Jules Archer History for Young Readers

The founding fathers and mothers of the United States were not, as history often makes them out to be, stuffy cardboard figures of virtue and nobility. They Made a Revolution introduces them as the real people they were-complete with their inevitable flaws and weaknesses. Through their letters, diaries, and reminiscences, discover what was going on in the minds of this country's revolutionary leaders as they committed treason against the most powerful nation on earth, risking their lives for the sake of freedom. Meet "The Sly Fox," Sam Adams; "The Rich Rebel," John Hancock; "The Silver-Tongued Bumpkin," Patrick Henry; and the very brave Abigail Adams and full-of-secrets Martha Washington. Each of these characters comes alive in this fabulous collection of historical biographies. These are the stories of the courageous men and women who stood up to the British king and made a revolution happen. To England, they were traitors. To the United States, they became patriots.

Slavery is wrong. Women can be doctors. Women can wear pants. These are truths that most Americans today would agree are unambiguous. But there was a time in this country when each of those statements resulted in vicious criticism. When she wore pants, Amelia Bloomer was a "hussy," subjected to jeers and catcalls. As the only female doctor in the entire western United States, Bethenia Owens was so unpopular that she was threatened with tar and feathers and driven out of town. And when Jonathan Walker was caught helping escaped slaves, he was branded with the letters "SS," for "slave stealer." Today we recognize these unpopular ones as both brave and in the right. Their stories remind young readers that sometimes it is important to speak out against the popular opinions of the time. What are those opinions in today's world? These fifteen men and women set stunning examples of standing up for what's right. Be inspired by their courage and perseverance when up against the odds. Whose unpopular beliefs today will be the truths of tomorrow? Will you be one of the unpopular ones?

Anyone who has ever participated in a demonstration, gone to a rally, or even written a term paper on a subject remotely "un-American," you may have been watched. Whether they've helped organize a union or engaged in anti-labor activities, there is a chance that your phone may be tapped or your mail opened. There may be a file about you at the FBI. Currently, a very delicate balance exists between surveillance in the name of national security and spying. An upset in this balance can result in a threat to civil liberties. The growth of huge bureaucracies of superspies on the federal, state, and local levels has tipped this balance to jeopardize the right to privacy. The CIA, the FBI, virtually every government agency, and numerous corporations have stretched "spying in the public interest" to its limits. Foreign governments are toppled, assassinations are plotted. The consequences of political dissent are enormous.

Jules Archer begins with laws that opened up America-public lands and homesteading-and continues with banking, the Bill of Rights, subversion and sedition, foreign policy. Natural resources, labor, business, education and welfare, farming, Prohibition, the New Deal, the draft and G. I. Bills, slavery and civil rights. Archer chronicles the history of laws in America. Each chapter opens with a dramatic incident, and then develops the laws relating to it. Brisk up-to-date, authoritative, informative-this volume will be valuable a supplementary reading in the classroom, as well as a welcome addition to libraries across the country. Readers of all ages will find this an exciting approach to what is usually considered difficult material.

History has shown that dictators often share similarities in the ways they come to power, hold power, and topple from power. The Dictators is a fascinating presentation of eighteen of this century's most powerful dictators, representing fourteen countries. Their lives, political and social theories, and their achievements-good and bad-are carefully examined. Learn how men such as Lenin, Hitler, and Franco influenced their people and changed the world, and discover why a country will accept and support the rule of a dictator. The ideological and practical conflicts between dictatorships and democracies are carefully laid out within the pages of this book. The lives of dictators are important because they have, to a large extent, shaped much of the world we live in, and will continue to do so for generations to come. We all know about Hitler, Stalin, Castro, and Mao Tse-tung. But we also have new names, such as Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un, and Muammar Gaddafi and Robert Mugabe. It remains imperative that we understand as much about these men as we can-the peace of the world depends on it.

