Little Legends

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Travel Through Time

Drag the big year slider, tap a year chip, or swipe the cards — every stop is a bedtime-sized story.

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The First Thanksgiving

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Pilgrims and Wampanoag friends sharing a big outdoor harvest meal at a long wooden table.1621

The First Thanksgiving

Autumn 1621

A warm harvest meal shared between new neighbors and new friends.

Two officers, one British and one French, shaking hands over a peace treaty in a fancy Paris room.1763

The War That Started It All

February 10, 1763

The big war that ended in 1763 and left Britain looking for money.

A colonial shopkeeper looking upset at a newspaper marked with a big red British tax stamp.1765

The Stamp Act

March 22, 1765

The first big tax that made the colonies say 'that isn't fair.'

A tense snowy street in Boston with a crowd of townspeople facing a line of British soldiers.1770

The Night on King Street

March 5, 1770

A tense, snowy standoff in Boston that shook the colonies.

Colonists in coats and hats tipping wooden crates of tea off a ship into Boston Harbor at night.1773

The Tea in the Harbor

December 16, 1773

The night a group of colonists tipped a shipload of tea into the sea.

Boston Harbor sitting empty and quiet, with ships stuck outside and a chain across the water.1774

The Harbor Closes

June 1, 1774

Britain's big punishment after the tea landed in the sea.

Colonial delegates from twelve colonies gathered around a big table inside Carpenters' Hall.1774

The First Big Meeting

September 5, 1774

The first time all the colonies sat down at one table and spoke as one.

Paul Revere galloping on a brown horse down a moonlit country road past a tall church tower.1775

The Midnight Ride

April 18, 1775

One brave rider, one fast horse, and a warning that woke up a country.

Minutemen in farm clothes standing on a misty village green facing rows of red-coated soldiers.1775

The Shot Heard 'Round the World

April 19, 1775

The little morning skirmish that started a great big revolution.

Green Mountain Boys in fringed jackets sneaking through the gate of a stone fort at sunrise.1775

The Dawn at Fort Ticonderoga

May 10, 1775

A sunrise surprise that grabbed a fort full of cannons.

A small printed pamphlet titled 'Common Sense' sitting on a wooden table beside a quill pen.1776

A Little Book Called 'Common Sense'

January 10, 1776

The tiny pamphlet that convinced everyday people it was time to be free.

Young Thomas Jefferson at a small wooden desk, dipping a quill pen to write by candlelight.1776

Writing the Big Letter

June – July 1776

How a young man with a quill pen wrote the words that started a country.

Colonial leaders in wigs and coats gathered around a table signing the Declaration of Independence.1776

Independence Day

July 4, 1776

The day America decided to be its very own country.

General Washington standing in a rowboat full of soldiers, pushing past chunks of ice on a snowy river.1776

Washington Crosses the Delaware

Christmas Night, 1776

A freezing river, a bold general, and a surprise that saved the young army.

Betsy Ross in a long dress stitching a red, white, and blue flag with thirteen stars in a circle.1777

The Flag with Thirteen Stars

June 14, 1777

One star for each brand-new state, all stitched together in a circle.

Ragged Continental soldiers huddled around a small fire outside a log hut in the snow.1777

The Winter at Valley Forge

December 1777 – June 1778

A freezing camp in Pennsylvania where a ragged army learned to be a real one.

British general Cornwallis's soldiers marching out of Yorktown to lay down their muskets in a pile.1781

The Last Big Battle

October 19, 1781

The day the British general laid down his sword in a little Virginia town.

Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay signing the Treaty of Paris at a fancy French desk.1783

The Treaty of Paris

September 3, 1783

The day Britain finally said, 'Okay — you're your own country.'

Delegates in wigs and coats gathered around a table in Independence Hall signing a big scroll.1787

Signing the Constitution

September 17, 1787

Thirty-nine leaders wrote the rulebook that America still uses today.

A small group of travelers walking through a dark forest at night, guided by the North Star.1800s

The Underground Railroad

1800s

A secret path of kind helpers who guided people to freedom.

A rolled-up map of North America being signed, with a huge new region highlighted in the middle.1803

The Great Big Purchase

April 30, 1803

The day America doubled in size for about three cents an acre.

Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea with a baby paddling a canoe up a river toward snowy mountains.1804

The Lewis & Clark Journey

1804 – 1806

Two explorers, one guide, and a very big adventure across America.

American sailing ships with stars-and-stripes flags firing cannons across a peaceful bay at sunset.1812

The War of 1812

1812 – 1815

A short second war that helped the young United States stand on its own.

Francis Scott Key on a small boat at dawn watching a giant 15-star American flag flying over Fort McHenry.1814

The Star-Spangled Banner

September 14, 1814

The night a huge American flag inspired a poem that became our national anthem.

The small island fort of Fort Sumter in the middle of a harbor at sunrise with a wisp of smoke in the sky.1861

The Civil War Begins

April 12, 1861

The sad day when Americans started fighting Americans over slavery and freedom.

President Abraham Lincoln at a wooden desk signing a large paper with a quill pen in warm lamp light.1863

The Emancipation Proclamation

January 1, 1863

The day President Lincoln declared that enslaved people in the South were free.

