If he follows long-standing tradition, then sometime this coming November, President Trump will issue a proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving as his predecessors have done for generations. It will likely be written to inspire the nation and will include reminders of the origins of our very American Thanksgiving celebrations and will urge all Americans to feel gratitude for our myriad blessings, etc.

E Pluribus Unum, We the People, self-evident truths—these were the touchstones of the 1770s and 1780s. The historic collaboration between Alexander Hamilton and James Madison on the Federalist essays in the late 1780s quickly gave way to a political disagreement so sharp that it sundered US politics permanently into (at least) two rival parties.

As a classroom teacher, I’m no stranger to feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of resources out there. There’s no shortage of materials online—except, of course, for the one resource we wish we had more of: time.

Teaching American History's philosophy is that the best way to learn American history is to read the words of those who lived it. That's why we maintain an extensive database of original documents.