A rich and engaging exploration of the documents that illustrate the origins and development of First Amendment freedoms in American history. Each document is introduced by a historical essay and reproduced in facsimile. Incorporating nearly 40 documents and spanning more than 300 years, First Freedoms is essential for students of American history.

In a stinging dissent to a 1961 Supreme Court decision that allowed the Illinois state bar to deny admission to prospective lawyers if they refused to answer political questions, Justice Hugo Black closed with the memorable line, "We must not be afraid to be free." Black saw the First Amendment as the foundation of American freedom--the guarantor of all other Constitutional rights. Yet since free speech is by nature unruly, people fear it. The impulse to curb or limit it has been a constant danger throughout American history.

In We Must Not Be Afraid to Be Free, Ron Collins and...

Almost every major American city is experimenting with school choicea deeply controversial idea that is dramatically reshaping public education. Will the wider array of school options help parents and educators identify better strategies for helping all children learn? Or will the high stakes of the marketplace end up privatizing this most public of institutions? Education activist Sam Chaltain believes that before we can answer these questions, we must put a human face on the modern landscape of teaching and learning. Our School documents a year in the life of two schools in the nations...