Before there was a United States, there were bold explorers, ambitious settlers, and thirteen colonies trying to find their place in a world dominated by powerful empires. Trade routes shifted, revolutions sparked, and people fought over who should rule, who should work, and who should decide the future. England’s decisions pushed its American colonies further toward independence—sometimes without even realizing it.

What made these colonists willing to stand up to the most powerful empire in the world? What ideas drove them to demand freedom? From the Age of Exploration to the battles that changed history, you’ll trace the journey of a group of colonies that transformed into a new kind of nation—one unlike anything the world had seen before.