[Illustration: GEORGE WASHINGTON] _GRADED SUPPLEMENTARY READING SERIES_ BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES FROM AMERICAN HISTORY FOR THE FIFTH AND SIXTH GRADES REQUIRED BY THE SYLLABUS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OF THE NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT BY EDNA HENRY LEE TURPIN AUTHOR OF “CLASSIC FABLES,” “STORIES FROM AMERICAN HISTORY,” “FAMOUS PAINTERS,” ETC., ETC. NEW YORK CHARLES E. MERRILL CO. COPYRIGHT, 1907, BY CHARLES E. MERRILL CO. PREFACE “Universal history, the history of what man has accomplished in the world, is at bottom the history of the great men who have worked here,” says Carlyle. “The history of the world is the biography of great men.” What the historian-philosopher esteemed the truest form of history is undoubtedly the form which appeals earliest and most strongly to the child mind. This fact has been recognized by educators, and biographical stories in the lower grades are wisely made the foundation for more comprehensive work in advanced grades. The following biographies of men and women prominent in the making of American history are intended as an introduction to a topical study of the history of the United States. These biographies are prepared to meet the requirements of the New York State schools; the author has followed the plan outlined in the State Syllabus. She has in every case consulted the most recent and authoritative biographies, and has endeavored to make the narrative truthful and vivid. PUBLISHERS’ NOTE This book contains all the biographical matter required for the fifth and sixth grades in the Elementary Syllabus of the New York State Education Department, and follows faithfully the outlines given. The style is clear, easy, and concise, common words and short sentences being used. The aim is to bring out, so far as the brief space will allow, those biographical and dramatic elements which make the strongest appeal to the pupil. While no attempt is made to present a continuous history of our country, these biographies show its development from the time of discovery and exploration through the days of colonization and settlement to the present period of invention and industrial supremacy. CONTENTS PAGE ADAMS, SAMUEL 149 BACON, NATHANIEL 122 BALTIMORE, CECIL CALVERT, LORD 105 BARTON, CLARA 290 BELL, ALEXANDER GRAHAM 236 BOONE, DANIEL 200 CABOT, JOHN 37 CARNEGIE, ANDREW 297 CHAMPLAIN, SAMUEL DE 94 CLAY, HENRY 247 CLINTON, DEWITT 218 COLUMBUS, CHRISTOPHER 20 DE SOTO, FERDINAND 31 DEWEY, GEORGE B. 292 DRAKE, SIR FRANCIS 41