• One day in December of 1606, a little over a hundred Englishmen crowded onto three small ships, the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery. They set sail from London for what one of the men hopefully called "Virginia, Earth's only paradise". This became known as the colony of Jamestown. Years later the 13 colonies was created and they are Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, New Hapshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Pennylvania, and Georgia.



• On September 16, 1620, the Pilgrims left Plymouth, England, for America on the Mayflower. They were seeking religious freedom. On November 21, the Mayflower dropped anchor at Plymouth, Massachussetts. The Pilgrims established a government and created the Mayflower Compact, the first constitution in America.



• The Wampanoag Indians, under the leadership of Massasoit, helped the Pilgrims during their first year. After the first harvest was completed by the Plymouth colonist in 1621, Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving and prayer, shared by all the colonist and Native Americans. This was the first Thanksgiving.



• The Revolutionary war was fought from 1775 to 1783 to establish independence from England. The Declaration of Independence, written in 1776, declared that all men are created equal. George Washington was Commander in Chief of the army and became known as "Father of our Country".



• Independence Day, July 4th, is the most important holiday in the United States. It celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776 written by Thomas Jefferson. The day has always been the occasion for parades and patriotic speeches and for every variety of noisy jubilation. In fact, the firing of cannon and fireworks caused so many injuries, by the early 1900’s, ordinances forbidding private pyrotechnics were passed in many cities. Today, Fourth of July fireworks are largely handled by professionals.