Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter One: The Colonies, 1607-1763

Chapter Two: The Revolution and the Founding Era, 1763-1800

Chapter Three: The Antebellum Era and Civil War, 1800-1865

Chapter Four: The Gilded Age, 1865-1900

Chapter Five: The Early Twentieth Century, 1900-1945

Chapter Six: Post War America, 1945-1970s

Chapter Seven: The Success and Failure of the Religious Right, 1970s-2010

Conclusion

Index

About the Author

Gillis J. Harp received his masters and doctorate in American history from the University of Virginia. His is Professor of History at Grove City College. He is the author of Brahmin Prophet: Phillips Brooks and the Path of Liberal Protestantism and Positivist Republic: Auguste Comte and the Reconstruction of American Liberalism, 1865-1920.

Reviews

"An effective historical introduction that should stand as a useful way point on the road to a more capacious understanding of the roots of the contemporary religious Right." -- Journal of American History
"A fine history indeed, with a great deal of insightful information in, just as promised, a short, brisk volume of 237 pages before the notes and back matter...These well-written chapters will be of interest to students, non-expert readers, and to scholars as well" -- Political Theology
"Harpâs knowledge of American Protestant conservatism is encyclopedic, his prose is clear, his judgments are measured, and his message is sobering." -- Christians in Political Science
"This is an important book, no matter which side of the religious/secular or progressive/conservative battle lines you occupy...From the founding to the Civil War to now, Dr. Harp makes a compelling narrative of Christian Protestant conservatism." -- David Breeden, Medium
"Gillis Harp's wide-ranging narrative offers a remarkably innovative perspective on the centuries-long symbiotic relationship between evangelical Protestantism and American conservatism. Its bold (but carefully documented) thesis will change the way we think about politics and religion in America. As Harp demonstrates, the roots of the contemporary Religious Right may lie not only in the 20th century, but in the 17th." -- Daniel K. Williams, author of God's
Own Party: The Making of the Christian Right
"In this ambitious but highly accessible book, Gillis Harp skillfully charts the long, tangled, and consequential relationship between Protestantism and political conservatism in American life, all with a sharp eye for pivot points and secular drifts that have made today's religious right an unorthodox thing. Harp's is an invaluable guide to four hundred years of Christian political thought and action and a timely exegesis of how American believers arrived at
their current political moment." -- Darren Dochuk, author of Anointed with Oil: How Christianity and Crude Made Modern America
"Gillis Harp has taken the long view in showing why an issue at the forefront of contemporary political interest deserves full historical treatment. His carefully researched and clearly argued account of the long-standing inner connections between conservative Protestants and conservative politics illuminates both the nation's past and the contentious present. It is both a word in season and a rewarding reflection on a very long history." -- Mark Noll, author
of The Civil War as a Theological Crisis