American History to 1877

American History to 1877

            Contrary to popular belief the United States’ “Native Americans” were nothing of the sort.  What we consider to be today’s Native Americans are really relatives to human beings who crossed from Siberia when there was a land bridge that connected Asia and Alaska.  These nomadic people traveled south over the entire US; some stayed and made lives here, while others sought out warmer climates.  Some of these tribal people include the Hopewell, Mississippians and the Northern Iroquoian.  Another very important Native American tribe is the Anasazi who are famed for being very aggressive and for their highly successful cliff dwellings which still exist in present day Colorado.  These dwellings were perfectly protected from all types of weather and were built to gain the sun’s heat in the winter.   

            Jumping way into the future, in 1519 the Spanish decided that the Gulf of Mexico was too difficult of a passage to Asia and began to rethink a passageway.  Following Columbus, Hernan Cortes sailed along Mexico’s east coast and eventually set up a camp in Vera Cruz.  Montezuma, the Aztec emperor believed that Cortes was actually the God Quetzalcoatl returning and felt that he had to give him an amazing welcome. Cortes and his men became aware of the Aztecs great wealth and decided to take over their empire.  They used small tribes that disliked the Aztecs as allies as well as their guns and horses to their advantage.  But, the main reason that they were successful was disease, mostly smallpox.  Due to smallpox Cortes was successful and took over the Aztec capital; he renamed it Mexico City. 

            Jumping back to the voyages that lead to the Spanish Conquest, I’d like to discuss the reason that this event was possible.  The man responsible for all of this was Christopher Columbus.  Financed and supported by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella Columbus and a group of ninety sailors boarded three small boats and headed towards the Canary Islands.  A long story short, Columbus discovered the Bahamas and Cuba as well as the Americas, which lead to where we are today.

            Now, jumping ahead about two hundred years, immigrants from many different European countries including England migrated over to present day America to begin new lives.  Men, especially Irish and English men traveled to America to free themselves and their families from the harsh rule of their countries.  In doing so, these people who claimed Native American land as their own deeply angered them and basically turned all Cherokee and Iroquois Indians against them. These new Americans, the Patriots wished to become theirr own nation and also deeply angered the Loyalists, or Tories who wanted to stay loyal to their ruling Britain.  This caused a clash between the Patriots and the British Loyalists who had the Native Americans on their side.  Going into battle, it seemed almost certain that the British would win given that they had the strongest military force in the world at that time, as well as the knowledge of the land from the Indians.  But it turned out that the Patriots motivations were strong enough to allow them to fight and succeed in gaining their independence.  On July the 4th of 1776 the Americans declared independence, and George Washington served as the first American president.

            Now that America is an official country they need a government as well as laws.  The documents that first served that purpose were the Articles of Confederation, drawn up by Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, as well as George Washington and other government officials.   These documents were followed by the official US Constitution, which still exists today, and besides a few amendments, stands successful and in use.  Although America had its Constitution in place there were still many problems that government officials had to face, one of the major ones of the time being slavery.  The rich aristocrats in the south had many slaves to work their land and make them money through agriculture, but the northerners for the most part did not believe in slavery. As a sort of solution to the growing slavery problem the government decided to add a Bill of Rights to the Constitution, basically giving all people the same rights, and making slaves equal to all other people. 

            After the Constitution America worked to expand their new country and still deal with the slavery issue.  Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set off to explore the newly acquired Louisiana territory, which had doubled the size of the country. Between November 1804 and March 1805 Lewis and Clark explored the western reaches of the United States lead by their hosts the Mandan Indians.  Their expedition showed the importance of interior waterways in travel and exploration in the West and proved to be a big step forward in westward expansion.  

            The next major event in American history was the War of 1812.  Americans instigated the war because they were upset with the British in Canada for trading with their Indian enemies.  They wanted to eliminate the British threat on the high seas as well as the threat of them trading with the Indians.  Another factor was that the Shawnees at Tippecanoe were defeated, making western war hawks want to break Indian resistance altogether.  But most of all Americans felt that winning this war would grant them true independence once and for all in American History.  While the Americans were better armed and better organized, they were ill-prepared for an all out war.  The British and the Indians had huge military power and knowledge of the land as well as an abiding hate of Americans, which was great for morale.  The war was pretty much a stale mate and the final compromise was that each side would retain the land that they already possessed.

            In the early eighteenth century in American History, Americans migrated in masses over to the west to start new lives.  These settlers endured long and dangerous journeys, stopping at outposts such as Fort Laramie and Fort Hall to refresh their supplies, rest their livestock, and fix their wagons.  Although Indians were resentful of these settlers, they rarely attacked the wagons. 

            In 1835 President Andrew Jackson made a puzzling announcement.  He declared that eastern Indian tribes be relocated to Indian Territory, this move was called the Trail of Tears.  The next major American occurrence was the war with Mexico over Texas.  Texas wanted to become the 28^th US state, and did just that.  Next gold is discovered in California and causes a huge gold rush.  And then, in 1860 the first state, South Carolina secedes from the Union.  In 1861 the Confederate States of America is formed, causing the Civil War. In 1863 Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation and the Battle of Gettysburg takes place, ultimately allowing the Union to win the war and defeat the Confederacy in 1865.  Overall, the Civil War lasted four years and went back and forth as to whether the north or south would win.  While the south liked to battle from their own land, when they finally go to Gettysburg to battle they are unsuccessful. This northern victory is what really allowed them to be victorious in the entire war.  Also in 1865, President Abraham is assassinated and Andrew Johnson becomes President.  The Thirteenth Amendment was also ratified.  In 1866 there were a number of major American events including the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the National Labor Union was founded, the Ku Klux Klan was organized, and Congress approved the fourteenth Amendment.  In 1867, the US purchased Alaska from Russia, and the Reconstruction Act takes place.  President Johnson was impeached in 1868 and the Colored Labor Union was founded.  The Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1969, which proved to be a huge American asset.  Also, many more organizations are founded including the Knights of Labor.  In 1872 Susan B. Anthony attempted to vote, and Congress created Yellowstone National Park.  The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1875, and in 1877 the Great Railroad strike as well as many other substantial events took place. 

            In conclusion, there were many, many significant American History events that took place from the beginnings of America, through the Constitution, and up until 1877, and even though I wasn’t able to touch on even half of them, they were all equally important in getting America to where it is today...writing the American History books as we went.