Satan In America Sparknotes

Satan In America by W. Scott Poole examines the role the devil has played in American society since the country’s founding. Throughout history, people in the United States have seen the devil in many different shapes and forms. At times he has been a tangible human being, while other times he is an invisible force attempting to corrupt the world through changes in society and American culture. Satan In America explores the various ways in which society’s fear of the devil has been used to prevent true cultural change in America. Satan In America tells the history of how America has viewed the concept of the devil beginning with the colonial period and continuing to the present. The people most affected by America’s fear of the devil in the earliest days of the United States were women and immigrants. Women who did not conform to societal expectations were often viewed as instruments of the devil sent to corrupt society and as such, were often subjected to violence and even death. Immigrants were viewed in a very similar manner and were rejected from the rest of society because they had different religions and thus, were being sent to disrupt the American way of life. In the time since then Poole examines how Americans …show more content…
By convincing society that the devil is everywhere and can be seen in anyone who challenged societal expectations, leaders were able to control people’s behavior. From the beginning days of this country and even still today, Poole shows how true cultural progress has been halted by those who wish things to stay the same. Satan In America makes the argument that our society has chosen to see the devil in whatever form we need to see him in, in order to resist any and all change (Poole 2009, 213). We have used the devil to justify our mistreatment of women and people of other races in particular (Poole 2009,