American Political Speeches

Description

From Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, 'I Have a Dream' to Carrie Chapman Catt's 'The Woman's Hour Has Struck,' from Richard Nixon's 'I Have Never Been a Quitter' to William Jennings Bryan's 'A Cross of Gold,' this volume presents the greatest American rhetoric, from both inside and outside the White House. Penguin Books Civic Classics The Declaration of Independence and The United States Constitution Common Sense/Thomas Paine The Federalist Papers Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay Lincoln Speeches/Abraham Lincoln American Political Speeches Supreme Court Decisions Penguin presents great essential texts of American civic life in a portable and accessible series for the politically engaged. Richard Beeman and leading experts introduce the founding documents, pivotal historic speeches, important Supreme Court decision, and historic writings, both revolutionary and inspiring, that express core principles and ideals, raise issues, and tell a story about the American experiment in self-government. These are the words, ideas, and actions that have shaped American society and government since their founding and that continue to matter and empower. By mapping out our constitutional history, Civic Classics help us navigate through our present challenges, a journey better enjoyed as a participant rather than a bystander.

Terry Golway teaches U.S. history at Kean University in Union, N. J. His previous books include Washington's General, So Others Might Live, The Irish in America, For the Cause of Liberty, and Irish Rebel. He coauthored with Robert Dallek Let Every Nation Know: John F. Kennedy in His Own Words. Richard Beeman, the John Welsh Centennial Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, has previously served as the Chair of the Department of History, Associate Dean in Penn's School of Arts and Sciences, and Dean of the College of Arts of Sciences. He serves as a trustee of the National Constitution Center and on the center's executive committee. Author of seven previous books, among them The Penguin Guide to the United States Constitution and Plain Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution, Professor Beeman has received numerous grants and awards including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, and the Huntington Library. His biography of Patrick Henry was a finalist for the National Book Award.