American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation

Book Description

The American Gospel–literally, the good news about America–is that religion shapes our public life without controlling it. In this vivid book, New York Times bestselling author Jon Meacham tells the human story of how the Founding Fathers viewed faith, and how they ultimately created a nation in which belief in God is a matter of choice.

At a time when our country seems divided by extremism, American Gospel draws on the past to offer a new perspective. Meacham re-creates the fascinating history of a nation grappling with religion and politics–from John Winthrop’s “city on a hill” sermon to Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence; from the Revolution to the Civil War; from a proposed nineteenth-century Christian Amendment to the Constitution to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s call for civil rights; from George Washington to Ronald Reagan.

Debates about religion and politics are often more divisive than illuminating. Secularists point to a “wall of separation between church and state,” while many conservatives act as though the Founding Fathers were apostles in knee britches. As Meacham shows in this brisk narrative, neither extreme has it right. At the heart of the American experiment lies the God of what Benjamin Franklin called “public religion,” a God who invests all human beings with inalienable rights while protecting private religion from government interference. It is a great American balancing act, and it has served us well.

Meacham has written and spoken extensively about religion and politics, and he brings historical authority and a sense of hope to the issue. American Gospel makes it compellingly clear that the nation’s best chance of summoning what Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature” lies in recovering the spirit and sense of the Founding. In looking back, we may find the light to lead us forward.

“In his American Gospel, Jon Meacham provides a refreshingly clear, balanced, and wise historical portrait of religion and American politics at exactly the moment when such fairness and understanding are much needed. Anyone who doubts the relevance of history to our own time has only to read this exceptional book.”–David McCullough, author of 1776

“Jon Meacham has given us an insightful and eloquent account of the spiritual foundation of the early days of the American republic. It is especially instructive reading at a time when the nation is at once engaged in and deeply divided on the question of religion and its place in public life.”–Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation

“An absorbing narrative full of vivid characters and fresh thinking, American Gospel tells how the Founding Fathers–and their successors–struggled with their own religious and political convictions to work out the basic structure for freedom of religion. For me this book was nonstop reading.”–Elaine Pagels, professor of religion, Princeton University, author of Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas

“Jon Meacham is one of our country’s most brilliant thinkers about religion’s impact on American society. In this scintillating and provocative book, Meacham reveals the often-hidden influence of religious belief on the Founding Fathers and on later generations of American citizens and leaders up to our own. Today, as we argue more strenuously than ever about the proper place of religion in our politics and the rest of American life, Meacham’s important book should serve as the touchstone of the debate.”
–Michael Beschloss, author of The Conquerors

“At a time when faith and freedom seem increasingly polarized, American Gospel recovers our vital center–the middle ground where, historically, religion and public life strike a delicate balance. Well researched, well written, inspiring, and persuasive, this is a welcome addition to the literature.”–Jonathan D. Sarna, Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University, author of American Judaism: A History

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

A Balanced Study.......2007-10-20

"American Gospel" examines the story of the role religion has played in American public life from colonial times to the present. Utilizing quotes from clergy and presidents, among others, author Jon Meacham presents an interesting narrative of one of the most important forces of history.

Through this book, Meacham follows the role of religion in shaping crucial eras. The inspiration or use of religion molded the colonial experience at the beginning of the story. One of the most interesting sections deals with the role that the founding fathers, whose religious orientation often differed markedly from that of many modern readers, saw for faith in the nation's birth. Later high points included the Civil War, both World Wars and the Depression when God was invoked to guide the country through these trying times. Not limited to periods of crisis, Meacham also involves the words of Theodore Roosevelt, Billy Graham and some historical figures who are less frequently quoted.

The theme of this book is that public religion has and always will play a role in public life, most effectively when it respects the religious diversity of America. Those looking for book to praise or denigrate religion will be disappointed. The reader looking for a balanced study of the religious thread woven into our history will be well satisfied.

American Gospel - No Answer.......2007-09-28

I have to admit, after reading A Peoples' History of the United States, I had much concern about this book. It seems that it was either going to state that the United States was founded on Christian beliefs or it was going to say that it was absolutely not founded on Christian beliefs. Much to my surprise, the answer was 'sort of.'

As much as one could, Mr. Meacham seems to have taken a middle road, analytical view of the topic. From the origins of separation of church and state to discuss what God and maker were the founding fathers speaking of, the book was found to be most informative an interesting. It seems that some readers will get annoyed because they want the book to pick a side and argue it but instead he presented both parts of the argument and follows history to where we are today with respect to faith, God and government.

His citation system is far superior to that found in A Peoples' History though it was still lacking. He provided a long citation list but only by page with no corresponding reference on said page. I don't know...maybe in popular history books editors feel that when a reader sees a superscript number that they will be turned off. What I would hope is that two editions could be published, one as the book currently is but also one with exact citations so the reader, if she so chooses, can look up a quote or fact and see if it is presented in an appropriate context. Another good thing was the inclusion of entire documents within the appendix to allow the reader to see the source material as it was and to either agree or disagree with Mr. Meacham's interpretation.

Pablum.......2007-09-13

Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, Adams, and Madison were Deists, not Christians. Deism, not Christianity, was the religion of the enlightenment and of the early American intelligentsia. This work is well-intended, but superficial, and only feeds into the big lie that America is a "Christian country." That charade needs to be played out, not played into.

Finally, a Balanced Truth.......2007-08-18

American Gospel tells the truth of the history of religion (primarily the belief in Christianity) in the United States. It is very satisfying because it tells the whole story.

I have been an evangelical (born-again) Christian for almost 30 years. In that time, I have heard people say "America is a Christian nation," and I even went to a lecture by David Barton, founder of Wallbuilders, who claimed that the founding fathers were all Christian men.

I love the Lord and I love to study American history. But when I would hear and read about how Christian the nation was (and many evangelicals want to ensure that it remains so), I always think, "How could this Christian nation have tolerated slavery? How could these Christian men say 'thou shalt not steal,' and then take land away from Native Americans?" I often felt like those I've heard go on about how America was founded by Christians would like for people to forget our country's greatest sins, or believe that Christians had nothing to do with them. In fact, on Independence Day weekend 2007, I went to Church and my pastor gave a message about America, and he said "The battle cry of America has always been freedom." That's a nice thought, but it's just not true.

The truth is that the founders wanted a nation where people could be free in every aspect, including their spiritual beliefs. I'm glad for a book that respects Christianity but does not justify, minimize or ignore America's sins.

Bad history written by a journalist.......2007-08-15

If you want a real historical account and worth while scholarship, I would suggest reading "The Faiths of the Founding Fathers." Meacham is an amateur. Any senior in an undergraduate history course should be able to point out the glaring omissions, half truths and shoddy scholarship. His thesis is not even original. It seems to me Meacham is a reporter who found a way to make money during a time where religion and government are of more concern to Americans. Meacham should stick to reporting and let historians write history.

Solomon's Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers and the Secrets of Washington D.C.

Average customer rating:

Great Book!!
Solomon's Builders: An accurate origin of the founding of America
Another Good One from Hodapp
It's hard to neatly peg this guide
Deserves a prominent place in every Freemasons bookshelf

Solomon's Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers and the Secrets of Washington D.C.
Christopher Hodapp
Manufacturer: Ulysses Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Freemasonry | Other Practices | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1569755795

Book Description

Solomon’s Builders transports the reader back to the birth of a radical new nation and tells how a secretive society influenced and inspired the formation of what would become the most powerful nation on earth.

A history that reads like a thriller, it follows George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and the other Founding Fathers who transformed the lessons of their Masonic lodge rooms into models for a new democracy. In the process, it pieces together the still-visible clues of the Freemasons as it uncovers the mystical Masonic symbolism hidden in the design of the city and in its monuments, statues and buildings.

