Audio

The story of the United States… can be told through a map. In the 1700s… this map looked very different. A narrow strip of land… along the east coast of North America. Thirteen British colonies… small, divided… and limited. But beyond them… the map was wide open. Unknown lands… stretching endlessly…

The story of the United States… can be told through a map. In the 1700s… this map looked very different. A narrow strip of land… along the east coast of North America. Thirteen British colonies… small, divided… and limited. But beyond them… the map was wide open. Unknown lands… stretching endlessly west. After independence in 1776… the map began to change. In 1803… everything shifted. With the Louisiana Purchase… the United States didn’t just grow… The map nearly doubled in size. Suddenly… new