North America

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North America
First migrants from Asia over 10,000 years ago,
probably much more. Probably came over the Bering
straits. Moved progressively southwards.
Population by the time of European discovery
several million. "Pueblo" Indians in the South
(Arizona, New Mexico) farmers. Apaches, Iroquois
hunter-gatherers and warriors.
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North America
North-West, Dakota or Sioux warriors, nomadic.
Buffalo. Tepees, ... North America probably first
discovered (i.e. discovered by Europeans) by
Vikings. Recent archeological finds support
Viking sagas recounting Viking journeys and
(unsuccessful) settlements. The "Vinland
saga". 1492 Christopher Columbus lands on island
off the East coast of America. Thought he was on
an island to the East of India. Called local
inhabitants "Los Indios", the Indians.
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North America
King Henry VII 1497 gave commission to John Cabot
to discover lands further north. Landed at
Newfoundland. Second journey sailed into
Chesapeake Bay. Found no gold. Spanish conquest
and discovery. Cortes in South America conquered
Aztecs in 1520s. Pizarro attacked Peru in
1530s. Other conquistadores turned their
attention further north.
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North America
Hernando de Soto and Francisco Coronado late
1530s early 1540s discovered Florida and up the
Mississippi Coronado discovered the Colorado
river and travelled as far as Kansas. By 1565
Spanish settlement in Florida, 1609 Spanish
settlement in Santa Fe, New Mexico. French also
sent explorers François I sent Verrazano, who
anchored his ship in what is now New York
harbour. Jacques Cartier discovered St Lawrence
river.
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North America
Sir Walter Raleigh founded first English colony
1585. Colonists disappeared without trace. 1607
Virginia. Great hardship (partly because
colonists unsuited to the task they had
travelled to the new world to find gold, not till
the land). Disease, famine. One settler, John
Smith, was captured by Indians trying to buy
food. He said his life had been spared by a young
Indian girl, Pocahontas. She gave the settlers
food and other help. Despite this hard winter
1609-10 'starving time".
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Pocahontas (died March 1617 aged 22 on ship
taking her to Virginia, buried Gravesend)
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North America
Convicts "transported" to Virginia. Other
emigrants attracted by land. The colony grew
because of the quality of the tobacco grown
there. In 1619 three significant events Virginia
company provided wives for the settlers, and a
local government was established, called the
House of Burgesses Dutch ship sold slaves to
work alongside the indentured servants (emigrants
who agreed to work a specific period of
time--often seven years-- in return for their
passage and keep).
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North America
Other colonies followed Most famously a group of
"Pilgrims", Puritans fleeing persecution in
England, sailed on the Mayflower in 1620. They
landed far to the north of Virginia at a place
they called Plymouth in what is now the state of
Massachusetts (December 21 1620). Mid-winter
harsh conditions. Indians helped them survive.
Nonetheless half died during the first winter.
Other Puritans followed Boston.
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Mayflower Compact

• In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are
  underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread
  Sovereign Lord, King James, by the Grace of God,
  of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King,
  Defender of the Faith, etc.
• Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and
  Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the
  Honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant
  the first colony in the northern Parts of
  Virginia do by these Presents, solemnly and
  mutually in the Presence of God and one of
  another, convenant and combine ourselves together
  into a civil Body Politick, ...

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Mayflower Compact

• ... for our better Ordering and Preservation, and
  Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid And by Virtue
  hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just
  and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions
  and Offices, from time to time, as shall be
  thought most meet and convenient for the General
  good of the Colony unto which we promise all due
  Submission and Obedience.

