In 1825, at the founding of the American Tract Society in New York, its leaders declared that with this event began “a new era in the history of the American churches.” Ten years earlier, American Protestants had formed the American Bible Society for the purpose of publishing and distributing the Bible “without note or comment.” Beyond this single endeavor, they felt, sectarian loyalties made common missionary effort impossible. But now, the co-operation in the new Tract Society “of various local institutions, and of Christians of different denominations” heralded an era of harmony among the churches, and of unity in the national body politic. More than this, churchmen and philanthropists believed that through the agency of the Tract Society, and of other benevolent organizations of national scope, the force of a united Protestantism would speedily evangelize America and the world.
