The mainline Protestant churches played a vital role in the settlement of the West. Yet historians have, for the most part, bypassed this theme. This account recreates the unique religious and cultural mix that sets this region apart from the rest of the nation. 
From itinerant circuit riders to powerful urban bishops, western clergy were continually involved in the maturation of their communities. Their duties on the frontier extended far beyond delivering Sunday sermons; they also served as librarians, counselors, social workers, educators, booksellers, peacekeepers, and general purveyors of culture.
Weaving together the varied experiences of men and women from the five major Protestant denominations—Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregational, and Episcopal—the author discusses their responses to life on the frontier: the violence, the tumultuous growth of the cities, the isolation of farm life, and the widespread hunger, especially among women, for “refinement.”

The Protestant Clergy in the Great Plains and Mountain West, 1865-1915

History

Szasz, Ferenc Morton

Americas

University Of Nebraska Press

Although Scots have never been an exceptionally large immigrant group in North America, their presence to the West proved significant in a variety of arenas. In this unique and engaging new book, Ferenc Morton Szasz outlines the many contributions Scots have made to the development of the region. This book illuminates the many Scottish explorers, traders, adventurers, ranchers, artists, photographers, and writers who helped forge what is perhaps America’s greatest cultural export–the myth of the West.

Scots in the North American West, 1790–1917

University of Oklahoma Press

Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns: Connected Lives and Legends

Today the images of Robert Burns and Abraham Lincoln are recognized worldwide, yet few are aware of the connection between the two. In Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns: Connected Lives and Legends, author Ferenc Morton Szasz reveals how famed Scots poet Robert Burns—and Scotland in general—influenced the life and thought of one of the most beloved and important U.S. presidents and how the legends of the two men became intertwined after their deaths. This is the first extensive work to link the influence, philosophy, and artistry of these two larger-than-life figures. 
Lacking a major national poet of their own in the early nineteenth century, Americans in the fledgling frontier country ardently adopted the poignant verses and songs of Scotland’s Robert Burns. Lincoln, too, was fascinated by Scotland’s favorite son and enthusiastically quoted the Scottish bard from his teenage years to the end of his life. Szasz explores the ways in which Burns’s portrayal of the foibles of human nature, his scorn for religious hypocrisy, his plea for nonjudgmental tolerance, and his commitment to social equality helped shape Lincoln’s own philosophy of life. The volume also traces how Burns’s lyrics helped Lincoln develop his own powerful sense of oratorical rhythm, from his casual anecdotal stories to his major state addresses. 
Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns connects the poor-farm-boy upbringings, the quasi-deistic religious views, the shared senses of destiny, the extraordinary gifts for words, and the quests for social equality of two respected and beloved world figures. This book is enhanced by twelve illustrations and two appendixes, which include Burns poems Lincoln particularly admired and Lincoln writings especially admired in Scotland.

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Southern Illinois University Press

Abraham Lincoln’s faith has commanded more broad-based attention than that of any other American president. Although he never joined a denomination, Baptists, Presbyterians, Quakers, Episcopalians, Disciples of Christ, Spiritualists, Jews, and even atheists claim the sixteenth president as one of their own. In this concise volume, Ferenc Morton Szasz and Margaret Connell Szasz offer both an accessible survey of the development of Lincoln’s religious views and an informative launch pad for further academic inquiry. A singular key to Lincoln’s personality, especially during the presidential years, rests with his evolving faith perspective.
After surveying Lincoln’s early childhood as a Hard-Shell Baptist in Kentucky and Indiana, the authors chronicle his move from skepticism to participation in Episcopal circles during his years in Springfield, and, finally, after the death of son Eddie, to Presbyterianism. They explore Lincoln’s relationship with the nation’s faiths as president, the impact of his son Willie’s death, his adaptation of Puritan covenant theory to a nation at war, the role of prayer during his presidency, and changes in his faith as reflected in the Emancipation Proclamation and his state papers and addresses. Finally, they evaluate Lincoln’s legacy as the central figure of America’s civil religion, an image sharpened by his prominent position in American currency.
A closing essay by Richard W. Etulain traces the historiographical currents in the literature on Lincoln and religion, and the volume concludes with a compilation of Lincoln’s own words about religion.
In assessing the enigma of Lincoln’s Christianity, the authors argue that despite his lack of church membership, Lincoln lived his life through a Christian ethical framework. His years as president, dominated by the Civil War and personal loss, led Lincoln to move into a world beholden to Providence.2015 ISHS Superior Achievement Award

Lincoln and Religion (Concise Lincoln Library)

Szasz, Margaret Connell

Community & Culture

Today the images of Robert Burns and Abraham Lincoln are recognized worldwide, yet few are aware of the connection between the two. In Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns: Connected Lives and Legends, author Ferenc Morton Szasz reveals how famed Scots poet Robert Burns-and Scotland in general-influenced the life and thought of one of the most beloved and important U.S. presidents and how the legends of the two men became intertwined after their deaths. This is the first extensive work to link the influence, philosophy, and artistry of these two larger-than-life figures. Lacking a major national poet of their own in the early nineteenth century, Americans in the fledgling frontier country ardently adopted the poignant verses and songs of Scotland's Robert Burns. Lincoln, too, was fascinated by Scotland's favorite son and enthusiastically quoted the Scottish bard from his teenage years to the end of his life. Szasz explores the ways in which Burns's portrayal of the foibles of human nature, his scorn for religious hypocrisy, his plea for nonjudgmental tolerance, and his commitment to social equality helped shape Lincoln's own philosophy of life. The volume also traces how Burns's lyrics helped Lincoln develop his own powerful sense of oratorical rhythm, from his casual anecdotal stories to his major state addresses. Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns connects the poor-farm-boy upbringings, the quasi-deistic religious views, the shared senses of destiny, the extraordinary gifts for words, and the quests for social equality of two respected and beloved world figures. This book is enhanced by twelve illustrations and two appendixes, which include Burns poems Lincoln particularly admired and Lincoln writings especially admired in Scotland.

