Sounding Forth the Trumpet: 1837-1860 (God's Plan for America)

I am only about half-way through this history. So far it includes a detiled description of the Mexican War, the poltics involved leading up to that war, and the many Christian pastors and laymen who were involved in raising awareness about the evils of slavery, and enlarging the abolitionist sentiment in the North. I stopped reading this to read Adam Hochschild's "Bury the Chains," a history of the earlier abolitionist movement in Great Britain, also an excellent book. I am now resuming "Sounding the Trumpet", which I will read in conjuction with David M Potter's "The Impending Crisis--America Before the Civil War 1848-1861". I had started Potter's book before but lost it.What I enjoy about these books is that they use the words of the historical figures from their letters and speeches to create historical accounts that read more like novels, not like the dry, sometimes boring way history was written 60 years ago.I wish these books were more available on my Kindle, because I like to highlight a lot of passages and it is easier to do on the Kindle.

This is the third in an excellent series of history books on America.It is the finest set of history chronicles that I have read - engaging and insightful.The series documents accurately the events of our founding, struggles, and wars, while simultaneously documenting the Christian beliefs of our founders and leaders - and the influence of those beliefs on policy development.The authors also wrote a version of each book for children, as well.

This is the third book in a series about God's influencing the development of America. It covers a period from 1837-1860. You should read the other two books first. It is written in an easy to read style, and it is fun to read how Peter Marshall and David Manuel think God has influenced America. I've read them all twice! I can hardly wait for the fourth book to come out! You can buy them all on Amazon.

Easy to read and an accurate view of the past

When I attended high school, the basic message of this volume was taught in a public school. Not as much detail because we did not have enough time. That's why this book was written. My teacher had grown up in Hitler's Germany, then came to the U.S. after WWII.

Sounding Forth the Trumpet is the final installment in Peter Marshall's and David Manuel's trilogy that looks at American history from 1492 to 1860, written from a Christian viewpoint. It is an excellent series of books, thoughtful and well-written. Sounding Forth the Trumpet looks at the years of approximately 1837 until Lincoln's election as President in November of 1860. This was probably the most turbulent and hostile time in America's history, culminating in the Civil War (which cost more American lives than any other war we have been involved in).Historic events covered in this book include the Mexican War (more on that below), the annexation of Texas, the California Gold Rush, the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and John Brown's uprising at Harper's Ferry. And of course, slavery; several chapters are devoted to this topic (as are several chapters of the previous book, From Sea to Shining Sea). Between both books, the authors provide an excellent panoramic view of slavery in America. Their treatment of slavery is thorough and thoughtful, and their examination of it is the best I have ever read.Sounding Forth the Trumpet was, for me, the weakest book of the trilogy. It took me way too long to read it, mainly because I found the first half largely uninteresting. This book covers the narrowest time span -- only about 23 years -- but is the longest book of the three. As a result, everything is covered in much more detail. And while that detail was fine for some topics -- such as the Gold Rush, the increasing animosity between North and South, and the rise of Abraham Lincoln -- it was not fine for other topics such as the careers of various Northern abolitionists and the Mexican War.In the case of the abolitionists I felt the authors spent a bit too much time on it; they could have cut out some of the details about so many people and it would have been better. But for the Mexican War they spent waaaaay too much time. Fully twelve chapters -- one-fourth of the book -- were devoted to this topic, which I'm sure is much more coverage than they gave to either the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812 (although I would have to go back and check the previous two books to be sure). They went into so much detail about this war that my eyes were glazing over, and I just skimmed the last two chapters on it. When they finally finished with it and turned to more interesting topics, then the book quickly picked up and became as interesting as the previous two. Really, they could have cut out 2/3 of the pages on the Mexican War and the book would have been much better for it.That being said, this book is an overall excellent read that takes a look at American history from a Christian viewpoint (which is refreshing in its rarity). If you read and enjoyed the previous two then you will want to read this final book as well.

Well researched history that is not based on revisionist history or political correctness but on eye witness accounts, newspapers of the day and from the diaries of the people it happened to. It doesn't whitewash the bad to make it look good. It uncovers many things that I never learned in going to public school. Written in a very readable style. Unless you are an honest investigator of the truth this book might not be for you.

This book is such an eye opener to how the Lord worked to make our country. Just wish there was another book to the trilogy as it ends when Civil War begins.