History > U.S. History Videos

The United States of America has a very rich history, from the time it was discovered up until today. In fact, American civilization did not start after Christopher Columbus sailed to the land; there were already native settlers even before. These guys are the so-called “Indians”, or more appropriately, Native Americans.

Perhaps the two most commonly known facts about the history of the United States is that George Washington was the first President, and that the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. But aside from these, there are other wonderful tidbits.

Speaking of George Washington, he did not actually live in the White House. During his time as President, the White House was still being built and he was overseeing it. Construction started in 1872, and no one lived in it until 1800. It was John Quincy Adams, together with his wife Abigail, who first called the White House home.

Here’s an interesting fact about the Declaration of Independence. It was signed by 56 people, 8 of whom were British. No, not British and then resided in America; they were actually British-raised.

Another thing: the original Independence Day was not the 4th of July, but the 2nd of July. This date was when Congress first voted to declare independence from the British. However, July 4 was when the first signature was penned by John Hancock on the Declaration of Independence, starting off the campaign officially.

There’s more where that came from. Did you know that the capital of the United States was not originally Washington, D.C., but Philadelphia? Before D.C. was built, Philadelphia was declared as the temporary capital of the USA, which was still very new at that time. Philly served as the capital of the United States between 1790 and 1800; afterwards, it was transferred to Washington, D.C.