Well, hello, everyone. Were so excited to have you guys with us today. Im ronald angel johnson. Im the lynch here of history at baylor university, the coeditor of the journal of the early republic. Im delighted to welcome you all to this afternoons roundtable to discuss and outstay ending new book by one of the profession freshmans best scholars on the International Dimensions of the early u. S. , early u. S. Religion and reform. The book is missionary diplomacy, religion in 19th century American Foreign relations this year by, Cornell University press, the books author emily conroykrutz, is an associate professor history at Michigan State university. She is a historian of the global history, the 19th set of 19th Century America. In addition, missionary diplomacy. Emily is, the author of christian imperialism converting the world in the early america. That is one of my favorite books of all times. I thought until this i did it in very nice job, emily. And she is also the coeditor of a book that came out last year the early imperial republic from the American Revolution to the us mexican mexican war. Here. I want to take a quick word because. The difficulty for me as chair today is that job is to get everybody else to talk, including you all. But if you dont mind, just indulge me for a second to give you just a quick word. This i did. I just want to give a quick word about the book and its author i found this book to be compelling, particularly in its storytelling about diplomatic impact of some extra human beings of whom of us know little. The books author, emily lee. In addition to being an exceptional, works tirelessly organizations to make the professional academic career safer more open, more advantageous for all members at all stages. Our profession and i am proud to be here today to discuss her Outstanding New book. Now, what were going to do today . Were going to we have four very fine scholars ill introduce momentarily to discuss the book from different angles. Each panelist offer us about 5 to 7 minutes of comments. Ill ask a couple of larger questions of the panel afterwards. Well have a response from emily and then well open the floor up for comments and questions from you all. And again, were so excited to have you all with us here today. Our first panelists for the day is dr. Ben wright benn is an associate of history at the university of texas at dallas. Hes the author of bonds of salvation, how christianity inspired and american abolitionism. He is also the coeditor of four books, including the two volume american jump, a massively collaborative open u. S. History textbook American Revolutions in the digital age and apocalypse and the millennium in the american civil war. His articles have appeared in a variety of venues, ranging from the american Historical Review to washington post. His Current Research focuses on the intersections of missionaries empire, power and abolition. In the early 19th century west africa. Ben, thank you. Thanks to these other excellent panelists. Thank you, emily, for writing this book. And thank you all for being here. This outstanding book is rigorously researched and elegantly narrated. The students in my 19th century grad seminar also encouraged me to say that it works great in the classroom but im going to spend my time highlighting the significance of, its scholarly interventions. Emily is a leader. Our profession in many ways, particularly through her lauded service to two organizations, the society for historians of American Foreign relations, or schaffer in the society for historians of the early American Republic or shear. Its a wellworn cliche to call the book a game changer. But to demonstrate why missionary diplomacy truly deserves the title, i want to situate it within scholarly conversations in both of these communities. This was easier for me to do which year where i too am a member. But let me start with schafer, where my strategy was to consider missionary diplomacy in relation to. The last ten years of winners of schafers two major book prizes. This strategy had its limitation since as the list of prize winning books skewed heavily towards post 1945 history. And i think that reason alone missionary diplomacy essential as it exposes just a back story to the most notable narratives in American Foreign relations, but in fact, that many important developments within the diplomatic state occurred earlier than is generally acknowledged. By the way, this critique that schafer devotes insufficient to early histories of American Foreign relations is, like most of my good ideas stolen from emily. She made this point first and better in her banal lecture and ensuing article in diplomatic history. Read it if you havent already. But let me put a few of my favorite schaefer Prize Winners in conversation with missionary diplomacy. Daniel emory was outstanding. How to hide an empire. Laudably covers indeed removal, but this history of the greater United States largely occurs after 1945. Missionary diplomacy shows us that century earlier, missionaries mapped their colonization of the world souls, insisting that their empire ought not be hidden and their entanglements which justified American Military expansion, particularly in the pacific. Explain why what immer calls the modern american pointillist empire differed so much from. The continental logo map. Madeleine sues powerful the good immigrants explains how missionaries brought Chinese Exchange students to the United States. But missionary diplomacy reveals a greater role for missionaries in shaping american understandings and often misunderstandings of asia and asian cultures. This book shows how writings were understood as essential expert testimony for better and very often for worse. And quickly, a note from my fellow historians of religion. So much of this missionary testimony pulsed across the nation. As we see this book well before the 1893 worlds parliament