American History - Introduction

The United States is a country occupying part of the North American continent ranging from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean and including outlying areas as well. The first inhabitants of the area now claimed by the United States arrived at least 12,000 years ago, probably by crossing the Bering land bridge into Alaska. Relatively little is known of these early settlers compared to the Europeans who colonized the area after the first voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492. Columbus' men were also the first Old Worlders to land in the territory of the United States when they arrived in Puerto Rico the next year on their second voyage; the first to set foot in the continental U.S. was Juan Ponce de Leon, who arrived in Florida in 1513, though he may have been preceded by John Cabot in 1497.

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