Annotations: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Scrooge became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.
How Pentecostalism Shaped Rock ’n’ Roll
Early rock and roll performers, including Little Richard and Elvis, were influenced by the sounds and tropes of Pentecostal worship services.
Wild Saints and Holy Fools
Early Christian writers valorized the desert life of ascetic monks, but the city also had something to offer would-be “fools for Christ”.
The Metaphysical Story of Chiropractic
Chiropractic medicine began as a practice built on an approach to the human condition that was distinctly opposed to Christianity.
America’s First Ventriloquist
Richard Potter, the first American-born ventriloquist and stage magician, learned his trade after being kidnapped and abandoned as a child in Great Britain.
“What to the Slave is The Fourth of July?”: Annotated
On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave a Fourth of July speech that became his most famous public oration.
Railroad Chapel Cars Brought God to the People
Between 1890 and 1946, thirteen railroad chapel cars made their way across America, spreading a Christian message in rural communities.
How Upper Lips Got Stiff
The truism that “boys don’t cry” is a Western social convention. Colonialism and imperialism made sure it spread East.
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God: Annotated
Jonathan Edwards’s sermon reflects the complicated religious culture of eighteenth-century America, influenced not just by Calvinism, but Newtonian physics as well.
Proposition 6 (The Briggs Initiative): Annotated
Proposition 6, better known as the Briggs Initiative, was the first attempt to restrict the rights of lesbian and gay Americans by popular referendum.