Under the leadership of President Thomas Jefferson, the United States purchased 827,987 square miles of territory from France on May 2, 1803 for $15 million. It was a momentous event that doubled the size of the new country, and greatly …[Continue]
American History Resources
Paul Revere
Paul Revere (1735 – 1818) was an American patriot best known for riding on a borrowed horse from Boston to Lexington on April 18, 1775 to warn the colonists of approaching British troops. The next day, when the British arrived …[Continue]
Boston Tea Party
On December 16, 1773, a small group of American colonists (many of them dressed up as Mohawk Indians) sneaked onto three ships in the Boston harbor and dumped more than 300 cases of English tea overboard as a protest against …[Continue]
Thirteen Colonies
The American colonial period began in 1607 with the arrival of settlers in Jamestown, Virginia, and ended in 1775 when the Revolutionary War began. Although the English were not the first Europeans to arrive in the New World, they eventually …[Continue]
Betsy Ross
Many people believe that General George Washington visited seamstress Betsy Ross in June, 1776 to ask her to sew a stars-and-stripes flag that would become the first official flag of the new country. The story continues that Ross convinced Washington …[Continue]
Flag Day
With roots in the nineteenth century, June 14th wasn’t officially established as Flag Day until May 30, 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation. It’s celebration continued in various communities for many years, but it didn’t really take off …[Continue]
Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders were approximately 400 black and white Americans who (at great personal risk) traveled on buses through the Deep South in violation of Jim Crow segregation laws, for six months starting May 4, 1961. Along the way, they …[Continue]
Thomas Jefferson
Born on April 13, 1743, Thomas Jefferson is best remembered as the author of the Declaration of Independence. But Jefferson’s interests and talents covered an amazing range. He was also a two-term president, diplomat, architect, violinist, inventor and a founder …[Continue]
The Alamo
The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas is a former mission and fortress, built by the Spanish Empire in the 18th century. In 1835, during the Texas Revolution, it was the scene of a pivotal battle for independence between the Republic …[Continue]
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The Pearl Harbor Naval Station on the Hawaiian island of Oahu is Navy headquarters for the United States Pacific Fleet. Yet even after seventy-six years, its name is synonymous with the surprise Japanese attack of “December 7, 1941 – a …[Continue]
