The second volume of A History of the Christian Tradition takes the reader through the momentous events of the post-Reformation Christian world to the dawning of the ecumenical movement in the late 20th century. Beginning with an overview of Protestant Europe; this volume examines the missionary ventures in the 16th and 17th centuries; the establishment of churches in the New World; and the struggles between rationalism and faith during the Enlightenment and later. Notice is also given to developments in the Orthodox churches and the story of the Jews in Christian Europe. The history concludes with renewal movements; culminating in the Second Vatican Council and the pontificate of Pope John Paul II.
#704227 in Books Hill and Wang 1999-09-01 1999-09-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.27 x .96 x 5.83l; 1.24 #File Name: 0809073846432 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. it's the best history - the only history I've seen or read ...By CustomerIt's hard to read; unusually long in citations and overly thorough in wrestling with legalities. However; it's the best history - the only history I've seen or read that so well elucidates women's issues and the law in the United States right from the beginning to the present.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. if you want to know how we got to hereBy MelThis is informative book about how the Constitutional law has been constructed in regards to female citizenry. It is an academic book; by a historian about law history and its alignment with women's rights as citizens. If you want to wrap your brain around the history of law and women as citizens; this is a solid resource.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Good; Informative; Detailed ReadBy GryphonisleThis book would probably work best as a text for a Woman's Studies or Civil Rights class; For the casual historian; it's a bit dense--but very interesting. The author focuses on court cases; from early Massachusetts to the modern Supreme Court; as a stepping stone to examine various obligations (as opposed to rights) that were denied women from the start; right up to the present (or 1999 when the book was written). These run from taxes and voting; to juries and finally; the draft. The court cases are a stepping off point to examine the attitudes of the day and the origins of the laws and those attitudes. Because African American civil rights often parallels the women's rights movement (which at the start were almost exclusively for white women's rights) the reader gets some details on life above and below the Mason Dixon line in the Jim Crow and Slavery eras. This information will often prove quite eye-opening to the average person if they haven't studied either movement in detail.In essence; a white woman was supposed to be something between an ornament and an appliance; but always to keep to the home. Black men; women and children; on the other hand; were expected to work outside the home; and in the South even had to sign annual contracts for labor of the sort that could be seen; and watched; quantified. Vagrancy laws often brought fines equal to two months salary; and the laws were so broad it was hard to avoid them--being dressed up was no less of a risk than being down and out; but the laws invariably ensnared only black people. Juries; of course only took white men; and even when white women began to serve; white men could often get their convictions overturned as a result. Oddly enough; while women couldn't vote; they did have to pay taxes if they were single (usually widowed) and owned property; and often they ended up getting assessed more than male taxpayers. And did you know that a woman born in the US; to American parents could still lose her citizenship if she married a foreigner; and moved abroad? That case has never been overturned (as of 1999 in any case!)Where I thought the book went wrong was in the information-overload. The early chapters; which focused on the early republic; had sources that had been edited by the passage of time. As the case histories come closer to the modern age; the information becomes much more abundant and the author throws a lot more of it into the chapter; even if it doesn't really help the reader to understand context or precedent. The final chapter on the Draft was so windy with words I had to fight myself in order to actually read it all and not put it down and say I had. A bit more judicious editing and this very good book would be a much more compelling read. Still; if you want to see how fluid our system still is; and how little has been carved into stone--so much less than you'd imagine; "No Constitutional Right To Be Ladies" would be a very good place to start.
