The Protestant Interest: New England After Puritanism

228 Pages·2004·1.25 MB·English

by  Professor Thomas S. Kidd

The Protestant Interest

THE
PROTESTANT
INTEREST
New England
after Puritanism
Thomas S. Kidd
Yale University Press
New Haven & London
Published with assistance from the Annie Burr Lewis Fund.
Copyright ∫ 2004 by Yale University.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including
illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections
107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the
public press), without written permission from the publishers.
Set in Minion Roman type by Keystone Typesetting, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America by Sheridan Books,
Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kidd, Thomas S.
The Protestant interest : New England after Puritanism / Thomas S.
Kidd.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 0-300-10421-9 (alk. paper)
1. Protestantism—New England—History—18th century. 2. New
England—Church history—18th century. I. Title.
br530.k53 2004
280%.4%097409033—dc22
2004049749
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and
durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book
Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Ruby

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Chapter 1: ‘‘Fidelity to Christ and to the Protestant Succession’’:
Benjamin Colman and the Protestant Interest 29
Chapter 2: ‘‘Let Hell and Rome Do Their Worst’’:
World News, the Catholic Threat, and
International Protestantism 51
Chapter 3: Protestants, Popery, and Prognostications:
New England Almanacs 74
Chapter 4: ‘‘The Devil and Father Rallee’’:
Narrating Father Rale’s War 91
Chapter 5: ‘‘The Madness of the Jacobite Party’’:
Imagining a High-Church Jacobite Threat 115
viii contents
Chapter 6: ‘‘The Dawning of that Sabbath of Rest Promised to
the People of God’’: Eschatology and Identity 136
Epilogue 167
Notes 177
Index 207