Professional Documents
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Biographies
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ISBN-13: 978-0-07-874949-0
ISBN-10: 0-07-874949-2
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CONTENTS
American Biographies
Dekanawida 1
Amerigo Vespucci 2
Bartholomé de las Casas 3
Anne Hutchinson 4
Nathaniel Bacon 5
Samuel Adams 6
Thomas Paine 7
Phillis Wheatley 8
George Rogers Clark 9
James Madison 10
Patrick Henry 11
Abigail Adams 12
Eli Whitney 13
Sacajawea 14
Robert Fulton 15
Paul Cuffe 16
Prudence Crandall 17
James Fenimore Cooper 18
Osceola 19
John C. Calhoun 20
William Lloyd Garrison 21
Sojourner Truth 22
Sarah Hale 23
Brigham Young 24
Harriet Beecher Stowe 25
Julia Ward Howe 26
Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson 27
Thaddeus Stevens 28
Hiram Revels 29
Chief Joseph 30
Helen Hunt Jackson 31
Frederick W.Taylor 32
Leonora Marie Kearney Barry 33
Samuel Gompers 34
Susan B.Anthony 35
Thomas Nast 36
W. E. B. Du Bois 37
iv AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 1
DEKANAWIDA 1425?–1475?
the gods had decreed her son should live, she made
At a Glance
up her mind to care for the child.
Together with Hiawatha, Dekanawida framed the
As Dekanawida grew up, he saw all about him
constitutional principles for an alliance among
strife, murder, and war among the various Native
the Native Americans of the Northeast, known as
American nations, and he resolved to find a way to
the Iroquois Confederacy. Dekanawida is revered
bring about universal peace.When he reached early
as a great political leader and lawmaker among
manhood, he left his own people to preach his
many Native American peoples.
message of brotherhood to the Native American
people living in what is now southeastern Canada
and the northeastern United States. At some point he
The Iroquois Confederacy was one of the allied himself with the Mohawk Hiawatha, and
strongest alliances formed by Native Americans. together these two men formulated basic laws
When Benjamin Franklin sought the help of this designed to end rivalries and bloodshed among their
Confederacy in the war against the British, few people people.Their ultimate aim was to bring together all
realized that it had been organized more than 300 the peoples of the area into a confederation based on
years earlier. According to Native American legend, the principles of peace and justice.
Hiawatha and his partner Dekanawida, who lived from After long and arduous negotiations, Dekanawida
about 1425 to 1475, established the Iroquois and Hiawatha finally convinced the Mohawk, Cayuga,
Confederacy. and Oneida nations to join the confederation. Later
Dekanawida was born along what is now the the Onondaga and Seneca agreed to join as well,
southeastern edge of Ontario, Canada.This was thereby uniting five major Native American nations
Huron territory, so Dekanawida was most likely of into what came to be called the Iroquois Confederacy.
Huron ancestry. Legend says that his mother saw Long after Dekanawida’s death, the Tuscarora tribe
omens at his birth that this one of her seven sons joined the Iroquois Confederacy, making it the League
would bring great harm to the Huron people. of Six Nations. By that time, however, Dekanawida’s
Placing loyalty to her people over love for her major goals of peace and justice through a union of
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
newborn child, according to the legend, she cut a people had been largely forgotten.The confederation
hole in the ice covering a nearby river and dropped that he had worked so tirelessly to create had evolved
the baby into the freezing water.When Dekanawida’s into a militaristic power in the Northeast, subduing
mother awoke the following morning, she found her neighboring Native American nations.The legend
young son nestled safely in her arms. Still fearing the of the earlier omen proved true, for among the
omen, twice more she attempted to drown League’s victims were the Huron, the very people to
Dekanawida, and twice more she awakened to find whom his mother had shown loyalty when she tried
herself holding the unharmed infant. Convinced that to destroy her son.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 1
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 2
AMERIGO VESPUCCI 1454 – 1512
2 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 3
BARTOLOMÉ DE LAS CASAS 1474 –1566
Spaniards by denouncing their cruel behavior. Las debate at the Spanish court over the morality of
Casas carried his crusade back to Spain in 1516 with slavery won him renewed support, Las Casas spent
little success. He returned again in 1517 to present the balance of his life writing about the conquerors’
the Spanish king with a plan to save the Native crimes and the plight of the Native Americans. His
Americans from extermination. Many of them had Very Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies
died from harsh treatment and lack of immunity to (1522) became the classic indictment of Spanish
European diseases. cruelty to the Native American people.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 3
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 4
ANNE HUTCHINSON 1591–1643
4 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 5
NATHANIEL BACON 1647–1676
loyalty of the Native American nations, if possible, At the height of his power early in the autumn
rather than starting a full-scale war. He proposed of 1676, Bacon became ill with dysentery and died
building several costly forts manned with army men, on October 26. Deprived of its leader, the rebellion
which the landowners would pay for through taxes. continued, but Berkeley was able to regain control
Outraged at such a passive and expensive response, a of the colony. He proceeded to execute 23 people,
group of colonists asked Bacon to lead them in a war without benefit of trial, for their part in the
to eliminate the Native Americans completely. Bacon, rebellion. King Charles II, after hearing about
who considered all Native Americans to be enemies, Berkeley’s actions from an investigating committee,
readily agreed. removed Berkeley as Governor of Virginia.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 5
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 6
SAMUEL ADAMS 1722–1803
6 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 7
THOMAS PAINE 1737–1809
“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier
and the sunshine patriot, will . . . shrink from the service of
his country; . . . Tyranny ... is not easily conquered; yet . . . the
harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
Filled with memorable phrases and persuasive
At a Glance
arguments, Common Sense called on Americans to
Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense persuaded
cease trying to change Parliament’s policies and
countless colonists to support American
instead declare independence immediately. Paine
independence. Paine convinced many Americans
ridiculed King George III, making the idea of
that the king no longer deserved their loyalty,
monarchy seem outdated and pointless. After the
thus severing their last emotional link to Britain.
publication of Common Sense, many colonists who
Paine had an unswerving faith in the human
had viewed the king as the last hope for protection
ability to use reason to achieve freedom, peace,
of their rights supported independence.
and justice.
