Letters of a Nationby Andrew Carroll (ed.) | |
| List(s): | "Carp 500" |
|---|---|
| Category: |
"Literature/Essays" |
| Pages: | 446 |
| Year of Publication: | 1997 |
| Date Read: | 03/18/2001 |
| Notes: | The letters in this treasure-trove date from September 1630 — when John Winthrop, newly ensconced as governor of Massachusetts, wrote to his wife in England — to August 1996, when a young woman named Michelle Song addressed a moving letter to her mother. In between are more than 200 other epistles — written by the celebrated and the obscure, the powerful and the powerless — that in aggregate paint a revealing portrait of the United States. Each letter has a brief introduction to explain the background. COMMENTS — If you can’t get into reading someone else’s mail, at least check out the following letters (but realize that you probably have different tastes than I do): • Roger Williams to the Town of Providence, Rhode Island – on how people of different faiths can live under the same government. • George Washington to Martha Washington – on his reservations upon being named Commander of the Continental Army. • Abigail Adams to John Adams – on how the Continental Congress should pass laws to protect women from men. • Paul Revere to William Eustis – asking for a pension for Deborah Sampson, who fought in the Revolutionary War disguised as a man. • Frederick Douglass to His Former Master, Capt. Thomas Auld – on his opposition to slavery. • President Abraham Lincoln to Horace Greeley – on how preserving the Union is more important than freeing the slaves. • General Robert E. Lee to His Army – explaining why he surrendered to Grant at Appomattox. • George Saito to His Father – on how his brother, a Japanese/American, was killed in WWII in Germany. • President John F. Kennedy to Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushehev – arranging a resolution to the Cuban Missile Crisis. • Bill Clinton to Col. Eugene Holmes – attempting to avoid the draft and showing, even then, that he would do or say anything in his own interest. • Minnie A Hardin to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt – on what is wrong with the welfare system and why people who won’t work shouldn’t be paid to not work with the money of those who do work. • Elvis Presley to President Richard Nixon – volunteering to be an agent in the war on drugs. • Lazlo Toth, “Super Patriot,” to the Makers of Mr. Bubble – on confusion over the instructions on the product box. • James Russell Lowell to His Nephew Charlie – on the importance of learning and observing, with particular mention of the importance of knowing the names of birds. • John A Copeland to His Family – one of John Brown’s men on his thoughts before his execution. • Francis P. Church to Virginia O’Hanlon – “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.” |
| My Rating: | 6 |