| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
vii, 533 pages ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 491-516) and index. |
| Contents |
Genesis. The Exodus story ; John Winthrop: "A model of Christian charity" (1630) ; Thomas Paine: Common sense (1776) ; The Declaration of Independence (1776) ; Noah Webster: The blue-back speller (1783- ) -- Law. The Constitution (1787) ; Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ; Roe v. Wade (1973) -- Chronicles. Harriet Beecher Stowe: Uncle Tom's cabin (1852) ; Mark Twain: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) ; Ayn Rand: Atlas shrugged (1957) -- Psalms. Francis Scott Key: "The star-spangled banner" (1814) -- Irving Berlin : "God bless America" (1938) ; Woody Guthrie: "This land is your land" (1940) -- Proverbs. Benjamin Franklin: "Remember that time is money" (1748) ; Benjamin Franklin: "God helps those who help themselves" (1758) ; Patrick Henry : "Give me liberty or give me death" (1775) ; Abigail Adams: "Remember the ladies" (1776) ; Sojourner Truth: "Ain't I a woman?" (1851) ; Abraham Lincoln: "With malice toward none, with charity for all" (1865) ; Chief Joseph : "I will fight no more forever" (1877) ; Calvin Coolidge: "The business of America is business" (1925) ; Franklin Delano Roosevelt: "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people" (1932) ; John F. Kennedy: "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country" (1961) ; Ronald Reagan: "evil empire" (1983) -- Prophets. Henry David Thoreau: "Civil Disobedience" (1849) ; Dwight Eisenhower: Farewell Address (1961) ; Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I have a dream" (1963) ; Malcolm X: The autobiography of Malcolm X (1965) -- Lamentations. Abraham Lincoln: Gettysburg address (1863) ; Maya Lin: Vietnam Veterans Memorial (1982) -- Gospels. Thomas Jefferson: First inaugural address (1801) ; Franklin Delano Roosevelt: First inaugural address (1933) ; Ronald Reagan: "The speech" (1964) -- Acts. The Pledge of Allegiance (1892, 1954) -- Epistles. George Washington: Farewell address (1796) ; Thomas Jefferson: "Letter to the Danbury Baptists" (1802) ; Martin Luther King Jr.: "Letter from Birmingham jail" (1963). |
| Summary |
Identifies the most crucial texts written by Americans and published in America, which have profoundly shaped the national identity, including the speeches of Lincoln, Kennedy, and Reagan, and the novels of Melville, Salinger, and Rand. |
| Subject |
National characteristics, American.
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Speeches, addresses, etc., American -- History and criticism.
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National characteristics, American, in literature.
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Rhetoric -- Political aspects -- United States -- History.
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Literature and society -- United States -- History.
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Language and culture -- United States.
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Nationalism and literature -- United States.
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United States -- Civilization.
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Group identity in literature.
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| ISBN |
9780062123435 hardback $29.99 |
|
0062123432 hardback |
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