Abstract: The middle decades of the nineteenth century witnessed both the golden age of American Calvinism and its decline. Increasing fragmentation among Calvinistic voices as well as the rise of competition from non-Calvinistic Protestants and Roman Catholics contributed to a vital but also chaotic theological period. A number of key Calvinist leaders published important works during this era, and public debates over theology were influenced by a number of decisive events not only within the denominations but also in public life. By the 1850s, leading voices like Horace Bushnell and Catherine Beecher were beginning to challenge the once settled principles of American Calvinist theology.

Keywords: Albert Barnes, Catherine Beecher, Lyman Beecher, Horace Bushnell, Charles G. Finney, Charles Hodge, New Lebanon conference, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Moses Stuart, Nathaniel W. Taylor,