The Puritan origins of American patriotism / George McKenna.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McKenna, George.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Patriotism--United States--History.

Patriotism.

Puritans--United States--Doctrines--History.

Puritans.

Puritans--United States--History.

Reformed Church--United States--Doctrines--History.

Reformed Church.

Religion and politics--United States.

Religion and politics.

National characteristics, American.

United States--History--Religious aspects--Christianity.

United States.

United States--Civilization--Philosophy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (448 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In this absorbing book, George McKenna ranges across the entire panorama of American history to track the development of American patriotism. That patriotism-shaped by Reformation Protestantism and imbued with the American Puritan belief in a providential "errand"-has evolved over 350 years and influenced American political culture in both positive and negative ways, McKenna shows. The germ of the patriotism, an activist theology that stressed collective rather than individual salvation, began in the late 1630's in New England and traveled across the continent, eventually becoming a national phenomenon. Today, American patriotism still reflects its origins in the seventeenth century. By encouraging cohesion in a nation of diverse peoples and inspiring social reform, American patriotism has sometimes been a force for good. But the book also uncovers a darker side of the nation's patriotism-a prejudice against the South in the nineteenth century, for example, and a tendency toward nativism and anti-Catholicism. Ironically, a great reversal has occurred, and today the most fervent believers in the Puritan narrative are the former "outsiders"-Catholics and Southerners. McKenna offers an interesting new perspective on patriotism's role throughout American history, and he concludes with trenchant thoughts on its role in the post-9/11 era.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface

Introduction: The Puritan Legacy

Chapter 1 The Puritan Narrative

Chapter 2 Revolutionary Puritanism

Chapter 3 Romantic Puritanism

Chapter 4 The Holy War

Chapter 5 Puritans in the Gilded Age

Chapter 6 Puritanism Debunked-and Revived

Chapter 7 America Blessed and Judged

Chapter 8 Intermezzo

Chapter 9 America After 9/11

Notes

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [375]-414) and index.

ISBN:

9786611735128

9781281735126

1281735124

9780300137675

0300137672

OCLC:

1024040686