During the Revolutionary War, Paine served in the
Continental Army, writing a pamphlet series entitled
For the better part of two decades,Thomas Paine The Crisis to bolster the sagging spirits of the weary
was a world-renowned figure, a master phrasemaker American soldiers.
who used the power of his pen to help free people After the war Paine continued to inflame people
on two continents from despotism.Yet his life with his writings, often with unhappy consequences
presents ample evidence that great talent and to himself. Returning to England in 1787, he
achievement do not always lead to happiness and authored The Rights of Man, praising the French
satisfaction. Revolution. Paine went so far as to call for the
Born and raised in England, Paine quit school at overthrow of the English monarchy. He was forced
the age of 13. For the next 24 years he tried a variety to flee to France to avoid being jailed for treason.
of jobs: corsetmaker, sailor, teacher, and tax collector. In Paris Paine helped draft the new French
All made him unhappy. Then, in 1774, Paine met constitution but was imprisoned when he opposed
Benjamin Franklin, the American colonial the execution of King Louis XVI.While in jail, he
representative to Great Britain. Franklin encouraged began writing The Age of Reason, an attack on
Paine to emigrate to the American colonies. Arriving organized religion. Returning to the United States
in Philadelphia with Franklin’s letters of introduction, in 1802, Paine was ostracized for his criticism of
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Paine got a job at the Pennsylvania Magazine, but Christianity. Even death in 1810 brought Paine no
remained almost unknown until January 1776, when peace. Refused burial at the cemetery of his choice,
his pamphlet Common Sense appeared. Paine’s his remains were laid to rest on his New York farm.
remarkable publication proved a sensation, selling They were later disinterred and shipped to England,
more than 100,000 copies in three months. where they disappeared forever.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 7
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 8
PHILLIS WHEATLEY 1753?–1784
8 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 9
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 1752 –1818
out in May 1778 to capture British outposts in the was unable to do so. Desperate for money, he entered
Northwest and to subdue the Native Americans who a French scheme for seizing Spanish Louisiana, but
sided with the British. He journeyed down the Ohio President Washington foiled the plot in 1793. Five
River, crossed southern Illinois, and in a surprise years later, refusing to give up his appointment as a
attack on July 4, he captured Kaskaskia, the largest French general, Clark fled to St. Louis. He later
town in the Illinois territory. He followed this victory returned to Kentucky, where he died penniless.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 9
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 10
JAMES MADISON 1751–1836
10 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 11
PATRICK HENRY 1736–1799
British resolutions. In a speech defending his reconciled himself to ratification, but continued to
resolves, Henry seemed to threaten King George III, demand amendments guaranteeing individual rights,
prompting cries of “Treason!” from his less-radical a campaign which succeeded with the adoption of
colleagues. Henry allegedly replied:“If this be the Bill of Rights.
treason, make the most of it.” During the 1790s, Henry aligned himself with
For the next 10 years Henry led the Virginians in the Washington administration. He won a seat in
protesting parliamentary policies. He urged his Virginia’s state senate in 1799, but died before his
fellow legislators to defy Virginia’s royal governor, term began.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 11
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 12
ABIGAIL ADAMS 1744 –1818
12 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 13
ELI WHITNEY 1765–1825
the problems separating cotton fibers from the the new manufacturing method called mass
plant’s sticky green seeds. production. In so doing,Whitney gave a gigantic
Within 10 days of hearing about the cotton- boost to what came to be called the “American
cleaning problem,Whitney had designed the machine system” of manufacturing.This system would
that would solve it: the cotton gin. Although his gin eventually allow relatively unskilled workers to
still needed a few refinements, within a year he had a produce enormous quantities of goods quickly,
model that could clean 50 pounds of cotton a day. By efficiently, and relatively cheaply.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 13
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 14
SACAJAWEA 1787?–1812?
14 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 15
ROBERT FULTON 1765–1815
imagination. For nearly a decade he worked to develop transported over water great distances against the
an underwater vessel, and he designed a craft that current and without wind. Before his death in 1815,
could both dive and surface. Underwater propulsion, he built 17 more steamboats.Within the next 20
however, proved to be a problem. His experiments years, steam-powered navigation took over America’s
interested France and Great Britain, but both countries inland waterways and began to replace sailing
refused to grant him financial assistance. vessels on the oceans.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 15
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 16
PAUL CUFFE 1759–1817
16 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 17
PRUDENCE CRANDALL 1803–1890
In April 1833, when Crandall’s school reopened A reformer to the very end, Prudence Crandall
with 20 African American students, the outraged was an active supporter of the temperance, peace,
citizens of Canterbury resorted to direct action to and woman suffrage movements. Four years before
close it. Merchants refused to sell food to the school, she died, Connecticut recognized her service to the
the local church barred the students from religious state more than a half century earlier by granting
services, and Prudence Crandall herself was her an annual pension of $400.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 17
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 18
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER 1789–1851
18 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 19
OSCEOLA 1800?–1838
treaty and to another in 1835.While most where on January 30, 1838, he died of unknown
Seminole leaders signaled their refusal to sign causes. But his spirit lived on, as the Seminoles
the second treaty by not touching the pen, Osceola continued their guerrilla war until 1842, costing the
plunged his knife into the paper.Arrested for his United States $20 million and the lives of 1,500
act of defiance, he was released when he told his soldiers. Finally, the American government gave up,
captors that he would work to win approval of the and allowed the Seminole to remain in Florida. Under
treaty if they would let him go. the leadership of Osceola, they were the only Native
Once freed Osceola began to gather Seminole American nation to successfully battle the American
warriors for battle. By the end of the year he and his government for the right to remain in their homeland.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 19
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 20
JOHN C. CALHOUN 1782–1850
20 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 21
WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON 1805–1879
year, Garrison published it for 35 years—stopping he backed the Union effort during the Civil War
only when the Thirteenth Amendment to the because he saw a Union victory as a step leading to
Constitution, which ended slavery in the United abolition.As late as the beginning of the Civil War,
States, was ratified. most Northerners were not abolitionists, but
Garrison also played a prominent part in Garrison’s three decades of agitation had shifted
organizing the national American Antislavery Society public opinion significantly. By forcing Americans to
in 1833. His organizing activities—in addition to his face the gap between slavery and the ideals of
publishing, his uncompromising views, and his harsh liberty and equality, he helped lay the foundation for
language denouncing those who held people as emancipation.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 21
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 22
SOJOURNER TRUTH 1797–1883
22 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 23
SARAH HALE 1788–1879
should fulfill different roles. In her view, men were Under Hale’s direction, Godey’s Lady’s Book achieved
best suited to business, the military, and government, phenomenal circulation, reaching 150,000 by 1860.
while women were the civilizing influence whose During her editorship, Hale also wrote a 36 volume
proper place was in the home. biographical encyclopedia of famous women.At age
Hale believed, however, that women could 90 she announced her retirement in the December
provide this civilizing influence only if they were 1877 issue of her magazine. She died the next April.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 23
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 24
BRIGHAM YOUNG 1801–1877
24 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 25
HARRIET BEECHER STOWE 1811–1896
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 25
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 26
JULIA WARD HOWE 1819–1910
26 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 27
THOMAS “STONEWALL” JACKSON 1824–1863
Confederate army. enemy lines, one of his pickets shot him, mistaking
Jackson won his first engagement of the Civil War, him and his staff for Union scouts. Following the
the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, which is amputation of his left arm, Jackson developed
where he was given the nickname “Stonewall.”At his pneumonia and died. His last words—perhaps
command, his troops had formed closed ranks and uttered with his exhausted troops in mind—were,
refused to break under the Union assault, even “Let us cross over the river and rest in the shade of
though they were greatly outnumbered. Jackson the trees.”The loss of Jackson’s leadership was a
insisted that the name really applied to all of his severe blow to the Southern cause in the Civil War.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 27
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 28
THADDEUS STEVENS 1792–1868
28 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 29
HIRAM REVELS 1827–1901
he put together another regiment of African Republican party. Once in control, the white
American soldiers and set up a school for former conservative Democrats discriminated harshly
enslaved people at St. Louis. He spent the balance of against African Americans, eventually depriving
the war serving as a chaplain in the Union Army and almost all of them of the right to vote by 1890.
