he day makes for an intelligent
citizenship. "Acquaint the people with the great men of any period and
you have taught them the history of the period," says Carlyle. Know
the _past_, if possible; know the _present_ by all means.

At first thought the reader may disagree with the authors in the list
of characters chosen. He may think that many of America's greatest men
and women have been omitted while others of less importance have been
given a place. In reply permit us to say that greatness of achievement
has not been the only consideration in choosing the character studies.
Not all great men and women have life stories that appeal to
children, and unless the stories do appeal, it is better to omit them
until the children are older. Then, too, it seemed desirable to select
persons in various fields of human activity, thus broadening the scope
of the child's knowledge.

The reader will observe that we have placed much stress upon the
childhood experiences of the men and women studied, for the reason
that children are to read the stories; and since they are sure to
interpret what they read in terms of their own experiences, we must,
as far as possible, record experiences that are common to all, namely,
childhood experiences.

It is hoped that these stories have been so brought within the
experiences of the pupils that they will be led to discuss them. Many
of the stories were tried out with children in the University Training
School and the enthusiastic discussions that followed were both
interesting and helpful.

Lastly, and most important, the authors have attempted to inspire the
pupils with a purpose to make the most of themselves. The lives of
great men and women are sure to be an inspiration to the young. Since
great men stand for great things they are sure to embody the latest
and best in science, art, government, religion, and education. By
studying the lives of these representative men and women it is hoped
that the pupils will be stimulated to lofty purposes.

Acknowledgement is hereby made to The Bobbs-Merrill Co., publishers of
Mr. Riley's poems, for kind permission to republish "The Old
Swimmin'-Hole"; and also, to the publishers of "The Story of a
Pioneer"--_Jordan_; "The Story of My Life"--_Keller_; and the magazine
"Success" for additional source material.

CHESTER M. SANFORD
GRACE A. OWEN