Building the Nation (1789-1860)
Independent Novel Book Descriptions (YAY:)
Nathanial Benchley- Portrait of a Scoundrel
In Portrait, the main character, Nathaniel Greenlee is obsessed with making it big in any fashion
he can in the early days of colonial America (circa 1790-1830). Even going so far as faking his own death.
He goes into real estate, hob nobs, if indirectly, with the big names of his time (Washington and Adams)
and bases his success on gaining position and land, sometimes under false pretense and sheer false bravado.
He takes a post in France, meets and greets with dignitaries solely to obtain his longing for attention and
exposure to the finer things in life, but finds this boring and wants action in the new America, once again.
Joan W. Blos- A Gathering of Days
The journal of a fourteen-year-old girl, kept the last year she lived on the family farm, records
daily events in her small New Hampshire town, her father's remarriage, and the death of her best friend.
Barbara Chase-Riboud- Sally Hemings
One of the greatest love stories in American history is also one of the most controversial. Thomas
Jefferson had a mistress for 38 years whom he loved and lived with until he died—the beautiful and elusive
Sally Hemings. But it was not simply that Jefferson had a mistress that provoked such a scandal in both his
time and ours. It was that Sally Hemings was a quadroon slave and that Jefferson fathered a slave family
whose descendants are alive today
K. Follis Cheatham- Bring Home the Ghost
Traces the adventures of two boys, one the slave of the other, in the first half of the nineteenth
century as they grow to manhood on an Alabama plantation, experience its devastation, and move west to
find a freer way of life.
Kate Chopin- The Awakening*
In Kate Chopin's The Awakening, passion and sensuality surface in Edna Pontellier, a wife and
mother who seeks to explore her true self beyond the confines of her dull domestic life. Edna's attraction to
high drama sparks affairs outside her marriage as she follows her romantic impulse to add some excitement
to her everyday existence. Her rebellion against the personal and social forces that she sees as enslaving her
ultimately lead her to escape through suicide.
Elizabeth Coatsworth- Here I Stay
A Maine novel", telling the story of Margaret Winslow, a young woman who makes the brave
decision to stay on alone on her land in Maine after everyone else in the settlement has decided to move
west to Ohio.
James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier- The Clock
A story set in the beginning of the Industrial Revolution portrays the trials and tribulations of
Annie Steel after her father forces her to work in the town's new textile mill, where her dreary days are
governed by a clock.
James Fenimore Cooper- The Pioneers
The fourth of the Leatherstocking novels, we find Leatherstocking (Natty Bumppo) entering the
last stages of his life. He has lost a great deal of his effectiveness with his musket and now relies a great
deal on his dog to help him hunting. The main focus is one two things: 1. the reinstatement of Natty's old
commander (from Last of the Mohicans) in his properties and wealth in the new US (he had lost them as a
result of the revolution) while believing he is the victim of treachery by his old friend - the judge in this
story (he wasn't, but it comes out in the development of the plot); and 2. Natty's struggle with and disgust
about the developing societal rules that limit his freedom in hunting, trapping and fishing in the wilderness
as he has his whole life.
The Prairie- Set in the immense landscape of the Great Plains, The Prairie (1827) addresses many questions
raised by the penetration of the American west: the displacement of the Indians, the destruction of nature,
and the creation of a just society both ordered and free. Natty Bumppo, a man now in the autumn of his
days, is the spokesman for the conservation of the natural environment. But as his physical prowess wanes
he is ultimately unable to thwart the despoilers. In this, the last in the series of five Leatherstocking Tales,
Cooper resolves the issues of The Pioneers and The Last of the Mohicans, but at the same time eloquently
suggests that humility, self-control, reverence for God, and respect for nature are tragically lost on the
prairie.
Betty Sue Cummings- Now, Ameriky
A young Irish woman, whose family is driven from their land during the potato famine in the
1840's, is sent to America to earn enough money to enable the rest of her family to join her.
Cynthia Defelice- Weasel
Alone in the frontier wilderness in the winter of 1839 while his father is recovering from an injury,
eleven-year-old Nathan runs afoul of the renegade killer known as Weasel and makes a surprising
discovery about the concept of revenge.
John D. Fitzgerald- Brave Buffalo Fighter
Ten-year-old Susan relates the adventures and frustrations of her family's wagon train west,
culminating when her twelve-year-old brother is asked to turn himself over to the Indians in order to save
the lives of the rest of the party.
Ed Foster- Tejanos
Eleven-year-old Enrique watches his father die defending the Alamo knowing that his
father's brother is fighting with the enemy.
James R. French- Nauvoo
In the year 1838, with the Indians pushed west of Missouri and land values growing along the
Mississippi, a new plague confronts the hardworking farmers: the Mormons. Feared because of the size and
unity of the fast-growing church, Mormons are at first welcomed for their industrious nature, then tolerated,
and then persecuted as they seem to dominate the voting in every county in which they settle. Attackers
marched against Mormon settlements at Far West and Haun’s Mill, killing scores of innocent Latter-day
Saints. The Mormon survivors straggled into a makeshift winter camp on the Banks of the Mississippi.
Jean Fritz- Brady
When Brady can find time from his chores on the family farm, he enjoys being with his friend,
Range. One day, they catch a glimpse of runaway slaves at old Drover Hull's place. Brady can't wait to
share this important secret news with his family, but he soon finds himself grounded on the farm for the
rest of the summer. Slowly, Brady realizes that his father, a minister, is involved in the Underground
Railroad and is in great danger. Brady proves to his father that he can be trusted as he takes a great risk to
help a young slave to freedom.
Lynne Gessner- Navajo Slave
Captured in a raid, a twelve-year-old Navajo boy is sold to a wealthy Spanish landowner but vows
to return to his canyon and family.
Arnold A. Griese- The Way of Our People
A young Athabaskan boy puts himself at risk when he attempts to protect his village from an
outbreak of smallpox.
Alex Haley- A Different Kind of Christmas*
This is the story of Fletcher Randall, a nineteen-year-old from North Carolina whose politically
powerful father is a plantation owner, and, of course, a slave owner. The time is 1855, and all Fletcher
Randall knows and believes about slavery he's learned from his father.
But Fletcher goes to school up North, and one or two of his Princeton classmates talk about how wrong
slavery is until Fletcher begins to think for himself--and he becomes a traitor to his background, to his
family, by conspiring to aid in a mass escape of slaves on the Underground Railroad. His partner in this
plan is a black slave by the name of Harpin' John, a man who plays the harmonica so sweetly it could make
a grown man cry. Christmas Eve is the secret date set for the escape.
Walter and Marion Havighurst- Song of the Pines
A fifteen-year-old Norwegian boy arrives in America hoping to make his fortune in
the new settlements in the Wisconsin territory.
Nathaniel Hawthorne- The House of the Seven Gables*
The novel is set mainly in the mid-19th century, with glimpses into the history of the house, which
was built in the late 17th century. The primary interest of this book is in the subtle and involved
descriptions of character and motive.
The house of the title is a gloomy New England mansion, haunted from its foundation by
fraudulent dealings, accusations of witchcraft, and sudden death. The current resident, the dignified but
desperately poor Hepzibah Pyncheon, opens a shop in a side room to support her brother Clifford, who is
about to leave prison after serving thirty years for murder. She refuses all assistance from her unpleasant
wealthy cousin Judge Jaffrey Pyncheon. A distant relative, the lively and pretty young Phoebe, turns up and
quickly becomes invaluable, charming customers and rousing Clifford from depression. A delicate romance
grows between Phoebe and the mysterious lodger Holgrave, who is writing a history of the Pyncheon
family.
Marcy Heidish- Miracles
The stunning story of an extraordinary woman who became the first American Saint.
Cecelia Holland- The Bear Flag
A widow finds herself in the midst of the battle between the U.S. and Mexico for California in
Holland's historical drama.
Elizabeth Howard- The Courage of Bethea
When Bethea' s father died, she went to stay with her aunt and uncle, but she longed to go away to
school. Not many girls had the opportunity a century ago, but Bethea managed to achieve her wish to
attend the Western Female Seminary. While there is interest in family relationships and in a love affair, the
most interesting part of this novel is that which tells of life at the school. The author has created a
convincing atmosphere, with rich period flavor and well-developed characters. Bethea's courage is
demonstrated not only in her determination to get an education, but in her adjustment to her father's death
and to her mother's remarriage.
Out of Step with the Dancers
A high-spirited teenager is compelled to join a Shaker community and experiences a series of
personal and communal conflicts.
