Retain major texts that are often referenced in public discourse.
Machiavelli's political treatise on power and statecraft
Thomas Paine's pamphlet arguing for American independence
Rousseau's work arguing that legitimate authority rests on a collective agreement
Gandhi's call for British withdrawal from India
Thomas Paine's defense of liberty and the French Revolution
an early written law code from ancient Babylon
Nehru's speech marking India's independence
the 1945 treaty that established the United Nations
Adam Smith's foundational work on political economy
Martin Luther's challenge to Church practices that helped spark the Reformation
the 1215 charter that limited royal power and affirmed rule of law
Marx and Engels' pamphlet on class struggle and communism
Churchill's early wartime speech as prime minister
the framework of the U.S. federal government
the 1948 UN statement of fundamental human rights
the 1776 statement that the American colonies were separating from Britain
Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech calling for civil rights and racial justice
Abraham Lincoln's brief Civil War speech on union and equality