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.

Published in 1861, Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management has been a benchmark guide for all aspects of running the middle class Victorian household. Written in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, Mrs. Beeton addressed a variety of issues relating to this historically transitional period. This included advice about cooking, child rearing, hygiene, servant's pay, and much more. While certainly not a modern book on these topics, this guide provides great insights into the daily tasks of the 19th century. From the preface, "I must frankly own, that if I had known, beforehand, that this book would have cost me the labor that it has, I should never have been courageous enough to commence it. What moved me, in the first instance, to attempt a work like this, was the discomfort and suffering which I had seen brought upon men and women by household mismanagement. I have always thought that there is no more fruitful source of family discontent than a housewife's badly cooked dinners and untidy ways. Men are now so well served out of doors, -at their clubs, well-ordered taverns, and dining-houses, that in order to compete with the attractions of these places, a mistress must be thoroughly acquainted with the theory and practice of cookery, as well as be perfectly conversant with all the other arts of making and keeping a comfortable home."

Why study creeds? Isn't the Bible enough? The Bible is everything we need for salvation and living, yet it is a large work of great complexity. Developing an accurate understanding of Biblical concepts is essential to a thriving Christian. Even so, not everyone has the time or inclination to "reinvent the wheel" - so to speak. This is where tools such as creeds, confessions, and catechisms can help. These tools can serve as guides that can develop systematic ideas for biblical beliefs with specific focus. Believers seeking to plume, with accuracy and cohesion, the depths of Scripture, while bringing together a consensus of understanding and interpretation, developed these statements of faith. Even when examining a variety of creeds, confessions, and catechisms, what is striking is not the disagreements in details. Rather, the vast areas of agreement across the millennia demonstrate that the consistency of biblical truth is timeless. Why study creeds? Confessions? Catechisms? They can help you to maximize you Bible study focus, in a systematic way, to know the Word of God better and more effectively.

Do not pick up this book unless you want to be changed What good is it to "know" God if that knowledge does not influence your attitudes and behavior. For hundreds of years, The Imitation of Christ and The Practice of the Presence of God have served as remedies to this dilemma. Going beyond dead formalities and vainly exalting doctrine over the needs of people's souls, both of these works demonstrate what the Christian life should look like by example. With Jesus Christ as the ultimate point of reference, these two works display the Christian life filled with awe, reverence, love, mercy, and compassion - a faith that is not alone. This modern rendering of these devotional classics will stir your conscience, move your soul, and change your life.

Elizabeth Prentiss was a remarkable woman who authored a number of notable works in the 19th century. A writing prodigy, she used her sharp abilities to author stories poems, and even hymns despite much tragedy in her life. As she later stated, her purpose in writing, "Much of my experience of life has cost me a great price and I wish to use it for strengthening and comforting other souls." This treasury contains her two most important and influential works, Stepping Heavenward and The Life and Letters of Elizabeth Prentiss

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 fruit of a lifetime of study and practical reflection, Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion was a milestone of Protestant thought in its time, and has continued to be very influential for over 450 years. Deploying a synthesis of Biblical, theological, and classical thought, the Institutes argue forcefully for the scriptural basis of the Reformation, as well as establishing practical guidelines for developing a biblical worldview touching all aspects of life. In doing so, Calvin developed a vast introduction to the Bible that, in many respects, transcends time and place. Many of the issues Calvin addressed were timeless and universal, and this is the reason for the work's longevity. This new edition of Calvin's Institutes, adapted from Beveridge's seminal translation, employs contemporary language and updated Biblical references - making it accessible to students, scholars, and anyone interested in Biblical studies or historic theology. Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion is an essential addition to any library of Biblical studies.

The American War of Independence was one of the first political upheavals in history based primarily on ideology. Subsequent history has demonstrated the importance of philosophical justification for the instigation of any radical political action of comparable ambition to the Revolution of 1776. However, in recent years the true nature of the ideas that helped fortify the American revolutionaries has come into question, with much of this controversy centering on the true origin of the concepts contained in the Declaration of Independence. Calvinism and the Declaration of Independence seeks to investigate whether the political traditions of the United States were entirely products of the Enlightenment or of the wider Calvinistic-Reformed-Puritan traditions of England and her American colonies. While the Reformed tradition of the Anglo-American culture may not take exclusive credit for the ideological traditions that influenced the Revolution in the colonies, its influence was great.

Conspiracy Rhetoric seeks to evaluate of the growing persuasive appeal of conspiracy theories within mainstream American society. The examination of this phenomenon as a contemporary social narrative proceeds through a content analysis of its public literature in order to determine what common links connect the various expressions of this cultural genre, and how its existence reflects on the larger culture. Through a literature review, reflecting pertinent contemporary studies and a methodology and case study of rhetorical analysis based on classical paradigms Conspiracy Rhetoric endeavors to foment a larger dialogue pertaining to communication forms in contemporary culture.

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 ideas in Lex Rex predate modern concepts of nationalism and politics. They are older than the United States Constitution, as well as the American Revolution - where many modern ideas of liberty originated. Lex Rex is even older than the Enlightenment that receives so much credit for concepts such as popular sovereignty, limited government, separation of powers, and individual liberty. Nevertheless, Samuel Rutherford's Lex Rex - written at a time that viewed kings as vessels of divine power - raised a Scriptural standard arguing for the dignity of the people and the accountability of earthly governments. Although some would seek to pigeonhole the book as merely a tract on civil resistance, Lex Rex contains a comprehensive examination of a Christian view of civil government. In doing so, Lex Rex actually formulates a blueprint for freedom applicable for any time and any place. Rutherford hoped to demonstrate the need for government based on law instead of the arbitrary decisions of fallible humanity. Throughout this process, the Bible is the final authority and basis for law. This Scriptural base was a primary reason for both the great support and opposition that met Lex Rex.

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

This original text of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is interspersed with pieces of modern art, creating a fun reading event for the entire family.