Colonial America - DeafMall
American History to 1865 – Review of the Fifth Grade
Colonial America
The settlers of Roanoke, Virginia, were never heard from again. Next the English settled at Jamestown. In 1619, Africans were brought to America as slaves. Pilgrims and Puritans came to America for religious freedom. They settled in Massachusetts.
The Colonies Grow
New England shipping used a triangular trade route. First, raw goods were shipped to the West Indies and traded for molasses, used to make rum. Next they exchanged rum for slaves in West Africa. Finally, the slaves were sold for more molasses in the West Indies.
In North America, Great Britain and France fought over natural resources and land. Different Native American groups made agreements with Great Britain or France, and the Iroquois played one side against the other. This led to the French and Indian War.
The French and Indian War ended with Great Britain winning control of North America east of the Mississippi River. To prevent fights between Native Americans and colonists, King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763. It stopped any western expansion.
Road to Independence
The French and Indian War left Great Britain in debt. The King collected money by adding new taxes. The British soldiers searched colonists’ homes for smuggled goods where no taxes had been paid. Laws like the Stamp Act and Sugar Act hurt the colonists; they protested that Parliament had no right to tax them if they could not vote for its members. They didn’t buy or boycotted British goods.
The King sent troops. In 1770 British soldiers fired on a mob killing five colonists. The colonists called this the Boston Massacre. Great Britain ended taxes on all goods except tea. The colonists, dressed up as Indians, dumped the British tea into the harbor during the “Boston Tea Party”. Parliament passed laws punishing the people of Boston. Colonists called these the Intolerable Acts. Many colonists were ready to unite against the British.
In 1774, the First Continental Congress voted to form an Army. The war for independence began with the Lexington and Concord. In June 1775, the British won the Battle of Bunker Hill. The Second Continental Congress met. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, declaring a new nation.
The American Revolution
At first Great Britain seemed to have a huge advantage in the war. They had the world’s finest navy and a trained army. The Patriots were volunteers with no experience.
One of every five Americans was a Loyalist, meaning they were loyal to Great Britain. Some supported the king for religious reasons. Others depended upon Great Britain for jobs. Great Britain’s plan to cut New England off from the Middle Colonies failed. The Patriots won the battle at Saratoga in 1777. This was a turning point in the war because the colonists gained support from France, Great Britain’s enemy.
The Patriots’ darkest hour was the bitter winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge. There were more problems. Native Americans sided with the British. They were angry with the colonists’ desire to move westward.
The American victory at Saratoga forced the British to change strategy. They moved south and won several battles. The Americans responded by using hit-and –run tactics. In 1781, aided by French troops, the Americans surprised General Cornwallis’Army at Yorktown and forced it to surrender. Great Britain granted the colonies independence in 1783.
Even though Great Britain had superior military strength, the Americans won the war. The revolution was a people’s movement, and the Americans were fighting on their own land.
A More Perfect Union
In 1787 the nation’s leaders gathered in Philadelphia. They decided to get rid of the Articles of Confederation and create a new government. The Constitution they wrote was based on several beliefs. Among these were a belief in the importance of human rights and a belief in government by the people. The Constitution provided for a strong national government (rather than giving more power to individual states) and a system of checks and balances. The power was divided among the federal, state, and local governments. The Bill of Rights was later added to protect individual freedoms.
By 1788, nine states had voted for the Constitution, ann it became the supreme law of the land. The Constitution has proven to be strong and flexible. More than 200 years later, it continues to govern our nation.
The Jefferson Era
In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson bought the region known as Louisiana from France for $15 million. The Louisiana Purchase more than doubled the size of the nation. Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to explore the territory.
War in Europe brought trouble to the U.S. Great Britain and France were fighting. This hurt America’s freedom at sea. Congress declared war on Great Britain in 1812.
During the war of 1812, the British burned the capital, Washington, D. C. Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star Spangled Banner”. Although, the U.S. did not gain land or military power during the War of 1812, it did get respect overseas.
By 1823, the U.S. felt strong enough to issue the Monroe Doctrine. It warned European nations not to interfere in the affairs of any nation in the Americas.
Growth and Expansion
Technology helped transportation. Steamboats made shipping goods cheaper and faster. Canals united East and West. Towns sprang up along the canal routes. Settlers moved west to make nine new states. James Monroe became president in 1817. This period was called the Era of Good Feelings. But, in 1820, regions argued over slavery and taxes. The Missouri Compromise tried to settle disputes over the admission of new states. Missouri entered as a slave state, and Maine as a free state. Slavery was banned in territories north of the 36th parallel.
The Jackson Era
Andrew Jackson replaced many federal workers with his supporters, this was known as the “spoils system”. The Indian Removal Act allowed the federal government to force Native Americans off their land. However, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee. President Jackson ignored this ruling. The Native Americans were forced to move to the Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River in a long march called the Trail of Tears.
Manifest Destiny
In the 1820’s Americans began to settle in the Mexican territory of Texas. Differences between the Texan and Mexican governments led to fighting. The Texans defeated the Mexicans, and in 1836 Texas became an independent republic. In 1845 the U.S. annexed (added) Texas. This led to the Mexican War. The U.S. gained a large amount of land as a result of winning the war.
In 1849 prospectors flocked to California during the gold rush. By 1850 the nation had achieved what many Americans believed was its “manifest destiny”. The U.S. now spanned the entire continent-from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Road to Civil War
The problems between the North and the South increased. Oregon, New Mexico, and Utah would become free states, upsetting the balance between free and slave states. Southerners talked of secession- leaving the Union. The Compromise of 1850 removed restrictions on slavery in the New Mexico Territory. It required states to return fugitive- runaway slaves to their owners. Many Northerners refused to obey the Fugitive Slave Act. A novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, added to the anti-slavery feeling. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 tried to compromise. It let people in the territories vote on the slavery issue. The elections led to violence. People on both sides died. A new party, the Republicans, promised to end slavery in the territories. In the Dred Scott case, the Supreme Court ruled that slaves were property and slavery could not be stopped. This angered many Northerners.
The Civil War
Both sides had advantages and disadvantages. The North had more people and industry, better railroads, and Lincoln’s leadership. Southern soldiers were fighting on their own land to protect their way of life. At first the South had better generals. To restore the Union, the North planned to blockade southern ports, gain control of the Mississippi River, and take Richmond, the Confederate capital. To win independence, the South planned to defend its land until the North got tired of war. The South won most of the early battles.
The war in the East turned into a bloody stand off. In the West, the Union slowly won control of the Mississippi River. The Northern blockade cut Southern trade making it difficult for the South to get the needed war supplies.
In 1860, Lincoln became president. Next, South Carolina seceded, followed by six more states. The Confederate states elected Jefferson Davis president. In April, 1861, the Confederates shelled Fort Sumter, South Carolina. Four more states seceded. The Civil War had begun.
On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It said that all slaves in the rebelling states were free. He hope this would keep Europe from helping the South. In July 1863, the Union won at Gettysburg in the East and Vicksburg in the West. Its armies marched through the South in 1864 destroying everything that could be of use to the enemy. Southern General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant in April 1865. The Civil War was now over, leaving 600,000 soldiers dead. The damages in the South ran billions of dollars. The war, however, ended the idea of secession and freed millions of African Americans.
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