This book traces the origin of the forces and personalities that brought about the Spanish Inquisition and its impact on the larger world. It dwells extensively on the causes and principal figures of the Protestant Reformation, and explains how those attitudes came to influence the evolution of modern American politics and bigotry.
A careful reading of this narrative explains how political and religious leaders, often being somewhat interchangeable, have been able to devise "enemies" that can be used to convince sufficient sections of the populace to elect or retain in high office those who portray themselves as opposed to such "enemies"; ignoring, in so doing, the sage advice of Benjamin Franklin that "those who would sacrifice essential liberties for a little temporary security, deserve neither liberty nor security."