Description
During the American Civil War, the Mennonites and Amish faced moral dilemmas that tested the very core of their faith. How could they oppose both slavery and the war to end it? How could they remain outside the conflict without entering the American mainstream to secure legal conscientious objector status? In the North, living this ethical paradox marked them as ambivalent participants to the Union cause; in the South, it marked them as clear traitors.
In the first scholarly treatment of pacifism during the Civil War, two experts in Anabaptist studies explore the important role of sectarian religion in the conflict and the effects of wartime Americanization on these religious communities. James O. Lehman and Steven M. Nolt describe the various strategies used by religious groups who struggled to come to terms with the American mainstream without sacrificing religious values—some opted for greater political engagement, others chose apolitical withdrawal, and some individuals renounced their faith and entered the fight.
Integrating the most recent Civil War scholarship with little-known primary sources and new information from Pennsylvania and Virginia to Illinois and Iowa, Lehman and Nolt provide the definitive account of the Anabaptist experience during the bloodiest war in American history.Reviews
"The first serious, comprehensive study of this important and neglected subject. A well researched and carefully argued treatment that reminds us that not all churches fell into lockstep support for either the Union or the Confederacy."—George C. Rable, University of Alabama, author of Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg, winner of the Lincoln Prize "I found this book fascinating. It is an easy read, with lots of arresting stories of faith under test. Its amazingly thorough research, which comes through on every page, makes the book convincing."—Al Keim, Shenandoah Mennonite Historian "Mennonites, Amish, and the American Civil War is well worth exploring."—Jack Brubaker, Lancaster New Era "Fascinating even to the lay reader."—Marcia Fulmer, Truth (Elkhart) "Once again James O. Lehman and Steven M. Nolt . . . have produced history of solid quality . . . Thorough on its subject, giving us the basic evidence, anecdotes, and stories with just the right amount of analysis."— "A valuable book that gives Brethren a source to turn to when considering the experiences of our own spiritual ancestors."—James L. Benedict, Brethren Life and Thought
Author Information
James O. Lehman is director emeritus of libraries at Eastern Mennonite University and an archivist for the Virginia Mennonite Conference. He is the author of several books, most recently A Century of Grace: In the Community and around the World. Steven M. Nolt is a professor of history at Goshen College and coauthor of Amish Enterprise: From Plows to Profits and Plain Diversity: Amish Cultures and Identities, both published by Johns Hopkins.
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The Amish and the State