The 100 Documents That Shaped America

[Warph]

The People's Vote invited Americans of all ages and educational backgrounds to vote for 10 of 100 milestone documents drawn mainly from the holdings of the National Archives.

The Top 10 Milestone Documents:

Declaration of Independence (1776) 29,681 votes
Constitution of the United States (1787) 27,070 votes
Bill of Rights (1791) 26,545 votes
Louisiana Purchase Treaty (1803) 13,417 votes
Emancipation Proclamation (1863) 13,086 votes
19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women's Right to Vote (1920) 12,282 votes
13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865) 11,789 votes
Gettysburg Address (1863) 9,939 votes
Civil Rights Act (1964) 9,860 votes
Social Security Act (1935) 8,157 votes


Results for the Following 90 of 100 Documents:

Monroe Doctrine (1823) 7,795 votes
Brown v. Board of Education (1954) 7,313 votes
14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (1868) 7,081 votes
Marbury v. Madison (1803) 6,155 votes
Articles of Confederation (1777) 5,785 votes
Homestead Act (1862) 4,540 votes
15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Voting Rights (1870) 4,479 votes
Marshall Plan (1948) 4,441 votes
Voting Rights Act (1965) 3,993 votes
Federalist Papers, No. 10 & No. 51 (1787-1788) 3,859 votes
United Nations Charter (1945) 3,496 votes
Treaty of Paris (1783) 3,278 votes
Thomas Edison's Patent Application for the Light Bulb (1880) 3,267 votes
Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890) 3,095 votes
President George Washington's Farewell Address (1796) 2,950 votes
National Interstate and Defense Highways Act (1956) 2,743 votes
16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Federal Income Tax (1913) 2,713 votes
President John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address (1961) 2,708 votes
Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Japan (1941) 2,663 votes
Manhattan Project Notebook (1945) 2,616 votes
President Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (1865) 2,540 votes
Virginia Plan (1787) 2,356 votes
Social Security Act Amendments (1965) 2,234 votes
Check for the Purchase of Alaska (1868) 2,219 votes
Lee Resolution (1776) 2,057 votes
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) 1,943 votes
Servicemen's Readjustment Act (1944) 1,919 votes
Northwest Ordinance (1787) 1,844 votes
Federal Judiciary Act (1789) 1,828 votes
Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916 (1916) 1,721 votes
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) 1,657 votes
Surrender of Germany (1945) 1,554 votes
Act Establishing Yellowstone National Park (1872) 1,504 votes
President George Washington's First Inaugural Speech (1789) 1,491 votes
Pacific Railway Act (1862) 1,451 votes
Surrender of Japan (1945) 1,434 votes
17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913) 1,419 votes
President Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points (1918) 1,388 votes
Jefferson's Secret Message to Congress Regarding the Lewis & Clark Expedition (1803) 1,387 votes
Treaty of Alliance with France (1778) 1,300 votes
Tennessee Valley Authority Act (1933) 1,213 votes
Press Release Announcing U.S. Recognition of Israel (1948) 1,195 votes
Truman Doctrine (1947) 1,194 votes
Patent for Cotton Gin (1794) 1,135 votes
Missouri Compromise (1820) 1,120 votes
President Franklin Roosevelt's Annual Message (Four Freedoms) to Congress (1941) 1,117 votes
National Labor Relations Act (1935) 1,116 votes
Theodore Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (1905) 1,091 votes
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) 1,042 votes
Executive Order 9981: Desegregation of the Armed Forces (1948) 1,010 votes
Lend-Lease Act (1941) 954 votes
Test Ban Treaty (1963) 936 votes
Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Germany (1917) 895 votes
General Dwight D. Eisenhower's Order of the Day (1944) 881 votes
Aerial Photograph of Missiles in Cuba (1962) 875 votes
President Andrew Jackson's Message to Congress 'On Indian Removal' (1830) 865 votes
Articles of Agreement Relating to the Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia (1865) 857 votes
Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) 850 votes
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) 845 votes
Morrill Act (1862) 839 votes
Original Design of the Great Seal of the United States (1782) 787 votes
Interstate Commerce Act (1887) 723 votes
President Franklin Roosevelt's Radio Address unveiling the second half of the New Deal (1936) 717 votes
Joint Resolution to Provide for Annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States (1898) 691 votes
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) 669 votes
Official Program for the March on Washington (1963) 666 votes
Compromise of 1850 (1850) 666 votes
Executive Order 10730: Desegregation of Central High School (1957) 655 votes
Transcript of John Glenn's Official Communication with the Command Center (1962) 613 votes
Telegram Announcing the Surrender of Fort Sumter (1861) 604 votes
Treaty of Ghent (1814) 583 votes
Zimmermann Telegram (1917) 580 votes
President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Farewell Address (1961) 567 votes
Tonkin Gulf Resolution (1964) 555 votes
Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) 486 votes
Executive Order 10924: Establishment of the Peace Corps. (1961) 482 votes
Senate Resolution 301: Censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy (1954) 455 votes
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) 440 votes
Wade-Davis Bill (1864) 405 votes
Dawes Act (1887) 372 votes
Executive Order 9066: Resulting in the Relocation of Japanese (1942) 334 votes
Pendleton Act (1883) 294 votes
Executive Order 8802: Prohibition of Discrimination in the Defense Industry (1941) 284 votes
National Industrial Recovery Act (1933) 279 votes
War Department General Order 143: Creation of the U.S. Colored Troops (1863) 257 votes
Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) 251 votes
Boulder Canyon Project Act (1928) 213 votes
Platt Amendment (1903) 140 votes
Armistice Agreement for the Restoration of the South Korean State (1953) 136 votes
De Lôme Letter (1898) 97 votes

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TIMELINE of the Complete List of 100 Documents
.

