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Overview The story of the Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony is one of the most famous chapters in early American history. Seeking the freedom to practice their religion, a group of English settlers known as the Pilgrims sailed across the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Mayflower in 1620. After a difficult journey, they established Plymouth Colony in … Read more
Overview When European explorers arrived in the Americas, they did not discover an empty land. Millions of Indigenous peoples had lived throughout North and South America for thousands of years. These communities had developed diverse cultures, languages, governments, economies, and ways of life that were closely connected to their environments. Understanding the people who already … Read more
Overview During the 1500s, 1600s, and 1700s, many people left Europe and traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to North America. These journeys were often dangerous and difficult, but thousands of people believed the risks were worth taking. Some settlers came in search of economic opportunities, while others hoped to escape religious persecution or gain greater … Read more
Overview Colonial America refers to the period when England established and governed colonies along the eastern coast of North America. Beginning with the founding of Jamestown in 1607 and continuing until the American Revolution, the English colonies grew from small settlements into thriving communities. Colonists built farms, towns, and businesses while developing their own traditions … Read more
The 13 Colonies were English settlements established along the Atlantic coast of North America during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Stretching from New Hampshire in the north to Georgia in the south, these colonies formed the political, cultural, and economic foundation of what would eventually become the United States. Although each colony developed its own … Read more
The colonial history of Rhode Island is unlike that of any other English colony in North America. Founded in 1636 by religious dissenter Roger Williams, the colony emerged from conflict, exile, and a bold experiment in freedom. While most colonies in New England enforced strict religious conformity, Rhode Island became a sanctuary for dissenters and … Read more
Few events in history have shaped the modern world as profoundly as the American Revolution. Between the 1760s and the early 1780s, thirteen British colonies transformed themselves into an independent nation and ignited a political experiment that continues to influence global ideas about liberty, governance, and democracy. Yet the Revolution was far more complex than … Read more
If you want to understand why the Cold War felt so anxious, so personal, and so corrosive to trust, you could do worse than start with Alger Hiss. Few figures better capture the era’s deepest fear: that the enemy wasn’t just out there, but might already be inside. For decades, Hiss was not merely a … Read more
On a gray morning in May 1618, a small group of angry noblemen climbed the stairs of a castle in Prague. They were not generals, and they did not command armies. They carried no grand strategy for Europe, no vision of a continent remade by war. What they carried instead was a grievance—deep, specific, and … Read more