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Deadliest international conflict in history - 60-80 million deaths
6 million Jews died at the hands of the Nazis (Holocaust)
Germany is divided into West and East Germany

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1939 - 1945

1939 - Hitler (Germany) invades Poland, France and Britain declare war on Germany

Hitler is obsessed with the idea of superiority of "pure" German race called "Aryan" (Nazis / Jewish extermination)

Germany invades Norway

Italy forms alliance with Germany - declare war against France and Britain

The Blitz - German planes bombed Britain with night raids in London

Lend-lease Act - Britain receives crucial aid from U.S.

Allies (France, Britain, U.S., Soviet Union, [China])
Axis (Germany, Italy, Japan)

1941 - Japanese aircraft attacks U.S. naval base (Pearl Harbor)

Congress declares war on Japan

Germany and Axis powers declare war on U.S.

D-Day 1944 - Allied forces attack German forces and gained victory, Germany officially surrenders in 1945

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History of World War 2 (in One Take) | History Bombs

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Differing political views among US Founding Fathers eventually sparked the forming of two political parties. Even though the Constitution allowed for voting and representation, the power of the vote didn't solve the inequality between rich and poor. The two separate political parties, the Democrat-Republicans and the Federalists, agreed on the government's basic aims.

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The Origins of American Political Parties: a crash course

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The Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments of the Constitution which states the rights and liberties of the citizens of the United States. The Bill of Rights and the Constitution were made one on December 15, 1791.

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James Madison is "the Father of the Constitution." In short, the Constitution is an outline which includes rules and laws stating how the country will run.

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Major Ideas of the Articles of Confederation 

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Major Ideas of the Articles of Confederation 

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Some main ideas of the Articles of Confederation include "Each state has one vote, Each state retained all powers not expressly delegated to Congress, Delegates to Congress were to be appointed by state legislatures, and States would not be deprived of Western lands."

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What were the main ideas of the Articles of Confederation?

Articles of Confederation - Establishing the Government

Each state had one vote.

Each state retained all powers not expressly delegated to Congress.

Delegates to Congress were to be appointed by state legislatures.

States would not be deprived of western lands.

What is a quote from the Articles of Confederation?

1. The Stile of this Confederacy shall be "The United States of America." Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States ...

What were 3 features of the Articles of Confederation?

Terms in this set (8)

No Chief Executive.

Laws needed approval by all thirteen states to be passed.

Congress did not have the power to tax citizens.

Congress could not draft an army.

No national court system.

Any changes to the constitution must be approved by all thirteen states.

What events and ideas affected the writing of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution?

Events Affecting the Constitution

Shays' Rebellion, 1786-1787.

Chisholm v Georgia (2 U.S. 419), 1793.

Whiskey Rebellion, 1794.

Marbury v Madison (5 U.S. 137), 1803.

McCulloch v Maryland (17 U.S. 316), 1819.

Nullification, 1832.

Scott v Sandford (60 U.S. 393), 1857.

The Confederacy, 1860-1865.

When was the Articles of Confederation written and ratified?

The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, on November 15, 1777. However, ratification of the Articles of Confederation by all thirteen states did not occur until March 1, 1781.

Why was the ratification of the Articles of Confederation delayed?

The delay in the ratification of the Articles of Confederation was caused by the insistence of Maryland that all states give up their western land claims to the central government. The ceding of western land claims to the central government resulted in one of the most positive successes of the Articles.

Which state refused to ratify the Articles of Confederation until all states gave up claims to the western lands?

Maryland held out the longest, only ratifying the Articles after Virginia relinquished its claims on land north of the Ohio River to Congress. The Articles finally took effect on March 1, 1781.

What power did the Articles of Confederation give to the national government quizlet?

The Articles of Confederation created a national government composed of a Congress, which had the power to declare war, appoint military officers, sign treaties, make alliances, appoint foreign ambassadors, and manage relations with Indians. Under the Articles, the states, not Congress, had the power to tax.

How did the Articles of Confederation address the people's fears of a tyrannical government?

How successfully did the Articles of Confederation meet the fears that American had about tyrannical government? Very successfully because they kept charging high taxes because of their debt to the soldiers. Created a weak central government.

What problems were created by the Articles of Confederation?

With the passage of time, weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation became apparent; Congress commanded little respect and no support from state governments anxious to maintain their power. Congress could not raise funds, regulate trade, or conduct foreign policy without the voluntary agreement of the states.

How does a document written over 200 years ago remain relevant?

Answer: A document as old as 200 years remains relevant in current social, political, and economic events through intelligent interpretation and the timelessness of the principles that the document is based on.

What were the first 10 amendments called that were added to the Constitution?

The first ten amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights.

How many years ago was the Constitution ratified?

On June 21, 1788, the Constitution became the official framework of the government of the United States of America when New Hampshire became the ninth of 13 states to ratify it. The journey to ratification, however, was a long and arduous process.

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What were the main ideas of the Articles of Confederation?

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What were the main ideas of the Articles of Confederation? Articles of Confederation – Establishing the Government Each state had one vote. Each state retained all powers not expressly delegated to Congress. Delegates to Congress were to be appointed by state legislatures. States would not be depriv…

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Major Ideas of the Declaration of Independence 

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Major Ideas of the Declaration of Independence 

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Some major ideas of the Declaration of Independence are "all men are created equal, people have rights including life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, and individuals have a right to defend these rights for themselves and others."

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Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790) is well known for many things including being an inventor, philosopher, and a Founding Father. It is said that Franklin is the only Founding Father with his signature on all four documents: Treaty of Alliance between the United States and France, the Treaty of Paris, the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence. A few of his inventions include the lightning rod and Franklin Stove.

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Benjamin Franklin was one of those rare people who had a curious mind, many talents and the ambition to accomplish much during his life. As one of the founding fathers of the United States, he had the respect of the most powerful people in the country. As an inventor, he created a number of everyday items that people still rely upon more than two centuries later. As a scientist, his discoveries changed the world. Although he was never elected to a federal office, historians regard him as the president who was never president and the most influential of the founding fathers.

