Religion and the Radical Republican Movement

“A distinctive contribution on the influence of Christians on Union politics during the Civil War era.” —Ohio History

Religion and the Radical Republican Movement, 1860–1870 is a study of the interplay of religion and politics during the Civil War era. More specifically, it examines the extent to which religion set the moral tone of the North during the period of 1860 through 1870. Howard focuses on the growing influence of the evangelical and liberal churches during the period. This influence was largely exerted through the agency of the radical Republicans, a faction that took an extreme position on war measures and on reconstruction after the war. This book examines the degree to which radicalism was inspired by moral motivation and the action that followed the moral commitment.

“The author’s prodigious research and stacks of quotations convincingly display the northern church’s commitment to black suffrage and to the era’s important congressional legislation bearing on black rights and other central Reconstruction issues.” —Choice