# data[].attributes.body
The Colonial Era begins with the establishment of Jamestown, Virginia - the first permanent English settlement in North America. This marked the beginning of British colonization and the foundation of what would become the United States. The settlers faced numerous challenges including the 'Starving Time' but eventually established successful tobacco cultivation and early forms of self-government.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
When is Thanksgiving? Colonizing America: Crash Course US History #2

# data[].attributes.body
The Revolutionary Era begins as the French and Indian War concludes, dramatically changing British-Colonial relations. Britain's victory led to increased taxation of the colonies to pay for war debts, sparking colonial resistance and setting the stage for the American Revolution.

# data[].attributes.body
The Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence, formally announcing the colonies' separation from Great Britain. This revolutionary document, primarily written by Thomas Jefferson, established the fundamental principles of American democracy and human rights that continue to inspire people worldwide.

# data[].attributes.body
President Thomas Jefferson completes the Louisiana Purchase from France, doubling the size of the United States. This massive land acquisition marked the beginning of significant westward expansion and fulfilled Jefferson's vision of an 'Empire of Liberty.'

# data[].attributes.body
The Mexican-American War starts, representing the peak of Manifest Destiny - the belief that American expansion across the continent was inevitable and justified. The war's conclusion in 1848 resulted in the acquisition of vast southwestern territories.

# data[].attributes.body
The Age of Jackson begins with Andrew Jackson's election as president, marking a shift toward greater democracy for common white men. His presidency saw the expansion of voting rights for white males, but also the tragic implementation of the Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears.

# data[].attributes.body
The year is 1866. You are Little Fox, a Northern Cheyenne boy. Can you help your tribe survive life on the Plains?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Cheyenne Odyssey
ESTIMATED TIME: 1.5-2 HOURS

The year is 1866. You are Little Fox, a Northern Cheyenne boy. Can you help your tribe survive life on the Plains?

Meet the Characters

Meet the Characters

Roll over a character to learn more.

Big Eared White Man

Big Eared White Man is a trader who supplies metal goods, woven cloth, guns, and ammunition to Plains Indians in exchange for buffalo hides. He has worked for the American Fur Company since the 1840s and has always had good relations with the Plains Indians. He is worried about the declining number of buffalo his business relies on.

Chief Dull Knife

Also called Morning Star, Dull Knife (c. 1810-1883) was a prominent Northern Cheyenne chief and Dog Soldier. Dull Knife fought in the Battle of a Hundred Slain (Fetterman's Massacre) and signed the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868. In 1878, he and Little Wolf led nearly 300 Cheyenne on an exodus from Oklahoma, where they had been forced to relocate. During the journey north to their homeland, Dull Knife and his band split from Little Wolf to seek refuge at Red Cloud Agency in Nebraska but were imprisoned by white soldiers in Fort Robinson. Rather than face removal back south, they broke out of prison. Many were killed, but Dull Knife survived and lived until 1883. He is buried in Montana on land he helped secure for his people.

Crooked Rabit

Crooked Rabbit is Little Fox's friend, who also helps watch after the band's horses. His father and Little Fox's father were close friends who both belonged to the Elk warrior society. When the game begins, he is 16 years old.

Yellow Fox

Yellow Fox is Little Fox's mother. She is responsible for butchering and preparing all the meat for the family, gathering wild turnips and berries, cooking all meals, maintaining their lodge, and packing up the family belongings and tipi as they move from place to place.

Porcupine

Porcupine (c. 1847-1929?) was a Southern Cheyenne healer and warrior. He was a member of the Dog Soldiers, a Cheyenne warrior society known for bravery. Porcupine actively opposed the construction of the transcontinental railroad. He gained fame as a leader of the northern ghost dance movement in the late 1880s.

Little Fox

Little Fox is a member of the Northern Cheyenne, one of several Indian tribes who lived in the northern Great Plains. He was born in the Powder River Valley (present-day Montana) and lives with his mother, sister, and uncle as part of a band with about 100 fellow Cheyenne. When the game begins, Little Fox is 12 years old. Along with other young boys, he is responsible for tending and training horses. As he gets older, he will join a warrior society and participate in the buffalo hunts his tribe depends on to survive. Little Fox is based on a real person - Wooden Leg (c. 1858-1940), a Northern Cheyenne warrior who wrote a memoir about growing up on the Great Plains and events leading up to the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Fire Wolf

Little's Fox's uncle, Fire Wolf, is a member of the Elk warrior society. Like many Northern Cheyenne, he opposes the building of US army forts along the Bozeman Trail, a wagon road for miners going to western Montana. He will fight with Lakota allies against US soldiers in the Battle of a Hundred Slain (also known as Fetterman's Massacre).

