Portland Daily Press: February 1, 1899

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Glory for the land: a drama in three acts based on the early career of Francis Asbury (with an introduction and explanatory notes)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityThe purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the career of Francis Asbury during the critica1 years l77l to 1784 and to present an original historica1 drama based on this research. An introduction discusses Asbury's importance to the development or America, the place of the drama in understanding the past, and the nature of the creative process imolved in writing an historica1 play. The three act drama is composed of eight scenes. After each scene of the play there is an extensive section of notes showing how the events, speeches, and persons depicted have been based on the historical sources. Francis Asbury's career embraced a period of forty-five crucial years of American history, years when, under his guidance, Methodism grew from a small group of several hundred to an indigenous Church with over 214,000 members. It would be impossible te present all of his life in a single dramatic work and this play has been limited to the years l77l to 1784. An examination of Asbury's activity during these years shows that the major themes of his career were developed by 1784. These themes were his dedication to the system of Methodist itineracy, his understanding of the destiny of America, the democracy of the Gospel he preached, his autocratic methods of Church administration, and his willingness to suffer for his vocation [TRUNCATED