Graduate Student Josh Waddell is a PhD student who studies religion during the Civil War and Reconstruction. His dissertation will examine the reunification of various Christian denominations after the Civil War. Many American churches divided during the antebellum period over slavery, forming northern and southern branches. While some denominations delayed sectional reunification for decades—and others to this day—others managed to reunite their northern and southern wings within the first two decades after the Civil War. Josh's research explores how these institutions and individual church leaders addressed issues of race and lingering sectional hostility during their reunions. Under what conditions did these churches reunite? Why was it possible for some denominations to reunite while others could not? More broadly, he aims to understand how church reunions served as microcosms of the successes and failures of Reconstruction policy in the South. Josh’s recent article, “‘Silent but Powerful Preachers’: Southern Religious Pamphlet Literature during the Civil War” explores religious tracts distributed during the war and their effects on the religiosity and morale of Confederate soldiers. Research Research Areas: U.S. South U.S. Civil War Religion Race and Slavery Gender and Sexuality African American Digital History Selected Publications Selected Publications: Waddell, Josh. "'Silent but Powerful Preachers': Southern Religious Pamphlet Literature during the Civil War." Civil War History 68, no. 3 (September, 2022): 268-294. Education Education: M.A., History - Appalachian State University B.S., History, Social Studies Secondary Education - Appalachian State University
