The foreign missionary movement of the early 19th century grew out of the efforts of churches in New England to deal with the changes then taking place in society. The erosion of traditional institutional structures and social values plus the rise of Unitarianism threatened the destruction of the traditional faith. Mr. Andrew holds that the Congregational clergy used foreign missions not only to implant New England culture in heathen lands but also to awaken a sense of community at home.

"It's a curious fact of contemporary politics that conservatives have emerged as keepers of the 1960s flame. Although the '60s-that great blob of a decade most expansively defined as beginning with Kennedy's inauguration and ending Nixon hopping a helicopter to San Clemente-were arguably the high-watermark of liberalism, contemporary liberals seem content to skip over the period.In this context, John A. Andrew III's The Other Side of the Sixties is a particularly interesting act of historical recovery. Not only does Andrew, a liberal historian at Franklin & Marshall College, document just...

Lyndon Johnson's Great Society was the most ambitious and controversial American reform effort since the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt. Conceived in a time of prosperity rather than devastating depression, it sought to forge a consensus that rested on ideals rather than harsh economic realities. In this narrative analysis, John Andrew examines the underlying ideas and principal objectives of Great Society legislation in the areas of civil rights, poverty, health, education, urban life, and consumer issues--legislation that addressed some of the most important and complex problems facing...