D) the First Colonies

After Columbus there were many trips to explore the land by the Spanish, the Dutch, the French and the English.

1565 – the Spaniards founded the first permanent settlement at St. Augustine in Florida.

1607 – the English founded the first permanent settlement Jamestown, Virginia. It was named after King James I.

NB! Pocahontas and John Smith. The story well-known almost to everyone due to the Walt Disney’s cartoon Pocahontas. But unlike the cartoon it was far from being romantic. According to the legend Captain John Smith was one of the leaders of the expedition. Once he went to Indians to buy some food from them, but was taken prisoner. If not for the young princess Pocahontas, he would have died. After that it is said that she often visited the English colony and brought some gifts. At the age of 18 she married John Rolfe (a tobacco planter) and even visited England. Unfortunately she didn’t get back to America, because she died of smallpox. But her son did and today the citizens of Virginia claim to be the descendants of Pocahontas.

1620 - the Pilgrim Fathers sailed on ship Mayflower to North America. They landed in Provincetown Harbour at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In order to regulate their behavior they worked out and signed a document called Mayflower Compact. In a month they explored the land around Cape Cod Bay and founded a settlement at Plymouth Harbour. Later it became known as Plymouth (the 2^nd permanent settlement).

NB! The Pilgrim Fathers were the member of the Puritan movement, who were persecuted by the English authorities for their beliefs. They called themselves Pilgrims because they were sailing to the New World to find religious freedom.

Mayflower Compact is the first document for self-government in the USA. In the Compact the Plymouth settlers agreed to set up a government- a "civil body politic" to make "just and equal laws" for their new settlement. All of them, Pilgrims and Strangers alike, promised that they would obey these laws. In the difficult years which followed the Mayflower Compact served the colonists well. (Got interested? - see the text in “Hello, America!” Appendix1 p.205)

NB! Thanksgiving Day was first celebrated in November 1621. The first winter of the new colonists turned out to be a disaster, as they were not prepared with to cope with the life on the new continent. The severe climate, bad food and diseases took almost half of the settlers. The rescue came in spring with the chief Massasoit’s tribe, the people of which taught the whites to hunt, to grow crops and gave them food. In autumn that year they raised good crops and decided to have a celebration. The celebration was meant not only to thank God for good harvest, but also to strengthen their friendship with the Indians. So they invited Chief Massasoit and his tribe to share the feast. Since that time there is a tradition to celebrate Thanksgiving Day on the fourth day in November. The usual dishes for the day are turkey, squash, corn and pumpkin pie for dessert. (Got interested? – see unit15 in “Hello, America!” p.87)

1630 – 8 new towns (including Boston) were founded by John Winthorp.

1634 – a new settlement in Maryland was founded by Cecilius Calvert. Very soon it became the place of religious toleration, attracting people of different faiths.

1636 – the colony called Providence on Rhode Island was formed.

Besides English other countries also founded their colonies. They were Holland, France, Germany and Sweden.

1609 – Henry Hudson was sent by the Dutch to explore rivers, one of which has his name today. (the Hudson River)

1626 – the Dutch bought Manhattan Island from Indian chiefs. (The price of this purchase has become part of American Folklore). On the island the Dutch founded a settlement called New Amsterdam. The English thought differently on the point. That’s why in 1634 the Duke of York seized the colony and renamed it New York.

By 1680s – the British, the Dutch and the Swedes found their way to the new territories.

So, the Swedes founded Delaware.

1681 - William Penn, a Quaker from England, came into possession of a large territory, which later was named in his honour – Pennsylvania.

NB! “Quaker” comes from the word “to quake” – “to tremble” (“to tremble in the name of God”)

The Quakers were the members of a Christian religious group (sect) which opposed violence and spent most of its religious services in silence. They didn’t recognize the Church and were persecuted by it. Many of them immigrated to North America. They were known for their refusal to participate in war, plain dress, to swear oaths, opposition to slavery, and teetotalism – the opposition to alcohol. Some Quakers have founded banks and financial institutions including Barclays, Lloyds, etc. Nowadays they are known as Friends, members of "Society of Friends".

1732 – the last colony of the period, Georgia, was established. It was inhabited by the English, the Germans and the Scottish Highlanders.

By 1733 – the English occupied 13 colonies along the Atlantic coast.

The French controlled Canada, north and west and the central part of the continent known as Louisiana. The south and Florida belonged to the Spaniards.

Slaves

Among all the immigrants, who came to North America, there was a group which came there unwillingly. They were the Africans who were brought there as slaves since 1619-1808. They were supposed to work on southern plantations.

1619 – the first group of slaves were brought to Virginia. Very soon the slavery system was established in the southern colonies of Virginia, South and North Carolina. It existed up until 1865 when it was officially abolished.

E) The War of Independence / the American Revolution (1775-1783)

Reasons:

1) self-government

All colonies had a tradition of a representative government, i.e. the governors for the colonies were appointed by the English monarch and ruled in cooperation with elected assembly. This assembly was composed from the wealthy colonists. Besides, the right to vote was given to a white male with property. Since so many colonists owned land this meant that far more people had the vote in America than in England itself or in any other European country at this time.

2) Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) & heavy taxes

This war between Britain and France caused lots of money to the British Empire. So the Empire desperately required it to restore its economy. As the result the influence on North American colonies became much stronger, hence leading to a conflict. Furthermore, the new colonies developed rapidly in terms of economy and trade. Britain, of course wasn’t interested in such development. The only legal way to get the money from the colonies was to introduce heavy taxes. On the one hand, taxes would ensure the steady money supply, and on the other hand, would hinder the development of the colonies by making the outside trade difficult. Of all introduced taxes, there were two that caused most displeasure among the colonists. They were:

@ The Quartering Act (the colonists were to house and feed British soldiers)

@ The Stamp Act (a special stamp was to be put on any document from an important one to a simple newspaper)

The latter caused most displeasure among the colonists. All over the country the colonists demanded that their own assemblies could tax them. The most widespread motto of the time was “No taxation without representation”. As a protest the people refused to pay taxes, merchants refused to sell British goods and some even threatened the stamp agents. So eventually the act was abolished, but very soon the new ones on tea and other goods were introduced. What is more a decision was made to close the western lands for settlement, which was very unpopular.

December 1773 – “Boston Tea Party”

A group of colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded ships in Boston harbor and threw the crates with tea into the water. As the result of this event Boston was closed to all outside trade and more British troops were sent to colonies. The event also gave boost to the events leading to a war.

Events:

April 19, 1775 – Battles at Lexington & Concord

The British soldiers were sent to seize an arms depot at Concord. At Lexington they were met by hundreds of militiamen. Although the colonists were in majority, the British troops managed to defeat them. These events were known to mark the beginning of the war.

By June 1775 – the colonists surrounded Boston and the British left the city only in march 1776.

May 1775 – the Continental Congress in Philadelphia started to act as a national government. It organized its own army and navy under the command of George Washington. It also printed its own money and opened diplomatic relations with foreign countries.

NB! George Washington was a rich planter from Virginia and a veteran of the Seven Years’ War. Later on he would become the first president of the USA.

July 2, 1776 – the Congress, headed by Thomas Jefferson prepared the text of the Declaration of Independence.

July 4, 1776 – the Declaration was adopted. It proclaimed the independence of the 13 American colonies from Britain.

September 1776 – the British troops seized New York

1777 – the British took Philadelphia

October 1777 – Battle at Saratoga

The British suffered a severe defeat and surrendered. After this battle France started to help the colonists against Britain.

1781 – Battle at Yorktown

As a result the British troops under the command of General George Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington and the French Fleet.

September 1783 – the Treaty of Paris

According to it, all the territory north of Florida, south of Canada and east of the Mississippi is free and independent = the USA. Britain had to recognize the independence of the former colonies. The war was officially over.

Results/ Consequences:

1) political

ü The colonies became free and independent state with its own government, army and navy, capital, president and money.

ü 1787 – the adoption of the American Constitution in Philadelphia.

NB! Throughout its history the text of the Constitution has never been changed, only 26 Amendments have been made. The Founding Fathers foresaw that perhaps with time the changes would be needed that’s why they put a point allowing amendments to be made. The first 10 have been made almost after the adoption (the Bill of Rights) and the last one, the 26^th – in 1999.

ü George Washington became the first president of the USA.

ü 1800 – the capital was moved from Philadelphia to Washington D.C.

