The story of how nineteenth-century preacher Lorenzo Dow helped create the aggressive Protestantism that now predominates in American cultureLorenzo Dow was the most famous preacher in America of the early nineteenth century and one of the United States’ first truly national celebrities who did not owe his fame to feats of arms or of politics. Dow became famous, rather, by traveling and preaching constantly for three decades while cutting an eccentric figure. He wa...

Exploring the dynamic interplay between religion and revolution in the founding eraReligion lies at the heart of how many Americans understand the birth of their nation, giving rise to passionate calls for national unity and principled struggles for religious freedom. For the first time in thirty years, scholars of the founding era have joined together to reassess this central topic for our present moment. From fast-day proclamations to wartime crises of conscience...