One Day University

Starting with the Puritans, a unique American brand of governance was created that had morality as its centerpiece. They hanged Quakers and “witches,” slaughtered Native Americans, and exiled heretics to Rhode Island—all in the name of God. The Puritans believed their covenant with God legitimized a moral mission, an idea which Morone argues carries on to the present, and created a mentality of “us” versus “them”—that is, of saints versus sinners. This course explores how this puritanical mentality has provided every generation with a new un-American “them” to fear and condemn: immigrants, slaves, Jews, the poor, Communists, terrorists. Has morality in American politics spurred positive changes as well? Today, the American Left has warned of the sudden rise of Evangelism, but is this sort of religious fervor something new to America? Morone will explore these questions and whether true separation of church and state is possible in a “nation with the soul of a church.”

James Morone is a professor of political science at Brown University. He is the three-time winner of Brown’s Barrett Hazeltine award for outstanding teaching and a Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer. Morone received the Gladys M. Kammerer Award for best book in American national policy, awarded from the American Political Science Association for The Democratic Wish. His most recent book, Hellfire Nation: The Politics of Sin in American History earned him a Pulitzer Prize nomination. Professor Morone has testified before Congress numerous times — most recently in 2006 on the future of health care in America. In addition to his highly lauded books, he has written over 100 articles and essays on topics ranging from education in America and Harry Potter to welfare and health care reform.