A Reason Not to Vote for the Tax Amendment of 1912

English: Lesson 115 Would I have voted for the income tax amendment in 1912, based on the arguments in Philip Dru: Administrator, A Story of Tomorrow? Edward M. House wrote Philip Dru: Administrator, A Story of Tomorrow in 1912. The book was meant to be fiction, but from what we know of House now, the main character …

The Gift of O. Henry

English: Lesson 110 O. Henry, London, Bierce. Which of the three authors would you prefer to read on your own time? I remember reading O. Henry's short story, The Gift of the Magi (1905) when I was little during Christmas. I had got a book from the library and the first picture was of a beautiful woman …

Why read Mark Twain?

English: Lesson 105 Would you read more of Mark Twain's writings even if they were not assigned in a course? Why or why not? Mark Twain is one of those authors that everyone has heard of, whether or not they have read his work or not. But what makes Mark Twain different from the rest …

A Literary Masterpiece and it’s Biblical Language

English: Lesson 100 Did the Gettysburg Address use Christian language and imagery to support the Union cause? The Gettysburg Address is one of Abraham Lincoln's most famous speeches along with this second inauguration speech. It has been cited and quoted throughout the years and it used to be required for children to memorize it in …

The Brutal & Hilarious Critique Written by Mark Twain

English: Lesson 85 How fair was Twain's critique of Cooper's literary style? "A work of art? It has no invention; it has no order, system, sequence, or result; it has no lifelikeness, no thrill, no stir, no seeming of reality; its characters are confusedly drawn, and by their acts and words they prove that they …

The fascinating descriptions of The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow & Rip Van Winkle

English: Lesson 80 Were the detailed descriptions of the people around the two main characters equally important in the two stories? Washington Irving wrote the two famous American stories the Legend of the Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. These two fairytale-like stories have charmed people since they were first published in 1819 and continue to do so, and …

A Hagiography of George Washington | by Mason Weems

English: Lesson 75 "A History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington" by Mason Weems How believable was the book? Mason Weems was a bookseller and a writer, and like any good businessman, he saw a golden opportunity to write a book that the whole of America would read and …

Write your Money

English: Lesson 70 If you wanted to make money by writing a self-improvement book for Americans, what topic would you choose? If there is one thing that I have learned from reading documents from the 18th century by the authors Cotton Mather, Jonathan Edwards, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Paine, it is that all these men …

Freedom & Unity from the new Constitution

English: Lesson 69 A transcript of your speech at a state ratification convention. Do not let the years of fighting battles for our freedoms and liberties go to waste. Do not let down our fathers and brothers who gave their lives for the freedoms of this great country, only now to give them up. We …

Rhetoric of a Mad Man – Thomas Paine

English: Lesson 65 A critique of Paine's pamphlets from the point of view of a loyalist in 1778. I write this short essay to reveal to those in America how foolish they are to be swayed by the unfortunately popular pamphlets, The American Crisis, and their mysterious author. Not only are these pamphlets filled with the rhetoric …