Why An American Family Bible? In times past, most American families had a copy of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures which they used to record the births, marriages and deaths of their members. They purposefully associated their story with that Holy Book. Hence, in this context, it seemed very appropriate and natural to choose this title for this book.
And, like the book which inspired that title, this one is organized as “books, chapters and verses.” The reader will also notice that there are twelve “books” in my Bible – a number that is also significant in both testaments of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures. It should also be noted that I envisioned this book as consisting of an Old Testament (the first six books) and a New Testament (the remaining six). The dividing line falling at what I consider to be the seminal event of American History – the Civil War.
As you read this book, several other considerations for my use of this title will become apparent. After all, the Bible is the story of a people (the Hebrews), and their conviction that God chose them to be His special representatives to the rest of the world. It is also the story of a particular piece of real estate (the Promised Land), and its conquest and settlement by the Hebrews. The Bible is also the story of individuals (patriarchs) who became a family that grew into a collection of tribes which eventually coalesced into a nation. And, finally, it is a collection of stories about the triumphs and failures of various individuals in their pursuit of salvation and immortality. Does any of that sound familiar?
An American Family Bible is the story of European colonists who believed that God had chosen them to plant His Kingdom in a new wilderness. Over time, the conviction grew that they were special among the nations of the earth – a shining city on a hill – the last best hope of earth. It is also the story of their conquest and settlement of North America; and how those early settlers formed families, incorporated other tribes into their numbers and eventually became a nation. And, finally, An American Family Bible is a collection of stories about the triumphs and failures of various individuals in their pursuit of life, liberty and happiness.
Nevertheless, when we think about the Hebrew Bible, several questions come to mind about the widespread appeal of that book. For instance, why are so many folks interested in a story about Abraham’s descendants? Why are the convictions of a small and insignificant group of people who occupied a small corner of the earth important to the rest of humanity? Why do the stories of their individual triumphs and failures have such universal appeal? Is it that we see ourselves in these stories? Do we relate to these past experiences because they seem so familiar to the lives which we are living in the present?
Likewise, when you read An American Family Bible, it is my hope that you will see something more than the story of one man’s family. After all, folks like Henry Howland, Richard Lippincott, Thomas Camp and Edward Ketcham have many millions of descendants other than me. And it is important to remember that the nation which these folks forged over time is the nation that you were born into and in which you are currently living. Moreover, their convictions about God, government, slavery and their place in the world are still impacting us and the people who share this planet with us. Hence, if you only see here a collection of stories about the ancestry of the author, you have missed the entire point of this book!
An American Family Bible was intended to give the reader some insight into what it means to be an American. Indeed, it was my intention to challenge some of our most cherished beliefs about who we are as individuals and as a people. In particular, this book was intended to take a fresh look at some of our notions about our origins, America as THE Promised Land, racial identity and the phenomenon that we call rugged individualism.
In terms of their origins, most Americans have expressed little or no interest in the subject throughout our history as a people. After all, many of the European immigrants who arrived on these shores came here to escape their past – they wanted a fresh start. Likewise, most of the African immigrants to this continent were deliberately ripped away from their past and actively encouraged to forget it by those who oppressed them. Indeed, one would be justified in observing that anyone who wasn’t of White European heritage was encouraged to forget about their origins and adopt the culture of the majority. Thus, for many Americans, the present and future are the only elements of time that really matter.
And, although it would seem to contradict the point just made, Americans have also been encouraged to view themselves as hyphenated Americans (e.g. Irish-American, African-American, Asian-American, etc.). Moreover, each group is very proprietary about its identity and exclusive in its membership. You can’t be part of my group or claim any part of my group’s culture or history. This book was meant to challenge many of these notions of separateness and exclusivity.
In similar fashion, we have been accustomed to view ourselves in terms of race. We check boxes for White, Black, Hispanic, Asian or Native American. An American Family Bible, however, demonstrates that our notions about racial identity are naïve and too simplistic. This book will demonstrate that the reality is much more complex and nuanced than some of our most cherished notions about ourselves allow.
Finally, many Americans have embraced the notion that we are a nation of what Herbert Hoover called rugged individualism. Many of us believe that we are only truly happy when we are completely independent and self-reliant. And, while this author would not discount this notion as an important feature of the American psyche, it is his hope that this book will demonstrate a competing impulse (one of cooperative effort and shared responsibility) that is just as important to America’s story.
In short, this book was meant to demonstrate that America is not a homogeneous thing - that it is a collection of many diverse things that are still somehow all connected to each other. It was also my intention to demonstrate that America is not just the story of great men, and that it is not the story of someone else – it is the story of you and your kin.
Likewise, America’s story is not all heroic, successful and good. It is also a story of cowardice, failure and evil. Moreover, the unpleasant parts of the story are just as important to the outcome as the more pleasant ones (in some instances, even more important).
Finally, I hope that the reader will be able to see their own immortality (and the immortality of their ancestors and descendants) in the pages of this book. Of course, the reader must decide for him/herself whether the book has achieved the objectives of its author.
Now there is one final question to answer: Why a New Unabridged Version? I felt that the stories of the various individuals and families in the original lacked cohesion, and that the stories of some important individuals had been left out of that work.
On the historical side of the equation, I felt that the original version of this book proved to be inadequate in several key areas. In short, my attempts to explain the causation of the Civil War and the role of the Union Army in that conflict seemed deficient to me. I was also concerned that I had failed to adequately address the contributions of doctors and the evolution of the medical profession in the original. And, finally, I felt that the book which opened the New Testament and covered the period of Reconstruction needed a transitional chapter.
Thus, while it had never been my goal to write a comprehensive history of those events, I did feel that something more was needed in these areas than the original supplied. Hence, just as the canon of the Judeo-Christian Bible came together over many years, I felt that these additions to my own bible would make it more “inspired” and complete.
At any rate, I hope that everyone will enjoy reading this narrative and will feel that they are part of something much bigger than themselves when they are finished with it. Like the Holy Bible, this is an unfinished book – the story continues. In that sense, I know that you will all continue to add chapters to this story that I hope will never end.
