Small & the Mighty Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement

A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From America's favorite government teacher, a heartfelt, inspiring portrait of twelve ordinary Americans whose courage formed the character of our country.

In The Small and the Mighty, Sharon McMahon proves that the most remarkable Americans are often ordinary people who didn't make it into the textbooks. Not the presidents, but the telephone operators. Not the aristocrats, but the schoolteachers. Through meticulous research, she discovers history's unsung characters and brings their rich, riveting stories to light for the first time.

You'll meet a woman astride a white horse riding down Pennsylvania Ave, a young boy detained at a Japanese incarceration camp, a formerly enslaved woman on a mission to reunite with her daughter, a poet on a train, and a teacher who learns to work with her enemies. More than one thing is bombed, and multiple people surprisingly become rich. Some rich with money, and some wealthy with things that matter more.

This is a book about what really made America - and Americans - great. McMahon's cast of improbable champions will become familiar friends, lighting the path we journey in our quest to make the world more just, peaceful, good, and free.

“With shimmering research, an observant eye, and a bright moral compass, Sharon McMahon leads us through the thickets of the past until we can see where we came from and where we are going.” ―David Grann, New York Times bestselling author of The Wager and Killers of the Flower Moon

“Sharon McMahon is a national treasure and a one-woman cavalry for truth, saving our republic one loving and clear-eyed lesson at a time. She and this book are a gift to our country.” —Isabel Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Caste and The Warmth of Other Suns

“This book won’t just enlighten and entertain you—it will leave you empowered by newfound confidence that you don’t need to be rich or famous to make a difference. The Small and the Mighty is a master class in making American history fascinating and fun.” ―Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Potential and Think Again, and host of the podcast Re:Thinking

Sharon McMahon is a longtime high school government and law teacher who is now best known as America’s Government Teacher on her Instagram account, Sharon Says So. In a time when flashy headlines and false information often take the spotlight, millions of people rely on McMahon for nonpartisan, fact-based information.

McMahon is the host of the award-winning podcast Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, where each week, she provides entertaining yet factual accounts of America’s most fascinating moments and people. She is also the founder of The Preamble, a newsletter that gives you the history of and context about stories that matter. In all that she does, McMahon encourages others to be world-changing humans. She has led her community in various philanthropic initiatives that have raised more than $9 million for teachers, domestic violence survivors, terminally ill children, medical debt forgiveness programs, refugees, and more.

Author Residence: Minneapolis, Minnesota