Winners and Losers is a timeless exploration of a subject relevant to today's youth that will inspire young readers to get involved. Jules Archer shares the accessible and entertaining history of elections and political parties in America. He explores topics such as: • Are political parties in America really different, or are affiliations based mostly on emotion and history? • What does party loyalty mean? • Should you vote for the candidate or the party? • Do you have the right to participate in elections when you are under eighteen? Even young readers can do their part in elections. Being informed is the first step in taking part in choosing the leaders of tomorrow. Voting is a fundamental American right, and this book gives young people the tools necessary to be active participants in the process.

"Extremism tends to flourish in times of crisis," writes Jules Archer. It comes in all shapes and sizes and attaches itself to various causes. You can find extremism at the beginning with the founding fathers, extremists in the eyes of the British government and you can most definitely find it today. Jules Archer chronicles a history of extremists such as: Puritans, Suffragettes, The Klu Klux Klan, and Prohibitionists. With vintage cartoons and prints to further explain the subject, Jules Archer reports the fascinating history of protests in America.

Today, feminism is as important as ever. Betty Friedan's musings, "to take the actions needed to bring women into the mainstream of American society, now; full equality for women, in fully equal partnership with men," still hold fervently true in current society. Young readers still fighting for equality today need to know how the movement began years ago, with such basics as the right to vote, the right to birth control, and the right to equal employment. Leading historian Jules Archer's account offers fascinating biographies of Susan B. Anthony, Margaret Sanger, and Betty Friedan, with a full background of the political organizations they worked for and against. Forty-four percent of general American history books do not even mention the struggle for women's suffrage, and 65 percent fail to record the name of Susan B. Anthony. Even more young readers have never heard the names of Margaret Sanger and Betty Friedan. As far as most of these books are concerned, women are invisible in American history. But these women dared to defy convention, at great personal risk, for the cause of sexual and gender equality. Their stories must be remembered. With a new foreword by feminist author Naomi Wolf, The Feminist Revolution relies heavily on letters, diaries, and other personal forms of communication to tell the story of women's rights in this country. Part of Sky Pony Press's revitalization of the Jules Archer History for Young Readers, series, this book is a must-read introduction to the Feminist Revolution for all young adults.

We often remember the 1960s as a time of peace and love, but it was also a time of assassinations, riots, and an unpopular war. Furthermore, more than three million people took to the streets in violent antiwar and civil rights demonstrations during this decade. In The Incredible '60s, renowned historian Jules Archer brings the glories and tragedies of the sixties to a new generation, with a comprehensive history of sixties counterculture, the Vietnam War and the resistance movement, civil rights, feminism, science, rock 'n' roll, and more. Covering everything from the Kennedy Era and the Freedom Riders to nuclear weapons and the Cold War, Archer aims to make sure important history is not forgotten, and this is a story for young people-a story about seeing what needs to be changed in the world and making that change happen. Jules Archer traveled to distant parts of the globe in search of information, sometimes going back to original sources. For this book he had dinner with Elvis Presley, had tea with two Australian prime ministers, climbed a volcano via camel, and swum the Seine in Paris at midnight. His adventurous spirit and enthusiasm will be contagious to young readers who may just leave their own indelible mark on a future decade. Sky Pony Press is pleased to add this important and thought-provoking piece of historical literature to its new Jules Archer History for Young Readers series.

At twenty-six Douglas MacArthur was military aide to President Theodore Roosevelt, and his courageous leadership of the Rainbow Division in World War I made him a general. At the same time, his reluctance to heed any authority but his own gained him a reputation of arrogance and insubordination that was to shadow his entire career. As MacArthur helped guide defeated Japan to democracy, it was remarked that he himself tolerated no democratic questioning of his commands. When he was summoned from Japan to take command of the desperately beleaguered forces in Korea, the conflict between duty and pride brought his career to a dramatic conclusion. With brilliant generalship he saved his army from defeat, only to be removed from his post when he refused to obey the president himself. Douglas MacArthur's deeds were of heroic proportion, but he is, and will continue to be, one of America's most controversial figures.

