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Milestone Documents in American History
Exploring the Primary Sources That Shaped America
Milestone Documents
Edited by Kelli McCoy
Published by: Schlager Group Inc.
2580 pages, Photographs and drawings, Second Edition
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The new edition of our landmark reference set deepens the original edition's coverage of major themes in American history with nearly 40 new entries (171 total), with a special focus on documents from African American history, women's history, immigration history, as well as 21st-century issues ranging from terrorism to campaign finance to LGBTQ rights. New entries to the 2nd edition include:
- John Rolfe: Letter to Edwin Sandys - First documented case of Africans sold into servitude in North America (1619)
- Abigail Adams: “Remember the Ladies" Letter to John Adams (1776)
- Ku Klux Klan Act (1871)
- United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898)
- Ida B. Wells: Lynching: Our National Crime (1909)
- National Organization for Women Statement of Purpose (1966)
- Andrew Sullivan: A (Conservative) Case for Gay Marriage (1989)
- Citizens United v. FEC (2010)
- Barack Obama: Remarks on Signing the Affordable Care Act (2010)
- Articles of Impeachment of Donald Trump (2019)
First published in 2008, Milestone Documents in American History: Exploring the Primary Sources That Shaped America launched an acclaimed series of reference sets focusing on primary sources. Pairing critical documents from America's past with in-depth scholarly analysis and commentary to help students better understand each document, Milestone Documents in American History received widespread critical praise as well as awards including Outstanding Academic Title from Choice magazine, a Booklist Editor's Choice citation, and Best Reference Source from the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association.
Praise for the 1st edition:
“The premier reference work devoted to the subject" -- American Reference Books Annual
“Well written and superior in depth and quality" -- Booklist starred review
“An exceptional work" -- School Library Journal
Our Approach
The entries in Milestone Documents in American History, 2nd edition, are designed to help students engage with and analyze primary sources through a consistent, structured approach. To this end, each entry is divided into 3 sections: fact box, analysis, and document text. Here are the entry headings:
Fact Box section
This section includes the basic facts of the primary source: Title, Author, Date, Document Type, and a brief statement outlining the document's Significance.
Analysis section
Overview gives a brief summary of the primary source document and its importance in history.
Context places the document in its historical framework.
About the Author presents a brief biographical profile of the person or persons who wrote the document.
Explanation and Analysis of the Document consists of a detailed examination of the document text, generally in section-by-section or paragraph-by-paragraph format.
Audience discusses the intended audience of the document's author.
Impact examines the historical influence of the document.
Questions for Further Study proposes study questions for students.
Further Reading lists books, articles, and websites for further research.
Document Text section
Document Text gives the actual text of the primary source.
Glossary defines important, difficult, or unusual terms in the document text.
- [NEW] John Rolfe: Letter to Edwin Sandys (first documented case of Africans sold into servitude) (1619)
- [NEW] Mayflower Compact (1620)
- [NEW] Virginia's Act III and XII (1662-67)
- [NEW] Jonathan Edwards: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (1741)
- Proclamation of 1763 (1763)
- Quartering Act (1765)
- Declaration of Rights of the Stamp Act Congress (1765)
- Boston Non-Importation Agreement (1768)
- Intolerable Acts (1774)
- Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress (1774)
- Patrick Henry's “Liberty or Death” Speech (1775)
- Proclamation by the King for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition (1775)
- [NEW] Abigail Adams: Remember the Ladies Letter to John Adams (1776)
- Common Sense (1776)
- Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776)
- Declaration of Independence (1776)
- Articles of Confederation (1777)
- Treaty of Fort Pitt (1778)
- Pennsylvania: An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery (1780)
- James Madison’s Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments (1785)
- Northwest Ordinance (1787)
- Constitution of the United States (1787)
- Federalist Papers 10, 14, and 51 (1787, 1788)
- George Washington's First Inaugural Address (1789)
- George Washington's First Annual Message to Congress (1790)
- Jefferson's and Hamilton's Opinions on the Constitutionality of the Bank of the United States (1791)
- Bill of Rights (1791)
- [NEW] Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 (1793)
- George Washington's Farewell Address (1796)
- Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)
- Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural Address (1801)
- Thomas Jefferson's Message to Congress about the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803)
- Marbury v. Madison (1803)
- Act to Prohibit the Importation of Slaves (1807)
- Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee (1816)
- McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
- Missouri Compromise (1820)
- Monroe Doctrine (1823)
- Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
- Andrew Jackson: On Indian Removal (1830)
- William Lloyd Garrison's First Liberator Editorial (1831)
- Andrew Jackson's Veto Message Regarding the Second Bank of the United States (1832)
- South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification and Andrew Jackson's Proclamation regarding Nullification (1832)
- [NEW] Margaret Fuller: Woman in the Nineteenth Century (1845)
- Joint Resolution of Congress for the Annexation of Texas (1845)
- Seneca Falls Convention Declaration of Sentiments (1848)
- Compromise of 1850 (1850)
- Frederick Douglass's “Fourth of July” Speech (1852)
- Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
- Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
- Abraham Lincoln's “House Divided” Speech (1858)
- South Carolina Declaration of Causes of Secession (1860)
- Jefferson Davis's Inaugural Address to the Confederacy (1861)
- Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address (1861)
- Homestead Act (1862)
- The Morrill Act (1862)
- Emancipation Proclamation (1862)
- War Department General Order 143 (1863)
- Gettysburg Address (1863)
- Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (1865)
- Articles of Agreement Relating to the Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia (1865)
- Black Code of Mississippi (1865)
- Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1865)
- Civil Rights Act of 1866 (1866)
- Articles of Impeachment of Andrew Johnson (1868)
- The Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)
- Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1868)
- Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1870)
- [NEW] Ku Klux Klan Act (1871)
- Act Establishing Yellowstone National Park (1872)
- Rutherford B. Hayes's Inaugural Address (1877)
- Thomas Edison's Patent Application for the Incandescent Light Bulb (1879)
- Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)
- Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883)
- [NEW] T. Thomas Fortune: The Present Relations of Labor and Capital (1886)
- Interstate Commerce Act (1887)
- Dawes Severalty Act (1887)
- [NEW] Andrew Carnegie: Wealth (1889)
- Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)
- [NEW] Immigration Act of 1891 (1891)
- [NEW] Populist Party: Omaha Platform (1892)
- [NEW] Eugene V. Debs: Liberty (1895)
- Booker T. Washington's Atlanta Exposition Address (1895)
- Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
- William Jennings Bryan's “Cross of Gold” Speech (1896)
- [NEW] United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898)
- William McKinley's Message to Congress about Cuban Intervention (1898)
- The Insular Cases:
Downes v. Bidwell (1901) - President Theodore Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (1904)
- Niagara Movement Declaration of Principles (1905)
- [NEW] Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)
- Muller v. Oregon (1908)
- [NEW] Ida B. Wells: Lynching: Our National Crime (1909)
- [NEW] Jane Addams: Why Women Should Vote (1910)
- [NEW] Progressive Party Platform (1912)
- Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1913)
- Zimmermann Telegram (1917)
- Woodrow Wilson: Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War against Germany (1917)
- [NEW] Espionage and Sedition Acts (1917-18)
- Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points (1918)
- Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918)
- [NEW] Schenck v. United States (1919)
- Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1920)
- [NEW] Immigration Act of 1924 (National Origins Act) (1924)
- [NEW] Alain Locke: Enter the New Negro (1925)
- [NEW] Herbert Hoover: Rugged Individualism Campaign Speech (1928)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address (1933)
- Tennessee Valley Authority Act (1933)
- National Industrial Recovery Act (1933)
- [NEW] Paul Taylor: Again the Covered Wagon (1935)
- National Labor Relations Act (1935)
- Social Security Act (1935)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt's Campaign Address at Madison Square Garden (1936)