From “all-seeing eyes,” pentagrams, and Egyptian-inspired obelisks to the imposing and mysterious Masonic temples of the "Widow's Sons," Solomon’s Builders guides readers on a Freemason’s tour of Washington, D.C. as it separates fact from myth and reveals the background of the sequel to The Da Vinci Code.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book!!.......2007-09-10

This is by the same author that wrote Freemasonry For Dummies. Both books are very informative and enjoyable to read if you interested in freemasony or just history of the United States

Solomon's Builders: An accurate origin of the founding of America.......2007-07-13

I am an active Freemason for more than 4 decades. Bro. Hodapp's work is the first well written account of the philosophical thinking that led to the formation of a common man's democracy. This is the reference book that teachers need to read and public schools use in their American History classes. There are countless books written by non-masons on the origin of America but non give credit to the Freemasons for their ideas such as freedom, public schools, constitutions, bill of rights, and government by vote of those who owned land.

Karl Grube, Ph.D., President - Bonisteel Masonic Library - Ann Arbor

Another Good One from Hodapp.......2007-07-04

I loved Freemasons for Dummies and was equally impressed with Solomon's Builders as well. Very informative, and well sourced. Highly recommend both of his books.
Tony

It's hard to neatly peg this guide.......2007-06-09

SOLOMON'S BUILDERS: FREEMASONS, FOUNDING FATHERS AND THE SECRETS OF WASHINGTON, D.C. deserves repeated and ongoing mention as an excellent survey of Freemason influences on United States history. It's hard to neatly peg this guide: it could go under new age or American history as neatly as in spirituality sections - so any library covering any of these topics needs SOLOMON'S BUILDERS, which presents a Freemason's tour of Washington D.C. and charts Masonic influence during the construction of America, from national monuments and symbolism in city streets to temples and keys to religious insights.

Deserves a prominent place in every Freemasons bookshelf.......2007-04-09

Without question this book is sure to become a classic for Freemasons or those interested in Freemasonry. Incredibly well written based on extensive research and with a detailed bibliography to support the thesis. RWB Hodapp unfolds a tale that spans centuries of politics and characters in a smooth narrative that keeps the reader turning each page anxious to find out 'what happened next'.

Solomon's Builders covers the history and influence of Freemasonry in the founding of the United States and links the institution firmly within the enlightenment ideals that were spreading like wildfire around the globe; largely spread through Masonic lodges dispensing their own form of democracy and equality in every land.

This book is being marketed in hopes of taking advantage of the hype that will likely surround Dan Brown's next book 'Solomon's Key'. I can only encourage every person who reads Browns next work of fiction to turn to RWB Hodapp's well documented non-fiction presentation of the real story behind the myth.

Tommy's Honor: The Story of Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris, Golf's Founding Father and Son

Average customer rating:

A wonderful piece of scholarship told beautifully
Tommy's Honor
Bringing Old Tom & Young Tom back to life
Tom and Tommy Morris Come Alive Again
Early golf history comes to life!

Tommy's Honor: The Story of Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris, Golf's Founding Father and Son
Kevin Cook
Manufacturer: Gotham
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1592402976
Release Date: 2007-04-05

Book Description

In the tradition of Seabiscuit, the riveting tale of twoproud Scotsmen who beat all comers to become the heroesof a golden age—the dawn of professional golf

Bringing to life golf's founding father and son, Tommy's Honor is a stirring tribute to two legendary players and a vivid evocation of their colorful, rip-roaring times.

The Morrises were towering figures in their day. Old Tom, born in 1821,began life as a nobody— he was the son of a weaver and a maid. But he was born in St. Andrews, Scotland, the cradle of golf, and the game was in his blood. He became the Champion Golfer of Scotland, a national hero who won tournaments (and huge bets) while his young son looked on. As "Keeper of the Green" at the town's ancient links, Tom deployed golf's first lawnmower and banished sheep from the fairways.

Then Young Tommy's career took off. Handsome Tommy Morris, the Tiger Woods of the nineteenth century, was a more daring player than his father. Soon he surpassed Old Tom and dominated the game. But just as he reached his peak—with spectators flocking to see him play— Tommy's life took a tragic turn, leading to his death at the age of twenty-four. That shock is at the heart of Tommy's Honor. It left Tom to pick up the pieces—to honor his son by keeping Tommy's memory alive.

Like the New York Times bestseller The Greatest Game Ever Played, Tommy's Honor is both fascinating history and a moving personal saga. Golfers will love it, but this book isn't only for golfers. It's for every son who has fought to escape a father's shadow and for every father who had guided a son toward manhood, then found it hard to let him go.

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful piece of scholarship told beautifully.......2007-09-17

If I were to recommend a single book to read about the famous Morris family, it would be Kevin Cook's Tommy's Honor: The Story of Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris, Golf's Founding Father and Son. Many of us know the familiar history of these men - of Old Tom's falling out with famous ball maker and player Allan Robertson, and of Young Tom dying of a broken heart on Christmas Day. This book goes beyond that and reveals fascinating layers of their lives previously unexamined.

This work is a wonderfully crafted narrative along the lines of Mark Frost's The Greatest Game Ever Played. It draws on facts gleaned from numerous sources, including contemporary newspaper accounts, and creates a compelling story of father and son. We are taken inside their lives in equal measure. We can feel the cold water of St. Andrews Bay as Old Tom goes for his morning swim, we are inside Allan Robertson's kitchen as Tom makes feathery balls for him. We witness his big money matches, we move with Tom, wife Nancy and baby Tommy to Prestwick, we win Opens with him and then return to St. Andrews and follow Young Tom's ascendency to golf immortality.

The enduring impact Old Tom had as Keeper of the Green at St. Andrews and his lasting legacy on the game of golf is developed quite thoroughly. Cook even touches on the class differences between Tom and the men of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews he served. Old Tom is portrayed as a man with great dedication to his family and profession. Beyond that, he also possessed a steady, dignified grace. The following passages are illustrative of both Cook's scholarship and expressive style:

"For greens other than the one at the wet High Hole he used clay pipes as hole liners. The pipes, made in nearby Kincaple, happened to be four and a quarter inches in diameter. Due to a quirk of the Kincaple brickworks, four and a half inches became the standard diameter of the cup on every green. While Tom mended the course, his son hit balls. Tommy's swing would be imitated by a generation of golfers who saw themselves as his apostles."

"Watching his father kneel to tee up another man's ball set Tommy's teeth on edge. Tom, unbothered, said there was an art to making a sand tee just the right height for a golfer's swing, and applying a drop of spit to the back of the ball so that a few grains of sand stuck to it, adding backspin when it landed. There was no shame in kneeling, he said. Had not our Savior told his followers to render unto Caesar? After all, Tom said, it was not his immortal soul that bent, only his knee."

Cook's research is impressive and thorough, as he weaves together such diverse subjects as ball and club making with the development of the Old Course itself and the players who challenged the Morris's for golfing supremacy. This is done seamlessly and leaves the reader wanting to learn more about these wonderful characters.

Of special interest are new insights concerning Tommy's wife Margaret Drinnen, a "woman with a past," as the Victorian standards of the day would have labeled her. She bore an illegitimate child before moving to St. Andrews and marrying Young Tom. Less than a year later she died during childbirth, and Tommy tragically succumbed three months later of a pulmonary embolism. His early death has frozen in time our romanticized image of him.

Old Tom Morris carried on, survivor that he was. As he once said late in life, "I've had my troubles and my trials...and with the help of my God and of golf, I've gotten through somehow or another." His beloved wife Nancy, already an invalid, died just seventeen days after Tommy. Son Jack, who had been born with deformed legs, died in 1893; daughter Elizabeth passed away suddenly in 1898; and his son Jamie in 1906. Tom survived them all.

Cook has done a great service with this book. One can read Tulloch's Life of Tom Morris and come away with a better knowledge of the lives of Old and Young Tom, but it is a dry book written a century ago. Like David Joy's Scrapbook of Old Tom Morris (2001), Tommy's Honor offers a fresh look at a familiar subject.

