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It’s only natural for us to wonder where we came from. Whether we’re talking about
this… … or where we came from in a broader sense.
Somewhere in the middle, we have this… When discussing how human beings came to be,
things can sometimes get a bit… prickly… … but the subject of how we came to be Americans
is a tad less controversial.
There aren’t too many conspiracy theorists claiming Columbus never existed.
For a nation so rich in culture and diversity, it should come as no surprise that we had
a fascinating beginning. You may know that Columbus’ voyages were
the first to bring large numbers of Europeans to the New World…
…but did you know what he and his men brought with them? Something that would ultimately
wipe out the majority of the native population?
We’ll give you a hint – it wasn’t nuclear… You might be familiar with the story of Pocahontas
– the Disney’ed down version of it, anyway. But what about Powhatan? Just because he doesn’t
get as much ink – literally – does it mean he shouldn’t get as much of our attention?
Our national language in this country is English…
…but do you realize how close we all were to habla’ing espanol?
In this unit, we are going to send shivers up your spine with tales of a mysteriously
disappearing town… … let you in on how our struggles with slavery
got their start… … and tell you all about those other guys
with the funny hats. No, no – these guys.
So while our lawyers may forbid us from telling you exactly where you came from…
… we can at least give you the 411 about our country’s not-so-humble beginnings.