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1776- 1779

During the 17th and early 18th centuries, the British colonies in America had been largely left to their

own devices by the crown, which was preoccupied with civil war and other issues. The colonies were thus

largely self-governing, and as time went on they developed their own political identities and systems which

were in many ways separate from those in Britain. This new ideology was decidedly republicanpolitical

viewpoint, which rejected royalty, aristocracy and corruption and called for sovereignty of the people and

emphasized civic duty. In 1763 with British victory in the French and Indian War, this period of isolation

came to an end. The British government began to impose taxes in a way that deliberately provoked the

Americans, who complained that they were alien to the unwritten English Constitution because Americans

were not represented in parliament. Parliament said the Americans were "virtually" represented and had no

grounds for complaint.

Between 1776 and 1789, the United States emerged as an independent country, creating and ratifying its

new constitution, and establishing its national government. In order to assert their traditional rights,

American Patriots seized control of the colonies and launched a war for independence. The Americans

declared independence on July 4, 1776, raised armies under the command of General George Washington,

forged a military alliance with France, and captured the two main British invasion armies. Nationalists

replaced the governing Articles of Confederation to strengthen the federal government's powers of defense

and taxation with the Constitution of the United States in 1789, still in effect today.

Declaration of IndependenceOn July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, still meeting in Philadelphia, voted unanimously to

declare the independence "of the thirteen United States of America." Two days later, on July 4, Congress

adopted the Declaration of Independence. The drafting of the Declaration was the responsibility of

a Committee of Five, which included, among others, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin; it was drafted

by Thomas Jefferson and revised by the others and the Congress as a whole. It contended that "all men are

created equal" with "certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of

happiness", and that "to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just

powers from the consent of the governed", as well as listing the main colonial grievances against the crown

July 4 would be subsequently celebrated as the birthday of the United States.

1789- 1849

George Washington, a renowned hero of the American Revolutionary War, commander of

the Continental Army, and president of the Constitutional Convention, was unanimously chosen as the

first President of the United States under the new U.S. Constitution. All the leaders of the new nation were

committed to republicanism, and the doubts of the Anti-Federalists of 1788 were allayed with the passage of

a Bill of Rights as the first 10 amendments to the Constitution in 1791.
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Washington retired in 1797, firmly declining to serve for more than eight years as the nation's head. The

Federalists supported Vice President John Adams for President. In 1799, after a series of naval battles with

the French (known as the Quasi-War), full-scale war seemed inevitable. In this crisis, Adams broke with his

party and sent three new commissioners to France. Napoleon, who had just come to power, received them

cordially, and the danger of conflict subsided with the negotiation of the Convention of 1800, which

formally released the United States from its 1778 wartime alliance with France. However, reflectingAmerican weakness, France refused to pay $20 million in compensation for American ships seized by the

French navy. To protect its shipping interests overseas, the U.S. fought the First Barbary War(18011805)

in North Africa. This was followed later by the Second Barbary War(1815).

The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 gave Western farmers use of the important Mississippi River waterway,

removed the French presence from the western border of the United States, and, most important, provided

U.S. settlers with vast potential for expansion. A few weeks afterward, war resumed between Britain

and Napoleon's France. Believing that Britain could not rely on other sources of food than the United States,

Congress and President Jefferson suspended all U.S. trade with foreign nations in the Embargo Act of 1807,

hoping to get the British to end their blockade of the American coast. The Embargo Act, however,

devastated American agricultural exports and weakened American ports while Britain found other sources of

food.

Following the War of 1812, America began to assert a newfound sense of nationalism. America began to

rally around national heroes such as Andrew Jackson and patriotic feelings emerged in such works

as Francis Scott Key's poem The Star Spangled Banner. Under the direction of Chief Justice John Marshall,

the Supreme Court issued a series of opinions reinforcing the role of the national government.

1849-1865

Issues of slavery in the new territories acquired in the War with Mexico (which ended in 1848) were

temporarily resolved by the Compromise of 1850. One provision, the Fugitive Slave Law, sparked intense

controversy, as revealed in the enormous interest in the plight of the escaped slave in Uncle Tom's Cabin,an

anti-slavery novel and play.

In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act reversed long-standing compromises by providing that each new state of

the Union would decide its posture on slavery. After the 1860 election of Republican Abraham Lincoln,

seven Southern states declared their secession from the United States between late 1860 and 1861,

establishing a rebel government, the Confederate States of America on February 9, 1861. The Civil

Warbegan when Confederate General Pierre Beauregard opened fire upon Union troops at Fort

Sumterin South Carolina. Four more states seceded as Lincoln called for troops to fight an insurrection.

