100 Key Documents in American Democracy [Hardcover]

Peter B. Levy (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0313284245 | ISBN-13: 978-0313284243 | Publication Date: November 30, 1993

This documentary collection traces the development and meaning of democracy in America from colonial times to the present. It includes classic writings and speeches such as Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" as well as lesser-known gems such as Fannie Lou Hamer's testimony before the Credentials Committee of the Democratic Party convention and Cesar Chavez's "Letter from Delano." Written or spoken by Presidents and ex-slaves, political theorists and poets, labor leaders and songwriters, Supreme Court justices and suffragettes, liberals and conservatives, these documents reflect the diversity and breadth of the American experience and the ongoing struggle to achieve the ideals on which the nation was founded. Forty-seven illustrations complement the text. The collection can be read as a succinct overview of American history and used as a reference or source book. The documents have been selected with the advice of a number of America's leading scholars and teachers. Arranged by historical era, the collection begins with Powhatan's "Letter to John Smith" and closes with Jesse Jackson's "Common Ground and Common Sense." Each document is organized with a fact box, up-to-date commentary based on recent scholarship, and list of suggested readings. Nearly a fifth of the documents represent recent events in American history; women and minorities are well represented. Shorter documents are full text; longer ones have been judiciously edited by Professor Levy for the general reader. An appendix contains the full text of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States (including all the amendments). Markets for this work are school, public, and college and university libraries, and college courses on American history, American government and politics, and American political theory.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This one-volume collection of documents on the development and meaning of American democracy fills an important need for source material. The standard work, Documents of American History by Henry S. Commager (9th edition, 1973), was updated in a tenth edition in 1988, but only volume 1 (covering to 1898) of the two-volume set was published.

The editor of the current work is in the Department of History and Political Science at York College and is the author of a documentary history of the civil rights movement. An advisory board, comprised of secondary school librarians and history professors, helped shape a volume that will be useful to a wide range of users.

The introduction notes the central organizing theme as the concept of democracy as a process that is an ongoing struggle rather than one that is completed. Thus, while we find classic speeches and writings, lesser-known expressions of America's democratic promise are also included.

The work is arranged chronologically within sections, such as "The Early Republic" and "The Progressive Era." Beginning with Powhatan's call for peace in his 1609 "Letter to John Smith" and concluding with Jesse Jackson's moving speech at the 1988 Democratic National Convention, the documents encompass the essence of the democratic idea. Each piece is prefaced by a short chronology that sets the historical context and a commentary on the document that often refers to other writings in the book. Shorter documents are reprinted in their entirety, while longer ones have been edited. Following each document, a source for the document is identified and a few books are suggested for further reading.

The appendix includes the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Black-and-white illustrations complement the text. A detailed index lists authors, titles, and subjects.

A comparison of this work with Commager shows some overlap (Mayflower Compact, Gettysburg Address), but his work stressed documents that have been crucial in American history overall. 100 Key Documents in American Democracy is a unique and inspiring work that will prove useful for high-school, public, and undergraduate libraries and is highly recommended. The carefully planned selection will serve as a model for other collections of source documents.

Review

“This one-volume collection of documents on the development and meaning of democracy fills an important need for source material. . . . 100 Key Documents in American Democracy is a unique and inspiring work that will prove useful for high-school, public, and undergraduate libraries and is highly recommended.”–Reference Books Bulletin

“High school library media specialists will want to add Peter Levy's 100 Key Documents in American Democracy to their American history collections.”–Harriet Selverstone Library Media Specialist and Department Chair Norwalk High School Library Media Center

“At last there is a book of historical documents that students can not only learn from but be stimulated by. 100 Key Documents in American History takes the student along the fascinating path of democratic challenge in American history....This is a book that will surely stand the test of time and remain a standard of how documents should be used to educate and stimulate students of those outstanding individuals who made American history.”–Dr. Colin J. Davis Department of History University of Alabama at Birmingham

“As a long time history professor, I have used a variety of teaching materials in my countless U.S. History survey courses....Finally someone has arranged in one well constructed and thoughtfully conceived text the kind of trenchant documents I have been searching for many years....My advice to other fellow teachers is go out and get a copy of this impeccable and richly endowed collection of American history documents....I can think of no better or more comparable set of documetns for use in the American survey courses than Professor Levy's impeccable book.”–Timothy Coogan Department of History Rutgers University, Newark

“100 Key Documents is a marvelous collection of the best American statements about democaracy. These writings are remarkably wide-ranging, spanning the early colonies to the end of the last decade, and covering challenges to American democracy from women's rights to religious freedom, from Native American displacement to Japanese American internment, from slavery to unionizing introduction. This book should be extremely useful in American history surveys and other courses concerned with questions of American democracy.”–Cheryl Greenberg Director, American Studies Associate Professor, History Department Trinity College

“Graced by Levy's lucid headnotes and useful bibliographies, and arranged in an intelligent and accessible manner, 100 Key Documents can--and ought to--stand at the center of any course on American history, society, and government. Indeed, having 100 Key Documents at hand makes for a ready reference on the meaning of America and an essential reminder of what it means to be an American.”–Randall M. Miller Professor of History St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 536 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press (November 30, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313284245
• ISBN-13: 978-0313284243
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,971,981 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)