Routledge Historical Americans
About the Book Series
Routledge Historical Americans is a series of short, vibrant biographies that illuminate the lives of Americans who have had an impact on the world. Each book includes a short overview of the person’s life and puts that person into historical context through essential primary documents, written both by the subjects and about them. A series website supports the books, containing extra images and documents, links to further research, and where possible, multi-media sources on the subjects. Perfect for including in any course on American History, the books in the Routledge Historical Americans series show the impact everyday people can have on the course of history.
Format for each book:
- These will be books of about 5-6 chapters.
- The first chapter places the person in context and allows the author to write about the historical period and the formation of the person’s character.
- The middle chapters are about the formation of the person as an adult and their contribution to the world (the ‘why we should care’ part).
- The last chapter would be their retirement and/or summary of their life, perhaps touching on some of the historiography.
- The document section is the final section, with about 8-10 good documents from a variety of types of sources both (if possible) by the person and about them.
- Length will be around 75,000-80,000 words plus the sources.
- Website materials will include links to further research, extra documents/images, and any multi-media available about the person.
Sojourner Truth: Prophet of Social Justice
1st Edition
By Isabelle Kinnard Richman
May 12, 2016
Although Sojourner Truth was born into bondage and oppression, in liberation she emerged as a leader in the most radical causes of her era. She travelled the country as an outspoken and riveting presence, battling for the abolition of slavery and for women’s suffrage. While her role in these ...
Muhammad Ali: A Man of Many Voices
1st Edition
By Barbara L. Tischler
November 16, 2015
Muhammad Ali was not only a champion athlete, but a cultural icon. While his skill as a boxer made him famous, his strong personality and his identity as a black man in a country in the midst of the struggle for civil rights made him an enduring symbol. From his youth in segregated Louisville, ...
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: Civil War Soldier, Supreme Court Justice
1st Edition
By Susan-Mary Grant
August 31, 2015
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., was one of the most influential jurists of his time. From the antebellum era and the Civil War through the First World War and into the New Deal years, Holmes' long life and career as a Supreme Court Justice spanned an eventful period of American history, as the country ...
Harriet Tubman: Slavery, the Civil War, and Civil Rights in the 19th Century
1st Edition
By Kristen T. Oertel
August 27, 2015
Escaped slave, Civil War spy, scout, and nurse, and champion of women's suffrage, Harriet Tubman is an icon of heroism. Perhaps most famous for leading enslaved people to freedom through the Underground Railroad, Tubman was dubbed "Moses" by followers. But abolition and the close of the Civil War ...
Belle La Follette: Progressive Era Reformer
1st Edition
By Nancy C. Unger
August 10, 2015
In 1931, the New York Times hailed Belle Case La Follette as "probably the least known yet most influential of all the American women who have had to do with public affairs." A dedicated advocate for women's suffrage, peace, and other causes, she served as a key advisor to her husband, leading ...
Mary Lincoln: Southern Girl, Northern Woman
1st Edition
By Stacy Pratt McDermott
January 23, 2015
One of America’s most compelling First Ladies, Mary Lincoln possessed a unique vantage point on the events of her time, even as her experiences of the constraints of gender roles and the upheaval of the Civil War reflected those of many other women. The story of her life presents a microcosm ...
Brigham Young: Sovereign in America
1st Edition
By David Vaughn Mason
November 24, 2014
Brigham Young was one of the most influential—and controversial—Mormon leaders in American history. An early follower of the new religion, he led the cross-continental migration of the Mormon people from Illinois to Utah, where he built a vast religious empire that was both revolutionary and ...
Benjamin Franklin: American Founder, Atlantic Citizen
1st Edition
By Nathan R. Kozuskanich
October 13, 2014
Known for his influential role in the debates that established the founding documents of the United States, Benjamin Franklin was not only an astute politician, but also an Atlantic citizen whose commitment to the American cause was informed by years spent in England and France. The life of this ...
Ronald Reagan: Champion of Conservative America
1st Edition
By James H. Broussard
September 26, 2014
Few politicians in recent American history are as well-known as Ronald Reagan, the 40th U.S. president. An iconic leader, Reagan shifted the direction of American politics toward a newly vigorous conservatism. Though he began his career as a New Deal liberal, by the end of the 1950s, Reagan had ...
Laura Ingalls Wilder: American Writer on the Prairie
1st Edition
By Sallie Ketcham
September 16, 2014
Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote stories that have defined the American frontier for generations of readers. As both author and character in her own books, she became one of the most famous figures in American children’s literature. Her famous Little House on the Prairie series, based on her childhood in...
Bill Clinton: Building a Bridge to the New Millennium
1st Edition
By David H. Bennett
December 14, 2013
In 1993, William J. Clinton began his eight year stint as forty-second president of the United States. A key figure of change in the Democratic Party, Clinton's political and personal actions ensured his lasting status as an important if controversial leader at a critical moment in recent ...
John F. Kennedy: The Spirit of Cold War Liberalism
1st Edition
By Jason K. Duncan
November 07, 2013
Half a century after his assassination, John F. Kennedy continues to evoke widespread fascination, looming large in America’s historical memory. Popular portrayals often show Kennedy as a mythic, heroic figure, but these depictions can obscure the details of the president’s actual achievements and ...