The essays were first published in several New York newspapers and were later combined into a book titled "The Federalist." ... Finally, students will respond to a prompt that asks them to explain if and how "The Federalist" shaped America.
In 1774, Englishman Thomas Paine arrived in America as the conflict between the colonies and Great Britain was reaching its peak. ... Finally, students will respond to a prompt that asks them to explain their position on if "Common Sense" shaped America.
This inquiry-based lesson has students consider which book has shaped America. The lesson opens with reflective questions that ask students which books are their favorite and what makes a book 'great.' Students are then introduced to C-SPAN and the Library of Congress' "Books That Shaped America" television series and engage in a brief review of the 10 books selected by the institutions for the series. From there, students view the longer list of books that shaped America from the Library of Congress website and select an additional five that they think should be added to the series. Finally, students write an argument for which one book they think has most shaped America and why.
