Slavery and Religious Publishing
How the controversy of the day changed Nashville forever

A warehouse at the United Methodist Publishing House in the 1950s
PHOTO: United Methodist Publishing House
It's funny how history works. One event leads to another, then another, then another.

For instance, Nashville became a center for religious publishing and the home of Vanderbilt University because Tennessee was a pro-slave state.

This is a long story, and we're going to give you the really short version. Back in 1844 a woman died and left a slave to a Methodist minister in Georgia. This seemingly small event eventually led to a breakup of the national  Methodist church organization into Northern and Southern factions. And in 1854 the leaders of the new Methodist Episcopal Church, South, as it was known, met and voted on where to put its religious publishing headquarters. After a long debate, Nashville was selected.

Being the headquarters of the southern Methodist publishing house was a huge victory for Nashville. It meant, and continues to mean, good jobs and an influx of an educated workforce. Later in the 19th century, other religious organizations chose Nashville for their publishing arms, such as the Southern Baptists, the National (African-American) Baptists, and the Cumberland Presbyterians. The fact that the southern Methodists were already in Nashville had a lot to do with why Nashville kept getting selected.
Bishop Holland McTyeire
PHOTO: United Methodist Publishing House


Then, in 1874, came the biggest coup of all. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, decided to build a new university. And, after considering other locations, its leaders (especially one named Holland McTyeire) chose to build it in Nashville.

Today, we call this school Vanderbilt University.

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