of religions, that moment that most historians of religion point to again and again and again and again. But back to schaffers prizewinners. In the last decade, two of the 20 winners focus on events prior to the 20th century. Both explore global impacts of slavery and abolition. Matthew carbs this vast southern empire, explains the outrageous influence of enslavers on american policy. But missionary diplomacy reminds us that enslavers were not the force connecting the u. S. The world. If we compare diplomacys tug of between missionaries and the diplomatic state with karps account of enslavers stranglehold over Foreign Relations, it only the terrifying political of enslavers and their allies, the missionaries of course outlasted chattel slavery and we see their influence tangentially. Roberta sabas, american mirror saba tracks the influence of american reformers on a brazilian emancipation in many of whom actually had connections. The missions and movements that are underexplored the text. But considering american mirror alongside missionary diplomacy, also shows how emancipate and salvation were so often dependent on and in service. American capital. All right. Let me leave schafer shear and consider how missionary diplomacy should reconfigure some our understandings of the early republic most generally, and even broader than the early republic itself. Missionary primacy adds new depth to barlows argument in a government of sight that the girl early of the federal government was often hidden from a general public. Questions of a strong state. Weak state. In the newest variant, the imperial. Excite historians of the early. Most of these look back to british historians. Michael braddock, john brewer. Patrick obrien who speak of the rise. The fiscal military state. For example, max eddings, a revolution in favor of government influentially that americans use this tradition as the underlying rationale for their own state. Similarly, max new map of empires exposes the long tail of late 18th century British Imperial and gautham rao has argued in the william mary quarterly that the early United States governments quote imperial aims and practices picked up where britons came to an unexpected halt. But missionary diplomacy forces us to the role of missions in this rise of the american imperial state. Particularly as it directed its gaze beyond the continent. This entwined relationship between, religious leaders and government officials captured by missionary diplomacy, extends what laurie dagher calls the Mission Complex in her cultivating empire. In andrew benjamins reflection, federalism and the power of the state in early republic insists that, quote, the farther from the interior a policy traveled, the more the gulf widened between the claim of power and actual. Now, shakman was referring to continental concerns, but missionary diplomacy complicates the simplicity of this observation. Particular, when we think in a more global context to, continue contextualizing missionary diplomacy amid scholarship on overseas endeavors. In the early republic, we turn to hannah farbers underwriters, the new nation, and brian willows with sales whitening every c farber argues that merchant capitalists and their need for Maritime Insurance functionally created the state the early republic. And rouleau argues that sailors were the principal agents in overseas American Foreign relations. Now, while sailors may have been the more ubiquitous on the ground, agents and merchants indeed necessitate today the development of the american fiscal military state. Missionary diplomacy is convincing and demonstrating that the american diplomatic state was forged through cooperation and contestation with american missionaries. So in conclusion, this book is indeed a game. Its importantly revisionist, and its also boldly trailblazing. By connecting disparate, historic griffins in ways that breathe life into both the study of early American Republic and Foreign Relations, it is sure to inspire a generation of new scholars. It certainly has inspired me that. Emily. Thank you all. Thank you, ben. Our second our second panelist this afternoon is, dr. Gale kenny. Gail is assistant professor in the department of religion at barnard college. Her research focuses religion, gender and empire. The late 19th and early 20th century United States, and especially on protestant. Her second book, christian imperial white, protestant women and the consecration of empire came out just this past february. Congratulations. Yeah. And table. So i echo everyones gratitude towards emily for writing this book and full disclosure, emily, as well as ben and i have kind of writing books together for the past several years and reading each others drafts. So i had read almost every chapter of this book, not in the right order. And with the right chapter, titled or not any chapter titles. So it was a pleasure this these past couple of weeks to like read the book in its final form and see how all of the parts came together as a whole. And i will begin also by saying something that doesnt always apply to academic history books that missionary diplomacy a great read beyond the books core argument. Ill talk about more in a moment. The book is comprised of fascinating case studies that provide snapshots of dramatic, some more wellknown than just as an we learn about the unremittingly protestant proselytizer king, a congregationalist missionary as well as a u. S. Consul in greece in the 1840s and 1850s who was put on trial for his frequent attacks on. The Greek Orthodox church, after a court in greece sentenced king to 15 days of prison and banned him from the country thereafter. There was a public outcry in the United States from missionary supporters that resulted in an investigation by diplomats, events really through these sorts of negotiations. As greek officials were called upon, abide by existing treaties. The United States and