Bob Furgeson, British Open champion (1880-82) once said that nerve, enthusiasm, and practice were the three essentials to succeed in golf. But to be great requires the gift. Tommy Morris had a gift for golf, and Kevin Cook has helped us understand the nature of that gift and the human and spiritual elements that fostered it.

Tommy's Honor.......2007-08-28

This work by Kevin Cook is the best historical golf book I have ever read. Cook brings the characters to life by providing personal insights he garnered through research of local newspapers and other articles he was able to find about Old Tom and and Young Tom Morris. It is a remarkable tale that reveals details about mid 19th century life and golf in Scotland in a way that has never been accomplished before.
I highly recommend the book to any and all readers who have an interest in the beginnings of the game of golf and its founding fathers.

Bringing Old Tom & Young Tom back to life.......2007-05-20

The mythology of St. Andrews and "Old" and "Young" Tom Morris is well known amongst most golfers with at least a passing interest in the game's history and historic figures. We know about Old Tom's innovations at St. Andrews (which was his second stop as a head greenskeeper and teacher, lasting 44 years) and Young Tom's British Open success (he won four straight championships), but it takes Kevin Cook's beautifully written account of their lives to help us really get to know them. This is a marvelous book, well-researched and well-told, about two men who had enormous impact on the game - not just at the birthplace of golf, but on its history. Reading it is a magical experience, even if you don't play the game.

Tom and Tommy Morris Come Alive Again.......2007-05-13

Kevin Cook's poignant biography of the Morrises brings Tom and Tommy alive for his readers. It's much more than a story of their lives. It's about fathers and sons, families, social classes, golf, and the birth of the touring golf professional.

Tom's story gives us a keen insight into golf and a golfer's life in the second half of the 19th century. Many aspects of golf have changed over the years and, surprisingly, many have remained exactly as they were 150 years ago.

The reason for the seemingly strange title is revealed in the final sentence of the book.

This book should be on every golfer's Best-Sellers list.

Early golf history comes to life! .......2007-05-13

If you're a golf history nut, or just interested in late 1800's-early 1900's, you'll love this book. If you just like to know more about the great game of golf, this is your book. Kevin Cook brings the world of St. Andrews and Scotland to life. You can just about smell the oil lamps burning on the streets or the low tide blowing in from the North Sea. Oh, and the history of Tom Morris and his son, Tommy, is just amazing. I felt like I was reading a novel but is was true! If you love golf or know someone that loves the game you must get this book. It's a classic.

The Whiz Kids: The Founding Fathers of American Business - and the Legacy they Left Us

Average customer rating:

A Must Read for MBA-Finance
Whiz Kids and the Holding Companies
Military Industrial Complex Explained
Don't lose humanity in IT world
Lessons we would do well to heed

The Whiz Kids: The Founding Fathers of American Business - and the Legacy they Left Us
John A. Byrne
Manufacturer: Currency
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0385248040
Release Date: 1993-08-01

Customer Reviews:

A Must Read for MBA-Finance.......2006-12-30

This is by far one of the best business books I've ever read (top ten). Anyone interested in: Ford Motor Company, the automobile industry, American business history, or the world of finance/accounting will enjoy this work. If you're a MBA-Finance the Whiz Kids does a great job of showing the development of modern financial analysis - its advantages as well as its shortcomings. It also deals with Robert McNamara's role during the Vietnam War and Tex Thorton's creation of Litton Industries. It's kinda long but I've read it cover to cover twice. A few of my friends have also read this one and they all really liked it.

Whiz Kids and the Holding Companies.......2003-06-05

This is a great read for today's corporate watchers (think Enron, Qwest, Tyco, WorldCom). After WWII, the early speadsheet types, geeks, nerds and whiz kids went on a roll in the 1950s and 1960s. They created holding companies (we call it today "synergy") like the electrical and railroad guys did a generation (30 years) earlier. The names were great: Teledyne, Litton, LTV, etc. The holding company or parent owned lots of divisions or profit centers. Think of it as a mutual fund, like the Sage of Omaha has today. Government contracts, the cold war, all helped them grow. They flew Braniff 707s and AA Convair 990s between LA and Dallas and NYC, drank martinis, dressed like the movie "Down with Love." They used computers to figure out market share and P&L, big IBM and Sperry Univacs. Like all parties it ended with Vietnam going south, Nixon taking away the punch bowl and the NYSE dropping. Like the 1920s, the 50-60s needed this book and many will be done, all the same as this one, on the Roaring dot.com 1990s, with the same nonsense: holding companies, synergy and over paid executives. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Military Industrial Complex Explained.......2001-04-26

This is a convincing look behind the scenes at Ford, as Robert S. McNamara makes his mark in big business, after figuring out how to manage logistics for the U.S. Dept of Defense during WWII. It was novel of these guys (the Whiz Kids) to insist that they all be hired by Ford as a group. Kind of a Japanese team spirit at work. Then different ones fell by the wayside, and one even committed suicide (no Japanese connection intended).

The counterpart to any given U.S. whiz kid for the British during WWII was one Lord Leathers, appointed as material and logistics chief by the war cabinet, whose exploits were referred to by Churchill in his 6 Vol. history of WWII.

For the Germans, we had Albert Speer, seeking to wring gasoline form coal while still promising the Fuhrer that he could still have his new boulevards and buildings in Berlin. I'm not sure who ran this end of things for Stalin, but whomever that was, they must have been pretty smart as well.

The interesting thing is the way the Whiz Kids took what they had learned about moving material to feed soldiers and blow things up, and transferred those skills to rescuing Ford from the predations of Henry I just in time to save the industrial neck of Henry II (since in this tragedy we skip over Edsel I as irrelevant, since Henry I pretty much snuffed him out, emotionally anyway).

This is all living history, and envy of the Whiz Kids is probably what drove GM to hire Peter Drucker from Vienna to analyze itself, leading to Drucker's first major work describing management of a major public corporation. This in turn egging on Alfred Sloan to reply with his less readable "My Years with General Motors."

So a lot happened after these Whiz Kids hit the scene in Detroit. Overall, their quantitative streak seems to elevate them well above trivial "guru" status achieved by so many modern management consultants. McNamara had an interesting feedback into government, by rejoining DOD as a Kennedy guy, from which I guess he repented after the fact to assuage whatever damage he did to his soul by egging on JFK and LBJ beyond the limits of American power, if not authority. That's a lesson for businessmen, too.

Don't lose humanity in IT world.......2000-09-28

I was pondering when I read this book. I have read this book for many times. Every time I got different feeling. From this book, you can feel the cheer, and the tear of them. These guys, we can call them "Blue Blood". They got the power of how to control this world, changing this world. The problem is, some of them, for example, Robert Mcnamara, was plug into the data, statistic data and lose humannity. That is why he loose in Vanem. That is also a lesson to all of us, who are at the edge of IT evolution. Don't be a robust, computer is only a tool, there is a lot of beautiful things outside this data matrix. Don't be slaved by it.

Author did give a clearer picture of this ten guys. And intrigue me to know more about them. This is a rather interesting books, also a good lesson to those in "Internet" fever.

Don't lose your humanity!!!

Lessons we would do well to heed.......2000-04-07

Just ten men -- all relatively young during the war -- were responsible for Corporate America's decline after the post-war boom? "Yes -- to an extent." is John Byrne's answer to that question in this unflinching look at how the "whiz kids" (originally called the "quiz kids" for reasons explained in the book) landed jobs at Ford Motor as a group and then proceeded to skillfully consolidate their power by using "new" numbers-based analytical methods to promote their agenda and dismiss others'. Eventually, as they occupied executive suites at Ford, several went into other business and government postions, spreading the "gospel" of "if it's not in the numbers, it's not real." As we now know, this "dispassionate" method's shortcomings become painfully evident when a field is open to increased competition (the auto industry) and/or faces an adversary who doesn't desire to "play by the rules" (the Viet Cong). Byrne takes the time to tell the story of all 10 men to varying degrees, and lays out a vivid picture of how we **will** fall short if we mindlessly follow management styles that have been around for so long that they are ingrained in some companies' cultures, but still are no more effective today then they were 30 years ago.

