With the knowledge of American men and events which the study of our history should give him, the pupil is ready to ask where the first Americans came from. To answer that question, and many others, we must go to European history. We must look at the great peoples of the world's earlier history, and see how their civilization finally developed into that which those colonists who pushed across the Atlantic to America brought with them.
But the civilization brought to this country by earlier or by later comers must not cease to grow. America has her part to add to its development. With the close of the World War we must not forget one fact which that conflict brought out—the vast number of people in the United States almost untouched by the spirit of American institutions. Teachers of history, the subject-matter of which is the story of American institutions and American leaders, can do much to change such conditions. This need for more thorough Americanization they can help to fill by teaching in their classes not a mechanical patriotism but a loyal understanding of American ideals.
William H. Mace
Syracuse University
THE TABLE OF CONTENTS
| PAGE | |
|---|---|
| The Northmen Discover the New World | |
| Leif Ericson, Who Discovered Vinland | [1] |
| Early Explorers in America | |
| Christopher Columbus, the First Great Man in American History | [2] |
| Ponce de Leon, Who Sought a Marvelous Land and Was Disappointed | [17] |
| Cortés, Who Found the Rich City of Mexico | [18] |
| Pizarro, Who Found the Richest City in the World | [23] |
| Coronado, Who Penetrated Southwestern United States but Found Nothing but Beautiful Scenery | [24] |
| De Soto, the Discoverer of the Mississippi | [24] |
| Magellan, Who Proved that the World Is Round | [28] |
| The Men Who Made America Known to England and Who Checked the Progress of Spain | |
| John Cabot also Searches for a Shorter Route to India and Finds the Mainland of North America | [34] |
| Sir Francis Drake, the English "Dragon," Who Sailed the Spanish Main and Who "Singed the King of Spain's Beard" | [37] |
| Sir Walter Raleigh, the Friend of Elizabeth, Plants a Colony in America to Check the Power of Spain | [42] |
| The Men Who Planted New France in America, Founded Quebec, Explored the Great Lake Region, and Penetrated the Mississippi Valley | |
| Samuel de Champlain, the Father of New France | [49] |
| Joliet and Marquette, Fur Trader and Missionary, Explore the Mississippi Valley for New France | [53] |
| What the Dutch Accomplished in the Colonization of the New World | |
| Henry Hudson, Whose Discoveries Led Dutch Traders to Colonize New Netherland | [54] |
| Famous People in Early Virginia | |
| John Smith the Savior of Virginia, and Pocahontas its Good Angel | [60] |
| Lord Baltimore, in a Part of Virginia, Founds Maryland as a Home for Persecuted Catholics and Welcomes Protestants | [68] |
| Industries, Manners, and Customs of First Settlers of Virginia | [71] |
| Pilgrims and Puritans in New England | |
| Miles Standish, the Pilgrim Soldier, and the Story of "Plymouth Rock" | [73] |
| John Winthrop, the Founder of Boston; John Eliot, the Great English Missionary; and King Philip, an Indian Chief the Equal of the White Man | [81] |
| Industries, Manners, and Customs | [85] |
| The Men Who Planted Colonies for Many Kinds of People | |
| Peter Stuyvesant, the Great Dutch Governor | [87] |
| Manners and Customs of New Netherland | [91] |
| William Penn, the Quaker, Who Founded the City of Brotherly Love | [92] |
| Quaker Ways in Old Pennsylvania | [98] |
| James Oglethorpe, the Founder of Georgia as a Home for English Debtors, as a Place for Persecuted Protestants, and as a Barrier against the Spaniards | [100] |
| Industries, Manners, and Customs of the Southern Planters | [103] |
| Robert Cavelier de la Salle, Who Followed the Father of Waters to its Mouth, and Established New France from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico | |
| La Salle Pushed Forward the Work Begun by Joliet and Marquette | [106] |
| The Men of New France | [113] |
| George Washington, the First General and First President of the United States | |
| The "Father of His Country" | [115] |
| The Man Who Helped Win Independence by Winning the Hearts of Frenchmen for America | |
| Benjamin Franklin, the Wisest American of His Time | [147] |
| Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams, Famous Men of the Revolution, Who Defended America with Tongue and Pen | |
| Patrick Henry, the Orator of the Revolution | [158] |
| Samuel Adams, the Firebrand of the Revolution | [167] |
| The Men Who Fought for American Independence with Gun and Sword | |
| Nathan Hale | [179] |
| Generals Greene, Morgan, and Marion, the Men Who Helped Win the South from the British | [182] |
| The Men Who Helped Win Independence by Fighting England on the Sea | |
