Forgotten Americans: Footnote Figures Who Changed American History - Paperback

Forgotten Americans: Footnote Figures Who Changed American History

This compelling collection reveals 15 overlooked lives that shaped the American story from colonial settlements through the nineteenth century. Written by award-winning biographer Willard Sterne Randall and poet Nancy Nahra, Forgotten Americans brings to light the fascinating individuals traditional histories have neglected.

Hidden Figures of American History

In 1779, Philadelphia belle Margaret Shippen married Revolutionary War hero General Benedict Arnold. Within months, Peggy was sending coded messages to an old suitor in England, conveying Arnold's promise to defect. When their plot was discovered, the general fled while Peggy distracted George Washington with hysterics before following her husband. The British government eventually paid Peggy far more than Benedict Arnold ever received.

A generation later, the same Philadelphia neighborhood was home to James Forten, a businessman whose invention for rigging sails made him wealthy enough to build large public halls and bankroll political causes. This Revolutionary War veteran used his fortune to advance political causes, even as he was losing his political voice because he was black.

From Revolution to the Gilded Age

These fifteen biographies span critical periods in American development. Meet Tecumseh, who spent years trying to unite Indian nations against white settlers. Learn about Annie Turner Wittenmyer, who took charge of supplying Union hospitals in the West during the Civil War. Discover Tom Quick, the once-celebrated "Indian-slayer" whose actions now seem unsavory but reveal the complex attitudes of his era.

The book traces the evolution of Native American experiences from Teedyuscung, a Delaware murdered despite his conversion to Christianity, to Louis Sockalexis, the baseball prodigy. These narratives witness the power of religious revival, the lure of mass entertainment, and the philosophical differences that split the nation.

Behind-the-Scenes Perspectives on Famous Figures

Beyond introducing forgotten Americans, this collection reveals little-known facets of the famous: Benjamin Franklin's disinherited son, Thomas Jefferson's secret politicking, and how Mary Todd Lincoln's confinement to a mental hospital became a public issue.

About the Authors

Willard Sterne Randall is the author of award-winning biographies of Washington, Jefferson, and other figures from the Revolutionary period. Before taking up history, he was an investigative journalist, receiving the National Magazine Award for Public Service. Nancy Nahra earned her doctorate in romance languages from Princeton, and now teaches classical civilization and poetry. One of her poems won the John Masefield Award from the Poetry Society of America, and a collection was a semifinalist in the National Poetry Series Open Competition. Randall and Nahra divide their year between Vermont and Rome, where they are visiting professors at John Cabot University.