“Patriotic Christians”: Nationalism, Imperialism, and the Origins of Theological Education in the United States

Abstract Traditional narratives of the origin of Andover Theological Seminary and theological education more broadly in the United States focus upon the theological and intellectual justifications for the creation of this first form of graduate education in the United States. Such narratives, however, obscure the political motivations behind Andover’s founding. Jedidiah Morse, one of the primary architects of Andover, designed the school to support his religious, nationalistic, and imperialistic ambitions for the young nation. Morse drew upon his knowledge and experience as a geographer and his antagonism toward democracy to construct a new educational institution with the capacity to support the United States through the production of clergy. This article draws upon Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the spatial humanities to help understand both the establishment and political influence of Andover Theological Seminary. In so doing, it contends that Andover was far more than a theologically focused institution. Instead, it sought to shape the nation through a network of educated clergy committed to settling the North American geography and beyond. Andover was established as part of an evangelical infrastructure designed to undergird the co-constructed projects of religious nationalism and imperialism in the first half of the nineteenth century.