About the "Created Equal" bookshelf
The American nation, observed Abraham Lincoln was “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” The Created Equal Bookshelf provides opportunities for young people to explore the meaning of this phrase that helped inspire a revolution. What challenges has America faced, and what progress has it made in its efforts to live up to the ideal of universal human equality? How did Abraham Lincoln, whose 200th birthday we celebrate in 2009, contribute to the idea of equality in America?
In the fifth We the People Bookshelf program, 3000 libraries will receive a set of classic books for young readers related to the theme Created Equal. The National Endowment for the Humanities is proud to offer this program in cooperation with the American Library Association.
“The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial is the perfect time to reflect on the proposition that ‘All men are created equal.’ Understanding its full meaning and application has been the task of every generation since it was put forth as a self evident truth by America’s Founders. The We the People Bookshelf on Created Equal invites the young people of today into the discussion.”
Bruce Cole,
Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Books in the Collection
For Grades K to 3
- Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco
- The Gettysburg Address
- The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson
For Grades 4 to 6
- Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
- Give Me Liberty! The Story of the Declaration of Independence by Russell Freedman
- Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
- Lyddie by Katherine Paterson
- Many Thousand Gone: African Americans from Slavery to Freedom by Virginia Hamilton
For Grades 7 to 8
- Abraham Lincoln the Writer: A Treasury of His Greatest Speeches and Letters
- Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez
- Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman
- Saturnalia by Paul Fleischman
For Grades 9 to 12
- Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution by Natalie S. Bober
- Amistad: A Novel by David Pesci
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
- History in a Box Kit on Abraham Lincoln
- Lincoln's Virtues: An Ethical Biography by William Lee Miller
- That All People May Be One People, Send Rain to Wash the Face of the Earth by Nez Perce Chief Joseph