Where Did Benjamin Franklin Grow Up?

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Mass., January 17, 1706, into a Puritan household. He had 16 siblings, but four of them died at birth. He was 15th overall in the birth order, and he was the youngest of five brothers. His mother, Abiah Folger, was his father's second wife. His father was a soap and candle maker who could only afford two years of formal schooling for young Ben.

When the boy was 12, his father apprenticed him to his brother James, who had a printing shop. James taught Benjamin to be a printer by trade. In 1721, James founded The New-England Courant, the very first independent newspaper of the colonial era.

Benjamin wanted to write a letter to the editor of the paper, but James forbid it, so the younger Franklin created the persona "Silence Dogood." He wrote letters to the editor under this name, and they generated considerable buzz around town. However, James eventually discovered Benjamin's trick and put a stop to it.

What Did Benjamin Franklin Accomplish as a Young Adult?

Unhappy with his position in the print shop, Benjamin set out for Philadelphia at the age of 17. Once he arrived, he found work in the printing trade. He was only in the city for a few months before the Governor of Pennsylvania asked him to make a trip to London to pick up some supplies. Finding himself stranded and abandoned by the governor, Franklin worked as a typesetter in a London printing shop before returning to the states in 1726.

A year later, at the age of 21, Franklin formed the Junto, also called the Leather Apron Club. It was a group of like-minded individuals who met every Friday to discuss ethics, current events, philosophy and affairs of business. Members of the Junto were avid readers, and Franklin proposed that they mitigate the expense of buying books by creating a subscription library. Members pooled their funds to purchase books to stock the shelves. Any member could borrow a library book as needed.

In 1731, Franklin wrote a charter establishing the Library Company of Philadelphia. It was the first institution of its kind in the colonies. It still exists today as a mecca for scholars and researchers.

Meanwhile, in 1728, Benjamin Franklin partnered with a Junto colleague, Hugh Meredith, in establishing a printing company. After just a year in business, Franklin began publishing his own newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette. The paper included Franklin's essays, which provided commentary on current events and illustrations of moral virtue. Through his writings, he earned the respect of his readers and a reputation as a wise, industrious businessman.

Franklin's other accomplishments during his early adulthood include the creation of a German language newspaper and the establishment of the first chain of newspapers in the colonies. These papers had varying degrees of success.

Love your Enemies, for they tell you your Faults. - Quote by Benjamin Franklin

Middle Years: What Benjamin Franklin Is Known For

Franklin became a father three times over during the period from 1730 to 1743. The first child, a son, was born out of wedlock. A second son, born to Franklin and his common-law wife, Deborah Read, died of smallpox when he was four. His third child, Sarah Franklin, grew up, married and lived into old age.

In 1733, Benjamin began writing Poor Richard's Almanack, which he continued to publish until 1758. It contains many witty sayings that are still in circulation. He also published the General Magazine and Historical Chronicle. Through these and other publications, Franklin further solidified his good reputation among his readers and peers. True to the Puritan values of his upbringing, he strived to work hard, be honest and help others.

In 1747, Franklin attended a fateful series of lectures by Archibald Spencer on the topic of static electricity. The talks inspired Franklin's decades-long exploration of electricity, including his famous episode of flying a kite in a thunder storm to prove that lighting was charged with electricity. His inventions of the electric ground and the lighting rod resulted from his experimentations.

Franklin extended his influence beyond the publishing trade when he helped establish the Academy and College of Philadelphia, which opened its doors in 1751. It formed the foundation for the later University of Pennsylvania.

Also, having served as postmaster for the city of Philadelphia during this era of his life, he became the deputy postmaster general for all the colonies in 1753. While in this post, he helped establish a communications network throughout the colonies. He also studied ocean currents as they related to the time it took for mail to arrive from England to specific locations in the colonies. Later, during the Revolutionary War, Benjamin Franklin would take on the title of United States Postmaster General.

Another line of inquiry Franklin pursued was demographics. He began observing population growth in the colonies during the 1730s, and he eventually determined that the colonial population was roughly doubling every 20 years. In 1755, he published his findings and conclusions in "Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind," which historians today consider to be one of the 18th century's most important works on demography.

His wide-ranging inquiries, research and writings made Franklin a well-respected figure in Philadelphia. His many business ventures made him a wealthy man. He also carved inroads into the politics of the city. In 1748, he became a city councilman. Two years later, Franklin assumed the mantle of Justice of the Peace, and in 1751, his supporters voted him into the Philadelphia Assembly. That year, he partnered with John Bond in establishing the nation's first medical facility, Pennsylvania Hospital.

The honorary degrees Franklin collected during the 1750s attest to his sterling reputation as an advocate of education, proponent of science and ethical icon. Among those are honorary Master of Arts degrees from Harvard, Yale and the College of William & Mary. Later, he received honorary doctorates from Scotland's University of St. Andrews and England's Oxford University.

In 1957, Franklin went to London on behalf of the Philadelphia Assembly. He was charged with mounting a protest over the influence of the William Penn family, who had established Pennsylvania and retained control there as well as the right of taxation. He made frequent trips abroad up until 1775, when the revolution was at hand.

Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom - and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech. - Quote by Benjamin Franklin

Later Years and the American Revolution

Benjamin Franklin returned from his latest foray to England in May 1775. As a representative from the Philadelphia Assembly, he attended the Second Continental Congress. The following year, in June 1776, Franklin was chosen as one of the Committee of Five, whose members wrote the Declaration of Independence.

At the age of 70, Franklin had a painful case of gout, and he was not able to attend most of the committee meetings. However, fellow member Thomas Jefferson sent a draft of the Declaration to Franklin, who was incapacitated at home, and the Philadelphian made a few important edits to the document. He was present at the signing of the final draft along with 56 other influential figures of the era.

