The Bible, Slavery & the American Civil War

This class surveys the history of the Bible in the United States from the War for Independence through the Civil War. It is a case study designed to sharpen awareness of how intellectual assumptions, cultural conventions, engrained interests, and spiritual motives shaped the understanding and application of Scripture. 

Special emphases in this course include: how Scripture was enlisted to both defend and attack the American slave system; how that interpretive conflict exerted long-term consequences for the churches as well as the nation; why African American approaches were so distinct; what role the Bible played in the Civil War; and how Canadian history differed from this American history.