Average customer rating:

The past truly is a foreign country
The Founding Fathers Faiths
Excellent, but the Deist label seems pressed too hard.
Superb book on understanding Deism in 18th Century
The Faiths of the Founding fathers

The Faiths of the Founding Fathers
David L. Holmes
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0195300920

Book Description

It is not uncommon to hear Christians argue that America was founded as a Christian nation. But how true is this claim? In this compact book, David L. Holmes offers a clear, concise and illuminating look at the spiritual beliefs of our founding fathers. He begins with an informative account of the religious culture of the late colonial era, surveying the religious groups in each colony. In particular, he sheds light on the various forms of Deism that flourished in America, highlighting the profound influence this intellectual movement had on the founding generation. Holmes then examines the individual beliefs of a variety of men and women who loom large in our national history. He finds that some, like Martha Washington, Samuel Adams, John Jay, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson's daughters, held orthodox Christian views. But many of the most influential figures, including Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John and Abigail Adams, Jefferson, James and Dolley Madison, and James Monroe, were believers of a different stripe. Respectful of Christianity, they admired the ethics of Jesus, and believed that religion could play a beneficial role in society. But they tended to deny the divinity of Christ, and a few seem to have been agnostic about the very existence of God. Although the founding fathers were religious men, Holmes shows that it was a faith quite unlike the Christianity of today's evangelicals. Holmes concludes by examining the role of religion in the lives of the presidents since World War II and by reflecting on the evangelical resurgence that helped fuel the reelection of George W. Bush. An intriguing look at a neglected aspect of our history, the book will appeal to American history buffs as well as to anyone concerned about the role of religion in American culture.

Customer Reviews:

The past truly is a foreign country.......2007-10-12

David Holmes writes a very informative study regarding the religious beliefs of America's Founding Fathers. He examines this diverse eclectic group in a opened balance perspective. Today there is a desire to better understand the relationship between the founding of America and the influence that Christianity played within that founding. This has been made apparently clearer as the religious right and the liberal left want to place the Founding Fathers into their respective camps and use them to make some political statement. Holmes reveals the religious views of several of the leading Founding Fathers. He shows that men such as Washington, Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe were more Deist in action and thought than orthodox Christian. These early US Presidents maintained a low religious profile during their presidency and didn't advocate personal religious beliefs upon the new nation. The influence of the Enlightenment from Bacon, Locke and Newton were spreading a new school of religious thought called Deism throughout England and into the Colonies. Having come from Europe where church and crown were extremely intertwined, the Founding Fathers had no strong desires to continue this tradition. As the First Great Awakening was growing into American's belief system, the foundations were beginning to be laid for a Nation to be built upon religious freedoms and personal liberties. Throughout history there have been individually great men and women, but at no time has there been found together, in one place and time, this collection of the truly wise and noble men such as the founding fathers. Men that "appeared less devout than they really were"..and "valued freedom of conscience and despised religious tyranny." It is near impossible to understand or even know an individuals private religious thinking. The best possible way of understanding this is, as Holmes shows, is by their writings and the lives they lived. Holmes' book challenges us to remember that the founding fathers were remarkable, even noble men and that we need to keep their background and ethos in proper perspective.

This book gives an informative look at the men and the religious feelings that were spreading throughout America during this remarkable period. Holmes reveals to us the great and noble men who laid life, liberty, and property on the altar of freedom and never apostatized from it. Well worth the read and addition to the history shelf.

The Founding Fathers Faiths.......2007-09-09

Right Wing Religious conservatives have tried to put George Washington on a pedestal as a founder of a Christian Nation. David L. Holmes doesn't take sides but confronts these myths regarding the founding fathers. I would also suggest Deism In American Thought, by Woodbridge Riley and of course Thomas Paines, The Age of Reason, our founding fathers had good reasons for insuring the separation of religion and state. I would offer as an example the laws that existed regarding Quakers that existed in some of the colonies as an example of what they were trying to prevent in their concept of a new nation. What people will do "In the name of God" is still a modern day concern. Secularism has become almost a religion in modern times, without including allowances for some ethics and spirituality. Man is not a noble savage!

Excellent, but the Deist label seems pressed too hard........2007-07-09

As an evangelical Christian, I have longed for a well researched book that strives to stick to the facts of the religious background of our founding fathers. Holmes' book does that, generally avoiding jumping to conclusions that are not warranted by those facts.

If you have been taught that the founding fathers were all Christians who strove to build a new nation upon the precepts of the Bible, this book will set you straight. The strength of the book lies in its reliance on actual records and statements of the key founders (e.g., the first five presidents and other notables). Thus, Holmes blows a wind of fresh air into today's wranglings that claim America to be a "Christian nation."

Yet, while reading, I often wondered if Holmes sees too MUCH Deism in early America. His citations of alleged Deistic comments by the founding fathers aren't always that clear or definitive.

Holmes surely proves that the influence of Deism was present in early America. But I'm not sure that the unbiased reader will readily agree that Deism was as widespread and as widely recognized in the 18th century as Holmes seems to suggest.

This mild criticism aside, this book is a readable and incredibly helpful resource for anyone who desires to know the specific religious beliefs and activities of the key players in our nation's founding.

Superb book on understanding Deism in 18th Century.......2007-02-08

I found this book by David L. Holmes to be superbly written, researched and presented. The author not only present a clear understanding of religious situation of the colonies prior to the Revolution but afterward as well. The main asset of this book lies in his understanding of how Deism as a religious and theological thought, influenced the acts, actions, political behavior and personal behavior of Ben Franklins, John Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monore and James Madison.

Another service this book provides is that the author have a clear and logical understanding of Deism and explained to the reader in a clear and logical way that is easy to understand. He also explained how you can tell if one is a Deist by the language, mannerism and behavior when discussing religious matter. The author made it clear that while these men were born Christian, they didn't embrace Christianity as mature adults and ironic, some of them return the fold as they lay dying.

The book also point that one gift these men gave the American nation which was most reflective of their Deist faith was the concept of separation of Church and State. They defeated all efforts by the new nation to create Christianity as a state religion and ensure that religion and government stay out of each other's way.

These men who were Deist, ironically did not push this thought onto their families. The book also dealt with families of these men and come up with the fact that most of them were rise and remains as orthodox Christians.

The book briefly covered the religious lives of three regular Christians who supported our founding fathers, John Jay, Samuel Adams and Elias Boudinot.

The Epilogue proves to be quite interesting since the author discussed the faiths of our past presidents from Gerald R. Ford to George W. Bush. The mass difference between these men from each others truly reflect a true labyrinth of Christianity that is being practice in this nation today.

This book come well recommended and almost a standard mandatory reading material for any American interested in our nation's history. The book also serves as a warning against any revisionist thoughts by some in our country who wishes believe that men who founded our nation were some sort of religious fanatics or die-hard Christians.

The Faiths of the Founding fathers.......2007-01-11

An excellent study of religious transition. Gave me a good understanding of some of the religious issues of today

Founding Fathers, Secret Societies: Freemasons, Illuminati, Rosicrucians, and the Decoding of the Great Seal

Average customer rating:

America's True Founders
Setting Up The Stage
Fascinating and Compelling
A TRUE JEWEL OF A BOOK
Disapointed

Founding Fathers, Secret Societies: Freemasons, Illuminati, Rosicrucians, and the Decoding of the Great Seal
Robert Hieronimus , and Laura Cortner
Manufacturer: Destiny Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1594770875
Release Date: 2006-01-08

Book Description

An exploration of the influence of secret societies on the formative documents and symbols of the United States

• Reveals the Founding Fathers’ spiritual vision for America as encoded in the Great Seal

• Traces the influence of the Iroquois League of Nations upon the Constitution

• Exposes the deep connections the Founding Fathers had with the Freemasons and other secret societies

All children growing up in America learn who the Founding Fathers were. Most, however, never learn of the founders’ connections to the Freemasons, the Rosicrucians, and other esoteric orders. In Founding Fathers, Secret Societies Robert Hieronimus investigates these important connections and how their influence can be traced throughout our most significant national documents and symbols, especially the Great Seal. He reveals in detail how the reverse of the Great Seal--which appears on the back of the one-dollar bill--is a blueprint that conveys the secret destiny of America. By understanding the kabbalistic meaning of the Great Seal’s reverse, he shows how our current era presents unique opportunities for the fulfillment of our Founding Fathers’ spiritual vision.

