96 CH 19 DANIEL WEBSTER 95 CH 20 WASHINGTON IRVING 99 CH 21 ZACHARY TAYLOR 103 CH 22 JAMES FENIMORE COOPER IO7 CH 23 STEPHEN F AuSTIN IIO CH 24 SAM HOUSTON II2 CH 25 WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT 116 CH 26 NAT TURNER II9 CH 27 OSCEOLA 122 CH 28 WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON 124 CH 29 SARAH AND ANGELINA GRIMIKE 127 CH 30 FREDERICK DOUGLASS 130 108 CONCLUSION 135 GLOSSARY 137 FOR MORE INFORMATION 139 BIBLIOGRAPHY 142 INDEX I43
INTRODUCTION he American Revolutionary War brought forth an independent nation known as the United States Once the fighting was over and freedom declared the job of form ing and sustaining the more perfect union envisioned in the Preamble to the US Constitution landed squarely on the shoul ders of the fledgling country s citizens The stories of these men and women are an impor tant part of U S history This book presents the biographies of several statesmen explor ers warriors and social reformers who helped shape the new American nation A number of revolutionary leaders gained important positions within the new federal government including the presidency In the latter group were George Washington John Adams and Thomas Jefferson The nation's first president Washington had proven him self a patriot as commander in chief of the Continental Army then as the officer who oversaw the writing of the Constitution Adams and Jefferson each had served under Washington as vice president and secretary of state respectively before being elected president themselves All three brought their personal and political beliefs to bear on the evolving U S
WASHIN R ESTED ENTS O TH Among those who built the New American Nation were the presidents including George Washington center and clockwise John Adams James Madison John Lyincy Adams Martin Van Buren James Tyler James Polk William Harrison Andrew Jackson James Monroe and Thomas Jefferson MPI Archive Photos Getty Images
