Revolutionary Conscience - by Paul E Teed (Paperback)

About the Book

Theodore Parker was one of the most controversial theologians and social activists in pre-Civil War America. This book argues that Parker's radical vision and contemporary appeal stemmed from his abiding faith in the human conscience and in the principles of the American revolutionary tradition.

Book Synopsis

Theodore Parker was one of the most controversial theologians and social activists in pre-Civil War America. This book argues that Parker's radical vision and contemporary appeal stemmed from his abiding faith in the human conscience and in the principles of the American revolutionary tradition.

Review Quotes

Teed's is the first complete life study of Parker to appear in many decades. Teed shows readers the full sweep of Parker's remarkable career and his wide range as a thinker....Teed is the first biographer to recognize Parker's important role in the antislavery movement as a mediator between the contentious Garrisonian and other political factions; the first to look dispassionately at Parker's growing support for antislavery violence in the 1850s; the first to deal forthrightly with Parker's racial theories and his sometimes shockingly racist pronouncements; the first to look critically at Parker's ideas about gender and women's rights; and the first to take seriously Parker's reaction--which shaped his later theology--against the philosophical atheism of Ludwig Andreas von Feuerbach.

About the Author

Paul E. Teed is professor of history at Saginaw Valley State University where he has taught since 1997. He is the author of John Quincy Adams: Yankee Nationalist. His articles have appeared in Civil War History, the Journal of the Early Republic, and American Studies. In 2012, he was chosen as Distinguished Professor of the Year by the Presidents Council of the State Universities of Michigan.