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u.s history outline of

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u.s history contents chapter 1 early america 4 chapter 2 the colonial period 22 chapter 3 the road to independence 50 chapter 4 the formation of a national government 66 chapter 5 westward expansion and regional differences 110 chapter 6 sectional conflict 128 chapter 7 the civil war and reconstruction 140 chapter 8 growth and transformation 154 chapter 9 discontent and reform 188 chapter 10 war prosperity and depression 202 chapter 11 the new deal and world war i 212 chapter 12 postwar america 256 chapter 13 decades of change 1960-1980 274 chapter 14 the new conservatism and a new world order 304 chapter 15 bridge to the 21st century 320 picture profiles outline of outline of becoming a nation 38 transforming a nation 89 monuments and memorials 161 turmoil and change 229 21st century nation 293 bibliography 338 index 341

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chapter early america 1 mesa verde settlement in colorado 13th century 4

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chapter 1 early america outline of u.s history heaven and earth never agreed better to frame a place for man s habitation jamestown founder john smith 1607 at the height of30,000ice age bethe tween 34,000 and b.c much of the world s water was locked up in vast continental ice sheets as a result the bering sea was hundreds of meters below its current level and a land bridge known as beringia emerged between asia and north america at its peak beringia is thought to have been some 1,500 kilometers wide a moist and treeless tundra it was covered with grasses and plant life attracting the large animals that early humans hunted for their survival the first people to reach north america almost certainly did so without knowing they had crossed into a new continent they would have been following game as their 6 the first americans ancestors had for thousands of years along the siberian coast and then across the land bridge once in alaska it would take these first north americans thousands of years more to work their way through the openings in great glaciers south to what is now the united states evidence of early life in north america continues to be found little of it however can be reliably dated before 12,000 b.c a recent discovery of a hunting lookout in northern alaska for example may date from almost that time so too may the finely crafted spear points and items found near clovis new mexico similar artifacts have been found at sites throughout north and south america indicating that life was probably already well established in much of the western hemisphere by some time prior to 10,000 b.c around that time the mammoth began to die out and the bison took its place as a principal source of food and hides for these early north americans over time as more and more species of large game vanished whether from overhunting or natural causes plants berries and seeds became an increasingly important part of the early american diet gradually foraging and the first attempts at primitive agriculture appeared native americans in what is now central mexico led the way cultivating corn squash and beans perhaps as early as 8,000 b.c slowly this knowledge spread northward by 3,000 b.c a primitive type of corn was being grown in the river valleys of new mexico and arizona then the first signs of irrigation began to appear and by 300 b.c signs of early village life by the first centuries a.d the hohokam were living in settlements near what is now phoenix arizona where they built ball courts and pyramid-like mounds reminiscent of those found in mexico as well as a canal and irrigation system he first native-american group to build mounds in what is now the united states often are called the adenans they began construct7 t mound builders and pueblos ing earthen burial sites and fortifications around 600 b.c some mounds from that era are in the shape of birds or serpents they probably served religious purposes not yet fully understood the adenans appear to have been absorbed or displaced by various groups collectively known as hopewellians one of the most important centers of their culture was found in southern ohio where the remains of several thousand of these mounds still can be seen believed to be great traders the hopewellians used and exchanged tools and materials across a wide region of hundreds of kilometers by around 500 a.d the hopewellians disappeared too gradually giving way to a broad group of tribes generally known as the mississippians or temple mound culture one city cahokia near collinsville illinois is thought to have had a population of about 20,000 at its peak in the early 12th century at the center of the city stood a huge earthen mound flattened at the top that was 30 meters high and 37 hectares at the base eighty other mounds have been found nearby cities such as cahokia depended on a combination of hunting foraging trading and agriculture for their food and supplies influenced by the thriving societies to the south they evolved into complex hierarchical societies that took slaves and practiced human sacrifice.

