After Iowa: Ralph Reed on the evangelical vote
Ralph Reed opines on what the media doesn’t understand about evangelical voters: “Consider this: 61% of self-identified evangelicals who attended a caucus Tuesday night in Iowa voted for a candidate who is either Roman Catholic (Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum) or Mormon (Mitt Romney, who won the caucuses, besting Santorum by eight votes ). “Here’s [...]
Lincoln and Slavery (Foner Redux)
About three weeks ago I mentioned my interest in Eric Foner’s book on Thomas Paine, Tom Paine and Revolutionary America [see my previous post]. Well, Foner has a new book about the era of the American Civil War, The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery. And this book, which was published last fall, has [...]
(Reading List) Eric Foner: Tom Paine and Revolutionary America
On my reading list: Eric Foner, Tom Paine and Revolutionary America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1976; paperback in 1977; LCCCN: 75-25456). Eric Foner probably should have been one of my professors when I was at Columbia, but alas, Epimetheus! I suppose most schools offer more opportunities than students can use. Nevertheless, I do have [...]
The Garden and the Wall
My favorite character among the first generation New England Puritans is doubtless Roger Williams. Williams became the founder of Rhode Island after his libertarian impulses in matters of religion and politics led him into conflict with the magistrates and divines of the Puritan theocracy at Massachusetts Bay Colony. According to Williams, the Massachusetts colony lacked [...]
A Matter of Conscience: Unpolished Notes on the Trial of Anne Hutchinson (1637)
November, 1637 Newtown, MA Winthrop begins (235-236) by accusing her of: promoting and divulging opinions (causing “this trouble”) to be friends with censured individuals speaking “divers things” “predjudicial” to churches and ministers having a regular meeting in her house already condemned by the assembly as unbefitting a woman and not tolerable “in the sight of [...]
America’s Puritan Heritage (and a plug for The Wordy Shipmates)
It was like providence. Or Providence. Pun intended. Less than a week ago, during the time when I was feverishly preparing myself to begin my American Philosophy course, I just happened to be browsing in the world’s best bookstore, Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Oregon, when I caught sight of this winsome little book. [...]
American Philosophy (and a plug for The Metaphysical Club)
For the next sixteen weeks every post I make in this blog will be related to my American Philosophy course (PHI 216). I am a neophyte in this field, but it combines two of my intellectual avocations: philosophy and American history. A few years ago a friend of mine encouraged me to read Louis Menand’s [...]
“owning” books: google ebooks cloud
Noted: Google books has a new strategy. They are providing “ownership” of a flexible ebook format where the actual images of the book are stored in the clouds, and you can access the book on any device you choose: phone, pad, laptop, desktop, internet TV whatever. You buy an access key. You purchase the right [...]
Manunkind on “Cyber Monday”
This Monday morning, I spent about 50 minutes trying to convince a group of 12 students, 18-20 year olds, that they should share the moral philosopher Philip Hallie’s outrage about Nazis torturing Jewish and Gypsy children… almost 70 years ago… and that they should enter into his professional concern — his puzzlement — over the [...]