The next four years were the darkest in American history as the nation tore at itself using the latest military

technology and highly motivated soldiers. The urban, industrialized Northern states (the Union) eventually

defeated the mainly rural, agricultural Southern states (the Confederacy), but between 600,000 and 700,000
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soldiers Americans (on both sides combined) were killed, and much of the infrastructure of the South was

devastated. About 8% of all white males aged 13 to 43 died in the war, including 6% in the North and an

extraordinary 18% in the South.[1]In the end, slavery was abolished, and the Union was restored, richer and

more powerful than ever, while the South was embittered and impoverished.

U.S. Expansion in North America

1800s - nationalism increased in the U.S. as the country expanded.

1912all the U.S. territories in North America had been formed into the 48 states.

The U.S. and Russia were alike because both countries expanded greatly during the 1800s. The U.S.

expanded west from its population centers in places such as Chicago and St. Louis, while Russia expanded

east from its center at Moscow.

1833a French writer, Alexis de Tocqueville compared the American and Russian patterns of expansion

and predicted that during the 1900s the two countries were destined to be the largest and most powerful

nations on earth. The U.S. would be democratic and productive, while Russia would be dictatorial and

destructive. De Tocqueville thought that these two countries must inevitably come into conflict. The Civil

War increased nationalism in the United States because Abraham Lincoln refused to allow southern state to

secede from the nation. The country could only grow, not shrink.

U.S. Expansion After the Civil War

After the Civil War the U.S. began expanding its control and influence beyond North America to other

countries. Reasons the U.S. tried to influence other nations: economic; military; moral.The primary reason

the U.S. expanded its influence in foreign countries. Economic reasonsindustrialization in the late 1800s

increased the need to trade with other countries. Manufacturers spent money constructing factories with

assembly lines, but big companies often produced more products than the American people could buy. This

caused companies to find places to sell their products. Sales of American goods to foreign countries were

important to the workers in the U.S. because:

a. Companies depend on overseas sales to keep their business going.

b. Workers would be out of jobs if the companies were out of business.

c. Workers depend on overseas sales to keep their jobs.

Late 1800s - Products and Natural Resources the U.S. imported: sugar from Cuba and Hawaii; coffee from

Latin American countries; silk from China; minerals and rubber from Southeast Asian countries Military

Reasons. After the Civil War, the military was used to protect settlers and to push Native Americans onto
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reservations. Merchant ships are unarmed ships that carry products and natural resources. The U.S. started

building new ships because: shipping products overseas required modern ships; the U.S. began building new

coal burning, steam-powered merchant ships.

The U.S. needed naval ports in the Pacific because:the U.S. found competition with the merchants of France

and Great Britain; these merchants would prevent other countries from trading with territories they

controlled.

The United States in Latin America- Domination and Accommodation in South America

The Monroe Doctrine

1820s the U.S. government was worried that Spain might try to reclaim some of its lost territory,

particularly the Louisiana territory. President Monroe declared that the U.S. would not tolerate any

European country getting involved in any part of North or South America. This declaration was known as

the Monroe Doctrine which was not a treaty or an agreement with other countries. It was a statement by the

United States that the U.S. would not allow European countries to expand their control over territory in

Latin America. The British navy did not want European countries to get more influence over Latin America.

Fear of the British Navy kept France and Spain from trying to do so.

Crisis with France

The U.S. wanted France to leave Mexico because they did not want a European nation to control a country

that bordered the U.S. The U.S. got France to leave Mexico because they insisted that the French leave or

face a possible war. France decided that fighting an overseas battle with both the Mexicans and the

Americans would be too hard and pulled their troops out of Mexico.

Crisis in Chile

The U.S. supported the President of Chile during the revolution there. When the President of Chile lostcontrol of the government, many people in Chile were angry with the U.S. for supporting him. When the

U.S. ships came ashore in Chile, a riot broke out and 2 American sailors were killed. Chile did not want to

apologize for these deaths until the U.S. president said he might consider going to war with Chile. They

apologized and sent money to the families of the deceased.

Crisis in Venezuela

1895a dispute between Venezuela and Great Britain gave the U.S. a chance to demonstrate its influence in

the Americas. The dispute was about the location of the border between Venezuela and British Guinea. The

U.S. helped solve the problem.


