Showing results by publisher "Spoken Realms" in Americas

Having the first volume of this series discussed the events, the national developments, and the institutions which preceded the colonization of America, the next step is to describe the land and the people of America as they were found by the Europeans. This volume, therefore, is intended once and for all to set forth the physical conditions of colonization; for within twenty-five years after the discovery, the Spaniards began to penetrate into the interior of North America and encounter the obstacles of rivers and mountains and the sterner opposition of native tribes.

This first volume of the series supplies a needed link between the history of Europe and the history of early America; for whether it came through a Spanish, French, English, Dutch, or Swedish medium, or through the later immigrants from Germany, from Italy, and from the Slavic countries, the American conception of society and of government was originally derived from the European. Hence the importance at the outset of knowing what that civilization was at the time of colonization.

Between 1862 and 1865 Ambrose Bierce served in the Union Army in the Civil War. He was active as an infantryman and engineer, and fought at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. Six autobiographical pieces were inspired by his wartime experiences and were published as a collection in 1909.

Stephen Arnold Douglas was one of two Democratic Party nominees for president in the 1860 presidential election, which was won by Republican Abraham Lincoln. The Lincoln-Douglas debate, which occurred during the senatorial campaign, in Illinois, in 1858, focused on the contentious issue of slavery. The Republican party was in principle opposed to slavery while the Democratic party supported it.

Award-winning audiobook narrator and storyteller Mike Vendetti takes us back to The Boston Massacre as told by Nathaniel Hawthorne, which took place on March 3, 1770. When the smoke cleared, 11 of the sons of New England lay stretched upon the street. Some, sorely wounded, were struggling to rise again. Others stirred not, nor groaned, for they were past all pain. Blood was streaming upon the snow.

Award winning audiobook narrator Mike Vendetti reads Roosevelt's speech given on Inauguration Day in March 1933. The speech is particularly memorable for its attack on the psychology of the Great Depression. Less memorable but more enduring is the justification that Roosevelt planned to use to expand the power of the federal government to achieve his legislative objectives and thereby ease the effects of the Great Depression. Woven throughout his inaugural address was his plan.

Award-winning audiobook narrator Mike Vendetti reads "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" by Patrick Henry from a speech he made to the second Virginia convention on March 23, 1775 at St. John's Church in Richmond Virginia. Henry is credited with having swung the balance in convincing the convention to pass a resolution delivering Virginian troops to the Revolutionary war.

The truth about slavery in America from a former slave, Fredrick Douglass. Mr. Douglass was one of the most articulate Americans of his era. There was no such person as a happy slave and black lives mattered only to abolitionists and the slaves themselves.

"On the Duty of Civil Disobedience", published by Henry David Thoreau in 1849, speaks eloquently and personally about one man's desire to live a peaceful, government-free life. In this short essay, Thoreau lays out his philosophy best summed up by the author as, "That government governs best that does not govern at all." Thoreau takes on the key issues of his day: slavery and the Mexican war.

As applicable today as it was in 1796, no Senate tradition has been more steadfastly maintained than the annual reading of President George Washington's 1796 Farewell Address. In this letter to "Friends and Citizens," Washington warned that the forces of geographical sectionalism, political factionalism, and interference by foreign powers in the nation's domestic affairs threatened the stability of the Republic. He urged Americans to subordinate sectional jealousies to common national interests. Award-winning narrator Mike Vendetti reads this address.

George Washington, the first president of the United States makes his inaugural address. Narrated by Mike Vendetti.

One of the most notorious murders in US history, the 1892 killing of Andrew and Abby Borden in Fall River, Massachusetts, officially remains an unsolved case. Although Lizzie Borden was charged with the axe murders of her father and stepmother, the jury found her not guilty. No one else was ever charged. Edwin H. Porter was a young police reporter for the Fall River Daily Globe who covered the crime. Beginning with the discovery of the bodies, all the way through the investigation, trial, and final verdict, Porter gives a detailed account with first-hand access to the crime scene.

A cavalcade of Spaniards, Indians, miners, prospectors, and adventurers have all madly searched since pioneer times for lost gold - hidden gold. To this day, the fabric of dreams blends over the wild Western mountain mysteries of many centuries, many people, and many traditions. Ill-fated Peraltas, the Dutchman, the Lost Wheelbarrow Mine, the Lost Dutch Oven, the Lost Cabin Mine, the Lost Padre, and more are investigated - a saga of incredible frontier fortunes and treasure trails. This work was the basis of the 1949 motion picture, Lust for Gold.

The story is told from the point of view of Pip, an orphan of humble origins who dreams of being a gentleman. From a chilling encounter with a convict when he was seven, through his coming of age and early adulthood, he tells of his "memorable days" and the "great changes" they wrought in him. Pip is apprenticed to kind-hearted Joe Gargery, the blacksmith, husband to his ill-tempered sister. On meeting the eccentric and reclusive Miss Havisham and her proud and haughty ward, the beautiful Estella, Pip becomes ashamed of his origins and hopes to one day better himself.

Ballads of a Cheechako is the sophomore volume of Yukon inspired verse from Scottish/Canadian poet Robert W. Service. Published in 1909, it was an immediate success and catapulted Robert W. Service to a household name around North America. This volume contains 22 verses exploring interesting characters and life in the early days of Canada's last frontier. From the man who staked the northern lights, to the Mounted Police, to hard-luck prospectors, and beyond, this book contains much of the framework for the collective vision we all share when we hear the word Klondike.

This Civil War recording is taken from a 1963 booklet by John I Robertson and the US Civil War Centennial Commission in the public domain. The recording presents in simple language, a survey of the 11 most important aspects of the 1861-1865 American conflict. It is not possible to describe all of the 6,000 plus battles nor consideration of the political, economic, and social history of the period in this abridged version.

Twenty years of settlement and growth of Denver and Colorado are detailed in this account, from the area's earliest years up to 1880. It is a history of Denver, of its growth and improvements in areas of business, industry, and society.

Educated in Amherst, Massachusetts, Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe (1819-1906) accompanied her physician-husband to California in 1849. The Shirley Letters (1922) is the book edition of a series of letters written by Mrs. Clappe to her sister in 1851 and 1852. They were first published under the pseudonym of Dame Shirley in the Pioneer magazine, 1854-55. In these letters, Louise Clappe writes of life in San Francisco and the Feather River mining communities of Rich Bar and Indian Bar.

There's honest graft and dishonest graft, according to George Washington Plunkitt. Listen to this candid discourse from a 19th-century politician and decide for yourself if things have changed.

In 1889, 24-year-old Rudyard Kipling was making his way from India to England. On his trip, he traveled to San Francisco and went from Yellowstone National Park to Salt Lake City, and then headed to London. This audiobook focuses on Kipling’s time in the West on that trip, using an excerpt of From Sea to Sea: Letters of Travel, published most recently in 1913. The excerpt includes letters 22-32. Kipling reveals a wit and sarcasm, pointing out American foibles. The mix of what Kipling likes and dislikes show us imperial and racist attitudes all too common in Kipling’s day.