USA History英文版美国历史简介

The United States of America History

Indians: The “first Americans”

The Discovery of the New World

Christopher Columbus (31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506)

a navigator, colonizer, and explorer

He initiated the process of Spanish colonization which foreshadowed general European colonization of the "New World".

Pilgrim Fathers

Relations of American Indians with European settlers

The American War of Independence

What were the causes of the War of Independence?

Britain’s colonial policy

▪The economy in the 13 colonies developed very fast

▪The British government was to bring the development under control and to collect more taxes from the colonies.

▪“No taxation without representation”

▪( 无代表，不纳税）

How was the War of Independence started?

▪The “Boston Tea Party”

•In 1773, when ships of tea reached Boston to be distributed, several

dozen Boston residents boarded the ship at night and threw $75,000

worth of tea into the harbor. This came to be known as the “Boston Tea

Party”.

▪The start of the war

•In 1775, about 1,000 British soldiers were sent from Boston to seize the

military supplies of the American militia. When they arrived at

Lexington they were met by the armed militiamen. Suddenly a shot was

fired and the War of Independence began.

Boston Tea Party

The First Continental Congress—September, 1774

The Second Continental Congress

Held in Philadelphia in May 1775

Assume the functions of a national government

Declaration of Independence

On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed.

On July 4, 1776, the Congress formally declared the independence

•The Declaration states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: That

all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with

certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the

pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are

instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of

the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes

destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to

abolish it, …”

After being printed, the copies were sent out, broadcast and read to crowds everywhere.

▪The document greatly encouraged the struggling people, making them think that they should be independent and have the right to enjoy liberty.

▪They were beginning to show more interests in a common cause.

▪Both a great influence on the course of the war and a far-reaching influence in world history as well.

It dragged on for seven years. (1775-1783)

Obstacles for the continental army:

▪No enough supplies.

▪Tired and hungry, while British troops fresh and well-equipped.

▪By the middle of December, 1776, the Revolution seemed lost.

The victory at Saratoga (1777, October)—turning point.

The assistance from France

▪Benjamin Franklin—a messenger to Europe to get help from other countries.

▪The French King made two agreements with Franklin:

•France would take part in the war against England.

•They agreed to trade with each other.

•Spain and Holland joined France against England

—a quick end to the war.

In 1781, a decisive victory at Yorktown in Virginia

On October 19, 1781, the British general Cornwallis was forced to surrender, the war came to an end.

The two parts signed the Treaty of Paris in 1783—America won its independence

2.5 The Establishment of Constitution

On May 25, 1787, the constitution was drafted.

In June 1789, the constitution came into effect in nine states.

Ten amendments—The Bill of Rights—were added to the Constitution in 1791.

The Civil War (1861-1865)

Causes of Civil War

Economic reason:

▪two different economic systems

North Capitalist Economy

South Plantation

Political reason

▪The North—Federal Government as a union

▪The South—The Confederate Government: the independence of each state

Uncle Tom’s Cabin Published in 1852

Harriet Beecher Stowe ( l811-1896 )

An antislavery novel which had great political influence.

"So this is the little lady who made this big war.“ ---Lincoln