"Witham's highly readable history of the American sermon strongly bolsters the contention that words change minds and alter the course of events." -- Booklist

Pivotal moments in U.S. history are indelibly marked by the sermons of the nation's greatest orators. From colonial times to the present, the sermon has motivated Americans to fight wars as well as fight for peace. Sermons have provoked the mob mentality of witch hunts and blacklists, but they have also stirred activists in the women's and civil rights movements. A City Upon a Hill tells the story of these powerful words and how they shaped the destiny of a nation.

A City Upon a Hill includes the story of Robert Hunt, the first preacher to brave the dangerous sea voyage to Jamestown; Jonathan Mayhew's "most seditious sermon ever delivered," which incited Boston's Stamp Act riots in 1765; early calls for abolition and "Preacher-Captain" Nat Turner's bloody slave revolt of 1831; Henry Ward Beecher's sermon at Fort Sumter on the day of Lincoln's assassination; tent revivalist/prohibitionist Billy Sunday's "booze sermon"; the challenging words of Martin Luther King Jr., which inspired the civil rights movement; Billy Graham's moving speeches as "America's pastor" and spiritual advisor to multiple U.S. presidents; and Jerry Falwell's legacy of changing the way America does politics.

A City Upon a Hill provides a history of the United States as seen through the lens of the preached words -- Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish -- that inspired independence, constitutional amendments, and military victories, and also stirred our worst prejudices, selfish materialism, and stubborn divisiveness -- all in the name of God.

• We started tracking this book on August 30, 2013.
• This book was $2.99 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 143 times in the past 4,308 days.
• The current price of this book is $1.99 last checked 21 hours ago.
• This book is at its lowest price in the past year.
• The lowest price to date was $0.99 last reached on May 18, 2015.
• This book has been $0.99 one time since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $13.99 last reached on July 16, 2023.
• This book has been $13.99 one time since we started tracking it.

• HistoryReligionChristianityCatholicism
• HistoryReligionChristianityProtestantism
• Religion & SpiritualityReligious Studies & ReferenceSociology

• Publication Date: October 6, 2009
• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 338 Pages
• File Size: 71 KB