The Crisis of the Standing Order: Clerical Intellectuals and Cultural Authority in Massachusetts, 1780-1833 [Hardcover]

Peter S. Field (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1998

A study of the clash of cultural elites in the early American republic. Historian Peter Field focuses on the issues of power, prestige, and self-interest that fueled the struggle between the Boston Brahmins and their orthodox rivals, the Congregational Standing Order--and laid the groundwork for New England's remarkable literary flowering in the19th century.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Massachusetts Pr; 1st ed edition (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558491430
• ISBN-13: 978-1558491434
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,668,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating look at the politics of religion, September 6, 1999

By 

Thelma C. Johnson "[e-mail]" (Cookeville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Crisis of the Standing Order: Clerical Intellectuals and Cultural Authority in Massachusetts, 1780-1833 (Hardcover)

This book is a meticulously-researched look at the forces that shaped religious thought in early America. Dr. Field traces the political infighting and economic pressures on church leaders that led to the separation of religious and secular cultures, a condition evident in our present-day factionalism. This is not a book for the faint of heart. It is detailed, precise, and reads like a mystery novel as we follow the threads of intellectual, cultural, and religious thoughts from the Puritans and Calvinists to the Unitarians and beyond. Field's book brings us to Emerson and the brink of the Industrial Revolution, another turning point in American culture. This book is a "must" for understanding the intricacy of our religious expression.