50 Core American Documents

The Ashbrook Center’s 50 Core American Documents is meant to introduce

readers to America’s story as it has unfolded from the American Founding

into the Twentieth Century. Many of the documents emphasize America’s

uniqueness and contributions to the world, but they also present different

views on some of the major issues and disputes in American history and government,

especially on the meaning of liberty, the injustice of slavery, and the

demands of progress. Taken as such, the documents reveal a kind of political

dialogue to readers, an ongoing and profoundly consequential conversation

about how Americans have agreed and often disagreed on the meaning of

freedom and self-government. 50 Core American Documents invites teachers

and citizens alike to join in this American political dialogue.


The Ashbrook Center restores and strengthens the capacities of the American

people for constitutional self-government. The Center teaches students and

teachers across our country why America is exceptional and what America

represents in the long history of the world. Ashbrook is the nation’s largest

university-based educator in the enduring principles and practice of free government

in the United States, offering programs and resources for students,

teachers, and citizens.