Early settlers risked everything to set up new homes in the unfamiliar territory of North America. Every day, they struggled to survive.
Just a generation later, their work paid off as 13 English colonies began to grow and flourish on North American soil. Roads began to connect one village to the next, trade between the colonies began, and a reliable economy developed. People learned how to make it through the winter. However, life was still hard for colonists. As in earlier days, illness and hostile Native Americans claimed their lives, and winters were long and harsh in the northern colonies. Survival, however, was no longer a surprise. Families planted their roots, and a new nation began to sprout.