xiii Preface This book is designed to provide students and general readers with a refer- ence book and overview of about fifty topics in American history and con- temporary society that explore how the convergence of religion, politics, and war have shaped present American culture. The intersecting of these three realms has shaped how Americans view themselves as well as how they understand the political relationship of the United States and the rest of the global community. No idea or event arises in a vacuum. There are always causes and influences that serve as catalysts. Values have conse- quences, and the political, religious, and other values in the history of a nation and its citizens have long-standing effects—for good and for ill. Each topic has contemporary significance and relevance for 21st-century American social and political life. The entries presented in this volume are organized alphabetically. At the end of each entry, there is a list of related entries in the book that are significant to the content of the entry the reader has just completed. This cross-referencing of entries is designed to provide readers a broader per- spective on the topic and to encourage readers to look for the connections between and among ideas, events, personalities, and subjects that have shaped the present. After these entries, there is a brief further reading sec- tion to point readers toward contemporary and significant articles, books, and websites that are pertinent to the entry. Three additional items in the book are provided for reader reference. The overview orients readers to the interwoven strands of politics, reli- gion, and war that provide much of the background of the colorful tapestry of 21st-century United States. Rather than compartmentalizing the American experience and separating the strands, the essay shows the influ- ence of each upon the other. The second item presented is a chronology. The sequence in it is not designed to be an exhaustive timeline of American religious, political, and
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