The Pulpit of the American Revolution: or, the Political Sermons of the Period of 1776. With a Historical Introduction, Notes, and Illustrations.
Boston: Gould and Lincoln, 59 Washington Street; New York: Sheldon and Company; Cincinnati: George S. Blanchard, 1860. Item #1089 8vo. 200 x 120 mm., [7 ½ x 4 ¾ inches]. xxxviii, [3], 42-537pp., [2] ads. Frontispiece portrait and one plate engraved by W. W. Wilson. Dark brown pebbled cloth with blind stamping on boards. Title and author stamped in gilt on spine. Spine ends with wear. Presentation copy from the author to Richard Frothingham Jr. Private exlibris stamp of Wilson H. Kimnach. Item #67620 JT?DSC (1089) First edition. The focus of Thornton’s research are on the sermons of the Boston ministers during the time leading up and during the American Revolution. Mayhew’s sermon on Non-resistance (1750) questioning the Archbishop of Canterbury and his decision to seed the Colonies with Anglican Bishops; Charles Chauncy’s A Discourse on the good New from a Far Country, (1766) on the Stamp Act; Samuel Cooks’s A Sermon Preached at Cambridge, in the Audience of his Honor Thomas Hutchinson, (1770) on the power of civil government; William Gordon’s A Discourse Preached December 15th, 1774 and others. John Wingate Thornton (1795-1854) was a graduate of Harvard Law School, litigator and noted historian of colonial history. He was the founder of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and rigorous researcher whose document based research brought him the admiration of his peers. His work on the printed sources of the American Revolution, as witnessed by this work, foreshadowed the techniques used by the distinguished historians of the late 19th century. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, VI, 103-4). See Sabin, Dictionary of Books Relating to America 95642 for a complete list of sermons focused on by Thornton in his book.
Price: $100.00