Wilfred M. McClay

In September 2011, AEI honored longtime AEI colleague Walter Berns with a panel dedicated to discussing his scholarship on the Constitution and the republican polity it supports. At this event, former AEI President Arthur C. Brooks announced that henceforth, AEI's annual Constitution Day celebration would be named in honor of Walter. This volume is a collection of the 13 Walter Berns Constitution Day Lectures given since 2012. Walter's own work ranged widely, addressing issues on such diverse topics as civil and religious liberties, free speech, capital punishment, political philosophy, political science, presidential selection, and patriotism. It's fitting that the lectures named after him cover an equally broad array of topics related to the Constitution and the American republic.

In Land of Hope, historian Wilfred M. McClay offers readers an inspiring and balanced exploration of American history, focusing on the individuals, events, and ideals that define the American experience. This beautifully written narrative provides a refreshing look at the United States' journey, from its founding to its triumphs and struggles, while acknowledging the complexities and contradictions of the nation’s past. Designed as both a high school textbook and an engaging read for general audiences, Land of Hope provides an honest, non-ideological, yet affirmative glimpse of our American story. Through carefully selected stories and a clear, engaging writing style, Land of Hope immerses readers in key historical moments, encouraging readers to envision themselves as an integral part of this shared legacy. With Land of Hope, McClay invites students, teachers, and history enthusiasts alike to engage with America’s past and our ongoing quest for liberty and justice for all.

The volume before you arose out of a series of conferences and programs under the banner Restoring the American Story, directed primarily at educators working in both Jewish and non-Jewish school settings and educational nonprofits, and addressing itself to the various ways that the American tradition and the Jewish tradition are intertwined, and speak in strikingly similar and mutually supportive ways to some of the most fundamental human concerns-concerns that are foundational to what we call Western Civilization. Much of the book consists of papers and presentations arising out of these programs, particularly a conference held at Yeshiva University in spring of 2023, convened by the two editors of this volume, and attended by a lively group of teachers and other educators from around the country. We are grateful for the generous support of Mitch Julis, Elie Gindi, and the Jack Miller Center in these efforts. Other contributions have been added, and in some cases solicited for this volume, as the editors discerned gaps and potential points of interest and illumination.

A wonderfully written, sweeping narrative history of the United States that will help Americans discover the land they call home. Workbook for Students studying the Young Readers Edition of Land of Hope. Middle School — Grades 6-8The FIRST Student Workbook to accompany the two-volume Young Readers Edition of Land of HopeThis Student Workbook to the Young Reader’s Edition of Wilfred McClay’s Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story is an invaluable supplement for students reading the Land of Hope in their courses. Prepared by Wilfred McClay in collaboration with John McBride, a master teacher with more than thirty years of secondary and collegiate teaching experience, the workbook expands on the Land of Hope, offering corresponding primary source documents and hands-on map reading exercises. It will help students develop their close reading and geography skills in order to better understand the materials presented in the Land of Hope. This Student Workbook and the Teacher’s Guide are complementary and designed to be used together. Both provide chapter summaries which instructors may use in teaching students to read for the main idea. The Student Workbook contains reading questions for each chapter of the Land of Hope text; the Teacher’s Guide has the same questions with answers. Primary source documents, including speeches, diary entries, song lyrics, compacts, letters, essays, legal documents, and more, accompany each chapter and are broken into shorter segments to help with reading comprehension. In the Student Workbook, each primary source is followed by reading questions directed to help students understand the main ideas; the Teacher’s Guide provides the answers. The Student Workbook offers fourteen map exercises; the Teacher’s Guide provides the keys. Both editions offer synthetical essay questions for each chapter and for final exams, learning strategies, and study “tricks.”

A wonderfully written, sweeping narrative history of the United States that will help Americans discover the land they call home. Workbook for students studying the Young Readers Edition of Land of Hope. Middle School, Grades 6-8The SECOND Student Workbook to accompany the two-volume Young Readers Edition of Land of Hope This Student Workbook to the Young Reader’s Edition of Wilfred McClay’s Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story is an invaluable supplement for students reading the Land of Hope in their courses. Prepared by Wilfred McClay in collaboration with John McBride, a master teacher with more than thirty years of secondary and collegiate teaching experience, the workbook expands on the Land of Hope, offering corresponding primary source documents and hands-on map reading exercises. It will help students develop their close reading and geography skills in order to better understand the materials presented in the Land of Hope. This Student Workbook and the Teacher’s Guide are complementary and designed to be used together. Both provide chapter summaries which instructors may use in teaching students to read for the main idea. The Student Workbook contains reading questions for each chapter of the Land of Hope text; the Teacher’s Guide has the same questions with answers. Primary source documents, including speeches, diary entries, song lyrics, compacts, letters, essays, legal documents, and more, accompany each chapter and are broken into shorter segments to help with reading comprehension. In the Student Workbook, each primary source is followed by reading questions directed to help students understand the main ideas; the Teacher’s Guide provides the answers. The Student Workbook offers fourteen map exercises; the Teacher’s Guide provides the keys. Both editions offer synthetical essay questions for each chapter and for final exams, learning strategies, and study “tricks.”

