Forgotten Heroes: Inspiring American Portraits From Our Leading Hist

The pages of the past are full of characters who remind us that history depends upon the great deeds of men and women, whether famous or humble. Where would America be without George Washington, or Daniel Boone, or Sojourner Truth, or Babe Ruth? Where would we be without so many characters who are less well remembered today? Historians and biographers regularly come across stories of little-known or forgotten heroes, and this book provides a chance to rescue some of the best of them. In Forgotten Heroes, thirty-five of the country's leading historians recount their favorite stories of underappreciated Americans. From Stephen Jay Gould on deaf baseball player Dummy Hoy; to William Leuchtenburg on the truth behind the legendary Johnny Appleseed; to Christine Stansell on Margaret Anderson, who published James Joyce's Ulysses; these portraits can be read equally for delight, instruction, and inspiration Taken together, however, the whole is much more than the sum of its parts. Every culture needs heroes who lead by example and uplift us all in the process. Too often lately, historians have been more intent on picking apart the reputations of previously revered Americans. At times it has seemed as if the academy were on the attack against much of its own culture, denying its past greatness while making heroes only of its dissidents and doubters. Yet as this collection vividly demonstrates, heroes come in many shapes and sizes, and we all gain when we remember and celebrate them. Forgotten Heroes includes nearly as many women as men, and nearly as many people from before 1900 as after. It expands the traditional definition of hero to encompass not only military figures and politicians who took risks for great causes, but also educators, religious leaders, reformers, labor leaders, publishers, athletes, and even a man who started a record company. Many of them were heroes of conscience -- men and women who insisted on doing the right thing, no matter how unpopular or risky, commanding respect even from those who disagreed. Some were famous in their day and have since been forgotten, or remembered only in caricature. Others were little-known even when alive -- yet they all deserve to be remembered today, especially at the gifted hands of the authors of this book.

Table of Contents:
Contents FOREWORD BY DAVID McCULLOUGH TIMELINE Introduction: Historians' Forgotten Heroes Susan Ware John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed) William E. Leuchtenburg Henry Knox's Wilderness Epic Tom Wicker Mary Dyer: Religious Martyr Patricia U. Bonomi Robert Basset: A Drumbeat for Liberty William S. McFeely Thomas Peters: Millwright and Deliverer Gary B. Nash James A. Bayard: Savior of the Constitution James M. Banner, Jr. John Quincy Adams: The Failed President Whose Real Triumphs Should Be Known Alfred Kazin Nicholas Trist: The Disobedient Diplomat Thomas Fleming George Drouillard: Mountain Man Robert M. Utley Susie King Taylor: A Black Woman's Civil War Catherine Clinton Myra Colby Bradwell: Champion of Women's Legal Rights Jean Harvey Baker Victoria Woodhull: Free Love in the Feminine, First-Person Singular Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz Emmeline B. Wells: Mormon Feminist and Journalist Leonard J. Arrington The Amazing Dummy Stephen Jay Gould John McLuckie: Burgess of Homestead David Brody Florence Kelley Campaigns against Sweatshops in the 1890s Kathryn Kish Sklar George Dewey: Naval Hero and Political Disaster Justin Kaplan Local Hero: J. C. M. Hanson and the Politics of Library Classification Neil Harris William Chandler Bagley: Dr. Know of American Education Diane Ravitch O. Delight Smith: A Labor Organizer's Odyssey Jacquelyn Dowd Hall "Brave about Words": Margaret Anderson and the Ulysses Trial Christine Stansell Ned Cobb: He Stood His Ground Jacqueline Jones Carlo Tresca: "Every Inch a Fighter" John Patrick Diggins Alice Paul: Friend and Foe of the Equal Rights Amendment Joan Hoff Samuel Seabury: The Man Who Rode the Tiger Herbert Mitgang Edward Prichard: Forgotten New Dealer Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. Caroline F. Ware: Crusader for Social Justice Thomas Dublin Lew Ayres: Conscience in Hollywood Bernard A. Weisberger The Trials of Miriam Van Waters Estelle B. Freedman Pauli Murray and the Killing of Jane Crow Rosalind Rosenberg Sam Phillips: Southern Visionary Joel Williamson Hazel Brannon Smith: White Martyr for Civil Rights Kathleen Brady Gertrude Ederle: "America's Best Girl" Susan Ware "Manila John" of Guadalcanal: Hero of the Pacific War Kenneth T. Jackson Frederick Funston: A Song of Rage Mark C. Carnes SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INDEX

About the Author :
The Society of American Historians was founded in 1939 by Allan Nevins and several other authors to encourage literary distinction in the writing of history and biography. Its membership is limited to 250 elected fellows. David McCullough was the thirteenth president of the Society, succeeded in May 1998 by Kenneth T. Jackson.