"Paulson's analysis speaks to long-standing debates over the core values that define American society and the repeated attempts in America's past to bring those values and that society into greater harmony through movements for social change."--Nancy A. Hewitt, Duke University
Examines the prevailing conflicts of the time and the limitations of various attempts to institute reform, radical change, or ritualistic renewal of American society. The author studies social and intellectual changes in a critical period of American history - from the end of the Civil War to the early days of the Depression.