Document Type
Book Review
Publication Date
Spring 2009
Abstract
To Connecticut’s Congregational ministers, something had gone wrong. Hardly had independence been won when ordinary people began challenging elite authority at home. In the newer settlements of the Old Northwest, many former Connecticut residents did not even go to church, an activity that had long been at the heart of the commonwealth. Without religion, not only would individuals be condemned to live their lives without knowing God, but society would also dissolve as individualism and egalitarianism replaced the hierarchical organic social order that had long held people together. Something had to be done. People were starving for religion, and they needed access. Members of Connecticut’s elite Standing Order, the small group of elected officials and state supported ministers who had long presided over Connecticut, saw themselves as entrusted with the responsibility of looking out for the good of their fellow citizens. They would not let their emigrants down.
Publication Title
Journal of Interdisciplinary History
Volume
39
Issue
4
First Page
471
Last Page
495
Recommended Citation
Neem, Johann N., "Creating Social Capital in the Early American Republic: The View from Connecticut" (2009). History Faculty and Staff Publications. 2.
https://cedar.wwu.edu/history_facpubs/2
Subjects - Topical (LCSH)
Associations, institutions, etc.--Connecticut--History; Civil society--Connecticut--History; Community organization--Connecticut--History
Geographic Coverage
Connecticut
Genre/Form
articles
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
