Thursday, November 19, 2009

New Blog: Almost Chosen People

And now for some news about a blog where the writers actually know something about which they write.

I am happy to announce that my friends Don McClarey, Dale Price, and Paul Zummo will be collaborating on a blog effort covering a subject that is near and dear to my heart: American history up through the War Between the States.

I'll let Don explain:
Announcing a new blog, Almost Chosen People. It is a blog dedicated to American history up through Reconstruction. I am one of the contributors. A fair amount of my initial posts at this blog will be reposts of material first posted at The American Catholic, but they will be interspersed with new material. My fellow contributors, including Paul Zummo of the Cranky Conservative, and Dale Price of Dyspeptic Mutterings, will be providing posts that will be well worth reading, so please stop by.

[...]

The phrase “almost chosen people” has always struck me as somewhat mysterious. What exactly did Lincoln mean by this phrase? Was this a reference to the secession crisis that threatened to overturn the good fortune that God had granted the US? Was Lincoln attempting to be humorous or ironic? Was Lincoln using the phrase ”almost” to indicate that America could be God’s chosen people depending upon the path followed? Lincoln was a precise speaker and writer, and he rarely used words carelessly, so I think the words had some important meaning to Lincoln, although I confess that to me what this meaning was is not at all clear. That makes the phrase for me an apt name for a blog exploring American history since while we are living in history our views of it must remain tentative. Only in the next world will the purposes of God be fully understood as His will has been worked out in sacred and profane history.
Based on the list of contributors, it looks like Almost Chosen People is going to have a decidedly Yankee and anti-Jeffersonian flavor, but I don't want to pre-judge anything. Of one thing you can be assured: the writing will be informed, informative, and engaging.

I say "Huzzah!" to this effort.

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3 Comments:

At 11/19/2009 1:02 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you for the kind words Jay. Although my sympathies are clearly for the North in the Late Unpleasantness, I hope to do justice also to those who died bravely under the Stars and Bars.

 
At 11/19/2009 2:09 PM, Blogger Tito Edwards said...

Like Donald said elsewhere, you can never get to much history.

I'm glad the stars and bars won't be unrepresented, after all they are Americans as well.

 
At 11/19/2009 8:08 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

A comment that Charles Adams the American ambassador to England made in response when he was reminded of a string of Confederate victories during the Civil War. "Yes sir. The rebels are Americans too."

 

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