Philip F. Gura's Books

American Transcendentalism

A History

By: Philip F. Gura

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The first comprehensive history of the nineteenth-century American intellectual movement. American Transcendentalism is a comprehensive narrative history of America’s first group of public intellectuals, the men and women who defined American literature and indelibly marked American reform in the decades before and following the America Civil War. Philip F. Gura masterfully traces their intellectual genealogy to transatlantic religious and philosophical ideas, illustrating how these informed the fierce local theological debates that, so often first in Massachusetts and eventually throughout America, gave rise to practical, personal, and quixotic attempts to improve, even perfect the world. The transcendentalists would painfully bifurcate over what could be attained and how, one half epitomized by Ralph Waldo Emerson and stressing self-reliant individualism, the other by Orestes Brownson, George Ripley, and Theodore Parker, emphasizing commitment to the larger social good. By the 1850s, the uniquely American problem of slavery dissolved differences as transcendentalists turned ever more exclusively to abolition. Along with their early inheritance from European Romanticism, America’s transcendentalists abandoned their interest in general humanitarian reform. By war’s end, transcendentalism had become identified exclusively with Emersonian self-reliance, congruent with the national ethos of political liberalism and market capitalism.

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503

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Macmillan + ORM

Published Date

ISBN 10

1429922885

ISBN 13

9781429922883

America's Instrument

The Banjo in the Nineteenth Century

By: Philip F. Gura,James F. Bollman

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America's Instrument

The Banjo in the Nineteenth Century

By: Philip F. Gura,James F. Bollman

This handsome illustrated history traces the transformation of the banjo from primitive folk instrument to sophisticated musical machine and, in the process, offers a unique view of the music business in nineteenth-century America. Philip Gura and Jame

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408

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UNC Press Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0807824844

ISBN 13

9780807824849

C.F. Martin & His Guitars, 1796-1873

By: Philip F. Gura

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C.F. Martin & His Guitars, 1796-1873

By: Philip F. Gura

The author chronicles the remarkable story of the world's most famous guitar company, using more than 175 illustrations to tell the story of C. F. Martin and the company he created, using letters, account books, inventories, and other documents. (Performing Arts)

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364

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UNC Press Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0807828017

ISBN 13

9780807828014

American Transcendentalism

A History

By: Philip F. Gura

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American Transcendentalism

A History

By: Philip F. Gura

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503

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Macmillan + ORM

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ISBN 10

1429922885

ISBN 13

9781429922883

The Crossroads of American History and Literature

By: Philip F. Gura

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The Crossroads of American History and Literature

By: Philip F. Gura

The Crossroads of American History and Literature collects two decades' worth of the best-known essays of Philip F. Gura. Beginning with a definitive overview of studies of colonial literature, Gura ranges through such subjects in colonial American history as the intellectual life of the Connecticut River Valley, Cotton Mather's understanding of political leadership, and the religious upheavals of the Great Awakening. In the nineteenth century, he visits such varied topics as the history of print culture in rural communities, the philological interests of the Transcendentalist Elizabeth Peabody, the craft and business of the early Amerian music trades, and Thoreau's interest in exploration literature and in the Native American. Displaying remarkable sophistication in a variety of fields that, taken together, constitute the heart of American Studies, this collection illustrates the complexity of American cultural history.

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304

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Penn State Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0271024836

ISBN 13

9780271024837

Jonathan Edwards

America's Evangelical

By: Philip F. Gura

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Jonathan Edwards

America's Evangelical

By: Philip F. Gura

An important new biography of America's founding religious father. Jonathan Edwards was America's most influential evangelical, whose revivals of the 1730s became those against which all subsequent ones have been judged. The marvelous accomplishment of Philip Gura's Jonathan Edwards is to place the rich intellectual landscape of America's most formidable evangelical within the upheaval of his times. Gura not only captures Edwards' brilliance but respectfully explains the enduring appeal of his theology: in a world of profound uncertainty, it held out hope of an authentic conversion---the quickening of the indwelling spirit of God in one's heart and the consequent certitude of Godly behavior and everlasting grace. Tracing Jonathan Edwards' life from his birth in 1703 to his untimely death in 1758, Gura magnificently reasserts Edwards rightful claim as the father of America's evangelical tradition.

