Abstract: Methodism became a great force in American life as a spiritual movement directed toward the salvation of souls. In its early American history, Methodism was mostly apolitical. Like their counterparts in Reformed circles, however, Methodists absorbed prevalent American principles of republicanism and commonsense moral reasoning. Unlike their Reformed counterparts, however, the Methodist absorption of these American ideologies occurred gradually and after they had spread widely in the country, rather than as part of the early Revolutionary struggle against Great Britain.

Keywords: Francis Asbury, itineration, Methodism, Stephen Olin, John Wesley,