The U.S. Constitution and Other Key American Writings

by Founding Fathers

The U.S. Constitution and Other Key American Writings is part of the Word Cloud Classics series and a collection of the crucial documents that established the United States. In addition to the Constitution, readers can study supplementary texts like the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Federalist Papers, and even important speeches by early Presidents. The Founding Fathers’ inspirational and revolutionary ideals are all included in these doctrines, and this is a perfect volume for anyone who finds the history of America to be a fascinating and enlightening journey.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Classics, Reference, American History, Politics

448 pages, Flexibound

First published July 14, 2015

About the author

The term Founding Fathers of the United States of America refers broadly to the individuals of the Thirteen British Colonies in North America who led the American Revolution against the authority of the British Crown and established the United States of America. It is also used more narrowly, referring specifically to those who either signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 or who were delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention and took part in drafting the proposed Constitution of the United States. A further subset includes those who signed the Articles of Confederation. During much of the 19th century, they were referred to as either the "Founders" or the "Fathers".

Some historians define the "Founding Fathers" to mean a larger group, including not only the Signers and the Framers but also all those who, whether as politicians, jurists, statesmen, soldiers, diplomats, or ordinary citizens, took part in winning American independence and creating the United States of America. Historian Richard B. Morris in 1973 identified the following seven figures as the key Founding Fathers: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington . Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin worked on the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence. Hamilton, Madison, and Jay were authors of the The Federalist Papers, advocating ratification of the Constitution. Washington commanded the revolutionary army. All served in important positions in the early government of the United States.

DOB based on First Continental Congress
DOD based on death of James Madison, last surviving member

Reviews

[Jessica (Odd and Bookish) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book 4.5 stars which rounds up to 5.

This is a hard book to write a review for because it’s just a collection of writings.

The overall selection of writings was pretty good. Although I did find that the rules of baseball was an odd pick to include. I love baseball and all (it’s my favorite sport) but I don’t think it’s that important. Baseball isn’t that groundbreaking. I would have also loved to have seen more Supreme Court rulings since there was only one (Brown v. Board of Education). However, that’s just a personal preference because I love reading the Supreme Court Justices’ opinions.

One of my favorite writings was the Susan B. Anthony one. There were few female writings in here so it was nice to see Susan B. Anthony included.

My least favorite by far was the Social Security Act. That was a total snooze fest. It was over 40 pages and so dry. I also felt that it could have been replaced by a few, more interesting writings.

All in all, this is a really solid collection of fundamental American writings. I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a comprehensive collection of American documents and speeches.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good primary resource to explore the various important documents and speeches logged throughout United States history. Highly recommend the whole Word Cloud Classics Foundations of Freedom set as well.

[Chandler L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal Response:

The US Constitution and Other Key American Writings is a history lover’s paradise. The words at the start were harder to understand than towards the end, because the documents were not written during my era. There were a lot of documents that explained a variety of events. My three favorite documents were: Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Albert Einstein’s Letter to President D. Roosevelt about the Atomic Bomb, and George W. Bush Addressing the Nation after the September 11 Attacks.

Plot:
My three favorite documents were Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Albert Einstein’s Letter to President D. Roosevelt about the Atomic Bomb, and George W. Bush Addressing the Nation after the September 11 Attacks.

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address touched me emotionally. I felt the power of Abraham Lincoln’s voice during this speech. He addressed that the soldiers didn’t die in vain. His words, “This country will not perish from the earth,” suggests that he intends to strive to bring this country together during the Civil War. I have gone to the very spot he gave the speech. During the few moments I stood, I imagined him standing there addressing the nation after the Battle of Gettysburg.

Albert Einstein’s letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt interested me on a scientific point of view, and I could only imagine what was going on Franklin’s mind at that time. The letter discussed the concern that the Germans were testing uranium for a bomb. The letter was written more on a scientific point of view and less on a political point of view. The making of the atomic bomb was a breakthrough in science and continues to affect our foreign relations today.

