North America History

Philadelphia was a noisy and lively city in Colonial America. In this story, you can just imagine being surrounded by the influence of various cultures, the smells of food in the city and the sounds of craftsmen hard at work.

In Colonial America, the port city of Philadelphia offered more opportunities for women like Rebecca Jones, a Quaker spinster and schoolteacher.

Many immigrants of various cultures have passed through the port city of Philadelphia before they adapted to the New World. William Penn guaranteed religious freedom to newcomers, which brought many persecuted peoples, such as Quakers, Mennonites, and refugees to the area, and that's only a smart part of the story of Philadelphia.

The Wampanoags, who inhabited what it is now southeastern Massachusetts, were strikingly different from the Pilgrims, who did not share the same interests in sharing land. The native people could not foresee Europeans taking the land that the Wampanoags had once respected and treasured.

Did you know Benjamin Franklin served as America's first postmaster? For Colonial America, Franklin contributioned to the development of a modern and efficient postal service, finding more direct routes and establishing standard mail rates.

Bernard Bailyn gives us a compelling account of the first great transit of people from Britain, Europe, and Africa to British North America, their involvements with each other, and their struggles with the indigenous peoples of the eastern seaboard.

Many know Paul Revere by the infamous words, “The British are coming!” But did he really say that? Listeners will learn the facts and the fiction behind Paul Revere’s midnight ride.

Every November, the United States celebrates Thanksgiving Day. But what actually happened at the first Thanksgiving? And when did it happen? Discover the facts and find out the fiction surrounding one of America’s favorite holidays.

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Since then, the famous speech has led to many stories about it—but not all of them are true. Listen to discover what’s real and what’s fiction!

Betsy Ross made many flags during the American Revolution, but did she sew the first flag? Learn to separate fact from fiction by listening to this story of the stars and stripes!

When President Abraham Lincoln created the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, it had far-reaching effects on the course of the Civil War and U.S. history. Using an inquiry-based approach, listeners will discover how the Emancipation Proclamation helped end slavery and led to historic changes in the United States and in the lives of all U.S. citizens.

If the founding fathers and mothers of the United States had built a time capsule to tell the story of the nation's beginnings, what artifacts would be packed inside? Tea leaves, a lantern, yellowed documents, and more tell a part of the story of the colonists' fight for independence. In this Time Capsule History book, listeners can examine primary sources of the Revolutionary Era to explore this exciting moment in history!

Why did the Pilgrims and other settlers come to North America? How did American Indians react to white settlers on their land? How was North America changed by the colonists? The colonization of the New World led to major changes for both European colonists and the native peoples who already lived there. Using an inquiry-based approach, listeners will learn all about the historic changes that took place in the land and various people's lives at the beginning of Colonial America.

America Redux explores the themes that create our shared sense of American identity and interrogates the myths we've been telling ourselves for centuries. With iconic American catchphrases as chapter titles, these twenty-one stories illuminate the astonishing, unexpected, sometimes darker sides of history that reverberate in our society to this very day—from the role of celebrity in immigration policy to the influence of one small group of white women on education to the effects of "progress" on housing and the environment, to the inspiring force of collective action and mutual aid.

The true story of racial inequality—and resistance to it—is the prologue to our present. You can see it in where we live, where we go to school, where we work, in our laws, and in our leadership. Unequal presents a gripping account of the struggles that shaped America and the insidiousness of racism, and demonstrates how inequality persists.

Explore captivating Native American myths.

When superstar athlete Jim Thorpe and football legend Pop Warner met in 1904 at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, they forged one of the winningest teams in American football history. Called "the team that invented football", they took on the best opponents of their day, defeating much more privileged schools such as Harvard and Army in a series of breathtakingly close calls, genius plays, and bone-crushing hard work.

In Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed, bestselling and award-winning authors as well as up-and-coming voices interrogate the different myths and stereotypes about the Latinx diaspora. These fifteen original pieces delve into everything from ghost stories and superheroes, to memories in the kitchen and travels around the world, to addiction and grief, to identity and anti-Blackness, to finding love and speaking your truth. Full of both sorrow and joy, Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed is an essential celebration of this rich and diverse community.

George Washington had fought bravely during the Revolutionary War. The people saw him as a hero. They wanted to make him king. But Washington didn’t want that kind of power. Instead, he became the first president of the United States. Follow this war hero as he leads his troops into battle and shares their losses and success.

Thousands of American settlers endured the long trip of more than 2,000 miles between Missouri and Oregon in the mid-1800s. They were determined to make a better life for themselves. They faced many hardships and made tough choices. Now the choices are yours. Would you rather run out of food supplies or spare wagon parts? Would you ford the river and get across faster but risk your wagon overturning? Or would you take apart your wagon and float it across but risk delaying your time-sensitive journey? It's your turn to pick this or that!