Includes section "Book reviews".

The four-volume set covers more than 130 iconic primary source documents from the Revolutionary era to the present day. Each entry offers the full text of the document in question as well as an in-depth, analytical essay that places the document in its historical context. Among the documents included in the set are Revolutionary era standards such as Patrick Henry's "Liberty or Death" speech, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. Important presidential sources include Thomas Jefferson's first inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Franklin Roosevelt's speech following the attack on Pearl Harbor, John F. Kennedy's 1963 address on integration, and George W. Bush's address on September 11, 2001. Influential decisions of the Supreme Court are also included, from Marbury v. Madison to Brown v. Board of Education to Bush v. Gore. Critical documents related to minority rights are also present: Andrew Jackson's message "On Indian Removal, " the Seneca Falls Declaration, Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech, " and the Equal Rights Amendment.--Publisher's website

The second edition of Mississippi: A History features a series of revisions and updates to its comprehensive coverage of Mississippi state history from the time of the region’s first inhabitants into the 21st century. Represents the only available comprehensive textbook on Mississippi history specifically for use in college-level courses Features an engaging narrative mix of topical and chronological chapters Includes chapter objectives that may be used by professors and students Offers coverage of Mississippi’s major political, economic, social, and cultural developments Presents two entirely new chapters on important 21st-century developments in Mississippi Contains expanded coverage of slavery in Mississippi history Includes completely up-to-date chapter sources, selected bibliography, and subject index

Drawing on a rich store of material that includes visits to nearly sixty public schools nationwide and hundreds of interviews conducted from the classroom to the White House, Thomas Toch--one of America's leading educational journalists--has produced an award-winning book of impressive breadth. Measuring its progress in clear, compelling prose, Toch offers readers the full story of today's school reform movement. He reveals that there is intense opposition within the ranks of public educators to the movement's academic aims, that the damage inflicted on the nation's students by standardized testing is far greater than has been generally reported, and that new graduation requirements have failed millions of students. Toch also provides a detailed account of the role played by the powerful National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers union, while shedding new light on controversial topics such as school choice and why students drop out of school. Finally, and of crucial importance to all who are committed to improving our schools, the book proposes a further agenda for the nation's school reformers. Public education today stands at a crucial crossroads. In the Name of Excellence explains why, and reveals the prospects for the nation's schools in the years ahead. It is essential reading for parents, educators, and policymakers alike.

Most Americans see the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as the culmination of the civil rights movement. When the law was enacted, black voter registration in Mississippi soared. Few black candidates won office, however. In this book, Frank Parker describes black Mississippians' battle for meaningful voting rights, bringing the story up to 1986, when Mike Espy was elected as Mississippi's first black member of Congress in this century. To nullify the impact of the black vote, white Mississippi devised a political "massive resistance" strategy, adopting such disenfranchising devices as at-large elections, racial gerrymandering, making elective offices appointive, and revising the qualifications for candidates for public office. As legal challenges to these mechanisms mounted, Mississippi once again became the testing ground for deciding whether the promises of the Fifteenth Amendment would be fulfilled, and Parker describes the court battles that ensued until black voters obtained relief.