Just in time for Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15–Oct. 15) and the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower landing at Plymouth in November, five new Topic Centers have just been added to Infobase’s American History database!
These new Topic Centers include:
- Latino-American History: From the moment the Spanish Conquest began in the late 1400s to the Census Department’s pronouncement in the early 21st century that Latinos and Latinas now represent the largest minority group in the United States, Latino-American history has been an integral and essential part of American history.
- Exploration of America: In 1492, Christopher Columbus explored the islands of present-day Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Columbus’s voyage inspired others to venture west to the Americas in search of wealth and exploration. Other expeditions, undertaken by such explorers as Amerigo Vespucci, Hernando de Soto, and Henry Hudson, changed life in both hemispheres.
- Colonial Settlements: Colonial America was a vast land settled by Spanish, Dutch, and English immigrants who established settlements such as St. Augustine, Florida; Jamestown, Virginia; Santa Fe, New Mexico; New Amsterdam, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Plymouth in present-day Massachusetts.
- Thirteen Colonies: Since the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788, the government, courts, and people of the United States have been shaped by the words in that document. To understand how the United States came together as a nation, students must first acquaint themselves with the original 13 colonies and how each followed its own path to the ratification of the Constitution.
- Salem Witch Trials: In one of the most infamous episodes in the history of the American justice system, officials in the colonial Massachusetts village of Salem accused women of being witches possessed by the devil. Many women were wrongly tried and convicted of witchcraft to satisfy the mass hysteria of the townspeople.
Topic Centers are editorially curated modules of specially selected content on different eras, themes, and milestone events of American history—including articles, primary sources, slideshows, timelines, maps, videos, and more—and provide valuable study guides and entry points into the content. These new additions bring the total number of Topic Centers in American History up to 41.
American History’s Topic Centers can be accessed via the right rail of the home page or via the “Browse” drop-down menu. Users can also find them on a new Topic Centers landing page under “Browse Resources.”
Click on the links below for more information about American History:
