Brooks Adams, the grandson of John Quincy Adams and the great-grandson of John Adams, was an independent scholar who evidenced a profound knowledge and understanding of history. This work is a monument of his erudition and scholarship. Perhaps only a native son of Massachusetts of his historical standing could have written such an incisive and critical account of the history of Massachusetts theocracy. Adams demonstrated intellectual courage and independence in directly challenging the received wisdom of Massachusetts-based historians from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries. This work, published a century ago, also demolishes several popular myths still extant today regarding the status of religious freedom in Massachusetts history. Adams's analysis of theocratic ideology, law, and government from the time of Moses to the twentieth century is also a masterpiece of interpretation