{"id":{"repo_id":"umkc","oai_identifier":"oai:mospace.umsystem.edu:10355/41259"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/umkc/oai:mospace.umsystem.edu:10355/41259","repository":{"repo_id":"umkc","name":"University of Missouri - Kansas City","base_url":"https://mospace.umsystem.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"For conscience's sake: the 1839 emigration of the Saxon Lutherans","abstract":"This study traces the assimilation process of more than six hundred Saxon Lutherans who migrated to Perry County, Missouri, in 1839. As one of the few groups in the nineteenth century who chose to move to the United States because of religious persecution, their history is a unique part of American religious and immigration history. Arriving during the antebellum period, the immigrants faced the unique challenges of the young American republic, which would include the trauma of the nativist movement, frontier-type conditions on the land they purchased in Perry County, the institution of slavery, and the growing tension between North and South while living in a volatile border state. Their situation was further complicated by the distinctive nature of the German- American community, which was deeply divided along religious lines, due to the anti-faith stance of German liberals. Because the latter controlled the German-American newspapers, their opposition to the Saxons was widely known. In essence, the conflict over religion that they experienced in Saxony followed them to the United States, although it came from within their own immigrant community and not from Americans. This situation was aggravated by the discovery of the deceitfulness of their once-respected leader, Pastor Martin Stephan. This proved to be a watershed moment for the laity, who emerged with a stronger voice in their churches. The study focuses on their lives as they maintained their language in school and church and parts of their culture and also embraced the responsibilities of citizenship in the United States.","abstract_html":"This study traces the assimilation process of more than six hundred Saxon Lutherans who migrated to Perry County, Missouri, in 1839. As one of the few groups in the nineteenth century who chose to move to the United States because of religious persecution, their history is a unique part of American religious and immigration history. Arriving during the antebellum period, the immigrants faced the unique challenges of the young American republic, which would include the trauma of the nativist movement, frontier-type conditions on the land they purchased in Perry County, the institution of slavery, and the growing tension between North and South while living in a volatile border state. Their situation was further complicated by the distinctive nature of the German- American community, which was deeply divided along religious lines, due to the anti-faith stance of German liberals. Because the latter controlled the German-American newspapers, their opposition to the Saxons was widely known. In essence, the conflict over religion that they experienced in Saxony followed them to the United States, although it came from within their own immigrant community and not from Americans. This situation was aggravated by the discovery of the deceitfulness of their once-respected leader, Pastor Martin Stephan. This proved to be a watershed moment for the laity, who emerged with a stronger voice in their churches. The study focuses on their lives as they maintained their language in school and church and parts of their culture and also embraced the responsibilities of citizenship in the United States.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kirsch, Lani Marie"],"institution":"University of Missouri--Kansas City","degree_name":"PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"History (UMKC)","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Burke, Diane Mutti"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013","date_published":"2013","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:19:40Z","subjects":[],"languages":["eng","English"],"rights":["Open Access (fully available)"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10355/41259","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Burke, Diane Mutti"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kirsch, Lani Marie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-02-26T15:54:52Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-02-26T15:54:52Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2013"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History (UMKC)","Religious Studies (UMKC)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Missouri--Kansas City"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Open Access (fully available)"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10355/41259"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Title from PDF of title page, viewed on February 26, 2013","Dissertation advisor: Diane Burke","Vita","Includes bibliographical references (pages 239-257)","Thesis (Ph.D)--Dept. of History and Religious Studies. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2013"]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study traces the assimilation process of more than six hundred Saxon Lutherans who migrated to Perry County, Missouri, in 1839. As one of the few groups in the nineteenth century who chose to move to the United States because of religious persecution, their history is a unique part of American religious and immigration history. Arriving during the antebellum period, the immigrants faced the unique challenges of the young American republic, which would include the trauma of the nativist movement, frontier-type conditions on the land they purchased in Perry County, the institution of slavery, and the growing tension between North and South while living in a volatile border state. Their situation was further complicated by the distinctive nature of the German- American community, which was deeply divided along religious lines, due to the anti-faith stance of German liberals. Because the latter controlled the German-American newspapers, their opposition to the Saxons was widely known. In essence, the conflict over religion that they experienced in Saxony followed them to the United States, although it came from within their own immigrant community and not from Americans. This situation was aggravated by the discovery of the deceitfulness of their once-respected leader, Pastor Martin Stephan. This proved to be a watershed moment for the laity, who emerged with a stronger voice in their churches. The study focuses on their lives as they maintained their language in school and church and parts of their culture and also embraced the responsibilities of citizenship in the United States."]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["text"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["For conscience's sake: the 1839 emigration of the Saxon Lutherans"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Burke, Diane Mutti"],"dc:creator":["Kirsch, Lani Marie"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-02-26T15:54:52Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-02-26T15:54:52Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2013"],"dc:description":["Title from PDF of title page, viewed on February 26, 2013","Dissertation advisor: Diane Burke","Vita","Includes bibliographical references (pages 239-257)","Thesis (Ph.D)--Dept. of History and Religious Studies. 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Because the latter controlled the German-American newspapers, their opposition to the Saxons was widely known. In essence, the conflict over religion that they experienced in Saxony followed them to the United States, although it came from within their own immigrant community and not from Americans. This situation was aggravated by the discovery of the deceitfulness of their once-respected leader, Pastor Martin Stephan. This proved to be a watershed moment for the laity, who emerged with a stronger voice in their churches. The study focuses on their lives as they maintained their language in school and church and parts of their culture and also embraced the responsibilities of citizenship in the United States."],"dc:format.medium":["text"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10355/41259"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:rights":["Open Access (fully available)"],"dc:title":["For conscience's sake: the 1839 emigration of the Saxon Lutherans"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History (UMKC)","Religious Studies (UMKC)"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)"],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Missouri--Kansas City"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:19:40Z"}