The United States a Christian Nation |
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A good read for Americans that may be unfamiliar with the extent to which Christianity has been positively intertwined with the development of American national life from the beginning. The author sites the seminal documents from the days of first English settlement through the 18th c. separation from Britain and the founding of the United States to illustrate that American history cannot be understood without reference to the Christian motives and faith of its founding peoples. The author makes a case for those of other religions or no religion at all that come to this nation to have some common courtesy and respect for a faith that has played so great a role in the development of the United States. It's highest principles as embodied, for example, in the Golden Rule and the story of the good Samaritan are recognized as wisdom teachings of the highest moral order by all men of good will, whether or not they subscribe to the literal claims of Christian doctrine. To those that have not read the colonial charters and early constitutions, the extent to which promotion of Christianity is cited as one of the key motives for the founding of America may come as a shock. The author makes a case for individual and family morality, warning that if material prosperity leads to excessive love of luxury this will lead to vice and moral corruption and the United States will go the way of ancient Rome. This forecast is starting to look prescient.
The author was a Yale graduate from a distinguished family and a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1890 - 1910 (his father was a Yale valedictorian, his uncle a Supreme Court justice, another uncle a New York Congressman, and another the entrepreneur that developed the telegraph and laid the trans-Atlantic cable. He ancestors include Revolutionary War patriots, senators, Congressmen, and Governors of Massachusetts and Connecticut). In other words, this is an authentic American voice.
Nothing in this book appears to be based on anything but what can be found among the records of the courts and statutes over the various United States. The author has clearly identified voluminous sources which are beyond debate. A reader may disagree with his conclusions, but disagreement with his data would indeed be difficult.
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| Title | The United States a Christian Nation Haverford library lectures |
| Author | David Josiah Brewer |
| Publisher | Winston, 1905 |
| Original from | the New York Public Library |
| Digitized | Mar 1, 2006 |
| Length | 98 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |