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USA - History

First settlement
1. 1493: Columbus discovers the "New World"
2. 1602: Pilgrim Fathers arrived (ship "Mayflower"
  1. start of the American nation as we know it today
  2. fled from religious persecution
3. began with the colonisation of the "New England States"
Frontier
1. In the view of the settlers, the “frontier” was the dividing line between the white settlements and, as they saw it, the free and unoccupied land, beyond.
2. It was the border country between civilisation and “the wilderness”. The early colonists had built their homes and cities on the east coast, but very soon adventurers like Daniel Boone began to explore and open up new lands outside the boundaries, first north and then west, eventually to the Pacific Coast.
The War of Independence
1. 1775 - 1783
2. 1770: Boston Massacre
  1. British troops occupying Boston to enforce the new British taxes fired into a mob of about 60 rowdy Bostonians. Five people were killed, eight were wounded.
3. 1773: Boston Tea Party
  1. 5000 angry colonists protested against the monopoly of the “East India Company” and a tax on tea. Disguised as Mohawk Indians, American patriots threw 342 chests of tea from ships belonging to the East India Company into Boston Harbour.
4. 1775: War of Independence / American Revolution begins
  1. when British troops tried to seize the arms of colonists at Lexington (Massachusetts) and the first shot was fired.
5. 1783: End of the War of Independence / Revolutionary War
  1. victory of the colonists over their former mother country England
Declaration of Independence
1. Written in 1776; Adopted by the American Congress in Philadelphia on 4th July 1776 (Day of Independence)
2. Historical Background
  1. 1776: The 13 British colonies were still at war with Britain
    1. Only a minority believed in complete independence
    2. British grew stronger > Congress decided that all links to Britain should be cut
  2. Colonists thought that the monarch’s administration was unfair and tyrannical
  3. “All men are created equal” > birth and position are irrelevant when we judge a person’s value
    1. It’s not important whether someone is born in a royal family or into a poor peasant’s family. Each individual enjoys certain rights which nobody can take away > human rights
      1. right of life, even for an unborn child
      2. right of liberty
      3. right of the pursuit of happiness
  4. clearly states the relation between a government and the people
Bill of Rights (law since 1791)
1. When the Constitution was written, several states claimed it did not clearly guarantee the rights and freedoms that had been fought for in the American Revolution. They refused to sign the document unless a number of amendments to the Constitution were added.
  1. Amendments should provide more protection for individuals
    1. The first ten amendments became known as the Bill of Rights
2. summary of the most important rights held by all US citizens
3. passed by Congress in 1789
4. became law in 1791
5. limits the authority of the government, guarantees the fundamental rights to all US citizens
6. Important: there’s a difference between human rights and civil rights
  1. Human rights = rights which are generally valid for everyone
  2. Civil rights = rights which are valid for the citizens of a certain country
7. The Amendments of the Bill of Rights (examples)
  1. 1st
    1. gurantees freedom of religion, speech, pr
  2. 2nd
    1. secures the right to bear arms
  3. 3rd
    1. protects against soldiers being quartered in private homes
  4. since 1791, seventeen other amendments have been added, among them the Civil War Amendments
    1. outlawed slavery
    2. declared all people born / naturalized in the US to be citizens
    3. declared that the right to vote could not be denied because of colour
    4. gave women the right to vote
  5. today: more than 40 amendments
The Civil Rights Movement (summary)
1. term refers to the protest against racial segregation and discrimination and discrimination of blacks in the deep south
2. 1950s and 1960s: fight for equal and fair treatment became an important issue
3. achieved two great victories
  1. Civil Rights Act (1964)
    1. recognized black Americans as equal citizens
  2. Voting Rights Act (1965)
    1. gave black Americans the right to vote
Civil War (1861-1865)
1. Where?
  1. Southern US
  2. Northeastern US
  3. Western US
  4. Atlantic Ocean
2. Result
  1. Union Victory
    1. Slavery abolished
    2. Territorial integrity preserved
    3. Lincoln assasinated five days after Lee's surrender
    4. Destruction and dissolution of the confederacy
3. Beginning of the Reconstruction Era

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USA - History

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	Created by Laura D over 8 years ago