutherans are most likely proud to live in the “red states.” Leaders of the Lutheran movement were often pastors themselves. Lutheran men of science made contributions in Philosophy, Mathematic and Astronomy. Moral absolutism weighed heavily on Lutheran political affiliations. Debate over many issues caused schisms and the creation of new synods. The ethnic composition of Lutherans between 1800 and 1900 was largely German and Scandinavian. German Americans were the largest self-reported group in the 2000 U.S. census.[21] Finally, Lutherans and their sense of piety and morality established schools and institutions of learning that contribution to American culture continue to this day.

Although this is out of the scope of this paper, I stumbled upon a listing of famous Lutherans and thought I would share ten of the most interesting in my humble opinion.

1. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) Astronomer.
2. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Composer.
3. Steve Jobs - Co-founder of Apple Computer.
4. Dr. Suess aka Theodore Geisel
5. Kris Kristofferson (b.1936) singer-songwriter, actor
6. Gary Larson, Cartoonist, The Far Side
7. Robert Cade, inventor of Gatorade
8. Troy Aikman, NFL quarterback
9. Dale Earnhardt (1951-2001 ) NASCAR driver
10. Lou Gehrig, baseball player[22]

[1] Encyclopedia of American Religions by J. Gordon Melton Thomson Gale; 7th edition (December 2002) Ch. 5 Lutheran Family, p. 62

[2] http://www.elca.org/communication/roots.html accessed February 1, 2007

[3] Encyclopedia of American Religions by J. Gordon Melton Thomson Gale; 7th edition (December 2002) Ch. 5 Lutheran Family, p. 62

[4] Encyclopedia of American Religions by J. Gordon Melton Thomson Gale; 7th edition (December 2002) Ch. 5 Lutheran Family, p. 63

[5] IBID

[6] http://www.answers.com/topic/lutheranism accessed February 1, 2007

[7] Lutheran Church in North American Life edited by Groh & Smith, Clayton Publishing, C 1979, p. 178

[8] Encyclopedia of American History. http://www.answers.com/topic/lutheranism accessed February 1, 2007

[9] America: A Concise History by Henretta et al, St. Martin’s Press C. 2006, p.277

[10] Encyclopedia of American Religions by J. Gordon Melton Thomson Gale; 7th edition (December 2002) Ch. 5 Lutheran Family, p. 62

[11] Lutheran Church in North American Life edited by Groh & Smith, Clayton Publishing, c 1979, pp. 15-16

[12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Lutherans#Politicians_and_Statesmen_.28United_States.29 accessed January 31, 2007

[13] They Are Not Like Us http://education.indiana.edu/cas/tt/v2i2/they.html accessed June 11, 2006 for a lesson on immigration. Franklin Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, &c. (1751)

[14] Encyclopedia of American History http://www.answers.com/topic/lutheranism accessed February 1, 2007

[15] Lutherans and Politics by Norman A. Graebner, Lutheran Church in North American Life edited by Groh & Smith, Clayton Publishing, C 1979, p. 14

[16] Lutherans and Politics by Norman A. Graebner, Lutheran Church in North American Life edited by Groh & Smith, Clayton Publishing, C 1979, p. 13

[17] http://www.elca.org/communication/timeline/1813.html Accessed February 2, 2007

[18] The Lutherans in North America by E. Nelson Clifford, c. 1975 by Fortress Press, p. 127

[19] Encyclopedia of American History. http://www.answers.com/topic/lutheranism accessed February 1, 2007

[20] Roots of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, http://www.elca.org/communication/roots.html accessed on February 2, 2007

[21] German Americans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German-American accessed February 3, 2007

[22] Famous Lutherans in America http://www.faithlutherangroton.org/famous.html accessed February 3, 2007