tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post6683940570682171187..comments2024-03-26T11:33:59.219-06:00Comments on Religion in American History: George Fredrickson, R.I.P.Paul Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881964303772343114noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-73277570502287634352008-02-28T11:25:00.000-07:002008-02-28T11:25:00.000-07:00Thanks for this. I hadn't heard of Frederickson's ...Thanks for this. I hadn't heard of Frederickson's passing. An essay he wrote on 19th-century U.S. historiography that I read my first semester in grad school greatly influenced my approach to the century, and has stuck with me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-32120237878155452972008-02-28T10:36:00.000-07:002008-02-28T10:36:00.000-07:00I agree with you about Frederickson, Paul.I partly...I agree with you about Frederickson, Paul.<BR/><BR/>I partly agree with you about Buckley's pseudo-erudition, but his significance was not in having particularly original ideas but in advancing a conservative political agenda with eloquence, wit, and usually good humor. <BR/><BR/>For instance, in God and Man at Yale, he portrayed his alma mater as an "institution that derives its moral and financial support from Christian individualists and then addresses itself to the task of persuading the sons of these supporters to be atheistic socialists." <BR/><BR/>His shortcoming on civil rights was the shortcoming of most conservatives -- a major blindspot of which he only belatedly repented. <BR/><BR/>An AP story in my local paper referred to Buckley's "reptilian languor." I wasn't quite sure what that meant, particularly in a mostly laudatory editorial.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-32420177092685504262008-02-28T07:42:00.000-07:002008-02-28T07:42:00.000-07:00Thanks Paul. I've always enjoyed Frederickson's il...Thanks Paul. I've always enjoyed Frederickson's illuminating essays in the NYRB.<BR/><BR/>A favorite Buckley clip from youtube:<BR/><BR/>Versus Gore Vidal in 1968:<BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRjZR8j4-z4<BR/><BR/>Too bad Buckley's bizarre interview with a sloshed, bloated Kerouac is no longer on-line.Randallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16755286304057000048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-82999955391115381442008-02-28T03:21:00.000-07:002008-02-28T03:21:00.000-07:00Along the lines of Tracy's Franchot comment, I had...Along the lines of Tracy's Franchot comment, I had a similar sense of deflation when I learned of Peter D'Agostino's death. I came by _Rome in America_ in my research, then looked him up only to learn of his murder, which was random and senseless. A tragedy in every sense of the word.Art Remillardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03857242536492717015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-88415770028252559092008-02-27T23:07:00.000-07:002008-02-27T23:07:00.000-07:00Thanks for posting on this, Paul. I never met Fre...Thanks for posting on this, Paul. I never met Frederickson, either, but your earlier post on UTC reminded me of how deeply his work has been absorbed into American studies and American literary history. It’s funny how the loss of those who’ve influenced us the most can leave us so bereft, even when we didn’t know them that well. When Jenny Franchot died, at 45, I cried for days, and dreamed about our one face-to-face meeting for years afterwards. I think Frederickson found able students to carry out in legacy not only in James Campbell but in you and other readers of this blog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com