Customer Reviews:

America's True Founders.......2007-03-31

Revealing look at America's founding fathers, who adopted the Iroquois confederacy concept. For in depth masonic info (& America's hidden history), check out Secret Destiny of America and Brotherhood of the Sun.

Setting Up The Stage.......2006-10-25

I thought the first half of this book had a lot of information regarding are founding fathers and their individual accomplishments along with a shortly detailed discription of different secret societies. However, the second half of the book was very repititious with talks of psychology and the whole mysticism metaphysical b.s. that lead him to his own conclusions about the seal that most likely are not true because of the many examples of the possibilities that the seal can be broken down. There is a deeper purpose behind this book and it is setting us up to believe that a one world unified system will be a good thing, when the truth is that it won't be. We can't be too focused on the learning of one "self" because then we become "selfish" and that goes hand in hand with deep thinking, science, the metaphysical world and that just takes us away from who we should really be worshiping. I feel like I can't write anymore because people need to find out for themselves the real purpose of this book.

Fascinating and Compelling.......2006-09-19

I have not posted a review on [...], or for that matter, any other book-related website for several years, but felt I had to do so after reading Founding Fathers, Secret Societies. Dr. Robert Hieronimus, ably assisted by Laura Cortner, have given us a book for our times, and one of the most fascinating and compelling retellings of the founding of this country ever published. With true scholarship and first class story-telling, Hieronimus and Cortner establish for us the ethics and humanity upheld by the League of Iroquois, and the tremendous impact that their beliefs and actions had on our founding fathers. They go on to decode in detail the true meanings of the Great Seal of the United States and reassert the real vision behind the founding of our great nation. I don't read a lot of fiction, but I read this book with the attention and focus I usually reserve only for a true page-turner of a novel. And given the ever-deepening rifts in our current body politic, I came away from Founding Fathers profoundly moved and, yes, inspired. I can only add that no matter what your political predisposition may be, this remarkable volume offers us all an opportunity to reflect on the real story behind the birth of America, the true vision its founders had for the republic, and some practical thoughts on how we can all help it to get back on track. Robert Hieronimus and Laura Cortner have performed a great service in making this knowledge available to all of us, and I for one thank them for their efforts. A must read.

Peter Robbins
Co-author, Left At East Gate

A TRUE JEWEL OF A BOOK.......2006-06-11

This book is a multidimensional discourse on the founding of a Nation whose history is veiled and obscured intentionally in secrecy. The author presents facts about the contributions of indigenous people in the founding of this Nation not told on any level of formal education. The author mentions there were Masonic symbols found in the wilderness of North America where no white man had ever ventured. These symbols were thought to be centuries old. By reading this book one can better figure how America fits into the national & international landscape from the very beginning. I like how the author breaks down the personal charts of the founders Franklin, Washington etc. Not a conspiracy book at all. I found it hard to put down once I started it. The notes and bibliography presents a vast amount of material for further research. I would highly recommend this book to the real seeker of truth, not for those who can not handle the truth. A good companion to this book would be "The Huevolution of Sacred Muur Science Past and Present" by Noble Timothy Myers-El

Disapointed.......2006-03-07

This book deals with some fairly rediculous topics. I'm not into mysticism or talisman's or that stuff, so perhaps I am biased.

It did provide a useful history of the 'masonic' symbol on the American one-dollar bill, which I enjoyed.

But Hieronimus puts forth far too much theory regarding supernatural powers for my taste.

Moral Minority: Our Skeptical Founding Fathers

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A Tidy Little Dynamo of a Book
Good, could have been Excellent with a few changes
Personal beliefs of Founding Fathers are irrelevant
The Emperor Has No Clothes On
Excellent Textual Disproof of "Christian" Amerika

Moral Minority: Our Skeptical Founding Fathers
Brooke Allen
Manufacturer: Ivan R. Dee, Publisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1566636752

Book Description

In her lively refutation of modern claims about America's religious origins, Brooke Allen looks back at the late eighteenth century and shows decisively that the United States was founded not on Christian principles at all but on Enlightenment ideas. Enlivened by generous portions of the founders' own incomparable prose, Moral Minority makes an impassioned and scintillating contribution to the ongoing debate more heated now than ever before over the separation of church and state and the role (or lack thereof) of religion in government.

Customer Reviews:

A Tidy Little Dynamo of a Book .......2007-08-25

Brooke Allen's 'Moral Minority: Our Skeptical Founding Fathers' could hardly be more necessary coming as it does during the reign of a President who uses federal funds to directly promote religion and a Supreme Court that refuses to allow review of same (Hein v. FFRF).

As Allen demonstrates in this tidy little dynamo of a book our primary founders were men of the Enlightenment, skeptical of faith and devoted to reason. Allen's subjects are Washington, Franklin, John Adams, Madison, Jefferson, and Hamilton. Allen presents six biographical essays focusing as her preface states on their "attitudes toward religion in general, and Christianity in particular".

A final chapter that takes up nearly a quarter of the book's 183 pages gives the reader a concise summary of the Enlightenment background as well the 16th-17th century religious turmoil in England from which these leaders ultimately sprang. We read of David Hume refuting intelligent design in 1757 and of retaining a `deliberate doubt' due to lack of evidence. Hume concluded that "the whole is a riddle, an aenigma, an inexplicable mystery. Doubt, uncertainty, suspense of judgment appear the only result of our most accurate scrutiny." One only wishes that Hume had lived to see Darwin blast away these doubts a century later.

Allen does not uncover much new, but she brings it together in an imminently interesting and admirably concise way. George Washington does not give up any secrets, but the evidence suggests at least by strong negative inference that Washington was not a Christian or at most a very half-hearted one. He generally declined to take the sacrament and when a preacher called him on this behavior as setting a bad example for others Washington agreed and never attended church on sacramental Sunday again! (Perhaps more interesting, Allen discloses that most worshippers at least in Washington's church typically departed before taking the sacrament).

An excellent antidote to the nonsense passed around as 'common knowledge' these days. This reader appreciates more and more a writer who can make her point without drowning the reader in needless repetition. Allen succeeds. Very highly recommended.

Good, could have been Excellent with a few changes.......2007-07-28

Many are unaware of that our Founding Fathers refused to establish a "Christian" nation and fought vehemently the idea of a religious test or national religion. The consequence of a secular goverment is the paradoxical flowering of religious expression. America remains one of the most religious nations on Earth despite the attitudes of the "ruling classes" reflected in the Northeast. With the loss of political, financial and social power those views have diminished and the civil ecumencalism that once characterized our nation is no more. The American experiment was unique in the quality and quantity of enlightened intellectuals at this time in history. One could almost infer the hand of Privdence (lol). As sons of the Enlightenment and witnesses to Europe's religious persecution, they came up with a truly revolutionary idea - religious freedom (as opposed to tolerance). One could worship where one wished OR not worship at all. What mattered was civil duty and obedience to civil law that guaranteed rights for the minority in every situation. The Constitution was the summation of the Enlightenment with its emphasis on checks and balances, moeration, natural law and individual freedom.

Ms Allen gives us a brief biographty of six revolutionary "greats" - Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton and Madison. From their own words she infers that all were, at best, deists though for political reasons most were affiliated with a church. Their heroes were men like Locke, Adam Smith, Aristotle (NOT Plato), Joseph Priestly...all men of moderation and rationality. One cannot help but smile at Franklin who, in his popularity with friend and foe alike, reminds one of the great 19th century atheist, Robert Ingersoll, who was chosen to nominate James Blaine for President at the 1876 Republican convention. Washington remains a towering model of silent virtue. Jefferson, a vindictive hypocrite, believed his secular university was his most important accomplishment. Adams, my hero, was willing to change his core beliefs as he matured. Madison's zeal for religious freedom was unsurpassed and Hamilton buttressed Washington with intellectual vigor.

