The role of religion in the founding of America has long been a hotly debated question. Some historians have regarded the faith of a few famous founders, such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Thomas Paine, as evidence that the founders were deists who advocated the strict separation of church and state. Popular Christian polemicists, on the other hand, have attempted to show that virtually all of the founders were orthodox Christians in favor of state support for religion. As the essays in this volume demonstrate, a diverse array of religious traditions informed the political culture of the American founding. Faith and the Founders of the American Republic includes studies both of minority faiths, such as Islam and Judaism, and of major traditions, such as Calvinism. It also includes nuanced analysis of specific founders-Quaker John Dickinson, prominent Baptists Isaac Backus and John Leland, and Federalist Gouverneur Morris, among many others-with attention to their personal histories, faiths, constitutional philosophies, and views on the relationship between religion and the state. This volume will be a crucial resource for anyone interested in the place of faith in the founding of the American constitutional republic, from political, religious, historical, and legal perspectives.

Walkers, bikers, paddlers and snowshoers can encounter relics of the past and their incredible tales from Keene to the Seacoast. "Exploring Southern New Hampshire" takes history off the page, out of the car and into the welcoming pine-scented woods and pristine waters of the Granite State. Hike Mount Monadnock, paddle the Nashua River and retrace Lincoln's footsteps down Exeter's streets. Experience the legacy of a women's sawmill at Turkey Pond from the waters that powered it. Visit Cathedral of the Pines, a beautiful outdoor altar built with stones from historic sites around the world. Set sail on the Piscataqua River onboard a gundalow and learn about the region's rich maritime history. Local history explorer and nature lover Lucie Bryar leads readers through the Monadnock, Merrimack Valley and Seacoast regions. Granite State natives and transplants alike will explore trails and waterways to gain a new appreciation for the history hidden in natural New Hampshire.

"This book chronicles a number of Rhode Island's historic taverns and the stories contained within their walls.

Some of the taverns include: The Mowry Tavern, which was the site of political gatherings, protests and religious observances under Roger Williams; The Benedict Arnold Tavern built in 1693; The White Horse Tavern, which soon became the meeting place for Rhode Island legislators; and the Ruff Stone Tavern in North Providence was an establishment with a long history, having served as a pub, a stop on the Underground Railroad and a speakeasy during prohibition.

"

Experience southwestern heritage, culture and cuisine while learning to rope and herd cattle, trail ride through the wilderness or make prickly pear syrup. With roots dating back to the mid-1800s, southern Arizona's historic guest ranches and farm stays include Spain's first mission in the continental United States, a former World War II prison camp and boys' boarding school and a Butterfield Stagecoach stop. Intimately connected to Arizona's land and legacy, these unparalleled retreats have hosted countless artists, movie stars and politicians and continue to enrich their present-day communities through food, education and conservation. Pack your bags and join travel writer Lili DeBarbieri for a journey into the rural west south of the Gila River.

1940: It's the year Nazis rain bombs on London and goose-step into Paris, when President Roosevelt wins an unprecedented third term and Kansas Citians finally run the corrupt Pendergast political machine out of power. The new reform-minded city government is bent on cleaning up the sinful "Paris of the Plains" and streamlining its future with wide, new miles of trafficways. Notorious nightclubs have closed. The City Market opens. Glenn Miller swings, Bojangles taps and "Gone with the Wind" premieres. Old buildings make way for parking lots. A dying meteor lights up the night sky above a racially segregated city, home to Charlie Parker, Thomas Hart Benton, Walter Cronkite, Satchel Paige and Thomas J. Pendergast, ex-con. It's all on display here in photographs snapped by WPA workers and stories curated by John Simonson.

The book will tell the history and story of Down East Maine lobster fishing. Author Christina Lemieux's family has been lobster fishermen for four generations, and the book draws from their personal recollections and documentation. It will then bring to life the experience of Down East Maine lobster fishing and living in a lobster fishing community. The book details how one goes about catching lobster, the seasons of lobster fishing and the perils of such a physically grueling job. It also talks about "lobster culture" some of the unique pastimes of lobster fishermen, such as the sport of Maine lobster boat racing. Finally, the book will give a brief overview of how to properly cook Maine lobster and provide some of the area's favorite lobster recipes.

