As a student of history, I always want to read primary source documents. Why not read what the people who were there thought? I have been gathering the documents in the book for years and sharing them with my students.

We live in a culture where instant coffee is too slow. Reading history gives us some perspective on the events happening in our lives. What we see on social media today make us roll our eyes, but it is not that unusual. A quick reading of American history can prove that. From the time of George Washington’s second term things have been sporty: One US Senator tried to kill another on the floor of the Senate. Andrew Jackson’s wife, Rachel, died from the stress of 1828 Presidential Campaign. But, even with the fighting and the tawdry side of our politics there is something noble in the practice of self government.

We have an amazing system of self government. We are invited to participate. Women and men across the country roll up their sleeves, run for office and serve their communities with dedication. Many people shrug and say their vote does not matter. In our county the League of Women Voters has discovered in the last eleven years 110 races have been decided by less than 100 votes. Three races were decided by ONE vote. People from all walks of life run for and win elections. This is amazing change from the old divine right of kings or the dictatorships of the 20th Century. Sure, it can be raucous and bumpy, but Winston Churchill is quoted as saying, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.”