Traces the history and people of the colonial period in North Carolina.

Fourteen-year-old Rachel Marsh, an indentured servant in the Boston household of John and Abigail Adams, is caught up in the colonists' unrest that eventually escalates into the massacre of March 5, 1770.

Relates the history of the Colony of Pennsylvania from its founding by William Penn in 1681 to statehood in 1787.

Describes a day in the life of a colonial printer, the workings of a printing press, and how it was used to spread news.

Describes a day in the life of a colonial silversmith, what he made and how he made it, and his dealings with his apprentices and customers.

Describes the two attempts by English colonists to establish a settlement on Roanoke Island at the end of the sixteenth century.

Introduces the tools, activities, and importance of the blacksmith in colonial communities.

Discusses the importance of wood in colonial times, describing how trees were cut down and made into lumber and the training of apprentice carpenters, cabinetmakers, coopers, and wheelwrights.