History Of United States Essay Example

This essay explores how the United States which began as 13 separate colonies formed a distinctive nation of its own. It traces the early evolution of the people of America and the path to American independence from the colonial power.
1. Early Americans: Historians and archaeologists speculate that the early Americans crossed over a broad land bridge (Beringia) during the last Ice Age. As the glaciers melted, the land bridge was submerged, leaving them trapped on this side of the Bering Sea. Those people of Central America i.e., Maya, Aztec & Incas, became centers of innovation and cultural diffusion. They all had stratified social structures and had cultivated religion, crafts, art, and science. They had also built cities.
2. Emergence of Europe: The period of Renaissance brought about a revival in learning (esp. Geography & Navigation), the rise of trade, towns and modern corporations; a decline of feudalism, rise of nation states and the Protestant Reformation. This period from the 14th to the 16th century celebrated human possibility and was a revolt against religious authority in Europe. Renaissance led to towns being settled, increased trade between people and the beginnings of a merchant class. The rise of nation states (kings and queens consolidating power) led to the growth of centralized power, uniform currencies, and trade laws.
3. Spanish Empire: The Caribbean Sea was the funnel through which Spanish power entered the New World (America). In 1519 Hernando Cortes and 600 men landed on the site of Vera Cruz, which he founded, and then, far exceeding his orders, set about the conquest of the Aztec empire. Between 1522 and 1528, Pedro de Alvarado conquered the remnants of the Mayan culture in Yucatan and Guatemala. In 1531, Francisco Pizarro conquered the Incas.
By the mid-1500s, the Indians were nearly extinct in the West Indies. To replace them, the colonizers began to bring in black slaves from Africa as early as 1503. This was the beginning of the African slave trade. The culture that grew up in Spanish America was fundamentally unlike the English-speaking world to the north. There was a more complex civilization to the south. From the beginning male colonists married or simply lived with African and Indian women. The result was the growth of large mixed-ancestry and mixed-cultural groups.
4. Colonies: In 1609, the Virginia Company moved to reinforce the Jamestown colony. It redefined the colony's boundaries and replaced the council with a governor. The company attracted people from various social classes and promised them free land after seven years of labor, which is known as indentured servitude.
In 1613, John Rolfe started experimenting with Virginia tobacco. Eventually, he got hold of a milder and more savory Spanish variety. By 1617, the weed had become an export staple. Meanwhile, Rolfe married the daughter of Powhatan with an aim of more stability. In 1618, the company set about creating a series of reforms for the colony. The first was to inaugurate a new head-right policy. This meant that fifty acres of land would be given to anyone who paid his own or someone else's passage to Virginia and another fifty acres for each additional migrant whose way he paid. Thus, a wealthy man could send or take servants to work for him and receive, in turn, a sizeable plantation.
In a similar manner, the island states came into existence each with its distinctive group of settlers. These islands are Maryland, Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay colony, Rhode island, Connecticut, The Carolinas, New Netherland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Georgia. Georgia was the last British continental colony established. In 1732, George II gave the land to twenty-one trustees.
5. Colonial Government: Not until 1696 after the accession of William and Mary to the English throne did there begin to be a coherent colonial policy. New Navigation Acts were passed and a Board of Trade was created to oversee colonial laws. From 1696 until 1725 the board worked hard to make the colonies more responsible to royal authority.
After 1725, however, the Hanoverians came to the throne of England--George I, II, and III. Their interests lie beyond the English colonies. Government within the colonies, like colonial policy, in general, evolved without any set plan. Basically the governor, council, and assembly of each colony directly reported to the king, lords, and commons of England.
On paper, the governors had tremendous power. They had the following power : 1) veto assembly legislation 2) determine where and when the assembly would meet 3) dissolve the assembly 4) postpone elections 5) appoint officials or remove them 6) command the military 7) grant pardons. The governor nominated for life his Council (except Massachusetts where they were chosen by the Lower House). The Council functioned as the Upper House of the Assembly and as the Highest Court of Appeal within the colony.
