Methodist Episcopal Church, South and South and was criticized for holding slaves. The 1844 General Conference voted to suspend Bishop Andrew from exercising his episcopal office until he gave up the slaves. Southern delegates to the conference disputed the authority of a General Conference to discipline bishops. The cultural differences that had divided the nation during the mid-19th century were also dividing the Methodist Episcopal Church. The 1844 dispute led Methodists in the South to break off and form a separate denomination, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC,S). The statistics for 1859 showed the MEC,S had as enrolled members some 511,601 whites and 197,000
Program test authority Program test authority In broadcasting, program test authority (PTA) is an authorization to conduct on-air testing of broadcast station facilities authorized to be built under a construction permit. Once this testing is successfully completed, and all measured parameters match what was authorized in the permit, the permittee can apply to the broadcasting authority for a broadcast license to cover the permit. PTA lasts until the license is issued (or, rarely, denied). "Program" refers to the permission to broadcast regular radio programming or TV programming, instead of just a test transmission such as a test card or bars and tone (TV