A wonderfully written, sweeping narrative history of the United States that will help Americans discover the land they call home. Guide for Teachers using Land of Hope: Young Readers Edition. Middle School grades 6-8The SECOND Teachers Guide to accompany the two-volume narrative Land of Hope: Young Readers EditionThis Teacher's Guide to the Young Reader's Edition of Wilfred McClay's Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story is an invaluable supplemental resource for teachers who use the Young Reader's Edition as a textbook for middle-grade courses in US history. Prepared by McClay in collaboration with John McBride, a master teacher with more than thirty years of secondary and collegiate teaching experience, it is one exceptionally rich and useful tool for classroom instructors. Each chapter of this Teacher's Guide receives a five-part treatment: a short summation of the chapter's contents, questions and answers about the chapter, a list of key names and terms appearing within each one, a crossword puzzle based on those names and terms, and one or more primary source documents for class analysis with accompanying questions and answers. Longer documents are broken into shorter passages with questions interspersed to help younger readers. This Teacher's Guide also features a collection of map exercises, as well as special units to assist instructors in teaching students about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the two-party system.

A wonderfully written, sweeping narrative history of the United States that will help Americans discover the land they call home. Guide for Teachers using Land of Hope: Young Readers Edition. Middle School — Grades 6-8The FIRST Teachers Guide to accompany the two-volume narrative Land of Hope: Young Readers EditionThis Teacher's Guide to the Young Reader's Edition of Wilfred McClay's Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story is an invaluable supplemental resource for teachers who use the Young Reader's Edition as a textbook for middle-grade courses in US history. Prepared by McClay in collaboration with John McBride, a master teacher with more than thirty years of secondary and collegiate teaching experience, it is an exceptionally rich and useful tool for classroom instructors. Each chapter of this Teacher's Guide receives a five-part treatment: a short summation of the chapter's contents questions and answers about the chapter, a list of key names and terms appearing within each one, a crossword puzzle based on those names and terms, and one or more primary source documents for class analysis with accompanying questions and answers. Longer documents are broken into shorter passages with questions interspersed to help younger readers. This Teacher's Guide also features a collection of map exercises as well as special units to assist instructors in teaching students about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the two-party system.

A wonderfully written, sweeping narrative history of the United States that will help Americans discover the land they call home. American History for Middle School — Grades 6-8 The FIRST book in a two-volume narrative for Young Readers studying Land of Hope VOLUME ONE: SHAPING A NEW NATION, From 1492 to 1877From its beginnings America was a land of hope, a magnet for those seeking a new beginning for themselves. The American Founders created a unique plan of government designed to realize those ideals. Implementing the plan was not easy, though, and a bloody civil war would push the American experiment to the breaking point — and to a new birth of freedom.

A wonderfully written, sweeping narrative history of the United States that will help Americans discover the land they call home. American History for Middle School — Grades 6-8The SECOND book in a two-volume narrative for Young Readers studying Land of Hope VOLUME TWO: THE MAKING OF MODERN AMERICA, From 1877 to 2020The Founders of the American nation would have had trouble recognizing the America that emerged after the Civil War. By century’s end we had rapidly evolved into the world’s greatest industrial power. It was a nation of large new cities populated by immigrants from all over the world. And it was a nation that was taking an increasingly active role on the world stage, even to the point of acquiring an empire of its own. Many Americans began to wonder whether this modern nation had outgrown its original Constitution. That document had been written back in the eighteenth century, after all, and one of its main goals was limiting the size and scope of government. But did that goal make sense in the dynamic new America of the twentieth century? That became a central question. The Progressive movement and its successors believed it was time to replace the Constitution with laws permitting a larger and more powerful government. Others firmly rejected such changes and insisted on the permanent validity of the Constitution’s ideal of limited government. In addition, with the two great world wars of the twentieth century, and the Cold War that came after them, America found itself thrust into a position of overwhelming world leadership—something else that the Founders never imagined or wanted. Such leadership required the development of a large and permanent military establishment whose very existence ran up against the nation’s founding traditions. With the end of the Cold War, America faced a decision. Should it shed the world responsibilities it had taken on during the twentieth century? Or should it treat those responsibilities as a permanent obligation? That debate, which has deep roots in American history, continues to this day.

A wonderfully written, sweeping narrative history of the United States that will help Americans discover the land they call home. Workbook for High School Students studying Land of HopeThis workbook accompanies Land of Hope This Student Workbook for Wilfred M. McClay's Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story will be an invaluable supplemental resource for students and teachers who use Land of Hope as a textbook for courses in U. S. history. Prepared by Dr. McClay in collaboration with Dr. John McBride, a master teacher with more than thirty years of secondary and collegiate teaching experience, it is an exceptionally rich and useful tool for classroom instructors. The Student Workbook is designed to be used in tandem with the Teacher's Guide to Land of Hope and includes additional materials, such as extensive map exercises, that will build students' geographical knowledge. In the Student Workbook, each chapter of Land of Hope receives a four-part treatment: questions and answers about the chapter, short objective tests suitable for quizzes and exams, a primary-source document for class analysis, and questions and answers to accompany the document. In addition, the Student Workbook contains special units to assist students in understanding the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Finally, in addition to the map exercises, the Student Workbook features handy reference tools for student use and an extensive list of suggested topics for research papers and further investigation.

A wonderfully written, sweeping narrative history of the United States that will help Americans discover the land they call homeHigh School and College Age StudentsThe Original Land of Hope Narrative in Paperback Edition We have a glut of text and trade books on American history. But what we don't have is a compact, inexpensive, authoritative, and compulsively readable book that will offer to intelligent young Americans a coherent, persuasive, and inspiring narrative of their own country. Such an account will shape and deepen their sense of the land they inhabit, and by making them understand that land's roots, will equip them for the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship in American society, and provide them with a vivid and enduring sense of membership in one of the greatest enterprises in human history: the exciting, perilous, and immensely consequential story of their own country. The existing texts simply fail to tell that story with energy and conviction. They are more likely to reflect the skeptical outlook of specialized professional academic historians, an outlook that supports a fragmented and fractured view of modern American society, and that fails to convey to young people the greater arc of that history. Or they reflect the outlook of radical critics of American society, who seek to debunk the standard American narrative, and has an enormous, and largely negative, effect upon the teaching of American history in American high schools and colleges. This state of affairs cannot continue for long without producing serious consequences. A great nation needs and deserves a great and coherent narrative, as an expression of its own self-understanding: and it needs to convey that narrative to its young effectively. It perhaps goes without saying that such a narrative cannot be a fairy tale or a whitewash of the past; it will not be convincing if it is not truthful. But there is no necessary contradiction between an honest account and an inspiring one. This account seeks to provide both.

A wonderfully written, sweeping narrative history of the United States that will help Americans discover the land they call home. Guide for Teachers using Land of Hope in the classroomThis Guide accompanies the original Land of Hope for High School and College age students This Teacher's Guide to Wilfred McClay's Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story will be an invaluable supplemental resource for teachers who use Land of Hope as a textbook for courses in U. S. history. Prepared by Dr. McClay in collaboration with Dr. John McBride, a master teacher with more than thirty years of secondary and collegiate teaching experience, it is an exceptionally rich and useful tool for classroom instructors. Each chapter of Land of Hope receives a five-part treatment: a short summation of the chapter's contents, questions and answers about the chapter, short objective tests suitable for quizzes and exams, a primary-source document for class analysis, and questions and answers to accompany the document. In addition, there are special units to assist teachers in helping students to understand the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the origins of the two-party system.

We have a glut of text and trade books on American history. But what we don't have is a compact, inexpensive, authoritative, and compulsively readable book that will offer to American readers a clear, informative, and inspiring narrative account of their own country. Such an account can shape and deepen their sense of the land they inhabit and, by making them understand that land's roots, and share in its memories, will equip them for the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship in American society. It will provide them with an enduring sense of membership in one of the greatest enterprises in human history: the exciting, perilous, and consequential story of their own country. The existing texts simply fail to tell that story with energy and conviction. They are more likely to reflect the skeptical or partial outlook of specialized professional academic historians, an outlook that leads to a fragmented and fractured view of modern American society and fails to convey to American readers the greater arc of their own history. Or they disproportionately reflect the outlook of radical critics of American society, whose one-sided accounts lack the balance of a larger perspective and have had an enormous, and largely negative, effect upon the teaching of American history in American high schools and colleges. This state of affairs cannot continue for long without producing serious consequences. A great nation needs and deserves a great and coherent narrative, as an expression of its own self-understanding; and it needs to be able to convey that narrative to its young effectively. It perhaps goes without saying that such a narrative cannot be a fairy tale or a whitewash of the past; it will not be convincing if it is not truthful. But there is no necessary contradiction between an honest account of the American past and an inspiring one. This account seeks to provide both.