Religion in the Modern American West

When Americans migrated west, they carried with them not only their hopes for better lives but their religious traditions as well. Yet the importance of religion in the forging of a western identity has seldom been examined.
In this first historical overview of religion in the modern American West, Ferenc Szasz shows the important role that organized religion played in the shaping of the region from the late-nineteenth to late-twentieth century. He traces the major faiths over that time span, analyzes the distinctive response of western religious institutions to national events, and shows how western cities became homes to a variety of organized faiths that cast only faint shadows back east.
While many historians have minimized the importance of religion for the region, Szasz maintains that it lies at the very heart of the western experience. From the 1890s to the 1920s, churches and synagogues created institutions such as schools and hospitals that shaped their local communities; during the Great Depression, the Latter-day Saints introduced their innovative social welfare system; and in later years, Pentecostal groups carried their traditions to the Pacific coast and Southern Baptists (among others) set out in earnest to evangelize the Far West. Beginning in the 1960s, the arrival of Asian faiths, the revitalization of evangelical Protestantism, the ferment of post-Vatican II Catholicism, the rediscovery of Native American spirituality, and the emergence of New Age sects combined to make western cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco among the most religiously pluralistic in the world.
Examining the careers of key figures in western religion, from Rabbi William Friedman to Reverend Robert H. Schuller, Szasz balances specific and general trends to weave the story of religion into a wider social and cultural context. Religion in the Modern American West calls attention to an often overlooked facet of regional history and broadens our understanding of the American experience.

University of Arizona Press

When Americans migrated west, they carried with them not only their hopes for better lives but their religious traditions as well. Yet the importance of religion in the forging of a western identity has seldom been examined. In this first historical overview of religion in the modern American West, Ferenc Szasz shows the important role that organized religion played in the shaping of the region from the late-nineteenth to late-twentieth century. He traces the major faiths over that time span, analyzes the distinctive response of western religious institutions to national events, and shows how western cities became homes to a variety of organized faiths that cast only faint shadows back east. While many historians have minimized the importance of religion for the region, Szasz maintains that it lies at the very heart of the western experience. From the 1890s to the 1920s, churches and synagogues created institutions such as schools and hospitals that shaped their local communities; during the Great Depression, the Latter-day Saints introduced their innovative social welfare system; and in later years, Pentecostal groups carried their traditions to the Pacific coast and Southern Baptists (among others) set out in earnest to evangelize the Far West. Beginning in the 1960s, the arrival of Asian faiths, the revitalization of evangelical Protestantism, the ferment of post-Vatican II Catholicism, the rediscovery of Native American spirituality, and the emergence of New Age sects combined to make western cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco among the most religiously pluralistic in the world. Examining the careers of key figures in western religion, from Rabbi William Friedman to Reverend Robert H. Schuller, Szasz balances specific and general trends to weave the story of religion into a wider social and cultural context. Religion in the Modern American West calls attention to an often overlooked facet of regional history and broadens our understanding of the American experience.

Traces the history of the world's first atomic detonation

The Day the Sun Rose Twice: The Story of the Trinity Site Nuclear Explosion, July 16, 1945

Univ of New Mexico Pr

The Protestant clergy in the Great Plains and Mountain West, 1865-1915

University of New Mexico Press

Larger than Life offers eleven essays that touch on a variety of southwestern themes. One section highlights three people who have dramatically shaped the region's history: pilot Charles A. Lindbergh, who helped turn New Mexico into a regional center for aviation and rocketry during the interwar years; physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who believed that New Mexico had restored him to health in the 1920s, and, as a consequence, chose Los Alamos as the site for the nation's top secret weapons laboratory in 1942; and first-term congressman Bill Richardson (currently governor), who inaugurated his skills at compromise by resolving a bitter environmental dispute in 1984--skills that he would later utilize on the international stage.
Other essays explore the cultural appeal of the Land of Enchantment from 1945 to the present, as well as the horrific ammunition explosion that virtually wiped the hamlet of Tolar, New Mexico, off the map in 1944.
A final section deals with several southwestern "mysteries," including the tale of an itinerant German immigrant who, in 1895, allegedly healed more than 5,000 people simply by touching them; and the collapse of Chaco Canyon's Threatening Rock--a 30,000-ton wall of sandstone that had threatened to destroy the structures of Pueblo Bonito for over two millennia.

Larger Than Life: New Mexico in the Twentieth Century

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Szasz, Ferenc Morton. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Szasz, Ferenc Morton

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Szasz, Ferenc Morton. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Protestant Clergy in the Great Plains and Mountain West, 1865-1915

Scots in the North American West, 1790–1917

Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns: Connected Lives and Legends

Lincoln and Religion (Concise Lincoln Library)

Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns: Connected Lives and Legends

Religion in the Modern American West

Religion in the Modern American West

The Day the Sun Rose Twice: The Story of the Trinity Site Nuclear Explosion, July 16, 1945

The Protestant clergy in the Great Plains and Mountain West, 1865-1915

Larger Than Life: New Mexico in the Twentieth Century