Social Studies

Writer, Inventor, and Diplomat
As an inventor, statesman, philosopher, and writer, Benjamin Franklin left his mark on American life in innumerable ways. Interactive features including timelines, video, biographies, and primary source documents paint a portrait of Franklin's life from his early days as a printer's apprentice to his final days as a diplomat in France during the Revolutionary War. Franklin was also one of the framers of the Declaration of Independence, and this eBook will help students understand what the document has meant to our country's history.

What is the Declaration of Independence and why is it so important to the United States? Readers will learn about the events that led to the writing of the Declaration of Independence, the effect it had on life at the time, and why it is one of our country's most cherished symbols of liberty. Primary source images provide a close look at this key document and its influence upon our nation. Interactive features including timelines, maps, biographies, and video enrich the learning experience.

America's History Maker. How did George Washington become our first president? This engrossing interactive eBook takes readers through the historical narrative of this amazing man's election. Students will learn about Washington's life from his childhood on a Virginia farm to being chosen as a representative at the First Continental Congress. Details of Washington's heroics in the Revolutionary War and his position as the country's first president, as well as illustrations and historical images, bring this portrait of a Founding Father to life.

John Paul Jones is remembered as the first hero of the young American Navy. He raided the British coast during the American Revolution, capturing or sinking more than forty enemy ships in one of the greatest naval battles in our nation's military history. Readers of this interactive eBook will enjoy this thrilling account of the birth and growth of the American Navy, brought to life through engaging features such as maps, interactive timelines, video, quizzes, and primary source documents with analysis.

This volume invites readers to explore the colonial history of Delaware, the first state to join the United States. Readers will learn how Delaware switched hands between the Swedish and Dutch before falling under British rule. The text explores Delaware's rise to success as a coastal trading and manufacturing center, as well as the early rumblings of dissent with English Parliament. Students will gain an understanding of Delaware's role in the American Revolution and its long-awaited break from Pennsylvania to become its own colony-state, and eventually, its own state.

Georgia, Britain's thirteenth and last American colony, played an important part in America's early history. Founded as a debtors' colony and later staunchly loyal to the King, much of Georgia colony's efforts were spent protecting Britain's economic and political interests. This text, which supports national and state social studies curricula, covers the key historical figures and events in Georgia's colonial history.

This volume introduces readers to Maryland, the colony that promised Catholics religious freedom and success. This engaging text takes readers back in time, as they learn about early life in the colony, the rise of industries, and the inevitable tension with the British. National and state social studies curricula are addressed in this well-researched and information-rich text. Primary sources, biographies, and vivid photographs bring to life famous figures and historical events, such as the burning of the Peggy Stewart and the Annapolis Convention.

New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify the U.S. constitution--the deciding vote in accepting the laws our country still uses today. Though important, it's just one small part of this tiny state's colonial history. Readers will travel back in time through New Hampshire's early industry, its urban growth and development, and the key role it played in the American Revolutionary War. This text examines the French and Indian War, taxation dissent, and fight for independence as New Hampshire colonists may have experienced it.

Before New Jersey became the garden state, it was a tiny colony on the Atlantic Coast where the revolutionary spirit appeared long before America's fight for independence. This information-rich text invites readers on a journey through New Jersey's colonial past, covering its time spent as a Dutch claim, its role as British colony, and its contributions to forming the United States.

The colonial period in North Carolina was a period of unrest, as borders changed, rebellions occurred, and uprisings happened years before the American Revolution began. Readers discover every twist and turn in North Carolina's colonial history as they learn about its first settlers, early conflicts, and role in America's journey to independence from Britain. Social studies curriculum topics, such as the First Continental Congress and American Revolution, are shown through the eyes of the people of North Carolina.

This volume invites readers to step back in time to colonial Pennsylvania, in whose storied history we can find the origins of the United States. This comprehensive look at Pennsylvania's colonial era covers its Quaker origins, early industry, its unique social and religious climate, and the role it played in America's most important revolutionary events.

Life in colonial South Carolina wasn't easy for many settlers. They faced diseases and pirate attacks. Others faced even harder times as they arrived in the colony as slaves. Readers get a detailed look at the early history of South Carolina through accessible text, presented alongside historical primary sources and colorful photographs. From the area's first Native American inhabitants to its role in some of the most important battles of the American Revolution, readers explore the fascinating history of South Carolina.

This volume introduces readers to the beginnings of colonial Virginia, which was home to the first successful British settlement in North America. The narrative begins with the hardships and eventual success of the Jamestown settlement. Readers will learn about the crop that saved the colony, the rise of plantations, and early democracy in the Virginia House of Burgesses. Information-rich text paired with corresponding images highlight Virginia's role in the American Revolution, and draw attention to important Virginians such as Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry.