When the Christian Right burst onto the scene in the late 1970s, many political observers were shocked. But, as demonstrates, they shouldn't have been. The Christian Right goes back much farther than most journalists, political scientists, and historians realize. Relying on extensive archival and primary source research, Daniel K. Williams presents the first comprehensive history of the Christian Right, uncovering how evangelicals came to see the Republican Party as the vehicle through which they could reclaim America as a Christian nation. A fascinating and much-needed account of a key force in American politics, is the only full-scale analysis of the electoral shifts, cultural changes, and political activists at the movement's core—showing how the Christian Right redefined politics as we know it.