Below is part of Chapter 6 - the whole chapter is on the Iowa History site. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ STORIES OF IOWA FOR BOYS AND GIRLS CHAPTER VI IOWA BECOMES A PART OF THE UNITED STATES During the two centuries following the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, three European nations - Spain, France, and England - tried to get possession of North America. Spain had colonies in the south. France took possession of the St. Lawrence Valley and the Great Lakes. The English settled along the Atlantic coast in what we call the Thirteen Colonies. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Debbie Clough Gerischer Iowa Gen Web, Assistant CC, Scott County http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/ IAGENWEB: Special History Project: http://iagenweb.org/history/index.htm Gerischer Family Web Site: http://gerischer.rootsweb.com/