Nonfiction Reading List for the SAT: 19th, 18th, and 17th-Century Politics and Philosophy
Students and parents alike often believe SAT tutoring lessons are enough for students to markedly improve on the SAT Reading section. Although it’s true tutoring is proven to help, there is NO SUBSTITUTE for reading. One of the common areas in which students struggle on the SAT is nonfiction, specifically nonfiction from earlier centuries which deals with politics and philosophy. Students need to immerse themselves in documents, essays, and treatises like the ones in the following list if they want to familiarize themselves with the kind of language and ideas they might need to contend with on the SAT.
Don’t procrastinate! Develop a habit of reading SAT-style material, such as the following list, and you’ll notice your reading comprehension increase. Look up the meaning of words you don’t know. Read what OTHER people have to say about these texts. Understand their arguments, understand the social and political context in which they were written. What do they believe? Who are they responding to? What was going on in the world at that time? What impact did their words have? Who was their audience? Answering these and other questions as you read will help to keep you engaged and ensure you have an understanding of not just what the piece is saying, but what it means, and what effect it has.
So here we are!
Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France
Edmund Burke was an Irish-born statesman and political philosopher. His seminal work, Reflections on the Revolution in France, argued that revolution in general, and specifically the French revolution, was a destructive force that threatened the very fabric of society and fomented anti-Catholic sentiment. Immerse yourself in Burke’s rich language and attempt to enter the mind of this 18th-century thinker. SAT passages have been drawn from Burke’s work before!
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays
Ralph Waldo Emerson was a 19th-century American thinker. All of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s work is worth reading, and an Emerson passage from one of his essays on politics was just featured on the SAT. Emerson was a Transcendental writer, poet, and philosopher who stressed the value of individualism and self-reliance. Essays such as “Nature,” “Self-Reliance,” and “Politics” are worth a close read. Learn to appreciate Emerson’s language! Look up the meaning of words you don’t know, and be sure to read slowly and closely. Emerson pairs well with Thoreau’s Walden, also on this list.
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
A 17th-century writer and thinker, Thomas Hobbes is best known for his work Leviathan, which is credited with establishing the social contract theory. His writing and thinking profoundly influenced American political philosophy, so a look at his work is well worth it if you’re hoping to succeed on the SAT. Hobbes believed that a strong government was instrumental in separating humans from their natural state, one he saw as brutal and in need of being checked. He wrote the book during the English Civil War.
John Locke, Second Treatise of Civil Government
John Locke was a 17th-century philosopher and physician and has come to be known as the “Father of Liberalism.” He was a British empiricist whose writings influenced the founding fathers of the United States, and many of his ideas are reflect in the U.S. Constitution. His theory of mind posited that the mind was a tabula rasa, or blank slate, which contrasted with Cartesian philosophy. All knowledge, Locke believed, came from experience and sensory perceptions. Jefferson loved him so much that one of Locke’s passages is reproduced almost verbatim in the Declaration of Independence. To strengthen your SAT Reading comprehension skills, especially when it comes to social studies and political philosophy from earlier eras, look no further than Locke!
Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws
Montesquieu was a 17th and 18th-century political philosopher who is most known for his formulation of the theory of separation of powers, an idea which has found its way into the founding documents of many countries throughout the world, not least of which is America. Spend some time with Montesquieu’s writing, language, and ideas to gain a foothold on Enlightenment rhetoric, as the SAT loves to pull passages from writers and thinkers of this time period. Don’t forget to look up the meanings of words you don’t know, and do your research to learn more about the time in which Montesquieu wrote and how his ideas have been implemented in governments across the world.
Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man and Common Sense
Thomas Paine was an 18th-century English-born writer and political philosopher who immigrated to America to escape his native Britain. He is remembered as an essential voice in American independence, and is commonly known for his pamphlet Common Sense, which advocated for revolution and the freeing of people from oppressive monarchical regimes. His Rights of Man is also important reading. It was written in part to defend the French revolution against critics such as Edmund Burke. In fact, Paine often went after Burke directly and faced charges of seditious libel for his attacks on Burke.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract
When preparing for the difficult nonfiction and political philosophy that is often featured on the SAT, the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, an 18th-century French philosopher, are invaluable. Rousseau is best known for The Social Contract, and his ideas, together with those of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, were integral to the founding fathers’ ideas of a free but responsible society. Rousseau argued against monarchs’ divine right to rule, and, continuing on the theme he built in Discourse on Inequality, theorized how best to establish a political society that was free and fair to all. Rousseau’s ideas inspired revolutions and helped to liberate men from monarchical rule.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, The Woman’s Bible
It’s quite common for passages by women’s suffragists to be featured on the SAT Reading test, and passages by Elizabeth Cady Stanton are ripe for the choosing. It’s wise to familiarize yourself with this revolutionary woman’s ideas and writings; read The Woman’s Bible to gain an understanding of how Stanton and those who supported the women’s suffrage movement were radically challenging traditional and orthodox notions (reinforced by religion) that women were “naturally” meant to be subservient to men. All men and all women should read this 19th-century women’s-rights pioneer’s work, with an eye toward how much of society still needs to recognize the power and independence of women! Sink into Stanton’s language and consider how far we have come since she made waves with this influential text.
Henry David Thoreau, Walden and Resistance to Civil Government
Henry David Thoreau is a famous, almost mythological character in 19th-century American literature and philosophy. In Walden, he recounts how he sought to “live life deliberately” by going into the woods (he lived on Emerson’s land) and building a house from scratch. In a series of essays on life, nature, and relationships with other people, Thoreau manages to write beautifully about transcendental, individualist ideas, about living simply and effectively and liberating one’s body, mind, and spirit. In Resistance to Civil Government, Thoreau is more explicitly political, and with good reason: he famously spent a night in jail for refusing to pay taxes, as he was vehemently opposed to the war those taxes were supporting. Thoreau is an exquisite writer whose ideas still shape the American mythology. Read him!
Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Women
The mother of Mary Shelley, who wrote Frankenstein, Mary Wollstonecraft was an 18th-century proto-feminist thinker and writer whose A Vindication of the Rights of Women is essential reading for those looking to improve comprehension on the SAT. Passages by Wollstonecraft have been used before and are likely to be used again, so take the time to appreciate the beauty and power of her language and arguments. It’s important to know your history, and as women are not totally free in this world, we ought to look to Wollstonecraft’s writing, and the writings of revolutionary women who followed in her footsteps, to guide our thinking and our action toward empowering and liberating women everywhere.
* * *
