American History Beginnings To: 1877 Myworld Interactive

The United States was born from a fight for independence and the ideal that “all men are created equal.” Yet from the start, the nation was divided over slavery, Native American lands, and the power of government. The Revolution created the nation; the Constitution created a government; the Civil War tested whether that nation could survive; and Reconstruction attempted—but ultimately failed—to secure true freedom for all. By 1877, the U.S. remained a country still struggling to fulfill its founding promises.

Britain and France (plus Native allies) fought over control of the Ohio River Valley. Britain won but was deeply in debt. To raise money, Parliament began taxing the colonists directly.

Declared the Western Hemisphere closed to future European colonization—a bold statement of U.S. influence. american history beginnings to 1877 myworld interactive

The first national government was weak—no president, no courts, no power to tax or raise an army. Shays’ Rebellion (1786) —an uprising of indebted farmers in Massachusetts—showed the Articles were failing.

Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts (1774) , closing Boston Harbor and restricting Massachusetts’ self-rule. Colonists responded by forming the First Continental Congress and preparing militias. Part 4: The American Revolution (1775–1783) Key Vocabulary: Militia, Declaration of Independence, Thomas Paine, Loyalist, Patriot, Saratoga, Yorktown, Treaty of Paris 1783 The United States was born from a fight

Seeking a sea route to Asia, Christopher Columbus (sailing for Spain) landed in the Caribbean in 1492. This contact began the Columbian Exchange —a vast transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and people between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Europeans brought horses, wheat, and sugar; they took back maize, potatoes, and tobacco. Devastating diseases like smallpox wiped out up to 90% of some Native populations.

The Proclamation of 1763 banned colonial settlement west of the Appalachians—enraging land-hungry colonists. Then came a series of acts: Sugar Act (1764), Stamp Act (1765), Townshend Acts (1767) . Colonists shouted, “No taxation without representation!” They boycotted British goods, formed the Sons of Liberty (led by Samuel Adams), and staged protests like the Boston Tea Party (1773) dumping tea into the harbor. remained a country still struggling to fulfill its

Reunite the nation and define freedom for 4 million newly freed African Americans.