Shenandoah County, in the years prior to the Civil War, was a prosperous place. Nestled within the Shenandoah Valley, it was a haven for agricultural commerce fueled by slave labor. Integral railways and transportation routes passed through Shenandoah County, feeding its impressive agricultural output throughout the Virginia. With the outbreak of Civil War, all of that would change. Four major battles took place in and around Shenandoah County New Market, Toms Brook, Fishers Hill, and Cedar Creek. Although the proceedings of these historic battles have been well-documented, the effect the combat had on residents of Shenandoah County has receded into the background. Now, author Hal Shape brings the lives of county residents to fore, recounting how their spirits were tested during this dark hour of American history.

Discover the unique history of the Abenaki in New Hampshire.

Leonidas Polk is one of the most fascinating figures of the Civil War. Consecrated as a bishop of the Episcopal Church and commissioned as a general into the Confederate army, Polk's life in both spheres blended into a unique historical composite. Polk was a man with deep religious convictions but equally committed to the Confederate cause. He baptized soldiers on the eve of bloody battles, administered last rites and even presided over officers' weddings, all while leading his soldiers into battle. Historian Cheryl White examines the life of this soldier-saint and the legacy of a man who unquestionably brought the first viable and lively Protestant presence to Louisiana and yet represents the politics of one of the darkest periods in American history.

The history of the Enchanted Forest is one of magical beginnings. When it first opened in 1955, Ellicott City's storybook land became the first children's theme park on the East Coast. Young visitors could climb aboard rides like the Little Toot tugboat, Mother Goose and Ali Baba or encounter animals like peacocks and burros. Upon its closing in 1989, Marylanders who cherished memories of the Enchanted Forest were deeply disappointed. However, many of the park's beloved figures were moved to nearby Clark's Elioak Farm, where they were restored and displayed to the delight of new generations. Even today, the farm is a popular destination that evokes the whimsical spirit of the iconic park. Local author Janet Kusterer and Martha Anne Clark of Elioak Farm trace the park's history through vintage images and interviews with the Harrison family, former employees and visitors. Join Kusterer and Clark to rediscover the magic of the Enchanted Forest.

Take a journey through Arkansas' forgotten past and find the colorful characters, unusual stories and strange occurrences left out of conventional history books. Authors Edward and Karen Underwood weave fact and fun in this offbeat, gripping and little-known history of the Natural State. Discover the Tantrabobus monster rumored to lurk in the hills of the Ozarks, meet the imposters who faked the state's first history museum and learn the story behind Arkansas' lost amusement park, Dogpatch, USA. Truth really is stranger than fiction in Arkansas, and this one-of-a-kind state has the stories to prove it

On July 11, 1864, some residents cheered and others watched in horror as Confederate troops spread across the fields and orchards of Silver Spring, Maryland. Many fled to the capital while General Jubal Early's troops ransacked their property. The estate of Lincoln's postmaster general, Montgomery Blair, was burned, and his father's home was used by Early as headquarters from which to launch an attack on Washington's defenses. Yet the first Civil War casualty in Silver Spring came well before Early's raid, when Union soldiers killed a prominent local farmer in 1862. This was life in the shadow of the Federal City. Drawing on contemporary accounts and memoirs, Dr. Robert E. Oshel tells the story of Silver Spring over the tumultuous course of the Civil War.

The middle Texas coast, known locally as the Coastal Bend, is an area filled with fascinating stories. From as early as the days of Cabeza de Vaca and La Salle, the Coastal Bend has been a site of early exploration, bloody conflicts, legendary shipwrecks and even a buried treasure or two. However, much of the true history has remained unknown, misunderstood and even hidden. For years, local historian C. Herndon Williams has shared his fascinating discoveries of the area's early stories through his weekly column, "Coastal Bend Chronicle." Now he has selected some of his favorites in Texas Gulf Coast Stories. Join Williams as he explores the days of early settlement and European contact, Karankawa and Tonkawa legends and the Coastal Bend's tallest of tall tales.

