True Stories from History and Biography by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Boston Massacre by Revere, detail
Boston Massacre by Revere, detail

Summary:?In writing this ponderous tome, the author’s desire has been to describe the eminent characters and remarkable events of our annals, in such a form and style, that the YOUNG might make acquaintance with them of their own accord. For this purpose, while ostensibly relating the adventures of a Chair, he has endeavored to keep a distinct and unbroken thread of authentic history. The Chair is made to pass from one to another of those personages, of whom he thought it most desirable for the young reader to have vivid and familiar ideas, and whose lives and actions would best enable him to give picturesque sketches of the times. On its sturdy oaken legs, it trudges diligently from one scene to another, and seems always to thrust itself in the way, with most benign complacency, whenever a historical personage happens to be looking round for a seat. – Summary from Preface by Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Running time: 11:39

Preface

Part 1, Chapter 1

Part 1, Chapter 2 The Lady Arbella

Part 1, Chapter 3 The Red Cross

Part 1, Chapter 4

Part 1, Chapter 5

Part 1, Chapter 6 The Pine-tree Shillings

Part 1, Chapter 7

Part 1, Chapter 8 The Indian Bible

Part 1, Chapter 9

Part 1, Chapter 10 The Sunken Treasure

Part 1, Chapter 11

Part 2 Chapter 1

Part 2, Chapter 2

Part 2, Chapter 3 The Old-fashioned School

Part 2, Chapter 4

Part 2, Chapter 5 The Rejected Blessing

Part 2, Chapter 6

Part 2, Chapter 7 The Provincial Muster

Part 2, Chapter 8 The Acadian Exiles

Part 2, Chapter 9

Part 2, Chapter 10

Part 3, Chapter 1

Part 3, Chapter 2

Part 3, Chapter 3 The Hutchinson Mob

Part 3, Chapter 4

Part 3, Chapter 5 The Boston Massacre

Part 3, Chapter 6

Part 3, Chapter 7

Part 3, Chapter 8

Part 3, Chapter 9 The Tory’s Farewell

Part 3, Chapter 10

Part 3, Chapter 11 Grandfather’s Dream

Biographical Stories, Chapter 1

Biographical Stories, Chapter 2 Benjamin West

Biographical Stories, Chapter 3 Sir Isaac Newton

Biographical Stories, Chapter 4 Samuel Johnson

Biographical Stories, Chapter 5 Samuel Johnson, continued

Biographical Stories, Chapter 6 Oliver Cromwell

Biographical Stories, Chapter 7 Benjamin Franklin

Biographical Stories, Chapter 8 Benjamin Franklin, continued

Biographical Stories, Chapter 9 Queen Christina

The Child’s Book of American Biography by Mary Stoyell Stimpson

Childs_American_Biography_1110

In every country there have been certain men and women whose busy lives have made the world better or wiser. The names of such are heard so often that every child should know a few facts about them. It is hoped the very short stories told here may make boys and girls eager to learn more about these famous people. (from the Forward of the text)

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Run time: 4:43

01 – Forward and George Washington

02 – William Penn

03 – John Paul Jones

04 – John Singleton Copley

05 – Benjamin Franklin

06 – Louis Agassiz

07 – Dorothea Lynde Dix

08 – Ulysses Simpson Grant

09 – Clara Barton

10 – Abraham Lincoln

11 – Robert Edward Lee

12 – John James Audubon

13 – Robert Fulton

14 – George Peabody

15 – Daniel Webster

16 – Augustus St. Gaudens

17 – Henry David Thoreau

18 – Louisa May Alcott

19 – Samuel Finley Breese Morse

20 – William Hickling Prescott

21 – Phillips Brooks

22 – Samuel Clemens

23 – Joe Jefferson

24 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

25 – James McNeill Whistler

26 – Ralph Waldo Emerson

27 – Jane Addams

28 – Luther Burbank

29 – Edward Alexander MacDowell

30 – Thomas Alva Edison

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Historic Boyhoods by Rupert S. Holland

historic_boyhoods_1402

 

Most boys grow up to be honest, maybe even good, men, but do not stand out from the crowd. Occasionally, along comes a boy who is destined, either by character or circumstance, to make his mark on the world. In this work are included 21 biographical sketches of boys who became famous in the arts, affairs of state or exploration and discovery. Historical fact is blended with surmise and imagination to bring these boyhoods alive. – Summary by Lynne Thompson for Librivox

