“Paul Has Been Forgotten”: Women, Gender, and Revivalism during the Gilded Age

Abstract

During gigantic urban revivals in 1875 and 1876, the Chicago-shoe-salesman-turned-religious-evangelist Dwight Lyman Moody set the northern United States ablaze with the fires of a great religious awakening. Over two million Americans of all Protestant affiliations attended his meetings in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, New York City, and Chicago. Although his popularity had been unrivalled, Moody worried about his campaign that would begin in Boston in 1877. To carry the day, he knew that he would need the help of “the New England women.” “What a power they would be,” Moody claimed. For this reason, he sought out Frances E. Willard, an up-and-coming female leader and temperance advocate. When the two met, the evangelist asked, “Will you go with me to Boston and help in the women's meetings?” After considering the invitation for several days, Willard agreed to join him. She did more than merely minister to women, however. On one occasion, as she recounted later, “Mr. Moody…placed my name upon his program” to “literally preach” to men and women. Willard wondered aloud if the sight of a woman preaching would shock the audience: “Brother Moody…, perhaps you will hinder the work among these conservatives.” Responding, Moody “laughed in his cheery way, and declared that ‘it was just what they needed.’”