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391

Publisher

Macmillan + ORM

Published Date

ISBN 10

1429931574

ISBN 13

9781429931571

Man’s Better Angels

Romantic Reformers and the Coming of the Civil War

By: Philip F. Gura

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Man’s Better Angels

Romantic Reformers and the Coming of the Civil War

By: Philip F. Gura

Banks failed, credit contracted, inequality grew, and people everywhere were out of work while political paralysis and slavery threatened to rend the nation in two. As financial crises always have, the Panic of 1837 drew forth a plethora of reformers who promised to restore America to greatness. Animated by an ethic of individualism and self-reliance, they became prophets of a new moral order: if only their fellow countrymen would call on each individual’s God-given better instincts, the most intractable problems could be resolved. Inspired by this reformist fervor, Americans took to strict dieting, water cures, phrenology readings, mesmerism, utopian communities, free love, mutual banking, and a host of other elaborate self-improvement schemes. Vocal activists were certain that solutions to the country’s ills started with the reformation of individuals, and through them communities, and through communities the nation. This set of assumptions ignored the hard political and economic realities at the core of the country’s malaise, however, and did nothing to prevent another financial panic twenty years later, followed by secession and civil war. Focusing on seven individuals—George Ripley, Horace Greeley, William B. Greene, Orson Squire Fowler, Mary Gove Nichols, Henry David Thoreau, and John Brown—Philip Gura explores their efforts, from the comical to the homicidal, to beat a new path to prosperity. A narrative of people and ideas, Man’s Better Angels captures an intellectual moment in American history that has been overshadowed by the Civil War and the pragmatism that arose in its wake.

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Page Count

326

Publisher

Harvard University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0674978145

ISBN 13

9780674978140

Truth's Ragged Edge

The Rise of the American Novel

By: Philip F. Gura

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Truth's Ragged Edge

The Rise of the American Novel

By: Philip F. Gura

From the acclaimed cultural historian Philip F. Gura comes Truth's Ragged Edge, a comprehensive and original history of the American novel's first century. Grounded in Gura's extensive consideration of the diverse range of important early novels, not just those that remain widely read today, this book recovers many long-neglected but influential writers—such as the escaped slave Harriet Jacobs, the free black Philadelphian Frank J. Webb, and the irrepressible John Neal—to paint a complete and authoritative portrait of the era. Gura also gives us the key to understanding what sets the early novel apart, arguing that it is distinguished by its roots in "the fundamental religiosity of American life." Our nation's pioneering novelists, it turns out, wrote less in the service of art than of morality. This history begins with a series of firsts: the very first American novel, William Hill Brown's The Power of Sympathy, published in 1789; the first bestsellers, Susanna Rowson's Charlotte Temple and Hannah Webster Foster's The Coquette, novels that were, like Brown's, cautionary tales of seduction and betrayal; and the first native genre, religious tracts, which were parables intended to instruct the Christian reader. Gura shows that the novel did not leave behind its proselytizing purpose, even as it evolved. We see Catharine Maria Sedgwick in the 1820s conceiving of A New-England Tale as a critique of Puritanism's harsh strictures, as well as novelists pushing secular causes: George Lippard's The Quaker City, from 1844, was a dark warning about growing social inequality. In the next decade certain writers—Hawthorne and Melville most famously—began to depict interiority and doubt, and in doing so nurtured a broader cultural shift, from social concern to individualism, from faith in a distant god to faith in the self. Rich in subplots and detail, Gura's narrative includes enlightening discussions of the technologies that modernized publishing and allowed for the printing of novels on a mass scale, and of the lively cultural journals and literary salons of early nineteenth-century New York and Boston. A book for the reader of history no less than the reader of fiction, Truth's Ragged Edge—the title drawn from a phrase in Melville, about the ambiguity of truth—is an indispensable guide to the fascinating, unexpected origins of the American novel.

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354

Publisher

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Published Date

ISBN 10

1429951346

ISBN 13

9781429951340

The Crossroads of American History and Literature

By: Philip F. Gura

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The Crossroads of American History and Literature

By: Philip F. Gura

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304

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Penn State Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0271024836

ISBN 13

9780271024837

The Life of William Apess, Pequot

By: Philip F. Gura

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The Life of William Apess, Pequot

By: Philip F. Gura

The Pequot Indian intellectual, author, and itinerant preacher William Apess (1798–1839) was one the most important voices of the nineteenth century. Here, Philip F. Gura offers the first book-length chronicle of Apess's fascinating and consequential life. After an impoverished childhood marked by abuse, Apess soldiered with American troops during the War of 1812, converted to Methodism, and rose to fame as a lecturer who lifted a powerful voice of protest against the plight of Native Americans in New England and beyond. His 1829 autobiography, A Son of the Forest, stands as the first published by a Native American writer. Placing Apess's activism on behalf of Native American people in the context of the era's rising tide of abolitionism, Gura argues that this founding figure of Native intellectual history deserves greater recognition in the pantheon of antebellum reformers. Following Apess from his early life through the development of his political radicalism to his tragic early death and enduring legacy, this much-needed biography showcases the accomplishments of an extraordinary Native American.