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Run time: 6:57

Christopher Columbus The Boy of Genoa: 1446(?)-1506

Michael Angelo The Boy of the Medici Gardens: 1475-1564

Walter Raleigh The Boy of Devon: 1552-1618

Peter the Great The Boy of the Kremlin: 1672-1725

Frederick the Great The Boy of Potsdam: 1712-1788

George Washington The Boy of the Old Dominion: 1732-1799

Daniel Boone The Boy of the Frontier: 1735-1820

John Paul Jones The Boy of the Atlantic: 1747-1792

Mozart The Boy of Salzburg: 1756-1791

Lafayette The Boy of Versailles: 1757-1834

Horatio Nelson The Boy of the Channel Fleet: 1758-1805

Robert Fulton The Boy of the Conestoga: 1765-1815

Andrew Jackson The Boy of the Carolinas: 1767-1845

Napoleon Bonaparte The Boy of Brienne: 1769-1821

Walter Scott The Boy of the Canongate: 1771-1832

James Fenimore Cooper The Boy of Otsego Hall: 1789-1851

John Ericsson The Boy of the G?ta Canal: 1803-1889

Garibaldi The Boy of the Mediterranean: 1807-1882

Abraham Lincoln The Boy of the American Wilderness: 1809-1865

Charles Dickens The Boy of the London Streets: 1812-1870

Otto von Bismarck The Boy of G?ttingen: 1815-1898

George Washington by Calista McCabe Courtenay

George_Washington_1211

In this biography for young people, Calista McCabe Courtenay takes the reader from George Washington the surveyor to his early military career, first as a colonel in the Virgina militia and then as a member of General Braddock’a staff during the French and Indian War. He later commanded the Virginia forces before joining the First Continental Congress. Much of the book is devoted to his campaigns during the American Revolution. At the end, we see him as President for two terms. (Summary by Bill Boerst for Librivox)

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Run time: 2:03

1 — Chapter 1

2 — Chapter 2

3 — Chapter 3

4 — Chapter 4

5 — Chapter 5

6 — Chapter 6

7 — Chapter 7

8 — Chapter 8

This Country of Ours part 6: Stories of the Struggle for Liberty, by H. E. Marshall

This is Part 6: Stories of the Struggle for Liberty, from chapter 51 (The Boston Tea-Party) to chapter 63 (A Turning Point in the World’s History). There is a 7th volume but the recording of it has not been completed yet.

Read this book online or on your Kindle or e-reader.

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51 The Boston Tea Party

52 Paul Revere’s Ride

53 The First Thrust – The Battle of Bunker Hill

54 The War in Canada

55 The Birth of a Great Nation

56 The Darkest Hour – Trenton and Princeton

57 Burgoyne’s Campaign – Bennington and Oriskany

58 Burgoyne’s Campaign – Bemis Heights, Saratoga

59 Brandywine – Germantown – Valley Forge

60 War on the Sea

61 The Battle of Monmouth

62 The Story of a Great Crime

63 A Turning Point in the World’s History

Other parts of this book can be found here:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

You are There: United States History

October 12, 1492:? Columbus Discovers America

September 6, 1620:? The Sailing of the Mayflower

November 7, 1637:? Ann Hutchinson’s Trial

September 1, 1664:? The Surrender of New Amsterdam

June 29, 1692:? The Witchcraft Trials at Salem

August 4, 1735:?? The Trial John Peter Zenger

November 1, 1765:?? The Stamp Act Revolt at Williamsburg

April 19, 1775:? Lexington and Concord

July 4, 1776:?? The Declaration of Independence

January 8, 1781:? Mutiny in the Colonial Army

June 25, 1788:? Virginia Ratifies the U.S. Constitution

February 17, 1801:? The Election of Thomas Jefferson

July 11, 1804:? The Burr/ Hamilton Duel

March 1, 1805: The Trial of Samuel Chase

September 1, 1807:?? The Trial of Burr

September 26, 1820: Colonel Johnson eats the Love Apple

August 28, 1830: Tom Thumb Steam Locomotive

March 6, 1836: Defense of The Alamo

September 7, 1853: You are There Women’s Rights Convention

April 12, 1861:?? The Bombardment of Fort Sumter

July 21, 1861:?? The First Battle of Bull Run

March 9, 1862:? The Monitor and The Merrimac

July 3, 1863:? The Battle of Gettysburg

April 9, 1865:? Lee and Grant at Appomattox

April 14, 1865:? The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

April 26, 1865:? The Capture of John Wilkes Booth

May 16, 1868:?? The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

July 21, 1881:? The Surrender of Sitting Bull

April 22, 1889:? The Oklahoma Land Run

April 6, 1909:? Perry’s Dash to the North Pole

Sampler broadcasts about the 20th Century: The Listening Years To see another post on My Audio School which lists all the topics covered in the broadcast The Listening Years, click here.

