Any searching look at the theory and practice of citizenship in the United States today is bewildering and disconcerting. Despite earnest concern for participation, access, and "leverage," there is a widespread perception that nothing citizens do has much meaning or influence. This book argues that for American democracy to work in the twenty-first century, renewed interest in teaching the nation's young citizens a sense of the public good is imperative.All of the nation's founders, especi...

The complete texts of the documents that tell the story of the clashes and compromises that gave birth to the Unites States of America.Should the members of the government be elected by direct vote of the people?Should the government be headed by a single executive, and how powerful should that executive be? Should immigrants be allowed into the United States?How should judges be appointed?What human rights should be safe from government in...

Although the last half of the twentieth century has been called the Age of Democracy, the twenty-first has already demonstrated the fragility of its apparent triumph as the dominant form of government throughout the world.Reassessing the fate of democracy for our time, distinguished political theorist Ralph Ketcham traces the evolution of this idea over the course of four hundred years. He traces democracy’s bumpy ride in a book that is both an exercise in the history of ideas and ...

Restored to its original splendor, Montpelier is now a national shrine, but before Montpelier became a place of study and tribute, it was a home. Often kept from it by the business of the young nation, James and Dolley Madison could finally take up permanent residence when they retired from Washington in 1817. Their lifelong friend Thomas Jefferson predicted that, at Montpelier, the retiring Madison could return to his "books and farm, to tranquility, and independence," that he would be re...

The best one volume biography of Madison's life, Ketcham's biography not only traces Madison's career, it gives readers a sense of the man. As Madison said of his early years in Virginia under the study of Donald Robertson, who introduced him to thinkers like Montaigne and Montesquieu, "all that I have been in life I owe largely to that man." It also captures a side of Madison that is less rarely on display (including a portrait of the beautiful Dolley Madison)."Madison's personali...

Roots of the Republic shows how the Constitution was a product, not simply of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, but of a legal and philosophical tradition almost two centuries old. The editors have selected eighteen key documents in the development of that tradition and reproduced them with essays that explain what they mean, why they were written, and why they are important today. Each key document is accompanied by an interpretive essay written by a contemporary scholar. These essay...

The most important documents of the United States of America are collected in this easy-to-read volume, which includes the Constitution of the United States of America, with all of the Amendments; The Declaration of Independence; the Articles of Confederation, and an appendix containing a list of the states by date of admission to the Union. Every citizen of the United States, student of history anywhere in the world, or anyone interested in understanding who we are as a nation should have...

No matter who you identify with-Democrat or Republican, Tea Party or Green Party, Independent or something else altogether- we the people should read: The Constitution of the United States of America The Bill of Rights and all of the Amendments The Declaration of Independence The Articles of ConfederationTake a moment or two to reflect on the words of our forefathers, as these are the documents literally created America. The Constitution set up a sy...

An original collection of the most influential documents in American history, from the bestselling author of A Patriot's History of the United States.Since 2005, A Patriot's History of the United States has become a modern classic for its defense of America as a unique country founded on principles of justice, equality, and freedom for all.The Patriot's History Reader continues this tradition by going back to the original sources-...

The United States of America! It was in the Declaration of Independence that this name was first and formally proclaimed to the world, and to maintain its verity the war of the Revolution was fought. Americans like to think that they were then assuming among the Powers of the Earth the equal and independent Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them; and, in view of their subsequent marvelous development, they are inclined to add that it must have been before an e...

Americans on both sides of the aisle love to reference the Constitution as the ultimate source of truth. But which truth? What did the framers really have in mind? In a book that author R.B. Bernstein calls “essential reading,” acclaimed historian Ray Raphael places the Constitution in its historical context, dispensing little-known facts and debunking popular preconceived notions.For each myth, Raphael first notes the kernel of truth it represents, since most myths have some basis...

In B. M. Bower's novel 'Cabin Fever (Wild West Adventure)', readers are transported to the rugged and untamed Wild West through the beautifully descriptive prose and vivid characters that populate the pages. The book showcases Bower's trademark writing style, blending elements of romance, adventure, and the harsh realities of frontier life. The compelling storyline follows the trials and tribulations of cowboys and ranchers as they navigate through the challenges of the wilderness, making ...