History

A famous American author, Oliver Wendell Holmes, once said, “When I want to understand what is happening today or try to decide what will happen tomorrow, I look back.” In other words, we can learn a lot about the world around us by looking at what has happened in the past—by studying history.

Historical Time Line

The historical time line included on the next 11 pages will help you look back. The time line begins with Columbus’s arrival in the New World and covers the period from 1492 to the present. The time line is divided into three main parts: U.S. and World History, Science and Inventions, and Literature and Life. You’ll find many interesting facts in the time line—when watches were invented (1509), when the first public library was created (1731), and who developed the first pair of blue jeans (Levi Strauss in 1850).

But even before the first European settlers arrived in the United States, there were many Native American tribes living here. As you can see on the map below, each tribe lived in one of five major regions. American history really begins with the Native Americans.