Foreword—Larry P. Arnn
Editorial Note
I - The Apple of Gold and the Frame of Silver
Introduction—Larry P. Arnn
The Declaration of Independence
Letter to Henry Lee - Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
Nicomachean Ethics - Aristotle (384–322 b.c.)
The Politics - Aristotle
On the Commonwealth - Marcus Tullius Cicero (c. 106–43 b.c.)
Second Treatise of Government - John Locke (1632–1704)
Discourses Concerning Government - Algernon Sidney (1623–1683)
The Constitution of the United States of America
Fragment on the Constitution and the Union - Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
II - Natural Rights and The American Revolution
Introduction - Mickey Craig
Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved - James Otis (1725–1783)
A Summary View of the Rights of British America - Thomas Jefferson
An Election Sermon - Gad Hitchcock (1718–1803)
The Farmer Refuted - Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804)
Common Sense - Thomas Paine (1737–1809)
Letter to Roger Weightman - Thomas Jefferson
III - The Founders on Religion,Morality, and Property
Introduction - David J. Bobb
Virginia Declaration of Rights - George Mason (1725–1792)
Fast Day Proclamation of the Continental Congress
The Northwest Ordinance
Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments - James Madison (1751–1836)
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom - Thomas Jefferson
Letter to the Hebrew Congregation - George Washington (1732–1799)
Farewell Address - George Washington
Letter to the Danbury Baptist Association - Thomas Jefferson
On Property - James Madison
IV - Government under the Articles of Confederation: The Problem of Legislative/Majority Tyranny
Introduction - David J. Bobb
The Articles of Confederation
Circular Letter to the States - George Washington
Letter to John Jay - George Washington
Letter to James Madison - George Washington
Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XIII: Constitution - Thomas Jefferson
Vices of the Political System of the United States - James Madison
V - Rethinking the Natureof Union and the Structure of Government
Introduction - Timothy W. Caspar
Letter Transmitting the Constitution - George Washington
Federalist 1 - Alexander Hamilton
Federalist 9 - Alexander Hamilton
Essay 1 - Brutus
Federalist 10 - James Madison
Federalist 15 - Alexander Hamilton
Federalist 23 - Alexander Hamilton
Federalist 39 - James Madison
Federalist 40 - James Madison
Letters I and II - Federal Farmer
Federalist 47 - James Madison
Federalist 48 - James Madison
Federalist 49 - James Madison
Federalist 51 - James Madison
Federalist 84 - Alexander Hamilton
VI - The Three Branches of Government
Introduction - Timothy W. Caspar
Federalist 52 - James Madison
Federalist 53 - James Madison
Federalist 55 - James Madison
Federalist 57 - James Madison
Federalist 62 - James Madison
Federalist 63 - James Madison
Federalist 70 - Alexander Hamilton
Federalist 71 - Alexander Hamilton
Federalist 72 - Alexander Hamilton
Federalist 73 - Alexander Hamilton
Federalist 74 - Alexander Hamilton
Essay XI - Brutus
Federalist 78 - Alexander Hamilton
Marbury v. Madison - John Marshall (1755–1835)
VII - The Founders on Slavery, the Rise of the Positive Good School, and the Roots of the Secession Crisis
Introduction - John Grant
Draft of theDeclaration of Independence - Thomas Jefferson
The Northwest Ordinance Congress of the Confederation
George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison on Slavery
Notes on the State of Virginia, Query xviii: Manners - Thomas Jefferson
Letter to John Jay - Alexander Hamilton
Federalist 54 - James Madison
Letter to the English Anti-Slavery Society - John Jay (1745–1829)
Letter to Henri Gregoire - Thomas Jefferson
Speech on Reception of Abolition Petitions - John C. Calhoun (1782–1850)
Speech on the Oregon Bill - John C. Calhoun
Letter to John Holmes - Thomas Jefferson
Letter to Edward Everett - James Madison
The Missouri Compromise
The Wilmot Proviso
The Constitution and the Union - Daniel Webster (1782–1852)
Alabama Slave Code of 1852
VIII - Crisis of Constitutional Government
Introduction - Kevin Portteus
Speech on the Kansas-Nebraska Act - Abraham Lincoln
Republican Party Platform of 1856
Dred Scott v. Sandford - Roger Taney (1777–1864)
Speech on the Dred Scott Decision - Abraham Lincoln
A House Divided - Abraham Lincoln
Speech at Chicago - Stephen Douglas (1813–1861)
Seventh Lincoln–Douglas Debate
The Dividing Line between Federal and Local Authority: Popular Sovereignty in the Territories - Stephen Douglas
Address at Cooper Institute - Abraham Lincoln
IX - Secession and Civil War
Introduction - Will Morrisey
Reply in the Senate to William Seward - Jefferson Davis (1808–1889)
Reply in the Senate to Stephen Douglas - Jefferson Davis
South Carolina Secession Declaration
Cornerstone Speech - Alexander Stephens (1812–1883)
Farewell Address to the Senate - Jefferson Davis
First Inaugural Address - Abraham Lincoln
Message to Congress in Special Session - Abraham Lincoln
The Emancipation Proclamation - Abraham Lincoln
Gettysburg Address - Abraham Lincoln
Second Inaugural Address - Abraham Lincoln
X - The Progressive Rejection of the Founding
Introduction - Ronald J. Pestritto
Liberalism and Social Action - John Dewey (1859–1952)
The American Conception of Liberty - Frank Goodnow (1859–1939)
What is Progress? - Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)
Socialism and Democracy - Woodrow Wilson
The President of the United States - Woodrow Wilson
The Presidency: Making An Old Party Progressive - Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919)
The Study of Administration - Woodrow Wilson
The Right of the People to Rule - Theodore Roosevelt
Progressive Democracy - Herbert Croly (1869–1930)
The Inspiration of the Declaration - Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)
XI - Institutionalizing Progressivism: The New Deal and the Great Society
Introduction - David J. Bobb
Commonwealth Club Address - Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
Democratic Convention Address - Franklin D. Roosevelt
What Good’s a Constitution? - Winston Churchill (1874–1965)
Annual Message to Congress - Franklin D. Roosevelt
Commencement Address at Yale University - John F. Kennedy (1917–1963)
Remarks at the University of Michigan - Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973)
Commencement Address at Howard University - Lyndon B. Johnson
A Time for Choosing - Ronald Reagan (1911–2004)
First Inaugural Address - Ronald Reagan