The Harvard Classics, vol. 43: American Historical Documents
The Harvard Classics
Journey through “Dr. Eliot’s Five Foot Shelf.” This massive collection, designed to provide the elements of a liberal education, was compiled by distinguished Harvard University president Charles Eliot in the early 1900s. Packed with the essential works of the Western classical tradition, the Harvard Classics collection remains one of the most comprehensive and well-researched anthologies of all time—a must-have library for students and lovers of the classics.
Check out the complete The Harvard Classics and Fiction Collection. Keep reading with Harvard Classics, vol. 44 & 45: Complete Sacred Writings.
- Amerigo Vespucci’s Account of His First Voyage
- First Charter of Virginia
- The Mayflower Compact
- Declaration of Independence
- Articles of Confederation
- Constitution of the United States
- Washington’s Farewell Address
- The Monroe Doctrine
- The Gettysburg Address
- Treaty with Russia (Alaska Purchase)
- Treaty with Spain
- Title: The Harvard Classics, vol. 43: American Historical Documents
- Editor: Charles William Eliot
- Series: The Harvard Classics
- Publisher: P. F. Collier & Son
- Pages: 494
Charles W. Eliot (1834–1926) was selected as Harvard’s president in 1869 and served for 40 years, the longest term as president in the university’s history. Eliot graduated from Harvard in 1853 and in 1958 was appointed to assistant professor of mathematics and chemistry.
Eliot left Harvard in 1863 and traveled Europe for nearly two years, studying the educational systems of the Old World. After returning home in 1865, Eliot accepted the position of professor of analytical chemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He published his ideas about reforming American higher education in a compelling two-part article in The Atlantic Monthly, the nation’s leading journal of opinion.
In 1869, Harvard had found itself in a crisis of short-term presidents and languishing curriculum, so it turned to Charles W. Eliot. Under his leadership, Harvard began to expand the range of courses offered, permitting undergraduates with unrestricted choice in selecting their courses of study. The university soon became a center for advanced scientific and technological research.
Eliot assembled The Harvard Classics, more commonly known as “The Five-Foot Shelf” and the “Shelf of Fiction,” as a way to gather a collection of works that would best represent “the progress of man.”