US History: Pre-Columbian Era to Colonization

• The history of the United States is a complex story of diverse peoples, cultures, conflicts, and ideals that have shaped the nation.

Pre-Columbian Era (Before 1492)

• Prior to European arrival, North America was inhabited by Indigenous peoples with diverse societies, languages, and spiritual beliefs.
• In the Southwest, the Ancestral Puebloans constructed cliff dwellings and irrigation systems for agriculture.
• In the Mississippi Valley, the Mississippian culture built earthen mounds with cities like Cahokia and established trade networks.
• The Iroquois Confederacy in the Northeast formed a democratic alliance of tribes, influencing ideas of representative government.
• Indigenous nations managed land sustainably, with kinship-based economies and spiritual systems connected to nature.

Age of Exploration and Colonization (1492–1763)

• After Christopher Columbus's arrival in 1492, European powers like Spain, France, and England competed for control over North America.
• Spain dominated the Southwest and Florida.
• France claimed territories along the Mississippi River and Great Lakes, focusing on fur trade and alliances with Native tribes.
• England eventually controlled the Thirteen Colonies.
• Jamestown (1607) was the first permanent English colony, driven by tobacco cultivation and forced labor.
• Plymouth Colony (1620) and Massachusetts Bay Colony were founded by Puritans seeking religious freedom.
• Colonial life became divided along geographic and economic lines.
• New England Colonies focused on small farming and shipbuilding.
• Middle Colonies thrived on trade and religious diversity.
• Southern Colonies developed plantation economies dependent on enslaved labor.
• European colonization led to displacement, violence, and disease for Native populations.
• King Philip's War (1675–1678) exemplified conflicts from colonial expansion.

Road to Revolution (1763–1783)

• After the French and Indian War (1754–1763), Britain tightened control over its colonies.
• Parliament imposed taxes like the Stamp Act (1765) and Townshend Acts (1767), leading to colonial resistance.
• Patriots protested "No taxation without representation," challenging British control without colonial representation.
• Tensions rose with events like the Boston Massacre (1770) and the Boston Tea Party (1773).
• The Declaration of Independence (1776), authored by Thomas Jefferson, proclaimed "all men are created equal" amid slavery.
• The Revolutionary War became a fight for independence and a civil war.
• Victory was achieved with French assistance and key battles such as Saratoga and Yorktown.
• The Treaty of Paris (1783) formally recognized U.S. sovereignty.

Founding the Republic (1783–1820)

• After the revolution, the new nation struggled to balance federal and state powers.
• The Articles of Confederation were deemed too weak.
• The U.S. Constitution (1787) established a durable government framework with checks and balances.
• Early republic politics saw rivalries between Federalists (led by Alexander Hamilton) and Democratic-Republicans (led by Thomas Jefferson).
• Federalists favored a strong central government.
• Democratic-Republicans prioritized states' rights and agrarianism.
• Key moments included the Bill of Rights (1791) protecting individual freedoms and the Louisiana Purchase (1803) doubling the nation's size.
• Westward expansion occurred at the expense of Native lands.

Antebellum Era (1820–1861)

• The 19th century brought industrialization in the North and increased plantation slavery in the South.
• The cotton gin solidified slavery as the foundation of the Southern economy.
• Factories grew in Northern cities.
• The abolitionist movement gained momentum with leaders like Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth calling for the end of slavery.
• The women's rights movement began with the Seneca Falls Convention (1848), led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, demanding equality.
• Legislative compromises attempted to balance free and slave states.
• Missouri Compromise (1820).
• Compromise of 1850.
• Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) resulted in "Bleeding Kansas."
• The election of Abraham Lincoln (1860), who opposed slavery's expansion, led Southern states to secede, initiating the Civil War.

Civil War and Reconstruction (1861–1877)

• The Civil War (1861–1865) was the deadliest conflict in U.S. history.
• The Union fought to preserve the nation and end slavery, declared in the Emancipation Proclamation (1863).
• Key battles like Gettysburg and Antietam favored the North.
• The war ended with Confederate surrender in 1865.
• Post-war Reconstruction aimed to rebuild the South and integrate formerly enslaved people.
• 13th Amendment abolished slavery.
• 14th Amendment guaranteed citizenship.
• 15th Amendment protected voting rights.
• Reconstruction faced backlash through groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
• White supremacist governments regained control after 1877, establishing Jim Crow laws.

Industrialization and the Gilded Age (1877–1900)

• The late 19th century featured rapid industrial growth, urbanization, and extreme inequality.
• Industrialists like Carnegie and Rockefeller accumulated vast wealth.
• Laborers endured harsh conditions, leading to strikes like the Haymarket Riot (1886).
• Immigration surged, transforming cities and fostering xenophobia.
• Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) was implemented.

Progressive Era and World War I (1900–1920)

• Progressives pushed for reforms to address industrial injustices, leading to antitrust legislation and labor protections.
• The 19th Amendment (1920) granted women's suffrage.
• The U.S. entered World War I in 1917, aiding the Allies.
• After the war, America retreated into isolationism, rejecting the League of Nations.

Interwar Period and Great Depression (1920–1941)

• The "Roaring Twenties" brought cultural innovation and ended with the Great Depression (1929).
• FDR's New Deal expanded federal power to provide economic relief and infrastructure, reshaping American governance.

World War II (1941–1945)

• The U.S. entered WWII after Pearl Harbor, defeating Axis powers through industrial production and military strategy.
• The war concluded with atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ushering in the nuclear age.

Cold War to Present (1945–Today)

• The U.S. confronted Cold War rivalries, civil rights struggles, technological revolutions, and modern debates over democracy, inequality, and identity.