Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans by Edward Eggleston is a wonderful introduction to history for the early reader using short anecdotal biographies of famous American explorers, inventors, scientists, and statesmen.
There are 33 weeks of lessons — enough for a standard school year with a little wiggle room for holidays and other activities.
We covered one individual per week, rounding out the studies with additional information, suggestions, helps for Mom, and notebooking resources.
You’ll find free download options for the text in the Introduction.
Free History Studies: John Winthrop
John Winthrop was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and largely credited with keeping the fledgling colony together. Free history unit.
Free History Studies: Jacques Marquette
Jacques Marquette (also known as Père Marquette) was one of the first Europeans to travel down the Mississippi. Free history unit.
Free History Studies: William Penn
William Penn founded the British colony in America named Pennsylvania and influenced the United States Constitution. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Thomas Smith and Rice
Thomas Smith was the governor of South Carolina in the late 1600s and brought rice into the state from Madagascar. Free unit resources.
Free History Studies: Eliza Lucas & Indigo
Eliza Lucas brought the indigo plant to South Carolina from Antigua where her father was governor. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Benjamin Franklin {Part 1}
Benjamin Franklin was an avid learner, teaching himself a wide variety of subjects by reading and observation. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Benjamin Franklin {Part 2}
Benjamin Franklin learned a great deal from experimentation. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: John Stark & the Indians
John Stark was a brave man who became a general in the American Revolutionary War. Free History Studies: John Stark and the Indians.
Free History Studies: Anthony Benezet
Anthony Benezet was a Quaker teacher and early American abolitionist who also supported the Acadians in their displacement. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Israel Putnam
Israel Putnam was a brave soldier who served in the French and Indian War and was a general in the American Revolution. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: George Washington and the Cherry Tree
George Washington earned an early reputation as being honest. George Washington and the Cherry Tree unit resources.
Free History Studies: Benjamin West
Benjamin West enjoyed drawing, and became one of the most famous painters in England. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: George Washington
George Washington was a beloved leader and outstanding citizen. Free unit resources.
Free History Studies: Francis Marion
Francis Marion was known for his cunning and bravery, earning the nickname “Swamp Fox” by the British. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: George Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark was an American colonel in the American Revolution who captured a British fort. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone was a brave frontiersman who opened the way for settlers through the Cumberland Gap. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Stephen Decatur & the Pirates
Stephen Decatur is a naval hero who burned the Philadelphia, a United States frigate captured by pirates. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was a learned man chiefly responsible for crafting the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Lewis & Clark
Lewis and Clark were the explorers sent by Thomas Jefferson to explore the new territory gained in the Louisiana Purchase. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton is known for inventing the first commercially successful steamboat. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Washington Irving
Washington Irving was largely self-taught and his love of books made him one of America’s best-loved authors. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Captain James Lawrence
Captain James Lawrence is a naval officer famous for the battle cry “Don’t Give Up the Ship.” Unit resources.
Free History Studies: The Star-Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Key wrote the words to the Star-Spangled Banner upon seeing the Stars and Stripes flying over Fort McHenry. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: John James Audubon
John James Audubon’s Birds of America published over a period of eleven years made him a popular naturalist. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Four Boys Who Became Authors
William Cullen Bryant, Nathaniel Hawthorn, William H. Prescott, and Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. were early American authors of note. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was an American statesman known for his skills as an orator. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Charles Goodyear
Charles Goodyear was instrumental in finding a way to make rubber keep its elasticity even in very hot or very cold weather. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Elisha Kane & the Arctic
Elisha Kane was an Arctic explorer best known for discovering the Humboldt Glacier. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet whose love of children earned him the nickname “The Children’s Poet.” Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Kit Carson
Kit Carson was a frontiersman, explorer, and guide who became a key figure in the United States’ Westward Expansion. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley was a newspaper editor best known for his words “Go West, young man.” Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Dorothea Lynde Dix
Dorthea Dix is best known for helping to establish reforms for treating the mentally ill. Unit resources.
Free History Studies: Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott was an American author best known for her life-like portrayals. Unit resources.
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