Last September, as part of The People's Vote <www.ourdocuments.gov> civics initiative, Americans were invited to select US history's 10 most formative documents. Most of their choices involved statements of individual liberties and the right to vote. So it was fitting that Archivist of the United States John W. Carlin announced the results on Bill of Rights Day, the anniversary of the fledgling US government's adoption of the ground-breaking citizens' rights statement (and People's Vote number 3).

Nearly 40,000 Americans cast 300,000 votes, choosing from a list of 100 congressional acts, Supreme Court decisions, speeches and treaties selected by historians. Voters-by-mail used a write-in option to suggest such nominees as President Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" speech and the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision. (The official list ended in 1965 with the Voting Rights Act.)