I studied very little history in school. My high school only offered three years worth of social studies courses (the legal minimum) and my college degree was in anthropology and geography. What history courses I took at the college level were esoteric, to say the least: Chinese History to 1500; Ancient and Classical Mediterranean Warfare; History of Geography; and an Art History that was cross-listed as Archaeology. So when I realized that I was closing in on completing a graduate degree in teaching social studies, I felt myself out of my depth. I remembered my high school and college courses well enough, but thought I lacked the specialized knowledge necessary for the profession. Since my knowledge was weakest on the topic of American History, I developed a plan to address this: I would read at least one biography about each of our nation’s founders. I would allow myself however many years it took to complete this task at the pace of three or four relevant books a year, but as much as I loved my self-given task, I quickly realized that I had to define who the “founders” were. After looking at a few different schemas, I decided that the signers of the Declaration of Independence would be a good start. If I finished with them and still wanted more, I could always broaden my scope.