helping the Freedmen’s Bureau with the Revels, however, remained a favorite of
emancipated enslaved people in Mississippi. Mississippi’s white leaders, holding onto his post at
After the war, Revels worked in local Mississippi Alcorn until 1882.The final two decades of his life
politics in Natchez, becoming alderman there in were devoted largely to religious work.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 29
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 30
CHIEF JOSEPH 1840?– 1904
30 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 31
HELEN HUNT JACKSON 1830–1885
poems that appeared under a pen name, then Native Americans as victims of greedy American
magazine articles under her own name. By the settlers. Enormously successful, Ramona went
1870s, her work had appeared in nearly every through more than 300 printings and was eventually
leading publication of the era, and she was made into three different movies.
recognized as a leading literary figure. Her poems Shortly after the publication of Ramona, Helen
were collected and published in several volumes, and Hunt Jackson slipped in her home and broke her leg
much of her fiction and nonfiction also appeared in so severely that she never walked again. She died not
book form, although often under a pen name. long after her accident at age 54.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 31
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 32
FREDERICK WINSLOW TAYLOR 1856 –1915
32 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 33
LEONORA MARIE KEARNEY BARRY 1849–1930
consisting of 52 locals. In 1886 she was sent to the an active member of organizations backing
Knights’ national convention. temperance and woman suffrage. She went on the
The year before the 1886 convention, the Knights public lecture circuit, drawing crowds who came to
had formed a committee to investigate the working hear her denounce the evils of alcohol and proclaim
conditions of women employed in factories. Based the benefits of prohibition. She continued to be a
on this committee’s findings, the Knights decided to popular public speaker until just two years before
set up a permanent department representing her death.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 33
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 34
SAMUEL GOMPERS 1850–1924
34 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 35
SUSAN B. ANTHONY 1820–1906
rights movement, working with such early On Susan B. Anthony’s 86th birthday in 1906, she
feminists as Lucretia Mott, Amelia Bloomer, Lucy attended a dinner in her honor and spoke briefly,
Stone, and, most importantly, Elizabeth Cady concluding her remarks with these words:“Failure is
Stanton. impossible!” She was right, but she did not live to see
During the 1850s and through the Civil War, most the Nineteenth Amendment that gave women the
of the emerging women’s rights leaders concentrated right to vote ratified in 1920.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 35
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 36
THOMAS NAST 1840–1902
36 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 37
W. E. B. DU BOIS 1868-1963
sociology, history, and economics at several progress of race relations in the United States.
universities. During this time Du Bois became one of He moved to Ghana,Africa where he would spend
the first supporters of Pan-Africanism, the belief that the remainder of his life as a member of the
all African Americans should join together and work to communist party. Du Bois believed that
conquer prejudice. Du Bois protested and fought communism offered the best opportunities for
against the injustices of racial discrimination. His equality to African Americans.
views, however, conflicted with those of another Du Bois died on the eve of the historical march
African American spokesperson, Booker T.Washington. on Washington in 1963.The announcement of his
Washington thought that African Americans death was issued to 250,000 people gathered at the
should develop practical, vocational skills to acquire Washington Monument the next day.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 37
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 38
MARY ELIZABETH LEASE 1850–1933
38 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 39
MIGUEL ANTONIO OTERO 1859–1944
McKinley appointed him governor of the New When Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, was elected
Mexico Territory. Beginning as the youngest governor President, he appointed Miguel Otero United States
of the territory, he served until 1907. Marshal of the Panama Canal Zone. Otero continued
Just one year after Otero was appointed governor, to be active in Democratic politics until about 1924.
the Spanish-American War began.When hostilities In his later years, Otero wrote three autobiographies
broke out in 1898, President McKinley sent a dealing with his life on the frontier, as well as a
telegram to Governor Otero, asking him to assist in biography of the outlaw Billy the Kid.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 39
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 40
JANE ADDAMS 1860-1935
40 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 41
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN 1860–1925
farmers and debtors who wanted the government to teaching evolution, Bryan joined the prosecution.
mint more coins, increasing the money in The American Civil Liberties Union hired tough
circulation.This would make it easier to pay back urban defense lawyer Clarence Darrow, who
loans. Bryan urged the government to buy more questioned Bryan intensely about his beliefs. Even
silver and issue silver coins and silver-based paper with Darrow’s powerful defense, Scopes was still
currency.“Free silver” became a political issue. found guilty, but five days after the verdict William
When his reelection bid in 1894 failed, Bryan Jennings Bryan, exhausted by the ordeal, died quietly
became a newspaper editor and wrote editorials in his sleep.The Scopes trial later inspired the
supporting free silver. His identification with the famous play and movie Inherit the Wind.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 41
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 42
GIFFORD PINCHOT 1865–1946
42 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 43
IDA B. WELLS-BARNETT 1862–1931
her parents and several brothers and sisters died in a attitude of Booker T.Washington and sided with
yellow fever epidemic, she had to support herself W.E.B. DuBois. She had little to do with the National
and four siblings. Although only 14 years old, she Association for the Advancement of Colored People
said she was 18 in order to obtain a teaching job. In because she did not feel that it was sufficiently
1884 she moved from Mississippi to Memphis to militant.As a result of her outspokenness, she was
teach in the city’s African American schools. accused of being overly self-righteous and
In 1892 the Memphis school board fired Wells combative. But few worked harder than Ida B.Wells-
from her teaching position because she had refused Barnett for racial justice during the last part of the
to give up her seat in the “whites only” car of a local nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 43
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 44
JIM THORPE 1888–1953
44 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 45
LOUIS D. BRANDEIS 1856-1941
Brandeis developed a successful law practice, the majority decision, and in both cases his
and he was able to represent people fighting for dissenting views later became accepted as law.
important social causes without charging them a Louis Brandeis served on the Supreme Court until
fee. He became known as “the people’s attorney.” 1939. After retiring from the Court, he urged
During the 1890s he began arguing for a “living law,” Americans to protest Adolf Hitler’s Nazi policies by
which meant that legal decisions had to keep pace boycotting German products, and he worked to
with the rapid economic and social changes of create a Jewish nation in Palestine. Six years after his
industrialization. Like Woodrow Wilson, Louis death, Brandeis University in Massachusetts was
Brandeis opposed big business trusts and wanted named in his honor.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 45
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 46
ALVIN YORK 1887–1964
46 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 47
JEANNETTE RANKIN 1880–1973
Washington.While a student, she joined the a cause once again: opposition to the war in
movement for woman suffrage in the state. In 1911 Vietnam. At the age of 87 she organized and led the
she went back to Montana to lobby for the right of Jeannette Rankin Brigade, which included nearly
women to vote, and her efforts were rewarded in 10,000 women, rock musicians, students, and other
1914. Between 1911 and 1914 she traveled all over antiwar activists in a march on Washington to protest
the country, campaigning for woman suffrage. In American involvement in Southeast Asia. She
1913 she was made a field secretary in the National remained active until she suffered a fatal heart attack
American Woman Suffrage Association. at the age of 93.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 47
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 48
CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT 1859–1947
48 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 49
CLARENCE DARROW 1857–1938
“Do you think you can cure the hatreds and the
maladjustments of the world by hanging them?