| John Paul Jones, a Scotchman, Who Won the Great Victory in the French Ship, Bon Homme Richard | [194] |
| John Barry, Who Won More Sea Fights in the Revolution than Any Other Captain | [199] |
| The Men Who Crossed the Mountains, Defeated the Indians and British, and Made the Mississippi River the Western Boundary of the United States | |
| Daniel Boone, the Hunter and Pioneer of Kentucky | [202] |
| John Sevier, "Nolichucky Jack" | [210] |
| George Rogers Clark, the Hero of Vincennes | [216] |
| Development of the New Republic | |
| Eli Whitney, Who Invented the Cotton Gin and Changed the History of the South | [226] |
| Thomas Jefferson, Who Wrote the Declaration of Independence, Founded the Democratic Party, and Purchased the Louisiana Territory | [229] |
| Lewis and Clark, American Explorers in the Oregon Country | [238] |
| Oliver Hazard Perry, Victor in the Battle of Lake Erie | [244] |
| Andrew Jackson, the Victor of New Orleans | [245] |
| The Men Who Made the Nation Great by Their Inventions and Discoveries | |
| Robert Fulton, the Inventor of the Steamboat | [257] |
| Samuel F. B. Morse, Inventor of the Telegraph | [264] |
| Cyrus West Field, Who Laid the Atlantic Cable between America and Europe | [268] |
| Cyrus McCormick, Inventor of the Reaper | [272] |
| Elias Howe, Inventor of the Sewing Machine | [274] |
| The Men Who Won Texas, the Oregon Country, and California | |
| Sam Houston, Hero of San Jacinto | [277] |
| David Crockett, Great Hunter and Hero of the Alamo | [282] |
| John C. Fremont, the Pathfinder of the Rocky Mountains | [283] |
| Spanish Missions in the Southwest | [290] |
| The Three Greatest Statesmen of the Middle Period | |
| Henry Clay, the Founder of the Whig Party and the Great Pacificator | [294] |
| Daniel Webster, the Defender of the Constitution | [300] |
| John C. Calhoun, the Champion of Nullification | [306] |
| Abraham Lincoln, the Liberator and Martyr | |
| A Poor Boy Becomes a Great Man | [313] |
| Andrew Johnson and the Progress of Reconstruction | [328] |
| Two Famous Generals | |
| Ulysses S. Grant, the Great General of the Union Armies | [331] |
| Robert Edward Lee, the Man Who Led the Confederate Armies | [337] |
| Men Who Helped Determine New Political Policies | |
| Rutherford B. Hayes | [342] |
| James A. Garfield | [345] |
| Chester A. Arthur | [346] |
| Grover Cleveland | [347] |
| Benjamin Harrison | [349] |
| The Beginning of Expansion Abroad | |
| William McKinley and the Spanish-American War | [352] |
| The Man Who Was the Champion of Democracy | |
| Theodore Roosevelt, the Typical American | [360] |
| William Howard Taft | [369] |
| Westward Expansion and Development | |
| The Westward Movement of Population and the Development of Transportation | [372] |
| George Washington Goethals, Chief Engineer of the Panama Canal | [376] |
| Men of Recent Times Who Made Great Inventions | |
| Thomas A. Edison, the Greatest Inventor of Electrical Machinery in the World | [380] |
| Two Inventions Widely Used in Business | [386] |
| Automobile Making in the United States | [388] |
| Wilbur and Orville Wright, the Men Who Gave Humanity Wings | [390] |
| John P. Holland, Who Taught Men to Sail Under the Sea | [395] |
| Heroines of National Progress | |
| Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, Who Were the first to Struggle for the Rights of Women | [400] |
| Julia Ward Howe, Author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," and Harriet Beecher Stowe, Who Wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin | [404] |
| Frances E. Willard, the Great Temperance Crusader; Clara Barton, Who Founded the Red Cross Society in America; and Jane Addams, the Founder of Hull House Social Settlement in Chicago | [408] |
| Resources and Industries of Our Country | |
| How Farm and Factory Helped Build the Nation | [416] |
| Mines, Mining, and Manufactures | [421] |
| America and the World War | |
| Early Years of the War | [424] |
| America Enters to Win | [431] |
| The Conclusion of the War | [437] |
| Where the American People and Their Civilization Came From | |
| Introduction | [445] |
| The Oldest Nations | [446] |
| Greece, the Land of Art and Freedom | [450] |
| How the Greeks Taught Men to be Free | [456] |
| Spread of Greek Civilization | [461] |
| When Rome Ruled the World | [464] |
| Hannibal Tries to Conquer Rome | [467] |
| Rome Conquers the World, but Grows Wicked | [469] |
| The Roman Republic Becomes the Roman Empire | [471] |
| What Rome Gave to the World | [473] |
| The Downfall of Rome | [476] |
| The Angles and Saxons in Great Britain | [478] |
| Charles the Great, Ruler of the Franks | [479] |
| The Coming of the Northmen | [483] |
| Alfred the Great | [484] |
| The Norman Conquest | [488] |
| The Struggle for the Great Charter | [490] |
| A Pronouncing Index | [xi] |
| The Index | [xv] |
MACE'S BEGINNER'S HISTORY