These essential documents, formulated over the course of twenty years, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, and President Washington's Farewell Address, encapsulate a period of crucial significance to the United States and the world. They are the embodied results of centuries of thought, debate, and experimentation - finally espoused in a practical fashion. The foundations for the experiment of liberty and law that is the United States of America, they are the fundamental guide for securing the blessings of liberty.

Written in 1689, Locke's Two Treatises of Government disputes the logic of the "divine right of kings," and proceeds to develop a theory of society base on the ideas of natural rights and the social contract. Locke acknowledged the necessity of the state, but saw it primarily as a tool to promote the protection of people and property, as well as for the restraint of violence. Based on the consent of the governed, Locke's conception of government highlights the importance of accountability between government and citizen. This special edition also includes the text of the Magna Charta - one of the foundations of English law, Locke's Letter Concerning Toleration, and The Reasonableness of Christianity.

Freedom can lead to liberty, or it can descend into chaos. Rousseau's The Social Contract, Paine's Common Sense, and Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France encompass the ideas, progress, and results of reform and revolutionary change. Rousseau reasoned that people are born free and act as a collective sovereign - owing both freedom and duty under the auspices of the general will, embodied in government. Paine wrote Common Sense in the seminal year of 1775. Using a reasoned and accessible style, he brought forth numerous arguments to demonstrate the logic of launching an American Revolution. Burke's Reflections, while specifically aimed at the French Revolution, demonstrate the superiority of practical solutions over abstract concepts. Each of these works prominently displays the importance of changes leading to freedom. These works demarcate a firm delineation between constructive and destructive change and how it affects human freedom.

Summarizing the American experience up to the 1830's Democracy in America explores why the republican government of the United States was succeeding when similar undertakings had failed elsewhere. Based on first hand observations, and balancing the positive and negative attributes of American culture, Alexis de Tocqueville provides a seminal analysis of the economic, political, cultural, and religious components that led to the resounding success of the young United States of America.

Born over a century apart, one into poverty and the other into slavery, Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass embody the American ideals of success through hard work, vision, and freedom. At the end of their lives, both men were renowned statesmen, admired all over the world. Each is a vivid example of the endless possibilities available to free people.

The profound wisdom of Barak Obama is not something for verification, substantiation, corroboration, or even categorization. Rather, Obama's wisdom lies in the vacuity of his reflections on his diverse background, his great achievements, and the world around him. His received insight expresses itself in a variety of manifestations in his roles as leader, president, and teacher. This book in your hands represents this sage wisdom and counsel organized in a manner that all can understand, and with a precision that is unmatched. Moreover, our special study system will allow you to document and journal the growing and future insights of this transformational leader. Start now, and be transformed

The Wealth of Nations was the world's introduction to capitalism and economics in the modern sense. Smith developed the ideas of free trade and enlightened self interest as in ultimately bringing prosperity and forming a more just society. Freedom, labor, and responsibility form a foundation for the development and accumulation of wealth.

The Law of Nations focuses on the rights and obligations of what we now term international relations. Outlining ideas that nations should develop reciprocal respect, this work was influential during the founding era of the United States.

The result of over twenty years of research The Spirit of the Laws encompasses a vast array of topics and issues. This groundbreaking work provides a comprehensive examination of some of the most important topics relating to liberty. These include constitutionalism, the separation of powers, the primacy of civil liberty and the rule of law, and the power of the local community in establishing political institut