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chapter 1 early america outline of u.s history had on the indigenous population practically from the time of initial contact smallpox in particular ravaged whole communities and is thought to have been a much more direct cause of the precipitous decline in the indian population in the 1600s than the numerous wars and skirmishes with european settlers indian customs and culture at the time were extraordinarily diverse as could be expected given the expanse of the land and the many different environments to which they had dapted some generalizations however are possible most tribes particularly in the wooded eastern region and the midwest combined aspects of hunting gathering and the cultivation of maize and other products for their food supplies in many cases the women were responsible for farming and the distribution of food while the men hunted and participated in war by all accounts native-american native-american society in north america was closely cultures tied to the land identification with he america that greeted the first nature and the elements was integral europeans was thus far from an to religious beliefs their life was empty wilderness it is now thought essentially clan-oriented and comthat as many people lived in the munal with children allowed more western hemisphere as in western freedom and tolerance than was the europe at that time about 40 european custom of the day although some north american million estimates of the number tribes developed a type of hieroof native americans living in what is now the united states at the on glyphics to preserve certain texts set of european colonization range native-american culture was prifrom two to 18 million with most marily oral with a high value placed historians tending toward the lower on the recounting of tales and figure what is certain is the devas dreams clearly there was a good tating effect that european disease deal of trade among various groups in what is now the southwest united states the anasazi ancestors of the modern hopi indians began building stone and adobe pueblos around the year 900 these unique and amazing apartment-like structures were often built along cliff faces the most famous the cliff palace of mesa verde colorado had more than 200 rooms another site the pueblo bonito ruins along new mexico s chaco river once contained more than 800 rooms perhaps the most affluent of the pre-columbian native americans lived in the pacific northwest where the natural abundance of fish and raw materials made food supplies plentiful and permanent villages possible as early as 1,000 b.c the opulence of their potlatch gatherings remains a standard for extravagance and festivity probably unmatched in early american history and strong evidence exists that neighboring tribes maintained extensive and formal relations both friendly and hostile t he first europeans to arrive in north america at least the first for whom there is solid evidence were norse traveling west from greenland where erik the red had founded a settlement around the year 985 in 1001 his son leif is thought to have explored the northeast coast of what is now canada and spent at least one winter there while norse sagas suggest that viking sailors explored the atlantic coast of north america down as far as the bahamas such claims remain unproven in 1963 however the ruins of some norse houses dating from that era were discovered at l anse-aux-meadows in northern newfoundland thus supporting at least some of the saga claims in 1497 just five years after christopher columbus landed in the caribbean looking for a western route to asia a venetian sailor named john cabot arrived in newfoundland on a mission for the british king although quickly forgotten cabot s journey was later to provide the basis for british claims to north america it also opened the way to the rich fishing grounds off george s banks to which european fishermen particularly the portuguese were soon making regular visits 9 t the first europeans columbus never saw the mainland of the future united states but the first explorations of it were launched from the spanish possessions that he helped establish the first of these took place in 1513 when a group of men under juan ponce de león landed on the florida coast near the present city of st augustine with the conquest of mexico in 1522 the spanish further solidified their position in the western hemisphere the ensuing discoveries added to europe s knowledge of what was now named america after the italian amerigo vespucci who wrote a widely popular account of his voyages to a new world by 1529 reliable maps of the atlantic coastline from labrador to tierra del fuego had been drawn up although it would take more than another century before hope of discovering a northwest passage to asia would be completely abandoned among the most significant early spanish explorations was that of hernando de soto a veteran conquistador who had accompanied francisco pizarro in the conquest of peru leaving havana in 1539 de soto s expedition landed in florida and ranged through the southeastern united states as far as the mississippi river in search of riches another spaniard francisco vázquez de coronado set out from mexico in 1540 in search of the mythical seven cities of cibola coronado s travels took him to the grand canyon and kansas but 8

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chapter 1 early america outline of u.s history failed to reveal the gold or treasure his men sought however his party did leave the peoples of the region a remarkable if unintended gift enough of his horses escaped to transform life on the great plains within a few generations the plains indians had become masters of horsemanship greatly expanding the range of their activities while the spanish were pushing up from the south the northern portion of the present-day united states was slowly being revealed through the journeys of men such as giovanni da verrazano a florentine who sailed for the french verrazano made landfall in north carolina in 1524 then sailed north along the atlantic coast past what is now new york harbor a decade later the frenchman jacques cartier set sail with the hope like the other europeans before him of finding a sea passage to asia cartier s expeditions along the st lawrence river laid the foundation for the french claims to north america which were to last until 1763 following the collapse of their first quebec colony in the 1540s french huguenots attempted to settle the northern coast of florida two decades later the spanish viewing the french as a threat to their trade route along the gulf stream destroyed the colony in 1565 ironically the leader of the spanish forces pedro menéndez would soon establish a town not far away st augustine it was the first permanent 10 european settlement in what would become the united states the great wealth that poured into spain from the colonies in mexico the caribbean and peru provoked great interest on the part of the other european powers emerging maritime nations such as england drawn in part by francis drake s successful raids on spanish treasure ships began to take an interest in the new world in 1578 humphrey gilbert the author of a treatise on the search for the northwest passage received a patent from queen elizabeth to colonize the heathen and barbarous landes in the new world that other european nations had not yet claimed it would be five years before his efforts could begin when he was lost at sea his half-brother walter raleigh took up the mission in 1585 raleigh established the first british colony in north america on roanoke island off the coast of north carolina it was later abandoned and a second effort two years later also proved a failure it would be 20 years before the british would try again this time at jamestown in 1607 the colony would succeed and north america would enter a new era he early 1600s saw the beginning of a great tide of emigration from europe to north america spanning more than three centuries this movement grew from a t early settlements trickle of a few hundred english colonists to a flood of millions of newcomers impelled by powerful and diverse motivations they built a new civilization on the northern part of the continent the first english immigrants to what is now the united states crossed the atlantic long after thriving spanish colonies had been established in mexico the west indies and south america like all early travelers to the new world they came in small overcrowded ships during their six to 12-week voyages they lived on meager rations many died of disease ships were often battered by storms and some were lost at sea most european emigrants left their homelands to escape political oppression to seek the freedom to practice their religion or to find opportunities denied them at home between 1620 and 1635 economic difficulties swept england many people could not find work even skilled artisans could earn little more than a bare living poor crop yields added to the distress in addition the commercial revolution had created a burgeoning textile industry which demanded an ever-increasing supply of wool to keep the looms running landlords enclosed farmlands and evicted the peasants in favor of sheep cultivation colonial expansion became an outlet for this displaced peasant population the colonists first glimpse of the new land was a vista of dense 11 woods the settlers might not have survived had it not been for the help of friendly indians who taught them how to grow native plants pumpkin squash beans and corn in addition the vast virgin forests extending nearly 2,100 kilometers along the eastern seaboard proved a rich source of game and firewood they also provided abundant raw materials used to build houses furniture ships and profitable items for export although the new continent was remarkably endowed by nature trade with europe was vital for articles the settlers could not produce the coast served the immigrants well the whole length of shore provided many inlets and harbors only two areas north carolina and southern new jersey lacked harbors for ocean-going vessels majestic rivers the kennebec hudson delaware susquehanna potomac and numerous others linked lands between the coast and the appalachian mountains with the sea only one river however the st lawrence dominated by the french in canada offered a water passage to the great lakes and the heart of the continent dense forests the resistance of some indian tribes and the formidable barrier of the appalachian mountains discouraged settlement beyond the coastal plain only trappers and traders ventured into the wilderness for the first hundred years the colonists built their settlements compactly along the coast.