Historical Tales Volume II, American II by Charles Morris

Image of the Sunken Road--Bloody Lane--Antietam Naitonal Battlefield, Sharpsburg, Maryland, USA, public domain image

Summary Volume II of a series containing anecdotes and stories, some well-known, others less so, of particular countries. This second volume supplements the first with additional stories of the discovery, colonization, founding, and early years of the United States of America, describing history for children and young adults in an exciting and novel manner.
(Summary by Kalynda for Librivox)

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Downloadable resources from CurrClick relating to Colonial America and The Civil War.

To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter links.

Total running time:  8 hours, 23 minutes

Captain John Smith landing in Jamestown, public domain image

01 – Ponce de Leon and the Fountain of Youth

02 – De Soto and the Father of the Waters

03 – The Lost Colony of Roanoke

04 – The Thrilling Adventures of Captain John

05 – The Indian Massacre in Virginia

06 – The Great Rebellion in the Old Dominion

Painting by Theodore Gudin titled La Salle's Expedition to Louisiana in 1684. The ship on the left is La Belle, in the middle is Le Joly, and L'Aimable, which has run aground, is to the right.

07 – La Salle the Explorer of the Mississippi

08 – The French of Louisiana and the Natchez Indians

09 – The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe

10 – How Oglethorpe Saved Georgia from Spain

11 – A Boy’s Working Holiday in the Wildwood

12 – Patrick Henry, the Herald of the Revolution

Patrick Henry by George Bagby Matthew, public domain image

13 – Governor Tryon and the Carolina Regulators

14 – Lord Dunmore and the Gunpowder

15 – The Fatal Expedition of Colonel Rogers

16 – How Colonel Clark Won the Northwest

17 – King’s Mountain and the Patriots of Tennessee

18 – General Greene’s Famous Retreat

First Cotton Gin, image from Harpers Weekly, published in 1869 depicting an event that happened some 70 years earlier, public domain image

19 – Eli Whitney, the Inventor of the Cotton Gin

20 – How Old Hickory Fought the Creeks

21 – The Pirates of Barataria Bay

22 – The Heroes of the Alamo

The Alamo,This is a drawing of the Alamo Mission in San Antonio, first printed in 1854 in Gleason's Pictorial Drwing Room Companion, then reprinted in 2005 in Frank Thompson's The Alamo p. 106, public domain image

23 – How Houston Won Freedom for

24 – Captain Robert E. Lee and the Lava-Beds

25 – A Christmas Day on the Plantation

26 – Captain Gordon and the Raccoon Roughs

27 – Stuart’s Famous Chambersburg

28 – Forrest’s Chase of the Raiders

29 – Exploits of a Blockade-Runner

Siege of Vicksburg by Kurz and Allison, art publishers, Chicago, public domain image

30 – Fontain, the Scout, and the Besiegers of Vicksburg

31 – Gordon and the Bayonet Chart at Antietam

32 – The Last Triumph of Stonewall Jackson

33 – John Morgan’s Famous Raid

34 – Home-Coming of General Lee and His Veterans

Historical Tales volume 1 by Charles Morris

The sinking of the Cumberland by the iron clad Merrimac off Newport News VA, March 8, 1862, public domain image available from U.S. Library of Congress' Prints and Photographs division

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Click here to view downloadable curriculum from CurrClick which could be used to enhance a study of Colonial America.

Total running time: 8 hours, 37 minutes
To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter titles.