You simply show your ignorance and your hate
when you say it.”
In 1894 Clarence Darrow launched a new career
At a Glance
as a labor lawyer, quitting his job with the railroad to
One of the greatest lawyers of his time, Clarence
defend union leader Eugene Debs. Not only did the
Darrow earned a reputation by defending union
Debs case give Darrow a national reputation, it also
leaders.Then, as a criminal lawyer, Darrow’s fame
established him as an attorney who sided with the
spread. Finally, his stands for social justice and his
underdog against the established powers. Over the
fight against the death penalty left enduring
next two decades, Darrow defended many union
marks on the American justice system.
leaders, including William “Big Bill” Haywood, head of
the Industrial Workers of the World. Haywood had
In 1924 two college students were tried for been charged with trying to murder the former
murder. Charged with killing a 14-year-old boy for governor of Idaho, but he was acquitted, largely due
the thrill of committing “the perfect crime,” Nathan to Darrow’s brilliant defense.
Leopold and Richard Loeb—on their lawyer’s The defense of union leaders led Darrow into the
insistence—pleaded guilty.Then their lawyer argued field of criminal law. A series of spectacular trials,
that the students should not be executed for their beginning with the Leopold and Loeb case in 1924,
crime. Introducing sociological and psychiatric gave Darrow a reputation as the nation’s leading
evidence, he argued that they had been driven to kill criminal defense attorney. After defending the two
by forces beyond their control. After a trial that college students, Darrow headed to Tennessee to
captured headlines around the world, Leopold and defend a young science teacher accused of teaching
Loeb were sent to prison rather than to the electric the theory of evolution. Although the teacher, John T.
chair.Their lawyer was Clarence Darrow. Scopes, was convicted, Darrow’s defense eventually
Born in Ohio, Clarence Darrow had a mediocre convinced states to allow the teaching of evolution.
education, completing just one year of college and The same year as the Scopes trial, 1925, Darrow
one year of law school before starting a law practice defended an African American family charged with
in a small Ohio town. In 1887 he moved to Chicago, using force against a mob that tried to drive the
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
where he began to build the reputation that would family out of their home in a white neighborhood of
make him the most famous attorney of his era. Detroit. Not only did Darrow win the case, he also
From 1887 to 1894, Clarence Darrow practiced spoke out eloquently against racial segregation. In his
civil law in Chicago. After serving as lawyer for his cases, Darrow often tried to reach beyond the
adopted city, be became an attorney for the Chicago courtroom to the public at large, to deliver a message
and North Western Railway. He became well known about social justice. He also lectured and wrote books
in the city’s legal community and was an active and articles in which he denounced violations of civil
member of the Democratic Party. rights and argued for wide-ranging reforms.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 49
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 50
MARIAN ANDERSON 1902-1993
50 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 51
ERNEST HEMINGWAY 1899-1961
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 51
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 52
FRANCES PERKINS 1882–1965
52 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 53
LANGSTON HUGHES 1902–1967
Hughes entered Columbia University in 1921, but Simply Heavenly, based on his character Simple.
he left college after one year. Doing odd jobs to During the 1950s and 1960s, Hughes wrote
support himself, he saw his first poem,“The Negro children’s books dealing with African American
Speaks of Rivers,” published in 1921 in the NAACP’s culture. Although increasingly the focus of attacks
Crisis. The poem earned him some recognition but by more militant African American artists, Langston
not much money, so Hughes decided to go to work Hughes remained one of the most important African
at sea. One of his voyages took him to the western American writers of his day.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 53
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 54
BENJAMIN OLIVER DAVIS, JR. 1912–
“I felt a very grave concern about how well I’d acquit myself
in the eyes of my fellows, as well as in my own eyes.The
scariest part was always the answer to the question, ‘Were you
successful?’—concern that we might be subject to criticism.”
in 1932, Davis had to endure four years of race-based
At a Glance
“silencing”: no white cadet would speak to him.
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., was one of America’s first
Totally isolated, he spent the majority of his time
African American fighter pilots, and was its first
studying and trying to avoid demerits.
African American Air Force general.Although they
When Davis graduated, the Army did not know
had to overcome racism nearly every step of the
what to do with him. At first Davis was assigned to
way from West Point to the skies over Germany
serve as an aide to his father, but as the threat of a
during World War II, Davis and his fellow
second world war intensified, the Army suddenly
“Tuskegee Airmen” proved that they were the
reversed itself. In need of pilots, it sent Davis for
equals of any pilots in the American military.
training, and soon he was flying with a group of
other African American pilots, known as the
In 1935, one year before he was due to graduate “Tuskegee Airmen,” over Germany and Italy.
from West Point, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., applied for During 1943 and 1944, Davis, now a colonel, and
pilot training in the Army Air Corps. He had every the other African American pilots shot down
reason to believe he would be accepted, since he more than 200 planes of the Nazi Luftwaffe
was in excellent physical condition and he ranked without losing a single bomber to enemy fighters.
