2023 Reading Schedule Builder

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Genres › American History

Common Sense
Thomas Paine
10 days •
ⓘ 1776 • Written as the American British colonies wavered over the question of independence, Paine's concise and approachable arguments convinced the colonies to become a country.
The Narrative of Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth
14 days •
ⓘ 1850 • The remarkable story of Sojourner Truth, from her slavery in rural New York to her work as a traveling preacher, social reformer, and counselor of former slaves.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
24 days •
ⓘ 1791 • Politician, philosopher, printer, scientist, international celebrity, and one of the most colorful of the founding fathers. Franklin tells of his life in his own words.
The Jefferson Bible
Thomas Jefferson
10 days •
ⓘ 1819 • Also known as The Life and Morals of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Jefferson reconstructed the life of Jesus from the Gospels into a single narrative, focusing on his teachings.
The Federalist Papers
Publius
74 days •
ⓘ 1788 • A collection of 85 essays written under the pseudonym Publius by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay promoting the ratification of the new United States Constitution.
Democracy in America
Alexis de Tocqueville
103 days •
ⓘ 1835 • Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville journeys through a new land, where the experiment of democracy has been put to the test for several centuries: America.
Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
89 days •
ⓘ 1885 • An autobiography focusing on Grant's military career during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. Published posthumously by Mark Twain.
The Education of Henry Adams
Henry Adams
66 days •
ⓘ 1918 • Born into a family including two past Presidents, Henry Adams recounts his history - and that of the country - through success, failure, and war.
The Oregon Trail
Francis Parkman
41 days •
ⓘ 1847 • A first-person travelogue of the first segment of the Oregon Trail - through Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, and Kansas - including buffalo hunting with a group of Oglala Sioux.
The Frontier in American History
Frederick Jackson Turner
31 days •
ⓘ 1893 • An influential work on the monumental impact the frontier played in the development of America.
Why Is the Negro Lynched?
Frederick Douglass
6 days •
ⓘ 1895 • Douglass attacks the concept of "the negro problem" in post-Civil War America, showing how it is instead "a great national problem" with racism entrenched in the systems of society.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Harriet Jacobs
29 days •
ⓘ 1861 • Jacobs shares her experiences as a slave, describing the particular horrors of being an enslaved woman, in an appeal to abolish slavery.
Rights of Man
Thomas Paine
36 days •
ⓘ 1791 • Writing in support of the in-progress French Revolution, Paine argues in favor of popular revolution against a government that no longer defends or respects its citizens' natural rights.
Civil Disobedience
Henry David Thoreau
4 days •
ⓘ 1849 • Disgusted by the Mexican-American War and slavery, Thoreau urges citizens to right their government's wrongs and be agents of positive change - even if it means breaking unjust laws.
Life on the Mississippi
Mark Twain
50 days •
ⓘ 1883 • Mark Twain's memoir of his days as a steamboat pilot before the Civil War and travel book of his travels along the river after the war.
Ten Days in a Mad-House
Nellie Bly
10 days •
ⓘ 1887 • The result of an undercover investigation into the brutality and neglect at the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island.
Roughing It
Mark Twain
57 days •
ⓘ 1872 • A semi-autobiographical account of Twain's travels and adventures through the American west during the 1860s.
Twelve Years a Slave
Solomon Northup
30 days •
ⓘ 1853 • The narrative of Solomon Northup, a black man born free in New York before the Civil War who was tricked, kidnapped, and sold into slavery in the south.
The Land of Little Rain
Mary Hunter Austin
14 days •
ⓘ 1903 • A collection of unforgettable essays and short stories on the American Southwest, from its sweeping landscapes to the people who call it home.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
16 days •
ⓘ 1845 • One of the most influential pieces of literature in the abolitionist movement, former slave and famous orator Frederick Douglass retells his life as a slave.
Twenty Years at Hull House
Jane Addams
35 days •
ⓘ 1910 • The memoir of social worker, sociologist, philosopher and reformer Jane Addams focusing on the settlement house she created in Chicago.
The Great American Fraud
Samuel Hopkins Adams
12 days •
ⓘ 1905 • Investigative journalist Adams exposes the deceit and danger in patent medicines. Led to the the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906.
The Octopus
Frank Norris
62 days •
ⓘ 1901 • A novel highlighting the conflict in California between wheat growers and the monopolist railroads.
Hawaii's Story
Queen Liliʻuokalani
34 days •
ⓘ 1898 • Five years after Hawaii's sovereignty was violated by the United States, the last monarch describes her ascent to the throne and the destruction of her country.
The House Behind the Cedars
Charles W. Chesnutt
22 days •
ⓘ 1900 • Two African American siblings move to a new city and begin new lives as white Americans, in this examination of racial identity and interracial relations in post-Civil War America.
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
James Weldon Johnson
18 days •
ⓘ 1912 • Fictional account of a biracial man in post-Reconstruction America who to escape the violent racism of the country decides to "pass" as white.
Geronimo's Story of His Life
Geronimo
12 days •
ⓘ 1906 • Prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Apache tribe, Geronimo describes his life and the story of his people.
The Story of My Life
Helen Keller
12 days •
ⓘ 1903 • Helen Keller, who lost her sight and hearing at a young age, recounts her life and in particular her experiences being taught by Anne Sullivan.
Twenty-Two Years a Slave
Austin Steward
26 days •
ⓘ 1857 • An autobiography of Steward's enslavement, escape, and life as a free man before the Civil War.
A Voice from Harper's Ferry
Osborne Perry Anderson
7 days •
ⓘ 1859 • A firsthand account of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry - a turning point in the fight against slavery - by the only surviving black combatant.
Tombstone
Walter Noble Burns
36 days •
ⓘ 1927 • With a dash of fact and fiction, ride through the history of Western boomtown Tombstone, its infamous characters, and the famous showdown at the O.K. Corral.
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