Lee Resolution (1776)
Declaration of Independence (1776)
Articles of Confederation (1777)
Treaty of Alliance with France (1778)
Original Design of the Great Seal of the United States (1782)
Treaty of Paris (1783)
Virginia Plan (1787)
Northwest Ordinance (1787)
Constitution of the United States (1787)
Federalist Papers, No. 10 & No. 51 (1787-1788)
President George Washington's First Inaugural Speech (1789)
Federal Judiciary Act (1789)
Bill of Rights (1791)
Patent for Cotton Gin (1794)
President George Washington's Farewell Address (1796)
Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)
Jefferson's Secret Message to Congress Regarding the Lewis & Clark Expedition (1803)
Louisiana Purchase Treaty (1803)
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Treaty of Ghent (1814)
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Missouri Compromise (1820)
Monroe Doctrine (1823)
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
President Andrew Jackson's Message to Congress 'On Indian Removal' (1830)
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)
Compromise of 1850 (1850)
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
Telegram Announcing the Surrender of Fort Sumter (1861)
Homestead Act (1862)
Pacific Railway Act (1862)
Morrill Act (1862)
Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
War Department General Order 143: Creation of the U.S. Colored Troops (1863)
Gettysburg Address (1863)
Wade-Davis Bill (1864)
President Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (1865)
Articles of Agreement Relating to the Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia (1865)
13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865)
Check for the Purchase of Alaska (1868)
Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)
14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (1868)
15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Voting Rights (1870)
Act Establishing Yellowstone National Park (1872)
Thomas Edison's Patent Application for the Light Bulb (1880)
Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)
Pendleton Act (1883)
Interstate Commerce Act (1887)
Dawes Act (1887)
Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890)
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
De Lôme Letter (1898)
Joint Resolution to Provide for Annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States (1898)
Platt Amendment (1903)
Theodore Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (1905)
16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Federal Income Tax (1913)
17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)
Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916 (1916)
Zimmermann Telegram (1917)
Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Germany (1917)
President Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points (1918)
19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women's Right to Vote (1920)
Boulder Canyon Project Act (1928)
Tennessee Valley Authority Act (1933)
National Industrial Recovery Act (1933)
National Labor Relations Act (1935)
Social Security Act (1935)
President Franklin Roosevelt's Radio Address unveiling the second half of the New Deal (1936)
President Franklin Roosevelt's Annual Message (Four Freedoms) to Congress (1941)
Lend-Lease Act (1941)
Executive Order 8802: Prohibition of Discrimination in the Defense Industry (1941)
Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Japan (1941)
Executive Order 9066: Resulting in the Relocation of Japanese (1942)
General Dwight D. Eisenhower's Order of the Day (1944)
Servicemen's Readjustment Act (1944)
Manhattan Project Notebook (1945)
Surrender of Germany (1945)
United Nations Charter (1945)
Surrender of Japan (1945)
Truman Doctrine (1947)
Marshall Plan (1948)
Press Release Announcing U.S. Recognition of Israel (1948)
Executive Order 9981: Desegregation of the Armed Forces (1948)
Armistice Agreement for the Restoration of the South Korean State (1953)
Senate Resolution 301: Censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy (1954)
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
National Interstate and Defense Highways Act (1956)
Executive Order 10730: Desegregation of Central High School (1957)
President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Farewell Address (1961)
President John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address (1961)
Executive Order 10924: Establishment of the Peace Corps. (1961)
Transcript of John Glenn's Official Communication with the Command Center (1962)
Aerial Photograph of Missiles in Cuba (1962)
Test Ban Treaty (1963)
Official Program for the March on Washington (1963)
Civil Rights Act (1964)
Tonkin Gulf Resolution (1964)
Social Security Act Amendments (1965)
Voting Rights Act (1965)

[Warph]

A National Initiative on American History, Civics, and Service:

We invite all Americans to participate in a series of events and programs to get us thinking, talking and teaching about the rights and responsibilities of citizens in our democracy. At the heart of this initiative are 100 milestone documents of American history. These documents reflect our diversity and our unity, our past and our future, and mostly our commitment as a nation to continue to strive to "form a more perfect union."

We want everyone—students, teachers, parents, and the general public—to read these milestone documents, consider their meaning, discuss them, and decide which are the most significant and why. This initiative creates a number of ways to do that—through classroom activities and competitions, and votes.

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/content.php?page=vote

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/content.php?page=milestone

[dnalexander]

Warph, You know I love your posts. This is a great topic I just have nothing to add other than to say I hope people use your threads to ake them on an educational journey if they agree and more so if they disagree with what you say. I love to start my day by being "Warphed" which is a good thing. Post on my fellow west coast time zone late night denizen.

David

[Catwoman]

Warph, I will be looking this up at school in order to expose my students to this...if I had ever had a history teacher who presented this type of information (instead of the psychological portent lurking behind all of it...I had a real nut for a history teacher), I would be better able to keep up with people like you!