A Missionary of English Civilization to the Piedmont: Backcountry Religion and One Man’s Perspective
During the mid-1700s, the North Carolina backcountry (now known as the Piedmont) was much different than Eastern North Carolina. The Piedmont was a frontier for white settlers migrating mainly from Pennsylvania for religious freedom and opportunities for land and profit. Until then, for the most part only Native Americans lived in the rolling hills of the Piedmont and European fur trappers roamed the land. The varying religious beliefs and practices and independent spirit of backcountry people troubled Anglican and government officials in New Bern. According to historian Richard J. Hooker, Anglican itinerant Charles Woodmason of Charleston, South Carolina, “a missionary of English civilization,” went to the backcountry to convert Piedmont farmers and bring stability and order to the region. (Ironically, Woodmason supported the Regulators in 1771 and their criticisms of government corruption).
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A Missionary of English Civilization
Sources:
Richard J. Hooker, ed., The Carolina Backcountry on the Eve of the Revolution: The Journal and Other Writings of Charles Woodmason, Anglican Itinerant (Chapel Hill, 1953).
By Troy L. Kickler, North Carolina History Project
See Also:
Related Categories: Religion, Political History, Colonial North CarolinaRelated Encyclopedia Entries: Charles Woodmason (1720?-1776?), Herman Husband (1724-1795), Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700-1760), Edmund Fanning (1737-1808), Watauga Association, Edward Vail (1717-1777), Sandy Creek Baptists, John Sevier (1745-1815), Marriage, History of, Shubal Stearns (1706-1771), Johnston Riot Act, Hillsborough Riot (1770), Hillsborough Confrontation (1768), Skimmington, Welsh, Act Concerning Marriages (1669), Affirmations
Related Lesson Plans: Can God Be on Both Sides?: The Role of Religion and Politics during the North Carolina Regulation
Timeline: 1664-1775
Region: Piedmont Plateau