Introduction: "The Cheesemonger" 1. "High-Flying, Separate New Light:" The Forging of an Individualist 2. "Young and Roving:" Itinerating in Virginia 3. "Religion is a Matter between God and Individuals:" The Rights of Conscience 4. "A Bow Too Great for My Stiff Neck:" Resisting the Baptist Church 5. "I Dare Not Pull Up Stakes:" The Persistence of Populist Calvinism 6. "A Very Prince Among Democrats:" Baptist Preacher, Party Whip 7. "Consistent with the Principles of Good Policy:" A Long Journey with Slavery 8. "In the Tub of Diogenes:" Evangelical Contrarian 9. "Awakened in a New World:" A Baptist Rip Van Winkle Bibliography

"I am thankful for Eric Smith writing this book on Leland and giving modern Baptists a resource that will serve us well." -- Jake Stone, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, The London Lyceum "At long last the biography that John Leland deserves! Smith relies on extensive research and sound judgment to dissolve the myths and misunderstandings that have long obscured the real story of Leland's life. The real story nevertheless reads like a tall tale. It is a remarkable achievement. Smith has opened an expansive window into American life and religion in the formative decades of our national experience." -- Gregory A. Wills, Research Professor of Church History and Baptist Heritage, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary "There are few more colorful, eccentric, or consequential preachers in American history than the Baptist evangelist and ardent advocate of religious liberty Elder John Leland. In John Leland: A Jeffersonian Baptist in Early America, pastor, historian, and gifted storyteller Eric C. Smith vividly chronicles Leland's life and theology, reminding modern readers of the mark Leland made on the religious and political cultures of the new nation." -- Daniel L. Dreisbach, Author of Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers "Baptist evangelist John Leland was one of the most influential religious and political figures in Revolutionary America, yet he has been strangely neglected by historians. Eric Smith has admirably rectified that neglect with thisauthoritative and engaging biography." -- Thomas S. Kidd, Author of Who is an Evangelical? The History of a Movement in Crisis "This biography is much richer than space allows here is sufficient to communicate. It is copiously researched and documented. This is must reading for anyone interested in religious freedom and the Baptist heritage." -- Steve W. Lemke, Journal For Baptist Theology And Ministry "My thanks to Eric Smith for this much needed resource." -- Matthew C. Shrader, Central Baptist Theological Seminary, Plymouth, MN "This is an excellent biographical study....Smith's monograph is enormously helpful in understanding why Baptists have flourished in America." -- Michael Haykin, Journal of Church and State

Eric C. Smith is the Senior Pastor of Sharon Baptist Church in Savannah, Tennessee, and a historian of American Baptists and early American religion. He is also the author of Oliver Hart and the Rise of Baptist America (OUP, 2020) and Order & Ardor: The Revival Spirituality of Oliver Hart and the Regular Baptists of Eighteenth-Century South Carolina (USC Press, 2018). He and his wife, Candace, have three children.

Selling point: The first published biography of John Leland, a towering figure of early American religious history Selling point: Explores many major themes of early American religious and political history Selling point: Provides an accessible study of a fascinating and overlooked historical figure