MARC Record from Library of Congress

LEADER: 02048cam a2200301 a 4500
001 2007280132
003 DLC
005 20071024083450.0
008 070906s2007 nyua b 001 0 eng
010 $a 2007280132
020 $a9780812976663 (pbk.)
040 $aDLC$cDLC
043 $an-us---
050 00 $aBL2525$b.M423 2007
082 04 $a322/.10973$222
100 1 $aMeacham, Jon.
245 10 $aAmerican gospel :$bGod, the founding fathers, and the making of a nation /$cJon Meacham ; [with a new afterword by the author].
250 $aRandom House trade pbk. ed.
260 $aNew York :$bRandom House Trade Paperbacks,$c2007.
300 $axii, 421 p. :$bill. ;$c21 cm.
500 $a"A Random House trade paperback"--P. 4 of cover.
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [359]-387) and index.
520 $aAuthor 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, this book draws on the past to offer a new perspective. Meacham re-creates the 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 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. At the heart of the American experiment lies 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.--From publisher description.
651 0 $aUnited States$xReligion.
651 0 $aUnited States$xHistory$xReligious aspects$xChristianity.
650 0 $aReligion and politics$zUnited States$xHistory.
650 0 $aChristianity and politics$zUnited States$xHistory.
650 0 $aNational characteristics, American.