Listing - Primary Source Reading Selections
 Fasttrack to America's Past
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   Working with primary sources is an essential part of learning and enjoying American history.  Fasttrack to America's Past includes a superb collection of primary source material for students to work with.  In fact, about one-fifth of the book's pages feature primary source materials.  For ease of reading and clarity, ellipsis marks (. . .) to show deleted words or paragraphs are not shown in selections that are condensed from longer source material.  The editing follows normal standards used, for example, on network newscasts to select highlights of a presidential speech for broadcast.

Additional primary source readings include selections from:
  • John White's account of the Lost Colony in 1590.
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower's chilling speech on the true cost of Cold War. 
  • Lyndon Johnson's call for racial justice in the wake of the Selma march.
  • John Smith's description of Virginia and the hardships of the Jamestown settlers.
  • First Lady Hillary Clinton's call for government action to improve child care.
  • Ronald Reagan's speech in Berlin challenging Gorbachev to "Tear down this wall!"
  • A Freedmen's Bureau notice at the end of the Civil War on the challenges ahead.
  • Labor leader Mother Jones describing a visit to a mine worker's camp in 1903.
  • The platform of the Progressive Party the year Theodore Roosevelt ran on that ticket.
  • Henry Ford's announcement of a new system of higher pay for factory workers.
  • Abigail Adams' call for women's rights, and her husband John's reaction.
  • Native American Red Jacket's interesting reply to visiting missionaries.
  • A Norwegian immigrant's letter home in 1845 praising opportunities in America.
  • John F. Kennedy's inspiring inaugural address.
  • Labor leader Samuel Gompers' call for economic justice for workers.
  • An immigrant in Chicago describing the generosity of Americans during a cholera epidemic.
  • Susan B. Anthony's speech after her arrest in Rochester, N.Y., for voting.
  • Winston Churchill's 1946 speech in Missouri warning about Russia and the Iron Curtain.
  • Jacob Riis' account of child labour around 1900.
  • FDR's famous speech calling for action against the Great Depression.
  • Dorothea Dix's report on conditions for the mentally ill in 1843.
  • Thomas Paine's declaration in Common Sense that "The birthday of a new world is at hand."
  • Patrick Henry's bold call for liberty or death.
  • John Winthrop's famous sermon calling on Puritans to create a City Upon a Hill in America.
  • and more!

   Of course, many textbooks offer short, one sentence or paragraph length quotes from these or similar sources.  But such short quotations rarely convey the energy and feeling that gave life and power to the original words.  The primary source selections in Fasttrack to America's Past are purposely made long enough to let students experience the language and passion of the speakers and writers.


Copyright 2008 by David Burns.  All rights reserved. 

   The sample pages above from Fasttrack to America's Past are posted for teachers and school district officials who are considering purchasing the study guide for their students.  The pages may not be downloaded, copied, distributed, or included in any other web site or product.  You may place a link to this page, or this site's home page.






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