The essays collected in this volume are derived from the 2008 EAAS biennial conference in Oslo. They explore the many-layered pluralism of American life by addressing questions like the following: How does the United States negotiate the inner tensions that, because of its constitutive diversity, might threaten its unity? How do traditions, modes of consensus building, the feeling of a wished-for common good counteract potential strife and the tensions of particular interests and particular groups? Could it be that there are indeed several Americas? Is being an American necessarily being in many ways double? Can the politically unifying, centripetal power of the State, hidden under the neutral 'unum,' accommodate the centrifugal forces that might generate a societal and cultural 'plura' out of the hallowed political and territorial 'pluribus'? Do diversities imply, for their survival and development, a 'middle ground,' a 'mainstream,' a 'tradition'-some kind of American norm?
The significant cultural, theological, and economic impulses originating from the pietist- influenced Francke Foundations in Halle had a profound effect on colonial British North America and the young American Republic. The Hallensian networks as well as their connections to and influences within North America are analyzed not only in the Atlantic context, but also in terms of the repercussions felt both in Germany and the United States during the 19th century. The contributions comprising this collection of essays situate Hallensian Pietism and Halle-influenced Lutheran German Americans within their respective larger historical contexts. Two such examples are the ethnic dimension of Franklin’s nationalism as well as the influence of Lutheran doctrine and Pietism on the founding of Methodism. Additionally, there are several micro-studies concerned with the interdependencies between pastors from Halle and the American social surroundings into which they were thrust. The unraveling of the connections between Halle and North America at the dawn of the 19th century is illustrated in terms of the waning dissemination of knowledge in the natural sciences, above all pharmaceutical knowledge, stemming from Halle. Von den pietistisch geprägten Franckeschen Stiftungen in Halle gingen bedeutende kulturelle, theologische und wirtschaftliche Impulse aus, die auf das kolonialzeitliche Britisch-Nordamerika und die junge amerikanische Republik einwirkten. Hallesche Netzwerke, Verbindungen nach und Einflüsse in Nordamerika werden im atlantischen Kontext, aber auch in der Nachwirkung sowohl in Deutschland als auch in den Vereinigten Staaten des 19. Jahrhunderts untersucht. Die Beiträge des Sammelbandes ordnen den halleschen Pietismus und die von Halle geprägten lutherischen Deutsch-Amerikaner jeweils in größere zeitgeschichtliche Zusammenhänge ein: Es geht z. B. um die ethnische Dimension des Nationalismus bei Franklin sowie um die Einflüsse der lutherischen Lehre und des Pietismus auf den Methodismus. Hinzu kommen Mikrostudien zu Interdependenzen zwischen halleschen Pastoren und amerikanischem Umfeld. Die Lockerung der Verbindungen zwischen Halle und Nordamerika nach der Wende zum 19. Jahrhundert wird anhand der nachlassenden Verbreitung des aus Halle stammenden naturwissenschaftlichen, insbesondere pharmazeutischen Wissens aufgezeigt.
