Welcome to America Comes Alive!, a site I created to share little-known stories of America's past. These stories are about Americans - people just like you - who have made a difference and changed the course of history. Look around the site and find what inspires you. Kate Kelly
Beulah Louise Henry (1887-1973) registered 49 patents and is credited with at least 110 inventions. She was always tinkering to improve things she could use. She moved... continue »
Ormes’ comic strips were syndicated in black newspapers in the 1930s and ‘40s, making her the only nationally syndicated black woman cartoonist until the 1990s.... continue »
In the 1930s during the Great Depression, Americans were looking for scapegoats, and in an effort to save jobs for “real Americans” they began rounding... continue »
Maggie Lena Walker was born in 1864 to Elizabeth Draper, a former slave who worked at the Richmond home of Elizabeth Van Lew, an abolitionist... continue »
Documented her life as a Native American in an autobiographical book published in 1883 Spoke forcefully for her people at a time when women had... continue »
Activist in the Mexican-American Civil Rights Movement (which preceded Chicano activism) Organized first National Congress of Spanish-Speaking People (1938) Luisa Moreno was born in Guatemala... continue »
"The road to success is always under construction," aptly quotes Cheryl McKissack Daniel, President and CEO of McKissack & McKissack, a New York construction company... continue »
Created the first of a family of synthetic fibers of exceptional strength Worked on the team that took her creation from invention to product implementation;... continue »
Received first patent in 1868; obtained at least 25 more patents over her lifetime Invented a machine that could create the square-bottomed grocery bag that... continue »