Author Description

Excerpt from Builders of Our Nation History as a subject for study should appeal with special force to children. The degree of interest, with which it makes its appeal, depends largely upon whether the child's introduction to the subject attracts or repels. It is the author's desire, therefore, to trace the evolu tion of our nation, with its English speech and English traditions, so simply that the recital may be compre hended quite as clearly by a child ten or twelve years old as by his elders. And why not teach even beginners that the roots of the present lie deep in the past; that before America might become a factor in human progress, the dormant energies of northern Europe, as yet without trade or manufactories, must be awakened; that the great possibilities of eastern commerce must be opened to the wistful gaze of the Atlantic seamen, whose profits had been in scanty catches of fish; that the spirit of rivalry for riches and rule must be roused in imperial breasts? In other words, is it not well that the young readers should become acquainted with the subtle forces that prepared the way for a 'columbus and learn of the conditions that sent to our shores the hardy pioneers who laid the foundation for. Our sturdy American manhood? With this query in view the author has chosen for the initial chapters, periods antedating that fateful Friday morning, August 3, 1492, when the prows of three Spanish ships were set toward the West. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of