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chapter 1 early america outline of u.s history they chose a site about 60 kilometers up the james river from the bay made up of townsmen and adventurers more interested in finding gold than farming the group was unequipped by temperament or ability to embark upon a completely new life in the wilderness among them captain john smith emerged as the dominant figure despite quarrels starvation and native-american attacks his ability to enforce discipline held the little colony together through its first year in 1609 smith returned to england and in his absence the colony descended into anarchy during the winter of 1609-1610 the majority of the colonists succumbed to disease only 60 of the original 300 settlers were still alive by may 1610 that same year the town of henrico now richmond was established farther up the james river it was not long however before a development occurred that revolutionized virginia s economy in 1612 john rolfe began cross-breeding imported tobacco seed from the west indies with native plants and produced a new variety that was pleasing to european taste the first jamestown shipment of this tobacco reached london in 1614 within a decade it he first of the british colonies had become virginia s chief source to take hold in north america was of revenue jamestown on the basis of a charter prosperity did not come quickly which king james i granted to the however and the death rate from virginia or london company a disease and indian attacks remained group of about 100 men set out for extraordinarily high between 1607 the chesapeake bay in 1607 seeking and 1624 approximately 14,000 to avoid conflict with the spanish people migrated to the colony yet political considerations influenced many people to move to america in the 1630s arbitrary rule by england s charles i gave impetus to the migration the subsequent revolt and triumph of charles opponents under oliver cromwell in the 1640s led many cavaliers king s men to cast their lot in virginia in the german-speaking regions of europe the oppressive policies of various petty princes particularly with regard to religion and the devastation caused by a long series of wars helped swell the movement to america in the late 17th and 18th centuries the journey entailed careful planning and management as well as considerable expense and risk settlers had to be transported nearly 5,000 kilometers across the sea they needed utensils clothing seed tools building materials livestock arms and ammunition in contrast to the colonization policies of other countries and other periods the emigration from england was not directly sponsored by the government but by private groups of individuals whose chief motive was profit t nized government the men drafted a formal agreement to abide by just and equal laws drafted by leaders of their own choosing this was the mayflower compact in december the mayflower massachusetts reached plymouth harbor the pilgrims began to build their settleuring the religious upheavals ment during the winter nearly half of the 16th century a body of men the colonists died of exposure and and women called puritans sought disease but neighboring wampato reform the established church noag indians provided the informaof england from within essentially tion that would sustain them how to they demanded that the rituals and grow maize by the next fall the pilstructures associated with roman grims had a plentiful crop of corn catholicism be replaced by simpler and a growing trade based on furs calvinist protestant forms of faith and lumber and worship their reformist ideas a new wave of immigrants arby destroying the unity of the state rived on the shores of massachusetts church threatened to divide the bay in 1630 bearing a grant from people and to undermine royal au king charles i to establish a colony thority many of them were puritans whose in 1607 a small group of sepa religious practices were increasingly ratists a radical sect of puritans prohibited in england their leader who did not believe the established john winthrop urged them to crechurch could ever be reformed ate a city upon a hill in the new departed for leyden holland world a place where they would where the dutch granted them asy live in strict accordance with their lum however the calvinist dutch religious beliefs and set an example restricted them mainly to low-paid for all of christendom laboring jobs some members of the the massachusetts bay colony congregation grew dissatisfied with was to play a significant role in the this discrimination and resolved to development of the entire new engemigrate to the new world land region in part because winin 1620 a group of leyden puri throp and his puritan colleagues tans secured a land patent from the were able to bring their charter virginia company numbering 101 with them thus the authority for they set out for virginia on the may the colony s government resided in flower a storm sent them far north massachusetts not in england and they landed in new england under the charter s provisions on cape cod believing themselves power rested with the general outside the jurisdiction of any orga court which was made up of free only 1,132 were living there in 1624 on recommendation of a royal commission the king dissolved the virginia company and made it a royal colony that year d 12 13

