"I, for One, Shall Make No Acknowledgment of Wrong": Race and Sectional Reconciliation in the Reunion of the Episcopal Church, 1865–1866

Abstract

Abstract: This essay examines the circumstances surrounding the reunion of the Episcopal Church in October 1865. Unlike Protestants of other denominations, Episcopalians remained united during the antebellum period but split in 1861 due to political secession. Then, the Episcopal Church reunited just six months after the conflict's end. How could Northern and Southern bishops reconcile their differences? Using the Episcopal Church as a case study in sectional reconciliation, this essay argues that reunion occurred because Northerners acquiesced to terms favorable to white Southerners. Animated by a conservative theological ideology, white Southerners refused to reenter the Church if compelled to admit fault or change their attitudes regarding race, slavery, or secession. As a result, most Northern Episcopal bishops avoided candid discussions of sectional issues, fearing that such debates would jeopardize reunion. White Southern bishops returned to the Church with views similar to those they held during the antebellum era, leading to the continued dominance of white paternalistic control in the Church. The Episcopal Convention likewise provided few resources or opportunities for autonomy or advancement for Black worshippers, causing many African Americans to leave the Church or face being treated as second-class worshippers.