Harry S. Stout is een vooraanstaand historicus van het Amerikaanse religieuze leven, met een focus op de ingewikkelde verbanden tussen prediking, religieuze cultuur en de vorming van nationale identiteit. Zijn werk duikt diep in de diepgaande invloed van spirituele bewegingen en morele overtuigingen op cruciale tijdperken van de Amerikaanse geschiedenis, waaronder de Burgeroorlog. Stout belicht het complexe samenspel tussen geloof en samenleving en biedt diepgaande inzichten in de spirituele en morele evolutie van de natie. Hij onderzoekt hoe religieus denken en praktijk dienden als fundamentele elementen in de Amerikaanse ervaring.
Harry Stout's groundbreaking study of preaching in colonial New England changed the field when it first appeared in 1986. Here, twenty-five years later, is a reissue of Stout's book: a reconstruction of the full import of the colonial sermon as a multi-faceted institution that served both religious and political purposes and explained history and society to the New England Puritans for one and a half centuries.
The book offers a profound examination of the moral justifications behind the Civil War, highlighting how both the Union and Confederacy viewed themselves as morally righteous. Stout analyzes the disparity between these claims and the realities of warfare, utilizing contemporary documents to illustrate the interplay of propaganda and ideology that rationalized violence. By exploring experiences from the home front to the battlefield, the work serves as a critical reflection on the ethical implications of war, relevant to contemporary conflicts.
From a renowned historian, the story of a prosperous early American family and the great middle class land grab that propelled the nation's staggering economic and territorial growth