Many people might not know that in 1933, a group of wealthy industrialists-working closely with groups like the K.K.K. and the American Liberty League-planned to overthrow the U.S. government and run FDR out of office in a fascist coup. Readers will learn of their plan to turn unhappy war veterans into American brown shirts,” depose F.D.R., and stop the New Deal. They asked Medal of Honor recipient and Marine Major General Smedley Darlington Butler to work with them and become the first ...

The majority of the civil rights movement in the United States occurred in three stages. The first stage began with the slaves in America fighting for their freedom. Frederick Douglass was a key player from the very beginning. Born a slave, Douglass escaped and went on to become one of the most respected abolitionist leaders.After the Civil War, freed slaves fought to overcome the still-prevailing prejudice and persecution. During this phase, Marcus Garvey led the Back to Africa mo...

Today, feminism is as important as ever. Betty Friedan’s musings, to take the actions needed to bring women into the mainstream of American society, now; full equality for women, in fully equal partnership with men,” still hold fervently true in current society. Young readers still fighting for equality today need to know how the movement began years ago, with such basics as the right to vote, the right to birth control, and the right to equal employment. Leading historian Jules Archer’s ...

Benito Mussolini was a man of many contradictions but with one driving ambition: to rule Italy and restore it to the power and splendor of the ancient Roman Empire, with himself as the new Caesar. He became the founder of the Fascist movement and dictator of all of Italy.The son of a poor blacksmith who was an ardent Socialist, Mussolini grew up in an atmosphere of political agitation. He taught school for a brief time and then became a fiery journalist, attacking the government wi...

Early in life, Joseph Stalin became convinced of the inevitability of social revolution. And in it, he was determined to play a prominent role. He carefully masked his great personal ambition during his long climb to power and devoted all this energies to furthering the cause of Lenin and Bolshevism. Only after Lenin’s death, with the Bolshevik takeover of Russia accomplished, did Stalin’s comrades in leadership find themselves forced to bow to Stalin’s will-or be eliminated.His ri...

In the early stages of the Pacific War, General Douglas MacArthur was expected to prevent the Japanese from taking Australia. With limited forces, MacArthur had to be tactical, and the key to the continent’s defense was the island of New Guinea, just above the northeast tip of Australia. In order to defend New Guinea, MacArthur sent a small task force to Milne Bay, where the Coral Sea rounded the southeast tip of the island. His plan: to establish an airfield base for bomber and fighter pl...

In order to advance their various causes and concerns, these groups hire individuals or firms called lobbyists to work on their behalf to influence the decisions of state and federal lawmakers.Lobbies have been a part of American history ever since Benjamin Franklin appealed to Britain’s Parliament to remove a tax on stamps in 1757. The right of any person or group to “petition the government for a redress of grievances” was and is protected by the first amendment, remembering the ...

Slavery is wrong. Women can be doctors. Women can wear pants. These are truths that most Americans today would agree are unambiguous. But there was a time in this country when each of those statements resulted in vicious criticism. When she wore pants, Amelia Bloomer was a hussy,” subjected to jeers and catcalls. As the only female doctor in the entire western United States, Bethenia Owens was so unpopular that she was threatened with tar and feathers and driven out of town. And when Jona...

The founding fathers and mothers of the United States were not, as history often makes them out to be, stuffy cardboard figures of virtue and nobility. They Made a Revolution introduces them as the real people they were-complete with their inevitable flaws and weaknesses. Through their letters, diaries, and reminiscences, discover what was going on in the minds of this country’s revolutionary leaders as they committed treason against the most powerful nation on earth, risking thei...

A House Divided is an exciting introduction to two of the most fascinating players in the American Civil War. Ulysses S. Grant was gruff and sloppy, the son of a hardworking but uneducated man opposed to slavery. Robert E. Lee, a slave owner himself, was a polite, aristocratic Virginia gentleman who descended from the Revolutionary War hero Light-Horse Harry.” Both men studied at West Point but developed very different tactics-Lee proved to be a careful strategist who made brilli...

Is resistance un-American? How far should resistance go? Courage and desperation have sparked instances of resistance since the dawn of civilization. Jesus, Thoreau, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King resisted the nonviolent way. Here for the record is a remarkably full discussion of instances of twentieth-century resistance to inform, inspire, and possibly instruct by example. Here are the frightening, inspiring stories of the anti-Nazi, anti-Communist, anti-war, anti-discrimination movements...

Treason can be defined as the breach of the allegiance which a person owes to the state under whose protection he lives.” But what exactly does it mean to be guilty of a breach of the allegiance” owed to your country? In a country that guarantees freedom of speech and dissent tp all citizens, the extent to which dissent becomes unlawful may not always be clear. Treason is punishable by the death penalty, underscoring the importance of the question: How do we go about proving tha...