152 SPECIALPROVIDENCEcorrespondedregularlywiththeirhomecongregationsandperiodically
returnedonleavetovisitfriendsandfamilyandtorenewtheirsupport-
ers' enthusiasmand commitment.Millions ofAmericans who never
visited a foreign country intheir lives felt intimatelyconnected to
a women'sliteracyprograminChina,a secondaryschoolinArmenia,a
BiblecollegeintheBalkans,orsimplya localcongregationbuilding
a churchin Polynesia. Somemissionary accountsbecame bestselling
books,combiningexoticdetailsofforeigncultureswithinspiringnarra-
tivesoffaith.Visitsbylocalmissionariesornationallywell-knownmis-
sionfigureswerehighpointsinthelocalyear.
Themissionmovementwasanearlypointofentryfor,women,Afri-
canAmericans,andCatholicsintodirectcontactandexperienceinfor-
eignaffairs. Becauseprofessionaleducation was open towomenwho
wereaccreditedtoforeignmissionaryboards,manyofthebrightestand
mostambitiouswomenofthepost-CivilWargenerationsmadetheir
careersoverseas. Tosomedegreethemissionmovementwasthelever
thatcrackedopenthedoorsofprofessionaleducationtowomen;it was
manifestlyabsurdtoadmitfemalestudentstoprofessionalschoolsonly
onconditionthattheyleavethecountryimmediatelyongraduation.
Missionswerealsoegalitariananddemocraticinthattheybrought
Americansintodirectcontactwiththeexternalworldregardlessof geog-
raphyandclass.Poorruralcommunitiessupportedforeignmissionsand
receivedlettersandvisitsfromabroad;aspoliticiansdiscoveredwhen
theirmailboxesfilledwithprotestsovertheChineserailwayloan,many
Americancitizenswhowerenotpartoftheforeignpolicyoreconomic
eliteoftheirdaycaredverydeeplyabouteventsoverseas.
Anotherimportantdomesticconsequenceofthemissionarymove-
mentwastheinternationalizationoftheAmericanuniversity.Theidea
ofthecollegeasa missionfieldgoesbackatleasttoRev.EleazarWhee-
lock's 1769 foundationofDartmouthfortheeducationofIndiansalong
Christianprinciples;butbythemiddleofthenineteenthcentury,mis-
sionarieswere regularlysendingpromisingyoungpeoplefromabroad
backtotheUnitedStatesfora collegeeducation.FormanyAmerican
students,themissionstudentswerethefirstforeignerstheymet.Over
theyears,thattheymetundercircumstancesofequalityinwhichallthe
powerandprestigeofthelocalreligiousandeducationalestablishment
supportedcourteousandfriendlytreatmentoftheforeignerhada major
impactonmanythousandsofcollegestudents.Insomecasesmission
studentsweretheonlymembersofnon-Europeanracialgroupspermit-
tedtoattendcolleges.