One hundred twenty years ago, the Independent Order of Good Templars was the world's largest, most militant, and most evangelical organization hostile to alcoholic drink. Standing in the forefront of the international temperance movement, it was recognized worldwide as a potent social and moral force.Temperance and Racism restores the Templars, now an almost forgotten footnote in American and British social history, to a position of prominence within the temperance movement. The group's ideology of universal membership made it unique among fraternal organizations in the late nineteenth century and led to pioneering efforts on behalf of equal rights for women.Its policy toward African Americans was more ambiguous. Though a great many whiteTemplars, especially those in Great Britain, rejected the extreme racism prevalent in the late nineteenth century, members in the American South did not. The decision to allow state lodges to rule on their member¬ship eligibility led to the great schism of 1876- 87. The break was mended only after British leaders compromised their ideals of universal brotherhood and sisterhood for the sake of the organization's international unity. Drawing on previously unused primary sources, David Fahey reveals much about racial attitudes and behavior in the late nineteenth century on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line, and on both sides of the Atlantic.

When Frank J. Merli died in December 2000, he left many manuscripts related to Great Britain and the American Civil War. At the request of Merli s widow, David M. Fahey has edited this volume for publication. It offers a spirited critique of the way historians have presented the international dimension of the American Civil War. The book offers a fresh account of the escape of the CSS Alabama from British territorial waters in 1862, the decision of its captain, Raphael Semmes, to fight a Union gunboat off the coast of France in 1864, and the curious story of a British-built Chinese flotilla that could have become a small Confederate fleet had negotiations with the Chinese not broken down. The book will appeal to naval and diplomatic historians and to all Civil War buffs."

The fifth publication in the award-winning, critically acclaimed Milestone Documents series, Milestone Documents of World Religions examines 100 key sacred texts and foundational documents of the world's primary religions, from ancient times to the present, providing researchers with a fresh perspective on how critical religious texts have influenced both the past and the present. Plus, complimentary online access is provided through Salem History.

The fifth publication in the award-winning, critically acclaimed Milestone Documents series, Milestone Documents of World Religions examines 100 key sacred texts and foundational documents of the world's primary religions, from ancient times to the present, providing researchers with a fresh perspective on how critical religious texts have influenced both the past and the present. Plus, complimentary online access is provided through Salem History.