The Forgotten Founders of America

As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, this engaging 90-minute presentation revisits the Revolutionary era through the stories of the overlooked patriots who helped shape the nation. Inspired by Lowe’s book, Forgotten Founders: Black Patriots, Women Soldiers, and Other Thinkers and Heroes Who Shaped Early America, the program highlights courageous women, Black patriots, spies, poets, soldiers, and Native Americans whose contributions are often left out of traditional history books. Participants will meet remarkable figures such as Deborah Sampson, Peter Salem, Phillis Wheatley, Sybil Ludington, and Anna Smith Strong while exploring how their bravery, intelligence, and sacrifice influenced the fight for independence. Through storytelling, historical context, and discussion, this presentation offers a richer and more inclusive understanding of America’s founding during the nation’s semiquincentennial celebration.

Mifflin Lowe is the author of 13 published books, with more than 300,000 copies sold in seven languages. His award-winning works include Art: An Interactive Guide, recipient of the Jean E. Lowrie Gold Medal, and Forgotten Founders, winner of the DAR Excellence in American History Children’s Book Award and a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection. His The True West was named a Notable Social Studies Trade Book. In addition to his acclaimed children’s and history books, Lowe has written several humor books for adults. Two of his short stories are included in Yale University’s Beinecke Library Orbis Collection. He is a graduate of Princeton University.