Begun by Puritans, the American jeremiad, a rhetoric that expresses indignation and urges social change, has produced passionate and persuasive essays and speeches throughout the nation's history. Showing that black leaders have employed this verbal tradition of protest and soci…
"America's supposed moral decline from an imagined golden age, and the threat of divine punishment for straying from the path of righteousness, have been consistent themes in its political and religious rhetoric. But why is this myth so compelling to Americans? Murphy investigat…
This title investigates the jeremiad's historical roots and probes the ways in which it continues to illuminate larger themes and tensions in American social and political life.
This title investigates the jeremiad's historical roots and probes the ways in which it continues to illuminate larger themes and tensions in American social and political life.
The American jeremiad -- Puritan New England and the foundations of the American jeremiad -- Decline, slavery, and war : the jeremiad in antebellum and Civil War America -- Taking America back : the Christian right jeremiad -- Competing jeremiads -- Constructing a usable past --…