American Patriots & Heroes

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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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American Patriots & Heroes

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5th grade (Ages 10-11),

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	American Heroes of the 20th Century Landmark Giant #14 by Harold & Doris Faber from Random House for 5th-8th grade in Landmark Giants (Location: VIN-LAN)
	Benjamin Franklin Inventor, Statesman, and Patriot by R. Conrad Stein from Rand McNally Biography for 3rd-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $3.00 (2 in stock)
	Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham, illustrated by John O'Hara Cosgrave II from Houghton Mifflin Biography for 5th-9th grade 1956 Newbery Medal winner in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $20.00 (1 in stock)
	Charles A. Lindbergh A Human Hero by James Cross Giblin from Clarion Books Biography for 5th-8th grade 1998 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book in Biographies (Location: BIO) $7.00 (1 in stock)
	Confederate Trilogy for Young Readers by Mary L. Williamson from Sprinkle Publications for 4th-6th grade in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
	Crispus Attucks: Boy of Valor Childhood of Famous Americans by Dharathula H. Millender from Bobbs-Merril Co for 3rd-6th grade in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
	Daniel Boone by James Daugherty 1^st edition from Viking Press for 4th-6th grade 1940 Newbery Medal winner in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout Junior Deluxe Editions by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by Henry C. Pitz from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 4th-7th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout The Life Story and True Adventures of the Great Hunter Long Knife by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by James Daugherty from Garden City Books Biography for 4th-7th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Davy Crockett Junior Deluxe Editions by Constance Rourke, illustrated by Walter Seaton from Grosset & Dunlap for 4th-7th grade 1935 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Davy Crockett From the Backwoods of Tennessee to the Alamo Landmark #57 by Stewart H. Holbrook, illustrated by Ernest Richardson from Random House for 5th-9th grade in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
	Davy Crockett: Young Rifleman Childhood of Famous Americans by Aileen Wells Parks Biography for 3rd-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Eagle and the Fort The Story of John McLoughlin by Dorothy Morrison from Atheneum Biography for 5th-8th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	George Rogers Clark: War in the West Events of the Revolution by Susan and John Lee, illustrated by Richard Wahl from Children's Press for 3rd-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Great Little Madison by Jean Fritz 1^st edition from G.P. Putnam's Sons for 4th-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $9.00 (2 in stock)
	Haym Salomon: Son of Liberty by Howard Fast from Julian Messner for 4th-6th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	I Have Just Begun to Fight The Story of John Paul Jones by Commander Edward Ellsberg, illustrated by Gerald Foster from Dodd, Mead & Co. for 5th-8th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Jim Bowie: Boy with a Hunting Knife Childhood of Famous Americans by Gertrude Hecker Winders from Bobbs-Merril Co for 3rd-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	John Charles Fremont The Last American Explorer by Ronald Syme, illustrated by Richard Cuffari from William Morrow & Company for 4th-8th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	John Paul Jones A Discovery Book by Stewart Graff, illustrated by William Hutchinson from Garrard Publishing Company for 2nd-5th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	John Paul Jones by Norma Jean Lutz from Chelsea House Publishing for 4th-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	John Paul Jones Heroes of the Revolution by Susan & John Lee, illustrated by Tom Dunnington from Children's Press for 2nd-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	John Paul Jones: Salt-Water Boy Childhood of Famous Americans by Dorothea J. Snow from Bobbs-Merril Co for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Lafayette, Friend of America Makers of America by Alberta Powell Graham 1^st edition from Abingdon Press for 2nd-5th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Liberty Letters: The Story of Pocahontas, 1613 The Personal Correspondence of Elizabeth Walton & Abigail Matthews Liberty Letters by Nancy LeSourd 1^st edition from Zondervan Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman from Houghton Mifflin Biography for 5th-9th grade 1988 Newbery Medal winner in Biographies (Location: BIO) $8.00 (3 in stock)
	Medal of Honor Heroes Landmark #111 by Colonel Red Reeder from Random House for 5th-9th grade in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
	Paul Revere The Man Behind the Legend by Margaret Green from Julian Messner for 4th-7th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Poor Richard in France by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by Brinton Turkle from Henry Holt and Company for 2nd-5th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS) $7.50 (2 in stock)
