Cultus Americanus: Varieties of the Liberal Tradition in American Political Culture, 1600–1865

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Cultus Americanus: Varieties of the Liberal Tradition in American Political Culture, 1600–1865. By Brent Gilchrist. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2006. 314p. $80.00.

In Cultus Americanus, Brent Gilchrist provides an intellectually challenging account of American political culture. In so doing, Gilchrist staunchly defends the notion of a liberal consensus in American political life. However, this is not merely a restatement of Louis Hartz's rightly famous theory. Instead, we are offered a nuanced and thoughtful analysis of how American culture delineates a “matrix” that reflects the interaction of myth, religion, and ideology. The author goes to great lengths to demarcate the differences and connections among these rich and powerful concepts. In the process, he does an admirable job articulating a fundamental liberalism that is at work in America. Thus, he offers a powerful development of the Hartz thesis and takes on those critics who see that theory as fraught with failings. Indeed, Rogers Smith's Civic Ideals (1997) and Cultus Americanus provide the materials for a high-minded debate about how American politics was shaped in the past and how our history continues to shape the present. This book will be of interest to those interested in American political history and thought, religion, and politics, as well as to theorists in general.