We're often told that the United States is; was; and always has been a Christian nation. But in One Nation Under God; historian Kevin M. Kruse reveals that the belief that America is fundamentally and formally Christian originated in the 1930s.To fight the “slavery†of FDR's New Deal; businessmen enlisted religious activists in a campaign for “freedom under God†that culminated in the election of their ally Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. The new president revolutionized the role of religion in American politics. He inaugurated new traditions like the National Prayer Breakfast; as Congress added the phrase “under God†to the Pledge of Allegiance and made “In God We Trust†the country's first official motto. Church membership soon soared to an all-time high of 69 percent. Americans across the religious and political spectrum agreed that their country was “one nation under God.â€Provocative and authoritative; One Nation Under God reveals how an unholy alliance of money; religion; and politics created a false origin story that continues to define and divide American politics to this day.
#132126 in Books Thomas Sowell 2013-03-12 2013-03-12Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.50 x .75 x 6.25l; .80 #File Name: 0465058728192 pagesIntellectuals and Race
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Must readBy G-MIThis book will totally change your perspective on current discussions relating to the issue of race.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A Painful Diagnosis is Often Necessary to Cure the DiseaseBy Peter C StimesDr. Sowell's insights may be very challenging and painful to those who fancy themselves the "moral" or "self-certain" elites. His diagnostic scalpel lances the preconceptions of the intelligentsia that have festered in pseudo-scientific form: in the first half of the 20th century blaming the minority and; in the second half blaming the majority.After reading this book; all I could think of is the drunk who fell off his horse and; then determined not to repeat his mistake; overreacts and falls off the other side of the horse. Such are the so-called experts on race in the USA.A conscientious reading of Dr. Sowell; and the painful duty of clear thinking to which he calls us; are the only basis for riding the horse without falling off at all.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Sowell thinks outside the box!By suzI am enjoying Sowell's book on Intellectuals and Race very much - it stretches my mind as he regularly upsets commonly held beliefs with facts that won't budge. The same data in other locales can't mean what we have been told it means. Sowell shows how holding back certain information skews the tracking numbers; giving official info that is not accurate; which has the effect of changing our perceptions very inaccurately; I have learned.
