FOUNDING FATHERS AND DEBATE OVER - A History in Documents

Zusatztext This brief treatment illustrates complexities with which the US and its leaders continue to struggle. Informationen zum Autor Assistant Professor of History, Colorado State University--Pueblo Klappentext Whether America was founded as a Christian nation or as a secular republic is one of the most fiercely debated questions in American history. Historians Matthew Harris and Thomas Kidd offer an authoritative examination of the essential documents needed to understand this debate. The texts included in this volume - writings and speeches from both well-known and obscure early American thinkers - show that religion played a prominent yet fractious role in the era of theAmerican Revolution. Zusammenfassung Whether America was founded as a Christian nation or as a secular republic is one of the most fiercely debated questions in American history. Historians Matthew Harris and Thomas Kidd offer an authoritative examination of the essential documents needed to understand this debate. The texts included in this volume - writings and speeches from both well-known and obscure early American thinkers - show that religion played a prominent yet fractious role in the era of the American Revolution. In their personal beliefs, the Founders ranged from profound skeptics like Thomas Paine to traditional Christians like Patrick Henry. Nevertheless, most of the Founding Fathers rallied around certain crucial religious principles, including the idea that people were "created " equal, the belief that religious freedom required the disestablishment of state-backed denominations, the necessity of virtue in a republic, and the role of Providence in guiding the affairs of nations. Harris and Kidd show that through the struggles of war and the framing of the Constitution, Americans sought to reconcile their dedication to religious vitality with their commitment to religious freedom. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction: The Founding Fathers and Religion Chapter 1: Religion and the Continental Congress Chapter 2: Religion and State Chapter 3: Constitution and Ratification Chapter 4: Religion and the Federal Government Chapter 5: Disestablishment and the Separation of Church and State Chapter 6: The Founding Fathers' Own Views on Religion Select Bibliography ...

Product details

• Authors: Matthew Harris, Matthew (EDT)/ Kidd Harris
• Assisted by: Matthew Harris (Editor), Matthew L. Harris (Editor), Thomas Kidd (Editor), Thomas S. Kidd (Editor), Kidd Thomas (Editor)
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 14.11.2011
• EAN: 9780195326505
• ISBN: 978-0-19-532650-5
• No. of pages: 248
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Religion: general, reference works; USA, RELIGION / History, RELIGION / Religion, Politics & State, HISTORY / United States / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / American Government / Executive Branch, POLITICAL SCIENCE / American Government / Legislative Branch, History of Religion, Religion & politics, United States of America, USA, Religion and Politics, History of the Americas, Constitution: government & the state, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Religion, Politics & State, Constitution: government and the state