the u. S. Minister constantinople successfully, kings sentence in exile reversed. King story illustrates multiple themes that emerge the book and through its kind of different examples and case studies. First, we can see missionaries classified themselves and were often kind of by default, classify as in the same category as american merchants and sailors. When it came treaty protections. King story also shows the expectation that missionaries had for the u. S. Government to have their back when they ran into difficulty. Or, as emily describes it, missionary troubles. The outpouring of support for king in the United States when he was arrested put on trial highlights the growing role of a missionary public who made missionary problems into a domestic concern that politicians couldnt ignore. Finally, and perhaps most obviously especially to those who dont spend a lot of time studying missionaries, kings desire to proselytize, even though that was sort of in violation of local laws while condemning local traditions. In this case, the Greek Orthodox church and its theology, and really trying to kind of provoke the greek government and and the church and make him into a kind of stereotype of missionaries potentially or perhaps boorish behavior abroad. While many missionaries in missionary diplomacy in other accounts approached their new with far more tact and diplomacy than king. Almost all missionaries were fully confident that they had the right to preach the gospel in all parts of the world, whether they had been invited to do so or not. As contrary, kretz argues, i feel this is weird to say conricus regrets instead of emily. But im doing it, so bear with me has gone courts argues throughout missionary diplomacy. The missionaries certainty of their global efforts to convert the world to protestantism provoked a variety of responses from the u. S. Governments nascent state department and diplomatic corps of not all missionaries sought to provoke. Like jonas king, some found ways to work with existing governments, and in some cases this made them unintentional players in political contest states they could not fully anticipate or even times understand. In the last two chapters of the book, we see a kind of different side of missionaries where they act as the titles of those chapters are witnesses and humanitarians with respect to genocide in congo and in armenia or in the ottoman empire, across the 19th century, different president s in diplomatic officials sometimes chose to defend these foreign missionaries and extract them from entanglements, while at other times missionaries were deemed troublemakers who pulled the u. S. Into dicey diplomatic missionary diplomacy. He shows us that while protestant missionaries did not always wield enormous power influence in their Mission Fields, their actions, and often their mischievous natures would have a major role in shaping the development of u. S. Foreign policies in the 19th century and beyond. Through her narrative cuts offers a vital history of missionaries role in educating americans about the world. As we tracked different missionaries across the ottoman empire, china, japan and in korea in the u. S. Territories of hawaii and the philippines and in congo, we are also introduced several key ideas in the book that merit our attention and hopefully our discussion as the panel continues. Conroy kretz examines the legal entanglements that arose concerning Citizenship Rights for missionaries and for their foreign born children, for example. And she shows the complicated related to the policy of extra territoriality. Think i set that right so that its a little boring. Its also introduces the concept of missionary patriotism. On one level, this idea of missionary patriotism captures the ways missionaries understood themselves as representatives of the United States. It also speaks to their desire to distance themselves from some u. S. Policies they found objectionable as they advanced alternative of how the u. S. Might exert power around the world and in the of christianity, missionary patriotism, a reference to the sometimes ambiguous that missionaries had towards their government echoes conrad conricus is of a similar phenomenon in her book christian imperialism. I was also thinking about these two books, christian imperialism and missionary diplomacy in relationship to each other in a different way. And ill spend the rest of my remarks focusing on this point that is kind of around this idea of religious freedom and how it is mobilized and comes up in this book. So if emilys first book, christian imperialism, focused in part on the ways american missionary created hierarchies of hedonism, this quote as part of their assessment of where to deploy missionary is around the world. Missionary diplomacy. She kind of turned the tables on this. And in these kind of anecdotes and case studies of missionaries abroad, we see instead local governments and local people to the americans among them, these americans who have sort of arrived and set up their missionary as culinary carts, narrates missionaries complaints to the u. S. Government about their own rights. We can see just how different americans very concept of and religious freedom was from that of most of the world as religious studies scholars have long noted, american protestants conception of religion as something that individuals voluntary voluntarily chose this became norm for defining religion in imperial processes and treaties that codified american style of religious freedom. So in other words, religion is something that an individual decided for themselves, but they chose. 19th century missionaries insist that their protestant religion and their ideals of religious freedom benefit legally separated religion from politics and from the kind of mixture of religion and politics and other category is that they attributed to what they ethnic religions. This is what made pr