MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

Sunday School has been a widespread experience of American Protestant childhood. The American Sunday School Movement began in the early 19th century and expanded and evolved over the course of the century. There were various phases of development with different types of control and domination of the messages and the material culture. Initially the domination was by organizations such as the American Sunday School Union, The American Tract Society, The Massachusetts Sabbath School Society and eventually denominational publishers. While the movement began as a lay led effort, from the 1860s forward clergy began to gain control of the message. The Uniform Lesson Plan was a way for students all across the country and around the world to focus on the same Biblical text. While an interdenominational committee of ministers selected the specific texts and created the calendar, interpretation and presentation was flexible. In the last three decades of the 19th century the adoption of the Uniform Lesson Plan presented new opportunities for commercial businesses. The ASSU continued to play a role, but new businesses arose to capitalize on the captive audience. The businesses helped retain the role of the laity and the non-denominational tenor of the movement. These efforts greatly expanded the material culture of the Sunday School Movement which had been dominated by first chapbooks, then tracts, story books and periodicals. Transformations in printing technology allowed for greater visual appeal for awards and scripture cards, and then development of new means of conveying messages and recognizing student achievement. New lithography techniques meant that color could now be used in more complex ways. This presentation will focus on the Sunday School material culture developments of the 1870s to 1900 time period. The David C. Cook Company of Chicago, Illinois, and the Providence Lithography Company of Providence, Rhode Island played significant roles in the creation and distribution of Sunday School material culture that developed in that era and continued to dominate until the 1950s, these objects were familiar to multiple generations of American Protestant children. A typical Providence Lithograph lesson card will be submitted for the 25 artifacts of American Childhood discussion. Other companies also played a role in the creation manufacture, and distribution of Sunday School material culture. In addition to cards, other other objects included pins, medals, postcards, flags, boxes, and posters. Most of these products have also been used in the mission field and have expanded beyond the American Protestant context. The discussion will be augmented by numerous visual examples of this familiar and popular material culture.