Young Patriots

In American Patriots, historian Ralph Young chronicles the key role dissent has played in shaping the United States. Some of these protesters are celebrated heroes of American history, while others are ordinary people, frequently overlooked, whose stories show that change is often accomplished through grassroots activism. Yet not all dissent is equal. In 2021, thousands of rioters stormed the US Capitol, and Americans on both sides of the aisle watched the destruction with horror. American Patriots contrasts this attack with the history of American protest.

The life of John Hancock, contemporary of Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, and first to sign the Declaration of Independence, is featured in this volume of the Young Patriots series. Detailing Hancock's early years, this work focuses on his relationship with boyhood friend John Adams and his academic struggles with what he would later become most famous for: his writings.

Share the childhood adventures of the young girl from Savannah, Georgia, who would grow up to found the Girl Scouts. "Daisy" Gordon would rather climb a tree and ride a horse than learn to dance and sew. "There's not one thing I can't do that boys can," said Daisy, and the organization she created years later proved her words.

"Halie" Jackson grew up in poverty on the levees of New Orleans, hunting for alligators for food along the Mississippi River with her brother, Peter. But every Sunday young Mahalia sang proudly in the church choir, the youngest member at age five. She left school after eighth grade and worked as a maid to help support her family. However, her passion for singing her special brand of music known as "gospel" never waned.

George Rogers Clark was a famous general in the Revolutionary War, and his explorations served as the inspiration for his younger brother William, the leader of the famous Lewis and Clark expedition. Now you can read about the boyhood of Roger and share in the first adventures of this lifelong hero.

Eddie Rickenbacker was a World War I Flying Ace, a Medal of Honor winner, and even a racecar driver. But did you know that his first attempt at flying was to ride his bicycle off the roof of his house while holding an umbrella?

Did you know that Amelia Earhart built her own roller coaster before she was 10 years old? And what do you suppose happened to her while she was exploring a spooky cave and sledding down a steep, icy hill? Find the answers and share all of Amelia Earhart's childhood adventures in this volume of the Young Patriots Series.

Newbery Medal winner Armstrong Sperry has such an affinity for life on the high seas that his readers will imagine themselves right beside the bold John Paul Jones, luring enemy craft into danger and engaging them in close combat. Jones, a talented young captain, became an invaluable figure in America's fight for independence when he offered his sailing skills to the Continental Navy.

Travel back in time to the boyhood of one of the most popular poets of the early 20th century. Author of "Little Orphan Annie", "The Old Swimmin' Hole", and hundreds more poems, "Bud" Riley spent his childhood in mid-nineteenth century Indiana, where stagecoaches were a common sight, rope swings were the only thrill rides, and telling spooky stories by firelight was the best entertainment of all.