While many pundits will claim that our contemporary era of politics is one of the most bipartisan and vitriolic on record, and that the blending of religion and politics is making this so, historians are quick to point out such turmoil is common throughout time. To this end, we invite Prof. Jonathan den Hartog, associate professor and chair of history at The University of Northwestern (St. Paul, MN), to discuss his new book Patriotism & Piety: Federalist Politics and Religious Struggle in the New American Nation. Prof. den Hartog dissects the first several decades following the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and argues that this was a time of intense national debate that drew heavily on religious themes and has affected the way we govern ourselves unto this day.
Prof. den Hartog has appeared a few times before on our podcast so we begin with a bit of reminiscing of days gone by and his interest in the topic of post-revolutionary era America. Tony then describes the cover of Jonathan’s book, which is a cartoon depicting Thomas Paine attempting to tear down the foundational columns of the American republic with the help of none other than the devil! Jonathan notes that although a discussion of this cartoon is not included in the book, it epitomizes the struggle that was going on during the day and how infused the rhetoric was with religious themes. He fills us in on some background of the era by explaining who the Federalists were and what they were struggling against, revealing some interesting trajectories about the likes of revolutionary heroes Paine and Ethan Allen, both who became enamored with the unfolding events of the French Revolution.
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