George W. Bush Addressing the Nation after the September 11 Attacks gave me a sense of pride in my country. The speech was very powerful. His words, “This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do the same,” was directed towards bringing this nation together after the September 11 attacks.

Recommendation:
I recommend this book to middle school or higher aged individuals who have a love for history. Both genders would love this book, because there are documents that affect both genders. The words are hard to understand at times, so elementary or younger individuals will not understand the words. They will, ultimately, lose interest in the book or its meaningfulness. If a person does not have patience or a love for history then he or she will not take the time to enjoy this book.

[Aziza · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was introduced to me by a loved one; once I saw the cover, I thought a. This is cool, and b. It’s so pretty. Lol. It’s the “flexibound” … “leatherbound” version of the book. At least, that is what Goodreads refers to it as. I have always been fascinated by history and historical events. I also am a sucker for a good story too. And yes, I do like watching/learning about historical things. Ahem, Ahem, I was one of those who Loved The National Treasure. Okay, you caught me; I am a fan of historical stuff about adventure, chaos, and excitement….. with some historical factual evidence. History can be fun sometimes. When I started this, I didn’t quite realize how long it would take me to read this…. Yes, I’ll admit, I started this last summer, and finishing this interesting piece of literature took me this long. Also, I could not back down from not finishing a book….. I do believe in the circumstances of finishing what one has started. Yet, the same rules apply to the world of literature. I didn’t believe in not finishing a book, okay? There you have it! And because I got halfway and realized I was mindlessly reading the passages, I decided to start over, this time reading in a much more focused environment. Tsk. But in all honesty, specific passages piqued my interest or brought back “aha” moments of historical things I had learned in school (U.S. History was one of my favorite subjects back in middle school. I had a good teacher). There were also some passages where I felt like, “WHY?”. Actually, for the first time, after re-starting again from the beginning, I used this as an opportunity to annotate for the first time. It’s an interesting technique and does help you understand certain things on another level as a reader. It’s something I will keep having to experiment with.
So, here are some passages that I did enjoy reading about and that I starred:
- “The Star-Spangled Banner” (1814)
- The Rules And Regulations Of The Knickerbocker Base Ball Club (1845)
- Susan B. Anthony On Women’s Suffrage (1873)
- Letter Of Protest From Queen Lili’uokalani of Hawaii To The House of Representatives (1898)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt’s State Of The Union Address (January 6, 1941)
- Executive Order 9066: The Relocation Of The Japanese (1942)
- Harry S. Truman’s Inaugural Address (January 20, 1949)
- Brown V. Board Of Education (1954)
- Senate Resolution 301: Censure Of Senator Joseph McCarthy (1954)
- John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address (January 20, 1961)
- Lyndon B. Johnson’s Special Message To Congress: The American Promise (1965)
- Ronald Reagan’s First Inaugural Address (January 20, 1981)
- Geraldine Ferraro Accepts The Vice Presidential Nomination (1984)
- George W. Bush Addresses The Nation After The September 11 Attacks (2001)
- Barak Obama’s First Inaugural Address (January 20, 2009)
So, some passages made me raise my eyebrows, not because I didn’t disagree with what they were saying…. I was trying to figure out why we couldn’t have summarized the passage instead…. I mean, I know the book was written by “The Founding Fathers,” but still.
- The Federalist Papers (1787 – 88)
- The United Nations Charter (1945)
- The Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963)
Now, I understand the importance of these passages, but I could have dealt with a shorter passage to inform me about these historical events. Don’t get me wrong, but these passages were pretty thick compared to the others, lol. The Federalist Papers itself was close to 57 pages… Overall, I would rate this a 3/5. Now, if you’re someone who is really interested in history or passionate about learning/teaching history, definitely read this book! If you need to brush up on historical facts or want to rehash historical knowledge, this book will definitely be for you. For me, this was a one-time read. That is not to say I wouldn’t be shy about reading other historical books. It might not be my cup of tea, but it is for learning purposes. Sure, why not? I didn’t quite love the book, but I did like reading about the passages that piqued my interest. It’s worth a read.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

