Creating a Nation

Chapter 5, Section 2

Settling the Land

• The country is made up of different cultures including Native Americans, Europeans, Asians, and Africans.

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• Scientists believe the first inhabitants came from Asia.
• One theory is they came across a land bridge that connected the continents.
• Another theory is they came on boats.

Settling the Land

• Early in the history of the land, there were two groups.
• Inuit
• Native Americans

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• By the year 1500, hundreds of cultural groups lived in North America.

Settling the Land

• In the 1500s, Europeans began to come to North America.
• This began a pattern of immigrants coming to the United States from around the world.

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• Immigrant – a person who moves from one country to another.

Settling the Land

• Reasons they came to North America
• Gold
• Land
• Religious freedom
• Africans - brought as slaves

Settling the Land

• Europeans started many colonies.
• Colony – a group of people who settle a distant land but are ruled by their homeland.

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• St. Augustine, Florida was one of the first settlements. Spaniards founded it.

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• Spanish also built missions in the Southwest.

Settling the Land

• English settlements included Jamestown, Virginia and Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts.

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• French colony, New France, included eastern Canada, lands near the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi River.

Building a Nation

• 1763 – England defeats the French in the French-Indian War.
• Took over New France in Canada

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• Britain imposed taxes to pay for the war.
• Also new laws to control the colonies.

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Building a Nation

• 1775 – the Revolutionary War in the colonies began.

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• 1776 – the colonies declare independence.

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• 1783 – The United States won the war and became a new nation.

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Building a Nation

• 1787 - wrote the Constitution of the United States.
• Serves as the basis for the government.

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• Divided the government into three branches.
• Legislative Branch
• Executive Branch
• Judicial Branch

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Building a Nation

The Nation Grows

• After the war, the United States gained all the British territories south of Canada and West to the Mississippi River.

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• President Jefferson negotiated the Louisiana Purchase, giving the U.S. the land between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains. This doubled the size of the United States.

The Nation Grows

• Lewis and Clark Expedition allowed the United States to gain valuable information about the West.

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• During the 1800s, Americans believed in Manifest Destiny.
• Manifest Destiny is the idea that the US should own all the land between the two oceans, and even some beyond.

The Nation Grows

• Texas declared itself independent of Mexico in 1836 and became a state in 1845.

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• The US and Mexico fought the Mexican War (1846-1848). After the war, the US gained all the land between Texas and the Pacific Ocean.

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Territorial Expansion

Crisis and Change

• Manufacturing was done in the Northeast.

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• Farming on plantations was in the South, where slaves were used.

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• In time, the country split over the issue of slavery.
• Northern free states, Southern slave states.

Crisis and Change

• In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President and 11 Southern states seceded from the Union forming the Confederate States of America.

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• Fighting broke out, and the civil war was from 1861-1865.

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• After the war, the two sides were reunited.

Crisis and Change

• In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia

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• In 1898, the United States won the Spanish-American war and gained Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

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• Throughout the history, the economy grew and immigrants poured into the country.

Into the 21^st Century

• In the 1900’s, the role of the U.S. changed.
• Prior to this time, they were concerned with internal issues.

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• 1914, World War 1 started. The U.S. stayed out until 1917.

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• After the war, the 1920’s saw a period of great wealth.

Into the 21^st Century

• 1929 was the Great Depression.

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• In the 1930’s, war was again starting in Europe and Asia.

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• In 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and the U.S. went back into war until 1945.

Into the 21^st Century

• After World War II, the United States became a world leader.

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• More equality was achieved through the Civil Rights movement and Women’s Liberation.

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• They stood against Communist Soviet Union.

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Into the 21^st Century

• Like many countries, they have had issues with terrorism.

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• The country strives to be a leader in helping people in other countries.

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Homework

• Read P. 131 – 137

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• Answer questions #1-6