Read about the fortuitous purchase made that doubled the size of the United States. See why Napoleon was willing to sell the land, and find out about the quandary Thomas Jefferson was in as he had to go against his strict construction...

Trace the history of the women's suffrage movement from its organized beginnings in 1848 with the Seneca Falls Convention to the final success with the adoption of the 19th Amendment, which constitutionally granted women the right vote.

A good look at the first major American philosophy, transcendentalism. Read about the ideas that transcendentalists believed, and find out the members of the Transcendental Club. Many American authors of the time espoused the ideals of...

A look at the legacy of Benjamin Franklin to the city of Philadelphia.

See how the people at home stepped up to support the war effort in World War II.

A brief biography of a leader for black power, Malcolm X. Read about his early life and conversion to the Nation of Islam. Find out what his goals were for blacks in America, and see how the means to the end was different from Martin...

Use this site to read a biography of Betsy Ross, the designer of the first American flag. You can also read a history of the flag, flag laws, a flag quiz, and some quotes about the flag.

Use this site to find out many facts about the Liberty Bell: the size, composition, and location of the bell, as well as history, facts, trivia, and photos.

Reconstruction in the South engendered corruption, greed, a poor economy, and a backlash against the idea of allowing freed slaves to take part in political and civic life. Read about the formation of paramilitary groups who attempted to...

Read about the early English explorers and find out why other countries did much more early exploration than the British. The defeat of the Spanish Armada turned the tide. Discover why the English now could explore and plant colonies.

Along with demands for other rights in the 1960s and 1970s came the demand for reproductive rights. Read the development of ideas from the introduction of birth control pills in 1960 to the contentious Supreme Court ruling in Roe v Wade...

As the United States grew geographically, along with developing a national identity, there was also an increasing identity with regionalism. Read about the various regions, along with the changes in economics and religion in this period...

Look at the diversity in language, housing, government, and language among the Native American tribes that existed before the Europeans made contact. There is a brief discussion of the Navajo language and the use of Navajo code talkers...

Perhaps the most revolutionary result of the American Revolution was the rise in importance in politics of the moderately wealthy artisans and yeomen. Read about why this was such an amazing change in the make-up of those involved in...

Read about the creeping descent into depression in the United States upon the crash of the stock market. Find out how the economy collapsed, and how that affected employment and the lives of millions.

A time of fads and hero worship, the 1920s' entertainment didn't always make sense, but it was interesting. Find out about some of the fads of the time, and who became the heroes of popular culture. Take a brief quiz about the 1920s.

Read about the domestic legislation of Woodrow Wilson, a progressive president who won the election of 1912. See how the policies he proposed won him the support of those who believed in the platform of the Bull Moose Party.

Read about the options for leisure time in the Gilded Age for the typical American. Baseball, vaudeville, and bicycling all came into their own in the 1890s.

You can't keep them down on the farm! Read about the glamour and allure of the city in the late 19th century where electricity and skyscrapers, along with other thechnological advances, enticed people into the city from the country.

Read about the Whiskey Rebellion and what caused farmers to protest to the point of rebellion. Understand why a federal military response was such a grave decision.

Read about the Massachusetts government's handling of the crushing debt felt by the farmers in western Massachusetts and the resulting rebellion by those farmers.

Many colonists came to Jamestown to find gold. Read about what finally brought money into the colony, and what John Rolfe's role was in that. Read about who the workers were who provided the labor for this new money source.

See how James Polk's plan to claim the Oregon Territory, which had been shared with Great Britain since 1818, led him to victory with the slogan, Fifty-four forty or fight. Read about the settlers who traveled the Oregon Trail and why...

Read about the new wave of immigrants who came to America in the late 19th century. See differences between these groups of immigrants and those who came earlier. Find out where immigrants settled, and read about those who did not...