History of the United States: American Gentry, Antinomian Controversy, Champoeg Meetings, Coal Wars, Colored, Forest Finns, Fushatchee, Great Americ

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 121. Chapters: American gentry, Antinomian Controversy, Champoeg Meetings, Coal Wars, Colored, Forest Finns, Fushatchee, Great American Hall of Wonders, History of Social Security in the United States, Jefferson-Hemings controversy, List of shipwrecks of the United States, Mulatto, Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan, Numismatic history of the United States, Outline of United States history, Patriot on the Kennebec, River pirate, SAT Subject Test in United States History, The World Split Open, Timber pirate, Timeline of United States history, Uido Truija, United States Factor, West Point Center for Oral History. Excerpt: The history of the United States as covered in American schools and universities typically begins with either Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage to the Americas or with the prehistory of the Native peoples, with the latter approach having become increasingly common in recent decades. Indigenous populations lived in what is now the United States before European colonists began to arrive, mostly from England, after 1600. By the 1770s, thirteen British colonies contained two and a half million people. They were prosperous and growing rapidly, and had developed their own autonomous political and legal systems. The British Parliament asserted its authority over these colonies by imposing new taxes, which the Americans insisted were unconstitutional because they were not represented in Parliament. Growing conflicts turned into full-fledged war beginning in April 1775. On July 4, 1776, the colonies declared independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain and became the United States of America. With major military and financial support from France and military leadership by General George Washington, the Patriots won the Revolutionary War and peace came in 1783. During and after the war, the 13 states were united under a weak federal government established by the Articles of Confederation. When these proved unworkable, a new Constitution was adopted in 1789; it remains the basis of the United States federal government, and later included a Bill of Rights. With Washington as the nation's first president and Alexander Hamilton his chief advisor, a strong national government was created. When Thomas Jefferson became president he purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, expanding American territorial holdings. A second and last war with Britain was fought in 1812. U.S. territory expanded westward across the continent, displacing Native American populations along the way. Slavery of Africans was abolished in all the Northern states at the turn of the 19th century, but it f