In December 1776, Benjamin accepted a commission as U.S. ambassador to France where he spent a number of years among Paris intellectuals, fellow freemasons and politicians. In between trips, he managed to become the only founding father to put his signature on four documents essential to the establishment of his own country: the Declaration of Independence, the U. S. Constitution, the Paris Treaty, and the Treaty of Alliance between the U.S. and France.

In 1785, at the age of 79, Pennsylvania voters elected Franklin President of the Supreme Executive Council of the state, an office which was similar to that of governor today. As such, he hosted the 1787 Constitutional Convention, which took place in Philadelphia.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Quote by Benjamin Franklin

Why Benjamin Franklin Is Important

The founding father, statesman, printer, inventor, scientist, philosopher, husband and father died in 1790 of a respiratory disease. He was 84 years old. With a legacy that includes the establishment of a new nation, universities, the postal system and public libraries, Benjamin Franklin's influence on history is enormous. His likeness graces U.S. coin, currency and bonds, and his inquisitive spirit still stands as an example to scholars, scientists and politicians in the modern era.

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Benjamin Franklin Biography, History, and Facts.

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Benjamin Franklin was one of those rare people who had a curious mind, many talents and the ambition to accomplish much during his life. As one of the founding fathers of the United States, he had the respect of the most powerful people in the country.

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Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826) was the second vice president of the United States and the third President of the United States. Jefferson was a Founding Father and initially drafted the Declaration of Independence. During the American Revolution, Jefferson was governor of Virginia.

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George Washington (1739 - 1799) was the first President of the United States, serving two terms. He was elected after being the Commander-In-Chief of military forces during their victory of the American Revolution.

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Biography of George Washington for Kids: Meet the American President - FreeSchool

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John Adams (1735 - 1826) was the first vice president of the United States and the second president of the United States. Adams was also a Founding Father. He helped end the War by negotiating the Treaty of Paris.

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King George III (1738 - 1820) was King of Great Britain and Ireland during the time of the American Revolution. He was the longest ruling monarch up until Queen Victoria. When the Declaration of Independence was sent to him, he ignored it, and sent troops to the colonies, resulting in the beginning of the American Revolution.

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Some causes of the American Revolution include -
- The French and Indian War (1754 - 1763)
- Proclamation of 1763
- Stamp Act (March 22, 1765)
- Quartering Act (May 15, 1765)
- Townshend Acts (June 29, 1767)
- The Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770)
- Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773)
- Intolerable Acts (May-June 1774)
- The First Continental Congress (September 1774)

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Causes of The American Revolution - Review Rap Song

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Results of French colonization of North America

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Results of French colonization of North America

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The French established forts and colonies in the Northern regions. They established places such as Quebec, Montreal, detroit and Green Bay.

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Motivation for exploration and colonization of North America

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Motivation for exploration and colonization of North America

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The 3 main motivations were God, gold and glory

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Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands established colonies in North America. Each country had different motivations for colonization and expectations about the potential benefits.

Subjects

Geography, Human Geography, Physical Geography, Religion, Social Studies, Economics, U.S. History, World History

Image

Jamestown Colony Ferry

The opportunity to make money was one of the primary motivators for the colonization of the New World. The Virginia Company of London established the Jamestown colony to make a profit for its investors.

Painting by Richard Schlecht

Europe's period of exploration and colonization was fueled largely by necessity. Europeans had become accustomed to the goods from Asia, such as the silk, spices, and pottery that had for centuries traveled the Silk Road. By the middle of the 16th century, however, this trade was under threat. The rise in power of the Ottoman Turks and the decline of the Mongol Empire disrupted traditional trade routes. At the same time, there were a number of improvements in shipbuilding and navigation, making it possible to travel farther and for longer periods of time. European countries recognized the potential profits of securing better trade with Asia and sought new routes by sea.

Commissioned by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus was among the first who sought a faster, more direct route to Asia by sailing west rather than east. In 1492, Columbus landed on an island in the Caribbean. Although Columbus mistakenly believed he had landed on an island in East Asia, later explorers added to the knowledge of the land, and-thanks in part to the voyages of fellow Italian Amerigo Vespucci-determined that Columbus had reached a "New World." Each of the major European powers-Spain, France, the Netherlands, and England-sent explorers to the New World. Colonization, or the desire to establish permanent settlements, soon followed.

Some of these European countries fought one another for control over trade and the riches of the New World. While they all shared a desire for wealth and power, their motivations for colonization differed somewhat, and thus the pattern and success of their colonies varied significantly.

God, Gold, and Glory

Spain was driven by three main motivations. Columbus, in his voyage, sought fame and fortune, as did his Spanish sponsors. To this end, Spain built a fort in 1565 at what is now St. Augustine, Florida; today, this is the oldest permanent European settlement in the United States. A few fledgling Spanish settlements were established nearby, but clashes with Native Americans who lived there, and the lack of gold or other riches made many of them short-lived. Spanish conquistadors had better success in South America, where they conquered the Aztec and Inca Empires and claimed the land for Spain. Spain soon grew rich from ample deposits of gold and silver in Mexico, Central America, and South America.

In addition to the quest for gold, however, Spain sought to spread Christianity. To this end, missions were founded in present-day Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California-indeed, anywhere the Spaniards had influence. The first mission was founded in New Mexico by friars who accompanied a 1598 expedition by Don Juan Oñante, who explored the southwest in search of gold. It would take another 70 years before the Spanish began to settle in California; Father Junipero Serra built Mission San Diego, the first mission in present-day California, in 1769. To protect these missions, the Spanish established presidios, where soldiers lived.

The main goal of these missions was to convert Native Americans to Christianity. Missionaries worked in schools to convert Native Americans to Christianity and also how to farm and adopt other European ways. Some missions also served as posts where explorers set out on the quest for riches. Many claimed larger areas of land around them to farm and raise animals. Over time, these missions grew into villages and then cities. Some of today's largest cities in the southwestern United States began hundreds of years ago as missions.

