Jeffry H. Morrison offers readers the first comprehensive look at the political thought and career of John Witherspoon—a Scottish Presbyterian minister and one of America’s most influential and overlooked founding fathers. Witherspoon was an active member of the Continental Congress and was the only clergyman both to sign the Declaration of Independence and to ratify the federal Constitution. During his tenure as president of the College of New Jersey at Princeton; Witherspoon became a mentor to James Madison and influenced many leaders and thinkers of the founding period. He was uniquely positioned at the crossroads of politics; religion; and education during the crucial first decades of the new republic.Morrison locates Witherspoon in the context of early American political thought and charts the various influences on his thinking. This impressive work of scholarship offers a broad treatment of Witherspoon’s constitutionalism; including his contributions to the mediating institutions of religion and education; and to political institutions from the colonial through the early federal periods. This book will be appreciated by anyone with an interest in American political history and thought and in the relation of religion to American politics.
#2427784 in Books 2010-11-26 2010-11-26Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .88 x 6.00l; 1.10 #File Name: 0253355206240 pages
Review
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy cbyankeeAwesome book6 of 8 people found the following review helpful. Some Interesting Information; But Also Superficial at TimesBy Jan PeczkisThe authors support the view that the early pogroms in tsarist Russia (such as those of 1881-1882) were not; as earlier believed; incited by the government. (p. 4; 7; 138). Pogroms during tsarist rule varied in severity by region. They were rare in Belorussia; Lithuania; southern Ukraine; and Crimea. Later pogroms; as during the Russian revolution were; however; organized (in this instance; by both Reds and Whites).The pogrom can be put in the broader context of the "deadly ethnic riot." (pp. 6-7). Jews were not the only victims of such disturbances. For instance; David Engel mentions the factory strike in Lodz in May 1892: "...the strikers killed three Jews while 140 Polish workers were shot by strike-breaking police..." (p. 22).Traditional explanations are given for pogroms. Jews are presented as objects of public perception; and not as flesh-and-blood individuals. For instance; Jews were accused of such things as siding with the enemy (or helping both sides) and profiteering during wartime. No attempt is made to substantiate or refute these accusations.A factor in the pogroms in tsarist Russia was the growing prominence of Jews in industry; the professions; and intellectual life. (p. 125). The pogroms of 1881-1882 were motivated by the perception that Jews were exploiting the people; while; in contrast; the pogroms of 1905 occurred in an atmosphere of social unrest as well as the role of Jews as revolutionaries who were assaulting the state. (p. 125).This work could stand improvement in the presentation of its claims. For instance; the study of Oleg Budnitskii is cited. (p. 9). He claims that; during 1918-1921; anywhere from 50;000 to 200;000 Jews were killed in pogroms in the Ukraine. (p. 9). No explanation is provided as to how he arrived at these figures; nor are alternative studies mentioned.David Engel accuses the Polish government of avoiding the term pogrom in order that violent acts against Jews (around 1918) "smell less foul." (p. 21). Yet; by his own admission; the term pogrom is an amorphous term that encompasses everything from the murder of thousands of Jews to a handful of vandalized Jewish properties with no fatalities. Engel should know better. He fails to mention the fact that fantastic accusations were leveled about 30;000 Jews in Poland killed by Poles. (This was off by a factor of only 100). So why should the Polish government play into the propaganda directed against it by necessarily using an emotive and misleading term like pogrom?