- United States v. Curtiss-Wright (1936)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt's Four Freedoms Message to Congress (1941)
- Lend-Lease Act (1941)
- Executive Order 8802 (1941)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt's “Pearl Harbor” Speech (1941)
- Executive Order 9066 (1942)
- [NEW] Korematsu v. United States (1944)
- Dwight D. Eisenhower's Order of the Day (1944)
- Servicemen's Readjustment Act (1944)
- [NEW] George F. Kennan: Long Telegram (1946)
- Truman Doctrine (1947)
- Marshall Plan (1947)
- Taft-Hartley Act (1947)
- Press Release Announcing U.S. Recognition of Israel (1948)
- Executive Order 9981 (1948)
- Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952)
- Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
- Senate Resolution 301: Censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy (1954)
- Southern Manifesto (1956)
- Federal-Aid Highway Act (1956)
- Executive Order 10730 (1957)
- Dwight D. Eisenhower's Farewell Address (1961)
- John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address (1961)
- Executive Order 10924 (1961)
- John Glenn's Official Communication with the Command Center (1962)
- Martin Luther King, Jr.'s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963)
- John F. Kennedy's Civil Rights Address (1963)
- Martin Luther King, Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” Speech (1963)
- Civil Rights Act of 1964 (1964)
- Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964)
- [NEW] Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
- Voting Rights Act (1965)
- [NEW] National Organization for Women Statement of Purpose (1966)
- Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
- [NEW] Loving v. Virginia (1967)
- Kerner Commission Report Summary (1968)
- Equal Rights Amendment (1972)
- Richard Nixon's Smoking Gun Tape (1972)
- Roe v. Wade (1973)
- Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
- Ronald Reagan's “Evil Empire” Speech (1983)
- César Chávez's Commonwealth Address (1984)
- [NEW] Andrew Sullivan: A (Conservative) Case for Gay Marriage (1989)
- George H. W. Bush's Address to Congress on the Persian Gulf Crisis (1990)
- [NEW] Republican Contract with America (1994)
- Bill Clinton's Radio Address on the Welfare Reform Act (1996)
- Articles of Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton (1998)
- Bush v. Gore (2000)
- [NEW] Patriot Act (2001)
- George W. Bush's Address to the Nation on September 11, 2001 (2001)
- Bybee Torture Memo (2002)
- Lawrence v. Texas (2003)
- [NEW] Barack Obama: First Inaugural Address (2009)
- [NEW] Citizens United v. FEC (2010)
- [NEW] Barack Obama: Remarks on Signing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010)
- [NEW] Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)
- [NEW] Donald Trump: Inaugural Address (2017)
- [NEW] Articles of Impeachment of Donald Trump (2019)
Kelli McCoy is Professor of History and Co-Director of the Center for Women's Studies at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California. She teaches courses in U.S. history, women's history, and world history. Her research focuses on gender, law, and social movements in the early 20th century United States. She has published articles on gender and the media and gender and the law in the U.S. Her current book manuscript focuses on the early 20th century anti-trafficking law called the Mann Act.
"The depth and authority of this second edition is unparalleled and deserves not just its price tag, but acquisition by serious high school to college-level American history holdings, as well as public libraries interested in well-researched, authoritative source material references." (D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review)
The following is the Introduction to the second edition, written by the set’s Editor in Chief, Kelli McCoy (Point Loma Nazarene University).
The second edition of Milestone Documents in American History brings together 170 of the most significant primary source documents in U.S. history alongside context and analysis from scholars. This collection provides students and educators with an in-depth foundation for analyzing primary sources and learning the crucial twenty-first century skills of information literacy and critical thinking. The structure and scholarly guidance for each document encourages students to build independence and proficiency.
This comprehensive resource provides scaffolding for learning how to analyze primary sources. Companion pieces written by experts explain the context, meaning, audience, impact, and more for each document. These brief articles provide multiple layers of support for students of wide-ranging skill levels. For students conducting more advanced projects, the Further Reading section provides an excellent launching point for additional research.
