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ALIFOR

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BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

A great American citizen (Refer to ¶¶ 76 and 78)

A portrait by the French artist Duplessis

GEORGE WASHINGTON

First President of the United States (Refer to ¶¶ 47, 58, and 79)

A portrait by the American artist Gilbert Stuart

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Statesmen.

Leaders of the People

77. "The American ideal, as it has come down to us from the fathers, is a lofty one. Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson set the standard of unflinching service for others. Abraham Lincoln revealed the same spirit in a later day. Courage in the face of difficulties, loyalty to truth, sympathy and courtesy, industry and reverence to God and to one's fellow-men- these have been American ideals since the time when the solitary Mayflower crossed the sea.” — Fanny E. Coe.

78. Benjamin Franklin. Born in Massachusetts, 1706. Died 1790. He was one of the earliest to urge union of the colonies prior to the War of the Revolution. He served the United States on many important missions to Europe. Our friendship with France rests largely on foundations laid by Franklin. (Refer to ¶ 75. Read Franklin's Autobiography and the biography by P. E. More.) *

79. George Washington. Born in Virginia, 1732. Died 1799. Commander-in-chief of the American armies in the War of the Revolution. First President of the United States, 1789-1797. (Refer to ¶¶ 47 and 58.) In Washington's Farewell Address to the American People, delivered when he retired from the Presidency, are these words: "Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. Of all dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. . . .Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be that good policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great nation to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevo

lence." (Read the biography by H. E. Scudder. Refer to ¶ 58.)

80. Alexander Hamilton. Born in the West Indies, 1757. Died 1804. Throughout an active public career, but chiefly as Secretary of the Treasury under Washington, Hamilton rendered services to the country greater than almost any man in our history, with the exception of Washington and Lincoln. (Read the biography by C. A. Conant.)

81. John Adams. Born in Massachusetts, 1735. Died 1826. Second President of the United States, 1796–1800. Like Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson, Adams was a leader of the colonies both before and during the War of the Revolution. Afterward, he helped in making treaties with several European nations. Of our country Adams said: "As a government so popular can be supported only by universal knowledge and virtue, it is the duty of all ranks to promote the means of education as well as true religion, purity of manners, and integrity of life."

82. Thomas Jefferson. Born in Virginia, 1743. Died 1826. Third President of the United States, 1801-1809. He drafted the Declaration of Independence (refer to ¶53) and later, as President, showed how thoroughly he believed in the principle "that all men are created equal." He was devoted to the welfare of the people whose "inalienable rights” include “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” (Read the biography by H. C. Merwin.)

83. John Marshall. Born in Virginia, 1755. Died 1835. In 1801, Marshall was made Chief Justice of the United States. His decisions in great measure established and determined the constitutional law of our land. He sought truth and justice for their own sake. (Read the biography by J. B. Thayer.)

84. James Madison. Born in Virginia, 1751. Died 1836. Fourth President of the United States, 1809-1817. Like Washington, Franklin, and Hamilton, Madison was a member

of the Constitutional Convention. (Refer to ¶¶ 32 and 47.) His administration as President was marked by the opening of the territory of the Louisiana Purchase to settlers, the establishment of the first trading posts on the Pacific Ocean, and the beginning of immigration from Europe on a large scale.

85. John Quincy Adams. Son of John Adams. Born in Massachusetts, 1767. Died 1848. Died 1848. Sixth President of the United States, 1825-1829. The foundations of our friendship with England were laid by John Quincy Adams. He had much to do with the establishment, in this country, of the right to petition. (Read the story in Lodge and Roosevelt's Hero Tales from American History.)

86. Andrew Jackson. Born in North Carolina, 1767. Died 1845. Seventh President of the United States, 1829-1837. From the time of Jackson, the people in the mass came into power in the government. During Jackson's administration began the new industrial era, — with canals, farm machinery, steamboats, railroads, and ocean steamships. (Refer to ¶ 48.) This caused an increase of population in the new Western States, and bound the whole country together industrially. It also gave the people a new understanding of what it meant to be a nation. Jackson was one of the first statesmen to insist upon our Federal Union. "It must be preserved," said he. A few years later Webster echoed his words in his famous phrase, "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable.' (Read the biography by

W. G. Brown.)

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87. Daniel Webster. Born in New Hampshire, 1782. Died 1852. In the years preceding the Civil War, there was much difference of opinion between the North and the South upon the question as to how far the National Constitution was binding upon the individual States. Webster defined the Constitution as the supreme law of the Nation, since it was "the people's Constitution, the people's government: made

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