Web Resources

The following links will help you explore the themes of Chapter 2 on the Web.

The Brookings Institution

The choices made by Socrates, James Madison, Adolf Hitler, and John F. Kennedy have important historical precedents. As shown by the Brookings Institution, there are many other policy choices to be made by modern politicians. This nonprofit research organization lays out current political challenges and offers recommendations for meeting them. Included on the Brookings Web site are news releases, policy briefs, and featured books.

The Last Days of Socrates

The philosophy department at Clarke College designed this site on Socrates to help students read the Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and the death scene from the Phaedo. Full texts are provided for each with intermittent explanatory links. A research section supplies other translations, secondary sources, links to other sites, and a bibliography. In addition, the site features audio recordings, art, humor, and a quiz.

The James Madison Papers

If you are interested in more information regarding Madison, pay an online visit to the James Madison Papers from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress. They consist of approximately 12,000 items captured in some 72,000 digital images. They document the life of the man who came to be known as the “Father of the Constitution” through correspondence, personal notes, drafts of letters and legislation, an autobiography, legal and financial documents, and miscellaneous manuscripts.

Think Progress: An Iraq War Timeline

This site provides a valuable time line for the Iraq war and details about all the major developments from a military, political, and economic standpoint. It is updated frequently.

The Cuban Missile Crisis, The History Channel

This is an excellent site with a written narrative retelling the story of the crisis, several short videos on events leading up to and surrounding the crisis such as the Bay of Pigs fiasco and America’s U2 spy plane program, and an audio recording of President Kennedy’s diary of the Cuban missile crisis.

German Propaganda Archive

The German Propaganda Archive maintained at Calvin College helps explain the choices made by German citizens throughout the twentieth century. The archive includes both actual propaganda itself and material produced for the guidance of propagandists. The first section presents Nazi propaganda from pre-1933 to 1945, while the second section focuses on Marxist propaganda from 1949 to 1989. The site provides various mediums of propaganda, including posters, speeches, brochures, articles, and artwork.