America experienced several evangelical revivals from the 1740s onwards. These evangelical impulses emphasized faith requiring individual conversion. One suggested implication of this is a world view of good against evil and, arguably, out of this was born the moral fervor or many of America’s great reforming campaigns such as suffrage and temperance. Perhaps the greatest triumph of this evangelism was in 1865 and the abolition of slavery. The abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison is said to have commented that the Union triumph was due to the “resistless might of Eternal Providence”. Yet these notions of redemption were also projected outwards which brings us to this letter here, an example of this evangelical struggle taking place in the world.

Mary Pickford, the Canadian-born Hollywood star, wrote to George Vaughan in October 1933 as America was beginning its emergence from the Great Depression. For Pickford, the Depression was a consequence of the moral lapse caused by World War I. Yet for her, hope abounded in the form of Franklin D. Roosevelt: “It seems to me a greater spiritual consciousness is manifesting itself throughout the entire world, due primarily to the leadership of President Roosevelt.” This opinion of the redemptive power of an individual is indicative of that evangelist spirit that some believe has so influenced the history of the United States.

Roosevelt himself, though a far from a perfect Christian exemplar in his personal life given his numerous infidelities, was influenced clearly by religious impulses. Roosevelt cites a former teacher, Endicott Peabody, who wanted his pupils to uphold Christian ideals of supporting the less fortunate and work in the public service as a great influence on his life. One might connect these beliefs directly to his New Deal policies and his concern for the poor and jobless. Furthermore, for Roosevelt, the democratic way of life was rooted in religious tradition.

But despite the stridency of Mary Pickford’s assertions, this era of American history was apparently one where people did not flock back to the churches in hard times, though there was a small increase in attendance. This is despite some wonderful hit songs of the era such as the Carter Family’s No Depression in Heaven.

Pickford was originally baptized a Methodist, then a Catholic, and she later attended an Anglican church as an adult – so though not coming from an evangelical tradition directly her words here certainly have the resonance of such a world view. The evangelist tradition has possibly made a significant impact on American history and its relationship with the world. This Manichean view of good and evil has played out in many ways from battles over people’s rights and moral conduct; and there is plenty of evidence in more recent history of stances taken towards communism, an “evil empire”, and terrorism. Prior to this, Woodrow Wilson desired “to make the world safe for democracy”. Mary Pickford’s words here remind us of the impact of religion on American life – this is made more extraordinary by the fact that religion and the state were firmly separated in the country’s founding documents.

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