"The Kingdom of Matthias" by Johnson and Wilentz examines the remarkable stories of two nineteenth century New Yorkers who are dramatically transformed by the Market Revolution and the Second Great Awakening. The authors masterfully weave Elijah Pierson and Robert Matthews through the wider tapestry of these major economic and social movements with great dramatic effect. In other words, this work reads more like a novel than a work of history; many historians do not write as gracefully or engagingly as Johnson and Wilentz.
Let’s start with Pierson who leaves the patriarchal, tradition-bound world of Morristown, New Jersey to seek his fortune in New York. While only 50 miles or so separate these two places, Pierson was entering an alien world when he crossed the Hudson River. What exactly was so socially jarring for Pierson in the big city? Why does his experience in New York lead him to reject the world he had grown up in, as Johnson and Wilentz assert: “By the standards that Elijah Pierson would later adopt, the immutable inequality of this tight-knit patriarchy was a perfect model of injustice” (17). Or more directly, in what ways did the Market Revolution and Second Great Awakening converge in Pierson’s story and transform him into a wealthy reformer who actively criticized the world in which he was raised. Finally, what do you make of Pierson’s growing religious fervor in chapter one? Is this simply the natural path of a devout Christian towards deeper connection with the divine, or did he become, as the authors contend, the “obviously deranged Elijah Pierson” (44).
Now, if you agree with the authors regarding Pierson’s mental instability following the death of his wife, what do you make of Robert Matthews? He too is swept up by the Market Revolution. But his success as a shopkeeper is brief, unlike Pierson who navigates this new economic world towards great personal wealth. Why does Matthews fail while Pierson succeeds? On the religious side of things, why does Matthews aggressively reject the tenets of the Second Great Awakening, a movement that Pierson embraced? Finally, does Matthews’s story in chapter two suggest the state of derangement that the authors apply to Pierson? Johnson and Wilentz write on page 66: “Hearing all this, Margaret began to believe that her husband, quite apart from his physical ailments, was periodically insane.” Does his behavior support Margaret’s suspicions?
For your post, respond to one of the issues I’ve raised and work off the related questions I’ve posed. You may also include direct responses to some of your classmates’ postings if and when appropriate. Be sure to include specific references to the text (quotes) in defense of your assertions. And finally, please read the “Kingdom of Matthias Blog Instructions” for guidelines before you compose. These instructions can be found under the “News” section on our Edline class page. I look forward to reading your blogs and be sure to post by midnight on Sunday, November 8.
In Morristown, there were not nearly as people and the whole community was closely knit together. There was not as much of a difference between the poor and the rich. They all helped each other no matter what. Pierson’s family was not the richest family in Morristown, but his family was very well respected because they had been there for so long and his family co-founded the Church. Also, in New York Pierson was not able to have a big family like his forefathers who had families with ten and seven children. This was because he did not have time to raise that many kids and was forced to keep to himself if he wanted to make a good living. At the age of thirty he was still by himself. As he grew older he started to look to religion. This changed his life. When he met Sarah they started going to the Five Points and helping prostitutes save their lives. They created their own asylum for prostitutes who needed a safe haven so they can get off the streets. In my opinion Pierson eventually became crazy. When his wife died, he prayed at the funeral for hours trying to resurrect her the dead. This was the point where he began to go crazy. Then he spent the following years preaching everyday and praying every night, waiting for the day that Sarah would return to him. This is not the behavior of a devout Christian, but of a man who has gone crazy over the death of his wife. Even Sarah’s father, Reverend John Stanford, considered Pierson to be crazy. He loved his daughter and was very religious, but when he saw how Pierson was taking the death of his wife, he never mentioned his name again because he was going crazy.
ReplyDeleteThe Kingdom of the Matthias is a well written novel that vividly portrays the economic and social changes the United States experienced during the 19th century. I enjoyed reading this book because it was written in the form of a novel to deal with such a heavy topic as the religious reform, making it easier to understand. Through the experience of two significant figures in the novel, Elijah Pierson and Robert Matthews, the readers are able to understand the confusion and fascination Americans felt due to the emergence of the market economy and the Second Great Awakening.
ReplyDeleteDespite the fact that both Pierson and Matthews headed for the city in search of new opportunities and acceptance, they experienced different results. Pierson left Morristown and headed to New York for economic success. But his first encounter of urban life was rather shocking. “The richest men in New York drank wine and courted women,” and the poor “lived beyond the reach of Christian influence” (19). But he soon found spiritual comfort from the new evangelicalism, especially due to his lover Sarah, “that questioned the entire formula about fatherhood and God he had taken with him from Morristown” (21). I believe Pierson’s such readiness in accepting the new trend resulted in his own success. While he was a brilliant businessman, he also understood the importance of gender roles and retrenchment, and thus gained wide support. Although he acted silly in the end trying to resurrect his dead wife, he came to have deeper relations with the God.