Fur Fervor

In 1534, navigator Jacques Cartier claimed northern North America for France; in 1608, fellow explorer Samuel de Champlain founded the first French settlement of Quebec on the cliffs over the St. Lawrence River. France focused its attention on establishing commercially viable trading posts in the New World to supply Europe with its seemingly never-ending demand for furs. To this end, France fostered good relationships with Native Americans, and built on mutual benefits of the trade of beaver furs for French goods. In comparison with England, the colonial population of New France was relatively small.

The Netherlands also became interested in the New World because of its economic promise. For such a small country, the Netherlands was a naval powerhouse. The Dutch East India Company controlled trade with the so-called Spice Islands, which are now part of Indonesia, making the Netherlands one of the world's foremost commercial centers. The Dutch government gave the company the power to establish colonies, which enabled the company to control trade. Its foray into North America began in 1609, when the Dutch East India Company employed English explorer Henry Hudson to search for a water route by which it could reach its markets in Indonesia more quickly. Hudson did not find the so-called Northwest Passage, but he explored the river bearing his name.

The Dutch established settlements in what it called New Netherland. It purchased the island of Manhattan from the Native Americans in 1626 and renamed it New Amsterdam. The primary motivation for Dutch settlement of this area was financial-the country wanted to add to its treasury. To this end, Dutch traders formed powerful alliances with Native Americans based on the trade of beaver pelts and furs. Farmers and merchants followed. Success was short-lived, however. In 1664, Britain took over the colony of New Netherland and renamed it New York.

England Establishes Permanent Colonies

Of all the European countries, England established the firmest foothold in North America. Like the other European countries, England was motivated in part by the lure of both riches and the Northwest Passage. In 1606, King James I granted a charter to colonize Virginia to the Virginia Company of London, a joint-stock company of investors who believed there was a profit to be made. They settled the colony of Jamestown. Yet, Britain soon had populated permanent settlements in the new world for a different reason.

The settlement of these colonies was motivated by religion. In 1620, a group of settlers left Plymouth, England, to join the settlers in Jamestown. Among them were the separatists, a group of people who believed the Church of England to be corrupt and thus sought to break from it. They believed the New World would offer them an opportunity to live and worship in accordance with their beliefs. They left England later than they had planned, and their ship was blown off course. They landed on the coast of present-day Massachusetts and named their settlement after the town from which they had set sail.

These Pilgrims were followed by countless others who settled along the Atlantic Coast. Britain encouraged these settlements, benefiting from the vast array of raw materials the colonies found and cultivated. In New England, the colonies engaged in fishing, lumber, and shipbuilding. Farther south, colonies provided tobacco, rice, and indigo. For almost 200 years, until the colonies fought and won their independence, England benefited financially from the relationship with its North American colonies.

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Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands established colonies in North America. Each country had different motivations for colonization and expectations about the potential benefits. Geography, Human Geography, Physical Geography, Religion, Social Studies, Economics, U.S. History, World History Image Jamestown Colony Ferry The opportunity to make money was one of the primary motivators for the colonization of the New World.

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The Thirteen Colonies were divided into three regions. Each region had a different way of life.
The New England Colonies were known for fishing and fur trading. There was very little farm land.
The Middle Colonies were known for growing crops and raising farm animals. Think jersey Cow.
The Southern Colonies grew cash crops like cotton and rice.

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13 American Colonies | US History | Kids Academy

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President Thomas Jefferson wanted the lands of the Louisiana Purchase explored and documented. He enlisted Meriwether Lewis to lead the expedition. Lewis recruited William Clark as his co-leader. The expedition lasted from May 14, 1804 until September 23, 1806. They travelled from St. Louis Missouri to the pacific ocean and back. The expedition was over 8,000 miles.

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Lewis and Clark: Expedition, Purpose & Facts - HISTORY

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The Lewis and Clark Expedition began in 1804 when Thomas Jefferson asked Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the lands of the Louisiana Purchase.

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The Louisiana Purchase encompassed 530,000,000 acres. The United states purchased this land from France in 1803 for $15 million. It contained the land spreading from The Appalachian Mountains to The Mississippi River.

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Before the time of Columbus there were approximately 50,000 people living in North America. These groups have been separated by Anthropologists into 10 culture areas.
the Artic: Inuit
the Sub-artic: Athabaskan, Algonquian
the Northeast: Iroquoian, Algonquian
the Southeast: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw
the Plains: Crow, Blackfeet, Cheyenne
the Southwest: Navajo, Apache
the Great Basin: Shoshone, Ute
the California: Peucetian, Hokan
the Northwest Coast: Tlingit, Chinook
the Plateau: Nez Perce, Flathead

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The Arctic

The Arctic culture area, a cold, flat, treeless region (actually a frozen desert) near the Arctic Circle in present-day Alaska, Canada and Greenland, was home to the Inuit and the Aleut. Both groups spoke, and continue to speak, dialects descended from what scholars call the Eskimo-Aleut language family.

Because it is such an inhospitable landscape, the Arctic's population was comparatively small and scattered. Some of its peoples, especially the Inuit in the northern part of the region, were nomads, following seals, polar bears and other game as they migrated across the tundra. In the southern part of the region, the Aleut were a bit more settled, living in small fishing villages along the shore.

Did you know? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are about 4.5 million Native Americans and Alaska Natives in the United States today. That's about 1.5 percent of the population.

The Inuit and Aleut had a great deal in common. Many lived in dome-shaped houses made of sod or timber (or, in the North, ice blocks). They used seal and otter skins to make warm, weatherproof clothing, aerodynamic dogsleds and long, open fishing boats (kayaks in Inuit; baidarkas in Aleut).

By the time the United States purchased Alaska in 1867, decades of oppression and exposure to European diseases had taken their toll: The native population had dropped to just 2,500; the descendants of these survivors still make their homes in the area today.

The Subarctic

The Subarctic culture area, mostly composed of swampy, piney forests (taiga) and waterlogged tundra, stretched across much of inland Alaska and Canada. Scholars have divided the region's people into two language groups: the Athabaskan speakers at its western end, among them the Tsattine (Beaver), Gwich'in (or Kuchin) and the Deg Xinag (formerly-and pejoratively-known as the Ingalik), and the Algonquian speakers at its eastern end, including the Cree, the Ojibwa and the Naskapi.

