This book examines the debate over the connection between religion and public life in society during the fifty years following the American Revolution. Sassi challenges the conventional wisdom, finding an essential continuity to the period's public Christianity, whereas most previous studies have seen this period as one in which the nation's cultural paradigm shifted from republicanism to liberal individualism. Focusing on the Congregational clergy of New England, he demonstrates that throughout this period there were Americans concerned with their corporate destiny, retaining a commitment to constructing a righteous community and assessing the cosmic meaning of the American experiment.

Excerpt from An Oration in Commemoration of the Forty Seventh Anniversary of the Declaration of American Independence: Delivered, July 4th, 1823, Before the Citizens of Providence, R. I. And Published at Their Request The history of the world presents an almost uninterrupted spectacle of misery and of crime; Man bending beneath the scourge of arbitrary power; Millions yielding. Implicit obedience to the mandates of afew; Tyranny, robed. In pur ple and throned in state; with burdened Industryr alternately toiling to meet her artificial wants, and prostrate in the dust, pouring forth his tribute of blood and treasure, at her footstool'. Such are the cheerless scenes, afforded by the annals of former ages. But brighter prospects are opening to our view. The dark clouds of error which so long hung over the world, have, already partially faded away, and many of the causes which held mankind in bondage, have in a great degree, ceased to exist. It may not be improper on this occasion, to de vote a few moments to the purpose of tracing the progress of Freedom in the world; with some of the principal causes of its advancement. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.