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The Spanish-American War

1898 - the U.S. fought a brief war with Spain Spains influence changed during the 1800s because countries

such as Mexico, Peru,Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador,fought successful wars of independence from Spain.

The U.S. became the largest importer of Cuban sugar in 1984, importing over 1 million tons.

1890s - America wanted to go to war with Spain because Spain had sent troops to Cuba to stop them from

gaining independence and in the process had killed many Cubans and Americans living in Cuba.

1898 - 2 events increased the desire of Americans to go to war with Spain: the publication in a New York

newspaper of a letter from the Spanish ambassador to a friend in Cuba in which the Spanish ambassador had

accused President McKinley of being weak. This angered the President and the American public; the sinking

of the U.S. battleship, Maine, which had gone to Cuba to protect american citizens there. On Feb.15, 1989

an explosion occurred on the Maine, killing 260 American sailors.The policy of the United States towardSpain used domination. Cuba and the Philippines were supposed to gain independence after the Spanish

American war. Puerto Rico was supposed to be turned over to the control of the U.S.

Post-war Relations with Cuba

1901 - Platt Amendment was passed. This amendment stated that the U.S. to send troops into Cuba if the

new Cuban government was unable to protect life and property. The Cubans were told that their constitution

must include provisions stating that Cuba: could not enter into any agreement with a foreign power that

could endanger its independence; would give the right to the U.S. to intervene in Cuba if the Cuban

government had problems; would lease a naval base at Guantanamo Bay to the U.S. American troops started

a revolution in Cuba in 1906 and remained in Cuba until 1909.

Domination in the Caribbean

Roosevelt Corollary

1904 - President Roosevelt issued the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. It basically said that the

U.S. would act as a policeman in Latin America.

1918- 1945

The history of the United States from 1918 through 1945 covers the post-World War I era, the Great

Depression, and World War II. After World War I, the U.S. rejected the Treaty of Versailles and did not join

the League of Nations.

In foreign policy the nation never joined the League of Nations, but instead took the initiative to disarm the

world, most notably at the Washington Conference in 192122. Washington also stabilized the European
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economy through the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan. The Immigration Act of 1924 was aimed at

stabilizing the traditional ethnic balance and strictly limiting the total inflow.

The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression led to government efforts to restart the

economy and help its victims. The recovery, however, was very slow. The nadir of the Great Depression

was 1933, and recovery was rapid until the recession of 1938 proved a setback. There were no major new

industries in the 1930s that were big enough to drive growth the way autos, electricity and construction had

been so powerful in the 1920s. GDP surpassed 1929 levels in 1940.

By 1939, isolationist sentiment in America had ebbed, and after the stunning fall of France in 1940 to

Nazi Germany the United States began rearming itself and sent a large stream of money and military

supplies to Britain, China and Russia. After the sudden Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States

entered the war against Imperial Japan, Fascist Italy, and Nazi Germany, known as the "Axis Powers". Italy

surrendered in 1943, and Germany and Japan in 1945, after massive devastation and loss of life, while the

US emerged far richer and with few casualities.

1945- 1964

For the United States of America, 1945 to 1964 was an era of war, economic growth and prosperity

which saw the victorious powers of World War II confronting each other in the Cold Warand the triumph of

the Civil Rights Movement that ended Jim Crow segregation in the South.

The period saw an active foreign policy designed to rescue Europe and Asia from the devastation of WorldWar II and to contain the expansion of Communism, represented by the Soviet Union and China. A race

began to overawe the other side with more powerful nuclear weapons. The Soviets formed the Warsaw

Pact of communist states to oppose the American-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance.

The U.S. fought a bloody, inconclusive war in Korea and was escalating the war in Vietnam as the period

ended.

On the domestic front, after a short transition, the economy grew rapidly, with widespread prosperity,

rising wages, and the movement of most of the remaining farmers to the towns and cities. Politically, the erawas dominated by presidents, Democrats Harry Truman (194553), John F. Kennedy (196163) and Lyndon

Johnson (196369), and Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower(195361). For most of the period, the

Democrats controlled Congress; however, they were usually unable to pass as much liberal legislation as

they had hoped because of the power of the Conservative Coalition. The Liberal coalition came to power

after Kennedy's assassination in 1963, and launched the Great Society.