So why not five stars? First was the repitition -lots and lots of it. Second was the brevity - it was more a bookette than a book. Third and the worst was snide remarks against current politicians that was funny the first time but by the fifth it grows weary. She describes historical events in current political terms..."political right", "Fundamentalists", etc. The remarks diminish the book and its message as it appears partisan. Following the biographies was a description of the social and intellectual world of the time. This is important since no one derives their beliefs in a vaccuum.

Politicians have long used religion for political purposes. One recalls Clinton speaking in churches, invoking God, "preaching to the saved", publicly turning to preachers & prayer when caught in adultry. Bush's faith based initiaves cross the line no matter how well intended and the use of ideology over science is disturbing. Ashcroft's Bible studies are unacceptable. Even freethinkers like Howard Dean feel the need to prove their faith. In his case it was the hilarious comment that Job was his favorite book of the NEW Testament (lol). Men and women who never spoke of faith suddenly "get religion" on the campaign trail, "sharing" their most personal beliefs to the audience at hand. This will only stop when we recognize the secular nature of our republic and its founders.

Personal beliefs of Founding Fathers are irrelevant.......2007-06-27

That the Founding Fathers were skeptical about Christianity is something that's supposed to shock us. But skepticism has always been the counterpart to religion. The thieves who plundered the tombs of the pharaohs in ancient Egypt were certainly skeptical of their society's beliefs, and Job thought his tragedies made him fit to judge God. If Jefferson is to be applauded for his skepticism about Christianity then his ownership of slaves only proves that his "enlightened" morality failed him - and the entire country as well. Brooke Allen cannot have it both ways. If we are to consider their private religious beliefs, which do not form part of our written laws, then their moral failings with regards to slavery must be part of the record as well. The political expediency they exhibited in not dealing with slavery would cost about 600,000 lives in the Civil War. Whatever personal grievances the Founding Fathers had about Christianity is simply irrelevant. It's the equivalent of asking whether Madison or Hamilton would legalize internet gambling.

The Emperor Has No Clothes On.......2007-06-10

This book is for the reader who wants the facts, uncomfortable as they may be. There is a reason for the separation of Churh and State and the book well states it. Required reading for anybody who interested in American History

Excellent Textual Disproof of "Christian" Amerika.......2007-04-29

Brooke Allen is most known for her stellar literary criticism in journals like New Criterion and the Hudson Review, but here, she leaves her "conservative journal" credentials to the side and examines six of the Founders' religious views and their impact on our formation of government. Religious conservatives will be disabused of their "Christian Nation" and "Reconstructionist" views.

While 6 of 51 Constitutional Conventioneers does not establish the whole Convention's point of view, certainly Washington, Franklin, Madison, Jefferson, Adams, and Hamilton were the central architects of our Founding Documents. What Allen aims to show is that these six individuals in particular were not normative Christians, and whatever religious views they held (mainly Deism or unorthodox Theism), the Enlightenment Ideals, not Christianity, prevailed. But, of course, it did.

One finds not a single Judeo-Christian notion, belief, concept, or ideal in any of our founding documents. NO mention of God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, the Decalogue, Charity, Faith, Hope, Forgiveness, Non-Judgmentalism, Self-denial, Spiritual Rebirth, etc. is found in any of the founding documents. Not even American "exceptionalism," based on Calvin's Divine Election of the Chosen, is found (however much it continues to surface in practical politics). If America's founding was "Christian," no evidence exists for a single Christian idea.

The Liberal Ideals of the Enlightenment, of course, opposed much of historical Christianity: Notions of self-rule, democracy, autonomy, freedom/liberty, anti-authoritarianism, equality, pluralism, freedom of thought and belief and practice, fairness/justice, impartiality, one-person-one-vote, human rights, diffusion of power, etc., all hail from the Enlightenment. Not one, not one, can be found in the Bible.

The Age of Enlightenment (16-18th centuries) was grounded in Reason, not Religion. Indeed, the Authority of King and Church was opposed by all the Founders. Even those with a decidedly Calvinist cast recognized (largely through self-interest) that privileging any particular form of Christianity would disadvantage theirs. The dominant Enlightenment thinkers, from Hobbes, Locke, Voltaire, Hume, Smith, Kant, etc. were either nominal Christians or atheists.

"Obedience" to a book, church, monarch, deity -- some of which had to become manifest, if America was founded on Christianity -- is repudiated. The idea of "religious obedience" was disagreeable, except to the Puritans came to these shores to avoid religious persecution, only to do to others what they sought to avoid in Europe. Thus, the freedom to exercise religion was granted, but no particular religion could be established. It was in the Calvinists, Anabaptists, Anglicans, and Free-Thinkers' interest, all.

One assumes one learned this stuff in high school civics courses. But, it's not ignorance, it's the preposterous Christian Nationists, the Evangelicals, and Biblical Reconstructions who Allen intends to discredit, and she does so with her typical aplomb, elegant and incisive prose, and textual analysis. Anyone who harbors a Religionist Amerika has lost focus of the truth, the facts, and the Age of Enlightenment. Allen sets the record straight, largely in the Founders' own words.

A Treasury of Great American Scandals: Tantalizing True Tales of Historic Misbehavior by the Founding Fathers and Others Who Let Freedom Swing

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AMERICA'S DIRTY LAUNDRY!
Interesting and informative.
A great read for short attention spans
A sense of humor is required
Great Vignettes

A Treasury of Great American Scandals: Tantalizing True Tales of Historic Misbehavior by the Founding Fathers and Others Who Let Freedom Swing
Michael Farquhar
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142001929
Release Date: 2003-07-01

Book Description

Following on the heels of his national bestseller A Treasury of Royal Scandals, Michael Farquhar turns his attention to matters a little closer to home with A Treasury of Great American Scandals. From the unhappy family relationships of prominent Americans to the feuds, smear campaigns, duels, and infamous sex scandals that have punctuated our history, we see our founding fathers and other American heroes in the course of their all-too-human events. Ineffectual presidents, lazy generals, traitors; treacherous fathers, nagging mothers, ungrateful children, embarrassing siblings; and stories about insanity, death, and disturbing postmortems are all here, as are disagreeable marriages, vile habits, and, of course, sex: good sex, bad sex, and good-bad sex too. We can take comfort in the fact that we are no worse and no better than our forebears. But we do have better media coverage. Bonus educational material:

* A brief history of the United States, including scandals!
* The American Hall of Shame!
* A complete listing of presidential administrations!

Customer Reviews:

AMERICA'S DIRTY LAUNDRY!.......2007-09-19

This book was hysterical. It exposed some of our most revered historical heros as the plain, living men they really were. Not perfect, but just like us. Only sometimes they liked to duel with each other to death. I don't think that would fly today.

Now I want to read his book on Royal scandals!

Interesting and informative........2007-09-15

For everyone who's a history fan but doesn't necessarily like long and dry historical accounts, check this book out. It offers bits of history with lots of detail (and some wit) but not in a long format. And there's a large variety of people that are covered: politicians, explorers, presidents, lovers of politicians, and so on. I have all the books by Mr. Farquhar and enjoy reading them again and again. Something to read at the beach, on the subway, at any lull in one's day. It'll add to your knowledge of American history. Fun.

A great read for short attention spans.......2006-10-23

Some of the scandals in the book aren't exactly scandals by today's standards or are so well known we regard them as hardly shocking. And indeed, some stories we already knew.
But the lay out of the book is in such a way that it provides an ease with reading. A book with short stories on scandals is always a fun read. I'm often traveling on public transportation and find that it's nice to read when I have the chance, but find it frustrating to leave a good story in the middle of the tale because I've arrived at my destination or the break isn't long enough to finish the chapter. But this book, and the others this author has written, is set up so that leaving in the middle of a chapter doesn't happen that often. Plus, you can flip through and pick a topic at will.
I really enjoyed this book, and have read his other two books and ejoyed them as well. I recommend it.