In the Subarctic, travel was difficult-toboggans, snowshoes and lightweight canoes were the primary means of transportation-and population was sparse. In general, the peoples of the Subarctic did not form large permanent settlements; instead, small family groups stuck together as they traipsed after herds of caribou. They lived in small, easy-to-move tents and lean-tos, and when it grew too cold to hunt they hunkered into underground dugouts.

The growth of the fur trade in the 17th and 18th centuries disrupted the Subarctic way of life-now, instead of hunting and gathering for subsistence, the Indians focused on supplying pelts to the European traders-and eventually led to the displacement and extermination of many of the region's native communities.

The Northeast

The Northeast culture area, one of the first to have sustained contact with Europeans, stretched from present-day Canada's Atlantic coast to North Carolina and inland to the Mississippi River valley. Its inhabitants were members of two main groups: Iroquoian speakers (these included the Cayuga, Oneida, Erie, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora), most of whom lived along inland rivers and lakes in fortified, politically stable villages, and the more numerous Algonquian speakers (these included the Pequot, Fox, Shawnee, Wampanoag, Delaware and Menominee) who lived in small farming and fishing villages along the ocean. There, they grew crops like corn, beans and vegetables.

Life in the Northeast culture area was already fraught with conflict-the Iroquoian groups tended to be rather aggressive and warlike, and bands and villages outside of their allied confederacies were never safe from their raids-and it grew more complicated when European colonizers arrived. Colonial wars repeatedly forced the region's Indigenous people to take sides, pitting the Iroquois groups against their Algonquian neighbors. Meanwhile, as white settlement pressed westward, it eventually displaced both sets of Indigenous people from their lands.

The Southeast

The Southeast culture area, north of the Gulf of Mexico and south of the Northeast, was a humid, fertile agricultural region. Many of its natives were expert farmers-they grew staple crops like maize, beans, squash, tobacco and sunflower-who organized their lives around small ceremonial and market villages known as hamlets. Perhaps the most familiar of the Southeastern Indigenous peoples are the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole, sometimes called the Five Civilized Tribes, some of whom spoke a variant of the Muskogean language.

By the time the U.S. had won its independence from Britain, the Southeast culture area had already lost many of its native people to disease and displacement. In 1830, the federal Indian Removal Act compelled the relocation of what remained of the Five Civilized Tribes so that white settlers could have their land. Between 1830 and 1838, federal officials forced nearly 100,000 Indigenous people out of the southern states and into "Indian Territory" (later Oklahoma) west of the Mississippi. The Cherokee called this frequently deadly trek the Trail of Tears.

The Plains

The Plains culture area comprises the vast prairie region between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, from present-day Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Before the arrival of European traders and explorers, its inhabitants-speakers of Siouan, Algonquian, Caddoan, Uto-Aztecan and Athabaskan languages-were relatively settled hunters and farmers. After European contact, and especially after Spanish colonists brought horses to the region in the 18th century, the peoples of the Great Plains became much more nomadic.

Groups like the Crow, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Comanche and Arapaho used horses to pursue great herds of buffalo across the prairie. The most common dwelling for these hunters was the cone-shaped teepee, a bison-skin tent that could be folded up and carried anywhere. Plains Indians are also known for their elaborately feathered war bonnets.

As white traders and settlers moved west across the Plains region, they brought many damaging things with them: commercial goods, like knives and kettles, which Indigenous people came to depend on; guns; and disease. By the end of the 19th century, white sport hunters had nearly exterminated the area's buffalo herds. With settlers encroaching on their lands and no way to make money, the Plains natives were forced onto government reservations.

The Southwest

The peoples of the Southwest culture area, a huge desert region in present-day Arizona and New Mexico (along with parts of Colorado, Utah, Texas and Mexico) developed two distinct ways of life.

Sedentary farmers such as the Hopi, the Zuni, the Yaqui and the Yuma grew crops like corn, beans and squash. Many lived in permanent settlements, known as pueblos, built of stone and adobe. These pueblos featured great multistory dwellings that resembled apartment houses. At their centers, many of these villages also had large ceremonial pit houses, or kivas.

Other Southwestern peoples, such as the Navajo and the Apache, were more nomadic. They survived by hunting, gathering and raiding their more established neighbors for their crops. Because these groups were always on the move, their homes were much less permanent than the pueblos. For instance, the Navajo fashioned their iconic eastward-facing round houses, known as hogans, out of materials like mud and bark.

By the time the southwestern territories became a part of the United States after the Mexican War, many of the region's native people had already been killed. (Spanish colonists and missionaries had enslaved many of the Pueblo Indians, for example, working them to death on vast Spanish ranches known as encomiendas.) During the second half of the 19th century, the federal government resettled most of the region's remaining natives onto reservations.

The Great Basin

The Great Basin culture area, an expansive bowl formed by the Rocky Mountains to the east, the Sierra Nevadas to the west, the Columbia Plateau to the north, and the Colorado Plateau to the south, was a barren wasteland of deserts, salt flats and brackish lakes. Its people, most of whom spoke Shoshonean or Uto-Aztecan dialects (the Bannock, Paiute and Ute, for example), foraged for roots, seeds and nuts and hunted snakes, lizards and small mammals. Because they were always on the move, they lived in compact, easy-to-build wikiups made of willow poles or saplings, leaves and brush. Their settlements and social groups were impermanent, and communal leadership (what little there was) was informal.

After European contact, some Great Basin groups got horses and formed equestrian hunting and raiding bands that were similar to the ones we associate with the Great Plains natives. After white prospectors discovered gold and silver in the region in the mid-19th century, most of the Great Basin's people lost their land and, frequently, their lives.

