Sections:

• Welcome
• American History
• European History
• Latin American History
• African History

Topics for this Section:

• The Development of Native American Culture to 1500
  1. Introduction
  2. Changes over Time: 10,000 BC to 1200 AD
  3. Summary
  4. Native North Americans on the Eve of European Contact
• European Exploration and Early Settlement 1492-1700
  1. Introduction
  2. European Exploration: 1492�1565
  3. Early Colonization and Initial Areas of Control: 1565-1690
  4. North America in 1700
• The Struggle for Colonial Control of North America 1689-1763
  1. Introduction
  2. The Struggle for Colonial Control of North America: 1689�1763
  3. Summary
• Population and Diversity in America: the Colonial Period
  1. Introduction
  2. European Settlement: 1700�1780
  3. American Diversity: ca. 1750
  4. Summary
• Native American Tribes 1783
• The American Revolution
  1. Introduction
  2. The American Revolution
  3. Summary
• Constitutionalism
  1. Introduction
  2. Government and Land Claims: 1783
  3. Ratification of the National Constitution: 1787-1790
  4. Summary
• Status of Slavery in Original 13 States
• Territorial Expansion of the United States 1783-1853
  1. Introduction
  2. Territorial Expansion of the United States: 1783�1853
  3. Summary
• Alaska and Hawaii
• Journeys of Lewis & Clark : 1804-1806
• The War of 1812
  1. Introduction
  2. The War of 1812
  3. Summary
• Jackson's Campaigns in Florida 1818
• Territory ceded by Spain 1810-1819
• Texas 1836
• The Mexican War
  1. Introduction
  2. The Mexican War
  3. Summary
• Oregon Country 1843-1848
• The Spread of Cotton and of Slavery 1790-1860
  1. Introduction
  2. The Spread of Cotton: 1790�1860
  3. The Spread of Slavery: 1790�1860
  4. The Spread of Cotton and Slavery
  5. The Economics of Cotton
  6. Summary
• Compromises Over Slavery
  1. Introduction
  2. The Missouri Compromise: 1820
  3. The Compromise of 1850: The Status of Slavery
  4. Summary
• Gadsden Purchase and Proposed Rail Routes 1853
• The Political Revolution of the 1850s
  1. Introduction
  2. The Kansas-Nebraska Act: 1854
  3. Congressional Elections: 1850�1858
  4. Summary
• The Presidential Election of 1860
  1. Introduction
  2. The Presidential Election of 1860 by County
  3. Electoral Vote by State: 1860
  4. Comparison of County and State Data
  5. Summary
• The U.S. Civil War, Part I
  1. Introduction
  2. Secession
  3. Eastern Theater: 1861�1863
  4. Summary
• U.S. Civil War, Part II
  1. Introduction
  2. The Western Theater: 1862-1863
  3. Union Victory
  4. Summary
• Reconstruction
  1. Introduction
  2. Military Districts in the South: 1867
  3. Duration of Radical Governments in the South
  4. Summary
• Industrialization 1870-1930
  1. Introduction
  2. The Changing American Workforce: 1870�1930
  3. World Industrial Production: 1870�1930
  4. Large-Scale Industry in 1900
  5. Summary
• Population and Immigration 1800-1910
  1. Introduction
  2. Population Maps
  3. Foreign-born Population
  4. Graph of Immigration
  5. Summary
• The Political Revolution of the 1890s
  1. Introduction
  2. The Political Revolution of the 1890s
  3. Populist Strength in the Election of 1892
  4. Summary
• Toward Empire: Overseas Expansion 1865-1910
  1. Introduction
  2. Middle America and the Caribbean
  3. The United States in the Pacific
  4. The Great White Fleet
  5. Summary
• World War I
  1. Introduction
  2. The Western Front: 1914
  3. The Western Front: 1915�1918
  4. The War in Eastern Europe and the Middle East
  5. The Colonial War
  6. The United States: From Neutrality to Belligerency
  7. The Financial Cost of the War
  8. Summary
• The Great Depression
  1. Introduction
  2. Stock Prices: 1923�1939
  3. Unemployment: 1925�1945
  4. Unemployment Relief: 1934
  5. Summary
• The Political Revolution of the 1930s
  1. Introduction
  2. The Political Revolution of the 1930s
  3. Summary
• World War II: The Pacific Theater
  1. Introduction
  2. Japanese Expansion to Spring: 1942
  3. The Turning Point: April to December 1942
  4. The U.S. Counterattack: 1943�1945
  5. Summary
• World War II: The European Theater
  1. Introduction
  2. Germany Resurgent
  3. Blitzkrieg: 1939-1940
  4. The Mediterranean Front: 1940-1943
  5. The Eastern Front: 1941-1943
  6. The Western Front: June 1944 to May 1945
  7. The Battle of Normandy and the Breakout: June-July 1944
  8. Summary
• Cholera
  1. Introduction
  2. The Epidemic of 1832
  3. The Epidemic of 1848-49
  4. The Epidemic of 1866
  5. The Epidemic of 1873
• Polio
  1. Introduction
  2. Incidence in the U.S., 1912-1972
• Diphtheria
  1. Introduction
  2. Incidence in the U.S., 1860-1960
• Life Expectancy 1850-2000
  1. Introduction
  2. Life Expectancy Graphs
  3. Review Questions

Introduction

Though Norse expeditions had established temporary settlements near modern Newfoundland around the year 1000, they were quickly abandoned, and Europeans remained essentially uninvolved with North America until the end of the fifteenth century. With the first of Christopher Columbus's four voyages to the Caribbean basin in 1492, the major European powers began to explore the continent. Initially looking for trade routes to Asia, Europe also began to exploit opportunities in North America itself. That process gradually led to permanent colonization, which in turn launched a demographic revolution in the population and culture of North America.

This module traces the beginnings of that early European exploration and settlement in three stages: European Exploration, 1492-1565; Early Colonization and Initial Areas of Control, 1565-1690; and North America in 1700.