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"The great fact about America-the American gospel-is that belief in God is central to the country's experience, but faith is a matter of choice, not coercion. Religion is central to American life (from the Mayflower, to Jamestown, to the Declaration of Independence, to today), and consequently we must handle it very carefully."-from American Gospel
From the Compact Disc edition.
Excerpted from American Gospel by Jon Meacham Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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| Introduction : American gospel : faith and freedom | 3 | |
| I | God and mammon : fortune, fear, and the first colonies | 37 |
| II | And none shall be afraid : the revolution, the Constitution, and the creation of the presidency | 64 |
| III | Let us die to make men free : the Civil War, Lincoln, and Darwin | 114 |
| IV | Imperfect though we are : wars against the Great Depression, totalitarianism, and Jim Crow | 153 |
| V | The fight is on : the martyrdom of Dr. King, the rise of a new right, and Reagan's delicate balance 200 | |
| VI | Our hope for years to come : history, religion, and common sense | 227 |
| App. A | In their own words : selected documents on religion in America | 251 |
| App. B | Scripture and state : the presidents' choice of inaugural Bible verses | 267 |
Anonymous
Posted February 5, 2007
Jon Meacham's American Gospel is one volume every American household should have on the bookshelf. He rises to protect the center--the strength--of American polity rather than support (or bash) one side or the other in the continuing debate over whether The United States is a Christian country founded on Christian principles -- or not. And that's where he takes a stand: in the center ableit, not a safe place to be. There are no Golden Cows in the text. Meacham's analysis, synthesis and evaluation of the historical record, from John Winthrop to Ronald Reagan, is almost perfect, but not quite: There could have been more attention given to Hugo Black's 'Everson' decision which, in effect, resurrected the 'Wall', a Jeffersonian idea which to this day remains a most nebulous and confusing concept. Many Americans don't understand the context of Black's opion relevant to Jefferson's involvement, i.e., his letter to the Danbury Baptist Assn. Black points to Jefferson, in his 1947 Everson opinion, as being the absolute authority on the First Amendment yet Jefferson was no where near the Constitutional Convention, much less near the process of coming up with a Bill of Rights, of which, '...Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . .' became 'The Clause' celeb, so to speak. Although Jefferson wrote many letters stating his opinion on the process of the Convention to his friend and protege James Madison on a regular basis, Jefferson was more occupied with the process of pursuing one Maria Cosway somewhere between Paris and Versailles during his mission in France. It may seem trivial, but it's no small matter: the 'Wall' still sparks mindless arguements that solve nothing -- the very theme that embodies Meacham's message. And it's a good mesaage! Other than that, the book is well structured, fluid, eminently informative, and readable. I enjoyed it. Couldn't put it down! I learned a thing or two.
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Posted April 16, 2006
I always enjoy reading books that make me think about the way I feel about life in the United States today. This book is a good read for anyone with an open mind.
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Posted April 16, 2006
It's always interesting to read that our founding fathers, who thought up separation of church and state, were very religious men indeed.
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