Something for Founding Members
Hello everyone,
I just opened up paid subscriptions last week and I thank everyone who has subscribed. I did it so fast that I didn’t mention that Founding Members will receive a signed copy of my book Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: Religion and the Politics of Race in the Civil War Era and Beyond.
Can you believe that I wrote a book about two subjects, that you aren’t supposed to discuss in polite company, politics and religion? What could I have been thinking? But, then, it has been a while since I was invited to where the polite company gather.
Mark Twain said: “In religion and politics people’s beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing.”
Sadly, I am one of those people examines everything, even when uncomfortable and unpopular. Likewise, I have a bad habit of upsetting people by eating sacred cows, I prefer them medium rare.
But I digress….
If you have already chosen to be a Founding Member we need to figure out how I can get one to you. If you are a monthly or yearly subscriber I need to see how you can upgrade your subscription if you want to be a Founding Member. Forgive me but I am really new to this. I will try to figure it out tomorrow.
If you are are on the fence about doing the subscription, here are are some of the reviews.
“The ghosts of American slavery and the Civil War haunt this sweeping interpretation of how a toxic blend of white supremacy and tribal religion continue to shape American society. Beginning with the arrival of the first Africans in North America in 1619, Dundas traces how race and religion became an American ideology that influenced politics and public policy. The extensive citation of first-person quotations lends unusual authority to the account. The heart of the study is the period from the antebellum era through the end of Reconstruction, but within a chronological narrative, Dundas weaves philosophical meditations on the mix of idealism and ruthless power that shaped the antebellum and postbellum worlds, with special insight on the American South’s pivotal role in his story. While this is a historical study, the author analyzes its significance for the social and political divisions of the twenty-first century, making it an especially timely study. The author’s wide knowledge of military history serves him well, as he looks at the American experience of the Civil War in a broad perspective. Scholars of southern history, American religion, the Civil War, and contemporary politics will all find this work of interest.”—Charles Reagan Wilson, Professor Emeritus at the University of Mississippi, and author of Baptized in Blood, the Religion of the Lost Cause: 1865–1920, and many other books on Southern history and culture.
“Steven L. Dundas brings us a powerful history, not only of slavery but, and even more important, of the consequences of untruths and how twisted religious beliefs shaped America. All educators should read it and ensure that its message is delivered to their students.”—Joseph J. Levin Jr., cofounder and emeritus board member of the Southern Poverty Law Center (Warning: Educators in Florida might go to jail for doing this.)
“In this concise, personal account, Steven L. Dundas offers a review of religion and ideology in the Civil War era and its aftermath. Taking a broad view, Dundas considers expressions of religious fervor and sermonizing in relations to the establishment of slavery in 1619, the role of the Constitution of the United States, and the painful legacies of the Civil War in Jim Crow and Lost Cause America. Dundas adopts a friendly and familiar tone, quoting at length, and synthesizing based on his careful reading of secondary sources. In its most original passages, the book considers the role of evangelical zeal in promoting conflict in the leadup to the war on both sides of the divide.” Dr. Leanna Keith of the New York Collegiate Academy and author of The Colfax Massacre.
“The ghosts of American slavery and the Civil War haunt this sweeping interpretation of how a toxic blend of white supremacy and tribal religion continue to shape American society. Beginning with the arrival of the first Africans in North America in 1619, Dundas traces how race and religion became an American ideology that influenced politics and public policy. The extensive citation of first-person quotations lends unusual authority to the account. The heart of the study is the period from the antebellum era through the end of Reconstruction, but within a chronological narrative, Dundas weaves philosophical meditations on the mix of idealism and ruthless power that shaped the antebellum and postbellum worlds, with special insight on the American South’s pivotal role in his story. While this is a historical study, the author analyzes its significance for the social and political divisions of the twenty-first century, making it an especially timely study. The author’s wide knowledge of military history serves him well, as he looks at the American experience of the Civil War in a broad perspective. Scholars of southern history, American religion, the Civil War, and contemporary politics will all find this work of interest.”
“The ghosts of American slavery and the Civil War haunt this sweeping interpretation of how a toxic blend of white supremacy and tribal religion continue to shape American society. Beginning with the arrival of the first Africans in North America in 1619, Dundas traces how race and religion became an American ideology that influenced politics and public policy. The extensive citation of first-person quotations lends unusual authority to the account. The heart of the study is the period from the antebellum era through the end of Reconstruction, but within a chronological narrative, Dundas weaves philosophical meditations on the mix of idealism and ruthless power that shaped the antebellum and postbellum worlds, with special insight on the American South’s pivotal role in his story. While this is a historical study, the author analyzes its significance for the social and political divisions of the twenty-first century, making it an especially timely study. The author’s wide knowledge of military history serves him well, as he looks at the American experience of the Civil War in a broad perspective. Scholars of southern history, American religion, the Civil War, and contemporary politics will all find this work of interest.”
If you don’t want to subscribe you can purchase it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and numerous other retailers. The link to Amazon is here.
Have a great night and better tomorrow!
Steve is a marvelous writer. I highly recommend his book! (Just bought it, myself!)