History of the United State

The following time line shows major events in American History. Click on any of the events for more detail.
Native Americans	Christopher Columbus	European Exploration	Pilgrims - The First Thanksgiving	The British Colonies
The French and Indian War	Missions of California (1769-1834)	The American Revolution	The Louisiana Purchase	The War of 1812
The California Gold Rush	The Civil War	The Mexican War	World War I	The Great Depression
World War II	The Moon Landing	Vietnam War	US Presidents	US Symbols

Native Americans Native Americans were the first people to live in North America. There were many Native American tribes living throughout North America. Check out the following links to learn more about these tribes, their culture and their life. Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus was the first recorded explorer to discover North America Who was Christopher Columbus? Picture of Christopher Columbus (Source: Library of Congress) Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in Genoa, Italy. He went to sea as a young boy, and spent most of his life at sea. Columbus knew the world was round. He believed that by sailing west, instead of current route east around the coast of Africa, he would the East and the Spice Islands. He moved to Portugal trying to get money to support his journey. He eventually got support from Ferdinand and Isabella, the king and queen of Spain. Replicas of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria (Source: Library of Congress) In 1492 Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain with three ships: the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria.   The European Explorers The European explorers came in search of wealth and new land.  The news that Christopher Columbus had discovered, what was thought to be, a western route to the East Indies spread through Europe. Other European countries began to send explorers. Like Columbus, they were looking for gold, silver, silk and other valuables. They were also looking for new land to claim for their country. They soon discovered what Columbus had actually found was North America. The Explorers     Explorer Country of Origin Date Discovery Lief Ericson and the Vikings Norway 1001 Newfoundland Christopher Columbus Spain 1492 San Salvador and West Indies John Cabot England 1497 Greenland, Labrador and Newfoundland Amerigo Vespucci Spain 1497 to 1502 South America and West Indies Vasco de Balboa Spain 1513 The Pacific Ocean Ferdinand Magellan Spain 1509 to 1522 First to sail around the World Juan Ponce de Leon Spain 1513 Florida Hernando Cortez Spain 1519 to 1521 Mexico Jacques Cartier France 1535 The St. Lawrence River Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo Spain 1542 California Sir Francis Drake England 1577 to 1580 Explorations around the World Samuel de Champlain France 1603 The Great Lakes and Quebec Henry Hudson The Netherlands 1609 Hudson Bay