Hellfire nation : the politics of sin in American history / James A. Morone.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Morone, James A., 1951-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Religion and politics--United States--History.

Religion and politics.

United States--Politics and government.

United States.

United States--Moral conditions.

United States--Social conditions.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 575 pages) : illustrations, maps

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, c2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This insightful new conceptualization of American political history demonstrates that-despite the clear separation of church and state-religion lies at the heart of American politics. From the Puritan founding to the present day, the American story is a moral epic, James Morone says, and while moral fervor has inspired the dream of social justice it has also ignited our fiercest social conflicts.From the colonial era to the present day, Americans embraced a Providential mission, tangled with devils, and aspired to save the world. Moral fervor ignited our fiercest social conflicts-but it also moved dreamers to remake the nation in the name of social justice. Moral crusades inspired abolition, woman suffrage, and civil rights, even as they led Americans to hang witches, enslave Africans, and ban liquor. Today these moral arguments continue, influencing the debate over everything from abortion to foreign policy.Written with passion and deep insight, Hellfire Nation tells the story of a brawling, raucous, religious people. Morone shows how fears of sin and dreams of virtue defined the shape of the nation.

Contents:

Introduction: A Nation with the Soul of a Church

Us: The City on a Hill

Them: Heretic, Heathen, and Witch

The Puritans Become America

The Wrath of God in Black and White

Abolition!

South: The Pro-Slavery Argument

North: The Ragged Chorus of the Union

Purity and the Woman's Sphere

White Slaves and the Modern Witch-Hunt

Temperance: Crucible of Race and Class

Prohibition and the Rise of Big Government

The New Deal Call to Alms

Manifest Destiny and the Cold War

The Sixties

Modern Morals

Epilogue.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [499]-560) and index.

ISBN:

9786611722302

9781281722300

1281722308

9780300130232

0300130236

OCLC:

191952610