Overview

Throughout the Civil War, soldiers and civilians on both sides of the conflict saw the hand of God in the terrible events of the day, but the standard narratives of the period pay scant attention to religion. Now, in God's Almost Chosen Peoples, Lincoln Prize-winning historian George C. Rable offers a groundbreaking account of how Americans of all political and religious persuasions used faith to interpret the course of the war. Examining a wide range of published and unpublished documents--including sermons, official statements from various churches, denominational papers and periodicals, and letters, diaries, and newspaper articles--Rable illuminates the broad role of religion during the Civil War, giving attention to often-neglected groups such as Mormons, Catholics, blacks, and people from the Trans-Mississippi region. The book underscores religion's presence in the everyday lives of Americans north and south struggling to understand the meaning of the conflict, from the tragedy of individual death to victory and defeat in battle and even the ultimate outcome of the war. Rable shows that themes of providence, sin, and judgment pervaded both public and private writings about the conflict. Perhaps most important, this volume--the only comprehensive religious history of the war--highlights the resilience of religious faith in the face of political and military storms the likes of which Americans had never before endured.

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9781469621821

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Research [this] estimable warrants delighted admiration, even were it presented without any special eclat--as so often is the case. But Rable's prose breaks the mold and makes God's Almost Chosen Peoples gratifying reading, accessible to any audience. . . . Interesting and important.--America's Civil War

I lamented the end of this book. Rable's recounting was so gripping and moving that one simply wanted more. Rable is a historian's historian, one who has sifted an enormous mound of evidence, dealt fairly with it, made good sense of it, and spun a captiv

Research [this] estimable warrants delighted admiration, even were it presented without any special eclat--as so often is the case. But Rable's prose breaks the mold and makes God's Almost Chosen Peoples gratifying reading, accessible to any audience. . . . Interesting and important.--America's Civil War The most comprehensive and deeply researched account of the role of religion in the American Civil War to date. . . . No other study has canvassed such a collection of source materials on the topic. . . . God's Almost Chosen Peoples should become the starting point for any future studies of religion and the Civil War.--Civil War Book Review Encompasses a wide range of religious expression in the United States at the time. . . . Contains many anecdotes that illustrate how religion played an essential part in the war.--University of Alabama News Rable handles these topics with skill. His book sets a high standard for historians who might want to delve deeper into the relationship between war and religion. . . .Important, pathbreaking book. Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries. --Choice God's Almost Chosen Peoples is one of the most significant books published in recent years on a Civil War subject. Impeccably researched and gracefully written, it fills a significant void in the historiography of the conflict....God's Almost Chosen Peoples should stand for years as the definitive work on religion and the Civil War. The author's research is meticulous, his narrative flowing, and his judgments sound. Dr. Rable's important book is recommended without reservation.--Blue and Gray Magazine A thorough history of religion in that seminal conflict that scholars of both American religion and the Civil War should read.--Alabama Review Until George C. Rable's God's Almost Chosen Peoples . . . an exploration of the role of religion has been strangely absent from the standard histories of the sectional conflict.--Foreword Magazine [This] book will enjoy wide circulation among scholars and will long stand as the starting place for anyone interested in this topic.--Register of the Kentucky Historical Society This work harbors an inner virtue worthy of its subjects. . . . Rable has recorded [religion's] voice with both particular singularity and universal resonance, providing a full soundtrack to the largely silent film that has been Civil War religious history.--Southern Historian All scholars interested in the Civil War or American religious history will want to acquire this major work.--Journal of NC Association of Historians Award-winning historian George Rable offers the most expansive and thorough take on the subject to date . . . . The most complex and detailed analysis of religion and the Civil War yet written.--Methodist History Teachers, scholars, and parents should welcome this work and its contribution to Cherokee scholarship.--Journal of Appalachian Studies There are precious few religious histories of the [Civil] war. . . . God's Almost Chosen Peoples is less judgmental and more expansive.--Sociology of Religion George C. Rable is one of the greatest American historians working, and this new book cements that reputation.--Journal of Southern History Rable's sweeping book synthesizes a massive amount of primary source material and provides a narrative that unfolds as intensely as the war it chronicles.--Journal of American History This long overdue book will interest those who care about American religious history, the Civil War, and church history in general.--Mid-America Journal of Theology An excellent analysis. . . . Stands out for its accessibility and thorough research. . . . Highly recommended for readers of Civil War history or American religious history.--Library Journal Impressively researched and well written, this book will appeal especially to specialists in the areas of the nineteenth-century United States, American church history, and the Civil War. . . . Scholars for many years to come will turn to Rable for a definitive synthesis of a subject too long neglected.--Indiana Magazine of History Rable's work attests that historians cannot understand the Civil War without including the role of religion and that those who ignore it misapprehend how those who lived during the war saw the conflict.--Utah Historical Quarterly I lamented the end of this book. Rable's recounting was so gripping and moving that one simply wanted more. Rable is a historian's historian, one who has sifted an enormous mound of evidence, dealt fairly with it, made good sense of it, and spun a captivating tale.--Mid-America Journal of Theology Deeply researched and written with subtlety and skill. . . . Rable's book will become a classic. --Christian Century The reader of this book is left with many insights, many things to reconsider through the lens of religion.--Georgia Historical Quarterly Brilliant and groundbreaking. . . . Rable's engrossing study of the role of religion in the Civil War will stand as the definitive religious history of America's most divisive conflict.--Publishers Weekly, starred review Religion in the Civil War has been an understudied subject, but Rable's thorough study goes a long way toward rectifying the neglect. . . . A heroic feat of research.--James M. McPherson, New York Review of Books Rable taps into the extensive scholarly literature on Civil War chaplains. --The North Carolina Historical Review Rable's sweeping synthesis invites reflection on the growing body of work on religion in the Civil War and on the meaning of 'a religious history' of the war.--Arkansas Historical Quarterly A groundbreaking account. . . . Examining a wide range of published and unpublished documents . . . Rable illuminates the broad role of religion during the Civil War. . . . The only comprehensive religious history of the war. . . . Will make an important addition to your Civil War library. . . . Excellent.--Lone Star Book Review

Rable taps into the extensive scholarly literature on Civil War chaplains. -- The North Carolina Historical Review

Author Information

George C. Rable holds the Charles G. Summersell Chair in Southern History at the University of Alabama, USA. He is author of Civil Wars: Women and the Crisis of Southern Nationalism, The Confederate Republic: A Revolution against Politics, and Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg!, which won the Lincoln Prize.

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