Original documents are much more valuable than textbooks when it comes to teaching students about key issues in American history. That’s the argument the head of the Ohio-based Ashbrook Center made Monday during a speech to the John Locke Foundation’s Shaftesbury Society.
Ashbrook executive director Roger Beckett detailed the center’s focus on original documents, including a book featuring 50 Core American Documents: Required Reading for Students, Teachers, and Citizens.
In the video clip below, Beckett explains how original documents can illuminate key debates in American history.
Click here to watch the full 46:54 presentation.