In your opinion, what, if any, influence did Alexander Campbell have on American society of his day, and has any of it carried over to present day America? -- Donald Norman
In my view, Alexander Campbell, along with his father Thomas, was both a cause and an effect. His message resonated with many Americans in the 1800s. He addressed Congress, met many famous people, and was widely read and respected outside the Restoration Movement, so I imagine he did make some contribution to the historical development of the U.S.
Yet I also see him as an effect: an effect of the rugged individualism and no-nonsense approach to life on the American frontier. That wild and emerging social climate made a person like Campbell a possibility; it gave him a megaphone and perhaps even a script.
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