This thesis provides a contextual description and analysis of four southern fast day sermons delivered in the winter of 1860-61 by the following Presbyterian ministers: James Henley Thornwell (South Carolina), Benjamin Morgan Palmer (Louisiana), Robert Lewis Dabney (Virginia), and Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (Kentucky). The introduction provides a short history of the practice of communal fasting, a brief review of serscholarship, and a description of the book, Fast Day Sermons (1861), in which these four sermons were published. Each chapter centers on a different sermon, providing information on the venue in which the serwas delivered, a biographical sketch of the specific minister, a description of the socio-political context and events that led to a fast day proclamation, an analysis of the sertext, and an account of the media coverage the serreceived. The conclusion draws attention to the need for further scholarly investigation of this particular sergenre.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis provides a contextual description and analysis of four southern fast day sermons delivered in the winter of 1860-61 by the following Presbyterian ministers: James Henley Thornwell (South Carolina), Benjamin Morgan Palmer (Louisiana), Robert Lewis Dabney (Virginia), and Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (Kentucky). The introduction provides a short history of the practice of communal fasting, a brief review of serscholarship, and a description of the book, Fast Day Sermons (1861), in which these four sermons were published. Each chapter centers on a different sermon, providing information on the venue in which the serwas delivered, a biographical sketch of the specific minister, a description of the socio-political context and events that led to a fast day proclamation, an analysis of the sertext, and an account of the media coverage the serreceived. The conclusion draws attention to the need for further scholarly investigation of this particular sergenre.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Martínez, Xaris A."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. in Southern Studies","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Southern Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Charles Reagan Wilson","Kathryn McKee","Ted Ownby"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:06:30Z","subjects":["Breckinridge","Robert Jefferson","Dabney","Robert Lewis","Fast Day Sermons (1861)","Palmer","Benjamin Morgan","Presbyterian ministers","Thornwell","James Henley","History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/1230","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Charles Reagan Wilson","Kathryn McKee","Ted Ownby"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Martínez, Xaris A."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-07-19T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Southern Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A. in Southern Studies"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Breckinridge","Robert Jefferson","Dabney","Robert Lewis","Fast Day Sermons (1861)","Palmer","Benjamin Morgan","Presbyterian ministers","Thornwell","James Henley","History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/1230"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis provides a contextual description and analysis of four southern fast day sermons delivered in the winter of 1860-61 by the following Presbyterian ministers: James Henley Thornwell (South Carolina), Benjamin Morgan Palmer (Louisiana), Robert Lewis Dabney (Virginia), and Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (Kentucky). The introduction provides a short history of the practice of communal fasting, a brief review of serscholarship, and a description of the book, Fast Day Sermons (1861), in which these four sermons were published. Each chapter centers on a different sermon, providing information on the venue in which the serwas delivered, a biographical sketch of the specific minister, a description of the socio-political context and events that led to a fast day proclamation, an analysis of the sertext, and an account of the media coverage the serreceived. The conclusion draws attention to the need for further scholarly investigation of this particular sergenre.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Minds in Place: Thornwell, Palmer, Dabney, and Breckinridge in Fast Day Sermons: Or, The Pulpit on the State of the Country (1861)"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Charles Reagan Wilson","Kathryn McKee","Ted Ownby"],"dc:creator":["Martínez, Xaris A."],"dc:date.available":["2019-07-19T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis provides a contextual description and analysis of four southern fast day sermons delivered in the winter of 1860-61 by the following Presbyterian ministers: James Henley Thornwell (South Carolina), Benjamin Morgan Palmer (Louisiana), Robert Lewis Dabney (Virginia), and Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (Kentucky). The introduction provides a short history of the practice of communal fasting, a brief review of serscholarship, and a description of the book, Fast Day Sermons (1861), in which these four sermons were published. Each chapter centers on a different sermon, providing information on the venue in which the serwas delivered, a biographical sketch of the specific minister, a description of the socio-political context and events that led to a fast day proclamation, an analysis of the sertext, and an account of the media coverage the serreceived. The conclusion draws attention to the need for further scholarly investigation of this particular sergenre.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/1230"],"dc:subject":["Breckinridge","Robert Jefferson","Dabney","Robert Lewis","Fast Day Sermons (1861)","Palmer","Benjamin Morgan","Presbyterian ministers","Thornwell","James Henley","History"],"dc:title":["Minds in Place: Thornwell, Palmer, Dabney, and Breckinridge in Fast Day Sermons: Or, The Pulpit on the State of the Country (1861)"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Southern Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. in Southern Studies"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:06:30Z"}