Skip to main content

James Cook

The Hawaii of centuries long past emerges from the landscapes crossed by its ancient trails

The past presses close to the surface on the island of Hawaii, the southernmost in the archipelago, the one they call the Big Island.
Driving around the island of Hawaii, I got a strange feeling that I was driving through all of time.

Connecticut-born John Ledyard became the first American to see Alaska and Hawaii. Years before Lewis and Clark, he planned to cross the North American continent—from west to east

So the Bible said, but American missionaries found Hawaii a paradise where pleasure reigned, and the sense of sin was difficult to teach

We hope you enjoy our work.

Please support this 72-year tradition of trusted historical writing and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to American Heritage.

Donate