Washington, Jefferson, Jackson and Lincoln are still vital to the life
of to-day, and of the statesmen there are a few, like Franklin,
Hamilton, Webster, Calhoun and Clay, whose influence is still felt in
our national life, but the remainder are negligible, except that you
must, of course, be familiar in a broad way with their characters and
achievements to understand your country's story.

History is the best place to learn the stories of the pioneers, soldiers
and sailors. Archer Butler Hulburt has a little book, "Pilots of the
Republic," which tells about some of the pioneers; John Fiske wrote a
short history of "The War of Independence," which will tell you all you
need know about the soldiers of the Revolution, with the exception of
Washington; and you can learn about the battles of the Civil War from
any good history of the United States. There is a series called the
"Great Commanders Series," which tells the story, in detail, of the
lives of American commanders on land and sea, but there is no reason why
you should read any of them, with the exception of Lee, Farragut, and
possibly Grant, though you will find the lives of Taylor and "Stonewall"
Jackson interesting in themselves. For the sailors, with the exception
of Farragut, Barnes's "Yankee Ships and Yankee Sailors" will suffice;
though every boy will enjoy reading Maclay's "History of the American
Navy," where the story of our great sea-fights is told better than it
has ever been told before.

These books may be found in almost any public library, and on the
shelves there, too, you will probably find Elbert Hubbard's "Little
Journeys," which give flashlight portraits of statesmen and soldiers and
many other people, vivid and interesting, but sometimes distorted, as
flashlights have a way of being.