A sense of humor is required.......2006-10-20

There seems to be a side of Americans that they do not want to believe the mud being slung at every election since it's birth. The message is not so much how horrible some of the icons of our history have been but how there really is nothing new under the sun. They were as human and as prone to use their power for selfish purposes as any modern day leader. Mr. Farquhar tastefully avoids recent history in an attempt to remain objective and not bring in the emotionally charged scandals of our own day. The stories he tells can garner a chuckle now because they are all relatively distanct memories to us at the most. If you would prefer to keep your heros on pedastals, you probably want to avoid this book. Some of the stories leave a lot to interpretation in determining if it was true or if Mr. Farquhar is telling only parts of the story that make it seem true - those you will have to judge on your own. For the most part though, Mr. Farquhar appears to offer dissenting opinion on matters and avoids pronouncing historic dogma. Most of the stories are rather petty familial disputes unrelated to matters of real corruption in government and such. Perhaps avoiding the more weightier matters of government is best in a light-hearted treatment of history like this one. The serious matters are perhaps better served in a serious history. Like it or not, this book is purely for a light-hearted escape at the expense of a few public families in our past.

Great Vignettes.......2006-10-08

This is a great book for people who are looking for a fast, humorous read about some follibles of the USA's former statesmen and founders. It provides salacious details not usually found in plodding history books.

A Well-Regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America

Average customer rating:

Incomplete and Misleading
basic individual rights are not that complicated
another anti-scholarly sham from the anti gun left
The History of the Second Amendment
A Wonderful Book

A Well-Regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America
Saul Cornell
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Whose Right to Bear Arms Did the Second Amendment Protect? (Historians at Work)

ASIN: 0195147863

Book Description

Americans are deeply divided over the Second Amendment. Some passionately assert that the Amendment protects an individual's right to own guns. Others, that it does no more than protect the right of states to maintain militias. Now, in the first and only comprehensive history of this bitter controversy, Saul Cornell proves conclusively that both sides are wrong. Cornell, a leading constitutional historian, shows that the Founders understood the right to bear arms as neither an individual nor a collective right, but as a civic right--an obligation citizens owed to the state to arm themselves so that they could participate in a well regulated militia. He shows how the modern "collective right" view of the Second Amendment, the one federal courts have accepted for over a hundred years, owes more to the Anti-Federalists than the Founders. Likewise, the modern "individual right" view emerged only in the nineteenth century. The modern debate, Cornell reveals, has its roots in the nineteenth century, during America's first and now largely forgotten gun violence crisis, when the earliest gun control laws were passed and the first cases on the right to bear arms came before the courts. Equally important, he describes how the gun control battle took on a new urgency during Reconstruction, when Republicans and Democrats clashed over the meaning of the right to bear arms and its connection to the Fourteenth Amendment. When the Democrats defeated the Republicans, it elevated the "collective rights" theory to preeminence and set the terms for constitutional debate over this issue for the next century. A Well-Regulated Militia not only restores the lost meaning of the original Second Amendment, but it provides a clear historical road map that charts how we have arrived at our current impasse over guns. For anyone interested in understanding the great American gun debate, this is a must read.

Customer Reviews:

Incomplete and Misleading.......2007-08-02

While I will not dispute the historical facts that Cornell discusses in his book, he clearly decides to ignore many other historical facts that go against his predetermined position. For example, he cites to statements from Tench Coxe (one of our Founding Fathers), but omits his most telling quote: "The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people." Towards the end of his book, he completely misinterprets several court cases, attributing rulings to them that are not made, and ignores many other cases that tend to support an indiviudal right to keep and bear arms. While the book is easy to understand, it was clearly written with an agenda, not as a balanced piece to try to logically determine the truth. Those who do not know all of the facts will be grossly misled by this book, as it sounds plausable and complete on its face. However, the absence of much relevant information does not serve those who are looking for the actual truth on this issue.

basic individual rights are not that complicated.......2007-05-08

Interestingly, in a recent decision, the court of appeals for the district of columbia reviewed and analyzed in large part the same history and background that Cornell uses, and came up with the conclusion that the Second Amendment unequivocally protects the individual's right to keep and bear arms. The court's opinion was based largely on and consistent with a number of liberal jurists that have come to agree with the 'individual rights' principle. In addition, use of basic legal constructs can come only to the same conclusion-- the 'militia' clause is prefatory, not operative. The 'right of the people to keep and bear arms' is operative, and therefore controlling. The operative clause speaks of a "right", a right being bestowed by the Creator, of the "people", who are individuals (as they are in the first amendment where the "people" is used), and the right is to KEEP, not just BEAR, arms. "Regulated" in colonial times meant "functional", not controlled by the goverment in a heavy handed way. Additionally, the prefatory "militia" clause is not directed at the security of "the State", but the security of " A FREE state"-- the state of freedom, the condition of freedom-- this is consistent with the Framer's view that a people have the right to overthrow a government that exercises tyranny over its citizens, and that an armed population was an important check against over-expansive governmental power. The court further pointed out that if the Framers, who were intelligent men who knew how the draft, merely intended to protect the States' power to have a militia, they would have written 'The States shall have the right to maintain militias", period.

Unlike Cornell, liberal jurists Laurence Tribe, Akhil Reed Amar and Sanford Levinson are independent researchers who came to their conclusions through unbiased research and legal analysis. As a grantee of the Joyce Foundation, Cornell framed his analysis according to his grantor's agenda. He knows where his bread is buttered.

Do yourself a favor and get a hold of "The Second Amendment Primer". The principle of the Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms is really not as complicated as Cornell would like to make it seem.The Second Amendment Primer: A Citizen's Guidebook to the History, Sources, and Authorities for the Constitutional Guarantee of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.The Slaves Shall Serve: Meditations on Liberty

another anti-scholarly sham from the anti gun left.......2007-04-20

the problem with this book and with Cornell's alleged scholarship is that he ignored the individual aspect of the meaning and intent of the 2nd Amendment. The founding fathers intended the right to be civic and an individual right. Cornell misses "who" exactly the militia is? Cornell already knew what his conclusion was prior to authoring the book. He also downplays his support from the Joyce Foundation which has given him many grants at OSU and funded his research. Saul Cornell is a cleverer Michael Bellesiles.

The History of the Second Amendment.......2007-04-11

In "A Well Regulated Militia" Saul Cornell gives an excellent history of the second amendment from the days of the founding fathers, early days of the United States, the Civil War and after, and the gradual development of the gun control and gun rights factions. Gun control folks focus on the first part of the Second Amendment; gun rights folks on the second part. Cornell explains how the courts have applied the Second and Fourteenth Amendments using a principle of ruling as narrowly as possible. The weak part of the book is the final chapter "Conclusion". One would like to think that the conclusion follows from the preceding chapters, but Cornell just sort of throws in his thoughts for a solution. But the answer rests not merely from history, but from an understanding of the current sociology of the country, from an analysis of crime in American, and from a comparison with other nations that have chosen a different path in gun control. The conclusion aside, it is a book well worth reading.

A Wonderful Book.......2006-12-05

One of Cornell's most important points is that service in a state militia at the time of the Founding Fathers WAS a highly regulated enterprise. It was a duty as much as a right - you were required to muster, train, drill; the units were led by an organized officer core; state officials knew who was a member and therefore who owned private firearms; and there were penalties for noncompliance for the select group of individuals who participated (usually white, property-owning males between the ages of 18 and 45).

This type of regulation and oversight would be anathema to the NRA today. They still want to hoodwink us into believing that the Second Amendment gives private citizens the right to run around with their guns and take action when they believe a "tyranny" has risen in Washington. Scary...it's the same mentality taken that was to its logical conclusion by our own most infamous homegrown terrorist, Timothy McVeigh.

