Sources for this Book
Almost all of the readings in this book have been edited by the author for the purpose of presenting the ideas that he considers most important to American political theory. This means that, depending on the length of the original reading, there may be much that is left out. If you are interested in reading more of the works included in this book, here are the sources that will allow you to do so.
Chapter 1: The Founding
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense: www.gutenberg.org.
Declaration of Independence: www.nationalarchives.org.
Constitution: www.nationalarchives.org.
Baron Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws (Thomas Nugent translation): www.archive.org.
The Federalist Papers: www.gutenberg.org.
Letters of Melancton Smith and the Federal Farmer: www.nationalarchives.org.
Thomas Jefferson’s letters: www.gutenberg.org.
Thomas Jefferson’s Inaugural Address: www.nationalarchives.org.
Chapter 2: American Political Theory Before the Civil War
Marbury v. Madison: U.S. Reports, available at www.law.cornell.edu.
McCulloch v. Maryland: U.S. Reports, available at www.law.cornell.edu.
Andrew Jackson’s First Inaugural Message and Veto Message: www.nationalarchives.org.
Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America (Henry Reeve translation): www.gutenberg.org.
John Calhoun’s Disquisition on Government: en.wikisource.org.
Henry David Thoreau’s On Civil Disobedience: www.gutenberg.org.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Declaration of Sentiments: www.nps.org.
Chapter 3: Conflict, Disaggregation and Civil War
Frederick Douglass’ Speech: www.gutenberg.org.
Scott v. Sanford: U.S. Reports, available at www.law.cornell.edu.
James Buchanan’s State of the Union Address: www.nationalarchives.org.
Abraham Lincoln’s Address at Cooper Union: www.gutenberg.org
Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address: www.nationalarchives.org.
South Carolina Secession Resolution: www.nationalarchives.org.
Ex parte Merryman: U.S. Reports, available at www.law.cornell.edu.
Abraham Lincoln’s Letter to Erastus Corning: www.gutenberg.org.
Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address: www.nationalarchives.org.
Chapter 4: Reconstituting the Nation
Victoria Woodhull’s Testimony: www.nationalarchives.org.
Bradwell v. Illinois: U.S. Reports, available at www.law.cornell.edu.
Plessy v. Ferguson: U.S. Reports, available at www.law.cornell.edu.
William Graham Sumner’s What Social Classes Owe to Each Other: www.gutenberg.org
Lester Ward’s Plutocracy and Paternalism: www.library.gwu.edu.
Chapter 5: The Progressive Era and Political Reform
Lincoln Steffens’ The Shame of the Cities: www.gutenberg.org.
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle: www.gutenberg.org.
Herbert Croly’s The Promise of American Life: www.gutenberg.org.
Theodore Roosevelt’s Speech at Osawatomie: www.nationalarchives.org.
Woodrow Wilson’s addresses: www.nationalarchives.org.
Chapter 6: Expanding the Role of Government
Franklin Roosevelt’s Address to Commonwealth Club: www.ibiblio.org.
Franklin Roosevelt’s State of the Union Addresses: www.nationalarchives.org.
Herbert Hoover’s Challenge to Liberty: hooverpresidentialfoundation.org.
Chapter 7: The Struggle for Racial Equality
Brown v. Board of Education: U.S. Reports, available at law.cornell.edu.
Martin Luther King’s Letter from the Birmingham Jail: www.letterfromjail.com.
Martin Luther King’s Speech at Lincoln Memorial: www.nationalarchives.org.
Malcolm X’s Ballot or Bullet speech: www.blackpast.org.
Chapter 8: The Conservative Response to the Welfare State
Friedrich Hayek’s The Constitution of Liberty: www.iea.org.uk.
Ronald Reagan’s First Inaugural Address; www.nationalarchives.org.
Russell Kirk’s Principles of Conservatives: www.kirkcenter.org. Permission granted for edited reproduction by Russell Kirk Legacy, LLC.
