The Handbook for Americans: Out of Many, One

The essential reference for every home and every citizen of the United States of America, celebrating informed and enlightened patriotism.

The Handbook for Americans is an objective citizen's guide to the United States and its vital tradition of freedoms and responsibilities. There has never been a more pressing time to discover the power we hold to set the agenda for our Nation's future. We the People...

The Handbook for Americans contains the foundational documents of our democracy -- The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, The Bill of Rights. It provides information every American citizen should know about how our government works, the balance of powers set forth by the Nation's founders, the long march toward equal rights and more. The Handbook for Americans is also a compendium of the traditions, customs, and facts every American should know about their country.

Now, more than ever, Americans are faced with economic, environmental and philosophical challenges that require a strong response. When we ask ourselves, "What does it mean to be an American? What do we stand for?" we are in fact casting about for the resources and traditions to enable us to meet today's challenges.

Presidents and politicians come and go, but the People remain. Free Americans have always risen to meet the task at hand, no matter how difficult. The Nazi menace. Global terrorism. Collapsed bridges and flooded cities. We have dealt with our tragedies and emerged the stronger for it.

The Handbook for Americans is a sourcebook for citizens as we embark into the 21st Century. It is a guide, and a comfort, for the times ahead. It can help us to understand where we are going, by mapping out where we've been.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ended his third radio "Fireside Chat" by encouraging a listening audience disheartened by economic depression. "When Andrew Jackson, 'Old Hickor