Alan Tully

Conservative Revolutionaries

History & Biography

“John Oakes' erudite understanding of Reformed Protestantism has allowed him to give us a fresh, insightful, and nuanced analysis of how Charles Chauncy and Jonathan Mayhew articulated the momentous religious and political transformations that shook New England from the 1740s through the Revolution. By locating these two important figures in the socioreligious context in which they flourished, Oakes has framed a revealing window that sheds light on the way in which religiously based thought, as it evolved in New England, suffused the secular languages of liberty, and how tradition continued to shape the innovative discourses of the latter half of the eighteenth century. An exemplar of how disciplined comparative scholarship can significantly expand our understanding of long-studied events.”

Reluctant Revolutionary

History & Biography

“Through his religiously informed erudition, thorough research, keen eye for detail, thoughtful weighing of evidence, and historiographical knowledge, Dr. Oakes has revealed an Andrew Eliot, hitherto seen as an enigma, grounded steadfastly in moderate Calvinism. Equally important, this fine intellectual biography extends beyond Eliot to enrich our understanding of Boston’s late-colonial ministerial culture.”