Description Details
This chapter begins with the flight of James II and then moves on to the downfall of Judge Jeffreys and the arrival of Dutch troops in London. James flees again and we see the establishment of the Jacobean court in France at Saint Germains. The chapter ends with the crowning of William and Mary....

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
It was a cloudy November day in 1863 when thousands gathered to hear renowned orator Edward Everett dedicate a national cemetary at the site of a pivotal battle early in July of that year. Also present to deliver a few appropriate remarks was the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln spoke but 278 words; Everett later wrote to the President, I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes. Though there are surviving transcripts of Everett's lengthly speech, it is Lincoln's words which have come to be known as The Gettysburg Address (Summary by Chip)...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
The Constitution has a total of 27 amendments. The first ten, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified simultaneously. The following seventeen were ratified separately. (Summary from wikipedia.org)...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
Einhard was employed by Charlemagne as a court historian. At the request of Charlemagne's son and successor Louis the Pious, he wrote a biography of Charlemagne, the Vita Karoli Magni or Life of Charlemagne (c. 817–830), which provides much direct information about Charlemagne's life and character. In composing this he made full use of the Frankish Royal annals. Einhard's literary model was the classical work of the Roman historian Suetonius, the Lives of the Caesars. (summary adapted from Wikipedi by K. Merline)...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
This chapter is a bit of a mixture. It begins with the death of Charles II and then goes on to James II. Judge Jeffries then makes an appearance in a riot of slapstick absurdity when viewed from so far away. Although, at the time of the ‘Bloody Assizes’ he will have been much feared and hated by many.There are more to-and fro-ings in the Houses of Parliament. The Scots Covenanters make an appearance and dangerfield and Oates get their come-uppance. Macaulay paints the mid to late 17th century in a mad effervescence of colour. Summary by Jim Mowatt...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
An in-depth view and early history of the Mohawk Valley in upper New York state, covering the time period of 1609-1780. This historical piece covers that part of the Mohawk Valley between Schenectady and Rome, NY. The narrator hopes that the listener understands that a best effort has been made in pronunciation of many names within this work; particularly those of the Mohawks, Iriquois, Huron, and Mohicans; as well as the French and Dutch. (Summary by Roger Melin)...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
The History of the Standard Oil Company is a book written by journalist Ida Tarbell in 1904. It was an exposé of the Standard Oil Company, run at that time by oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller the richest figure in America's history. Originally serialized in 19 parts in McClure's magazine, the book was a seminal example of muckraking, and inspired many other journalists to write about trusts, large businesses that (in the absence of strong antitrust law in the 19th century) attempted to gain monopolies in various industries. The History of the Standard Oil Company was credited with hastening the breakup of Standard Oil, which came about in 1911. ( Summary by Wikipedia ) Note: This reading does not include any of the 36 Appendices....

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
The History of the Standard Oil Company is a book written by journalist Ida Tarbell in 1904. It was an exposé of the Standard Oil Company, run at that time by oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, the richest figure in America's history. Originally serialized in 19 parts in McClure's magazine, the book was a seminal example of muckraking, and inspired many other journalists to write about trusts, large businesses that (in the absence of strong antitrust law in the 19th century) attempted to gain monopolies in various industries. The History of the Standard Oil Company was credited with hastening the breakup of Standard Oil, which came about in 1911. ( Summary by Wikipedia ) Note: This reading does not include any of the Appendices....

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
This chapter of Macaulay’s, History of England is concerned, for a large part, with insurrection against James II and his manoeuverings to suppress these. Argyle has been sheltering in Holland and returns to raise an army against James. Although brave and quick witted, he was no leader of men and the army became a confused rabble and were dispersed. Argyle was captured and died bravely. Monmouth had also been sheltering in Holland and he landed at Lyme and declared himself king on 20th June 1685. He was defeated at the battle of Sedgemoor and eventually caught and executed. Monmouth is a fine romantic and of course ultimately tragic figure. The chapter comes to an end with the Bloody Assizes and the very bloody Judge Jeffries. Summary by Jim Mowatt...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
The Amendments to the Constitution of the USA are a continuously modified document that attempts to secure all basic and other rights for American citizens. The most recent amendment was made in the early 1970's during the Vietnam war; this amendment lowered the voting age to 18. The first ten amendments (A.K.A. the Bill of Rights) was made by the founding fathers shortly after the actual constitution was made. The Bill of Rights covers all those things that the settlers found wrong with the rule of King George III of England. Such as: Quartering of soldiers, Freedom of speech, and Search and seizure. (Summary by Shurtagal)...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Told largely in the form of a first-person memoir, it concerns the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah, a Jew who is a high official at the Persian court, and the dedication of the city and its people to God's laws (torah). The events take place in the second half of the 5th century BCE, and together with the Book of Ezra, it represents the final chapter in the historical narrative of the Hebrew Bible. The book tells how Nehemiah, at the court of the king in Susa, is informed that Jerusalem is without walls and resolves to restore them. The king appoints him as governor of Judah and he travels to Jerusalem. There he rebuilds the walls, despite the opposition of Israel's enemies, and reforms the community in conformity with the law of Moses. After an absence in Susa he returns to find that the Israelites have been backsliding, taking non-Jewish wives, and stays to enforce the Law....