Cornell's book makes a farce of such claims, and shows that the NRA would never seek a return to the true concept of the Second Amendment as laid out by the Founders.

Average customer rating:

John Who?
Conscientious, scholarly, and accessible.
Long Overdue
An important man, but not a well known man
Oh yea, that founding father...

John Jay: Founding Father
Walter Stahr
Manufacturer: Hambledon & London
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1852854448
Release Date: 2005-02-10

Book Description

The first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as well as President of the Continental Congress, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and one time Governor of New York, John Jay was a Founding Father of paramount importance to the early Republic and did much to influence the shape of America's future. Walter Stahr's lively and engaging narrative illuminates the great life of an American soldier, politician, diplomat and lawyer. Readers will follow Jay's story through key events in early American history, such as the Revolutionary War, the writing of the Constitution, the first presidencies of the country, and the creation of our most authoritative legal body, the US Supreme Court. Now, Stahr presents Jay in the light he deserves: a Founding Father, a true national hero, and an architect of America's future.

Customer Reviews:

John Who?.......2007-06-17

This is a softly written account of a most important member of the United States' Founding Father's club. Many, many people contributed to the establishment of the United States and all risked their lives and total ruin in establishing this amazing nation of ours. Obscure, overlooked and all but forgotten is New Yorker John Jay who was one of the most consistent, self sacrificing and most ardent of the Founding Fathers.

However, unlike others like Washington, Adams, Franklin, et. al., Jay left a very, very slim paper trail. He was not a fervent diarist like the others and destroyed most of his letters and correspondence. Thus, we mostly view him through his impact, through the eyes of his peers and through the major events he participated in like his negotiating the final peace with England after the Revolutionary War. John Adams, one of the pricklier and decidedly self centered of the Founding Fathers said of him, "Mr. Jay has been my only consolation. In him I have found a friend to his country, without aolly. I shall never forget him, nor cease to love him, while I live."

You will enjoy the way this author treats John Jay. There is little of the beautification of the individual so evident in works on other of the Founding Fathers. Walter Stahr does a very good job of reintroducing Jay as a pivotal figure in the founding of the United States and moves us very workman like through the key events of his life. Along the way we find a very focused patriot, a personality who gets along well with others and does not seem to need notoriety required by his peers.

Conscientious, scholarly, and accessible........2006-04-03

John Jay [1745-1829] has long deserved a full-length scholarly biography and here he receives one that does honor to subject and author alike. First-time author Walter Stahr, a practicing attorney specializing in international law, has done prodigious work in the original sources and the scholarly literature and presents his findings capably and responsibly. He blends rigorous scholarship with clear and direct prose. His work deserves a wide and grateful audience. I have one caveat. Having worked on John Jay myself, I respectfully dissent from Mr. Stahr's argument that historians have neglected Jay because of his religious and political conservatism. I think, rather, that there are three major reasons for the previous neglect of Jay. First, until the great body of his papers found a home at Columbia University, thanks to the labors of Richard B. Morris, the sources needed for a fuller understanding of Jay and his career were not readily available, and the availability of sources often shapes the kinds and varieties of scholarship that historians and biographers can undertake. Second, by one of those unfortunate historical accidents, Jay was not a signer of either the Declaration of Independence [indeed, he was a reluctant revolutionary until 4 July 1776] or the Constitution of the United States. Signers and Framers tend to get more attention from later writers than those who were neither signers nor framers. Third, not only Jay but all members of the early [pre-1801] Supreme Court have been eclipsed by the titanic figure of John Marshall. In any event, Stahr's biography should spark a reconsideration of Jay's life and career and a re-evaluation of his place in the establishment of the United States.

Long Overdue.......2006-03-09

Ask any group of American historians who the ten most important figures of the founding era were, and, sadly, the name of John Jay would be absent from a lot of those lists. I had never heard of author Walter Stahr before finding JOHN JAY: FOUNDING FATHER, so I had no idea what to expect, and though he may lack the flowing narrative of an H.W. Brands or Stephen Ambrose, a few more books like this will make Stahr a household name among history buffs.

Comparatively, there have been relatively few books written on John Jay, and what few are available, focus almost exclusively on Jay's career. Stahr duplicates those efforts by giving a wonderful account of Jay the statesman and his near unending accomplishments, but then exceeded my expectations by delving into the personal aspects of John Jay. Drawing on a substantial amount of new material, Stahr also gives us a look into Jay's wife, Sarah.

This is a compelling and enjoyable read that will, hopefully, raise public awareness and give some long overdue credit to one of America's most important Founding Father's.

Monty Rainey
www.juntosociety.com

An important man, but not a well known man.......2006-02-25

John Jay - most people know precious little about the man who is rightly considered to be one of the most important of the "second tier" of founding fathers (people like Washington, Adams, Jefferson, & Franklin make up the first tier). Prior to reading this book, I must admit that I also knew precious little about John Jay except that he was the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Walter Stahr has done us all a favor by providing us with this portrait of Mr. Jay and explaining why he was such an important man that he deserves to be considered one of the founding fathers.

From his early days as a lawyer in New York through his days as a "resistance leader" then his days as a revolutionary leader, Stahr takes us on an unforgettable journey through Jay's life and the people that he meets while forming his opinions. Once Jay becomes President of the Continental Congress, we really see how much his contributions mean to the cause of American Independence.

During the American Revolution, Jay did not take the road of some of the founders, such as Washington or Edward Rutledge - he did not sign the declaration of Independence, nor was he a soldier. Instead, he became a minister Plenipotentiary to Spain, where he attempted to secure an alliance and funding for the weak American confederation. Despite his lack of success here (some say it was a failure, but he certainly did achieve more than his predecessors), he became an instrumental part of the peace process - working with John Adams, Henry Laurens, and Benjamin Franklin in Paris to build & define the peace treaty with the British. This section of the book is most enjoyable, and Stahr makes Jay's contributions, along with the process of drafting & ratifying the treaty, come to life.

Once back in the states, Jay's important duties to the new nation continue - he becomes the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and later the first Chief Justice. He later becomes the American representative to Britain, where he negotiates Jay's treaty, which is rightfully considered to be one of Jay's coups as a foreign minister.

Stahr concludes with Jay's years as governor of New York, his retirement from public service, his futhering zeal & interest in religion as he ages, and finally his death.

Stahr relies largely on contemporary sources to write this book; there are a lot of quotations direct from letters to/from Jay, or from diaries or records of the period. This makes the book eminently readable and interesting.

I gave the book only four stars because of the lack of information once Jay became Governor of New York - he served 8 years as Governor, but scarcely a chapter of the book is devoted to this service. Had further information about his success (or lack thereof) during his tenure as Governor been included, this biography could be considered complete.

Oh yea, that founding father..........2006-02-07

Remember studying the formation of the republic, or seeing various quasi-historical documentaries on TV, and how the stories typically focus on all the 'rock star' founding fathers, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, etc? Well if you look or read closely enough, there is one man who is in the background of every important scene. One man who presence was just as vital, but just didn't have the 'groupie' factor of the others. For example, when the history channel did a special on Franklin, they gave considerable time to his signing of the treaty ending the war with Britain, they showed the actual signature and described how John Adams was also part of the effort, but below the signatures of Adams and Franklin, almost completely out of camera shot, was the name John Jay.

The author does a considerable service here by exploring the history and personality of John Jay. His leadership during the revolution, his negotiations during the continental congress, he various efforts on foreign affairs, and the tremendous respect all the other founders had for him. The political intrigue which served as the background for both treaties (one ending the war, the other "Jay's treaty") are well explored. Also being explored are the reasons why Jay never rose to the level of the other founding fathers: his physical shortcomings (he seemed to get sick a lot); his desire to focus on working within his state seemed to be more personally satisfying than working at the federal level.

By filling in the personal and professional details of this almost forgotten founding father, the author allows one to get a better understanding of the all the relationships among the founding fathers, the difficulties they faced, and the precarious nature of their efforts.

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