Real-life stories of struggle, achievement, victory, and sometimes loss that are an ideal companion for history, social science, language and geography studies. The Extroardinary People series is the perfect starter for students who want to know more about the people who shaped their world, focusing on the unique histories of people from every culture, and every walk of life. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Gr 5-8-This book provides biographical sketches of dozens of individuals and groups of people. The three- to five-page sketches are arranged chronologically by the patriot's birth year, beginning with Benjamin Franklin and ending with Sam Houston. The entries are a mixture of "well-known, little-known, and unknown" people, and there are representatives from a wide variety of ethnic groups. Masters relies upon the best available information for some of the little-known figures and informs readers when facts are in doubt, frequently concluding that the individual's symbolic legacy can be the most important part of his or her story. A black-and-white portrait or representation of each person and occasional reproductions break up the text. Also included are "Drummers and Fifers," "The Oneida," "Daughters of Liberty," and "African American Patriots" as well as discussions of patriotic symbols such as the Liberty Bell, the Purple Heart medal, and the "Star Spangled Banner." Appendixes include an average-quality general bibliography of print sources and an extensive list of Web sites arranged by person or group. Although these sketches are very brief, they are interesting and readable, and they provide basic information that could be used to introduce students to the people who created our nation.-Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Introduction	p. 8
Benjamin Franklin 1706-1790: The Wise and Witty Founding Father	p. 11
Roger Sherman 1721-1793: The Shoemaker Who Became the Signer	p. 16
Samuel Adams 1722-1803: The Son of Liberty	p. 20
George Mason 1725-1792: The Forgotten Founding Father	p. 24
James Otis 1725-1783: Colonial America's Flame of Fire	p. 28
Caesar Rodney 1728-1784: Delaware Hero in the Vote for Independence	p. 31
Mercy Otis Warren 1728-1814: First Lady of the Revolution	p. 34
Charles Thomson 1729-1824: The Man Who Told the Truth	p. 37
Baron Friedrich von Steuben 1730-1794: Prussian Volunteer Who Trained America to Fight	p. 41
Benjamin Edes 1732-1803: Voice of the Sons of Liberty	p. 45
Richard Henry Lee 1732-1794: Writer of Resolutions for Revolution	p. 49
Francis Marion 1732-1795: The Swamp Fox	p. 53
George Washington 1732-1799: The Father of Our Country	p. 57
Robert Morris 1734-1806: The Man Who Financed the Revolution	p. 62
John Adams 1735-1826: Preserver of Liberty	p. 66
Paul Revere 1735-1818: A Son of Liberty Who Rode into History	p. 70
Patrick Henry 1736-1799: The Son of Thunder	p. 75
John Hancock 1737-1793: The Man with the Bold Hand	p. 79
Thomas Paine 1737-1809: The "Common Sense" Patriot	p. 83
Ethan Allen 1738-1789: Leader of the Green Mountain Boys	p. 87
Mary Katherine Goddard 1738-1816: First Printer of the Signed Declaration of Independence	p. 91
Nathanael Greene 1742-1786: Faithful, Fighting General	p. 95
Thomas Jefferson 1743-1826: Architect of Freedom	p. 99
John Jay 1745-1829: First Justice of the Supreme Court	p. 104
Benjamin Rush 1745-1813: Surgeon General of the Continental Army	p. 108
Anthony Wayne 1745-1796: Found Wherever There Was a Fight	p. 112
Bernardo de Galvez 1746-1786: Hispanic Hero of the Revolution	p. 116
Tadeusz Kosciuszko 1746-1817: Polish Engineer for Freedom	p. 120
John Paul Jones 1747-1792: Father of the American Navy	p. 123
Casimir Pulaski 1747-1779: Father of the American Cavalry	p. 126
Henry Knox 1750-1806: The "Ox" of the Revolutionary War	p. 130
The Liberty Bell 1751-Present: A Chime That Changed the World	p. 134
Margaret Cochran Corbin 1751-1800: First Woman Wounded on the Battlefield	p. 138
James Madison 1751-1836: Champion for the Constitution	p. 142
George Rogers Clark 1752-1818: The "Great Long Knife"	p. 146
Betsy Ross 1752-1836: The Woman Behind the Legend of the Stars and Stripes	p. 150
Jack Jouett 1754-1822: The Other Midnight Rider	p. 154
Mary Hays McCauley c. 1754-1832: Molly Pitcher	p. 157
Dr. James Thacher 1754-1844: Surgeon, Soldier, Scribe	p. 160
Nathan Hale 1755-1776: Schoolteacher Spy	p. 164
Alexander Hamilton 1755-1804: Soldier and Statesman	p. 168
John Trumbull 1756-1843: Artist of the Revolution	p. 173
Marquis de Lafayette 1757-1834: French Hero of the American Revolution	p. 178
James Monroe 1758-1831: The Protection Policy President	p. 182
Deborah Samson Gannett (aka Robert Shurtleff) 1760-1827: Soldier in Disguise	p. 186
Sybil Ludington 1761-1839: Heroine Who Rode for Freedom	p. 190
Emily Geiger c. 1763-1825: Legendary Messenger from South Carolina	p. 194
John Quincy Adams 1767-1848: The President Who Would Not Quit	p. 198
Andrew Jackson 1767-1845: Hero of New Orleans	p. 202
Dolley Madison 1768-1849: Patriot of the People's House	p. 207
African American Patriots 1770-1850: First to Fight for America's Freedom	p. 211
Sequoyah (aka George Gist or Guess) c. 1770-1843: Cherokee Warrior	p. 215
American Jewish Patriots 1775-1850: Soldiers and Supporters of Freedom	p. 218
George Gibson Jr. 1775-1861: Father of the Army Food Service	p. 222
Drummers and Fifers 1775-1781: Winning Independence One Beat at a Time	p. 226
The Oneida 1775-1815: Native American Patriots	p. 230
The Declaration of Independence 1776-Present: Birth Certificate of the Nation	p. 235
Daughters of Liberty 1776-1783: Women Who Served in the Revolutionary War	p. 240
The Culper Ring 1778-1783: Master Spies of the American Revolution	p. 243
"The Star-Spangled Banner" 1780-Present: The National Anthem of the United States of America	p. 246
The Purple Heart 1782-Present: First Award for the Common Soldier	p. 250
Zachary Taylor 1784-1850: Patriot President who Held the Union Together	p. 253
The Constitution of the United States of America 1787-Present: Chart of Freedom	p. 257
Publius 1787-1788: Author of The Federalist Papers	p. 262
Sam Houston 1793-1863: The Raven Who Refused to Secede	p. 265
To Find Out More	p. 269
Index	p. 279
About the Author	p. 288

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