Calling Bird

Calling Bird, Little Fox's older sister, is 17 years old at the start of the game. She is very skillful at making and decorating clothes, and beading moccasins. She is being courted by two suitors, Black Moon and Many Horses.

Many Horses

Many Horses is a Lakota warrior who is noted for his trading skills. He has made many trips to the white man's trading post. He wants to marry Calling Bird in part to strengthen the alliance between his Lakota band and the Northern Cheyenne.

Black Moon

Black Moon is a Southern Cheyenne warrior whose family travelled with Chief Black Kettle's band. Even though Black Kettle had pledged peace with the whites, US soldiers attacked his settlement at Sand Creek in 1864 and killed over 100 Cheyenne. Black Moon escaped, but his entire family was killed. He has travelled north to start a new life and hopes to marry Calling Bird.

Blue Feather

Blue Feather is a young Northern Cheyenne woman who likes to ride horses and help in hunting. She knows the creeks and hills of the Powder River Valley as well as any warrior. Her family often travels with Chief Dull Knife's band.

Chief Little Wolf

Little Wolf (c. 1820-1904) was a Northern Cheyenne chief and leader of the Elk Warriors. A skilled military strategist, he led soldiers in the Battle of a Hundred Slain (Fetterman's Massacre) and signed the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. After the Battle of the Little Bighorn, his band was forced to relocate to Oklahoma, where Little Wolf spoke out against the terrible conditions they faced. With Dull Knife, he led an exodus of nearly 300 Cheyenne from Oklahoma back north to their homeland. His band separated from Dull Knife's band and hid in the Black Hills for one winter before surrendering at Fort Keogh, only after receiving assurances they could remain in Montana. Little Wolf later worked as an army scout for General Nelson Miles.

Agent Saville

Dr. John J. Saville, a physician from Sioux City, Iowa, was the US government's Indian Agent at Red Cloud Agency from fall 1873 to late 1875. He arrived after the agency moved to Nebraska amid growing tensions between the army and the Lakota and Cheyenne. He requested greater military protection after the murder of an agency clerk, and facilitated construction of Fort Robinson near Red Cloud Agency. He also played a role in the first treaty negotiations for the Black Hills between the US government and the Lakota.

//= (12 / $character_counter) + ($character_counter / 100) ?>

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's 1866. You are Little Fox, a Northern Cheyenne boy. Can you help your tribe survive on the Plains?

# data[].attributes.body
The Civil War erupts with the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter. This devastating conflict arose from deep divisions over slavery, states' rights, and economic differences between North and South. The war would become the deadliest in American history.

# data[].attributes.body
President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring slaves in rebel states to be free. This crucial document transformed the character of the Civil War, making the abolition of slavery an explicit Union goal.

# data[].attributes.body
Following the Civil War, the Reconstruction Era begins with efforts to reintegrate the South and establish rights for formerly enslaved people. This period saw the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, but also faced significant resistance and ultimately fell short of its democratic promises.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Try to reach $1,000,000! Answer a range of easy to difficult questions and test your knowledge of early US history!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
American Revolutionary War - Timelines and Maps - Animated US History

# data[].attributes.body
It’s 1770. You’re Nat Wheeler, a 14-year-old apprentice in Boston. When fighting starts, what will you do?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
For Crown or Colony?
ESTIMATED TIME: 1-1.5 HOURS

It's 1770. You are Nat Wheeler, a 14-year-old apprentice in Boston. As tensions rise among Patriots, Loyalists, and others, can you decide where your loyalties lie? Play online or download the iPad app.

Please note: On March 27, 2023, For Crown or Colony? was updated to improve the underlying technology, fix a few bugs and add some new content, including Nathaniel's voiceover for all the Epilogue screens. If you encounter any issues while playing this version or want to share any feedback, please email us at missionus@thirteen.org.

Meet the Characters

Meet the Characters

Roll over a character to learn more.

Paul Revere

Revere runs a successful silversmith business in Boston, and counts many of the city's wealthy merchants as customers. He is a member of the Sons of Liberty who uses his skills as a master craftsman to create engravings in support of the Patriot cause.

Solomon Fortune

Solomon is a fictional free black man who works on the Boston waterfront. Born into slavery, he gained his freedom after years of working as a sailor, which has made him very knowledgeable about Atlantic commerce.

Royce Dillingham

A fictional ropemaker's apprentice, the mischievous Royce is drawn to the Patriot movement by its talk of equality and protest. Street smart and tough, he views Nat as a provincial country bumpkin, but it also somewhat jealous of Nat's more privileged apprenticeship with Benjamin Edes.

