A History of Us: Sourcebook and Index : Documents That Shaped the American Nation (History of Us)

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Summary: A supplemental collection of documents that shaped America
Review: In an idealized world, or more particularly a perfect classroom, it would be nice if there was a CD-Rom that came along with each set of history textbooks for a classroom that would contain all sorts of wonderful study guides for teachers along with a collection of documents from American history that could easily be printed and then copies created for the students. The current alternative is a volume such as this "Sourcebook and Index," compiled by Byron Hollinshead with introductory notes by Steven Mintz as a supplement to Joy Hakim's 10-volume A History of US series. Of course, this volume also works as a stand-along reference, providing a collection of great American documents, most of which are touched upon in your standard American history textbook. I have a strong affinity for primary documents, and this collection provides almost 100 of them in this collection of letters, declarations, proclamations, court decisions, laws, acts, speeches, the Constitution, and other writings, all arranged chronologically from "Magna Carta" through Ronald Reagan's 1988 speech at Moscow State University. The goal is to illuminate the experience of the diverse groups that make up American society, so that in addition to influential Presidential speeches that are scattered throughout this volume young readers will also find the voices and experiences of Native Americans, African Americans, immigrants, women, and many other groups represented as well.

This sourcebook presents excerpts from many of the documents recommended on state frameworks and that support the National History Standards. At the beginning of each excerpt there is a note on where you can find the document or topic discussed in the series (e.g., John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address does with Chapter 17, Book 10, "All the People"), a headnote that provides background on the document and discusses why it is important, the text if the document, and definitions in the margins that will help readers understand unfamiliar word or unusual meanings as well as identifying historical figures mentioned in the documents. I especially appreciate the later because having co-edited a collection of great speeches I was quite proud of the annotations we provided and Hollinshead and Mintz are doing something similar here. The focus is on helping young readers tease out a document's assumptions, uncover its meaning, and assess its historical significance. For example, there are only two lines from "Magna Carta" but the analysis emphasizes the ideas of preserving rights, obeying the law of the land, and extending rights to all citizens.

By devoting an entire volume to such documents Hakim is able to get well beyond the few documents of state that often end up in the back of an American history textbook (i.e., the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc.). Here you will find the Articles of Confederation, the Homestead Act, and the Civil Rights Act. The Gettysburg Address is short enough to make its way into most textbooks but students will also find words from Lincoln's "House Divided," debate with Stephen Douglas, and Second Inaugural Address. When the authors works in John Marshall Harlan's dissenting opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson you know that they have done their homework and gone beyond the obvious possibilities. There are easily a dozen other impressive additions, from John C. Calhoun's speech on the Compromise of 1850 and Franklin D. Roosevelt's message to Congress on "The Four Freedoms" to Thomas Jefferson's "Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom" and Martin Luther King, Jr's letter from Birmingham City Jail.

Among the reasons why I would prefer a CD-Rom to a book in this matter is that you would not only be able to include many more documents, but you would also be able to provide them in their entirety. Even a relatively short speech such as Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!" is edited (and there is no reason you cannot either provide both complete and edited versions of the longer works and/or allow teachers to edit them themselves before making copies). However, I am well aware that my preference for primary documents may well be greater than your average student of American history. Even if you are not using Hakim's series, American history teachers can certainly use this volume to help expose their students to some of the most powerful words in our nation's history.