The Letters of Johann Ernst Bergmann, Ebenezer, Georgia, 1786-1824

Religion, Community, and the New Republic
Erscheinungsjahr 2022
ISBN: 978-90-04-44902-2
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 12, 522 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 1015 g

Reihe: Early American History Series

The Letters of Johann Ernst Bergmann, edited and translated by Russell Kleckley, chronicles the experiences and perceptions of a German Lutheran pastor called to serve a struggling community in the American South soon after the Revolutionary War. Written mostly to Bergmann’s superiors at the important center of German Pietism in Halle, the letters not only report on conditions in Ebenezer, Georgia, established over a half-century earlier by religious refugees from Salzburg, they also offer a distinctive and often critical look at American culture, religion, and politics from an outsider’s viewpoint. Bergmann stresses the practical and corrosive impact of American notions of freedom in everyday life while also commenting on a wide range of other issues, including Georgia’s relationship with Native Americans and the practice of slavery.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kleckley, Russell C

Weitere Mitwirkende

Gröschl, Jürgen

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Kirchengeschichte Theologenbiographien, Religiöse Führer
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Amerikanische Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Notes on the Translation and the Text

Introduction: A Struggling Community, A New Republic, and an Immigrant Pastor

1 A “Salzburger Saga”

2 Ebenezer

3 Dissension

4 Revolution and War

5 The Aftermath

6 The Early Life and Times of Johann Ernst Bergmann

1 The Lord is Bringing Me to America 1786

2 Nothing but Sorrowful Circumstances 1787–1788

3 Resolved to Persevere in the Georgia Desert 1789–1790

4 Gone to a Dark Place 1791–1795

5 Golden Depictions of American Freedom 1796–1799

6 Some Blessing upon My Meager Labor 1800–1801

7 I no Longer Complain Timidly 1802

8 Through the Great Judgment of God, a Hidden Blessing 1803

9 The American Way of the World 1804

10 Great Distress Everywhere 1805–1806

11 I Have Always Remained at the Place of My Call 1818–1822

Epilogue: My Late Revered Father’s Ministrations 1828–1829

Appendix 1: Chronological Table of Letters

Appendix 2: Persons Frequently Mentioned in Bergmann’s Letters

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Russell C. Kleckley, Dr. theol. (1990, University of Munich), is Professor of Religion Emeritus at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is coeditor of The Letters of Johann Martin Boltzius: Lutheran Pastor in Ebenezer, Georgia (Mellen, 2009).