On September 10, 1813, the hot, still air that hung over Lake Erie was broken by the sounds of sharp conflict. Led by Oliver Hazard Perry, the American fleet met the British, and though they sustained heavy losses, Perry and his men achieved one of the most stunning victories in the War of 1812. Author Walter Rybka traces the Lake Erie Campaign from the struggle to build the fleet in Erie, Pennsylvania, during the dead of winter and the conflict between rival egos of Perry and his second in command, Jesse Duncan Elliott, through the exceptionally bloody battle that was the first U.S. victory in a fleet action. With the singular perspective of having sailed the reconstructed U.S. brig Niagara for over twenty years, Rybka brings the knowledge of a shipmaster to the story of the Lake Erie Campaign and the culminating Battle of Lake Erie.

Founded in 1859 and situated at the base of the Rocky Mountains, Boulder's small size harbors a big-city feel, and its rich past hides plenty of hair-raising lore. A home in the Newlands is said to be haunted by a previous owner who was displeased with remodeling done on his longtime abode, while a small Victorian on Pearl Street has been plagued by strange events for over a century. Guests at one hotel might be surprised by the number of mysteries wrapped around the building, and local spirits have a standing reservation at a popular restaurant that was once a mortuary. Authors Ann Alexander Leggett and Jordan Alexander Leggett offer up a tour of the tales that haunt this Colorado college town.

Michael J. Lisicky is the author of several bestselling books, including Hutzler's: Where Baltimore Shops. In demand as a department store historian, he has given lectures at institutions such as the New York Public Library, the Boston Public Library, the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the Milwaukee County Historical Society, the Enoch Pratt Free Library and the Jewish Museum of Maryland. His books have received critical acclaim from the Baltimore Sun, Baltimore City Paper, Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Pittsburgh Post Gazette. He has been interviewed by national business periodicals including Fortune Magazine, Investor's Business Daily and Bloomberg Businessweek. His book Gimbels Has It was recommended by National Public Radio's Morning Edition program as "One of the Freshest Reads of 2011." Mr. Lisicky helps run an "Ask the Expert" column with author Jan Whitaker at www.departmentstorehistory.net and resides in Baltimore, where he is an oboist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

In the mid-nineteenth century, James Wickham was a wealthy farmer with a large estate in Cutchogue, Long Island. His extensive property included a mansion and eighty acres of farmland that were maintained by a staff of servants. In 1854, Wickham got into an argument with one of his workers, Nicholas Behan, after Behan harassed another employee who refused to marry him. Several days after Behan's dismissal, he crept back into the house in the dead of night. With an axe, he butchered Wickham and his wife, Frances, and fled to a nearby swamp. Behan was captured, tried, convicted and, on December 15, became one of the last people to be hanged in Suffolk County. Local historians Geoffrey Fleming and Amy Folk uncover this gruesome story of revenge and murder.

From the arrival of the Quakers in the seventeenth century to the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, Long Island played an important role in the Underground Railroad's work to guide slaves to freedom. In Old Westbury, the Post family established a major stop on the freedom trail with the help of an escaped Virginia slave. In Jericho, families helped escaping slaves to freedom from the present-day Maine Maid Inn. Elias Hicks helped free 191 slaves himself and worked to create Underground Railroad safe houses in many northeastern cities. Some former slaves even established permanent communities across the island. Visit the safe houses--many of which are still standing today--and explore the journey of runaway slaves on Long Island.

A year-round escape for one million annual tourists, Catalina Island is gaining popularity as a world-class eco-destination. Eighty-eight percent of the island is under the watch of the Catalina Island Conservancy, which preserves, manages and restores the island's unique wild lands. Bison, foxes and bald eagles are its best-known inhabitants, but Catalina is home to more than sixty other animal and plant species that exist nowhere else on earth. And they are all within the boundaries of one of the world's most populous regions: Los Angeles County. Biologists Frank Hein and Carlos de la Rosa present a highly enjoyable tour through the fascinating origins, mysterious quirks and ecological victories of one of the West Coast's most remarkable places.