Excerpt Details
History, Religion

Description Details
The title, History of Holland, given to this volume is fully justified by the predominant part which the great maritime province of Holland took in the War of Independence and throughout the whole of the subsequent history of the Dutch state and people.(Summary from book prologue)...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
This 1787 document defines the rights and responsibilities of federal government of the United States of America.

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
Xenophon the Athenian was born 431 B.C. He was a pupil of Socrates. He marched with the Spartans, and was exiled from Athens. Sparta gave him land and property in Scillus, where he lived for many years before having to move once more, to settle in Corinth. He died in 354 B.C. Anabasis is a Greek work which meane journey from the coast to the center of a country. This is Xenophon's account of his march to Persia with a troop of Greek mercenaries to aid Cyrus, who enlisted Greek help to try and take the throne from his brother Artaxerxes, and the ensuing return of the Greeks, in which Xenophon played a leading role. This occurred between 401 B.C. and March 399 B.C. H. G. Dakyns lived from (1838 - 1911). (Summary from Gutenberg version of text.)...

Excerpt Details
History, Memoirs, Travel, Adventure

Description Details
Memoirs of Queen Elizabeth from a variety of sources within the monarch's court, compiled and interpreted by Lucy Aikin. (Summary by Cathy Barratt)

Excerpt Details
History, Biography

Description Details
This is Shakespeare's dutiful trubute to one of the most imposing and terrifying rulers in European history. The kingdom trembles as the giant monarch storms through his midlife crisis, disposing of the faithful Katharine of Aragon and starting a new life and, the king hopes, a line of succession with the captivating young Anne Bullen. Unlike his predecessors, Henry has no doubt about the security of his tenure on the throne, and dominates the royal court with absolute authority. The play has a surprising modern flavour: there is even a set of Royal watchers - the three gossipy gentlemen! (Summary by Algy Pug)...

Excerpt Details
History, Play

Description Details
John G. Nicolay was Abraham Lincoln’s private White House secretary. With assistant secretary, John Hay, he wrote the two volume definitive biography of Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln, a Biography. Although this is a condensation by Nicolay of that biography, it is still a sizable work and a fairly thorough treatment of the life of the 16th president of the United States. (Summary by John Lieder)...

Excerpt Details
Biography, History

Description Details
National Geographic Magazine Volume 1 Number 1 published in 1889. Topics of articles are: Introductory Address by the President Geographic Methods in Geologic Investigation Classification of Geographic Forms by Genesis The Great Storm of March 11 to 14, 1888 The Survey of the Coast The Survey and Map of Massachusetts (Summary by Guero)...

Excerpt Details
History, Memoirs, Nature, Science

Description Details
This is the third chapter in Macaulay’s great History of England from the Accession of James II. In this chapter Macaulay looks at the state of the nation in 1685. He discusses the population, the revenue, the military system, the roads, the inns, the coaches, the great cities and, of course London, its coffee houses and first experiments in street lighting. An interesting diversion from Macaulays’s usual obsession with politics but worry not, he still manages to crowbar some political intriguing into this chapter. (Summary by Jim Mowatt)...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
FOR more than six hundred years that is, since Magna Carta, in 1215 there has been no clearer principle of English or American constitutional law, than that, in criminal cases, it is not only the right and duty of juries to judge what are the facts, what is the law, and what was the moral intent of the accused; but that it is also their right, and their primary and paramount duty, to judge of the justice of the law, and to hold all laws invalid, that are, in their opinion, unjust or oppressive, and all persons guiltless in violating, or resisting the execution of, such laws. So begins Spooner's epic on the jury, its origins and history. Spooner examines the history and powers of a jury, from the magna carta in King John's time, to the practices in the 18th century. A classic work on law, Spooner argues that the decision of the jury is sovereign over the king's law. (Summary by Bethanne)...

Excerpt Details
History, Philosophy