35th in his class of 276.Yet his application was His 60 combat missions refuted the unspoken belief
rejected with just a one-sentence explanation:“The of the United States military that African American
Army Air Corps has no Negro units and none are pilots could not measure up to their white
contemplated.” Less than a decade later, Davis was counterparts.
flying combat missions deep into enemy territory, Throughout World War II, Davis served exclusively
and he was on his way to becoming the nation’s first in African American units. It was not until 1948 that
African American Air Force general. the American military was ordered to integrate. Davis
Davis grew up in Washington, D.C., the son of went on to hold many more important commands,
Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., America’s first African serving in Europe and Asia and in many posts
American Army general.The younger Davis moved to throughout the United States. He adapted quickly to
54 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 55
LUIS MUÑOZ MARÍN 1898–1980
American culture were published in many protective relationship with the United States
magazines. without losing its Hispanic identity. Such status was
Throughout the 1920s Marín divided his time officially granted in 1952, but Marín faced a
between the United States and Puerto Rico, but in continuing fight with extremists from both sides for
1931 he went back to his native island to stay. He the rest of his political career.As late as 1978, at the
took an active role in politics, supporting socialism age of 80 and with his health broken by a stroke,
and independence from the United States. Elected to Luis Muñoz Marín came out of retirement to
the Puerto Rican senate in 1932, he became one of the campaign throughout Puerto Rico in support of the
most popular politicians on the island. In part, he commonwealth status.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 55
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 56
RALPH ELLISON 1914-1994
56 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 57
MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE 1904–1971
Margaret Bourke-White launched her career as a world and made real the horrors of the Holocaust.
photographer of industrial subjects, particularly Margaret Bourke-White continued to work for Life
architecture and machinery. She established a studio magazine after the war, traveling on assignment to
in New York City, dividing her time between the cover the actions of Mahatma Gandhi in India, racial
newly created Fortune magazine and her work as a conflict in South Africa, and the outbreak of war in
freelance photographer. Korea. Although her career was increasingly hampered
A trip to the Soviet Union and the impact of the by Parkinson’s disease, she continued her association
Depression on Americans in the early 1930s with Life until her formal retirement in 1969.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 57
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 58
VLADIMIR ZWORYKIN 1889–1982
Reviewing the Biography Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Remembering the Details In what country was Vladimir Zworykin born?
2. Understanding Information What were two important inventions in the development of broadcast
television?
Thinking Critically
3. Drawing Conclusions List some benefits of and some drawbacks to commercial television in the United
States today.
58 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 59
ROSA PARKS 1913–2005
up so he could sit in her place. Parks refused to Rosa Parks spent her later years preparing meals,
move. The white bus driver then tried to order her to going to church, and visiting people in hospitals.
the back of the bus. Still Parks remained in her seat. In 1999 she was awarded the Congressional Gold
Finally, she was forced to move by other bus riders. Medal of Honor, the highest honor a civilian can
Because of her resistance, Parks was arrested, fined, receive in the United States. Parks continued to strive
jailed, and brought to trial.This caused an outcry to better the lives of others.“I would like to be known
among African Americans. Under the leadership of a as a person who is concerned about freedom and
young Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., African Americans equality and justice and prosperity for all people.”
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 59
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 60
FLANNERY O’CONNOR
“All my stories are about the action of grace on
a character who is not very willing to support
it, but most people think of these stories as
hard, hopeless and brutal.”
years that she first published stories in literary
At a Glance
magazines.
Flannery O’Connor was a writer of Southern
The topics of O’Connor’s writings were often
fiction. Living most of her life in rural Georgia,
specifically Southern issues. Religion is a constant
she wrote colorful stories full of interesting
presence in her writings. Her characters often
people and places.Through her varied characters,
confront issues of their faith or the faith of others.
O’Connor explores religious questions and the
O’Connor herself was very religious. Although she
unique qualities of life in the South. She died
was Catholic, she often wrote about Protestantism,
young, but left a collection of work that had a
because Protestant religions were the prevailing
strong influence on American literature.
ones in Southern society. Her other topics stem from
the many conflicts between the ideals of the old
Southern writers have produced some of the South and those of modern times. Her work
country’s greatest art in the twentieth century.The repeatedly addresses racism, lack of education, and
most well-known art form to develop primarily in gender issues.
the South is probably that of blues and jazz music. O’Connor uses simple language and local dialect
However, writers like William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, to tell her stories. Her stories usually involve
and Flannery O’Connor produced rich works of common places and everyday events. However, her
literature that have influenced American literature as characters are often very strange—a young man who
a whole, but that retains a distinctly Southern feel. blinds himself or a Bible salesman who steals a girl’s
Much of Southern literature focuses on the wooden leg.The characters and their behavior turn
unique characteristics of the region.The South was, realistic situations into odd, absurd moments. Often a
and still is, a land rich in tradition, social customs, story begins as pleasant or humorous and ends up
and religious beliefs. Southerners are often portrayed tragic or brutal.Violence plays a major role in her
as people who value individual freedom and the land work. Historically, violence was seen in the Civil War
that they and their neighbors own.The heat and and the system of enslaving people, and later in the
dense vegetation of the South can create an intimate mistreatment of African Americans and the poor.At
60 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 61
WALT DISNEY 1901–1966
producing animated cartoon advertisements that 1954, and achieved another series of hits in this new
were shown at local movie houses. Once he mastered medium, including the Mickey Mouse Club. In 1955
the new medium, Disney went into business for he opened Disneyland in California, a huge fantasy-
himself. Years of struggle followed as he searched for based amusement park that was tremendously
artists, distributors, and financial backing. successful. At the time of his death in 1966, Disney
In 1923 Disney moved to Hollywood, setting up was working on developing Disney World, an even
his studio in a garage. From this studio came two larger park in Orlando, Florida.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 61
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 62
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. 1929–1968
62 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 63
ROBERT F. KENNEDY 1925–1968
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 63
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 64
HENRY B. GONZALEZ 1916–2000
64 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 65
GLORIA STEINEM 1934–
India for two years, Steinem returned to the United Gloria Steinem took a leading role in the
States in 1958 and looked for a job as a journalist. unsuccessful effort to have the states ratify the Equal
She had already written freelance articles and a Rights Amendment. She continues to promote the
guidebook while in India, but not until 1960 was she feminist cause in print, in lectures, and as a frequent
able to get her first job in publishing. guest on TV talk shows, while simultaneously
Steinem’s other career as a writer advanced advancing her writing career with books and articles
notably in 1963 when her exposé of life as a waitress bearing her by-line.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 65
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 66
RALPH NADER 1934–
66 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 67
NORMAN Y. MINETA 1931–
defenses. President Roosevelt responded early in the entire committee. Mineta wrote the Intermodal
1942 by ordering the removal of people of Japanese Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991.This
ancestry from the area. Among the 112,000 people act resulted in increases in the use of mass transit
the army rounded up, 71,000 were American systems and other transportation projects that
citizens. Norman Mineta was only 10 years old when reduced pollution such as bike paths. Later he
he and his family were sent from their San Jose chaired the National Aviation Review Commission
home to an internment camp in Wyoming.There which sought to reform the aviation industry.
they remained until the war was over. In 2001, President George W. Bush named Norman
The camps provided large wooden barracks Mineta the Secretary of Transportation, head of the
furnished with army cots. Everyone ate together executive agency that manages all federal
in mess halls. Although the camps were closed transportation programs.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 67
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 68
RUTH BADER GINSBURG (1933– )
68 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 69
TONI MORRISON 1931–
own first novel, The Bluest Eye, which was that the girl will not grow up in slavery.
eventually published in 1970 to much critical Morrison’s writings address the African American
acclaim. During the 1970s, while still an editor and experience. Her characters are often searching for a
sometimes also working as a college professor, cultural identity—a sense of who they are and how
Morrison published three more novels, all of which they belong—in white and in African American
were well received. Her book Song of Solomon, society. Her stories show how finding an African
published in 1977, won the National Book Critic’s American identity within white society poses serious
Circle Award and the American Academy and challenges. Morrison has always sought to write
Institute of Arts and Letters Award. Morrison was also about important issues:“The problem I face as a
appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the National writer is to make my stories mean something.”
