Excerpt from A Constitutional History of American Episcopal Methodism Our constitutional epochs of 1773, when the first American Conference met; of 1784, when Mr. Wesley and the Christmas Conference organized the Methodist Episcopal Church; of 1787, when the American Church asserted its autonomy; of 1792, when the first Quadrennial General Conference assembled; of 1808, when the Delegated General Conference and its Constitution came into existence; and of 1820-1828, when the constitutional govern ment of the Methodist Episcopal Church underwent its first severe strain, have, of course, been treated with special fullness. In this last-mentioned period, the evidence, not hitherto accessible in its entirety, has constrained the conclusion that the sectional severance of American Methodism, on constitutional issues which still divide it, was really efiected. The fifth volume of Dr. Stevens' able history of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which will cover the period beginning with 1820, is announced as almost ready. I am sorry not to be able to consult it before going to press. Important later matters in and down to 189z - tbe centenary of the Gen eral Conference - have been treated, where chronological order has been sacrificed to topical completeness. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.