political and social views

Presents primary documents from Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton and their opponents concerning several controversial issues and events, and provides context and analysis. Covers such topics as the Iran-Contra scandal, welfare reform, and peacekeeping in Somalia.

Provides a broad analysis of the first five presidential administrations and explores the issues which shaped the presidential terms of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe.

Examines the historical context of Abraham Lincoln's October 16, 1854 antislavery speech in Peoria, Illinois, that became the turning point in his political career that pointed the way toward the presidency.

Discusses the trip undertaken in 1905 by Secretary of War William Howard Taft on a diplomatic mission for U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt to Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, China, and Korea, revealing the secret agreements Taft made in Roosevelt's name.

Examines the reign of France's Louis XIV, considering the extent to which his regime was "absolutist," his aims and achievements, and social, religious, and foreign policy.

Explores a work of literature through the lens of the major social issue reflected in, democracy in the poetry of Walt Whitman. Also features carefully selected content representing a variety of perspectives.

Explores Zora Neale Hurston's, Their eyes were watching God, as a work of literature through the lens of the major social issue reflected in it, and features carefully-selected content representing a variety of perspectives.

Explores a work of literature through the lens of the major social issues reflected in The Awakening. Also features carefully-selected content representing a variety of perspectives.

Collects reporter H. L. Mencken's coverage of the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, including his portrayals of Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan, his take on the fundamentalist culture that surrounded the event, coverage of Bryan's death days after the trial, photographs, and the full transcript of Darrow's cross-examination of Bryan.

Photographs, illustrations, and hand-written text by the author chronicle a year of her travels across the United States and her reflections on democracy, beginning with a celebration of Barack Obama's inauguration in Washington, D.C., and including the study of several presidents and political sites.