The Meaning of America: How the United States Became the City on a Hill
FAIN: FZ-256564-17
Abram C. Van Engen
Washington University (St. Louis, MO 63130-4862)
Completion of a book project on the history and
influence of John Winthrop’s “City Upon a Hill” sermon ("A Model of Christian Charity") from 1630 to the present.
This project is a biography of John Winthrop's "city on a hill" sermon from 1630 to the present day. Cited today by politicians and many others as the origin of American exceptionalism, this sermon has become foundational to American history and literature. Yet in its own day, it went unrecorded, unpublished, and completely unnoticed. Found in 1838, Winthrop's sermon only gradually became important, achieving status as an American classic in the mid-twentieth century. This study asks how it rose and with what effects. Ever since its rebirth, I show, competing interpretations of the text have offered contending visions of American community and purpose. Drawing on several methodologies, my biography of Winthrop's sermon becomes, finally, a history of exceptionalism and "the meaning of America" as it has emerged from--and been contested in--rediscoveries, reinventions, and reinterpretations of America's past.
Media Coverage
Is America Still the ‘Shining City on a Hill’? (Review)
Author(s): David Frum
Publication: The Atlantic
Date: 1/5/2021
Abstract: A glowing review of the book in The Atlantic by senior editor David Frum.
URL: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/01/is-america-still-the-shining-city-on-a-hill/617474/
From Church to City to Nation, a Beacon of Freedom (Review)
Author(s): Barton Swaim
Publication: The Wall Street Journal
Date: 2/21/2020
Abstract: Review of the book in The Wall Street Journal
URL: https://www.wsj.com/articles/politics-from-church-to-city-to-nation-a-beacon-of-freedom-11582327412
A Conversation With The Author Of 'City On A Hill: A History Of American Exceptionalism' (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Sarah Fenske
Publication: St. Louis On the Air (St. Louis Public Radio)
Date: 3/5/2020
Abstract: When a country’s origin story is developed, whose stories get highlighted and whose get erased? How do we foster the ideals of a nation while recognizing that some perspectives have been trampled during the nation’s history?
Abram Van Engen is an associate professor of English and the interim director of American Culture Studies at Washington University.
Credit EVIE HEMPHILL | ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO
Abram Van Engen is an associate professor of English and the interim director of American Culture Studies at Washington University.
These are among several questions Abram Van Engen explores in his new book, “City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism,” which examines the 1630 City on a Hill sermon by Massachusetts Bay Gov. John Winthrop.
On Thursday’s St. Louis on the Air, Sarah Fenske talked with Van Engen about how the sermon went from being lost to history for two centuries to being invoked by politicians on both sides of the aisle. They also discussed the conflict between
URL: https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2020-03-05/a-conversation-with-the-author-of-city-on-a-hill-a-history-of-american-exceptionalism
City on a Hill (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Chris Babits
Publication: New Books Network
Date: 5/7/2020
Abstract: Abram Van Engen is an Associate Professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis. Van Engen’s research examines early American literature, the history of emotions, Puritanism, collective memory, and American Exceptionalism. His latest book is City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism (2020), published by Yale University Press. In it, Van Engen offers a fascinating examination of John Winthrop’s A Model of Christian Charity, noting how this sermon was relatively unknown before the middle of the twentieth century. Yet, as he demonstrates by the end of the book, various historical actors, from nineteenth century antiquarians and Harvard academics to most famously Ronald Reagan, have made Winthrop’s phrase “city on a hill” an essential part of the nation’s political lexicon.
URL: https://newbooksnetwork.com/abram-van-engen-city-on-a-hill-a-history-of-american-exceptionalism-yale-up-2020
City on a Hill: From John Winthrop to Donald Trump (Review)
Author(s): John Turner
Publication: Patheos
Date: 3/12/2020
Abstract: Review of the book on popular website.
URL: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2020/03/city-on-a-hill-from-john-winthrop-to-donald-trump/
Reagan, Clinton, Bush, and Obama All Cited One Puritan Sermon to Explain America (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Ryan Hoselton
Publication: Christianity Today
Date: 9/17/2020
Abstract: Magazine interview with me about the book.