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chapter 1 early america outline of u.s history men required to be members of the puritan or congregational church this guaranteed that the puritans would be the dominant political as well as religious force in the colony the general court elected the governor who for most of the next generation would be john winthrop the rigid orthodoxy of the puritan rule was not to everyone s liking one of the first to challenge the general court openly was a young clergyman named roger williams who objected to the colony s seizure of indian lands and advocated separation of church and state another dissenter anne hutchinson challenged key doctrines of puritan theology both they and their followers were banished williams purchased land from the narragansett indians in what is now providence rhode island in 1636 in 1644 a sympathetic puritan-controlled english parliament gave him the charter that established rhode island as a distinct colony where complete separation of church and state as well as freedom of religion was practiced so-called heretics like williams were not the only ones who left massachusetts orthodox puritans seeking better lands and opportunities soon began leaving massachusetts bay colony news of the fertility of the connecticut river valley for instance attracted the interest of farmers having a difficult time with poor land by the early 1630s many were ready to brave the danger of indian attack to obtain level ground 14 and deep rich soil these new communities often eliminated church membership as a prerequisite for voting thereby extending the franchise to ever larger numbers of men at the same time other settlements began cropping up along the new hampshire and maine coasts as more and more immigrants sought the land and liberty the new world seemed to offer hired byhenrydutch east india the company hudson in 1609 explored the area around what is now new york city and the river that bears his name to a point probably north of present-day albany new york subsequent dutch voyages laid the basis for their claims and early settlements in the area as with the french to the north the first interest of the dutch was the fur trade to this end they cultivated close relations with the five nations of the iroquois who were the key to the heartland from which the furs came in 1617 dutch settlers built a fort at the junction of the hudson and the mohawk rivers where albany now stands settlement on the island of manhattan began in the early 1620s in 1624 the island was purchased from local native americans for the reported price of $24 it was promptly renamed new amsterdam in order to attract settlers to the hudson river region the dutch new netherland and maryland encouraged a type of feudal aristocracy known as the patroon system the first of these huge estates were established in 1630 along the hudson river under the patroon system any stockholder or patroon who could bring 50 adults to his estate over a four-year period was given a 25-kilometer river-front plot exclusive fishing and hunting privileges and civil and criminal jurisdiction over his lands in turn he provided livestock tools and buildings the tenants paid the patroon rent and gave him first option on surplus crops further to the south a swedish trading company with ties to the dutch attempted to set up its first settlement along the delaware river three years later without the resources to consolidate its position new sweden was gradually absorbed into new netherland and later pennsylvania and delaware in 1632 the catholic calvert family obtained a charter for land north of the potomac river from king charles i in what became known as maryland as the charter did not expressly prohibit the establishment of non-protestant churches the colony became a haven for catholics maryland s first town st mary s was established in 1634 near where the potomac river flows into the chesapeake bay while establishing a refuge for catholics who faced increasing persecution in anglican england the calverts were also interested in creating profitable estates to this end 15 and to avoid trouble with the british government they also encouraged protestant immigration maryland s royal charter had a mixture of feudal and modern elements on the one hand the calvert family had the power to create manorial estates on the other they could only make laws with the consent of freemen property holders they found that in order to attract settlers and make a profit from their holdings they had to offer people farms not just tenancy on manorial estates the number of independent farms grew in consequence their owners demanded a voice in the affairs of the colony maryland s first legislature met in 1635 by 1640 the british had solid colonies established along the new england coast and the chesapeake bay in between were the dutch and the tiny swedish community to the west were the original americans then called indians sometimes friendly sometimes hostile the eastern tribes were no longer strangers to the europeans although native americans benefited from access to new technology and trade the disease and thirst for land that the early settlers also brought posed a serious challenge to their long-established way of life at first trade with the european settlers brought advantages knives colonial-indian relations

