Shakers and the Shawnee Prophet: A Microhistory of Religious Violence on the Early American Frontier, 1805–1815

FAIN: FT-264956-19

Douglas Leo Winiarski
University of Richmond (Richmond, VA 23173-0001)

Research and writing two chapters of a book on interactions between Shakers and Native Americans on the Ohio frontier before the War of 1812.

I seek NEH funding to research and draft the two central chapters of my current book project, Shakers and the Shawnee Prophet. This braided microhistory chronicles the fascinating, but troubled relationship between the Shakers—the religious sectarians infamous for their ecstatic worship practices, communal social organization, celibacy, and pacifism—and the militant followers of Tenskwatawa, the so-called Shawnee Prophet and brother of the famed war captain Tecumseh. Written for a broad audience of students, scholars, and general readers and drawing upon understudied Shaker manuscript letters and journals, Shakers and the Shawnee Prophet examines the local sources of religious violence on the early American frontier during the years leading up to the War of 1812. I anticipate that the book will resonate with readers attuned to the politics of religious difference and the troubling connections between religion and violence in our own times.