First American History Essay

The years between 1877 and 1900 were some of the most momentous and dynamic in American history. They set developments in motion that would shape the country for generations, starting with the reunification of the South and North, the integration of four million newly freed African Americans, westward expansion, immigration, industrialization, and urbanization. In addition, it was also a period of reform, in which many Americans sought to regulate corporations and shape the changes taking place all around them. Before the Civil War however, things were much different. Before the Civil War, the south was mainly agriculturally based and relied on slaves and plantations to make income.

In a companion volume to his best-selling biography John Adams (2001), David McCullough closely examines a year of near-mythic status in the American collective memory: 1776. It was the year that the Continental Congress, meeting in steamy Philadelphia, decided, “these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states.” It was also the year that the American Revolution began in earnest and was nearly lost. With his strong sense of narrative and his gift for capturing the humanity of his subjects, McCullough leads readers through a well-known story with both style and grace.

Thirdy, they both farmed and hunted, because back then, the only way to find a food source was to hunt or farm. Therefore, growing crops and hunting were both part their cultures and style of living. Fourthly, they traded - not only with each other, but with the rest of the world. They traded because they did not have the resources, or capacity to satisfy their own needs and wants. By developing and exploiting their domestic scarce resources, both Native Americans and Europeans could produce trade for the resources they needed.

Founding of North American British Colonies The History of North American Colonies began with the Native Americans rather then with Christopher Columbus, even though current History says America was discovered by Columbus. He named it the New World. The Europeans grouped the Native Americans as "one people" even though they did not see themselves as such. That is because they were filled with a linguistic diverse group of individuals.

Colonial America laid the foundation for the complicated country we call the United States. Historians debate many questions about that critical time period before the thirteen colonies declared and won independence from Great Britain. One of the most interesting questions is: What was the most significant major event preceding the founding of the nation? There is no ‘correct’ answer to this question. There are many possible responses, but the facts show that some arguments are stronger than others.

Today, our founding fathers are rolling in their graves. July 2, 1776, a date that John Adams believed would be “the most memorable epocha in the history of America.” It was on this date that the newly formed nation of the United States of America formally declared independence from the British Empire. This date marked what would be the beginning of a long and bloody struggle for independence and, more importantly, the natural rights given to us by God. They fought this war knowing that it was very likely that they would all meet their end by British hands, yet they kept fighting.

Columbian Exchange Notes Funded by the Spanish, an explorer named Christopher Columbus set sail westwards in 1492 in search of a faster trading route to the Asias, but instead what Columbus found was a land separated from Europe for millions of years, North America. Columbus’s discovery of North America had many profound effects on the world, one of the greatest being the founding of the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange was a form of commerce between North America and Western Europe. The establishment of Columbian Exchange held both positive and negative repercussions, one positive repercussions being agricultural growth due to all the newly discovered crops and flora and one negative repercussion being the introduction of European diseases to the New world that resulted in the death of approximately70 million North American natives. After news of Columbus's discovery spread to the rest of Europe, many explorer sailed to North

During the late 1400s and the early 1500s, European expeditioners began to explore the New World. Native Americans, who were living in America originally, were much different than the Europeans arriving at the New World; they had a different culture, diet, and religion. Eventually, both the Native Americans and the European colonists exchanged different aspects of their life. For example, Native Americans gave the Europeans corn, and the Europeans in return gave them modern weapons, such as various types of guns. This type of trade was called “the Columbian Exchange.”

Why and to what extent was the U.S. an imperialist power at the beginning of the 20th century? The 19th century was commonly known as the ‘Age of Imperialism’, during this time period the United States and a number of other major world powers began rapidly expanding their territory and influence, throughout the world. Many Americans supported the concept of imperialism due to the economic, military, and political influence that came with the annexation of fertile territories. Although this ideology seemed to benefit thriving imperialist powers such as Britain and France, the United States was only an imperialist power to the extent that they extended the U.S. power, but were an empire unsuccessful in controlling the nations under their rule.

One hundred years after the Constitution was ratified, a political party emerged that threatened to destroy it: the Progressive party. The Progressive party was built upon the idea that the American government is not doing anything to help the country move forward. They believe that there must be moving forward for the “…uplift and betterment of mankind…”(PR pg. 319). They believe that the government of the founding fathers is not keeping up with the rapid changes in society and that it must adapt to the new challenges (PR pg. 333). Although both the progressive party and the founding fathers declare that they want to guard against tyranny and uphold the good of the people, they have different approaches to the issue.

In colonial America, the citizens did not know exactly what they wanted for their government. The colonists knew they didn’t want their lives to be like they had been in England. They were open to ideas; they did not know what would work and what wouldn’t. The colonists knew that trial and error was the best idea at the time. The democratic and undemocratic features of colonial America were very apparent in that democracy as it was a work in progress.

It all started when the fur trade began, in the late 17th century and in the early 18th century. When the fur trade began clothing also started. Animals would be hunted for there food, and also for there fur. There furs would be traded for tools such as axes, and weapons such as muskets. The First Nations would barter to find the best deals since they didn 't know each other 's languages.

The Columbian Exchange refers to the monumental transfer of goods such as: ideas, foods, animals, religions, cultures, and even diseases between Afroeurasia and the Americas after Christopher Columbus’ voyage in 1492. The significance of the Columbian Exchange is that it created a lasting tie between the Old and New Worlds that established globalization and reshaped history itself (Garcia, Columbian Exchange). Worlds that had been separated by vast oceans for years began to merge and transform the life on both sides of the Atlantic (The Effects of the Columbian Exchange). This massive exchange of goods gave rise to social, political, and economic developments that dramatically impacted the world (Garcia, Columbian Exchange). During this time,

When more and more people came from different countries to collect the riches that Columbus had found, neighboring countries felt the urge to send residents on a permanent voyage to discover the riches like Christopher Columbus had done. It wasn’t just two or three countries who followed this mechanism either In the French colonial regions, they were focused on trade, specifically of fur with the natives. While the French were focused on trade, a large portion of their income came from fish. Along with that, farming developed, mainly to provide support.

Leanna Kontos APUSH Per.4 9/30/15 Main Ideas of Unit One: Question #6 The First Continental Congress happened during the period of September 5, 1774 to October 26, 1774. This marked the first time that the all of the colonies, except Georgia, were together. The purpose of this meeting was to address the issues they had with Britain.