A rational millennium : Puritan utopias of seventeenth-century England and America

Taking a new approach to the history of utopia, this volume combines the political study of literary form with the literary study of political rhetoric. After arguing that early modern utopists, both literary and non-literary, attempt to reshape displaced populations, Holstun concentrates on two utopian projects of the mid-17th century: the political platforms and Algonquin "praying towns" of John Eliot in Massachusetts and the republican political theory of James Harrington in Protectorate England. Moving between these projects and modern analyses of rationalization, he shows that Puritan utopia shares the modern Western longing for universal social discipline and that it envisions this discipline as the rational means to the Millennium. After examining the tradition of literary Utopia, with special attention to Thomas More, the author focuses on two Utopian projects: the Indian `praying towns' of John Eliot in Massachusetts, and the millennial republicanism of James Harrington in England. x, 371 pages : 22 cm Includes bibliographical references (pages 337-355) and index