James Andrew’s status as both an enslaver of human beings and a bishop in the church became the focus of the 1844 General Conference. Split largely along sectional lines, the antislavery advocates held the ecclesiastical advantage, and in a 110–69 vote, they resolved to censure the bishop as long as he continued to hold slaves. Refusing to give up his church duties, Andrew and his allies split from the MEC to form the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MECS), and they allowed their clergy to practice slavery.
