Primary Sources - Resource Guide

Brings together a diverse selection of eloquent, powerful, witty and passionate speeches, given by politicians, monarchs, rebels and intellectuals from around the world.

Including a never-before published speech by Martin Luther King, Jr., this is the first compilation of its kind, bringing together the most influential and important voices from two hundred years of America's struggle for civil rights, including essential speeches from leaders, both famous and obscure.

This title covers iconic primary documents from the 1600s to the present. Each entry offers the full text of the document as well as an in-depth, analytical essay that places the document in its historical context. Among the sources included are important legislative documents such as the Reconstruction era amendments; critical Supreme Court decisions; and iconic speeches and writings by leaders such as Sojourner Truth, Booker T. Washington, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Barack Obama.

Here, the lives of notable Americans are illuminated through an in-depth study of primary source texts they produced during their lifetimes. From presidents, jurists, and legislators to influential private citizens both past and present, American Leaders features important full-text sources written by the people who shaped the nation-and crucial scholarly analysis to help the documents come alive.