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Foundation UnitText Overview

We will read a series of government documents, informational texts, essays, and multimedia on being an American. The titles, authors, and locations of these texts are indicated in the Unit Text List. Unit Readers are available through Open Up Resources.

Core

  • Digital Access
    • “The 14th Amendment’s Tortuous Relationship with American Indians,” Scott Bomboy, Yahoo, 2014
    • “What Does It Mean to Be an American?,” Amy Pearl & Jennifer Hsu, WNYC Studios, October 12, 2016
    • “What the Declaration of Independence Really Claimed,” Randy Barnett, The Washington Post, July 4, 2015
  • Unit Reader
    • “A Quilt of a Country,” Anna Quindlen, Newsweek, 2001
    • “Address to the Nation on the September 11 Attacks,” George W. Bush, Public Domain, 2001
    • “How to Give a Killer Presentation,” Chris Anderson, Harvard Business Publishing, 2013
    • “President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address,” 2009, Barack Obama, Public Domain, 2009
    • “The 14th Amendment and the History of Birthright Citizenship in the U.S.,” Ari Shapiro and Martha Jones, National Public Radio, Inc., October 30, 2018
    • The Declaration of Independence, Second Continental Congress, Public Domain, 1776
    • “The Great Society,” Lyndon B. Johnson, Public Domain, 1964
    • The Preamble to the Constitution and The 14th Amendment, United States Congress, Public Domain, 1787, 1868
    • “What Makes an American,” Raoul de Roussy de Sales, The Atlantic Media Co., 1939

Optional

  • Digital Access
    • “A July 4 Tradition: NPR Reads the Declaration of Independence,” Thomas Jefferson, read by NPR staff, National Public Radio, July 4, 2019
    • “American Citizenship for Natives Was Withheld, Then Rights Were Long-Ignored,” Ruth Hopkins, Teen Vogue, June 5, 2019
    • “Americans” Online Exhibition, The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, The Smithsonian, January 18, 2018
    • Excerpts from “Immigration & Civics: What Every American Should Know,” The Aspen Institute, The Aspen Institute Citizenship and American Identity Program, 2018
    • “How the 14th Amendment’s Promise of Birthright Citizenship Redefined America,” Martha S. Jones, TIME
    • “‘I Do Not Identify as American’: A Native Perspective on Identity,” Tanzina Vega and Ellen Frankman, WNYC Studios, May 11, 2018
    • “The Way North,” Damien Cave and Todd Heisler, The New York Times, May 17, 2014
    • “What Makes an American an American?,” J. Carlisle Larsen, Wisconsin Public Radio
  • Unit Reader
    • “American Culture: Traditions and Customs of the United States,” Kim Ann Zimmermann, LiveScience, 2017
    • Excerpt from “America’s Changing Religious Identity,” Robert P. Jones and Daniel Cox, Public Religion Research Institute, 2017
    • “Inaugural Address by President Barack Obama,” 2013, Barack Obama, Public Domain, 2013
    • “Race, American Identity and the Census,” William H. Frey, The Brookings Institution, May 24, 2017
    • “World War I Changed America and Transformed Its Role in International Relations,” Meredith Hindley, Public Domain, 2017

Text Icons

The following text icons are used in the Text pages:

Unit Reader Unit Reader Texts

Digital Access Digital Access Texts

Tradebook Tradebook Texts

Multimedia Multimedia Texts

To find digital access texts on the Internet, complete the following steps:

  1. Locate the reference information for the text (text title, author, date of publication, and publisher) found on the Text page for a unit, section, or lesson.

  2. Highlight and copy the reference information.

  3. Paste the information into a search engine.

  4. The text will appear as one of the first search results.

  5. Verify the result by comparing the reference information on the website to the information on the Text page.