Free One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America by Kevin M. Kruse Page A

in a half-dozen panels and presentations over a year’s span.
    I owe Ari Kelman and Eric Rauchway a tremendous debt, as they read through an early draft of the manuscript, providing terrific suggestions at a crucial stage, and then helped me think through countless new issues as I revised the manuscript over the next few years. Several other scholars deserve my sincere thanks for taking the time to read the entire manuscript in later stages of its evolution, offering insight and much-needed encouragement to press on: Paul Harvey, Andrew Preston, Larry Moore, Matt Sutton, Bob Wuthnow, and Neil J. Young. Gill Frank and Kim Phillips-Fein, meanwhile, offered invaluable feedback on individual chapters. For additional conversations and insights that shaped the book in important ways, I must also thank Tony Badger, Tim Borstelmann, Jon Butler, Nathan Connolly, Jeff Cowie, Mary Dudziak, Sally Gordon, Mary Beth Norton, Matt Lassiter, Dick Polenberg, Nick Salvatore, Andrew Sandoval Strausz, Bryant Simon, and Tom Sugrue. And I owe special thanks to three complete strangers who generously offered to help me track down key materials for this project: Rich Kimball and Kara Hansen, who helped me secure photocopies from the Cecil B. DeMille archives, and Sam Brenner, who graciously loaned me FBI files on the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade that he had unearthed in his own research.
    Many institutions and individuals made the research for this book possible. Financial support from the Princeton University Committee on Research and the Department of History subsidized several research trips to various archives, while the excellent staff at our Firestone Library worked tirelessly to dig up countless copies of obscure books, magazines, and periodicals on short notice. Most important, this book owes a great deal to the resourcefulness and helpfulness of a good number of archivists, librarians, and staff members around the nation. As any historian can attest, the insight and assistance of archivists can make or break a project, and there are several who deserve special mention for their kind help: Jim Armistead at the Truman Presidential Library, Brian Keough at the University of Albany, Dan Linke at the Mudd Manuscript Library at Princeton, Ron McDowell of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Simone Munson at the Wisconsin Historical Society, John Nemmers at the University of Florida, Bruce Tabb at the University of Oregon, Howard Trace at the American Legion, Randy Vance at Texas Tech University, and Stacey Wright at Valdosta State University. Three archives, in particular, were vitally important for this project, and luckily for me, they were all run by exceptional archivists: Bob Shuster at the Billy Graham Center Archives, Bill Sumners at the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives, and the late Herb Pankratz at the Eisenhower Presidential Museum and Library. Without the generous assistance (and general kindness) that they and their outstanding staffs provided, this book would not have been possible. To anyone whose name should be here but is not, I ask that you please forgive me for the oversight.
    Geri Thoma has been an incredible advisor and advocate, and I cannot imagine navigating the unfamiliar terrain of trade publishing without her. The entire staff at Basic Books has been simply wonderful. Dan Gerstle did amazing work in the final line edits. My editor Lara Heimert is likewise simply phenomenal, and I can’t thank her enough for her passion for this project and her commitment to it. Her assistant, Leah Stecher, helped me handle countless last-second crises as the book went to press. Likewise, Rachel King and her staff ensured the final work looked terrific.
    On a more personal note, I have many friends to thank for making sure I didn’t disappear into the archives altogether: Martha D’Avila and Jim Burton, Eric and Pam Greenhut, Dan and Melanie Goldey, Dave and Jen Haslam, John and Ali Lee, Clea Karlstrom and