Imagine a civilization in the Americas that predated the ancient Egyptians! That's what archeologist Jonathan Haas found on the coast of Peru. Read here about this remarkable discovery.

A facsimile of an early map (1651) showing the discoveries of Sir Francis Drake in North America, including the coastline of Ould Virginia and Maryland, the Bay of Checepiake (Chesapeake Bay), Lord Delaware Bay, Cape Hatteras and Cape...

Chronicles the life of John Sutter who immigrated to America to find his fortune and then saw it crumble away after the discovery of gold at his mill.

Short descriptions of important technological innovations produced in America and the date of their introduction.

This passage features explorer Christopher Columbus as an author documenting his travels and experiences through letters and such. Click on "Christopher Columbus Activities" for related artifacts and activities.

A brief biography of one of the successful Spanish conquistadors, Vasco Nunez de Balboa. He is recognized for his discovery of the Pacific Ocean and land in the Americas.

A map of Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod showing the area of early Norse exploration in America. "In 986 A.D. a Norseman named Herjulfson, who was voyaging from Iceland to Greenland, was driven by a gale far out of his reckoning to the W....

A map of the proposed isthmian canal routes in Nicaragua and Panama between 1848-1884. The map shows the two chief proposals, the Nicaraguan from Greytown on the Caribbean to Lake Nicaragua and Brito on the Pacific, and the Panama...

Imagine a civilization in the Americas that predated the ancient Egyptians! That's what archeologist Jonathan Haas found on the coast of Peru. Read here about this remarkable discovery.

Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 - April 17, 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author and printer, satirist, political theorist, politician, scientist,...

This is a black and white image of Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America and a leading scientist who made discoveries related to electricity.