The establishment of the colony at Cape Cod

The establishment of the colony at Cape Cod by the Pilgrim Fathers in 1620 led to the formation of other English colonies in North America. At this period settlers from England came in the largest numbers. These people were Puritans who wanted to enjoy religious freedom on the new continent. In the spring of 1630 John Winthrop reached Salem with 11 ships carrying 9 hundred settlers.

The Massachusetts Bay colony grew quickly. Many colonists moved into Rhode Island in 1636 Providence was founded as a place of perfect religious toleration.

In that year, the 1 st migration to Connecticut began under the leadership of Thomas Hooker. Another important colony was founded in 1634, when the 1 st settlement was made in Maryland under the leadership of Cecilius Calvert, who was a Catholic from England.

At that time most people were Protestants. Therefore religious toleration was very important, and Maryland became a home of religious freedom. Before long, settlers from Virginia were settling into what are now North and South Carolina. Though the English settlers were the largest group of people who came from Europe at this period, there were also colonists from other countries, such as Holland, France, later Germany and Sweden. In `1609 the Dutch sent Henry Hudson, an English seaman, to explore the river which today bears his name. He carried out his mission successfully, and a Dutch colony called New Amsterdam was soon established on Manhattan Island.

However, the English were not pleased with such a situation. They considered that all the eastern coast of North America belonged to them. Soon Charles II, the King of England, granted the area to his brother, the Duke of York, who seized the Dutch colony in 1664. The town was renamed New York in honour of the Duke of York. Now the British controlled all the Atlantic coastline up to Florida.

By the 1680 s, British, Dutch and Swedish had found their way into the area which later became Pennsylvania and Delaware. In 1681 William Penn, a Quaker from England, came into control of the territory which afterwards was named in his honour, because of his great role in the development of the colony. He directed the establishment of the city of Philadelphia, which by the 18 th century became the largest city in North America with 28, 000 inhabitants.

The last colony to be founded in this period was Georgia. It was created in 1732 as a territory for debtors and other poor people. The French seized Canada and also controlled the central region, calling it Louisiana in honour of the French King Louis XIV. The Spaniards controlled Florida. In 1619 the first African slaves were brought to Virginia. Soon the system of slavery became widespread in the southern colonies of Virginia, North and South Carolina. By 1733 English settlers occupied 13 colonies along the Atlantic coast.

• As the British colonies grew stronger, they soon came into conflict with their neighbours (the French and the Spaniards). The struggle between England France for America led to war, which began in 1756 and ended in 1763. • In this war Spain took the side of France. Britain won the war and took all of Canada from France. Spain lost Florida. Louisiana except New Orleans was taken over by the British.

3. The formation of the USA • All of the colonies had a representative government, that is a government which was elected by the people. The English king appointed many of the colonial governors, but they all had to rule in cooperation with an elected assembly. The right to vote was given to white males who owned property. • Britain could not control its American colonies directly because London was too far away. By the middle of the 18 th century the British settlers had occupied 13 colonies all along the Atlantic coast. • As a result of the war Britain’s rule in North America became much stronger.

• However Britain’s victory led to a conflict between Britain and the colonies. The war cost a lot of money, and Britain decided to get the money from the colonists by introducing heavy taxes. The Quartering Act forced the colonies to house and feed British soldiers. • The Stamp Act (1765) became even more unpopular. According to it special tax stamps were put on all newspapers pamphlets, documents. • American colonists were angered by the actions of the British government. There was great opposition to the Stamp Act. The colonists refused to pay the tax, and the stamp agents themselves faced threats from angry people. As a result of such opposition the British government was forced to abolish the Stamp Act.

• However it soon introduced new taxes, such as the tax on tea and other goods. • Most unpopular was the decision of the British government to close the western lands for settlement. When the white settlers refused to obey, the British government sent troops to Boston, where the opposition to Britain was very strong. • In December 1773, a group of colonists boarded British ships in Boston harbor. These ships were loaded with tea.

• So, the patriots dressed as Indians threw 342 crates of tea into the waters of the harbor to protest against the tea tax. These events are known as the “Boston Tea Party”. • The British government responded by closing the port of Boston to all outside trade, and sent more troops to the colonies.

Boston Tea Party

The War of Independence began in 1775. In May 1775 the Congress of representatives of the colonies began to act as a national government. It organized the Continental Army and Navy under the command of George Washington (1732 – 1799), a rich planter from Virginia and a veteran of the Seven Years’ War.

The Congress printed its paper money and set up diplomatic relationship with foreign countries. On July 2, 1776 The Congress came to the conclusion that the colonies had the right to gain freedom and become independent. Thomas Jefferson together with other patriots prepared the text of the famous Declaration of Independence which was adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776. This famous document proclaimed the independence of the 13 American colonies from Britain.

The British army took New York in September 1776, then Philadelphia in 1777. But gradually the situation changed. In October 1777 the British army under the command of General John Burgoyne suffered a defeat at Saragota in Northern New York and surrendered. After the victory France openly took the side of the Americans, and began to help the colonists in the war against Britain. The Americans began to receive financial and military help from France.

In 1781 8, 000 British troops under general George Conwallis were surrounded at Yorktown in Virginia by a French fleet from the sea and a combined French-American army under the command of George Washington. Cornwallis surrendered and soon afterwards the British government asked for peace.

• The British finally recognized the independence of the US by signing the Treaty of Paris in September 1783. All the territory north of Florida, south of Canada and east of the Mississippi River formed the USA. • In 1787 the American Constitution was drawn up in Philadelphia which with its 26 amendments is still in force. George Washington was elected the first president of the USA. In 1800 the US federal government moved from Philadelphia to Washington according to the decision of the Congress in 1790 to establish a new capital on the banks of the Potomac river.

4. The USA after the war of Independence • After winning independence the USA began to develop rapidly. In Massachusetts and Rhode Island the textile industry began to develop. The Middle States produced paper, glass and iron. • The shipping industry was developing, and soon the USA took second place on the ocean after England. Ships were produced in great numbers for trade, for fishing, and for carrying grain, tobacco and timber to Europe. • But the main energy of the Americans was directed to the west. They continued to explore and colonize the western lands.

In 1803 America bought from Napoleon the huge territory lying west of the Mississippi (and called Louisiana) for 15 million dollars. With this purchase, the territory of the USA stretched to the Rocky Mountains.

The war of 1812 • Though Britain recognized American independence it did everything to hinder the development of the new nation. • British interference with American trade led to the war in 1812. Britain then was very powerful, especially her fleet. British forces took and burned Washington. Even the President's official home was burned in 1814. Later when the house was restored, it was painted white, and since then it began to be called White House. The war ended in a compromise in 1814.

After the war, America continued to colonize the West. In 1828 Andrew Jackson was elected President. He was the first man born into a poor family in the West to become President. He formed the Democratic party in 1828 which was a broad coalition of farmers, workers, immigrants. Jackson supported the settlers in colonizing the western lands, and he also forced the Indian tribes to move west of the Mississippi.

• However, there was a growing conflict between the Northern and Southern states. The words of the Declaration of Independence - “that all men are created equal” - meant nothing to 1, 5 million black people who were slaves. • The importation of slaves was banned in 1808, and most Northern states abolished slavery, but the Southern states used black slaves on plantations to grow cotton, rice, tobacco and sugar.

The Invasion of Texas • Meanwhile, thousands of people had been settling in Texas, which then was a part of Mexico. The Texans were displeased with the rule of the Mexican general, and revolted in 1835, forming the Republic of Texas. • In 1845 the USA invaded Texas and included it into the United States. In May 1846, the American Congress declared war on Mexico and in 1847 the American army took Mexico City. Mexico had to give to the USA a very large territory – most of today's California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado.

• In 1846 the USA settled a long dispute with British Canada. As a result, the US received the territory of the present states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Us became a real continental power. Its boundaries now stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. • In 1848 gold was discovered in California, and a great gold rush started.

The Civil War (1861 – 1865) • The question of slavery in the US remained the most disputed problem in the first half of the 19 th century. In 1820 Congress permitted slavery in the new state of Missouri and the Arkansas territory. But it was banned everywhere west and north of Missouri. When the question of slavery was raised again in connection with the new territories, the Congress forgot about its previous decision. • Besides, in 1850 the Congress passed an unpopular Act which gave the southern slave owners the right to catch and return the slaves who had run away to the free states. At this time Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote “Uncle Tom's Cabin” which was an anti-slavery novel. Many people demanded an abolition of slavery.

• In the middle of the 19 th century only the area of Kansas and Nebraska in the center of the country remained inhabited by Indians. In 1854 Congress permitted the settlement of American citizens on this territory. • Moreover, Congress allowed settlers of Kansas and Nebraska to solve the question of slavery within these territories themselves which was against the Missouri Compromise of 1820. So, there were bitter clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers.

• The struggle in Kansas spread to other parts of the country. For example to Virginia, where in 1859 John Brown, tried to raise a revolt of black slaves. • Though his attempt was crushed by the government and J. Brown was executed his example was never forgotten.

• In 1854, during the period of struggle in Kansas the Republican Party was formed. It united the industrialists of the North, the free farmers and many town inhabitants who were against slavery. • Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865) became a leading figure in the party. In 1848 Lincoln was elected member of Congress. In 1858 during the election campaign the whole country followed his speeches against his opponent Senator Douglas who supported slavery.

Lincoln’s famous quotations: “Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people. ” “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all of the time”.

• In 1860 the Republican Party won the presidential elections, Abraham Lincoln became president. The South decided to live the American Union. • In December 1860 South Carolina announced that it was leaving the Union. Soon it was joined by 10 more southern states. These 11 states proclaimed themselves an independent nation – the Confederate States of America with its own president, government and army (SC, Mo, Fl, Al, Georgia, Lou, Tx, Va, Ar, NC, Ten, MS, Kentucky).

American Civil War

• The American Civil War began (1861 – 1865). The Northern army had the support of the industrial north and the people who were against slavery. • Lincoln's main tasks were to keep the country together and to abolish slavery. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which granted freedom to all slaves.

• The Southern army of the Confederates won some battles at the beginning of the war, but then the situation changed. • In the summer of 1863 the commander of the Confederates General Lee moved North into Pennsylvania. After three days of fighting the Confederates were defeated at Gettysburg. • The Northern army soon took control of the Mississippi valley and cut the confederacy in two.

The Commander of the Confederates General Robert Lee

The commander of the Union forces Ulysses Grant

On April 2, 1865 Lee had to give up Richmond, which was the capital of the Confederacy. A week later, on April 9, 1865 General Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Court House, or just Appomattox, and shortly after all the other forces of the South surrendered. The Civil War was over. On April 14, 1865, during the celebrations in Washington, Abraham Lincoln was killed by the actor John Booth.

• The civil war settled 2 most important issues. Firstly, it put an end to slavery, which was abolished by the 13 th amendment to the Constitution in 1865. • It also decided that the USA was not a collection of different semi-independent states, but a single united nation.