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 69
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 70
STEVEN JOBS 1955–
70 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 71
JANET RENO 1938–
Judiciary Committee of the Florida House of decision for being too aggressive, she earned respect
Representatives. From this position, she rose to be an for taking responsibility for the agencies that worked
assistant to the Florida attorney general and, in 1978, for her. She also angered Democrats by initiating an
was appointed the state attorney for Dade County, independent council, or investigating committee, to
which includes the city of Miami. She was the first investigate President Clinton and the Whitewater
female to hold this position, the highest legal official case, an investigation into real estate dealings of Bill
in both county and city, and was reelected five times. and Hillary Clinton.This independent council
As state attorney of Dade County, she was known as indirectly led to Clinton’s impeachment trial. In
a reformer. She established a juvenile department to every case, Janet Reno argued that she was merely
more effectively deal with young offenders. She also upholding the law—the job of the Attorney General.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 71
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 72
AMY TAN 1952–
honors and went on to earn a Master’s degree in woman had been appointed to the position. In
international relations at the University of Notre January 2005, Rice was appointed the cabinet
Dame the following year. Following that success she position of Secretary of State by President Bush. In
went back to the University of Denver, where she this position, Rice is the President’s chief foreign
earned a doctorate in political science. Shortly advisor and carries out the President’s foreign
thereafter, Rice became an assistant professor at policy.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 73
NAME _________________________________DATE ______________________CLASS _______________________
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY 74
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON 1947–
74 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
ANSWER KEY
Dekanawida 1 Nathaniel Bacon 5
1. The Iroquois were located in what is now 1. The landowners felt that the governor’s plan was
southeastern Canada and the northeastern U. S. expensive and not active enough.What they really
2. He wanted to bring peace to all people. He wanted was a war against the Native Americans,
preached the message of peace to many Native which Bacon also favored.
American nations, then joined with Hiawatha to 2. The planter fought Native Americans without a
bring all peoples of the area into a confederation. direct commission from the colonial leader.
3. Omens helped to explain the unknown causes of 3. Upon capture, Bacon begged pardon from the
events. Dekanawida’s mother’s omen accounted governor, and also asked for a commission.
for the eventual attacks by the confederacy upon Berkeley promised such a commission, but Bacon
the Huron people. had to force it from him. Berkeley’s and Bacon’s
Amerigo Vespucci 2 troops fought during the summer of 1676, with
1. Vespucci’s education and interest in geography Bacon gaining control of most of Virginia. In the
and astronomy led to his work in Spain, where fall, Bacon died of dysentery, and Berkeley quelled
he became interested in the idea of sailing west Bacon’s rebellion by January of 1677.
across the Atlantic to get to Asia. In 1499, his Samuel Adams 6
interests led to his joining a voyage to search 1. The Sugar Act provided an opportunity for Adams
for a passage to the East. to display his ability as a writer of fiery protests,
2. His second voyage allowed him to observe the which rallied the colonists to the revolutionary
people, plants, and animals of South America. His cause.
observations led him to conclude that the land 2. Although both Acts were repealed, each provided
was not part of the Indies, but a “new world.” Adams with yet another opportunity to prod
3. Vespucci proved that the lands discovered by American colonists to protest the British.
Columbus were previously undiscovered “new” 3. Adams’s particular brand of writing and
lands and not the outskirts of the “Indies.” He speechmaking was at its most effective when
made very nearly accurate calculations of the pleading a cause.When the colonists won the
earth’s size, and predicted the discovery of the Revolutionary War, Adams’s primary cause no
Pacific Ocean, rather than a passage to Asia. longer existed.
Bartholomé de las Casas 3
Thomas Paine 7
1. Las Casas freed his enslaved people, gave up his
1. Paine worked at a number of jobs, most of which
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 75
George Rogers Clark 9 3. Others stole the design for Whitney’s gin, and,
1. After settling in the Kentucky territory, Clark even though he did get a patent, there was very
persuaded the Virginia government that the little he could do about stopping others from
settlers needed protection from British-inspired producing their versions of his invention.
attacks by Native Americans.The Virginia
Sacajawea 14
government commissioned Clark to undertake the
1. Sacajawea provided a symbol of the expedition’s
task of capturing British forts in the region.
peaceful intent; she could also translate for the
2. Clark fought his campaign during the winter, party, and guide them through territory with
which the British commander did not expect. which she was familiar.
3. Clark had provided for his troops with his own 2. She found that her brother, from whom she had
resources, and had no money at the end of the been separated, was now chief of the Shoshones.
war with which to pay his debts. Because of his position, he was able to give the
James Madison 10 help Sacajawea requested.
1. Madison formulated the concept of a three 3. A couple used to living in a frontier wilderness
branch Federal government, and the system of might find the unaccustomed noise, crowds, and
checks and balances which would keep any one other normal city conditions uncomfortable.
branch from becoming too powerful.
Robert Fulton 15
2. Madison showed that he favored a strong federal 1. As the Industrial Revolution progressed, Fulton
government by allying himself with the leaders of became more interested in the design and building
the Congress who wanted a stronger federal of machines.
government.
2. Fulton faced two problems with his submarines:
3. By creating the system of checks and balances, he couldn’t provide underwater propulsion, and
Madison was able to find a common ground for he could find no one to fund more experiments.
agreement on the basic form of federal
government. 3. Although the Clermont’s initial voyage was rather
short, it demonstrated that the steamboat could
Patrick Henry 11 move against both the water current and the
1. When defending the liberty of ordinary people wind. In so doing, Fulton began the changeover to
against the abuses of government, Henry used his a new age of commercial navigation.
speechmaking power to the fullest.
Paul Cuffe 16
2. An avid Anti-Federalist, Henry continually spoke
1. During one of his voyages, Cuffe was taken
out against what he thought were tyrannies on
prisoner by the British. Not wanting to repeat the
the part of the government. He refused to take
experience, he tried farming.
part in the Constitutional Convention, and worked
to obtain a Bill of Rights. 2. Cuffe believed that African Americans would
never enjoy full freedom in the United States.
3. Henry was able to use his oratorical gift to win
76 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
novels, and wrote instead on American themes, 3. Truth used much of the money she earned to buy
creating American characters. gifts for soldiers and to help escaped enslaved
3. When Cooper returned from Europe he people find jobs, food, clothing, and homes, she
discovered that the respect once due him as a gathered supplies for African American regiments,
wealthy landowner had disappeared due to the she counseled emancipated African Americans in
growth of the ideals of Jacksonian democracy. The Washington, she traveled South after the Civil War
American Democrat was Cooper’s response. to investigate the treatment of emancipated
enslaved people, she challenged the legality of
Osceola 19 Washington, D.C.’s segregation policies on public
1. Osceola plunged his knife into a treaty that the transportation, and she continually lectured on
U.S. government wanted him to sign. racial issues and women’s rights.