	Profiles in Courage Young Readers Memorial Edition by John F. Kennedy from HarperCollins Biography Anthology for 4th-8th grade 1957 Biography Pulitzer Prize in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Profiles in Courage (abridged) Young Readers Edition by John F. Kennedy, illustrated by Emil Weiss from HarperCollins Biography Anthology for 4th-8th grade 1957 Biography Pulitzer Prize in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS) $6.00 (2 in stock)
	Real Book about George Washington by Harold Coy, illustrated by Elinore Blaisdell from Garden City Books for 5th-8th grade in Real Books series (Location: VIN-RBA)
	Sam Houston, The Tallest Texan Landmark #32 by William Johnson, illustrated by William Reusswig from Random House for 5th-8th grade in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
	Sam Houston: Boy Chieftain Childhood of Famous Americans by Augusta Stevenson from Bobbs-Merril Co for 3rd-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Story of Amelia Earhart Signature Books #33 by Adele de Leeuw, illustrated by Harry Beckhoff from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 3rd-8th grade in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
	Story of Andrew Jackson Grosset & Dunlap Signature #13 by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by David Hendrickson from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 5th-9th grade in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
	Story of Benjamin Franklin Grosset & Dunlap Signature #5 by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 5th-9th grade in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
	Story of Buffalo Bill Signature Books #1 by Edmund Collier, illustrated by Nicholas Eggenhofer from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 5th-9th grade in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
	Story of Daniel Boone Signature Books #15 by William O. Steele, illustrated by Warren Baumgartner from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 4th-8th grade in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Story of Davy Crockett Grosset & Dunlap Signature #3 by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by C. B. Falls from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 4th-8th grade in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
	Story of Dwight D. Eisenhower Signature Books #38 by Arthur J. Beckhard, illustrated by Charles H. Geer from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 3rd-8th grade in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
	Story of George Washington Grosset & Dunlap Signature #12 by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 5th-9th grade in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
	Story of George Washington Carver Signature Books #17 by Arna Bontemps, illustrated by Harper Johnson from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 4th-8th grade in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
	Story of John Paul Jones Grosset & Dunlap Signature #20 by Iris Vinton, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 5th-9th grade in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
	Story of Lafayette Signature Books #7 by Hazel Wilson, illustrated by Edy Legrand from Grosset & Dunlap Biograhy for 4th-8th grade in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
	Story of Martha Washington Grosset & Dunlap Signature #32 by Jeannette C. Nolan, illustrated by Corinne B. Dillon from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 4th-8th grade in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
	Story of President Kennedy Grosset & Dunlap Signature #50 by Iris Vinton, illustrated by Carl Cassler from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 5th-9th grade in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
	Story of Stephen Decatur Grosset & Dunlap Signature #29 by Iris Vinton, illustrated by Graham Kaye from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 3rd-8th grade in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
	Swamp Fox of the Revolution Landmark #90 by Stewart H. Holbrook, illustrated by Ernest Richardson from Random House for 5th-9th grade in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
	Theodore Roosevelt - The Strenuous Life by John A. Garraty from American Heritage Publishing Co. Biography for 4th-8th grade in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
	We Were There, Too! by Phillip Hoose 1^st edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 4th-6th grade in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF) $14.00 (1 in stock)
	Where Lincoln Walked by Raymond Bial from Walker and Company for 4th-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	William Penn, Founder and Friend by Virginia Haviland from Abingdon Press for 3rd-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	William T. Sherman Triangle Histories: The Civil War by David C. King 1^st edition from Blackbirch Press for 4th-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $2.00 (1 in stock)
	Wyatt Earp: U.S. Marshal Landmark #67 by Stewart H. Holbrook, illustrated by Ernest Richardson from Random House for 5th-9th grade in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
	Yankee Thunder The Legendary Life of Davy Crockett by Irwin Shapiro, illustrated by James Daugherty from Simon and Schuster for 4th-8th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Zack Taylor: Young Rough and Ready Childhood of Famous Americans by Katherine E. Wilkie from Bobbs-Merril Co for 3rd-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)

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