15 Documents and Speeches That Built America (Unique Classics)

by Patrick Henry, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln

Here are 15 correctly formatted documents and speeches that helped to build the current United States of America. There is a user-friendly table of contents for easy interaction. The following are included:
1. 1215 - The Magna Carta
2. 1606 - The First Virginia Charter
3. 1620 - The Mayflower Compact
4. 1676 - The First Thanksgiving Proclamation
5. 1765 - Resolutions of the Stamp Act
6. 1775 - Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
7. 1776 - Declaration of Independance
8. 1777 - Articles of Confederation
9. 1783 - The Paris Peace Treaty of 1783
10. 1787 - The Constitution of the United States of America and the Amendments
11. 1796 - George Washington's Farewell Address
12. 1823 - The Monroe Doctrine
13. 1862 - The Emancipation Proclamation
14. 1863 - The Gettysburg Address
15. 1941 - The Four Freedoms
These documents and speeches provided a solid reference foundation for any class in United States history or government.

All of Unique Classics ebooks have an improved navigation system which includes a linked table of contents. The works are formatted for easy reading and triple-checked for quality assurance. Our illustrated ebooks contain the best related works of art for the material which make the story reading experience much more pleasant and memorable.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, American History

111 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 29, 2011

About the author

Patrick Henry was an American attorney, planter and politician who became known as an orator during the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s. A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779 and from 1784 to 1786.

Henry led the opposition to the Stamp Act 1765 and is remembered for his "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech. Along with Samuel Adams and Thomas Paine, he is regarded as one of the most influential champions of Republicanism and an invested promoter of the American Revolution and its fight for independence.

After the Revolution, Henry was a leader of the anti-federalists in Virginia. He opposed the United States Constitution, fearing that it endangered the rights of the States as well as the freedoms of individuals; he helped gain adoption of the Bill of Rights. By 1798 however, he supported President John Adams and the Federalists; he denounced passage of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions as he feared the social unrest and widespread executions that had followed the increasing radicalism of the French Revolution.

Reviews

[John Hays · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great background collection of the thoughts used to create the US government. I did find it interesting that the Delaware colony was omitted from the Paris Peace Treaty if 1783, so I assume that Delaware is still at war with Britain!

[Scott Brundage · Rating 5 out of 5]

If only for the "Four Freedoms Speech" of FDR, this book is a Gem.

Roosevelt delivered his report to Congress on "The State of The Union" 11 months before the Pearl Harbor attack. A detailed listing of American needs, efforts and degrees of failure and success. That's worth reading because of what he lead too....

Not for just America, but for the WHOLE WORLD,,,, all people,,,, the list of 4 essential basic freedoms.

(Interestingly, one was for "speech AND EXPRESSION." He gave no detail but included not just words but all means of expression. Talk. Writing. Pictures. Dance. Music, etc in all combinations. )

Freedom of speech and expression.
In the whole world.

Freedom from want. (Food shelter, clothing, etc)
In the whole world.

Freedom to worship as we choose.
In the whole world.

Freedom from fear. (Specifying disarmament to the low level when no one could wage ANY war.)

For the whole world.

The great documents are all here. None more powerful than the last section of this speech.

[Nicholas Maulucci · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was a compilation of speeches and documents made or written throughout American history. if Americans would actually read the constitution, for example, there would be no gun control debate, no separation of church and state debate, etc. the one speech annoyed me was Roosevelt's. he riled us up into a tizzy with this speech and his handling of our base in pearl harbor, etc. I am proud that we went to battle against Hitler. what annoys me is we elevate Roosevelt for something an average president would have done (lead us against Hitler), while he absolutely decimated the US economy through his policies and then went to bed with Stalin who killed twice the amount of people Hitler did.

anyway, the book was a good compilation. recommended for all Americans.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice Kindle edition of this book which contains 15 documents (including influential speeches) which shaped American history. All of the usual suspects are contained inside such as Abraham Lincoln's legendary Gettysburg Address and Franklin D Roosevelt's 'Four Freedoms' with a few surprising ones including the Magna Carta.

A very interesting book and well worth reading if you are either a student in American studies or an amateur Americanist (like myself) well worth the 77p Amazon want for it

[Yves · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all who are interested in the making of contemporary America. The first/early speeches can be tedious, especially for non-native English speakers. Of course, the Gettysburg address is the monumental piece of this compilation, the one that tires me not to read again, and again.