arters in New York in 1819 (Daniels 723). The 1784 Christmas Conference held in Baltimore "marks the beginning of the Methodist church in America" and drew 60 preachers that "decided on a form of government by deacons, elders, and superintendents (later bishops); adopted the Book of Discipline, which regulated the life of the church and its members; and elected Coke and Asbury as its first superintendents" (Miller). In 1789, Thomas Wallcut wrote a letter reporting that everywhere he went, the topic that dominated the conversation was "the spread of Methodism" (Wigger 104). In 1790, the Methodist Conference established "Sunday-schools for the instruction of poor children, white and black" (Daniels 726). Dr. Thomas Coke, who had been an active assistant to Wesley, was ordained as "Superintendent of the Methodist Societies in America" (Daniels 469) then, along with Mather, ordained six other superintendents (Daniels 734). In this manner, Methodism spread rapidly.
An aspect of the history of Methodism in America is the role of African-American Methodism. As historian J. Gordon Melton points out, "The story of American Methodism is anchored in three events(all three of which integrally involve African Americans" (2). The first incident occurred when Methodist preacher Robert Strawbridge came to Baltimore, Maryland to preach, and a young black man named Caleb Hyland provided him with a podium and ended up becoming a mainstay of the black Methodist movement for the next 50 years (Melton 2). The second was the joining of Strawbridge's Methodist class by an African American servant woman known as Aunt Annie and that of another African American, Betty, in a class in New York City (Melton 3). From these small beginnings, African Americans eventually became prominent in the Methodist movement in America, having been an integral part of it since its inception (Melton 3). Moreover, "Black people usually formed the most religiousl...