The American Reader: Words That Moved a NationThe American Reader is a stirring and memorable anthology that captures the many facets of American culture and history in prose and verse. The 200 poems, speeches, songs, essays, letters, and documents were chosen both for their readability and for their significance. These are the words that have inspired, enraged, delighted, chastened, and comforted Americans in days gone by. Gathered here are the writings that illuminate -- with wit, eloquence, and sometimes sharp words -- significant aspects of national conciousness. They reflect the part that all Americans -- black and white, native born and immigrant, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American, poor and wealthy -- have played in creating the nation's character. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 9
... become commodities , written for quick sale and turnover , not as vehicles for communal expression , inspira- tion and amusement . Politicians seldom speak without reference to focus groups or pollsters to learn what people want to hear ...
... become a permanent tenant in one's brain . Almost no one memorizes anything anymore ; our nation's pedagogical leaders long ago decided that this was an abomination and an infringement on the rights of childhood . Yet , of course ...
... become commonplace to say that books and the other elements of a verbal culture are passé now that advanced technol- ogy defines our means of communications . Of course , this is fairly ridiculous because even advanced ...
... become attentive to the grounds and principles of government , ecclesiastical and civil . Let us study the law of nature ; search into the spirit of the British Constitution ; read the histories of ancient ages ; contemplate the great ...
... become researches into the grounds and nature and ends of government , and the means of preserving the good and demolishing the evil . Let the dialogues , and all the exercises , become the instruments of impressing on the tender mind ...