THE HISTORY OF THE NEGRO CHURCHBYCARTER G. WOODSON, Ph.D.

TO
THE CHERISHED MEMORY OF
MY MOTHER

ANNE ELIZA WOODSON

PREFACE

The importance of the church in the life of the Negro justifies thepublication of this brief account of the development of the institution.For many years the various denominations have been writing treatisesbearing on their own particular work, but hitherto there has been noeffort to study the achievements of all of these groups as parts of thesame institution and to show the evolution of it from the earliestperiod to the present time. This is the objective of this volume.

Whether or not the author has done this task well is a question whichthe public must decide. This work does not represent what he desired tomake it. Many facts of the past could not be obtained for the reasonthat several denominations have failed to keep records and facts knownto persons now active in the church could not be collected because ofindifference or the failure to understand the motives of the author. Nota few church officers and ministers, however, gladly coöperated with theauthor in giving and seeking information concerning their denominations.Among these were Mr. Charles H. Wesley, Prof. J. A. Booker, and Dr.Walter H. Brooks. For their valuable assistance the author feels deeplygrateful.

CARTER G. WOODSON.

Washington, D. C., September, 1921.

CONTENTS

I.—Early Missionaries and the Negro 1

II.—The Dawn of the New Day 23

III.—Pioneer Negro Preachers 40

IV.—The Independent Church Movement 71

V.—Early Development 100

VI.—The Schism and the Subsequent Situation 123

VII.—Religious Instruction Revived 148

VIII.—Preachers of Versatile Genius 167

IX.—The Civil War and the Church 185

X.—Religious Education as a Preparation 202

XI.—The Call of Politics 220

XII.—The Conservative and Progressive 247

XIII.—The Negro Church Socialized 266

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