We the People is a program funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities that is designed to encourage the study and understanding of American history, culture, and founding principles through carefully selected book collections that support a particular theme.
2010: A More Perfect Union
As the American people begin observing the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the We the People Bookshelf seeks to promote reflection among young people on the idea of the United States as a "union." Our Constitution, the Preamble proclaims, was intended to "form a more perfect union." In 1861, as President Abraham Lincoln considered his response to secessionist states, he declared his "paramount object" to be to "save the Union." What is the nature of the "union" that the Founders formed and Lincoln sought to save? With the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and the Union victory in the Civil War, is the American union complete and perfect? What role have subsequent generations played, and what might we in this century envision, to continue to perfect our union?
Grades 7 to 8
- Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
- Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Beals
- Lincoln Shot: A President's Life Remembered by Barry Denenberg
- Hitch by Jeanette Ingold
Grades 9 to 12
- The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois
- American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic by Joseph Ellis
- Lincoln in His Own Words by Milton Meltzer
- Carver: A Life in Poems by Marilyn Nelson
- Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose
- Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
- The Civil War: An Illustrated History by Geoffrey Ward, Ric Burns, Ken Burns
- Declaring Independence: The Origin and Influence of America's Founding Document edited by Christian Y. Dupont
2009: Picturing America
The We the People “Picturing America” Bookshelf is the literary complement of NEH’s Picturing AmericaSM visual arts project. Instead of paint, marble, silver, or glass, words are the media used to portray significant themes in American history and culture. Readers are invited to steer their way across the continent by river with Lewis and Clark in 1802, travel the railroad with Robert Louis Stevenson in 1879, or drive along the open highways with John Steinbeck and his dog Charley in 1960. Through the life and poetry of Walt Whitman emerge powerful images of the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln; through the life and lens of Dorothea Lange we witness the impersonal forces and human faces of the Depression.
Grades 7 to 8
- The Life and Death of Crazy Horse by Russell Freedman
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
- Across America on an Emigrant Train by Jim Murphy
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Grades 9 to 12
- Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis
- Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange by Elizabeth Partridge
- Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck
- Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville
- Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out by The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance
- 1776: The Illustrated Edition by David McCullough
2008: Created Equal
This bookshelf aims to help young people explore what our founding fathers meant when they declared that “all men are created equal.” What challenges has America faced, and where has it shown progress, in its efforts to live up to the ideal of universal human equality? How did Abraham Lincoln, whose bicentennial we celebrate in 2009, contribute to the idea and the reality of human equality in America?
Grades 7 to 8
- Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
- Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman
- Abraham Lincoln the Writer: A Treasury of His Greatest Speeches and Letters ed. by Harold Holzer
- Breaking Through by Francisco Jiménez
- Senderos Fronterizos: Breaking Through Spanish Edition by Francisco Jiménez
Grades 9 to 12
- Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution by Natalie S. Bober
- That All People May Be One People, Send Rain to Wash the Face of the Earth by Nez Perce Chief Joseph
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
- Flores Para Algernon by Daniel Keyes (translated by Paz Barroso)
- Lincoln's Virtues: An Ethical Biography by William Lee Miller
- Amistad: A Novel by David Pesc
