An essential collection of 569 primary documents, which explores the
events, major and minor, that have shaped our nation and illuminates
every aspect of its history
Featuring hundreds of voices spanning three centuries, the documents
included in The American Experience express the development of a
nation as told through the eyes of those who lived during its most
seminal and pivotal moments. These are the firsthand words of the
famous, infamous, and forgotten, and they come in many forms, including
speeches, articles, essays, public records, landmark legal documents,
poems, news reports, and more.
Organized chronologically from 1763 to the present, The American
Experience follows the great tapestry of our history as it weaves its
way through the creation of the republic in its nascent years; civil war
and reconstruction; the progressive era; boom, bust, and the New Deal;
world wars; the Cold War; social upheaval of every kind; and much more.
A sample of the 569 documents includes: the Iroquois Federation
Constitution; Barack Obama's Philadelphia speech on race; Transcripts
from the Salem Witch Trial; Roe v. Wade; The Declaration of
Independence; The Federalist Papers; The Monroe Doctrine; Baseball's
Original Rules; I Have a Dream; Henry David Thoreau on Civil
Disobedience; Sojourner Truth on Women's Suffrage; Ulysses S. Grant on
the Assault at Cold Harbor; The G.I. Bill; Journals of Lewis & Clark;
George W. Bush's 9/11 Address; George Washington's Farewell Address; The
Louisiana Purchase; The Kinsey Report; and hundreds more.
An essential collection for students, The American Experience is also
of major appeal to historians, news junkies, and the civicor
politically-minded across the political spectrum.
