The American Enlightenment, 1750-1820

Front Cover
Harvard University Press, 1997 - History - 220 pages
This concise literary history of the American Enlightenment captures the varied and conflicting voices of religious and political conviction in the decades when the new nation was formed. Robert Ferguson's trenchant interpretation yields new understanding of this pivotal period for American culture.

From inside the book

Contents

Finding the Revolution
1
What Is Enlightenment? Some American Answers
22
Religious Voices
44
Writing the Revolution
80
The Literature of Public Documents
124
The Limits of Enlightenment
150
Bibliography
193
Index
207
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (1997)

Robert A. Ferguson was George Edward Woodberry Professor in Law, Literature, and Criticism at Columbia University.