The second edition substantially expands on the first, with nearly 40 new primary source documents included in the set. These milestone documents include foundational sources from the National Archives, landmark Supreme Court cases, government documents, and significant speeches and writings from influential Americans. Together, they represent many of the most significant political, legal, social, and economic ideas and events in U.S. history, spanning the colonial era to the present. The new additions include recent developments in legal, legislative, and presidential history, but they also include a range of significant documents that reflect the breadth and complexities of U.S. history. The expansive new material in the second edition makes this an even more inclusive group of sources, with significant additions in the areas of African American history, women's history, LGBTQ history, and immigration history.
The addition of Virginia's Act III and XII show the development of laws about race and slavery in colonial America. Ida B. Wells, the pioneering journalist and civil rights campaigner, wrote a powerful condemnation of racial violence in “Lynching: Our National Crime.” Her work is so enduring that, in 2020, she was posthumously honored with a Pulitzer Prize citation. Her fight to end lynching more than a century ago continues to be relevant today, as the first national lynching memorial, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, opened in Alabama in 2018. In 2020 the U.S. House of Representatives voted to make lynching a federal hate crime, after more than a hundred years of work by Wells and many others. The monumental significance of other documents already found in the first edition, including those by Martin Luther King, Jr., are even better understood alongside these added ones.
Recent Supreme Court decisions remind us that the iconic documents from the first edition are not simply of historic importance, but continue to profoundly shape the nation today. This new edition includes the landmark case on same-sex marriage, Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), as well as the article that brought the argument for same-sex marriage to the mainstream in 1989, Andrew Sullivan's “A (Conservative) Case for Gay Marriage.” Obergefell was based on the Fourteenth Amendment, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the legal precedent of the 2003 Lawrence v. Texas case, all of which were already in this collection of milestone documents.
This edition also includes significant milestones in women's history. Abigail Adams's famous “Remember the Ladies” letter reminds readers that questions about women's political participation in the new American democracy were present from the beginning of the new nation. Margaret Fuller's “Woman in the Nineteenth Century” and Jane Addams's “Why Women Should Vote” help chart the rise of the women's rights movement in the U.S. and the growing demands for political equality. Ida B. Wells's work reminds us of the intersection of racial and gender equality. Griswold v. Connecticut and the National Organization for Women's Statement of Purpose show the ways in which the women's rights movement continued and expanded in the 1960s. The Equal Rights Amendment, included in the first edition, continues to be a subject of political debate. More states have voted to ratify the ERA in recent years, and the U.S. House of Representatives voted in 2020 to remove the previous deadline for ratification. The questions and issues about political, legal, social, and racial equality raised in these historic documents continue to be current and relevant in the United States today.
Significant additions in the area of immigration history provide important companion pieces to some of the documents in the first edition, including the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Fourteenth Amendment. The Immigration Acts of 1891 and 1924 help explore the development of immigration restrictions and regulations, which remain areas of fierce, ongoing debate. The landmark Supreme Court case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, resulting from the Chinese Exclusion Act and based on the Fourteenth Amendment, established the Supreme Court's decision on birthright citizenship in 1898. However, the case continues to be debated today, as the parameters of birthright citizenship and laws about immigration continue to be very hotly contested in the country.
A collection of the most significant documents in American history will never be complete. It grows as new documents are created and new issues debated. Sometimes, we realize that the new issues are not actually new at all and call for us to reassess which documents from our past have most contributed to shaping the present and the future. While many foundational documents have always been recognized as indisputably central to U.S. history, like the Declaration of Independence and Constitutional amendments, others grow in significance with time, as ideas, court cases, and laws build on or respond to their precedent. That is why a collection of historical documents is not static but requires updated new editions that expand our understanding. No collection of documents is ever perfectly complete and universally agreed upon, nor does it need to be; instead, it is a beginning. The second edition of Milestone Documents in American History provides a thorough foundation for building knowledge and the skills of analysis, critical thinking, and information literacy needed in the twenty-first century. We hope it will promote a lifelong love of learning and foster a desire to pursue further research and understanding of current events.
- Kelli McCoy
- Professor of History
- Point Loma Nazarene University
- San Diego, California