Early in life, Joseph Stalin became convinced of the inevitability of social revolution. And in it, he was determined to play a prominent role. He carefully masked his great personal ambition during his long climb to power and devoted all this energies to furthering the cause of Lenin and Bolshevism. Only after Lenin's death, with the Bolshevik takeover of Russia accomplished, did Stalin's comrades in leadership find themselves forced to bow to Stalin's will-or be eliminated. His rise to power was bloody and ruthless, yet under his twenty-nine-year leadership, Russia became a mighty industrial nation. Illiteracy was banished, interest in the arts began to flourish, and Russia moved toward amazing scientific triumphs. Man of Steel is the story of Joseph Stalin, the man who rose to become absolute master of Soviet Russia and who cast his shadow over the entire globe.

Treason can be defined as "the breach of the allegiance which a person owes to the state under whose protection he lives." But what exactly does it mean to be guilty of a "breach of the allegiance" owed to your country? In a country that guarantees freedom of speech and dissent to all citizens, the extent to which dissent becomes unlawful may not always be clear. Treason is punishable by the death penalty, underscoring the importance of the question: How do we go about proving that someone is indeed an enemy of his country-a traitor? In this book, renowned historian Jules Archer explores different cases of treason throughout our history, while encouraging young readers to really question the definition of treason and how it should be treated. He asks readers to consider the similarities between disloyalty and dissent and ultimately urges this generation to take it into their own hands to redefine American duties and liberties for our time.

Benito Mussolini was a man of many contradictions but with one driving ambition: to rule Italy and restore it to the power and splendor of the ancient Roman Empire, with himself as the new Caesar. He became the founder of the Fascist movement and dictator of all of Italy. The son of a poor blacksmith who was an ardent Socialist, Mussolini grew up in an atmosphere of political agitation. He taught school for a brief time and then became a fiery journalist, attacking the government with a violence that caused him to be imprisoned eleven times before he was thirty. He was a genuine idealist, but he was also an opportunist. Mussolini used his influence to get Italy into World War I by accepting a bribe from France, thus betraying his cause. Mussolini's weaknesses were dramatically revealed by the fantastic blunders he committed during the war and by the swift collapse of his Fascist party under pressure. As defeat followed defeat, he was arrested but escaped to northern Italy, where he became head of a puppet government set up by Hitler. When World War II ended, he was executed.

Why do people riot? From the Boston Massacre in 1770 to the Los Angeles riots of 1992, mob violence in the United States is often sparked by unjust court decisions, unfair taxes, unpopular wars, the fear of unemployment, and racial and ethnic prejudice. But there are also seemingly senseless riots over wild concerts and sports championships. What causes a peacefully assembled crowd to turn into a mindless, violent mob? What causes a police force or militia to lose control? In this timely, comprehensive overview, Jules Archer describes and explains the causes of mob violence in the United States and suggests that unless we make some basic changes in the nature of our society, the despair and rage that ignite mob violence may always be with us.

In the early stages of the Pacific War, General Douglas MacArthur was expected to prevent the Japanese from taking Australia. With limited forces, MacArthur had to be tactical, and the key to the continent's defense was the island of New Guinea, just above the northeast tip of Australia. In order to defend New Guinea, MacArthur sent a small task force to Milne Bay, where the Coral Sea rounded the southeast tip of the island. His plan: to establish an airfield base for bomber and fighter planes that could attack enemy invasion convoys as they rounded the tip of New Guinea to attack Australia. In the fall of 1941, at the age of twenty-six, Jules Archer joined the US Armed Forces. A few months later, he joined MacArthur as a member of the small task force being sent to New Guinea. With good reason not to expect to return alive, Archer and his troop were plunged into a new kind of war. They fought in a jungle among a primitive Melanesian people, some tribes of which were headhunters. For nearly four years they endured in the distant jungle. This is an inside look at one of the lesser-known stories of one of the worst wars the world has known. It's a story of the absurdities, fears, camaraderie, and even humor of life as a wartime solider.

