Books in History Compass series

In 1853, Rev. Charles Loring Brace founded the first of many orphanages and social agencies to provide for the homeless street children in New York. Noting the need for laborers and the desire for more children in other parts of the country, Brace's Children's Aid Society began to ""place out"" children to families in more than 40 states. Eventually, thousands of children travelled to their new surroundings on what came to be called""orphan trains.""

This volume of documents on the war in the Pacific deals with the origins of the war, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and early island conquests by Japan. The major battles of the Coral Sea, Midway Island, Guadalcanal, the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa are covered, as are the roles of submarines and airpower in the fight to control the sea and sky over the Pacific. Documents include those of Japanese and American military leaders, soldiers, and civilians.

Excerpts from the works of Locke, Paine, Adams, Franklin, and others provide an in-depth look at ideas on slavery, government, liberty, and human nature as the Continental Congress drafted, debated, and approved the Declaration of Independence. Revealing details on the changes made to Jefferson's original draft and the final version are shown, along with excerpts from the later ""Declaration of Women's Rights,"" comments by Lincoln, and the ""Black Declaration of Independence.""

The beginnings of the Revolutionary War at Lexington and Concord come alive through personal narratives from participants and observers and through primary sources representing British and Colonist points of view. Historian Jeanne Munn Bracken describes the events leading up to the revolt in her essay, ""The Seeds of Revolution."" Also included are excerpts from Paul Revere's Reminiscences, poetry of H. W. Longfellow, the origins of""Yankee Doodle,"" and more.

This anthology details the lives and traditions of Cherokees in the 18th century, before they were forced to leave their homelands in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and North Carolina on the relocation journey west that became known as the Trail of Tears. Included in this collection are legends such as How the World Was Made and The First Fire, poetry, essays about Cherokee customs, Sequoyah's role in inventing the Cherokee alphabet, samples of America's first bilingual newspaper, and illustrations and photographs.

The Colonies provides insight into the religious, political, and economic motives of free immigrants to North America from Europe and about the emergence of social and religious institutions in the colonies. Primary source documents introduce the reader to the journey to the New World, life in the American colonies, the struggle for religious freedom, and relations with Native Americans.