North America History

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.

Benjamin Franklin was often curious about the world around him. Utilizing observation and testing of the scientific method, he was able to invent many new items that improved the world for others. These inventions include his famous bifocal glasses, lightning rod, and even a long extension arm.

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.

The Civil War: 1860 - 1865 examines the people and events involved in the bloody war that pitted the Northern states against those that seceded to form the Confederacy.

In January of 1965, 24-year-old US Army sergeant Charles Robert Jenkins abandoned his post in South Korea, walked across the DMZ, and surrendered to communist North Korean soldiers standing sentry along the world's most heavily militarized border. He believed his action would get him back to the States and a short jail sentence. Instead he found himself in another sort of prison, where for 40 years he suffered under one of the most brutal and repressive regimes the world has known. This fast-paced, harrowing tale, told plainly and simply by Jenkins (with journalist Jim Frederick).

Horizontal Vertigo: The title refers to the fear of ever-impending earthquakes that led Mexicans to build their capital city outward rather than upward. With the perspicacity of a keenly observant flâneur, Juan Villoro wanders through Mexico City seemingly without a plan, describing people, places, and things while brilliantly drawing connections among them.

Originaire de Champagne, en France, Paul de Chomedey sieur de Maisonneuve s’initie très tôt à l’art militaire. Mais cela ne le satisfait pas : il rêve de voyages et d’aventures. Nommé gouverneur de Ville-Marie, il fonde la bourgade avec une quarantaine de colons prêts à relever le défi. L’homme d’honneur et de parole tentera toute sa vie de surmonter les nombreux obstacles qui se dresseront sur son chemin pour assurer le bien-être et la postérité de Ville-Marie. Aujourd’hui, Paul de Chomedey sieur de Maisonneuve est reconnu comme un cofondateur de Montréal.

The first self-made woman millionaire has quite the story to tell. Can you imagine being a female self-made millionaire in the early 1900s? That was quite the accomplishment. Madam C. J. Walker did it! Learn more about how she got her start in this audiobook about her life in our Black history series. Share this and more amazing stories with your children! Give them a true historical foundation and a sense of belonging.

Against long odds, the Anishinaabeg resisted removal, retaining thousands of acres of their homeland in what is now Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Their success rested partly on their roles as sellers of natural resources and buyers of trade goods, which made them key players in the political economy of plunder that drove white settlement and US development in the Old Northwest. But, as Michael Witgen demonstrates, the credit for Native persistence rested with the Anishinaabeg themselves.

The worst hard-rock mining disaster in American history began a half hour before midnight on June 8, 1917, when fire broke out in the North Butte Mining Company's Granite Mountain shaft. Sparked more than 2,000 feet below ground, the fire spewed flames, smoke, and poisonous gas through a labyrinth of underground tunnels. Within an hour more than 400 men would be locked in a battle to survive. Within three days 164 of them would be dead.

"Boys, let us get up a club." Six restless young men raided the linens at a friend's mansion, pulled pillowcases over their heads, hopped on horses, and cavorted through the streets of Pulaski, Tennessee. The six friends named their club the Ku Klux Klan, and, all too quickly, their club grew into the self-proclaimed Invisible Empire with secret dens spread across the South. This is the story of how a secret terrorist group took root in America's democracy.

Gord Downie was more than just a musician. His music told stories of Canada. His lyrics celebrated myths. Through his songs, Canadians slowly realized the richness of their historical and cultural backgrounds. Gord Downie made his countrymen proud of being Canadians. Listen about his life story and learn from it. Begin today.

Many other mainline Christians viewed the Quakers as a dangerous sect, so much so that they pressured the British Parliament to pass the Quaker Act of 1662. This act set forth in law the “prescribed form” of prayer and worship as designated by the state. It was a formula that specifically left the traditions of the Quakers out. Unable to gain acceptance in England, the Quakers would soon leave the place of their origin altogether and try their luck in a brave new world on another continent.

Andersonvilles of the North, by James M. Gillispie, represents the first broad study to argue that the image of Union prison officials as negligent and cruel to Confederate prisoners is severely flawed. This study is not an attempt to "whitewash" Union prison policies or make light of Confederate prisoner mortality.

Who was Terry Fox? Why do Canadians name schools, roads, buildings, and parks after him? Know Terry Fox’s story through this educational book for kids. Be inspired by his determination, hardwork, and a spirit too strong for cancer to beat.

As a 14-year-old, he was Malcolm Little, the president of his class and a top student. At 16, he was hustling tips at a Boston nightclub. In Harlem, he was known as Detroit Red, a slick street operator. At 19, he was back in Boston, leading a gang of burglars. At 20, he was in prison. It was in prison that Malcolm Little started the journey that would lead him to adopt the name Malcolm X, and there he developed his beliefs about what being Black means in America: beliefs that shook America then and still shake America today.

On August 14, 1975, eight daring thieves ransacked 148 massive safe-deposit boxes at a secret bank used by organized crime, La Cosa Nostra, and its associates in Providence, Rhode Island. The crooks fled with duffel bags crammed full of cash, gold, silver, stamps, coins, jewels, and high-end jewelry. The true value of the loot has always been kept secret, partly because it was ill-gotten to begin with, and partly because there was plenty of incentive to keep its true worth out of the limelight.

This lyrical biography explores the life and art of Yoko Ono, from her childhood haiku to her avant-garde visual art and experimental music. An outcast throughout most of her life, and misunderstood by every group she was supposed to belong to, Yoko always followed her own unique vision to create art that was ahead of its time and would later be celebrated. Her focus remained on being an artist, even when the rest of world saw her only as the wife of John Lennon. Yoko Ono's moving story will inspire any young adult who has ever felt like an outsider.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas. Or did he? Listeners will learn the full story about Christopher Columbus’s famous voyage.