American Patriots & Heroes

When a nation turns its back on virtue and honor, those of its people who still hold those ideals in high regard seem to either voice their rage or lapse into sulky nostalgia for the "good old days." But rage only generates more rage, and the good old days (even if they were as great as everyone remembers) will never return. The only profitable response, then, is to remember and celebrate the heroes of the past as examples to imitate and guides toward the future.

Looking back to see ahead seems counterintuitive until you realize the current lack of genuine heroes in positions of political and legal authority. Not that there are none, but increasingly the leadership of the United States is less wise, less virtuous, and simply less fit to lead than has previously been the case. Whether this is because the American people are more apathetic and given to self-pleasure rather than goodness and stability, or because the quality of its leadership has declined, is unclear.

What is clear is that without a desire for virtue true patriotism is impossible—but without true patriotism a return to virtue is equally impossible. It's a vicious cycle....unless we uphold the honorable men and women of our nation's history as examples of good citizens and base our patriotism on their adherence to goodness and nobility.

Men like John Quincy Adams, who continued to serve as a U.S. Representative after his presidency expired, simply because he wanted to serve. Or Sgt. Alvin York, whose Christian pacificism led him to one of the most impressive examples of military heroism in the trenches of France during the First World War. Or Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, a Frenchman whose belief in American ideals led him to leave France in defiance of the king and enlist his services as a military commander in support of the Revolution.

Women like Mary McLeod Bethune, the daughter of former slaves who began a school for African-American students at a time when their education was considered of little importance. Or Mary Edwards Walker, the only woman to ever win the Medal of Honor (for services rendered in the American Civil War). Or the perennial favorite, Pocahontas, who converted to Christianity and married John Rolfe (and who may or may not have saved the life of the wild child John Smith, a notorious liar).

Of course none of these people were perfect, and not everything they did was good or worthwhile. We don't want to ignore their flaws. But we also don't want to dismiss them because they exhibited human characteristics and flaws. What we do want is to remember and learn from their virtues and self-sacrifice on behalf of their nation. Particularly, we want to pass this knowledge on to our children, who are our best hope for a return to goodness and a rejection of the shallowness and evil that pervades our society. This is the kind of patriotism we want to encourage, and the kind of national spirit such patriotism engenders.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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America's Paul Revere
by Esther Forbes
from Sandpiper Books
Biography for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99
American Heroes of the 20th Century
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by Harold & Doris Faber
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And Long Remember
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Andrew Jackson: Young Patriot
Childhood of Famous Americans
by George Edward Stanley
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Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
Landmark Series
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Heroes of History
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Benjamin Franklin, American Genius
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Benjamin Franklin: Young Printer
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Biography of George Washington
Sons of Liberty Series
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Buffalo Bill
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Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt!
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Captain John Smith
Heroes of History
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Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
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1956 Newbery Medal winner
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Charles A. Lindbergh
by James Cross Giblin
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1998 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
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Clara Barton
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
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$11.99
Courage to Run
Daughters of the Faith
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$8.99
Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots
Childhood of Famous Americans
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1940 Newbery Medal winner
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Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout
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Heroes of History
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Four Great Americans
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George Washington Carver
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George Washington Carver - Unit Study Curriculum Guide
Heroes of History
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Geronimo
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Go Free or Die
by Jeri Ferris
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Great Indian Chiefs
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Great Little Madison
by Jean Fritz
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1990 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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Great Little Madison
by Jean Fritz
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Harriet Beecher Stowe and the Beecher Preachers
by Jean Fritz
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Harriet Tubman
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
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Harriet Tubman
by Ann Petry
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Harriet Tubman
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Harriet Tubman: Freedom's Trailblazer
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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Haym Salomon: Son of Liberty
by Howard Fast
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Helen Keller
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If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King
by Ellen Levine
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Indian Portraits of the Pacific Northwest
by George M. Cochran
3rd edition from Binford & Mort Publishing
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Jed Smith
by Frank Latham
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John Adams
Heroes of History
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John Hancock: A Signature Life
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John Muir: Young Naturalist
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Montrew Dunham
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$10.95
John Paul Jones
Sterling Point Books
by Armstrong Sperry
from Sterling Publishing Co.
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John Paul Jones
A Discovery Book
by Stewart Graff, illustrated by William Hutchinson
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John Paul Jones
Heroes of the Revolution
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John Paul Jones: Salt-Water Boy
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Lafayette, Friend of America
Makers of America
by Alberta Powell Graham
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Liberty Letters: The Story of Pocahontas, 1613
Liberty Letters
by Nancy LeSourd
1st edition from Zondervan
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Life of Washington
by Josephine Pollard
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Lincoln: A Photobiography
by Russell Freedman
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Louis Zamperini
by Geoff & Janet Benge
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Luther the Leader
by Virgil Robinson
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Biography for 5th-8th grade
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Martin Luther King, Jr.: Young Man with a Dream
Childhood of Famous Americans
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$7.99
Meet George Washington
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Meet George Washington
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First Scholastic Printing 2001 from Scholastic Inc.
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Meriwether Lewis
Heroes of History
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$11.99
Molly Pitcher: Young Patriot
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Neil Armstrong: Young Flyer
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Patrick Henry
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Patrick Henry
The Founding Fathers
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Patriots in Petticoats
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Paul Revere
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Paul Revere: Boston Patriot
Childhood of Famous Americans
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$7.99
Pocahontas
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$17.95
Pocahontas and the Strangers
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from Scholastic Inc.
Biographies for 3rd-5th grade
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Pocahontas and the Strangers
by Clyde Robert Bulla
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Biographies for 3rd-5th grade
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Pocahontas and the Strangers
by Clyde Robert Bulla
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Biographies for 3rd-5th grade
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Pocahontas: Young Peacemaker
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Leslie Gourse
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Poor Richard in France
by F. N. Monjo
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Profiles from History Volume 1
by Ashley M. Wiggers
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in Trail Guide to Learning (Location: CUR-TGL)
$16.95
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by Ashley M. Wiggers
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$16.95
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by Ashley M. Wiggers
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Profiles in Courage
by John F. Kennedy
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Biography Anthology for 4th-8th grade
1957 Biography Pulitzer Prize
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
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