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Fran Grace is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Redlands in Redlands, California.

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Fran Grace wrote it, in part, because of her conviction that Nation was motivated to do what she did principally because of her religion (p. xi).

Nation was baptized into the Disciples of Christ Church as a teenager, in Kentucky, and stayed with the church her entire life, although she was expelled by the church in Medicine Lodge, Kansas when she was in her forties. She had a "baptism of the Holy Ghost" experience and felt "called of God," which, among other things, did not sit well with the elders in the church. Subsequently, she became a member of the WCTU and smashed her first keg in Medicine Lodge, Kansas, on December 11, 1894.

In her Introduction to the book, Grace points out that most biographers of Nation were men, prior to her book, and that they tended to treat Nation as a nut -- failing to take into account her religious motivations. Depending on who is "judging" Nation, she likely would be viewed as a liberal today.

She and her second husband, David Nation, (her first one, Charles Gloyd died an alcoholic after 16 months of marriage) believed in churches cooperating with one another, which, depending on their location, got them in trouble with Campbellite churches.

Although her priority was prohibition, she also favored, and worked for, women's suffrage. She was widely respected for her caring of the poor and homeless. She became a Doctor of Osteopathy, when osteopathy was widely considered to be quackery.

From a religious point of view, she not only was influenced by the Disciples (both positively and negatively), but she was influenced by the Free Methodists, various Holiness groups, and even the Roman Catholics, with whom she was comfortable. At one time in her life she got in trouble with the Episcopal church, as she taught the Campbellite position on salvation, including baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. Among other leadership roles in and out of the church, Nation preached many times. Many considered her to be a better preacher than her husband, David, who finally divorced her after 27 years of marriage.

Grace spent several years researching Carry Nation, and travelled to many states looking at old records and visiting with people who could help her learn many details. The book is well-documented, with many rich end notes. Grace, herself, was reared in the Stone-Campbell religious heritage, but has left it behind. I believe her treatment of the Campbellite church to be "fair and balanced," and she cites numerous Stone-Campbell sources. All is not pretty.

There is a timeless sense with regard to this book, as it is history. The book has much to teach about the Stone-Campbell religious heritage, prohibition, women's suffrage, and early life in the midwest. Nation, born in 1846, lived in Kentucky, Missouri, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. She travelled extensively in the United States, especially during the last ten years of her life, and she also traveled to Scotland and England. She died on June 9, 1911 at Leavenworth, Kansas.

The period in which she lived was extremely important to our nation and the Stone-Campbell religious heritage. As Grace documents in the book, "The Campbellites baptized her and the Campbellites buried her, though her spiritual journey between baptism and burial took her far afield from the fold." (pp. 275-276) Her funeral was conducted by W. S. Lowe, pastor of the Central Christian Church in Kansas City, Missouri, where her sister-in-law and neice were members.

There is a bibliography and the book is indexed. There are many photographs and sketches throughout the book, which add much to its value and enjoyment.
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SCRH | Sep 11, 2006 |

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