California

Before European contact, the temperate California area had more people than any other North American landscape at the time, with approximately 300,000 people in the mid-16th century. It's estimated that 100 different tribes and groups spoke more than 200 dialects. These languages were derived from the Penutian (the Maidu, Miwok and Yokuts), the Hokan (the Chumash, Pomo, Salinas and Shasta), the Uto-Aztecan (the Tubabulabal, Serrano and Kinatemuk) and the Athapaskan (the Hupa, among others). Many of the "Mission Indians" who were driven out of the Southwest by Spanish colonization also spoke Uto-Aztecan dialects.

Despite this great diversity, many native Californians lived very similar lives. They did not practice much agriculture. Instead, they organized themselves into small, family-based bands of hunter-gatherers known as tribelets. Inter-tribelet relationships, based on well-established systems of trade and common rights, were generally peaceful.

Spanish explorers infiltrated the California region in the middle of the 16th century. In 1769, the cleric Junipero Serra established a mission at San Diego, inaugurating a particularly brutal period in which forced labor, disease and assimilation nearly exterminated the culture area's native population.

The Northwest Coast

The Northwest Coast culture area, along the Pacific coast from British Columbia to the top of Northern California, has a mild climate and an abundance of natural resources. In particular, the ocean and the region's rivers provided almost everything its people needed-salmon, especially, but also whales, sea otters, seals and fish and shellfish of all kinds. As a result, unlike many other hunter-gatherers who struggled to eke out a living and were forced to follow animal herds from place to place, the Indians of the Pacific Northwest were secure enough to build permanent villages that housed hundreds of people apiece.

Those villages operated according to a rigidly stratified social structure, more sophisticated than any outside of Mexico and Central America. A person's status was determined by his closeness to the village's chief and reinforced by the number of possessions-blankets, shells and skins, canoes and even slaves-he had at his disposal. (Goods like these played an important role in the potlatch, an elaborate gift-giving ceremony designed to affirm these class divisions.)

Prominent groups in the region included the Athapaskan Haida and Tlingit; the Penutian Chinook, Tsimshian and Coos; the Wakashan Kwakiutl and Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka); and the Salishan Coast Salish.

The Plateau

The Plateau culture area sat in the Columbia and Fraser River basins at the intersection of the Subarctic, the Plains, the Great Basin, California and the Northwest Coast (present-day Idaho, Montana and eastern Oregon and Washington). Most of its people lived in small, peaceful villages along streams and riverbanks and survived by fishing for salmon and trout, hunting and gathering wild berries, roots and nuts.

In the southern Plateau region, the great majority spoke languages derived from the Penutian (the Klamath, Klikitat, Modoc, Nez Perce, Walla Walla and Yakima or Yakama). North of the Columbia River, most (the Skitswish (Coeur d'Alene), Salish (Flathead), Spokane and Columbia) spoke Salishan dialects.

In the 18th century, other native groups brought horses to the Plateau. The region's inhabitants quickly integrated the animals into their economy, expanding the radius of their hunts and acting as traders and emissaries between the Northwest and the Plains.

In 1805, the explorers Lewis and Clark passed through the area, followed by increasing numbers of white settlers. By the end of the 19th century, most of the remaining members of Plateau tribes had been cleared from their lands and resettled in government reservations.

Photo Galleries

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Native American Cultures - Facts, Regions & Tribes

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Native Americans, also known as American Indians and Indigenous Americans, are the indigenous peoples of the United States. By the time European adventurers arrived in the 15th century A.D., scholars estimate that more than 50 million Native Americans were already living in the Americas - 10 million in the area that would become the United States.

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The Indian Removal Act was introduced by President Andrew Jackson in 1830. The act extinguished Native titles to their lands in the Southeastern United States. Even at the time, the act was highly controversial. The Indian Removal Act only granted access to settle the lands and not forcibly remove Native people. The result of the act actually caused the removal of approximately 100,000 natives and the deaths of around 15,000 on what was to become known as The Trail of Tears.
This was later described by Private John Burnett as: " the most brutal order in American warfare."

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After the Indian Removal Act was passed, Native tribes in the Southeastern United States were forced off of their land. Approximately 100,000 people were forced to move and about 15,000 died on the route to Oklahoma. The Trail of Tears invokes the suffering the people endured along the trail.

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What Life On the Trail of Tears Was Like

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Malcolm X 1965
Martin Luther King Jr 1968

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A struggle for social justice for Black Americans to gain equal rights under law in the U.S.

1950s and 1960s

Jim Crow laws - established in the south and denied black people the right to use the same public facilities as white people, live in the same areas or go to the same schools as white people, and the inability to vote

Rosa Parks - black people must sit at the back of the bus, Parks refused her seat to a white man

Boycott of the Montgomery bus system - 1956 Supreme court ruled segregated seating was unconstitutional

Little Rock Nine - 1957 nine Black students arrived at school but were met by the National Guard and a mob of screaming people

Brown v. Board of Education 1957 - U.S. supreme court made segregation illegal in public schools

Civil Rights Act of 1957 - President Eisenhower signed into law federal prosecution of anyone who tried to prevent someone from voting

Woolworth's Lunch Counter - 1960 four black college students refused to leave without being served (Greensboro sit-ins)

Freedom Riders 1961 - seven black and six white activists-mounted a bus in Washington D.C. to protest segregated bus terminals

March on Washington 1963 - "I have a dream..." Martin Luther King Jr.

Civil Rights Act of 1964 - President Johnson signed into law the guarantee of equal employment for all, limited the use of voter literacy tests and allowed federal authorities to ensure public facilities were integrated

Bloody Sunday - 1965   600 peaceful demonstrators in the Selma to Montgomery march were beaten and teargassed by police

Voting Rights Act of 1965 - banned all voter literacy tests and provided federal examiners in certain voting jurisdictions

Fair Housing Act 1968 - prevented housing discrimination

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A series of programs and projects aimed to restore prosperity to Americans

TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) - built dams and hydroelectric projects to control flooding and provide electric power to this region

WPA (Works progress administration) - permanent jobs program that employed 8.5 million people from 1935-1943

SSA (Social security act) - 1935 Congress passed this act, it provided Americans with unemployment, disability and pensions for old age

NLRB (National labor relations board) - diminish causes of labor disputes burdening foreign commerce

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The Roosevelts | New Deal Achievements | Season 1

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FDR's New Deal brought great relief to the American People.