On the other hand, Matthews failed to embrace the popular change, which led to his own downfall. Just like Pierson, Matthews came to the city as a carpenter seeking fortune. However, it seemed he was unable to adapt to the new environment. Although he showed his interest in the new religion, Matthews was not able to fully escape from his old beliefs: “John Calvin’s God had spared Robert Matthews’s soul” (61). He believed that men had the natural right to instruct women, and thus was a bad husband who did not make any profit and even harassed his wife. Near the end, I believe the author depicted Matthews as an insane person who believes himself as “Matthias, Prophet of the God of the Jews” (84). He believed he had received God’s order and started to grow his beard to resemble Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, despite his great efforts he gained little support from the public.
Pierson’s move to New York was so jarring because of the vastly different social classes as well as the different environment. The social classes are strikingly different from the ones back in Morristown. There are still both rich and poor, but, in New York the wealthy did not value religion as much. Even the rich people who still went to church had a skewed idea of what church really was. “The few who went to church attended elegant Episcopalian and Dutch Reform establishments that, to Elijah’s way of thinking, were more social clubs for the rich” (19). Back in Morristown Religion was priority, and the richest or most important people would get the honor of sitting up front in Church. The poor were also different in New York. Religion takes a back seat in the lives of the many poor people. Most if not all did not go to church. Pierson even describes them as “Vicious” (19). Back in Morristown even the poor would participate in religion even if they had to sit in the back of the church.
ReplyDeletePierson changed after he came to New York. He did not marry early like others did in Jamestown. Instead, he pursued his career and focused on his wealth. He didn’t have time for children or woman at first. This is how he quickly became a very wealthy and important individual. He made religion a very important thing in his life. Then he met Sarah, who he fell in love with and caused him to leave Brick Presbyterian. This is when he truly abandoned Morristown’s old ideas of religion and a tight knit community.
I completely agree with Logan. Pierson’s religious change is not natural. His actions after the death of Sarah become more and more strange until the point where he becomes completely insane. At first his actions just seem a little odd, like fasting for days. But, after Sarah dies and Pierson tries to resurrect her you can tell he has completely gone off the deep end.
The migration form Morristown to New York was a large transition for Pierson. In the town of Morristown, there was little social separation and people worked together as a community. He and his family had an active role in their community with participating in the church. Pierson left Morristown to go to New York to gain economic advance. I think Pierson was overwhelmed with the differences of New York to Morristown and the unfamiliar social separation. New York had very obvious social separation compared to Morristown. It was shown that the action of community was much less in New York than in Morristown. Also in Morristown the whole community valued church and religion. However in New York, this desire to practice religion was primarily shown just within the poor class and somewhat ignored by the wealthy. Since he focused mainly on his career in New York he did not have much time to try and marry and have a family. He focusing on his career also resulted in the absence of religion in his life. However later in his life he decided to focus more on religion. This changed him completely in that he became happier inside. He also found his life partner, Sarah which contributed to his happiness. Later on she passed away and he prayed for a long time trying to resurrect her from the dead. I have to disagree with Logan on his point that he became crazy. I do not think he became crazy, just that he was very upset for the loss of his lover. I think his actions have nothing to do with being crazy and I think he still remains a devout Christian.
ReplyDeletePiersons migration from Morristown was a huge shock in terms of social status, religion, and population and environment. Where he was from there was not a huge difference between the rich and the poor and everyone worked as a community, whereas in New York there were huge status differences. Peirson did succeed in New York but his success prevented him from having a family which he most likely would have had in Morristown. Religously, everyone in Morristown went to church. In New York church wasn't a big issue, some people went others didnt and some who did go had a flawed vision of what it really should be. New York was also much more culturally diverse than Morristown; there were a lot of similarities between the residents of Morristown but in New Tork everyone was different.
ReplyDeleteLater in his life he became happier because he became more spiritual and he fond a lover, Sarah. But after Sarah died he became very unstable. He started praying for her to come back to life which is somewhat normal when she first died but he kept it up for years which is why i think he is crazy. No sane person would pray for and belive their lover to be resurected years after their death.
-Matt
Pierson's arrival in New York was socially jarring because of how different the social classes were. Morristown was centered around the ideas of religion, family and a tight knit community. The people of New York seemed to function with their individual benefit and mind. Many seemed to have no room for religion in their lives like the religious Morristown. "The poor were different too. There were untold thousands of them, and they occupied their own neighborhoods and lived beyond the reach of Christian influence and paternal benevolence." (19) This shows how the rich and poor were seperated and utterly sacriligious.
ReplyDeletePierson changed from his experience in New York. He was raised on the beliefs of making a family and living in a tight knit community where everyone looks out for each other that was centered around the church. He takes up the New York life and focuses on his financial welfare, throwing out the ideas of starting a family.
The impact of the second great awakening can be seen in the effects that it has on the religious fervor of Pierson. After his love sarah dies, Pierson tries to use this newfound religious power within him to try and bring her back to life. This can also be an indicator of mental instability within him.