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chapter 1 early america outline of u.s history axes weapons cooking utensils fishhooks and a host of other goods those indians who traded initially had significant advantage over rivals who did not in response to european demand tribes such as the iroquois began to devote more attention to fur trapping during the 17th century furs and pelts provided tribes the means to purchase colonial goods until late into the 18th century early colonial-native-american relations were an uneasy mix of cooperation and conflict on the one hand there were the exemplary relations that prevailed during the first half century of pennsylvania s existence on the other were a long series of setbacks skirmishes and wars which almost invariably resulted in an indian defeat and further loss of land the first of the important nativeamerican uprisings occurred in virginia in 1622 when some 347 whites were killed including a number of missionaries who had just recently come to jamestown white settlement of the connecticut river region touched off the pequot war in 1637 in 1675 king philip the son of the native chief who had made the original peace with the pilgrims in 1621 attempted to unite the tribes of southern new england against further european encroachment of their lands in the struggle however philip lost his life and many indians were sold into servitude the steady influx of settlers into the backwoods regions of the eastern colonies disrupted nativeamerican life as more and more game was killed off tribes were faced with the difficult choice of going hungry going to war or moving and coming into conflict with other tribes to the west the iroquois who inhabited the area below lakes ontario and erie in northern new york and pennsylvania were more successful in resisting european advances in 1570 five tribes joined to form the most complex native-american nation of its time the ho-de-no-sau-nee or league of the iroquois the league was run by a council made up of 50 representatives from each of the five member tribes the council dealt with matters common to all the tribes but it had no say in how the free and equal tribes ran their dayto-day affairs no tribe was allowed to make war by itself the council passed laws to deal with crimes such as murder the iroquois league was a strong power in the 1600s and 1700s it traded furs with the british and sided with them against the french in the war for the dominance of america between 1754 and 1763 the british might not have won that war otherwise the iroquois league stayed strong until the american revolution then for the first time the council could not reach a unanimous decision on whom to support member tribes made their own de16 cisions some fighting with the british some with the colonists some remaining neutral as a result everyone fought against the iroquois their losses were great and the league never recovered he religious and civil conflict in england in the mid-17th century limited immigration as well as the attention the mother country paid the fledgling american colonies in part to provide for the defense measures england was neglecting the massachusetts bay plymouth connecticut and new haven colonies formed the new england confederation in 1643 it was the european colonists first attempt at regional unity the early history of the british settlers reveals a good deal of contention religious and political as groups vied for power and position among themselves and their neighbors maryland in particular suffered from the bitter religious rivalries that afflicted england during the era of oliver cromwell one of the casualties was the state s toleration act which was revoked in the 1650s it was soon reinstated however along with the religious freedom it guaranteed with the restoration of king charles ii in 1660 the british once again turned their attention to north america within a brief span the first european settlements were 17 t second generation of british colonies established in the carolinas and the dutch driven out of new netherland new proprietary colonies were established in new york new jersey delaware and pennsylvania the dutch settlements had been ruled by autocratic governors appointed in europe over the years the local population had become estranged from them as a result when the british colonists began encroaching on dutch claims in long island and manhattan the unpopular governor was unable to rally the population to their defense new netherland fell in 1664 the terms of the capitulation however were mild the dutch settlers were able to retain their property and worship as they pleased as early as the 1650s the albemarle sound region off the coast of what is now northern north carolina was inhabited by settlers trickling down from virginia the first proprietary governor arrived in 1664 the first town in albemarle a remote area even today was not established until the arrival of a group of french huguenots in 1704 in 1670 the first settlers drawn from new england and the caribbean island of barbados arrived in what is now charleston south carolina an elaborate system of government to which the british philosopher john locke contributed was prepared for the new colony one of its prominent features was a failed attempt to create a hereditary nobility one of the colony s least appealing aspects was the early trade