2. In order to get Osceola out of the Everglades, Sarah Hale 23
Jesup raised a flag of truce. Instead of honoring 1. Hale became a writer to support her five children
the truce, however, Jesup had Osceola arrested when she was left a widow.
and imprisoned.
2. Hale wrote most of each issue herself and did not
3. Rather than ending the Seminoles’ resistance, allow any controversial topics in the magazine.
Osceola’s death prolonged their resistance for Therefore, the magazine reflected only her own
four additional years, costing the federal ideas and points of view.
government high losses of men and money.
3. Although Hale believed that women belonged in
John C. Calhoun 20 the home, she also believed that they needed an
1. After the War of 1812, Americans were very education. In addition, she supported women in
patriotic and nationalistic, thinking of the country medicine, believing it unnatural that male doctors
as a whole. By 1850, Americans were thinking should care for women. She also urged her
more in terms of the interests of the section in readers to exercise, eat well, and dress sensibly.
which they lived. Brigham Young 24
2. Calhoun had at first favored the tariff, because it 1. Young wanted to lead the Mormons away from
helped the country’s manufacturers as a whole. persecution.
But when the North prospered from the tariff, and 2. Young had colonists establish towns throughout
the South did not, Calhoun began to work against Utah’s Great Basin region, he sent missionaries
the tariff. around the world to seek new recruits, he
3. Calhoun resigned his Vice Presidency and took a instructed all Mormon farmers on irrigation
Senate seat to defend southern interests, he techniques, and he supplied each Mormon town
pushed for the annexation of Texas as a slave with skilled workers.
state, he defended the institution of slavery, and 3. Most settlers in Utah were of the Mormon religion,
he opposed the Compromise of 1850. and followed Young’s leadership without question,
William Lloyd Garrison 21 because he was the head of the Mormon church.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 77
hear her lectures, but to see and hear the author eventually taken prisoner because they had stopped
of “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” to rest, exhausted after their thousand-mile trek.
3. The popularity of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” Helen Hunt Jackson 31
was so great that Howe became a celebrity, 1. Jackson turned to writing to help her overcome
forcing her husband to acknowledge her career. the unhappiness caused by the deaths of her first
husband and two sons.
Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson 27
1. Jackson’s nickname from the fact that during the 2. Jackson wrote A Century of Dishonor to expose
Battle of Bull Run, his men saw him standing still, the mistreatment of Native Americans.
courageously refusing back down in the face of 3. Fearing that A Century of Dishonor would not be
the enemy. widely popular because of its scholarly treatment,
2. The two men’s fighting methods complemented Jackson wrote Ramona to present the
each other: Lee planned brilliant, daring strategies; mistreatment of Native Americans by the
Jackson executed brilliant and daring maneuvers. government in a way that would be understandable
and popular with the American reading public.
3. Jackson’s record for the two years he was in the
field—continual victories against often Frederick W. Taylor 32
overwhelming odds—demonstrated his 1. Taylor sympathized with exhausted workers
outstanding military ability. trying to meet the demands of their bosses, and
he wanted to know how much work a person
Thaddeus Stevens 28 could reasonably be expected to do.
1. Stevens’ political career focused on, and was
driven by, his hatred of slavery and the need to 2. “Scientific management” was the accurate, careful
abolish it. investigation of the number of movements a
worker took to do a task, how long each
2. The Radical Republicans saw the war as a chance movement took, and the manner in which
to eradicate slavery; the Republican majority saw different moves and/or equipment could help a
the war as a fight to restore the Union. worker do a task more efficiently.
3. Stevens served without fee as lawyer to fugitive 3. Some workers might find Taylor’s studies
enslaved people; he refused to sign Pennsylvania’s threatening because a time study, although it
constitution; in Congress, he opposed any extension might increase efficiency, might also eliminate
of slavery to the western territories and attacked jobs by finding a more efficient method that
the institution of slavery; he worked to have the required fewer workers.
defeated South governed by Congress; he helped
get the 14th amendment passed. Leonora Marie Kearney Barry 33
1. Barry was paid just 65 cents for a week’s work
Hiram Revels 29 at a factory. She felt that she was being exploited
1. Jefferson Davis left his seat to serve as President and joined the union for protection.
of the Confederacy during the Civil War.
2. Barry’s reports of the conditions under which
2. Revels was a minister who had organized African
78 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
demands.The American Federation of Labor 2. They felt that the Mexican population might not
admitted only skilled workers and used the strike support fighting against Spain.
system to win its demands. 3. (a.) Otero recruited many New Mexicans for the
Susan B. Anthony 35 Rough Riders. (b.) Otero’s opposition to Roosevelt’s
1. Lucretia Mott, Amelia Bloomer, Lucy Stone, forest policy caused Roosevelt not to appoint
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Otero governor in 1908.
2. These amendments extended rights to formerly Jane Addams 40
enslaved people, making women the last 1. The Hull House was a social settlement center
significant group to face these legal that addressed the needs of the community, such
discriminations. as providing medical and childcare facilities, a
3. Answers will vary.Those who support the idea gymnasium for youth, boarding clubs for girls, and
that leaders of the women’s movement really a school where immigrants could learn English
achieved women’s rights should include that and vocational skills.
Congress resisted extending rights to women, and 2. Addams got the idea for Hull House by viewing
someone had to take the lead in insisting on the Toynbee Hall while touring in Europe.
change.Those who argue that the changes were 3. Answers may include that her life showed that
inevitable should include the economic women can play a direct role in solving problems
developments of the early 1900s that gave women in society.
more independence and the increased
educational opportunities that prepared women William Jennings Bryan 41
for political participation. 1. Farmers and debtors tended to support Bryan.
Thomas Nast 36 2. Those who wanted the government to mint
1. Tammany Hall, run by William Marcy Tweed in unlimited amounts of silver believed that
New York City. increasing money in circulation would make it
easier to pay back loans.
2. An illustration is simply a picture that adds
meaning to the text, while a political cartoon 3. Bryan allied himself with farmers and debtors. He
usually expresses a point of view. also tried to defend beliefs held in much of rural
America, in the Scopes and other trials.
3. Because Thomas Nast was free to publish his
opinions in political cartoons, the people became Gifford Pinchot 42
aware of the corruption in their local 1. The Department of the Interior
government. If freedom of the press did not exist, 2. Some businesses cut down trees without planting
corrupt government could go unchallenged. new ones and did not support conservation.