What was particularly unsettling to Pierson was the stark contrast in religious belief between the people of New York and pious Calvinists of Morristown. In New York, the wealthy were either Episcopalian or some other non-Calvinist, Protestant, relgion; and the poor "lived beyond the reach of Christian influence." Pierson, initially feels a little put off by this difference and possibly a little left out. These feelings would later lead to him into joining the new class of evangelicals devloping in New York, and eventually to leaving his Calvinist church. Pierson felt welcomed by the evangelicals. He also viewed their piousness as being familiar, reminding him of Morristown. Pierson's leaving of his own church could also be attributed to his own disenchantment with the "old system" as a whole. Afterall, Pierson was pretty much forced to go to New York, because under the old system he would not have gained anything from his father's estate. All of it would have gone to hs older brother. Pierson could have been a little embittered by this, thus leading to his leaving of the church. As far has his grwoing religious fervor goes, it seems tha Pierson was intially swept up in the community but, eventually just went crazy, as Logan said. It is unknown how this craziness developed, it could have always been there, it could have been drug induced, or it could have been caused by the fasting and otherwise diet he had. Either way, his little journey was not the natural path of a devout Christian.
ReplyDeleteMatthews is obviously equally as crazy as Pierson, although it seems that Matthews may have always been crazy. I think that Matthew's lack of success in New York may contributed to his rejection of the new religious reform that Pierson is involved with. Matthews is jealous of people like Pierson and therefore tries to go against them any way he can. Also, it seems that Matthews is too firmly set in the old traditons to change
Pierson endured a hard change when he migrated from his home in Morristown to New York. Although the two cities were not far away from each other there was a huge difference between the two. Not only were the environment and population different in New York; the practice of religion and separation between social classes was also a great change for Pierson. The first major change Pierson had to adapt to was the population change in New York relative to Morristown. There was a much larger population in New York than he was used to. Pierson also had to deal with a visible separation between social classes. In Morristown there was little separation between the people and everyone was very unified and acted as a community. In New York it was just the opposite, there was clear separation between rich and poor and most people had no interest in living as a community. The two cities were very close to opposites religiously as well. In Morristown religion was a common thing among most people but in New York religion was not as common especially among the rich.
ReplyDeletePierson’s new life in New York was quite different from his life in Morristown and in many ways it rejected his old life. He started to become involved in new evangelicalism which did not agree with the importance of family and religion that he had in Morristown, “Elijah found himself immersed in a new evangelicalism. Although he could not have fully realized it at the time, he encountered a religious life that questioned the entire formula about fatherhood and God he had taken with him from Morristown.” (21) This contributed to him putting his interest in his career instead of family and God. Although he did temporarily go away from religion he did eventually come back.
After Pierson meets Sarah and then she later dies, he becomes obsessed with praying for her and trying to bring her back to life. At first it is not crazy for someone to feel sad and try anything they can to turn it around but what Pierson did took it too far. In this case I agree with the authors when they say that he has become deranged.
In this book, Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz cleverly enlighten their readers of the social changes, as well as, the religious revolutions that took place during the 19th century, through a more appeasable form, a novel. Instead of using the lengthy historical documentaries to portray their message, they have found a way to capture the basic ideas of this time and make it enjoyable for the general public, myself included.
ReplyDeleteWhen Elijah Pierson decides to move to New York City, from Morristown, he did so for one reason only, economic success. However, when he decided to make this great change in his life, he came to New York with certain ideals already programmed into his head: “For generations of Piersons it had been a workable formula for decency and order in this world. Almost certainly, Elijah carried that formula in his head…he left Morristown…” (17) When he arrived in New York, however, he was appalled to find that the social structure was completely skewed from what he was accustomed to. “Elijah and his colleagues were a decided minority; classes of people above and below them cared nothing for the old rural pieties.” (19) The rich didn’t have any decent respect for religion, and when they “attended” church, it was more of a “social club for the rich.” (19) Not too much differently from the rich, the poor were completely beyond the effects of Christianity as well. Stricken with poverty, alcoholism, and prostitution they were clearly in desperate need of guidance, according to Pierson. This experience of his completely altered his perspective of the world and led to his rejection of his previous beliefs. He began to use all of his will and time for the simple gain of money. “Early marriage, a large family, and the assumption of fatherly pretensions would have doomed him to failure.” (20) His prior settlement’s belief in a large family, for example, would have to be at least postponed, for there was no room for children in his completely work-driven life. This notion may have created him a successful merchant, but as the author states, “His passage from youth to manhood was deferred and confused.” (20)
Perhaps one of the greatest things going for Pierson was his involvement in religion. Although it completely deranged his prior beliefs on God and man in general, he found love, friendship, and the formation of “his life as a new kind of Christian man.” (21) In my opinion, it is because of these results that he completely rejects his prior religious beliefs, not because he wants to create “deeper connection[s] with the divine.” And in the end, he loses his mind over the loss of his most beloved, dear wife, Sarah, but even before that he was already starting to lose it mentally. Even some evangelicals of the day began to doubt him: “More cautious evangelicals shook their heads at the antics on Bowery Hill.” (33) When someone claims that they are a prophet, spoken with the Holy Ghost and have “fasted for two days and three nights straight,” (32) people are soon going to be questioning his legitimacy. He doesn’t, however, completely retard his widespread religious preachings until the death of his wife. Completely insane, he attempted to resurrect her through the power of The Lord: “Sarah, he said, had died in the faith that she would rise again.” (39) After her death, and his antics at the funeral, he lost much support from the masses, lost his social relationship with John Stanford, and lost the mission to a man by the name of John McDowall. Thus, it is quite clear that Elijah simply had instability with his mentality, not a deeper understanding of God.
Pierson left Morristown ultimatly for economical reasons. Although the two cities are not that far away from eachother the difference was substantial. Back in Morris town Pierson's family was highly involved with the church in the community where the was a small seperation between the different major social classes. In New York, however, there was still the rich and poor yet, the rich did not play a major role in the religious aspect of life. They didnt value religion like the people of Morristown did. The poor, in NewYork, rarely if ever even went to church. Pierson described the poor as, " brutal men with whiskey bottles, children who ran loose and seem to have no homes".(19)
ReplyDeletePierson was differnt from poeple at home. He didnt marry early like most of the men did in Morristown. After he met Sarah, his lover, he began to truely eliminate his ways of his old town. He began to adopt new evangelicalism. This led the way for him to care more about his career and economic succes rather than God and the importance of family.
The second great awakening can be seen throughout this part of the novel how the relgious influence impacts Pierson. After Sarah dies, he begins to pray for her return to earth showing is intability in life. I disagree with John and Logan because he is just mourning the loss of his loved one. There is nothing wrong with that, he still shows his religious beilifs through this.
Part One of “The Kingdom of Matthias” tells a rather fascinating tale of the rise and fall of two prominent figures in American history, Elijah Pierson and Robert Matthews. Though both traveled to New York in search of the same thing, i.e. wealth, Pierson was much more successful and his story is perhaps more interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhen Pierson left New Jersey for the big city of New York, his desire laid mostly in any monetary value he could gain from such a move; thoughts of drastic social reform were certainly not on his mind. He grew up “from one of the most important families in the history of American Puritanism. His great-great-great-grandfather was the Reverend Abraham Pierson… who… led the Puritan migration out of New Haven Colony to Newark…” (14). Pierson, his family, and basically the entire community revolved around “Morristown’s First Presbyterian Church [of which] [t]he Piersons had been founding members…” (15). As a young boy, he grew up learning that the father was the sole person in charge of the entire family, as the Romans called it, “pater familias.” This “formula” (17) was made obvious to him, and there was no doubt in his mind that this was the case.
Upon arriving, he was immediately taken up by the ongoing market revolution and became one “of Pearl Street’s leading merchants…” (18). However, soon Pierson was also enveloped by the powerful Second Great Awakening that was changing cities all throughout Northern America. He noticed that few people went to church, men knew little to nothing about God, and there were a lot of poor people roaming the cities. He was taken up by the huge religious and social reform movement and became an active member and leader of it. Soon, he dropped his patriarchal ways and eventually found his first and true love, Sarah Stanford, a woman who “embodied the virtues of the new evangelical woman… She was more substantial… more cultivated, self-assured, and openly loving than the farm wives he had known in Morristown” (26). Sarah opened up his life and broadened it from just a market-based one to one at the heart of the religious fervor and social reform movements. Truly, it was Sarah who, more than anyone, originally got Elijah Pierson so involved and enamored with the passion to reform the city and a institute a more equal society that he was so famous for by the end of his life.
Finally, once Sarah dies, Pierson becomes almost intoxicated with the religious zeal around him. As Peter mentioned, it was normal for him to go a little bit crazy and pray much more and get more involved, considering his wife had just died, but then it went way too far. It seems as if he did become a bit “deranged” and even his followers took note of it: “over the years after Elijah’s attempt to raise Sarah, his old evangelical friends abandoned him one by one” (43). Slowly, the influential and loved Elijah Pierson, began to lose his most trusted friends and supporters and he lived the rest of his life virtually alone.
This is a great book that helps people to see the severe differences undertaken by the United States during the 19th Century. Instead of it just telling us exactly what was happening during this time period, the author really lets us feel what is going on.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Kingdom of Mattias" we see the journey of Elijah Pierson and Robert Matthews. Pierson's journey went from one end of the spectrum to the other. The differences he went through were vast. This is extremely apparent through looking at social status, religion, and their overall environment. The status of these two were still poor and rich, but in New York this diffference was much bigger. Back in Morristown people could be poor and still be somewhat respected. Pierson was not among the elite, but his family had a long standing tradition which gave them status. In New York it was much different. I really like Johns point and quote about how the rich didnt value religion as much. His quote was “The few who went to church attended elegant Episcopalian and Dutch Reform establishments that, to Elijah’s way of thinking, were more social clubs for the rich” (19). In New York the rich went to church as part of their routine not really knowing why they were going, they just knew that they should go. However, back in Morristown both classes, rich and poor, went to church for the purpose of learing about God. The rich people would just get the priveledge of sitting closer in Morristown. I agree 100% with John on this. Nice work John. Back in Morristown their was a sense of group togetherness and the commmunity was like a tight nit family, but New York was TOTALLY different. Pierson completely forgot all of his old ways and decided to try to advance his career as much as possible instead of having a family. On top of this he ended up leaving his church, which was a major part of his life, because of this girl named Sarah. When he did this he kissed the ideas from Morristown goodbye. In Morristown the society was pretty much the same, but in New York it was musch more diverse.
When Sarah died Pierson became very upset. He cried and prayed for her just like any normal person would, but he kept on doing this for years to come. As Logan said, when he was trying to ressurect her we know he has clearly became insane.
-JD
Of course Pierson was a bit shocked when he moved across the Hudson River, he had previously lived in a “quiet corner,” where things were kept fairly simple. One of the main shocks for Elijah was all of the poor people that surrounded him. He hadn’t been around the poor very much where he grew up and when he saw “brutal men with whiskey bottles, children who ran loose and seemed to have no homes, gaudily dressed girls who strolled the sidewalks and smiled at gentlemen…”he was appalled by such “squalor.” Elijah had always been a religious person and when he and Sarah were together his religious views blossomed into something new. I thought it was nice of them to seek out those women who had nothing and show them that they could still be saved. It was a kind move that helped many women out of their difficult positions… to some extent. I thought it was somewhat absurd, however, that Elijah tried to bring his wife back from the dead. Who would do something so silly? I’m sure he believed that god was speaking to him and telling him that he could do it. There is a certain line, though, that he crossed over. Being a religious person is fine, but believing that you have so much power that you can revive someone? And putting yourself in front of everyone? You only end up looking like a crazy person. I’d have to agree with the authors who say that Elijah Pierson had truly become “deranged.”
ReplyDelete-alicia-
Elijah Pierson, like many others of his time, moved to New York. Lke it would be to anyone who moved from a small family orientated Puritan town to a large city, Elijjah became absorbed in the city. Manhattan was completely different from Morristwon. Elijah grew up with family sability ("The Piersons always sat in the same place...")(16), This father set the example for how money wasnt made for yourself, but for you family and slaves. As Elijah starts making money in New York, wealth becomes his goal. While in Morristwon the poor and the rich were connected by religion and
ReplyDelete"...family ties..."(16), in New York, the poor were completely disconnects from the wealthy. the change of religion bewtten Elijah's old town and NEw York became apparent when he asked church goers about God and they responded with "[God] was a warm-hearted gentleman like [ourselves]"(19) moving was a culture shock. Elijah began to reject his old ways and adapt to life in New York. Like many New Yorkers, he waited untill he was older for marriage and mainly focues in his job and earning money. I think that if Elijah had stayed in Morrisville, and Sarah had died there, that he would have handled her death differently than he did. Even thouugh Elijah began to fit-in with New York, the cuty changed him. New Yorkers additude towards religon and moral values affect Elijah drastically. I belive that is he had stayed in Morristown with the strong religous and family structures that he would have been able to cope much better and not go nuts
In "The Kingdom of Matthias", Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz successful managed to teach their audience about the Market Revolution and the Second Great Awakening through the lives of two real men of this era: Elijah Pierson and Robert Matthews. This is a truly unique novel in the sense that everything written in it is entirely historically accurate, but the writing style is colorful and illustrative, a trait uncommon in history books. For this reason, I find this novel more intriguing than I find my history textbook, for example. Also, it speaks to me on more of a personal level than strictly an educational level, which helps me to better understand how severely the Market Revolution and the Second Great Awakening affected Americans' lives.
ReplyDeletePierson had lived his entire life as a small-town boy in Morristown, New Jersey. In this small community, everyone shared essentially the same religious beliefs and had similar moral structure. Pierson moved to New York desiring great personal wealth, which he eventually obtained, and he carried his beliefs from his "old life" with him to the city. Pierson's move from life in the small torn to the big city was unconventional for the people of his time, however. He did not marry or have children until he had established himself as a prominent figure in the market economy. It is even mentioned in the text that "his passage from youth to manhood was deferred and confused" (20). This shows just how competitive life was for the working man who wanted to make a name for himself in the time that the market economy emerged.
Upon seeing the prostitutes, drunkards, Sabbath-breakers, and other corrupted peoples openly roaming the streets of New York, Pierson's perception of the world undoubtedly shifted and he was forced to question his own morality. To see such a dramatic separation between social classes was absurd to Pierson. Integration of the crippled, widows, and poor into everyday societal events was a pedestrian occurrence in Morristown. Further alteration of Pierson's societal views occurred when he became leader of a missionary soceity in the city. "He had encountered a religious life that questioned the entire formula about fatherhood and god he had taken with him from Morristown." (21)
In conclusion, I believe that Pierson's questioning of his prior religious and soceital views was healthy because of his dramatic change of environment. Things hit a "crazy" note, however, after the death of Pierson's beloved Sarah. Because life in the city had altered the beliefs that had been hammered into his moral code growing up, Pierson already had a profound confusion. When his wife died, i believe it overwhelmed him to the point of insanity. He had depended on religion his entire life to give him solace and comfort, so he turned to it in his harrowing grief. He, however, went too far. His act of praying for her resurrection years after her death... That goes beyond being a confused, grief-stricken man. Pierson was off his rocker.
In the novel “The Kingdom of Matthias,” authors Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz describe the life of a man named Elijah Pierson, who, although was raised in New Jersey, lives a significant part of his life in New York. As Pierson moves from his hometown in New Jersey, to New York, he witnesses differences in the two said societies and experiences some changes himself.
ReplyDeleteElijah Pierson’s hometown of Morristown, New Jersey, this town is “the example of mutual care and obligation (17).” In this town, “widows stayed warm in winter, deaf people took the best seats in church, and men like Usual Crane kept their dignity (17),” and to an outsider, social classes were not clear cut or apparent. But when he arrived in New York, Elijah finds different social classes that are very apparent and had their own characteristics: “The richest men in New York drank wine and courted women who wore jewelry and silks; the worst of them even kept mistresses,” and the poor included “brutal men with whiskey bottles, children who ran loose and seemed to have no homes, gaudily dressed girls who strolled the sidewalks and smiled at the gentlemen who passed them by (19).” Another huge difference Elijah saw in New York, versus Morristown, was that not everybody seemed to be leading a religiously proper life. Even “the few who went to church,” went to churches that were like “mere social clubs for the rich (19).”
Once Elijah Pierson arrives in New York, he experiences the Market Revolution and Second Great awakening first hand, which would make him reject the ways of the town he grew up in. Unlike what his hometown showed him- about working together with other people to make them all feel equal (socially)- when he gets to New York, just like others who experience the Market Revolution, he “lived simply and saved his money, and he postponed his comforts and responsibilities of marriage (18)” In other words, he lived his life in a way that would benefit and make him successful, and once he becomes successful, would take care of others. Also, once he got to New York, he left the traditional patriarchic system of Morristown, and considered females to be almost equal to him, because he joined “Reverend Gardiner Spring’s Brick Presbyterian Church,” a result of his first hand experience with the second Great Awakening (20). One result of this new belief he adopts is his marriage to Sarah Stanford just on the basis that he felt that they were meant to be together.
I personally believe that after Elijah Pierson went through all of that religious fervor, as the authors claim, he became the “obviously deranged Elijah Pierson (44)” because talking to Jesus Christ himself on a weekly or monthly basis is not something a divine Christian would do; because trying to raise a woman who just passed away from the dead is not something a divine Christian would do- it is what a “deranged” person would do. In my personal opinion, a devout Christian would simply worship the lord and follow His commandments, not try and be like Him.
Maria
The historic novel written by Johnson and Wilentez was a truly masterful piece of work. These two authors deliver a dense historic account of the lives of two men in a palatable and enjoyable manner.
ReplyDeleteElijah Pierson, bred out of the small community in rural Morristown, New Jersey, was profoundly taken aback by the different society in Manhattan, New York. Back in Morristown, Elijah noted that “social hierarchy and domestic order were as unproblematic as such things can be” (14). In Morristown, all the people in the town, rich or poor, attended church regularly. Later when he arrived in Manhattan, Elijah was astounded by how its society had run amuck and forgotten their devotion to God; how “the classes of people above and below them cared nothing for the old rural pieties” (19). Something else that greatly disturbed Elijah was how the “rich drank wine and courted women who wore jewelry” (19). The worst part of it was the “social clubs for the rich,” this was where the rich would feign their reverence to God, something Elijah found to be blasphemous.
Here in New York, not even the poor man attended church. These men were so far gone that they seemed to have left all their decency in the empty whiskey bottle they all carried around. Their children showed no obedience to anyone and there was not even the smallest bit of devotion to God. It was these events that he witnessed that initially spurred him on his path to become an influential reformer. He joined a missionary organization called Brick Church, after which Elijah immediately found himself immersed in “the new Evangelicalism”(21). While in the church, he fell deeply in love with a woman named Sarah Stanford. Both of them were deeply engaged in their religion and thus they grew even closer.
On Sarah’s death, Elijah’s healthy obsession with the word of god suddenly became one that tore him apart. He went crazy, trying for hours, to revive Sarah from the dead. It was at this point, that his followers, especially John Stanford, deserted him. They recognized what Sarah’s death had done to him and they began to disperse. He clearly strayed from the natural path of a devout Christian, transformed into the “obviously deranged Elijah Pierson,” by the touching death of Sarah.