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North America
Boston and Plymouth merged to become
Massachusetts. Strict rules. Breakaway group
founded Rhode Island. 1664 English captured New
Amsterdam from the Dutch and renamed it New York.
1670 colonies North and South Carolina. Pennsylvan
ia founded by William Penn, a Quaker, in 1681.
English settlers joined by Dutch and Germans and
other Europeans.
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Colony, date founded and primary purpose.
From http//home.earthlink.net/gfeldmeth/colchart
.html

Roanoke 1585 Establish English colony in New World
Virginia 1607 Trade and profits
Plymouth 1620 Religious freedom for Puritans
New York 1626 Trade and profits
Massachusetts Bay 1630 Religious freedom for Puritans
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New Hampshire 1630 Escape for those constricted by religious and economic rules
Maryland 1634 Religious freedom for Catholics
Connecticut 1636 Religious and economic freedom
Rhode Island 1636 Religious freedom
Delaware 1638 Trade and profits

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North Carolina 1653 Trade and profits
New Jersey 1660 Trade and profits
South Carolina 1670 Trade and profits
Pennsylvania 1682 Religious freedom for Quakers trade and profits
Georgia 1733 Debtor colony. Buffer for Spanish colonies Restrictions on blacks,size of plantations kept colony small.

http//home.earthlink.net/gfeldmeth/colchart.html
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The Road to Independence

• French and Indian wars (or Seven Years war as it
  was known in Europe) 1754-1763 had seen fighting
  between French colonies in New France (Canada)
  and British colonies. British had taken control
  of French Quebec, Montreal and other French forts
  in North America (Fort Duquesne on the Ohio,
  founded by the French in 1754 in what is now
  Pittsburgh).

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The Road to Independence

• In 1763 George III had passed a law preventing
  settlement west of the Appalachians to prevent
  war with Indians. Taxes imposed on imports.
• Colonists no longer feared the French as much as
  they had and began to see the army as a possible
  threat rather than a guarantee of safety.

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The Road to Independence

• Further tax 1765 Stamp Act. Imposed tax (stamp
  duty) on legal documents and newspapers.
• Colonists claimed they should not pay taxes as
  they had no Members of Parliament to represent
  them "No taxation without representation".
• Rebellion against stamp duty.

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The Road to Independence

• In 1767 new taxes were introduced, most famously
  on tea (need to pay for French and Indian wars).

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The Road to Independence

• 1770 scuffle with British soldiers ended up with
  shots being fired and three men killed and
  several others wounded. Publicized as the "Boston
  massacre" to stir up discontent with British
  rule.
• The government in fact withdrew the Stamp Act but
  reasserted its authority over the colonies.

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"Engraved, printed and sold by Paul Revere,
Boston"
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The Road to Independence

• The British government maintained one
  symbolically important tax on tea.
• Rebels staged the "Boston Tea Party" in 1773
  disguised as Mohawk Indians they boarded ships
  and destroyed tea, throwing boxes of tea into the
  harbour.

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The Road to Independence

• Britain responded with reprisals the tea would
  have to be paid for and the harbour would remain
  closed until it had. Royal Navy imposed the
  blockade. Colonial leaders in Philadelphia met to
  discuss response. The "Continental Congress"
  organised a "boycott" of British goods and formed
  militias.

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The Road to Independence

• In 1775 British soldiers moved to search for arms
  in the town of Concord.
• They found armed militiamen in Lexington.
• Shots were fired and eight militiamen, or
  "minutemen", so-called because they were to be
  ready to fight at a minute's notice, were killed.

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The Road to Independence

• Other minutemen attacked the British soldiers.
  Many were killed. This episode made
  "Continentals" aware that they could confront
  British regulars.
• The British had smooth-bore muskets which were
  inaccurate but adequate for European-style
  warfare.

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The Road to Independence

• Many colonists had longer "rifles", i.e. guns
  with grooves in the barrel to keep the bullet
  straight. These were useful for people who
  depended on hunting for their livelihood. They
  proved very effective against regular soldiers in
  "guerilla" warfare.

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The Road to Independence

• In May 1775 the Continental Congress met for the
  second time in Philadelphia. Much of the brunt of
  the confrontation so far had been borne by the
  north, in Massachusetts. It was decided that
  appointing a commander from the south could
  provide access to the resources of the south.
  George Washington was the man they chose.