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chapter 1 early america outline of u.s history in indian slaves with time however timber rice and indigo gave the colony a worthier economic base in 1681 william penn a wealthy quaker and friend of charles ii received a large tract of land west of the delaware river which became known as pennsylvania to help populate it penn actively recruited a host of religious dissenters from england and the continent quakers mennonites amish moravians and baptists when penn arrived the following year there were already dutch swedish and english settlers living along the delaware river it was there he founded philadelphia the city of brotherly love in keeping with his faith penn was motivated by a sense of equality not often found in other american colonies at the time thus women in pennsylvania had rights long before they did in other parts of america penn and his deputies also paid considerable attention to the colony s relations with the delaware indians ensuring that they were paid for land on which the europeans settled georgia was settled in 1732 the last of the 13 colonies to be established lying close to if not actually inside the boundaries of spanish florida the region was viewed as a buffer against spanish incursion but it had another unique quality the man charged with georgia s fortifications general james oglethorpe was a reformer who deliberately set out to create a refuge where the poor and former prisoners would be given new opportunities en and women with little active interest in a new life in america were often induced to make the move to the new world by the skillful persuasion of promoters william penn for example publicized the opportunities awaiting newcomers to the pennsylvania colony judges and prison authorities offered convicts a chance to migrate to colonies like georgia instead of serving prison sentences but few colonists could finance the cost of passage for themselves and their families to make a start in the new land in some cases ships captains received large rewards from the sale of service contracts for poor migrants called indentured servants and every method from extravagant promises to actual kidnapping was used to take on as many passengers as their vessels could hold in other cases the expenses of transportation and maintenance were paid by colonizing agencies like the virginia or massachusetts bay companies in return indentured servants agreed to work for the agencies as contract laborers usually for four to seven years free at the end of this term they would be given freedom dues sometimes including a small tract of land m settlers slaves and servants perhaps half the settlers living in the colonies south of new england came to america under this system although most of them fulfilled their obligations faithfully some ran away from their employers nevertheless many of them were eventually able to secure land and set up homesteads either in the colonies in which they had originally settled or in neighboring ones no social stigma was attached to a family that had its beginning in america under this semi-bondage every colony had its share of leaders who were former indentured servants there was one very important exception to this pattern african slaves the first black africans were brought to virginia in 1619 just 12 years after the founding of jamestown initially many were regarded as indentured servants who could earn their freedom by the 1660s however as the demand for plantation labor in the southern colonies grew the institution of slavery began to harden around them and africans were brought to america in shackles for a lifetime of involuntary servitude 9 18 19

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chapter 1 early america outline of u.s history the enduring mystery of the anasazi sas and canyons of colorado and new mexico mark the settlements of some of the earliest inhabitants of north america the anasazi a navajo word meaning ancient ones by 500 a.d the anasazi had established some of the first villages in the american southwest where they hunted and grew crops of corn squash and beans the anasazi flourished over the centuries developing sophisticated dams and irrigation systems creating a masterful distinctive pottery tradition and carving multiroom dwellings into the sheer sides of cliffs that remain among the most striking archaeological sites in the united states today yet by the year 1300 they had abandoned their settlements leaving their pottery implements even clothing as though they intended to return and seemingly vanished into history their homeland remained empty of human beings for more than a century until the arrival of new tribes such as the navajo and the ute followed by the spanish and other european settlers the story of the anasazi is tied inextricably to the beautiful but harsh environment in which they chose to live early settlements consisting of simple pithouses scooped out of the ground evolved into sunken kivas underground rooms that served as meeting and religious sites later generations developed the masonry techniques for building square stone pueblos but the most dramatic change in anasazi living was the move to the cliff sides below the flattopped mesas where the anasazi carved their amazing multilevel dwellings the anasazi lived in a communal society they traded with other peoples in the region but signs of warfare are few and isolated and although the anasazi certainly had religious and other leaders as well as skilled artisans social or class distinctions were virtually nonexistent religious and social motives undoubtedly played a part in the building of the cliff communities and their final abandonment but the struggle to raise food in an increasingly difficult environment was probably the paramount factor as populations grew farmers planted larger areas on the mesas causing some communities to farm marginal lands while others left the mesa tops for the cliffs but the anasazi couldn t halt the steady loss of the land s fertility from constant use nor withstand the region s cyclical droughts analysis of tree rings for example shows that a drought lasting 23 years from 1276 to 1299 finally forced the last groups of anasazi to leave permanently although the anasazi dispersed from their ancestral homeland their legacy remains in the remarkable archaeological record that they left behind and in the hopi zuni and other pueblo peoples who are their descendants 20 21 time-worn pueblos and dramatic cliff towns set amid the stark rugged me major native american cultural groupings a.d 500-1300.

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chapter the colonial period 2 pilgrims signing the mayflower compact aboard ship 1620 22

