US News and World Reports: Vote on Top 10 Documents That Shaped America

USNews.com, via The World Around You

My ten (in the order I remember them):

1. Declaration of Independance
2. Constitution
3. Bill of Rights
4. Articles of Confederation
5. Marbury v. Madison
6. Emancipation Proclamation
7. Sherman Anti-Trust Act
8. Servicemen's Readjustment Act (GI Bill)
9. Manhattan Project Notebook

I can't remember my tenth one! I'm thinking it was the Gettysburg Address, which I would change to the Civil Rights Act or Eisenhower's Interstate Act. Or even the Social Security Act...

My logic is how did we get to where we are today. The first four are no brainers. M v. M established judicial review, the Emanicipation Proclamation is the official turn of the tide against bigotry in America, and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act was a stand against the corporations that began to rival federal power. The GI Bill is the hallmark action of rebuilding America after the war, and the Manhattan Project turned America into the first global nuclear power.

Maybe I wouldn't change the Gettysburg Address. Attention must be paid to the sacrifices of so many American lives for the freedoms we enjoy in this nation. They have not died in vain as long as we are free, and we have not lived in vain if we preserve the blessings of liberty for our posterity.