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"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"

1933

Four-day "bank holiday" - all banks would close so Congress could pass reform legislation and reopen the banks

"Fireside chats" - addressing the public directly via radio

First 100 days - aimed to stabilize industrial and agricultural production, create jobs, and stimulate recovery

Created the FDIC (Federal deposit insurance corporation - reform financial system

SEC (Securities and exchange commission) - regulate stock market

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The worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world

1929 - 1939

Stock market crash

consumer spending and investment dropped

Industrial output and employment declined

1933 - 15 million Americans were unemployed

the Roaring Twenties = pre depression

Black Thursday = 12.9 million shares were traded in the stock market

Black Tuesday = 16 million shares were traded

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The Great Depression explained in 2 minutes - What is The Great Depression and how it come about?

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Great depression + tragic losses in WWI = pushing public opinion to isolationism

Isolationists advocated non-involvement in European/Asian conflicts

Isolationists also advocated for non-entanglement in international politics

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1914

Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Empire)

Allies (France, Great Britain and Russia)

U.S. remained neutral

U.S. entered war in 1917 with Allies

1918 - Central Powers surrendered

8.5 million soldiers died

Global influenza pandemic

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History of World War 1 (in One Take) | History Bombs

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Motor transport - mass production and building a highway system

Telecommunications - telephone to radio and television

Health care - developing research centers, hospitals, clinics, and emergency services

Extension of electric power service - new power plants, fossil fuels, nuclear power, lights

Food - improved agriculture, new processing plants, refrigeration

Materials - synthetic fabrics, plastics

Aviation - aircraft for moving people, cargo and mail

Computers - inventing/producing machines

Space Exploration

Motion pictures

Comfort/Convenience appliances - air-conditioners, icemakers, refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, dishwasher....

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A social movement to keep peace so that there may not be anymore war or wars between people or any violence at all. The first movement in the United States was the New York Peace Society, founded in 1815 by theologian David Low Dodge, followed by the Massachusetts Peace Society.

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Nonviolence and Peace Movements: Crash Course World History 228

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Diverse social movement in the United States in the 1960s and ’70s sought equal rights and opportunities and greater freedom for women. The first attempt to organize a national movement for women’s rights occurred in Seneca Falls, New York, in July 1848. Led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a young mother from upstate New York, and the Quaker abolitionist Lucretia Mott, about 300 women attended the Seneca Falls Convention to outline a direction for the women’s rights movement.

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In 1920, after more than a century of activism, women won the right the to vote with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified that the Nineteenth Amendment, extending the vote to women, was ratified as part of the Constitution. The State of Tennessee ratified the amendment on August 18, 1920.  More than a year earlier, the House voted to approve the amendment on May 21, 1919.

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During this era, America became more prosperous and saw unprecedented growth in industry and technology. But the Gilded Age had a more sinister side: It was a period where greedy, corrupt industrialists, bankers and politicians enjoyed extraordinary wealth at the expense of the working class.

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The reconstruction era was followed right after the Civil War. Americans faced the daunting task of restoring order in the South, reunifying a war-torn nation, and extending equality to African Americans. It was created to solve issues about slavery, the 11 states joining the union, the political, economical, and social effects of slavery as well.

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The Civil War was fought over the moral issue of slavery. The American Civil War was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America, a collection of eleven southern states that left the Union in 1860 and 1861. The South wished to take slavery into the western territories, while the North was committed to keeping them open to white labor alone. The election of a Republican, Abraham Lincoln, as President in 1860 sealed the deal. His victory, without a single Southern electoral vote, was a clear signal to the Southern states that they had lost all influence.

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The reason for immigration is because of relocating for better economic resources, refuging, lack of employment, and natural disasters. A few consequences for immigrating would be not enough jobs, overpopulated areas, and fewer resources.

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The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States. Machines like the spinning jenny, the flying shuttle, the cotton gin and the power loom all dramatically sped up the process of turning raw cotton into cloth, making British textile producers very wealthy. In the 1760s, Scottish engineer James Watt began tinkering with one of Newcomen’s models, steam power, allowed miners to go deeper and extract more of this relatively cheap energy source.

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The Industrial Revolution: Crash Course European History #24

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The origin of slavery would begin with the Code of Hammurabi out of Mesopotamia. Article I, Section 2 of the original Constitution is commonly known as the three-fifths compromise. It stated that each enslaved individual counted as three-fifths of a person in terms of representation in Congress, which is based on population. Article I, Section 9, Clause 1 of the original Constitution prohibited Congress from passing laws that banned enslavement until the year 1808, 21 years after the signing of the original Constitution. Slavery impacted those who were and who were not. The states that were not free suffered from labor costs when the slavery was banned.

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The term Westward Expansion means the acquisition of territories by the United States across the whole area of the North American continent from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. Westward expansion was enabled by buying land, wars, treaties and the displacement of Native American Indians. The rapid settlement of territories gained during  the process of Westward Expansion was made possible by progressive transportation systems such as roads, canals and the railroads and the belief in the Manifest Destiny of the United States of America.

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Table of Contents

1. Manifest Destiny

2. Westward Expansion and Slavery

3. Westward Expansion and the Mexican War

4. Westward Expansion and the Compromise of 1850

5. Bleeding Kansas

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson purchased the territory of Louisiana from the French government for $15 million. The Louisiana Purchase stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to New Orleans, and it doubled the size of the United States. To Jefferson, westward expansion was the key to the nation's health: He believed that a republic depended on an independent, virtuous citizenry for its survival, and that independence and virtue went hand in hand with land ownership, especially the ownership of small farms. ("Those who labor in the earth," he wrote, "are the chosen people of God.") In order to provide enough land to sustain this ideal population of virtuous yeomen, the United States would have to continue to expand. The westward expansion of the United States is one of the defining themes of 19th-century American history, but it is not just the story of Jefferson's expanding "empire of liberty." On the contrary, as one historian writes, in the six decades after the Louisiana Purchase, westward expansion "very nearly destroy[ed] the republic."

