We, the People: Great Documents of the American Nation

by Jerome B. Agel

We, the People contains every significant document in American history. Readers will encounter early and unfamiliar documents such as the Mayflower Compact...delve into landmark cases such as Brown v. Board of Education and Roe v. Wade. Encompasses themes such as early history, foreign affairs, social reform, the Civil War, presidential addresses, civil rights, Indian affairs and more.

Genres: History

587 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Jim Bouchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nearly everyone in America quotes some part of the Constitution, The Declaration of Independence or the Gettysburg Address to make some point or other. Very few actually take the time to read, study or understand these documents in context.

This is a powerful encyclopedia of American oratory and political thought from the beginning to the present day.

Don't argue with me until you read it! :)

[Phillip · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would call this the "Reader's Digest version" of American document sampling. I was a bit unimpressed to see the abridgment of so many materials in this -- I would rather have had more unabridged selections and less quantity than the actual amount. I also get the interest of including treaties and actual legislation, but even I (which means "nerd") skimmed or even skipped those portions. In the Internet age, this reference book does not offer a lot -- Google what you're looking for, and you'll get the whole thing! The only thing I liked about this book was the randomness of materials, even though they are organized thematically. Also, the author does have a left-political bent, judging by the introduction of each chapter -- which I thought was unnecessary to include (the political-ness, not the introductions). All in all, I would say this is a not recommend.