The prophetic tradition and radical rhetoric in America

This expansive volume traces the rhetoric of reform across American history, examining such pivotal periods as the American Revolution, slavery, McCarthyism, and today's gay liberation movement.

At a time when social movements led by religious leaders, from Louis Farrakhan to Pat Buchanan, play a central role in American politics, Darsey emphasizes the need for more productive ways of talking about contemporary radicalism than current dichotomies between civility and incivility and reason and unreason afford. In so doing, he sheds new light on the American radical tradition by connecting it with its prophetic roots.