America's Autobiography: Key Documents That Tell Our Story

Literally speaking, nations don’t write their own autobiographies. From its beginning, however, America’s story has been written in agreements, speeches, and proclamations. More than most other nations, America’s history is bound up with the written word. As we have worked out the meaning and promise of our founding, key authors have spoken to each other and weaved their words together in a way that can be seen as our autobiography.

The documents compiled here in America’s Autobiography tell the story of the United States of America. These documents not only recount the nation’s rich history, but they also impart to the reader the principles, values, and virtues embodied in the American spirit. Like keys, these documents help unlock the meaning of who we have been as they point us all to the promise of who we still might become.

President Kennedy once remarked: “There is little that is more important for an American citizen to know than the history and traditions of his country. Without such knowledge, he stands uncertain and defenseless before the world, knowing neither where he has come from nor where he is going.” Present and future Americans will undoubtedly write their own chapters of America’s autobiography; they would do well to read the preceding pages as they do.

About the Editors

Gary L. Gregg II, PhD, holds the Mitch McConnell Chair in Leadership and is director of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. He has more than a quarter century of experience designing and conducting civic education programs. He is the author or editor of more than a dozen books, including America’s Forgotten Founders (with Mark David Hall), Reflection and Choice—The Federalists, the Anti-Federalists, and the Debate that Defined America (with Aaron N. Coleman), and George Washington—Citizen, Soldier, Statesman. He is also author of a series of young adult fantasy novels, including The Stag and the Spear.

Aaron N. Coleman, PhD, is a professor of history and chair of the Department of History and Political Science at the University of the Cumberlands. He received his PhD in American History from the University of Kentucky. A specialist in the American Founding, Coleman’s work concentrates on the political, intellectual, and constitutional ideas of the American Revolutionary Era. He has published three books focusing on federalism and sovereignty in the Revolutionary era, including The American Revolution, State Sovereignty, and the American Constitutional Settlement, 1765–1800 and Reflection and Choice: The Federalists, the Anti-Federalists, and the Debate that Defined America, with Gary L. Gregg. His work has been cited in an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Meghan Waters serves as the Director of External Education at the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. In this capacity, Waters, a 2014 graduate of the McConnell Scholars Program, develops and implements civic education programs for Kentucky teachers and students, as well as U.S. Army soldiers selected to participate in the McConnell Center’s annual Strategic Broadening Seminar. Prior to joining the McConnell Center, Waters served as Communications Director to former Congressman Brad Wenstrup (OH-02) and also served in various administrative capacities for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Waters holds bachelor’s degrees in political science and criminal justice from the University of Louisville and also holds a master’s degree in law enforcement intelligence and analysis from Michigan State University.