The Spirit Of America Author:William J. Bennett INSPIRATION AND INSTRUCTION FROM AMERICA'S FOUNDERS — In Philadelphia, on a hot July day in 1776, the signers of the Declaration of Independence made pledge to one another -- the pledge of "our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." That pledge has been redeemed many times in the centuries since, but the nation they foun... more »ded has never failed to profit from their deeds...and their words.
In The Spirit of America, William J. Bennett, editor of the New York Times bestseller The Book of Virtues, has collected the best that has been taught and said by and about the men and women who founded America. And what a group they are: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John and Abigail Adams, and many more. Here are the stories, essays, letters, and poetry they left behind...the timeless legacy they have bequeathed to every generation of Americans. Here are Thomas Jefferson on Piety, James Madison on Justice, and Patrick Henry on Patriotism. Here are Abigail Adams on Love, Benjamin Franklin on Frugality, and George Washington on Friendship. Here are the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle," Longfellow's celebration of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, and the Declaration of Independence. Here are the stories of the Liberty Bell, Washington at Valley Forge, and Nathan Hale. Here are Emerson's "Concord Hymn," with "the shot heard round the world," and Poor Richard's Almanack.
The stories, songs, letters, and speeches collected in The Spirit of America are an inspiring celebration of the American spirit, a treasury of the ideals that made America great and continue to do so two centuries later.« less