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chapter 2 the colonial period outline of u.s history what then is the american this new man american author and agriculturist j hector st john de crèvecoeur 1782 ost settlers who came to america in the 17th century were english but there were also dutch swedes and germans in the middle region a few french huguenots in south carolina and elsewhere slaves from africa primarily in the south and a scattering of spaniards italians and portuguese throughout the colonies after 1680 england ceased to be the chief source of immigration supplanted by scots and scotsirish protestants from northern ireland in addition tens of thousands of refugees fled northwestern europe to escape war oppression and absentee-landlordism by 1690 the american population had risen to a quarter of a million from then on it doubled every 25 years until in 1775 it numbered more than 2.5 million although families occasionally moved from one colony to another distinctions between individual colonies were marked they 24 m new peoples were even more so among the three regional groupings of colonies he northeastern new england colonies had generally thin stony soil relatively little level land and long winters making it difficult to make a living from farming turning to other pursuits the new englanders harnessed waterpower and established grain mills and sawmills good stands of timber encouraged shipbuilding excellent harbors promoted trade and the sea became a source of great wealth in massachusetts the cod industry alone quickly furnished a basis for prosperity with the bulk of the early settlers living in villages and towns around the harbors many new englanders carried on some kind of trade or business common pastureland and woodlots served the needs of townspeople who worked small farms t new england william penn pennsylvania functioned smoothly and grew rapidly by 1685 its population was almost 9,000 the heart of the colony was philadelphia a city of broad treeshaded streets substantial brick and stone houses and busy docks by the end of the colonial period nearly a century later 30,000 people lived there representing many languages creeds and trades their talent for successful business enterprise made the city one of the thriving centers of the british empire though the quakers dominated in philadelphia elsewhere in pennsylvania others were well represented germans became the colony s most skillful farmers important too were cottage industries such as weaving shoemaking cabinetmaking and other crafts pennsylvania was also the principal gateway into the new world for the scots-irish who moved into the colony in the early 18th century bold and indigent strangers as one pennsylvania official called them they hated the english and were suspicious of all government the scots-irish tended to settle in the backcountry where they cleared land and lived by hunting and subsistence farming new york best illustrated the polyglot nature of america by 1646 the population along the hudson river included dutch french danes the middle colonies norwegians swedes english scots irish germans poles bohemians ociety in the middle colonies was portuguese and italians the dutch far more varied cosmopolitan and continued to exercise an important tolerant than in new england under social and economic influence on nearby compactness made possible the village school the village church and the village or town hall where citizens met to discuss matters of common interest the massachusetts bay colony continued to expand its commerce from the middle of the 17th century onward it grew prosperous so that boston became one of america s greatest ports oak timber for ships hulls tall pines for spars and masts and pitch for the seams of ships came from the northeastern forests building their own vessels and sailing them to ports all over the world the shipmasters of massachusetts bay laid the foundation for a trade that was to grow steadily in importance by the end of the colonial period one-third of all vessels under the british flag were built in new england fish ship s stores and woodenware swelled the exports new england merchants and shippers soon discovered that rum and slaves were profitable commodities one of their most enterprising if unsavory trading practices of the time was the triangular trade traders would purchase slaves off the coast of africa for new england rum then sell the slaves in the west indies where they would buy molasses to bring home for sale to the local rum producers s 25

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chapter 2 the colonial period outline of u.s history the new york region long after the fall of new netherland and their integration into the british colonial system their sharp-stepped gable roofs became a permanent part of the city s architecture and their merchants gave manhattan much of its original bustling commercial atmosphere in middle colonies the southern contrast to new england and the colonies were predominantly rural settlements by the late 17th century virginia s and maryland s economic and social structure rested on the great planters and the yeoman farmers the planters of the tidewater region supported by slave labor held most of the political power and the best land they built great houses adopted an aristocratic way of life and kept in touch as best they could with the world of culture overseas the yeoman farmers who worked smaller tracts sat in popular assemblies and found their way into political office their outspoken independence was a constant warning to the oligarchy of planters not to encroach too far upon the rights of free men the settlers of the carolinas quickly learned to combine agriculture and commerce and the marketplace became a major source of prosperity dense forests brought revenue lumber tar and resin from the longleaf pine provided some of the best shipbuilding ma26 the southern colonies terials in the world not bound to a single crop as was virginia north and south carolina also produced and exported rice and indigo a blue dye obtained from native plants that was used in coloring fabric by 1750 more than 100,000 people lived in the two colonies of north and south carolina charleston south carolina was the region s leading port and trading center in the southernmost colonies as everywhere else population growth in the backcountry had special significance german immigrants and scots-irish unwilling to live in the original tidewater settlements where english influence was strong pushed inland those who could not secure fertile land along the coast or who had exhausted the lands they held found the hills farther west a bountiful refuge although their hardships were enormous restless settlers kept coming by the 1730s they were pouring into the shenandoah valley of virginia soon the interior was dotted with farms living on the edge of native american country frontier families built cabins cleared the wilderness and cultivated maize and wheat the men wore leather made from the skin of deer or sheep known as buckskin the women wore garments of cloth they spun at home their food consisted of venison wild turkey and fish they had their own amusements great barbecues dances housewarmings for newly married couples shooting matches and contests for making quilted blankets quilt-making remains an american tradition today significant factor deterring the emergence of a powerful aristocratic or gentry class in the colonies was the ability of anyone in an established colony to find a new home on the frontier time after time dominant tidewater figures were obliged to liberalize political policies land-grant requirements and religious practices by the threat of a mass exodus to the frontier of equal significance for the future were the foundations of american education and culture established during the colonial period harvard college was founded in 1636 in cambridge massachusetts near the end of the century the college of william and mary was established in virginia a few years later the collegiate school of connecticut later to become yale university was chartered even more noteworthy was the growth of a school system maintained by governmental authority the puritan emphasis on reading directly from the scriptures underscored the importance of literacy in 1647 the massachusetts bay colony enacted the ye olde deluder satan act requiring every town having more than 50 families to establish a grammar school a latin school to prepare students for college shortly thereafter all the other new 27 a society schools and culture england colonies except for rhode island followed its example the pilgrims and puritans had brought their own little libraries and continued to import books from london and as early as the 1680s boston booksellers were doing a thriving business in works of classical literature history politics philosophy science theology and belles-lettres in 1638 the first printing press in the english colonies and the second in north america was installed at harvard college the first school in pennsylvania was begun in 1683 it taught reading writing and keeping of accounts thereafter in some fashion every quaker community provided for the elementary teaching of its children more advanced training in classical languages history and literature was offered at the friends public school which still operates in philadelphia as the william penn charter school the school was free to the poor but parents were required to pay tuition if they were able in philadelphia numerous private schools with no religious affiliation taught languages mathematics and natural science there were also night schools for adults women were not entirely overlooked but their educational opportunities were limited to training in activities that could be conducted in the home private teachers instructed the daughters of prosperous philadelphians in french music dancing painting singing grammar and sometimes bookkeeping.

