Discover America USA Travel Guide -

Independence

When the colonists had enough of British King George III’s “taxation without representation,” a revolutionary fever began to boil. Boston, hotbed of the revolution with its infamous Tea Party and massacre, allows you to experience history by taking to the Freedom Trail. This two-mile walking tour connects sixteen historic sites including the Old North Church, where two lanterns in the steeple signaled Paul Revere to begin the historic ride that launched the American Revolution; Bunker Hill, site of the first major battle of the Revolutionary War; and the U.S.S. Constitution, the world’s oldest commissioned warship.

The city of Philadelphia played a major role in the American Revolution, too. This is where the first Continental Congress met, the Declaration of Independence was signed and the Liberty Bell tolled. Today, Independence Hall is located in the middle of 45-acre Independence National Historical Park. The building can be visited free of charge, but only by guided tour.

Expansion

The United States quickly grew beyond the borders of the original 13 colonies. Former wilderness opened to settlers across the Ohio River and Appalachian Mountains. France sold the United States nearly a million square miles of land and the country almost doubled in size again. William Clark and Meriwether Lewis explored the new land and more than 4,000 miles of the U.S. wilderness in the early 1800s, eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean. You can trace their journey from its origins in Missouri, on through the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho and finally to twelve sites that comprise the Lewis & Clark National Historical Park in Washington and Oregon.

Native Americans Then and Now

To citizens of the new United States, expansion meant moving onto lands that had been settled for thousands of years by Native Americans. Tensions arose and battles ensued. Many tribes were defeated, uprooted and relocated to new land far from their homes. Today some Native Americans live in cities and towns with Americans of all races, while others live on reservations – lands which are under Indian jurisdiction and may have laws that are different than the rest of the state in which the reservation is located. On many Indian reservations, alcohol is illegal. On many others, gambling is legal. Native Americans who live on reservations are citizens of the United States: they are subject to federal laws, have the right to vote in local, state and national elections and may serve in the armed forces. They are also subject to tribal laws and elect tribal leadership.

Most reservations welcome visitors and offer enlightening experiences, but remember – you’re a guest. At public ceremonies, check in advance to determine whether the tribe allows visitors to take photographs or record video or audio tapes. If you want to photograph an individual, politely ask his or her permission. Dress modestly. Leave artifacts and ruins as you find them. Respect for the elders in every tribe is a very important value in native culture; listen carefully and attentively when an elder speaks. Enjoy.

Tracing America’s Heritage

Many scenic roads in the United States tell stories of the country’s history. The Connecticut River Scenic Byway connects dozens of towns and villages from northern New Hampshire to southern Vermont, following America’s colonial history along the way. You will find Revolutionary War reminders around every curve in this road.

After America declared its independence in 1776, missionaries and trappers followed buffalo and other wildlife along what is now the Natchez Trace Parkway to open new lands west and south of the original British colonies. Nicknamed “The Devil’s Backbone” for the hazards endured by those frontiersmen, this road, winding through Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi, now offers hiking and driving adventures for today’s explorers.

Once America’s first natural boundary to the west, the mighty Mississippi River soon became the starting point for pioneers claiming new territory for the young nation. You can judge their progress with a drive along the Great River Road that links six of the ten states bordering this, the longest river in the United States.

On the Texas Camino Real (“King’s Highway”), you will see everything from church missions and Indian mounds to the same rivers and pine forests passed by Spanish missionaries, Mexican soldiers and American originals like Kit Carson and Davy Crockett when they passed this way in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

While the original settlers relied upon Conestoga wagons to cross America’s vast prairies, you can retrace their routes along 188 miles of the Santa Fe Trail through Colorado and New Mexico, complete with river crossings, stage coach stops and towns like Raton Pass and Cimarron along the way. Further north, not far from Wyoming’s Snowy Range Scenic Byway, Laramie’s renovated Territorial Prison lays historic claim to being the only jail to ever hold Butch Cassidy.

The Native American Scenic Byway in North and South Dakota offers echoes of a different American heritage: four Lakota Sioux tribes whose ancestors were the region’s first true settlers. Your drive will take you past famed sites in Native American history such as Wounded Knee, the site of a massacre of Indians by the U.S. Cavalry, and Fort Yates, the final resting place of the great Sioux chief Sitting Bull. Another drive into prominent Native American lands is the 58-mile route beginning at Sallislaw, heading into the Ozark Mountains and reaching the heart of the Cherokee Nation at Tahlequah.

» Back to Top