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James H. Hutson, Religion and the Founding of the American Republic (Hanover and London: UP of New England, 1998), xv + 136pp., $21.95 (paper).
This book is a companion to a Library of Congress exhibit on "Religion and the Founding of the American Republic," and so is first of all a picture book, containing old prints, portraits, and title-pages, many drawn from the collections of the Library of Congress, but others borrowed from various archives and denominational historical societies. Of course a book of this type must first be judged by the choice and quality of its illustrations, and they are very well chosen and reproduced. Familiar images are here, such as George Whitefield preaching, Shakers dancing, and Samuel F. B. Morse's painting of the house of representatives. As a Library of Congress exhibit, there are many book and manuscript pages. There are also some real gems, such as a watercolor depicting "In Side of the Old Lutheran Church in 1800, York, Pa.," which includes a man chasing a dog out of the church, and an oil painting of ruffians forcibly dunking Baptist preachers in...