Evan Hunter- The Chisholms
A family as raw and unyielding as the soil of the Virginia farm they left behind, they pursued their
dream, journeying west across the American continent. In a boundless land of unimaginable dangers, they
discovered their own will for survival — and forged a triumph of the human spirit.
Donald Jackson- Valley Men
In 1806 President Jefferson commissions an expedition to explore the Arkansas River and
discover its source.
Henry James- Portrait of a Lady *
Isabel Archer, originally from Albany, New York, is invited by her maternal aunt, Lydia Touchett,
to visit Lydia's rich husband Daniel at his estate near London, following the death of Isabel's father. There,
she meets her cousin Ralph Touchett, a friendly invalid, and the Touchetts' robust neighbor, Lord
Warburton. Isabel later declines Warburton's sudden proposal of marriage. She also rejects the hand of
Caspar Goodwood, the charismatic son and heir of a wealthy Boston mill owner. Although Isabel is drawn
to Caspar, her commitment to her independence precludes such a marriage, which she feels would demand
the sacrifice of her freedom. The elder Touchett grows ill and, at the request of his son, leaves much of his
estate to Isabel upon his death.
Wayman Jones- Edge of Two Worlds
Jan Jordan-Give Me the Wind
Evelyn Sibley Lampman- Cayuse courage
Ashamed to return to his people after his arm is amputated, a young Cayuse Indian remains among
white settlers in Oregon.
______ Tree Wagon
______ Wheels West
Rose Wilder Lane- Young Pioneers
After getting married and settling at Wild Plum Creek, David's and Caroline's lives are turned
upside down when disaster strikes and David must go east to find work for the winter.
Kathrun Lasky- Beyond the Divide
In 1849, a fourteen-year-old Amish girl defies convention by leaving her secure home in
Pennsylvania to accompany her father across the continent by wagon train.
Athena V. Lord- A Spirit to Ride the Whirlwind
Twelve-year-old Binnie, whose mother runs a company boarding house in Lowell, Massachusetts,
begins working in a textile mill and is caught up in the 1836 strike of women workers.
Robert M. McClung- Hugh Glass, Mountain Man
A fictionalized biography of the legendary hero of the Old West, who as a fur trapper in 1823,
survived an attack by a grizzly bear.
Eloise Jarvic McGraw Mocassin Trail
Stephen W. Meader Boy with a Pack
______ Keep ‘em Rolling
Enid LaMonte Meadowcraft By Wago and Flatboat
Story of Travel in America by the Burd Family in 1789.
______ We Were There at the Opening of the Erie Canal
Herman Melville Moby Dick
Tells the dual story of the initiation of young Ishmael, a schoolteacher, into the life of a seaman,
and the tragedy of Captain Ahab's obsession with the white whale.
Louise Moeri Save Queen of Sheba
Experience of 12-year-old King David, who regains consciousness after the massacre of his wagon
train and assumes responsibility for his little sister's life on a barren plain.
Liza Ketchum Murrow West Against the Wind
Fourteen-year-old Abby seeks both her father and the secret of a handsome but mysterious boy
during an arduous journey by wagon train from the middle of the country to the Pacific coast in 1850.
Katherine Paterson Lyddie
After her father abandons his failing farm, ten-year-old Lyddie and her younger brother must leave
the family to try to earn money to help pay their father's debts. After a stint at a tavern, Lyddie ends up
working in a cloth factory, where a fellow worker introduces her to books. Determined to make a better life
for herself, Lyddie immerses herself in reading, and when she learns that there is no home left to go to,
decides she will use her new knowledge to help her go to college.
Conrad Richter The Fields
______ The Town
______ The Trees
Ann Rinaldi Wolf by the Ears
Rose Sobol Woman Chief
William O. Steele The Lone Hunt
Irving Stone The President’s Lady
William Styron The Confessions of Nat Turner
Mark Twain Tom Sawyer
Betty Underwood The Tamarack Tree
Gore Vidal Burr
Willard M. Wallace Jonathon Dearborn
Luke Wallin In the Shadow of the Wind
Jessamyn West Expect for Me and Thee
______ The Friendly Persuasion
______ The Massacre at Fall Creek
Leonard Wibberley The Last Battle
______ Leopard’s Prey
______ Red Pawns
Jane Yolen The Gift of Sarah Barker
Blaine M. Yorgason Masasacre at Salt Creek
Elsie Reif Ziegler The Blowing-Wand