Summary from Librivox: Volume I of a series containing anecdotes and stories, some well-known, others less so, of particular countries. This first volume comprises the discovery, colonization, founding, and early years of the United States of America, describing history for children and young adults in an exiting and novel manner. (Summary by Kalynda)

The Ravager, a painting showing Vikings in cold weather, by John Charles Dollman, 1909, public domain image

00 – Preface – 00:02:38

01 – Vineland and the Vikings – 00:29:43

02 – Frobisher and the Northwest Passage – 00:12:58

03 – Champlain and the Iroquois – 00:29:19

Iroquois, by George Catlin, public domain image

04 – Sir William Phips and the Silver-ship – 00:24:42

05 – Story of the Regicides – 00:16:39

06 – How the Charter Was Saved – 00:15:51

07 – How Franklin Came to Philadelphia – 00:13:24

08 – Perils of the Wilderness – 00:21:45

09 – Some Adventures of Major Putnam – 00:25:38

10 – Gallant Defense – 00:15:10

Daniel Boone escorting settlers through the Cumberland Gap, by George Caleb Bingham, public domain image

11 – Daniel Boone, the Pioneer of Kentucky – 00:28:16

12 – Paul Revere’s Ride – 00:20:09

13 – Green Mountain Boys – 00:11:39

14 – British at New York – 00:13:20

15 – Quakeress Patriot – 00:08:37

16 – Siege of Fort Schuyler – 00:24:00

17 – On the Track of a Traitor – 00:17:24

General Marion inviting a British officer to share his meal, by John Blake White, public domain image

18 – Marion, the Swamp Fox – 00:19:19

19 – Fate of the Philadelphia – 00:18:10

20 – Victim of a Traitor – 00:14:56

21 – How the Electric Telegraph was Invented – 00:22:04

22 – Monitor and the Merrimac – 00:14:11

23 – Stealing a Locomotive – 00:18:43

24 – Escape from Libby Prison – 00:22:20

25 – Sinking of the Albemarle – 00:19:11

Queen Liluokalani of Hawaii

26 – Alaska-Gold, Furs, and Fishes – 00:15:41

27 – How Hawaii Lost Its Queen – 00:20:37

True to the Old Flag by G. A. Henty

Pre 1801 Union flag of Great Britain, this was one of the flags used by the King's forces during the American Revolutionary War, image released by its author to public domain

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Click here to see a selection of downloadable curriculum resources from CurrClick which could be used to study the American Revolutionary War. This link will take you away from My Audio School.

To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter titles.

Summary: This book tells the story of the American war of Independence from the side of the British. The old flag mentioned in the title is the flag of England. This is a book for young readers, but – as a good book should be – everybody can enjoy it”. (Summary by Stav Nisser for Librivox)

British Army in Concord, handcolored engraving by Amos Doolittle, produced in 1775, public domain image

# 00 – Preface – 00:02:42

# 01 – Chapter 01 A Frontier Farm – 00:36:10

# 02 – An Indian Raid – 00:36:22

# 03 – The Redskin Attack – 00:29:15

# 04 – The Fight at Lexington – 00:27:00

Battle of Bunker Hill by Howard Pyle, public domain image

# 05 – Bunker’s Hill – 00:29:26

# 06 – Scouting – 00:33:14

# 07 – In the Forest – 00:32:34

Death of Montgomery during attack on Quebec, 1786 painting depicting a 1775 event, artist John Trumbull, public domain image

# 08 – Quebec – 00:34:21

# 09 – The Surprise of Trenton – 00:34:35

# 10 – A Treacherous Planter – 00:41:46

# 11 – The Capture of Philadelphia – 00:30:25

# 12 – The Settler’s Hut – 00:32:40

TTOF scene of the surrender of the British General John Burgoyne at Saratoga on October 17, 1777, artist John Trumbull, public domain image

# 13 – Saratoga – 00:33:25

# 14 – Rescued! – 00:31:46

# 15 – The Island Refuge – 00:29:04

# 16 – The Great Storm – 00:22:28

# 17 – The Scout’s Story – 00:29:39

Hessian Troops in British pay during U.S. Revolutionary War, public domain image painted by artist C. Ziegler after Conrad Gessner

# 18 – The Siege of Savannah – 00:27:57

# 19 – In an American Prison – 00:32:03

# 20 – The War in South Carolina – 00:32:12

# 21 – The End of the Struggle – 00:10:39

Early America videos

Colonel Benedict Arnold

Archiving Early America has several videos about the founding of our country.  Click here to view their full list and to play the videos, which include:

  • The Ben Franklin Story
  • The Life of George Washington
  • Declaring Independence
  • Paul Revere, Messenger of the Revolution
  • The Shot Heard Around the World
  • The Treason of Benedict Arnold
  • The Real Face of George Washington (video about Mount Rushmore)
  • Molly Pitcher, and American Heroine

These videos play in FLASH, so you will need to have the flash plugin software installed on your computer to watch them.

Kids, please get permission from an adult before leaving My Audio School.

Click here to see downloadable curriculum from CurrClick which could be used to enhance a study of Colonial America.