6. The Enlightenment in America: In the New World people no longer moved in the worn grooves of tradition that defined the roles of priest or peasant or noble. Much of their experience had already been with observation, experiment, and the need to think anew. America, was therefore, receptive to the new science. Enlightenment thought spurred the establishment of schools in the colonies.
7. The setting of the American Revolution: In 1764 and 1765 Parliament passed four new measures that directly affected the Americans and caused great stir in the colonies which are -.1. Sugar Act of 1764--the old Molasses Act of 1733 placed a sixpence per gallon duty on rum imported from the French West Indies. The Sugar Act cut that duty in half to three pence per gallon. 2. Currency Act of 1764--there was a shortage of hard money in the colonies. Colonies (mostly New England) printed paper money. The Currency Act prohibited paper money from being used in all colonies as legal tender. 3. Stamp Act of 1765-a revenue act which required that stamps be bought and placed on all printed matter and legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, almanacs, leases, deeds, college diplomas, dice and even playing cards. 4. Quartering Act of 1765--required the colonies to supply British troops with supplies and to provide them with barracks. Most important, Englishmen had the right to be taxed only by their elected representatives.
8. Declaration of Independence: After much debate, the Continental Congress decided that a committee be made up of Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman, Ben Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson who would prepare a document explaining why the colonies were justified in declaring their independence.
When composing the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson largely followed the theory that governments were formed by the "consent of the governed" and to protect the people's rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Therefore, when the king degenerated into a tyrant who ignored or violated these rights, the people were forced to exercise their "right of revolution." In order to prove that this right of revolution was justified, Jefferson went on to list thirty-nine examples of the king's tyranny. When the declaration was presented to the Continental Congress on July 2, 1776, the delegates first voted to approve independence and then, two days later, approved the declaration itself.
9. The American Revolution: The colonies were now independent. It was to be seen if they could maintain their independence against the English. Very few people, inside or outside of America, could have expected that the thirteen colonies would have any realistic chance of winning their independence. In the French and Indian War, England had proved itself to be having the strongest military power in Europe. Its army was well trained and well equipped as compared to other European nations and its navy controlled the seas. England expected aid from the Loyalists and the Indians. The United States, on the other hand, had an army and navy which were under a financial chaos. However, England's advantage was far from being real. At the beginning of the revolution, its regular army numbered only 15,000 which depended on German mercenaries. They were hesitant to die in a fight that didn't concern them. The British navy had also deteriorated seriously since 1763 and the ships were not properly maintained and the morale was also very low.

On 2nd December 1777, news of the American victory at Saratoga reached London; two days later it reached Paris, where it was celebrated as if it were a victory of the French. The French foreign minister Compte de Vergennes was supportive to the colonials. The Continental Congress had long maintained a diplomatic delegation in Paris headed by Benjamin Franklin. On February 6, 1778, the Americans and French signed two treaties: 1) Treaty of Amity and Commerce--France recognized the United States and offered trade concessions. 2) Treaty of Alliance--a) if France entered the war, both countries would fight until American independence was won; b) neither would conclude a peace without the consent of the other.
At the end of 1778, the focus of British action shifted suddenly to the south. The whole region from Virginia to the Carolinas had been free from any major action for over two years.
On February 27, 1782, the House of Commons voted against further prosecution of the war and on March 5, passed a bill authorizing the crown to make peace. Peace of Paris, 3rd September 1783 ended the American Revolution
1) Britain recognized the independence of the United States
2) The British agreed to remove their troops from all forts within American territory.3) The British guaranteed Americans rights to fish off the coast of Canada.4) The Americans agreed not to interfere with payment of debts to British merchants.5) The Americans would stop confiscating Loyalist property.6) The Americans would compensate Loyalists in exile for confiscated property