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211

Publisher

UNC Press Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1469619997

ISBN 13

9781469619996

Jonathan Edwards

America's Evangelical

By: Philip F. Gura

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Jonathan Edwards

America's Evangelical

By: Philip F. Gura

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391

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Macmillan + ORM

Published Date

ISBN 10

1429931574

ISBN 13

9781429931571

Liberty or Justice for All?

A Conversation across the American Centuries

By: Philip F. Gura

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Liberty or Justice for All?

A Conversation across the American Centuries

By: Philip F. Gura

A riveting story of faith, politics, and ideas, Liberty or Justice for All? brings to life four of America’s greatest thinkers, whose dialogue across the ages has never been more relevant. The book traces a striking pattern—the vexed relationship of individual liberty to inclusive social justice—in an elaborate fabric, woven over more than three centuries of American history. Philip F. Gura begins his nimble tale with Jonathan Edwards, a fiery preacher who insisted that God would reward those who embraced social cooperation. One generation later, the Founding Fathers grounded their own project of civic renewal in rights and freedom. But if every citizen is guaranteed life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, does this mean America is a nation where the individual reigns supreme? America’s young democracy soon found its prophet in Ralph Waldo Emerson, who preached a gospel of self-reliance, small government, and self-improvement. But with the coming of the Civil War, Emerson’s triumphant individual became a cog in a vast war machine. Radical technological transformations convinced the psychologist-turned-philosopher William James that the self was more fragmented and fragile than Emerson believed. He found virtue in pluralism and diversity, seeing selfishness as the cardinal sin. Two world wars and several failed revolutions later, John Rawls, shaken by the divisions of Vietnam, sought to establish a new secular foundation for social cooperation. Over time, we have sought to hold these opposing value systems in delicate balance, promising both liberty and justice for all.

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Page Count

208

Publisher

University of Georgia Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0820363103

ISBN 13

9780820363103

The Life of William Apess, Pequot

By: Philip F. Gura

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The Life of William Apess, Pequot

By: Philip F. Gura

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211

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UNC Press Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1469619997

ISBN 13

9781469619996

America's Instrument

The Banjo in the Nineteenth Century

By: Philip F. Gura,James F. Bollman

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America's Instrument

The Banjo in the Nineteenth Century

By: Philip F. Gura,James F. Bollman

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408

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UNC Press Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0807824844

ISBN 13

9780807824849

Truth's Ragged Edge

The Rise of the American Novel

By: Philip F. Gura

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Truth's Ragged Edge

The Rise of the American Novel

By: Philip F. Gura

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354

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Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Published Date

ISBN 10

1429951346

ISBN 13

9781429951340

Man’s Better Angels

Romantic Reformers and the Coming of the Civil War

By: Philip F. Gura

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Man’s Better Angels

Romantic Reformers and the Coming of the Civil War

By: Philip F. Gura

Banks failed, inequality grew, people were out of work, and slavery threatened to rend the nation in two. The Panic of 1837 drew forth reformers who, animated by self-reliance, became prophets of a new moral order that would make America great again. Philip Gura captures a Romantic moment that was soon overtaken by civil war and postwar pragmatism.

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Page Count

326

Publisher

Harvard University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0674659546

ISBN 13

9780674659544

C.F. Martin & His Guitars, 1796-1873

By: Philip F. Gura

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C.F. Martin & His Guitars, 1796-1873

By: Philip F. Gura

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364

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UNC Press Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0807828017

ISBN 13

9780807828014

The Works of Philip Lindsley

Vol. I

By: Philip Lindsley

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The Works of Philip Lindsley

Vol. I

By: Philip Lindsley

Reprint of the original, first published in 1859. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.

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598

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BoD – Books on Demand

Published Date

ISBN 10

3382306832

ISBN 13

9783382306830

The Works Of Philip Lindsley ...: Sermons And Religious Discourses

By: Philip Lindsley

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The Works Of Philip Lindsley ...: Sermons And Religious Discourses

By: Philip Lindsley

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

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