Getting There... Aboard the Mayflower, 1622 "...the ship was thoroughly shaken, and her upper works made very leaky." The Pilgrims brave the dangers of the sea to make a new home. Passage to America, 1750 A German immigrant describes the arduous journey to colonial America. Traveling the Erie Canal, 1836 It was the engineering marvel of its day. It made New York City America's premier port and opened up the West to the first wave of settlement. Ride along on a canal boat - but watch out for those low bridges! Riding the Stage, 1861 "Our coach was a swinging and swaying cage of the most sumptuous description." Mark Twain describes riding the overland stage. Early Adventures with the Automobile Racing, driving and crossing the continent - before our infatuation with the car turned to love.     The First Day of World War II - September 3, 1939... 9:00 AM Hitler Receives an Ultimatum "What do we do now?" Hitler declared in response to Prime Minister Chamberlain's demand that Germany stop its invasion of Poland or face war with Britain. 11:15 AM Britain Declares War Prime Minister Chamberlain goes on the air to announce war with Germany - hear his broadcast. 11:27 AM London Goes to War "Gas masks have suddenly become part of everyday civilian equipment..." A Londoner describes the scene as air raid sirens wail and the city prepares for war.     The Puritan Experience in America... Aboard the Mayflower, 1620 "...the ship was thoroughly shaken, and her upper works made very leaky." The Pilgrims brave the dangers of the sea to make a new home. The Price of Adultery in Puritan Massachusetts, 1641 Eighteen-year-old Mary Latham pays the ultimate penalty for violating the moral laws of her Puritan community. The Salem Witch Trials, 1692 The Puritans of Salem Village hunt for witches within their midst.     Slavery in America... Aboard a Slave Ship, 1829 "The slaves were all inclosed under grated hatchways between decks." A minister recounts his experience of boarding a slave ship stopped off the coast of Africa. Escape From Slavery, 1838 "My hands were my own." Frederick Douglass describes his dash to freedom. Life on a Southern Plantation, 1854 "The plows at work, both with single and double mule teams, were generally held by women, and very well held, too." Life on a Mississippi plantation before the Civil War. Return of a Fugitive Slave, 1854 "...a detachment of infantry charged upon the dense mass, at a run, with fixed bayonets." On the eve of the Civil War, the return of a fugitive slave ignites a near-riot in Boston. Slave Auction, 1859 "...The expression on the faces of all who stepped on the block was always the same, and told of more anguish than it is in the power of words to express."    Bad Guys... Dining with Attila the Hun, 448 AD "The Scourge of God" entertains his dinner guests. The Death of Billy the Kid, 1881 A legend of the West meets his end. The Dalton Gang's Last Raid, 1892 Townspeople and bank robbers shoot it out. The Sentencing and Execution of Nazi War Criminals, 1946 "Goering came down first and strode into his cell, his face pale and frozen, his eyes popping..." The reaction of the defendants at the Nuremberg Trials gives insight into the mindset of the Nazi hierarchy.     Technological Innovation... Fulton's First Steamboat Voyage, 1807 "I could hear distinctly repeated - 'I told you it was so; it is a foolish scheme: I wish we were well out of it.' America's First Steam Locomotive, 1830 It was not a spectacular beginning: in its first outing, the locomotive Tom Thumb was beaten by a horse. Traveling the Erie Canal, 1836 It was the engineering marvel of its day. It made New York City America's premier port and opened up the West to the first wave of settlement. Ride along on a canal boat - but watch out for those low bridges! Building the Brooklyn Bridge, 1871 "...a dreadful pain shot through both my ears." Nothing like it had ever been attempted before: join a "sandhog" working below the East River The Baseball Glove Comes to Baseball, 1875 "He confessed that he was a bit ashamed to wear it..." Wright Brothers' First Flight, 1903 A journey over a wind-swept North Carolina beach that lasts less than a minute ushers in the age of powered flight. Henry Ford Changes the World, 1908 An eyewitness describes the birth of the Model T and the Assembly Line – two innovations that molded the world we live in today.    Young Eyewitnesses... Victoria Becomes Queen, 1837 "At 9 came Lord Melbourne, whom I saw in my room, and of course quite alone..." Eighteen-year-old Victoria describes her first day on the job as ruler of the world's largest empire. The Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 "Shouting, yelling most unearthly, cursing, brandishing their revolvers, and firing right and left:" fifteen-year-old Tillie Pierce witnesses the horrors of combat and one of the Civil War's decisive battles. The End of America's Civil War, 1865 "The bells are ringing...:" Thirteen-year-old Caroline Richards describes the reaction of a small town to the end of the war and Lincoln's assassination. Crossing the Plains, 1865 Accidents, sickness, river crossings, Indian encounters, mud, dust, monotony, and terror: young Sarah Raymond describes making the trek to a new life in the West aboard a wagon train. Immigrating to America, 1905 "... we came up and saw the beautiful bay and the big woman with the spikes on her head and the lamp that is lighted at night in her hand:" Sixteen-year-old Sadie Frowne describes her journey to America and the sweatshops of Manhattan.

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