The American Bible : how our words unite, divide, and define a nation
(Book)

Genesis. The Exodus story ; John Winthrop: "A model of Christian charity" (1630) ; Thomas Paine: Common sense (1776) ; The Declaration of Independence (1776) ; Noah Webster: The blue-back speller (1783- )

Law. The Constitution (1787) ; Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ; Roe v. Wade (1973)

Chronicles. Harriet Beecher Stowe: Uncle Tom's cabin (1852) ; Mark Twain: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) ; Ayn Rand: Atlas shrugged (1957)

Psalms. Francis Scott Key: "The star-spangled banner" (1814)

Irving Berlin : "God bless America" (1938) ; Woody Guthrie: "This land is your land" (1940)

Proverbs. Benjamin Franklin: "Remember that time is money" (1748) ; Benjamin Franklin: "God helps those who help themselves" (1758) ; Patrick Henry : "Give me liberty or give me death" (1775) ; Abigail Adams: "Remember the ladies" (1776) ; Sojourner Truth: "Ain't I a woman?" (1851) ; Abraham Lincoln: "With malice toward none, with charity for all" (1865) ; Chief Joseph : "I will fight no more forever" (1877) ; Calvin Coolidge: "The business of America is business" (1925) ; Franklin Delano Roosevelt: "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people" (1932) ; John F. Kennedy: "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country" (1961) ; Ronald Reagan: "evil empire" (1983)

Prophets. Henry David Thoreau: "Civil Disobedience" (1849) ; Dwight Eisenhower: Farewell Address (1961) ; Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I have a dream" (1963) ; Malcolm X: The autobiography of Malcolm X (1965)

Lamentations. Abraham Lincoln: Gettysburg address (1863) ; Maya Lin: Vietnam Veterans Memorial (1982)

Gospels. Thomas Jefferson: First inaugural address (1801) ; Franklin Delano Roosevelt: First inaugural address (1933) ; Ronald Reagan: "The speech" (1964)

Acts. The Pledge of Allegiance (1892, 1954)

Epistles. George Washington: Farewell address (1796) ; Thomas Jefferson: "Letter to the Danbury Baptists" (1802) ; Martin Luther King Jr.: "Letter from Birmingham jail" (1963).