Marcus & Burner, Eds., America Firsthand, Vol I: From Settlemetn To Reconstruction, Vol II: From Reconstruction To Present

Abstract

America Firsthand is a two volume collection of primary sources, most of which relate the personal experiences of those who created them. The work is clearly intended for classroom rather than scholarly usage. Its selections are generally from documents which are either well-known to specialists in the various periods covered by the two volumes ( among the many examples are Columbus's letter of February 1493 to Luis de Sant' Angel and Pauline Newman's memories of the Triangle Fire), or would be readily accessible to anyone undertaking research. In addition, the selections are fairly brief, usually less than ten pages, being more often excerpts than complete documents.