Introductory article on American Colonial History in which the author takes a look at the first European settlers who made the voyage to America and addresses the essential question of who they were as people and hence, why they made...

Brief article about Native American culture and history prior to European settlement and with arrival of Europeans.

Article discussing the particular events of post-Revolutionary America, 1789-1800, and how they shaped the era of the New Republic. The author covers the first presidency, the emergent party system and foregin affairs.

A site with examples and information about early American paintings from 1671-1829. Use the timeline to click on a time period, or click and select by artist, genre, or place of origin. Also includes an extensive bibliography.

The America that greeted the first Europeans was, thus, far from an empty wilderness. It is now thought that as many people lived in the Western Hemisphere as in Western Europe at that time -- about 40 million. Estimates of the number of...

Article outlines the boom in early American economic growth as a result of Northern industry in manufacturing, steam power, transportation and the role of government between 1820 and 1860.

Primary source document establishing a basis and foundation of early American government. This document, adopted in Virginia and drafted by George Mason and Patrick Henry, precedes the Congressional call for independence.

Article illustrating the connection between America and the British Empire. The author points out that much of early American history is part of British history. Outlines British history since 1066.

Young scholars explore different aspects of the cultures of the First Americans in this lesson plan. Stereotypes are often associated with Native Americans through movies and in the context of the Thanksgiving holiday. Specific...

The early 1600s saw the beginning of a great tide of emigration from Europe to North America. Spanning more than three centuries, this movement grew from a trickle of a few hundred English colonists to a flood of millions of newcomers....

Hired by the Dutch East India Company, Henry Hudson in 1609 explored the area around what is now New York City and the river that bears his name, to a point probably north of present-day Albany, New York. Subsequent Dutch voyages laid...

The first Native-American group to build mounds in what is now the United States often are called the Adenans. They began constructing earthen burial sites and fortifications around 600 B.C. Some mounds from that era are in the shape of...

By 1640 the British had solid colonies established along the New England coast and the Chesapeake Bay. In between were the Dutch and the tiny Swedish community. To the west were the original Americans, then called Indians.

The religious and civil conflict in England in the mid-17th century limited immigration, as well as the attention the mother country paid the fledgling American colonies.

Time-worn pueblos and dramatic cliff towns, set amid the stark, rugged mesas and canyons of Colorado and New Mexico, mark the settlements of some of the earliest inhabitants of North America, the Anasazi (a Navajo word meaning "ancient...

These artworks are visual interpretations of Native Americans through the eyes of American settlers. Follow a timeline from 1500-1900 to see the perceptions of Native Americans of the white settlers at that time.

Ready to be an early settler on the plains? While playing this interactive game, you'll get to build your own sod house ..if ..you have the right answers.

An extensive collection of primary source documents of early development of the new United States. Resources include a wide variety of details about the Northwest Ordinance.

The Daniel A. P. Murray Pamphlet Collection presents a panoramic and eclectic review of African-American history and culture, spanning almost one hundred years from the early nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries, with the...

In this lesson, 5th graders examine the lives of six people who were important in early American history. They include Abigail and John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and George Washington. Readings include...

A collaborative project of the Wisconsin Historical Society and National History Day, this site contains over 18,000 pages of primary source, eyewitness accounts of North American exploration starting with the Vikings.

This website provides an outline of American literature beginning in 1776.

A multi-purpose site that provides information on history and historic artifacts from New England. There are also some interesting games that serve to enhance learning about New England. Be sure to watch video demonstrations of Early...

A survey of fifty-seven landscapes and portraits that reveal visions of early America and its birth as a new nation as rendered by early American artists.