URL: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/september-web-only/abram-van-engen-city-hill-winthrop-american-exceptionalism.html?fbclid=IwAR0k5fGAEah3sl6DdHxgNtXXreCBC1Z6LIxOvFdX1-Bm4GK4esp2DsAMmrA
Christian Humanist Profiles Podcast: City on a hill (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Nathan Gilmour
Publication: Christian Humanist Profiles Podcast
Date: 9/14/2020
Abstract: Interview with me about the book for the podcast.
URL: http://www.christianhumanist.org/2020/09/christian-humanist-profiles-198-a-city-on-a-hill/
City on a Hill (Media Coverage)
Author(s): David Henreckson
Publication: Call and Character Podcast
Date: 10/20/2020
Abstract: Interview with me about the book for the podcast.
URL: https://anchor.fm/callandcharacter/episodes/On-American-Exceptionalism-Abram-Van-Engen-elba0v
Associated Products
Perry Miller and the Meaning of America (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: Perry Miller and the Meaning of America
Author: Abram Van Engen
Abstract: Offers a biography of Perry Miller and explains how he made Winthrop's "city on a hill" sermon so famous.
Date: 02/18/2018
Conference Name: Notre Dame Colloquium on Religion and History
City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism (Book)Title: City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism
Author: Abram Van Engen
Abstract: In this illuminating book, Abram C. Van Engen shows how the phrase “city on a hill,” from a 1630 sermon by Massachusetts Bay governor John Winthrop, shaped the story of American exceptionalism in the twentieth century.
By tracing the history of Winthrop’s speech, its changing status through time, and its use in modern politics, Van Engen asks us to reevaluate our national narratives. He tells the story of curators, librarians, collectors, archivists, antiquarians, and other often anonymous figures who emphasized the role of the Pilgrims and Puritans in American history, paving the way for the saving and sanctifying of a single sermon and its eventual transformation into an American tale. This sermon’s rags‑to‑riches rise reveals the way national stories take shape and shows us how they continue to influence competing visions of the country—the many different meanings of America that emerge from its literary past.
Year: 2020
Primary URL:
https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300229752/city-hillPublisher: Yale University Pres
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 0300229755
Copy sent to NEH?: No
Prizes
Peter J. Gomes Memorial Book Prize
Date: 9/1/2021
Organization: Massachusetts Historical Society
Abstract: Abram Van Engen, professor of English, has won the Peter J. Gomes Memorial Book Prize for City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism (Yale University Press). The Massachusetts Historical Society awards the prize for the best nonfiction work on the history of Massachusetts published during the preceding year.
The judges for this year’s prize praised Van Engen’s innovative analysis of the history of Puritan thought. “Because Van Engen thoughtfully analyzes how Pilgrims and Puritans have been remembered, misremembered, denigrated, and celebrated over the centuries,” they wrote, “this book will ultimately influence how New England ‘Pilgrims’ and ‘Puritans’ are presented in textbooks and taught in classrooms at every level. This is truly an influential book.”
White Evangelicals and the New American Exceptionalism of Donald Trump (Article)Title: White Evangelicals and the New American Exceptionalism of Donald Trump
Author: Abram Van Engen
Abstract: Public humanities article about Donald Trump and American exceptionalism.
Year: 2020
Primary URL:
https://religionandpolitics.org/2020/09/29/white-evangelicals-and-the-new-american-exceptionalism-of-donald-trump/Primary URL Description: website of the Religion and Politics Journal
Access Model: open access
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Religion and Politics
Publisher: Religion and Politics
Os Guinness, Eric Metaxas, and Their Dangerous Myths of American History (Article)Title: Os Guinness, Eric Metaxas, and Their Dangerous Myths of American History
Author: Abram Van Engen
Abstract: Public humanities article about the problems of Christian nationalism and its histories of America.
Year: 2020
Primary URL:
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2020/07/os-guinness-eric-metaxas-and-their-dangerous-myths-of-american-history/Primary URL Description: website of Patheos
Access Model: open access
Format: Other
Periodical Title: Patheos
Publisher: Patheos
Democrats are trying to reclaim American exceptionalism. Will it work? (Article)Title: Democrats are trying to reclaim American exceptionalism. Will it work?
Author: Abram Van Engen
Abstract: Public humanities piece in the national newspaper about American exceptionalism and where it fits in the Democratic Party.
Year: 2021
Primary URL:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/01/05/democrats-are-trying-reclaim-american-exceptionalism-will-it-work/Primary URL Description: Washington Post
Format: Newspaper
Periodical Title: Washington Post
Publisher: Washington Post