While there are a few key American writings missing (e.g. Dred Scott v. Sanders; Roe v. Wade; and ratifications of Constitutional Amendments) and a few less than key works added (e.g. the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club Rules; several inaugural addresses; and Ferraro’s acceptance speech), I thought that it was an excellent collection and really helped to highlight the ideologies of generations of Americans. I really do think that civic classes should teach these writings in high school and feel cheated that I had never read Susan B. Anthony’s Speech or the Queen of Hawaii’s protest before. We quickly covered topics like the Indian Removal and Japanese Internment, bit to read the documents that claimed authority for such actions was really eye opening. All of these writings are relevant to today in one way or another.

It took me a long time to read this book and I often set it aside to read other things. I will keep this book as a reference and will highly recommend adding it to any personal library.

[Tomas]

Reading the U. S Constitution could be very boring, but if you like politics it could be a way of starting to shape your philosophy. This book contains a vast number of important documents of U.S such as, The Declaration of Independence, The Treaty of Paris and some important speeches of different figures and presidents of U.S. Also you could find the first document that was used as a constitution when the republic was borned, this document was changed by the actual constitution in 1787. This constitution is admirable since it had last for 232 years, for this I recommend people that like politics to read this book and analyze it critically.

[Casey Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good collection of critical American writings and speeches, but not without serious flaws: the Social Security Act should have been reduced to a few key paragraphs. There was no inclusion of any writings or speeches from Martin Luther King or Frederick Douglass, which is unforgivable, especially when the plight of women, Indians, and native Hawaiians were included (justifiably so, of course). And the general editing was poor at best—I lost count of typographical and other errors in the book. A good effort, but not a volume that will hold up for long.

[Lyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

a lot of content that took me a lot of time to work through - small measured chunks.

The US constitution was one of the briefest and easiest to understand / digest, so don't let that scare you away.

The only criticism I really have is that I wish more (or all if feasible) of the Federalist papers had been included. Or perhaps a short summary / reason for each omission (ie. repeats prior arguments urging speed of ratification or something).

[Ciara Mckinzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What you expect this book to be. Is what this book is. Some parts feel unbearable but you’re glad you had read them anyways. It helps me learn more about America’s government and honestly is a great refresher on American history. I took notes on this book and think everyone should have it. It’s like a history staple. I think it would be great to have in a class. I thought some of the choices of speeches, acts, or documents toward the end were more random. I felt it did a good job showing America for what it is. Good and bad(Outside the very obvious in my opinion Civil Rights. For instance, letter of protest from Queen Lili’uokalani of Hawaii to the House of Representatives. Or chief Joseph of the Nez Perce surrenders).

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading "THE U.S. CONSTITUTION AND OTHER KEY AMERICAN WRITINGS" by THE AMERICAN FOUNDING FATHERS. This book contains great speeches, presidential inaugural addresses, and other unforgettable writings. I would recommend it to anyone interested in our great American history.

[Sophia D · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a interesting book and I really enjoyed it, but it missed many key writings in my opinion. Like a letter from Birmingham Jail wasn’t in there among other things. I think they need to add some more letters and other documents.

[Grant Eastland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be required reading for US civics in high school. There was an excellent collection of foundational documents and famous speeches, several of which I have never read before. I really enjoyed reading it and will most definitely read parts of it again.

[Jack Watters]

Very interesting book. So amazing to see all of the change that occurred all throughout our nations existence. Very well organized and very educational.

[Sean Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't beat source documents. Let's all get more edumacated!

[Bita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciate the convenience of having these foundational texts in one place and their historical importance. It’s a solid resource for reference or study!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

some of these writings seemed a lil out of place but overall a comprehensive collection

[Sam G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Would be great if this book actually was enforced nowadays. lol

[Logan Hafer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good collection of writings, though several are certainly challenging to read. Additionally, the inclusion of some of the writings seems unnecessary, whilst others have been excluded.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

dry reading, but important