W. E. B. Du Bois 37 3. Answers will vary but may include: Conservation
1. Pan-Africanism is the belief that all African has developed along with free enterprise in the
Americans should work to conquer prejudice. United States throughout the 20th century.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 79
3. He argued that the Court should consider the Johnson awarded her the Presidential Medal of
effect of working long hours on women. In so Freedom.
doing it would keep pace with the economic and
Ernest Hemingway 51
social changes of industrialization.
1. His first job was at a newspaper and he was a
Alvin York 46 foreign correspondent in Paris after World War I.
1. He joined a church that believed killing was wrong. He covered foreign wars as a journalist.
2. In order to think about whether he could 2. His writing style was spare and simple, free of
participate in the war. heavy language and long sentences. He used
3. Answers will vary but may include: the death of mostly nouns and verbs for a lively, active voice.
his father, falling in love with a woman of deep 3. Hemingway’s experiences with war helped him
religious convictions, changing his lifestyle and focus on themes where an individual tries to
attending church, and being drafted into the army. understand life’s meaning during a time of
violence.The main character attempts to deal
Jeanette Rankin 47
with violence with a strong personal code of
1. World War I – 57,World War II – 1
courage, professionalism, and skill.
2. She believed that the people would not vote for
her after she cast the only vote against the United Frances Perkins 52
States’ declaration of war. 1. She volunteered at Hull House in Chicago.
3. Answers will vary according to the student’s 2. She investigated working conditions as a member
opinion. of the Consumer’s League; she investigated
hazardous working conditions and influenced
Carrie Chapman Catt 48 New York legislation; she served New York State
1. She was a high school principal, a superintendent as labor commissioner.
of schools, an editor, and a lecturer.
3. Answers will vary but may include: to help the
2. The “Winning Plan” involved lobbying Congress less fortunate, to improve conditions for working
for a constitutional amendment, while lobbying people, generally to serve people.
the states for laws giving women the right to
vote, so that states would elect members of Langston Hughes 53
Congress who favored the amendment and would 1. He was elected class poet and editor of the
later provide the votes to ratify it. yearbook.
3. Catt spoke for woman suffrage in Iowa, then she 2. It fulfilled a need for expression, because he
became president of the National American wrote poetry that did not earn him much money.
Woman Suffrage Association. She worked to win 3. He tried to communicate that their heritage was
the vote for women in New York, then took over valuable and that they should see being African
leadership of NAWSA again and developed American as beautiful.
“Winning Plan.”
Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr. 54
80 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES
advantages and protection of being a South makes it an intense setting. Individualism, a
commonwealth. If Puerto Rico became a state, connection to the land, and strong religious
its Hispanic culture might be weakened or beliefs combine to create complex characters.
absorbed.
Walt Disney 61
Ralph Ellison 56 1. He first appeared in Steamboat Willie.
1. He was interested in music and architecture. 2. He launched a television show and amusement
2. The theme was African American identity in a parks.
white-dominated society.The novel focused on a 3. Answers will vary but may include: a. Disney’s
man who had been denied an identity and creativity in cartooning was unique. b.The various
therefore feels invisible. ventures in which Disney was successful show
3. Answers will vary. that he knew what the public wanted. c. In an era
when technological innovation was a key to
Margaret Bourke–White 57
success, Disney’s passion for new cinematography
1. She photographed industrial architecture and
raised him above all competitors. d. Disney was
machinery.
more than a cartoonist and innovator, he had all
2. She decided to photograph the people in the the qualities of a good businessman: ambition,
Montana towns as well as the dam under sense of public needs, willingness to take risks,
construction. and vision.
3. A photojournalist can raise the readers’ awareness
of the subject photographed while bringing a Martin Luther King, Jr. 62
sense of reality to the subject. 1. The Montgomery bus boycott brought King
national attention.
Vladimir Zworykin 58 2. Dr. King believed in nonviolent demonstrations,
1. He was born in Russia. while white moderates wanted to use only legal
2. Two important inventions were the iconoscope channels and some African American activists
and the kinescope were in favor of violent confrontations.
3. Answers will vary but may include: Commercial 3. Answers will vary but may include: Laws already
television is “free,” making it available to almost existed to protect civil rights, but in many
everyone. It presents a variety of entertainment instances the laws were ignored or circumvented.
programs and responds directly to viewer Nonviolent demonstrations would draw attention
interests. However, commercial television has to the problem and force the communities to
become largely an entertainment medium, change.Violence, however, might have the
failing to provide many cultural or educational opposite effect intended, as many people who
programs. It is dominated by the need to make might otherwise support civil rights would refuse
money, and it presents a somewhat distorted to support violent confrontations.
image of life.
Robert F. Kennedy 63
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES 81
satellite communications, and he supported understanding of math, physics, and electronics,
increased funds for housing. creativity, ability to concentrate on details, and
ability to work alone. Skills necessary in managing
Gloria Steinem 65
a large corporation are understanding of math and
1. She wrote articles as a freelance writer.
business, knowledge of consumer needs, ability to
2. Ms. was the first women’s magazine that was organize many different tasks, ability to work with
entirely owned and operated by women. people and to delegate responsibility.
3. She tried to get women to run for political office,
Janet Reno 71
worked for the Equal Rights Amendment, gave
1. Reno was the state attorney for Dade County,
lectures, appeared on television talk shows, and
Florida—the highest legal office in the county.
wrote books and articles.
2. The Attorney General must execute the laws of
Ralph Nader 66 the United States.
1. Nader used his college education to challenge
3. Answers will vary but may include:The Federal
General Motors. He wrote Unsafe at Any Speed
Bureau of Investigations solves bank robberies and
and became nationally known.
kidnapping cases.The Drug Enforcement Agency
2. They used investigations, reports, lawsuits, and pursues drug dealers.The Bureau of Prisons
lobbying the government. manages thousands of prisons around the country.
3. Answers will vary but should consider the reasons The Immigration and Naturalization Service
why the government should or should not controls how many people cross U.S. borders.
regulate corporations to protect the consumer.
Amy Tan 72
Norman Mineta 67 1. The second generation to live in the United States
1. It began early in 1942 after Japan bombed Pearl usually learns English faster and assimilates more
Harbor. quickly into American culture.
2. He became active in San Jose’s Japanese American 2. Tan uses the first person voice, which is often
Citizens League, which led to the Human used in American literature, while the third person
Relations Commission, city council, and then his voice is generally used in Chinese literature. Also,
election as mayor. the concepts of analyzing one’s history or creating
3. Answers will vary but may include: Democracy one’s life how one wants it is usually a feature of
in America has not worked perfectly: sometimes American literature rather than Chinese.
rights of individuals and groups have been 3. Being raised in the United States and studying
violated. Democracy has permitted an open English and linguistics,Tan was well-assimilated
discussion of wrongs and an attempt to establish into American culture. However, she was also
justice and equality. taught Chinese traditions by her mother and
traveled to China with her.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg 68
1. An early inspiration in Ginsburg’s life was her Condoleezza Rice 73
82 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES