The American Story, Chapter by Chapter
Explore by Era
From the earliest indigenous civilizations through the challenges and triumphs of the present day.
Thousands of years of indigenous civilizations, from the mound builders of Cahokia to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, before European contact reshaped the continent.
Explore → Era 02Jamestown, Plymouth, and the thirteen colonies take root. English, French, and Spanish empires compete while a distinctly American identity begins to form.
Explore → Era 03From the Stamp Act crisis to the Constitutional Convention, a collection of colonies becomes a new nation built on Enlightenment ideals and revolutionary courage.
Explore → Era 04Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and the first generation of leaders test whether a democratic republic can survive. The Louisiana Purchase doubles the nation's size.
Explore → Era 05Manifest Destiny drives the nation westward. Jacksonian democracy expands white male suffrage while Indian removal and the slavery question deepen national fault lines.
Explore → Era 06The nation tears itself apart over slavery, endures the bloodiest war in American history, and begins the unfinished work of rebuilding and securing Black freedom.
Explore → Era 07Railroads, steel, and oil barons transform the economy. Massive immigration reshapes American society while labor unrest and inequality define the era's contradictions.
Explore → Era 08Reformers tackle corruption, women win the vote, and America reluctantly enters a devastating global war that reshapes its role on the world stage.
Explore → Era 09Jazz, flappers, and unprecedented prosperity give way to economic catastrophe. The New Deal reimagines the federal government's role in American life.
Explore → Era 10From Pearl Harbor to the atomic bomb, America mobilizes its entire society to fight fascism on two fronts and emerges as the world's preeminent superpower.
Explore → Era 11Suburban expansion, the baby boom, and postwar prosperity unfold against the backdrop of nuclear anxiety and ideological confrontation with the Soviet Union.
Explore → Era 12The long struggle for racial equality reaches a crescendo. From Montgomery to Selma, landmark legislation dismantles legal segregation while Vietnam divides the nation.
Explore → Era 13Watergate's aftermath, the Reagan revolution, the end of the Cold War, and the dawn of the digital age transform American politics, culture, and the global order.
Explore → Era 14September 11th, the Great Recession, social media, and deepening political polarization define a century still in the making.
Explore →Latest Articles
In-depth narrative articles covering the people, events, and turning points that shaped the nation.
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. What followed was 381 days of organized nonviolent resistance — and the proof that collective action could break Jim Crow.
In 1948, Stalin blockaded West Berlin and expected the West to surrender. Instead, American and British aircrews flew 277,804 sorties to keep 2.2 million people alive — and redefined the Cold War.
On April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25 bombers launched from USS Hornet in a desperate gamble that struck Tokyo, electrified a shattered nation, and set in motion the chain of events that turned the Pacific War.