“American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation” was written by a former magazine and book editor. However, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham is best known as a historian, having written more than a dozen history books as well as served as a trustee for such institutions as the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Thus, his books delve deeply into the events, writings, and characters that have shaped the United States.
“American Gospel” sets forth a belief that biblical doctrines are the bricks and stones of this country’s foundation.
Meacham jumps right in, reminding readers of one of the greatest historical “coincidences”: Thomas Jefferson’s death on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. (John Adams died the same day.) The Founders continually recognized providence at work in the establishment of America and in their individual lives. “The Founders believed themselves at work in the service of both God and man, not just one or the other.” And the Founders were, as Meacham asserts, “driven by a sense of providence and an acute appreciation of the fallibility of humankind.”
Thus, the thesis of “American Gospel” is that the United States was uniquely shaped and buoyed by religion, yet religion has not controlled the country. In fascinating detail, Meacham shares aspects of America’s birth—from John Winthrop’s powerful “city on a hill” sermon to Thomas Jefferson’s defining July 4, 1776, document.
The book’s introduction emphasizes that “the real saga of God, the Founding Fathers, and the making of the nation is a tale that opens with swashbuckling adventurers searching for gold in Virginia and sturdy but strict Puritans trying to create a Christian commonwealth in New England. The drama is America’s drama, from George Washington to Ronald Reagan, from the Civil War to civil rights.”
Though published in 2006, “American Gospel” remains timely as Meacham’s brisk narrative shows that America’s best chance of summoning what Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature” lies in recovering the spirit and sense of the founding. In looking back, we will know how to go forward.
“American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation” by Jon Meacham (Random House, 2006).
