"The passing of reformed theology as a major influence in American life during the nineteenth century was not a spectacular event, and its mourners have been relatively few. Calvinism, when it is mentioned, is still often portrayed as a dark cloud that hovered too long over America, acting as an unhealthy influence on the climate of opinion. Nonetheless, the transition from the theologically oriented and well-formed Calvinism characteristic of much of American Protestantism at the beginning of the nineteenth century to the nontheologically oriented and often poorly informed conservative Protestantism firmly established in middle-class America by the end of the same century remains a remarkable aspect of American intellectual and ecclesiastical history. The twentieth-century attitude, itself a product of this transition, has placed strong emphasis on nineteenth-century Protestant activities - their organizations, their revivals, and their reforms. The mind of American Protestantism in these transitional years deserves at least equal consideration." -from the Introduction

Vol. for 1958 includes also the Minutes of the final General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church of North America and the minutes of the final General Assembly of the Presbyteruan Church in the U.S.A.

This book provides a history of Presbyterians in American culture from the early eighteenth to the late twentieth century. Longfield assesses both the theological and cultural development of American Presbyterianism, with particular focus on the mainline tradition that is expressed most prominently in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He explores how Presbyterian churches--and individuals rooted in those churches--influenced and were influenced by the values, attitudes, perspectives, beliefs, and ideals assumed by Americans in the course of American history. The book will serve as an important introduction to Presbyterian history that will interest historians, students, and church leaders alike.

This book deals with the history of the particular American religious sect which, because of its large and varied membership, its intellectual vigor, and the part played by its clergy in shaping public thought, affords the richest field for a study of the influence of religious organizations upon American life. The story of the struggle of the Old School Presbyterian leaders to choose between their desire to avoid a break in their church and their feeling that it was their duty to voice their loyalty to the Union forms an interesting and illuminating commentary on the problems of the troublous times of the War of the Rebellion. The minor Presbyterian groups played varying parts, but always occupied more than their proportionate share of public attention because each met its own problems with a characteristically Presbyterian individuality. Professor Vander Velde's monograph is important not only for American religious history but also for the fact that it illustrates how closely Church and State were related during the Civil War period.