President Lincoln in a tall black hat giving a short speech on a grassy field at Gettysburg in autumn light.1863

The Gettysburg Address

November 19, 1863

A tiny speech, only two minutes long, that people still remember today.

Two Civil War generals shaking hands respectfully in a small Virginia farmhouse parlor.1865

The Civil War Ends

April 9, 1865

The gentle handshake in a quiet farmhouse that finally stopped the fighting.

Two steam locomotives meeting nose to nose in the desert as workers cheer and tap a golden spike.1869

The Golden Spike

May 10, 1869

The day two railroads met in Utah and America was finally connected coast to coast.

An immigrant family with suitcases stepping off a ship in New York Harbor with the Statue of Liberty behind them.1892

Ellis Island Opens

January 1, 1892

A little island in New York Harbor where millions of new Americans said hello.

American navy ships sailing into a bright blue Caribbean bay near a tropical island with palm trees.1898

The Spanish–American War

April – August 1898

A short summer war that made America a country with friends all around the world.

Two musicians on a Mississippi Delta front porch at sunset, one strumming an acoustic guitar and one singing into a microphone, cotton fields behind them.1900

The Birth of the Blues

Around 1900, Mississippi Delta

The heartfelt music that started on southern porches and grew into a whole American sound.

Orville Wright lying on the wing of a wooden airplane lifting off a sandy beach at Kitty Hawk.1903

Twelve Seconds in the Air

December 17, 1903

Two brothers, a windy beach, and the very first airplane flight.

A joyful New Orleans brass band with trumpets, trombone, and tuba marching down a French Quarter street under strings of yellow lanterns while kids dance along.1910

Jazz is Born in New Orleans

Early 1900s, New Orleans

A brand-new kind of music, bubbling up in the streets of a city that loves a good parade.

World War 1 doughboy soldiers waving goodbye from the deck of a big steamship leaving New York harbor.1917

America Joins World War I

April 6, 1917

The day young Americans sailed 'over there' to help end the Great War in Europe.

Cheerful soldiers tossing their helmets into the air in a French village square on Armistice Day.1918

Armistice Day

November 11, 1918

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month — the day the guns went quiet.

A friendly 1920s street scene with big wooden barrels being tipped over and water pouring onto the sidewalk while townspeople in old-fashioned hats watch.1920

Prohibition Begins

January 17, 1920

The day America decided to stop making and selling alcohol.

Women in long dresses and yellow sashes marching together with 'Votes for Women' banners.1920

Votes for Women

August 18, 1920

The day American women finally won the right to vote — after 72 years of asking.

A cozy wooden barn stage in Nashville with a single microphone, a guitarist on a chair, and children listening beside an old-fashioned radio.1925

The Grand Ole Opry Begins

November 28, 1925

A cozy country music radio show that turned Nashville into Music City.

A hopeful 1930s community kitchen with neighbors sharing bread and soup at a long outdoor table in warm afternoon light.1929

The Great Depression Begins

October 29, 1929

A hard time when many families helped each other through tough years.

A quiet Hawaiian harbor at dawn with palm trees, ships, and an American flag on a hillside.1941

Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941

The surprise morning that brought America into World War II.

Landing boats moving toward a wide sandy beach in Normandy at dawn under a soft gray sky.1944

D-Day

June 6, 1944

The brave morning when Allied soldiers landed on the beaches of France to free Europe.

A joyful crowd celebrating in Times Square, waving American flags with confetti falling from the buildings.1945

World War II Ends

August – September 1945

The joyful summer when the biggest war in history finally came to an end.

An American soldier in a warm coat helping a Korean child carry a bundle along a snowy country road.1950

The Korean War

1950 – 1953

A three-year war that helped keep South Korea free.

A friendly little Detroit house with a big 'Motown' sign on the front, three singers harmonizing on the front steps, and a spinning vinyl record with musical notes floating in the sky.1959

Motown Records Opens

January 12, 1959

A little house in Detroit where some of the happiest songs ever were made.

A huge peaceful crowd gathered near the Lincoln Memorial, holding hopeful signs.1963

The March on Washington

August 28, 1963

A giant, peaceful crowd gathered to ask for fairness for everyone.

An astronaut in a white spacesuit standing beside the American flag on the gray Moon.1969

The Moon Landing

July 20, 1969

The very first time people walked on the Moon.

A friendly 1970s Bronx block party at sunset with a young DJ spinning two turntables, kids breakdancing on cardboard, and a colorful graffiti mural on the brick wall.1973

Hip-Hop Is Born in the Bronx

August 11, 1973

The block party in New York City that started a brand-new kind of music.

American soldiers being welcomed home by their families at an airport, with hugs and small American flags.1975

The Vietnam War Ends

April 30, 1975

The day the long, sad war in Vietnam finally came to an end.

New York City skyline at dusk with two soft blue beams of light rising into the sky and a firefighter standing quietly.2001

September 11

September 11, 2001

A very sad day when Americans came together to help each other.

Now showing: 1621 — The First Thanksgiving