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chapter 2 the colonial period outline of u.s history in the 18th century the intellectual and cultural development of pennsylvania reflected in large measure the vigorous personalities of two men james logan and benjamin franklin logan was secretary of the colony and it was in his fine library that young franklin found the latest scientific works in 1745 logan erected a building for his collection and bequeathed both building and books to the city franklin contributed even more to the intellectual activity of philadelphia he formed a debating club that became the embryo of the american philosophical society his endeavors also led to the founding of a public academy that later developed into the university of pennsylvania he was a prime mover in the establishment of a subscription library which he called the mother of all north american subscription libraries in the southern colonies wealthy planters and merchants imported private tutors from ireland or scotland to teach their children some sent their children to school in england having these other opportunities the upper classes in the tidewater were not interested in supporting public education in addition the diffusion of farms and plantations made the formation of community schools difficult there were only a few free schools in virginia the desire for learning did not stop at the borders of established communities however on the frontier the scots-irish though living in 28 primitive cabins were firm devotees of scholarship and they made great efforts to attract learned ministers to their settlements literary production in the colonies was largely confined to new england here attention concentrated on religious subjects sermons were the most common products of the press a famous puritan minister the reverend cotton mather wrote some 400 works his masterpiece magnalia christi americana presented the pageant of new england s history the most popular single work of the day was the reverend michael wigglesworth s long poem the day of doom which described the last judgment in terrifying terms in 1704 cambridge massachusetts launched the colonies first successful newspaper by 1745 there were 22 newspapers being published in british north america in new york an important step in establishing the principle of freedom of the press took place with the case of john peter zenger whose new york weekly journal begun in 1733 represented the opposition to the government after two years of publication the colonial governor could no longer tolerate zenger s satirical barbs and had him thrown into prison on a charge of seditious libel zenger continued to edit his paper from jail during his ninemonth trial which excited intense interest throughout the colonies andrew hamilton the prominent lawyer who defended zenger argued that the charges printed by zenger were true and hence not libelous the jury returned a verdict of not guilty and zenger went free the increasing prosperity of the towns prompted fears that the devil was luring society into pursuit of worldly gain and may have contributed to the religious reaction of the 1730s known as the great awakening its two immediate sources were george whitefield a wesleyan revivalist who arrived from england in 1739 and jonathan edwards who served the congregational church in northampton massachusetts whitefield began a religious revival in philadelphia and then moved on to new england he enthralled audiences of up to 20,000 people at a time with histrionic displays gestures and emotional oratory religious turmoil swept throughout new england and the middle colonies as ministers left established churches to preach the revival edwards was the most prominent of those influenced by whitefield and the great awakening his most memorable contribution was his 1741 sermon sinners in the hands of an angry god rejecting theatrics he delivered his message in a quiet thoughtful manner arguing that the established churches sought to deprive christianity of its function of redemption from sin his magnum opus of freedom of will 1754 attempted to reconcile calvinism with the enlightenment the great awakening gave rise to evangelical denominations those 29 christian churches that believe in personal conversion and the inerrancy of the bible and the spirit of revivalism which continue to play significant roles in american religious and cultural life it weakened the status of the established clergy and provoked believers to rely on their own conscience perhaps most important it led to the proliferation of sects and denominations which in turn encouraged general acceptance of the principle of religious toleration in the earlystriking of colonial dephases velopment a feature was the lack of controlling influence by the english government all colonies except georgia emerged as companies of shareholders or as feudal proprietorships stemming from charters granted by the crown the fact that the king had transferred his immediate sovereignty over the new world settlements to stock companies and proprietors did not of course mean that the colonists in america were necessarily free of outside control under the terms of the virginia company charter for example full governmental authority was vested in the company itself nevertheless the crown expected that the company would be resident in england inhabitants of virginia then would have no more voice in their government than if the king himself had retained absolute rule emergence of colonial government

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