Library of Congress
Loc: Exploring the Early Americas: Columbus and the Taino
An on-line exhibit displaying copies of Columbus' journals, other writings about his voyages and findings, as well as information and artifacts of the Taino, the Native Americans Columbus encountered on San Salvador.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Race and Identity in Antebellum America
This unit features authors of Antebellum America and how they portray the American identity through their literature. Click on the tabs to explore the various resources available to enhance this unit.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Living the Revolution: America, 1789 1820: Religion
Primary resource material on post-Revolution America, 1789-1820, which explores the topic of religion and national identity in the early republic. Includes questions for discussion and links to supplemental material.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Daniel Boone First Saw the Woodlands of Kentucky
Explore the wilderness of Kentucky with Daniel Boone. Here is a brief summary of his travels. Also features a portrait of Boone, a photograph of his cabin, and a beautiful engraving of Cumberland Gap.
PBS
Pbs: They Made America
Companion site to the four-part series on looking at America through inventors. Focuses on inventors from the early days of the country to modern day. From Robert Fulton and Samuel Colt, to Ted Turner and Russell Simmons, this site...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Living the Revolution: America, 1789 1820
Over thirty primary sources explore the American Revolution covering the topics of early republican life, religion, politics, expansion, and equality. Includes notes and discussion questions.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook: John Cabot: Voyage to North America, 1497
Letters from Cabot to different people in his life that explain his exploration and his discoveries.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Europe's North South Conflicts Reach the Americas
An essay detailing early English and French exploration and settlement in the New World to challenge Spanish control.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: French and Dutch Exploration in the New World
Outline text explaining how the French, Dutch, and English explorers began to make inroads into the Americans in the late 1500s and early 1600s.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: French and Dutch Exploration in the New World
An overview of the French, Dutch, and English explorers in the late 1500's and early 1600's.
Curated OER
Etc: Dev of Colonies and Early Western Explorations, 1700 1775
A map of eastern North America showing the early development of the European colonies and westward exploration to the Mississippi River. The map shows the routes of several early explorers with dates of exploration, including La Salle,...
Other
Museum of Unnatural History: Virtual Exploration Society: Colonel Percy Fawcett
Read about the exciting adventures of Col. Percy Fawcett as he mapped the jungles of South America in the early 20th century.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook: Colonial North America
Scroll through this site from the Modern History Sourcebook of Fordham University to New England and click on the primary source documents concerning Edmund Andros. This site contains dozens of links related to colonial America. Sections...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Duke Ellington
Explore the fascinating life of a founding father of jazz music. Duke Ellington (1899-1974 CE) was a gifted musician and composer from an early age. This website provides you with a detailed account of his life and his accomplishments.
Teaching American History
Teaching American History: From Bullets to Ballots Chapter 3
An Anxious Confidence, The Anxieties of a New Republic, Chapter 3 of From Bullets to Ballots by John Zvesper explores the energy throughout the new nation as the democracy evolved.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Life in Colonial America
This lesson presents an explanation about who the early colonists were and why they came to America. Students will explore their lives and the economy by navigating the Internet. Students will conclude the lesson by completing a WebQuest...
Curated OER
Etc: Maps Etc: French Explorations and Forts, 1600s
A map of North America showing the routes of early French exploration of the Mississippi Valley from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico in the 1600's. The map shows the routes of Father Jacques Marquette (with Louis Jolliet) and...
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: The First Europeans
The first Europeans to arrive in North America -- at least the first for whom there is solid evidence -- were Norse, traveling west from Greenland, where Erik the Red had founded a settlement around the year 985. In 1001 his son Leif is...
The History Place
The History Place: American Revolution
The History Place provides this timeline broken into six different sections that highlight the important events from the early European exploration of America through to the United States becoming a country. Features include informative...
University of Texas at Austin
Ut Library Online: Historical Maps of the United States
This extensive collection of Historical United States maps from the University of Texas Library Online cover early inhabitants, exploration and settlement, territorial growth, military history, and later historical maps. These maps are...
Digital History
Digital History: The Meaning of America
Although brief, this article points out the opposing views of the New World of America in European eyes during the exploration and early colonization period.
Other
Exploring the Past: An Archeological Journey
Through an overview of past archeological expeditions, the author recounts the "Land Bridge" theory and delves into the life of the first inhabitants of North America.
Other
Radford University: Prelude to European Settlement of Virginia
This site traces the early voyages of explorers from Portugal and Spain who were trying to find new resources.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: The Literature of Exploration
Had history taken a different turn, the United States easily could have been a part of the great Spanish or French overseas empires. Its present inhabitants might speak Spanish and form one nation with Mexico, or speak French and be...