Martha Edes

The wife of Benjamin Edes, Martha is interested in matters beyond her small household. As a member of the Daughters of Liberty, she take a leadership role in organized consumer boycotts. She expects Nat to support the patriot cause, and be an eager contributor to the Edes household and printing business.

Benjamin Edes

The master printer of the Boston Gazette and a member of the Sons of Liberty. Edes is a fervent Patriot, and unhappy with the military occupation of Boston and new taxes imposed by England. He is committed to using his printing press to oppose the Crown. A strict master who expects obedience and performance from his apprentices, he also serves as a possible mentor and role model for Nat.

Nathaniel "Nat" Wheeler

The fictional son of a middling farmer, fourteen year-old Nat is forced to leave the farm because there is not enough land to share with his older brother, Samuel. He has been given the opportunity to serve as an apprentice in the print shop of Benjamin Edes in Boston. Nat has spent his entire life near his family's farm in Uxbridge, MA, and is unaware of the ways of the world.

Constance Lillie

The fictional niece of a Loyalist shopkeeper, Constance is content with the status quo, and enjoys the "finer things" (British clothes, fabrics, and books). She agrees with her uncle that the Sons of Liberty should not interfere with the livelihoods of merchants who import goods from England. Sophisticated and kind, she has been accompanied to Boston by her terrier, Thimble, who has recently gone missing.

Phillis Wheatley

Born in West Africa, Wheatley was kidnapped and enslaved at the age of seven. John Wheatley purchased Phillis at a slave auction in Boston as a personal servant for his wife. Now age 16, Phillis is poised, well-spoken, and pious. She learned to read and write, and writes poems that support the ideals of virtue and liberty also espoused by the Patriot cause. However, she is having a hard time finding local patrons who would support their publication.

Hugh White

A private in His Majesty's army, Hugh arrived in Boston eighteen months ago along with the rest of the Twenty-Ninth regiment. At first, Hugh was looking forward to the change of scenery, but it's clear that most Bostonians do not want the troops here. The city's inhabitants offer him nothing in the way of hospitality, and it seems like he spends most of his time dodging snowballs from apprentices and looking for extra work to supplement his meager salary.

Grace Wheeler

The fictional Grace Wheeler is Nat's mother and Daniel's wife. Heartbroken by the disappearance of her eldest son, Christopher, during the French and Indian War, Mrs. Wheeler is extremely anxious about sending off her youngest son Nat to his Boston apprenticeship.

Daniel Wheeler

The fictional Daniel Wheeler is a farmer from Uxbridge, MA, determined to secure a happy and prosperous life for his three sons. His oldest son, Christopher, ran off to fight in the French and Indian War, and has not been seen or heard from for eight years. With his second oldest son, Samuel, set to inherit the farm, Mr. Wheeler has worked hard to secure his youngest son Nat an apprenticeship in a Boston print shop.

//= (12 / $character_counter) + ($character_counter / 100) ?>

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's 1770. You're Nat Wheeler, a 14-year-old apprentice in Boston. When fighting starts, what will you do?

# data[].attributes.body
It’s 1848. You are Lucy King, a 14-year-old girl enslaved in Kentucky. Will you find a path to freedom?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It’s 1848. You are Lucy King, a 14-year-old girl enslaved in Kentucky. Will you find a path to freedom?

# data[].attributes.body
You are 15-year-old archaeology intern Nicki Seward. Can you use artifacts to understand the lives of your Apalachee ancestors?

# data[].attributes.body
Practice your Colonial Era vocabulary

# data[].attributes.body
Practice your knowledge of the Revolutionary War

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Join a game of kahoot here. Kahoot! is a free game-based learning platform that makes it fun to learn – any subject, in any language, on any device, for all ages!

# data[].attributes.body
Practice your vocabulary here

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Birth of America - The Story of a New Nation - 1789-1815

# data[].attributes.body
Practice your knowledge of the Early Republic Era here

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Join a game of kahoot here. Kahoot! is a free game-based learning platform that makes it fun to learn – any subject, in any language, on any device, for all ages!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Contributors: Ashley DavisInstructorADInstructor: Ashley Davis Show more

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Life in the North & South in Pre-Civil War America: Lesson for Kids - Video | Study.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The North and South prior to the American Civil War had many differences. Compare and contrast how the North and South were different in how they…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Antebellum Period: Slavery and Politics - American History Lesson For Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Civil War | American History for Kids (14-Minute Documentary for Children!)

# data[].attributes.body
Quizlet: civil war vocabulary

# data[].attributes.body
Quizlet: Reconstruction vocabulary practice

# data[].attributes.body
Test your knowledge of the Reconstruction Era by playing this Blooket

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Andrew Johnson's "Under Pressure" (Queen Parody) - @MrBettsClass

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Reconstruction (Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" Parody)