Elijah Pierson had always been a religious man. In the beginning, he "and his wife Sarah fashioned a simple life, a paragon of the loving, prayerful domesticity that middle-class evangelicals were inventing for themsleves(13)." Pierson was devoted to missions and reform of his country. I believe he truely felt a need to change where he lived in New York for the better. However, after the death of his wife, his actions become strange and he seems to veer off the path a truely devout Christian would stay on. As the authors on pg 44 say, he was "obviously deranged." At Standford's daughter's funeral, Elijah began chanting as ongoers "watched in disbelief (44)."
ReplyDeleteI believe he was doing what he thought was right and helpful to people, but if was a true Christian, he would know that what he was doing was completely unacceptable. It seems that the longer he lived in New York and the more he experienced, the more he got confused and overwhelmed/passionate with his need to preach. However, some of his preaching material didnt even come from his own mind, but from ideas of others. To say the least, i was utterly confused and did not even know it.
I agree with Logan in that from the time Sarah died, he lost his mind, praying for her to rise from the dead. Although he thought he had a connection with God, he didnt. He didn't understand the meaning of being a devout Christian. Others around him saw this change and were concerned. Standford even wrote in his diary saying "Still there is every reason to believe that she sleeps in Jesus and will partake of the resurrection of the just. (44)"
Kingdom of Matthias portrays how Second Great Awakening was so dominant in the lives of the Americans. Even though historic novels have a tendency to get stiff and tedious, this book keeps readers interested as the novel focuses on the very disparate but similar lives of central characters: Eliah Pierson and Robert Matthews.
ReplyDeleteEliah Pierson came over to New York from his hometown Morristown to be an apprentice clerk and make profits out of it. When he reaches New York, however, unlike his high aspirations, he is shocked at what he encounters. Unlike his hometown Morristown, where people put religion in the first place and everybody belonged to church, people in New York City, people were self-indulgent and ignorant of Christianity. When they were asked about God “they seemed to think He was a warm-hearted gentleman like themselves.” Plus, Pierson was not used to seeing “brutal men with whiskey bottles, children who ran loose and seemed to have no homes, gaudily dressed girls who strolled the sidewalks and smiled at gentlemen who passed by.” (19) Although he was greatly shocked with these scences, he had fitted himself very well in the society of New York City. Like young entrepreneurs, he was immersed in the new evangelical culture by devoting himself in the practice of “retrenchment” and “pray[ing] for the harlots at Five Points” (35). By his thirties, Pierson was a leading figure in New York City's radical evangelical fringe, a position established by his marriage to one of the most pious, perfectionist woman, his lover of life, Sarah.
The marriage with Sarah brought him “a peace that he had never known” (27).
However, we can see that Pierson becomes deranged when he experiences the death of his beloved Sarah by stating that “he would raise his Sarah from the dead” (38) and having a firm faith in believing that “The Lord will raise her up” (40)
Robert Matthews, was also a man who headed for New York to “make good” as Pierson did. However, he ultimately failed utterly because he couldn’t abandon his concrete belief in Calvinism and “his fear of God and misoygynist faith” (49)
Actually he was a strongly religious man who urged his companion workers “to quit their sinful habits and warning them to act more like the good people of Coila” (59)
He grew with the teaching that all “humankind was innately corrupt” (54) “the domestic presumptions of paternal authority” (55) “He would talk very harshly and punish his childeren for the least thing and beat them very severely” (63) and would view women subordinate to men.
These notions were so deeply rooted within him that he couldn’t exterminate them and those ideas barred him from acquiring success in the societies. Through experiencing continual failure in his business and loss of his children, Robert Matthews finally goes mad.
He thought “a bad spirit had entered [his wife]” and believed that “the whippings, supposedly, drove the spirit out.” (71). He also declared that “he had visions of great events about to take place on the earth and he stopped people on the street to tell them what he had seen” (78)
Most of all he believed himself to be a “matthias, prophet of the god of the jews” (84).
-cassie
ReplyDeleteIt is apparent to the reader of Elijah's huge commitment to the new evanglical religion. After his move to New York, Elijah find himself discovering the evangelical religion and him and his new wife Sarah devote their lives to it. It is quite obvious of the obssession that Elijah has when you look at his move to Baker Hill: "At one point Pierson's followers met fourteen times in a single week, at another they met continuously for three weeks, pausing only for naps and light refreshemtns They fasted regularly..." (32) This shows the commitment Elijah had for this religion, and it it shows how Elijah and Sarah truly bonded over this, they both shared a considerable comittment to this religion and that is something they shared that brought them together: "The new mission sped them along their spiritual path and drew them closer together" (35)
ReplyDeleteAfter Sarah's death, Elijah finds himself completly involved in his work and religion, at Sarah's funeral he brings forth all his energy and calls on God to bring her back to life, but he fails, and his beloved remains dead. I feel that after all the time and devotion Elijah shows towards his religion, he feels failed that he cannot bring Sarah back and that God has failed him.
After Sarah's death, Elijah decides to fill the void with religion and he begins obsessively praying and his commitment towards evangelicalism is overwhelming: "Retaining his powers as Elijah the Tishbite, the grieving prophet returned to the work that he and Sarah had begun, preaching and missionizing with new vigor and hope." (41) it feels that this is how Elijah decides to cope with Sarah's death, and he wants to continue to keep Sarah's commitment, devotion, and inspiration to religion alive.