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The Road to Independence

• On July 4 1776 the Congress issued the
  Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas
  Jefferson.

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• The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united
  States of America
• When in the Course of human events it becomes
  necessary for one people to dissolve the
  political bands which have connected them with
  another and to assume among the powers of the
  earth, the separate and equal station to which
  the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle
  them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind
  requires that they should declare the causes
  which impel them to the separation.

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• We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
  men are created equal, that they are endowed by
  their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
  that among these are Life, Liberty and the
  pursuit of Happiness.

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• That to secure these rights, Governments are
  instituted among Men, deriving their just powers
  from the consent of the governed, That whenever
  any Form of Government becomes destructive of
  these ends, it is the Right of the People to
  alter or to abolish it, and to institute new
  Government, laying its foundation on such
  principles and organizing its powers in such
  form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect
  their Safety and Happiness.

32
The Road to Independence

• Thomas Paine in Common Sense (1776) pleaded
  eloquently and convincingly for separation.
• Mood of the Enlightenment freedom etc.

33
The Road to Independence

• The war did not go well for the Americans,
  despite some initial successes. However, partly
  as a result of Washington's efforts to turn the
  army into a displined fighting force, the tide
  turned, and a major success was won at Saratoga
  (October 1777). King Louis XVI was persuaded by
  this that the Americans had a chance of winning
  and agreed to an alliance.

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The Road to Independence

• The fighting was from then on mainly focused on
  the south. In 1781 Washington surrounded an army
  under the command of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown.
  Cornwallis expected reinforcements, but instead
  of British ships, he saw French ships arrive at
  the harbour. He decided to surrender. London
  realised that it would not be possible to prevent
  independence.

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The Road to Independence

• In 1883 the Treaty of Paris recognised the United
  States and granted them all the territory between
  Canada and Florida, right back to the Mississippi
  (with the French territory of Louisiana to the
  west).
• Many States began to behave as if they were
  independent nations, however. In particular they
  started imposing tariffs on trade between
  themselves.

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The Road to Independence

• A convention was held in Philadelphia in 1787 to
  discuss the future the Constitutional
  Convention. This hammered out the Constitution of
  the USA, which left many powers in the hands of
  the States within a federal system.

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The Road to Independence

• The authors of the Constitution were very keen to
  ensure there would be a balance of power between
  the different branches of federal government, so
  that no single part could wield excessive power.
• The Constitution came into effect in March 1789.
  The first president was George Washington.

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Westward

• Settlers looked for good land and moved west
  until they found it. Self-reliance allied with
  sense of community. The "frontier spirit"?
• Westward movement blocked by Appalachians. Trail
  found through the Cumberland Gap in 1775 (Daniel
  Boone) provided access to fertile plains in what
  is now Kentucky and Tennessee.

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1860s engraving of Daniel Boone
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TV image of Daniel Boone 1664-70 James Stewart
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The Louisiana Purchase

• In severe need of resources during the Napoleonic
  wars, France sold Louisana to the fledgling
  republic in 1803. This was a huge tract of land.

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1775
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1790
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1800
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1810
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1820
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1830
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1840
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1850
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1860
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1870
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1880
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1900
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1920
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1970
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War of 1812

• War between France and Britain, between 1803 and
  1815. Tensions. British especially took American
  sailors and pressed them into service in the
  Royal Navy.
• In 1812 war was declared by Congress. The USA
  tried, unsuccesssfully, to invade Canada. The
  British occupied Washington and burnt the White
  House.

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War of 1812

• The War was ended in December 1814 (though before
  the news reached America a final battle had been
  fought and won by American forces in New Orleans).

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Westward ho!

• In the meantime increasing numbers of people were
  moving westward in search of land. They
  increasingly came up against hostile Indians,
  keen to resist the unwelcome newcomers. Initially
  the government was keen to ensure the Indians
  would be treated fairly.

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Westward ho!

• However President Monroe in 1817 claimed that the
  Indians would have to make way, to become
  civilized themselves or become extinct.

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