Elbridge S. Brooks 
Historic Americans 
Sketches of the Lives and Characters of Certain Famous Americans Held Most in Reverence by the Boys and Girls of America, for Whom Their Stories Are Here Told

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. IT is not the intention of these stories of Historic Americans to go into the details of the lives and public services of each. It has, rather, been the desire of the author to touch briefly upon their careers, but to indicate, by the story or pen-picture of some pivotal event, the chief characteristic or impulse that led each man along the way of patriotism. There are published lives, in plenty, of these Historic Americans. Cyclopaedias and biographical dictionaries give all needed dates, statistics, and summaries; but if these brief glimpses snap shots, as it were, at our grandest Americans shall arouse anew an interest in our greatest fellow-countrymen, or shall lead the boys and girls of the Republic to familiarize themselves with the more extended life-stories of the noblest figures in the gallery of America’s worthies, the purpose of this book will have been fully answered. It might better be called Scenes from the Lives of the Builders and Makers of the Republic.