Although Peter brings up a good point about Elijah's mental stability, i am going to have to disagree with his opinion on Elijah being deranged. Although to us, this obsessive and tremendous commitment to evangelicalism seems crazy and well, deranged, in this time period it was not unconventional for this: "...for in the religious excitements of the late 1820's, who was to say what was excessive and what was not." (33)That is why i feel that Elijah's commitment to Christ might be a little overboard, this is how he copes with his loved one's death and to keep her devotion to religion alive.
Even though a stretch of only 50 miles separates the two, Morristown and New York are worlds apart. Crossing the Hudson turned out to be a symbolic occurrence that represented Pierson crossing the threshold into his new life. The differences between Morristown and New York include the obvious: populations and economies, and the less obvious: the difference of religion as it pertains to social class. In Morristown, the wealthy were heavily invested in religion and enjoyed perks in church that came along with their wealth. In New York, Pierson is skeptical about why the rich even go to church , questioning whether they went in faith or to feed their social indulgences. As far as the poor citizens go in Morristown and New Jersey, poor Morristonians did not see church as a representation of their status, and went anyways as devout churchgoers.
ReplyDeleteBeing raised in a close-knit community instilled early beliefs in Pierson: that she should marry young and focus on religion. Upon his arrival to New York, however, Pierson changes and abandons the idea of marrying and starting a family, and instead chooses to pursue a career and financially better himself. Pierson does, however, fall in love with and marries, Sarah Stanford. After Sarah passes away, we see a change in Pierson. He incessantly prays for her and becomes more and more devout towards his religion (in hopes of honoring Sarah’s devoutness to her religion), or in hopes that “he would raise his Sarah from the dead” (38)
Although Morristown and New York were separated by a mere 50 miles, the two cities were worlds apart. Morristown boasted a more spiritual and religious presence, while New York lacked any form of worship whatsoever. It would be correct to say that Morristown was significantly more communal than Pierson found New York to be. This town was an “example of mutual care and obligation: under the rule of fathers, widows stayed warm in winter, deaf people took the best seats in church” (17). Thus, the people of Morristown looked out for each other, and genuinely cared about the well being of the city. New York, on the other hand, fostered an entirely different environment. Social classes were sharp as a razor blade, unforgiving, and overall obvious: “The richest men in New York drank wine and courted women who wore jewelry and silks; the worst of them even kept mistresses.” The poor class was described as “brutal men with whiskey bottles, children who ran loose and seemed to have no homes…” (19).
ReplyDeleteElijah could not foresee the differences of the two cities, and I doubt he expected such a dramatic change. Morristown taught him the value of religion, and a relationship with the almighty. Pierson intended to marry young strengthen his relationship with God in New York, however as he adjusted to his new surroundings, he was influenced to pursue a career instead. Even though he did eventually fall in love with Sarah Stanford, his priorities had clearly been altered as a result of his move.
His relationship with Sarah offered a new connection with God, almost as if he had rediscovered religious worship. He saw something special, far beyond physical attraction, but something deep inside. “The marriage of Elijah and Sarah Pierson was not based on inherited property, large families, or patriarchal assumptions. It was a spiritualized union between partners: it began in a shared vocation of Christian missions and it thrived on prayer and feminine influence.” (27). Thus, Sarah reminded him of his virtuous life in Morristown, which I believe he missed dearly.
Although Elijah Pierson experienced a radical change in social demeanor following his lovers death, I do not support the idea that he became "crazy." Indeed for a short time he became socially deranged, as other characters have commented, but I see this change only as a result of the emotional burden he faced. Pierson can still be considered a devout Christian, as he honored his wife by immersing himself in his religion, as she did in hers. He chose not to flee to an easier, more sinful lifestyle, but instead found comfort in a more virtuous one.
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ReplyDeleteElijah Pierson was used to a very structured religious setting, where he (and everyone else) was brought up with strict religion and values. When he moved to New York he was shocked to find the lack of community and religion. He needed to fill this new found emptiness, so he joined an Evangelical Church with his wife Sarah. Pierson was not expecting this much of a difference between these two relatively close places.
ReplyDeleteThe Second Great Awakening was more to Pierson than it was to most people. He was always raised in a religious environment, so he wasn't just finding God, he was finding a new way to discover God. This had to start him on the downward spiral of his mental health. He completely rejected the way he was raised, and embraced this new way he was living.
Sarah, his wife's death took a toll of Pierson's mental health as well. She introduced him and fully immersed him in this new New York culture. Her death left a complete emptiness that he only knew to fill with religion, so he went completely overboard.
"Elijah and his colleagues were a decided minority; classes of people above and below them cared nothing for the old rural pieties." (19) This was a shock for Pierson. He had come from a town where he was the descendant of a founder, so people knew and respected him. Being ignored was not normal in any way to Pierson.