In his breezy portrait of America as a “Hellfire Nation,” James A. Morone, a Brown professor of political science, pays attention to images of the future and their impact on life of this country. Sometimes a close encounter with an imagined future can become “a revolutionary, romantic moment when an entire society seems to be up for grabs. In those moments, fundamental change appears irrestible; for a brief moment, ‘all seems possible, all within reach.'” Now is the time.

The visions of giving conjured up in such “revolutionary, romantic” moments called givers to great responsibilities. Failure was unthinkable, covetousness a grievous sin. If you want to know more about some of those moments in the years between the Civil War and the 1920s, read the essay offered in Resource 4.9 - The Good Steward.  Another option is Resource 4.10 - Josiah Strong, Vision and Money.

If you have the time and inclination, take a look at the book cited above. In his concluding paragraph, Morone offers a reprise of his story: “Whatever lies ahead, the past offers one final lesson. When the established faiths – political, social, religious – begins to grow stale, there is always another hot American revival in the wings. Americans play many roles and believe many different things. But after more than three and a half centuries – for better and for worse – we remain Puritans all(P.497)." James A. Morone, Hellfire Nation; the Politics of Sin in American History (New Haven. Yale University Press. 2003). His portrayal of the Puritans is dubious but the reference to the prospect of “another hot American revival in the wings” is provocative. For an example of his approach to a “hot American revival,” examine his interpretation of the temperance movement. "The fight against liquor might be the greatest reform movement in American history – only Abolition comes close, No other social movement lasted as long, promised as much, or stirred up more trouble.” See Chapter 10, “Temperance: Crucible of Race and Class,” pp. 281-317.