In the Beginning

In the Beginning

Author: Michael Lienesch

Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press

Published: 2007-04-23

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 0807884006

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The current controversy over teaching evolution in the public schools has grabbed front-page headlines and topped news broadcasts all across the United States. In the Beginning investigates the movement that has ignited debate in state legislatures and at school board meetings. Reaching back to the origins of antievolutionism in the 1920s, and continuing to the promotion of intelligent design today, Michael Lienesch skillfully analyzes one of the most formidable political movements of the twentieth century. Applying extensive original sources and social movement theory, Lienesch begins with fundamentalism, describing how early twentieth-century fundamentalists worked to form a collective identity, to develop their own institutions, and to turn evolution from an idea into an issue. He traces the emerging antievolution movement through the 1920s, examining debates over Darwinism that took place on college campuses and in state legislatures throughout the country. With fresh insights and analysis, Lienesch retells the story of the 1925 Scopes "monkey" trial and reinterprets its meaning. In tracking the movement from that time to today, he explores the rise of creation science in the 1960s, the alliance with the New Christian Right in the 1980s, and the development of the theory of intelligent design in our own time. He concludes by speculating on its place in the politics of the twenty-first century. In the Beginning is essential for understanding the past, present, and future debates over the teaching of evolution.


Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism

Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism

Author: Martin E. Marty

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2011-06-15

Total Pages: 357

ISBN-13: 3110974363

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Many American's today are taking note of the surprisingly strong political force that is the religious right. Controversial decisions by the government are met with hundreds of lobbyists, millions of dollars of advertising spending, and a powerful grassroots response. How has the fundamentalist movement managed to resist the pressures of the scientific community and the draw of modern popular culture to hold on to their ultra-conservative Christian views? Understanding the movement's history is key to answering this question. Fundamentalism and American Culture has long been considered a class.


A Godly Hero

A Godly Hero

Author: Michael Kazin

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2007-03-13

Total Pages: 434

ISBN-13: 0385720564

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ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: THE WASHINGTON POST, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, LOS ANGELES TIMES, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. Politician, evangelist, and reformer William Jennings Bryan was the most popular public speaker of his time. In this acclaimed biography—the first major reconsideration of Bryan’s life in forty years–award-winning historian Michael Kazin illuminates his astonishing career and the richly diverse and volatile landscape of religion and politics in which he rose to fame. Kazin vividly re-creates Bryan’s tremendous appeal, showing how he won a passionate following among both rural and urban Americans, who saw in him not only the practical vision of a reform politician but also the righteousness of a pastor. Bryan did more than anyone to transform the Democratic Party from a bulwark of laissez-faire to the citadel of liberalism we identify with Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1896, 1900, and 1908, Bryan was nominated for president, and though he fell short each time, his legacy–a subject of great debate after his death–remains monumental. This nuanced and brilliantly crafted portrait restores Bryan to an esteemed place in American history.


America's Political Class Under Fire

America's Political Class Under Fire

Author: David A. Horowitz

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-12-02

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 1135398356

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While the clash between what has been called the modern and undeveloped worlds has led to America's military involvement in the Middle East and other places, few people realize the tension between the modern and the traditional within the United States. Beginning in the 1920's, professional intellectuals and academics began influencing the nation's public policy on matters as diverse as education, economics, and public health. In this thoughtful work, David A. Horowitz analyzes the tension between the so-called New Class of knowledge professionals and their critics, who accused them of being out of touch with the common sense of everyday people, strangers to the American Way, even Communists. America's Political Class Under Fire is organized over nine periods of 20th-century history, providing a window into everything from the Scopes evolution trial and McCarthyism to affirmative action and the Clinton health care fiasco. Along the way, the book explores the New Left, populist conservatism, and the mid-90's reaction to political liberalism, which saw Newt Gingrich rise to the top post in the House of Representatives. In telling these stories, Horowitz seeks to encourage a more balanced and fair-minded assessment of the consequences of expertise and applied intellect to democratic existence in the United States.


Redeeming Culture

Redeeming Culture

Author: James Gilbert

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2008-04-15

Total Pages: 418

ISBN-13: 0226293238

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In this intriguing history, James Gilbert examines the confrontation between modern science and religion as these disparate, sometimes hostile modes of thought clashed in the arena of American culture. Beginning in 1925 with the infamous Scopes trial, Gilbert traces nearly forty years of competing attitudes toward science and religion. "Anyone seriously interested in the history of current controversies involving religion and science will find Gilbert's book invaluable."—Peter J. Causton, Boston Book Review "Redeeming Culture provides some fascinating background for understanding the interactions of science and religion in the United States. . . . Intriguing pictures of some of the highlights in this cultural exchange."—George Marsden, Nature "A solid and entertaining account of the obstacles to mutual understanding that science and religion are now warily overcoming."—Catholic News Service "[An] always fascinating look at the conversation between religion and science in America."—Publishers Weekly


The United States Navy and Defense Unification, 1947-1953

The United States Navy and Defense Unification, 1947-1953

Author: Paolo Enrico Coletta

Publisher: University of Delaware Press

Published: 1981

Total Pages: 380

ISBN-13: 9780874131260

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This book provides a historical background to the problems met during the early days of defense unification of the three U.S. military services: the Navy, the Army, and the Air Force. The author analyzes the problem of unification during both peacetime and wartime, showing how the Korean War served to point up the capabilities and limitations of the three services.


The Papers of Will Rogers: From the Broadway stage to the national stage, September 1915-July 1928

The Papers of Will Rogers: From the Broadway stage to the national stage, September 1915-July 1928

Author: Will Rogers

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

Published: 2005-09-28

Total Pages: 660

ISBN-13: 9780806137049

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In the early years of his performing career, Will Rogers was a vaudeville performer of limited prominence. Around the age of thirty-five, however, this Oklahoma cowboy philosopher shed his role as local stage entertainer and moved toward fame as a Broadway star and nationally beloved humorist. This documentary history, volume four in the definitive five-volume Papers of Will Rogers, reveals Rogers’s personal and professional transformation during what may have been the most productive period of his diverse career. Between 1915 and 1928—the years covered by this volume—Rogers developed his unique monologues of topical humor, sampled the relatively new medium of radio, and pursued a career in silent films. He also tried his voice in sound recordings, witnessed his work as a writer reach millions of readers of daily newspapers, became one of the most sought-after speakers on the dinner circuit, and embarked on a three-year tour of the nation’s lecture halls. In addition to Rogers’s personal correspondence with family members and friends, editors Steven K. Gragert and M. Jane Johansson present more than one hundred letters and telegrams to and from people Rogers touched both inside and outside public life, including prominent figures in politics, show business, literature, industry, government, publishing, and the arts. Much of this material, gleaned from private collections, interviews, manuscripts, and sound recordings, has never before been published.


48 Liberal Lies about American History

48 Liberal Lies about American History

Author: Larry Schweikart

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 9781595230515

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As he did in his popular "A Patriot's History of the United States," Schweikart corrects liberal bias by rediscovering facts that were once widely known. He challenges distorted books by name and debunks 48 common myths.