Alex David
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Tall, awkward Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address in just four minutes. It was only 272 words. Even after the tragic deaths of thousands of Union soldiers, Lincoln imagines a united country. His words spoke not just to the living audience, but also to future Americans. The brilliance of this speech is its poetic brevity and Lincoln's ability to mark the beginning of America with the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution. This...
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The year is 1775. America is a grand experiment. Colonists are writing anonymous pamphlets about their hopes for this new country. British redcoats walk the streets. Enslaved African American women and men work on tobacco and sugar plantations. A young lawyer named Patrick Henry sings out in a courthouse, "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death." Henry's words become the rally cry for the American Revolution. This poetic speech will ignite a country to...
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Sojourner Truth swept her audiences off their feet with her roaring calls for change. She demanded that both women and African Americans be free. Traveling around the country, she spoke out against slavery, calling for emancipation for enslaved people, and asked her listeners to give women the right to vote. Truth was a charismatic and intelligent leader who helped to change America into a more free and equal society. Readers will get to follow her...
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Imagine a time when people, using secret pen names, wrote exhilarating argumentative essays. Imagine wanting to find out what people like "Brutus" and "Cato" would argue. The revolution was over, and Americans were trying to decide how their new democratic government should be structured. Should the federal government have a great deal of power or should power be left to the individual states? Readers will get to follow along as the federalists and...
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This fact cannot be ignored: food shortages and climate change are linked. As Earth warms and drought or flooding occurs, farmers cannot grow crops and animals die. If disease occurs, it can wipe out huge amounts of food supplies if farmers have not used diverse seeds or a variety of livestock breeds. This book examines the complexity of a warming climate and its relationship to food and water. By showing examples of technological solutions, like...
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As the planet warms, a ripple effect takes place: greenhouse gas emissions create warmer weather, which leads to heat waves, which then contribute to forest fires. Taking a hopeful yet realistic approach, this book encourages readers to understand the relationship between intensifying heat and disaster. It discusses current scientific research, shows examples of heat waves and forest fires all over the world, and encourages citizen engagement with...