pt. 1. The frame of the American Enlightenment. The foundations of American thought -- The roots of an American faith -- The new world of American science -- The organization of scientific knowledge -- pt. 2. The growth of an American point of view. The structure of a new society -- Emerging patterns of social life -- The training of free minds -- The idea of an American university -- The building of an American church -- The great revival of American faith -- The quest for a national literature -- The American style in architecture and art
Summary
Mr. Nye makes vividly clear the period's underlying patterns of thought, indicating the profound influence of European Romanticism, although American experience itself precluded the Old World's pessimism; how new discoveries in science were gradually wrecking the grand Newtonian scheme of the universe; and how all these changes affected religion, manners, education and the arts