1964-1980

The history of the United States from 1964 through 1980 includes the climax and victory of the African

American Civil Rights Movement; the escalation and ending of the Vietnam War; the drama of a

generational revolt with its sexual freedoms and use of drugs; and the continuation of the Cold War, with its
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Space Race to put a man on the Moon. The economy was prosperous until the early 1970s, then faltered

under new foreign competition and high oil prices. By 1980 and the seizure of the American Embassy in

Iran, there was a growing sense of national malaise. This period is closed by the victory ofconservative

Republican Ronald Reagan, opening the "Age of Reagan" with a dramatic change in national direction.

Memories of the 1960s shaped the political landscape for the next half-century. As Bill Clinton explained in

1990, "If you look back on the Sixties and think there was more good than bad, you're probably a Democrat.

If you think there was more harm than good, you're probably a Republican.

1980- 1991

The history of the United States from 1980 until 1991 includes the last year of the Jimmy Carterpresidency,

eight years of the Ronald Reagan administration, and the first two years of the George H. W.

Bushpresidency, up to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Plagued by the Iran hostage crisis and mounting

domestic opposition, Carter lost the 1980 presidential election to Republican Reagan. In his first term,

Reagan introduced expansionary fiscal policies aimed at stimulating the American economy after

a recession in 1981 and 1982, including oil deregulation policies which led to the 1980s oil glut. He met

with Soviet leaderMikhail Gorbachev in four summit conferences, culminating with the signing of the INF

Treaty. These actions accelerated the end of the Cold War, which occurred during the early part of the Bush

presidency, and the removal of the Berlin Wall. The second largest stock market crash(percentage-wise) in

United States history occurred in 1987, preceding another recession. The largest scandal of the years was

the Iran-Contra affair, wherein weapons had been sold to Iran, and the proceeds used by the CIA to aid

Contras in Nicaragua.

1991-present

The history of the United States from 1991 to present began after the fall of the Soviet Union which

signaled the end of the Cold Warand left the U.S. unchallenged as the world's dominant superpower. The

U.S. took a leading role in military involvement in the Middle East. The U.S. expelled an Iraqi invasion

force from Kuwait, a Middle Eastern ally of the U.S., in the Persian Gulf War. On the domestic front,

the Democrats returned to the White House with the election ofBill Clinton in 1992, as independent RossPerot gained 19% of the vote--for a while Perot was leading in the polls. In the 1994 midterm election,

theRepublicans gained control of Congress for the first time in 40 years. and a balanced budget. Charges

from the Lewinsky scandal led to the 1998 impeachment of Clintonby the House of Representatives but he

was later acquitted by the Senate. In 2000, Republican George W. Bush was elected president in one of the

closest and most controversial elections in U.S. history.

Early in his term, his administration approved education reform and a large across-the-board tax cut aimed

at stimulating the economy. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, the U.S. embarked on the War on

Terror, starting with the 2001 war in Afghanistan. In 2003, the U.S. invaded Iraq, which deposed the

controversial regime ofSaddam Husseinbut also resulted in a prolonged conflict that would continue over
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the course of the decade. The Homeland Security Departmentwas formed and the controversial Patriot

Act was passed to bolster domestic efforts against terrorism. In 2006, criticism over the handling of the

disastrousHurricane Katrina (which struck the Gulf Coast region in 2005), political scandals, and the

growing unpopularity of the Iraq War helped the Democrats gain control of Congress. Saddam Hussein was

later tried, charged forwar crimes and crimes against humanity, and executed by hanging. In 2007, President

Bush ordered a troop surge in Iraq, which ultimately led to reduced casualties. The collapse of the housingbubble, which led into the late-2000s recession, helped the Democrats gain the presidency in 2008 with the

election ofBarack Obama. The government enacted large loans and economic stimulus packagesaimed at

improving the economy. Obama's domestic initiatives also included the Patient Protection and Affordable

Care Act, which by means of large reforms to the American healthcare system, created a National Health

Insurance program. President Obama eventually withdrew combat troops from Iraq, and shifted the country's

efforts in the War on Terror to Afghanistan, where a troop surge was initiated in 2009. In 2010, due to

continued public discontent with the economic situation, unemployment, and federal spending, Republicansregained control of the House of Representatives and reduced the Democratic majority in the Senate. In

2011, Obama announced that al-Qaeda leaderOsama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces during a covert

operation in Pakistan while the Iraq Warwas declared formally over the same year. The following year

Obama was re-elected president. In June 2013, the Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of

Marriage Act, which resulted in the recognition of legally performed same-sex marriages by the federal

government.
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the us expansion 1

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