Shaping of America, 1783–1815: Biographies presents in two volumes the life stories of fifty-one men and women who played key roles from 1783 to 1815 when the United States was forged into a politically and economically independent nation. Individuals from all walks of life are included. They all took an active role in the creation and early development of the United States whether they were aware of it at the time or not. Some were Founding Fathers who signed the 1776 Declaration of Independence and drafted the U.S. Constitution at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Many held prominent national positions in government, religious organizations, educational institutions, businesses, and the military. Some were victims of the swift national growth. Native Americans lost extensive life and their lands to the onslaught of frontier expansion. African slaves were vital to the economic growth of the South at the expense of...