Manifest Destiny

By 1840, nearly 7 million Americans-40 percent of the nation's population-lived in the trans-Appalachian West. Following a trail blazed by Lewis and Clark, most of these people had left their homes in the East in search of economic opportunity. Like Thomas Jefferson, many of these pioneers associated westward migration, land ownership and farming with freedom. In Europe, large numbers of factory workers formed a dependent and seemingly permanent working class; by contrast, in the United States, the western frontier offered the possibility of independence and upward mobility for all. In 1843, one thousand pioneers took to the Oregon Trail as part of the " Great Emigration."

Did you know? In 1853, the Gadsden Purchase added about 30,000 square miles of Mexican territory to the United States and fixed the boundaries of the "lower 48" where they are today.

In 1845, a journalist named John O'Sullivan put a name to the idea that helped pull many pioneers toward the western frontier. Westward migration was an essential part of the republican project, he argued, and it was Americans' " manifest destiny " to carry the "great experiment of liberty" to the edge of the continent: to "overspread and to possess the whole of the [land] which Providence has given us," O'Sullivan wrote. The survival of American freedom depended on it.

Westward Expansion and Slavery

Meanwhile, the question of whether or not slavery would be allowed in the new western states shadowed every conversation about the frontier. In 1820, the Missouri Compromise had attempted to resolve this question: It had admitted Missouri to the union as a slave state and Maine as a free state, preserving the fragile balance in Congress. More important, it had stipulated that in the future, slavery would be prohibited north of the southern boundary of Missouri (the 36º30' parallel) in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase.

However, the Missouri Compromise did not apply to new territories that were not part of the Louisiana Purchase, and so the issue of slavery continued to fester as the nation expanded. The Southern economy grew increasingly dependent on "King Cotton" and the system of forced labor that sustained it. Meanwhile, more and more Northerners came to believed that the expansion of slavery impinged upon their own liberty, both as citizens-the pro-slavery majority in Congress did not seem to represent their interests-and as yeoman farmers. They did not necessarily object to slavery itself, but they resented the way its expansion seemed to interfere with their own economic opportunity.

Westward Expansion and the Mexican War

Despite this sectional conflict, Americans kept on migrating West in the years after the Missouri Compromise was adopted. Thousands of people crossed the Rockies to the Oregon Territory, which belonged to Great Britain, and thousands more moved into the Mexican territories of California, New Mexico and Texas. In 1837, American settlers in Texas joined with their Tejano neighbors (Texans of Spanish origin) and won independence from Mexico. They petitioned to join the United States as a slave state.

This promised to upset the careful balance that the Missouri Compromise had achieved, and the annexation of Texas and other Mexican territories did not become a political priority until the enthusiastically expansionist cotton planter James K. Polk was elected to the presidency in 1844. Thanks to the maneuvering of Polk and his allies, Texas joined the union as a slave state in February 1846; in June, after negotiations with Great Britain, Oregon joined as a free state.

That same month, Polk declared war against Mexico, claiming (falsely) that the Mexican army had "invaded our territory and shed American blood on American soil." The Mexican-American War proved to be relatively unpopular, in part because many Northerners objected to what they saw as a war to expand the "slaveocracy." In 1846, Pennsylvania Congressman David Wilmot attached a proviso to a war-appropriations bill declaring that slavery should not be permitted in any part of the Mexican territory that the U.S. might acquire. Wilmot's measure failed to pass, but it made explicit once again the sectional conflict that haunted the process of westward expansion.

Westward Expansion and the Compromise of 1850

In 1848, the Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican War and added more than 1 million square miles, an area larger than the Louisiana Purchase, to the United States. The acquisition of this land re-opened the question that the Missouri Compromise had ostensibly settled: What would be the status of slavery in new American territories? After two years of increasingly volatile debate over the issue, Kentucky Senator Henry Clay proposed another compromise. It had four parts: first, California would enter the Union as a free state; second, the status of slavery in the rest of the Mexican territory would be decided by the people who lived there; third, the slave trade (but not slavery) would be abolished in Washington, D.C.; and fourth, a new Fugitive Slave Act would enable Southerners to reclaim runaway slaves who had escaped to Northern states where slavery was not allowed.

Bleeding Kansas

But the larger question remained unanswered. In 1854, Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas proposed that two new states, Kansas and Nebraska, be established in the Louisiana Purchase west of Iowa and Missouri. According to the terms of the Missouri Compromise, both new states would prohibit slavery because both were north of the 36º30' parallel. However, since no Southern legislator would approve a plan that would give more power to "free-soil" Northerners, Douglas came up with a middle ground that he called "popular sovereignty": letting the settlers of the territories decide for themselves whether their states would be slave or free.

Northerners were outraged: Douglas, in their view, had caved to the demands of the "slaveocracy" at their expense. The battle for Kansas and Nebraska became a battle for the soul of the nation. Emigrants from Northern and Southern states tried to influence the vote. For example, thousands of Missourians flooded into Kansas in 1854 and 1855 to vote (fraudulently) in favor of slavery. "Free-soil" settlers established a rival government, and soon Kansas spiraled into civil war. Hundreds of people died in the fighting that ensued, known as " Bleeding Kansas."

A decade later, the civil war in Kansas over the expansion of slavery was followed by a national civil war over the same issue. As Thomas Jefferson had predicted, it was the question of slavery in the West-a place that seemed to be the emblem of American freedom-that proved to be "the knell of the union."
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Westward Expansion - Timeline, Events & Facts

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Westward expansion, the 19th-century movement of settlers into the American West, began with the Louisiana Purchase and was fueled by the Gold Rush, the Oregon Trail and a belief in "manifest destiny."