Sherman's March and the Emergence of the Independent Black Church Movement: From Atlanta to the Sea to Emancipation (Black Religion / Womanist Thought / Social Justice)

In addition to showing how Sherman's march was decisive in leading to the collapse of slavery, this book demonstrates that the events of the Civil War lead directly to a greater scale and scope of independent activity on the part of Black churches. By explicating the social conditions surrounding early Black churches we show how efforts to more independent action on the part of the churches culminated to the formation of many new congregations in the aftermath of the Civil War. Events during Reconstruction and beyond developed out the activities of the church congregations and their ministers as they moved to organize themselves and develop new educational and religious institutions upon the end of slaveholding in the United States.