The first volume in the two-volume collection of Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States. Outlining the life of a nation through its most famous speeches, United States presidential vision and policy is seen here through the addresses of the Presidents. Volume One contains the speeches of George Washington (1789) through James A. Garfield (1881). Vol. 1 of 2

The long, dark history of political violence in the United States Violence has been employed to achieve political objectives throughout history. Taking the life of a perceived enemy is as old as mankind. Antiquity is filled with examples of political murders, such as when Julius Caesar was felled by assassins in 44 BCE. While assassinations and assassination attempts are not unique to the American way of life, denizens of other nations sometimes look upon the US as populated by reckless cowboys owing to a “Wild West” attitude about violence, especially episodes involving guns. In this book, J. Michael Martinez focuses on assassinations and attempts in the American republic. Nine American presidents—Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan—have been the targets of assassins. President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt was also a target shortly before he was sworn into office in 1933. Moreover, three presidential candidates—Theodore Roosevelt, Robert F. Kennedy, and George Wallace—were shot by assailants. In addition to presidents and candidates for the presidency, eight governors, seven U.S. senators, nine U.S. House members, eleven mayors, seventeen state legislators, and eleven judges have been victims of political violence. Not all political assassinations involve elected officials. Some of those targeted, such as Joseph Smith, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr., were public figures who influenced political issues. But their cases are instructive because of their connection to, and influence on, the political process. No other nation with a population of over 50 million people has witnessed as many political assassinations or attempts. These violent episodes trigger a series of important questions. First, why has the United States—a country constructed on a bedrock of the rule of law and firmly committed to due process—been so susceptible to political violence? Martinez addresses these questions as he examines twenty-five instances of violence against elected officials and public figures in American history.

Through times of war and times of peace, times of prosperity and times of scarcity, through hours dark and bright, the continuation of the American government through legal, Constitutionally guaranteed means has never faltered. There can be no better representation of that marvel, unequalled in world history, than the inaugural addresses of incoming Presidents. This collection of the first speeches of each of the nation's new leaders, plus the subsequent inaugural words of reelected Presidents-Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave a record four inaugural addresses-gathers in one important volume the thoughts of every leader from George Washington to George Bush (41) as they entered office. Their words set the tenor for their administrations, and this firsthand document of American history is vital for understanding their work in the White House, and the legacy they left for the future ahead of them.

This collection of the inaugural addresses of the Presidents of the United States was published in commemoration of the Bicentennial Presidential Inauguration that was observed on January 20, 1989. These addresses, in which the Presidents articulate their hopes and dreams for the nation, chronicle the course the United States from its earliest days to the present. Each address is preceded by a brief note with information on the date, location, the party affiliation, details of the election, other circumstances, such as death or resignation of the predecessor, and the administration of the oath of office. S/N 052-071-00879-9: $16.00 (For use only in the library).

The US Supreme Court is the head of the judicial branch of the federal government. It is the highest court in the land, with thousands of cases appealed to it every year. One of those history-making cases was Dred Scott v. Sanford, which addressed slavery and freedom before the Civil War. Readers will follow this case from beginning to end, including the social and political climates that led up to it and the effects it had after the court made its ruling. Major players and key events are discussed, including Dred and Harriet Scott, Judge Roger B. Taney, James Buchanan, John Sanford, John Emerson, and Eliza Scott. Compelling chapters and informative sidebars also cover the history of slavery in the Unites States and its territories, the Amistad case, civil rights, Winny v. Whitesides, the Missouri Compromise, and the Civil War. Dred Scott v. Sanford forever influenced laws on black citizenship and slavery in the territories. This landmark Supreme Court case changed the course of US history and shaped the country we live in. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Essential Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.