Harry S. Stout is a distinguished historian of American religious life, focusing on the intricate connections between preaching, religious culture, and the shaping of national identity. His scholarship delves into the profound influence of spiritual movements and moral convictions on pivotal eras of American history, including the Civil War. Stout's work illuminates the complex interplay between faith and society, offering deep insights into the nation's spiritual and moral evolution. He explores how religious thought and practice served as foundational elements in the American experience.
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