The Articles of Confederation: On November 15th, 1777 The Articles of Confederation became the first constitution of the United States, though not yet ratified by the thirteen original colonies. Ratification of the Articles took place almost three and a half years later on March 1st, 1781. The purpose of the articles was to create a confederation of sovereign states with a weak central government; thus allowing state governments to wield most of the power. It wasn’t long before the need for a stronger federal government was realized which led to the Articles being replaced by the United States Constitution...

In this celebration of diversity, learn about the myriad histories and cultures behind our volunteers.

A collection of my favorite short children's stories and rhymes.

This is a collection of public domain science fiction stories which were turned into half-hour plays for the classic mid-1950's American radio series, X Minus One. All of these stories were added to Project Gutenberg via Greg Weeks and crew at Distributed Proofreaders.

In this collection of Russian stories, editor and compiler Thomas Seltzer selects from a range of the best examples of 19th and early 20th century Russian literature. As a survey of famous authors at the height of the powers, as well as some writers who have been unjustly neglected, this anthology is indispensable.

Cat Tales is the first of a series of kid-friendly collections of animal stories and non-fiction. There’ll be one or two grade-school-level texts on the animal, with eight-nine fiction works. Source for these is Project Gutenberg.

“Brazilian Tales” is a collection of six short stories selected by Isaac Goldberg as best representative of the Brazilian Literature of his period – the end of the 19th century. His comprehensive preface aims at familiarizing the reader with a literature that was – and still is – virtually unknown outside the boundaries of its own land, and the pieces chosen by Goldberg to be translated belong to writers that reached popularity and appreciation while still alive. This “pioneer volume”, as the translator himself puts it, still keeps its charm and interest as a way of offering to the English speaking public some “sample cases” of Brazilian Literature.

The Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, is a work of enormous proportions. Setting out with the simple goal of offering "American households a mass of good reading", the editors drew from literature of all times and all kinds what they considered the best pieces of human writing, and compiled an ambitious collection of 45 volumes (with a 46th being an index-guide). Besides the selection and translation of a huge number of poems, letters, short stories and sections of books, the collection offers, before each chapter, a short essay about the author or subject in question...

This is a collection of 20 short stories and long-form poetry by American women writers.

This is a collection of short humorous works first published before 1923.

Robert Burns, the national bard (poet) of Scotland was born on the 25th January, 1759. This is a collection of his poems and songs. This collection also includes works from other poets and writers who have written about Burns.

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes was a British TV series from the early 70s that dramatized stories written contemporaneously with the Sherlock Holmes stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This anthology contains twelve of the thirteen stories adapted as episodes for the first season. Sadly, one story, "The Missing Witness Sensation" by Ernest Bramah, is not public domain in the U.S., but can be read in the anthology Max Carrados Mysteries.

This book of favorite fairy tales was compiled and illustrated by Peter Newell. it includes Jack The Giant Killer; Cinderella; Sleeping Beauty; Little Red Riding Hood; Aladin and the Wonderful Lamp, The Ugly Duckling, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and Rose Red, The Wild Swans, Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, and 4 others that are not so famous. The stories included were based upon the those that various famous men remembered as their favorites when children

A collection of 48 wonderful English language stories from Sholem Alechem, I. L. Perez, Shalom Asch, and others. Tales of humour and drama, tragedy and pathos set mostly in the Jewish communities of 19th-century eastern Europe, Russia, and the Ukraine. Translated from Yiddish by Helena Frank.

Following in the vein of my Coffee-Break collections, this is a collection of short (all under 15 minutes) stories for kids. Focus is on fables and fairy tales published before 1923.

Are you wishing sometimes that you had a good book which you don't know, that you might just read and enjoy? The goal of this collection is to introduce you to as many books as possible. Some are well known, some are not.

A collection of spooky stories hand picked from a variety of sources.

These articles, pamphlets, and stories relating to the Girls Scouts of America touch on the history, activities, ideals, and traditions of this remarkable girls' organization. Though some of the articles appear redundant, they were selected to represent a contemporary view spanning five years of the organization's early popularity (1917-1921). Of significance are the detailed descriptions of Girl Scout involvement in war work during what is now known as World War I. Girl Scouts were prepared through their training for merit badges to be independent, resourceful, reliable, and helpful...

This is a collection of city stories, fiction or non-fiction, in English and published before 1923. Contributions have been chosen by the reader himself.

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes was a British TV series from the early 70s that dramatized stories written contemporaneously with the Sherlock Holmes stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This anthology contains stories adapted as episodes for the second season.

This is a collection of works -- short stories or poetry -- by women writers in English from around the world and first published before 1923.

G.K. Chesterton and James Walsh join Hilaire Belloc in an energetic rollout of the means by which history becomes propaganda, to the damage, not only to truth, but to the human soul.

This nonfiction collection of sketches, by "members of the New York press," takes the reader on a tour of 1866 New York City after dark, with stops along the way to vividly depict scenes ranging from the splendid to the squalid - but focusing largely on the latter!

A collection of short nonfiction works in the public domain. The selections included in this collection were independently chosen by the readers, and the topics encompass history, travel, mathematics, humor, philosophy, and nature.

Soporific dullness is in the ear of the listener, and what's tedium incarnate to one person will be another person's passion and delight. However, it is hoped that at least one from the range of topics here presented will lull the busy mind to a state of sweet sleep. (Introduction by Cori Samuel)

At a certain committee meeting held in the spring of 1916, it was agreed that fourteen leading American authors, known to be extremely generous as well as gifted, should be asked to write a composite novel....Third, to have the novel finished and published serially during the autumn Campaign of 1917.The carrying out of these requirements has not been the childish diversion it may have seemed. Splendid team work, however, has made success possible.Every author represented, every worker on the team, has gratuitously contributed his or her services; and every dollar realized by the serial and book publication of "The Sturdy Oak" will be devoted to the Suffrage Cause...

The first chapter of a book is often the hook to draw a reader in. It could make you eager for more or realize it isn't for you. In this, the 8th First Chapter Collection, we offer you old favorites, such as Pride and Prejudice and The Call of the Wild. We tour the world, with Mexico and The Natural History of Selbourne, contemplate philosophy with Knowing and Being and relax with a Dissertation on Oriental Gardening with a side of Cakes and Cookies.

The Black Cat was a monthly literary magazine, publishing original short stories, often about uncanny or fantastical topics. Many writers were largely unknown, but some famous authors also wrote original material for this magazine. The twelfth issue offers the following 6 stories: "The Reapers", by Ly Batterman Lindsay: eager to start a new life, a young couple learns that they cannot run from their past "A Kindergarten Hold-Up", by Mabell Shippie Clarke: a good-for-nothing tramp finds empathy while watching the innocent play of children "The Guardian of Mystery Island", by Dr...

The Black Cat was a monthly literary magazine, publishing original short stories, often about uncanny or fantastical topics. Many writers were largely unknown, but some famous authors also wrote original material for this magazine. Volume 2 starts off with the following 6 stories in the first issue: "The house that Jack built", by Harold Donovan Hilton: a young man learns the intriguing story of an uncanny old house "In the garden of a villa", by R. George Smith Jr.: a female lark sees her tragic...

The Black Cat was a monthly literary magazine, publishing original short stories, often about uncanny or fantastical topics. Many writers were largely unknown, but some famous authors also wrote original material for this magazine. This is the second issue of volume 2 with the following five short stories: "Silas F. Quigley - To Arrive", by Lewis Hopkins Rogers: a puzzling letter incites Mr Quigley to explore an unusual way to secure a job "The Polar Magnet", by Philip Verrill Mighels: discover the terrible technique a sculptor uses to create very life-like casts for his art "Fitzhugh", by W...

The Black Cat was a monthly literary magazine, publishing original short stories, often about uncanny or fantastical topics. Many writers were largely unknown, but some famous authors also wrote original material for this magazine. This is the third issue of volume 2 with the following six short stories: "The Lost Brook Trail", by Bert Leston Taylor: a man recruits a guide to a fishing expedition for an unusual catch "A modern de Pompadour", by Jennie Bullard Waterbury: a talented and creative wigmaker finally meets his rival "The Parchment Diary", by Willis B...

The Black Cat was a monthly literary magazine, publishing original short stories, often about uncanny or fantastical topics. Many writers were largely unknown, but some famous authors also wrote original material for this magazine. This is the fourth issue of volume 2 with the following five short stories: "The purloining of Ruth Allen", by Elizabeth Flint Wade: an old spinster realizes that it's never too late for true love "The scoop of the scarlet tanager", by Edward B. Clark: find out how...