With expert storytelling skills, historian Jules Archer recounts the complete story of Watergate, from that first fateful predawn Saturday morning-June 18, 1972-when night watchman Frank Willis discovered "burglars" inside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee to President Richard Nixon's disgraced resignation two years later. This story dives into the cover-ups, the payoffs, the blackmailing, the scapegoats, and Nixon's impending impeachment, conviction, and removal from office. As suspenseful as any detective story, Archer unveils the scandal of a president trying to steal an election that was already his. More than eighty-five historic black-and-white photographs record the events, and Archer's thoughtful questions and conclusions leave readers with much-needed cause for hope. Part of Sky Pony Press's revitalized Jules Archer History for Young Readers series, with a new foreword by Roger Stone, Watergate strives to give young readers the whole truth about this moment in history, which will enable young people to form intelligent judgments essential to being a part of a functioning democracy.

With today's climate change, our environmental problems aren't going away any time soon. To Save the Earth looks at the lives of four extraordinary Americans who fought to save our earth. John Muir, a pioneer of conservationism, was the founder of our national park system. Rachel Carson, biologist and author, educated our country about the effects of pesticides and chemical waste. David McTaggart, the organizer of Greenpeace, introduced nonviolent protest into the struggle, while Dave Foreman, cofounder and former leader of the activist group Earth First!, shook up a movement that had grown complacent. The biographies of each of these figures, as well as personal interviews with David McTaggart and Dave Foreman, help us to understand the environmental movement specific to the United States. With current issues of excessive pollution and climate change, this is an excellent resource for introducing young readers to the cause. Upon first publication, To Save the Earth was chosen as a Junior Library Guild Selection, and now, this fascinating and important book is back in print to teach a whole new generation of readers the importance of environmental conservation and preservation.

The majority of the civil rights movement in the United States occurred in three stages. The first stage began with the slaves in America fighting for their freedom. Frederick Douglass was a key player from the very beginning. Born a slave, Douglass escaped and went on to become one of the most respected abolitionist leaders. After the Civil War, freed slaves fought to overcome the still-prevailing prejudice and persecution. During this phase, Marcus Garvey led the Back to Africa movement, promoting Black Nationalism and black pride among the newly freed people. And in the 1960s, a strong civil rights movement branched in two different directions. The first was headed by Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., who organized a powerful nonviolent civil disobedience movement to win equal rights through integration. Following a very different path, Malcolm X sought equal rights for blacks through violent confrontation and racial separation. Together, these four men shaped the American civil rights movement. Racism is still a very relevant problem in our country today, and to better understand where we are now and how to make progress in the future, we must first understand where we've come from.

Is resistance un-American? How far should resistance go? Courage and desperation have sparked instances of resistance since the dawn of civilization. Jesus, Thoreau, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King resisted the nonviolent way. Here for the record is a remarkably full discussion of instances of twentieth-century resistance to inform, inspire, and possibly instruct by example. Here are the frightening, inspiring stories of the anti-Nazi, anti-Communist, anti-war, anti-discrimination movements, and the individuals who have faced up to oppressors. "Resistance must begin with the self," the author concludes-with the courage to say no when everyone expects us to say yes. Here, a well-known reporter of the deeds of dissenters, revolutionaries, rebels, and gadflies calls on his vast resources of observation and sympathy to help us take heart and turn the tide against our sea of troubles.

A House Divided is an exciting introduction to two of the most fascinating players in the American Civil War. Ulysses S. Grant was gruff and sloppy, the son of a hardworking but uneducated man opposed to slavery. Robert E. Lee, a slave owner himself, was a polite, aristocratic Virginia gentleman who descended from the Revolutionary War hero "Light-Horse Harry." Both men studied at West Point but developed very different tactics-Lee proved to be a careful strategist who made brilliant use of standard military tactics, while Grant was instinctive, spontaneous, and unconventional. Pitted against one another, the two became the most influential players in the bloodiest and most wrenching episode of American history. In alternating chapters, historian Jules Archer begins by exploring their formative years and early careers all the way through their postwar lives. Archer focuses on the men's roles during the Civil War, detailing down to specific battles and decisions made by each man. Perfect for reluctant young historians as well as history-buffs-to-be. Part of the Jules Archer History for Young Readers series by Sky Pony Press, this book is guaranteed to inspire interest in a crucial piece of American history.