Josiah Strong (1847-1916)

Josiah Strong (1847-1916) was a Protestant clergyman and author. His most well-known and influential work was entitled Our Country: Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis (1855), intended to promote foreign missionary activity. It created a strong support for imperialistic United States policy among many Protestants in the United States.

In the "Possible Future" portion of the book, Strong argued that the superior Anglo-Saxon race had a responsibility to "civilize and Christianize" inferior savages. The "Crisis" portion of the text described the numerous "perils" that America faced ­ Mormonism, Socialism, Intemperance, Wealth, Popery, Urbanization, and Immigration.

In 1891 a revised edition was issued based on the census of 1890. The large increase in immigration during this period led him to conclude that the perils he outlined in the first edition had only grown. (Wikipedia Article)