2) exploration and colonization of the western lands

3) the growth of the population (a lot of people came from Europe searching freedom and new opportunities)

4) the development of industry

(for more details see Unit19 in “Hello, America!” p.109-112)

F) The Civil War/ the War between the North and the South (1861-1865)

Reasons:

1) social reasons

ü the question of slavery on the new territories

By 1786 slavery was prohibited on the territory north of Maryland, also the Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance, which banned slavery in the new colonies formed in the Northwest Territory. In such away the North was turning into active anti-slavery supporter. The south still remained pro-slavery, because the slaves were needed to work on the plantations. Of course, they were against the policy of the North. So the question of slavery was the most disputed problem at that time, leading to quarrels and clashes between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters.

1820 – the Missouri Compromise

It is the document which prohibited slavery on the territory to the north and west of Missouri, but permitted it on the territory of Missouri and Arkansas. It was one of the attempts to find a compromise to the question, which turned out to be a failure.

1850 – the Congress passed an Act, that allowed the southern slave-owners to catch and return their slaves from the free states.

1854 – the Congress again passed an Act, that permitted to settle on a large territory of Kansas and Nebraska and what is more the settlers were allowed to solve the question of slavery themselves.

This decision led to more clashes between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters, which spread to other parts of the country.

2) political reasons

1854 – the Republican Party was formed, which was composed from anti-slavery supporters. Abraham Lincoln became a leading figure in the party, besides he was also gaining favour with the society.

1858 – during the presidential election campaign Lincoln was often opposed by Senator Stephen Douglas, who was pro-slavery. The whole country was followed their speeches and debates.

1860 – the Republican Party one the elections and Abraham Lincoln became the President. This fact caused displeasure among the southerners.

December 1860 – South Carolina left the Union as a protest. In a few months 10 more southern states joined Carolina and left the Union.

1861 – these 11 states formed the Confederate States of America with its capital in Richmond, government and army.

Events:

General Grant & General Sherman	General Lee

1861 – the Civil War began. At first the south army was gaining the upper hand, but this fact couldn’t ensure their victory. They were comparatively backwards as the North, which was also supported by the people against slavery system.

January 1, 1863 - the Emancipation Proclamation (a document issued by Lincoln which granted freedom to all slaves; later on it would serve as the basis for the 13^th Amendment)

Summer 1863 – Battle at Gettysburg (Pennsylvania)

As a result the Confederates were defeated and afterwards (November 1863) Lincoln made his most famous speech Gettysburg Address.

1864 – the Union Army under Gen. Sherman (North) marched into the southern states.

April 2, 1865 – Gen. Lee (the South) gave up Richmond (the capital of the Confederate States).

April 9, 1865 – Battle at Appomattox

As a result, Gen. Lee surrendered to Gen. Grant (North) and the war was over.

Results/ Consequences:

1) political

ü April 14, 1865 – Lincoln was assassinated (killed) by an actor John Booth during the performance.

ü The war solved 2 most important issues:

- the country, as well as nation, became united again

- the question of slavery

In 1865 the Congress passed the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution which officially abolished slavery. A bit later in 1866 the 14^th Amendment was passed, which gave the former slaves the rights of the citizens.

2) social

ü The war is considered to be the bloodiest war in the history of the USA, which took 635,000 people on each side.

ü Although the Blacks became free and had some rights, they were still considered “second-rate citizens”, who had to live in the poorest districts of cities. There existed racial segregation in the society, schools, public transport and other public places. The southern states started to pass “Black Codes”, laws which restricted the freedom of the blacks by telling what they can do, where they are allowed to appear in public places. Most of the blacks lost their right to vote because they couldn’t pay the poll taxes or didn’t pass the literacy test. Besides, by the 1870 in the south secret terrorist organizations started to appear which were aimed at threatening the blacks and those whites who helped them. The most notable of them was Ku Klux Klan, which was responsible for many murders of the blacks. The blacks didn’t have the true civil rights up until 1950s-1960s, when the Black Civil Movement made its appearance headed by Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Since that time the process started when the Blacks began to gain more “real” rights.

NB! Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was the most prominent of the Southern terrorist organizations. The name comes from the Greek “circle”. Its members were the white southerners dressed into white hoods and robes with the cross emblem on the left side of the chest. They acted by the Lynch Law – murder without a trial, and often left the burning wooden cross outside the house of their victim. The “trials” usually happened at night, which ended up in killing, lynching or beating. By 1872 the federal government had suppressed the Klan, but the violence continued. Even in modern times there are rumors that the KKK has been resurrected in the south again.

ü The influx of immigrants

ü The rapid growth of Capitalism

ü Further development of the US (industry, trade, economy)

(for more details see Unit20 in “Hello, America!” p.115-119)

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1840