The Tree of Liberty: A Documentary History of Rebellion and Political Crime in America

By Nicholas N. Kittrie

Benedict Arnold and Cesar Chavez, Johns Wilkes Booth and Martin Luther King, the Rosenbergs, the Berrigans, the Founding Fathers, and the suffragists--all have engaged in political behavior defined at one time or another as "criminal." This monumental work, now in a second, expanded edition that includes new material on the Iran Contra affair, David Koresh, Ruby Ridge, and the Unibomber, recounts the uninterrupted and ongoing story of dissent, disobedience, violence, and rebellion in America. Built around a collection of more than 400 documents that span an extraordinary range, both in time and in kind, The Tree of Liberty forcefully documents how challenges to government and authority have shaped the nation's thought, history, and freedom. An introductory note places each document in its historical context; read together, these headnotes constitute a narrative history of dissent in the United States. The book's full concordance enables readers to trace the development of specific issues--terrorism or states' rights, civil disobedience or assassination--through the country's past and present. "Far and away the most comprehensive and carefully selected sourcebook of its kind. The book should be indispensable to every student of law and history."--Henry Steele Commager "It is rare to find a reference work that is not only factual but readable... Now a university press brings out an important and welcome exception that beautifully succeeds in blending both story and history in one sturdy volume."-- New York Times

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801824974
• ISBN13: 9780801824975
• Release Date: May 1986
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 714 Pages
• Weight: 1.47 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 10.7" x 1.7"