History of the United States ^^

 

Pre-Columbian era

The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during the Early Modern period.
While technically referring to the era before Christopher Columbus's voyages of 1492 to 1504, in practice the term usually includes the history of American indigenous cultures until they were conquered or significantly influenced by Europeans, even if this happened decades or even centuries after Columbus's initial landing.
Pre-Columbian is used in the context of discussing the great indigenous civilizations of the Americas, such as those of Mesoamerica: the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacano, the Zapotec, the Mixtec, the Aztec, and the Maya; and South America: Norte Chico or Caral in Peru, and the Andean civilizations: Inca, Moche, Chibcha, and Cañaris. It is also applied to the Mississippian culture of North America, which produced Cahokia; at its peak in 1250 CE, it was the largest city north of Mexico, a position not surpassed until 1800.
Many pre-Columbian civilizations established hallmarks which included permanent or urban settlements, agriculture, civic and monumental architecture, major earthworks, and complex societal hierarchies. Some of these civilizations had long faded by the time of the first permanent European arrivals (c. late 15th–early 16th centuries), and are known only through archaeological investigations. Others were contemporary with the colonial period, and were described in historical accounts of the time. A few, such as the Maya, had their own written records. Because most Christian Europeans of the time viewed such texts as heretical, they destroyed many texts in pyres. Only a few hidden documents have survived to today, giving modern historians glimpses of ancient culture and knowledge.
American civilizations at the time of European encounter possessed many impressive accomplishments. For instance, the Aztecs built one of the most impressive cities in the world, Tenochtitlan, the ancient site of Mexico City, with an estimated population of 200,000. American civilizations also displayed impressive accomplishments in astronomy and mathematics.
Where they persist, the societies and cultures that descended from these civilizations may now be substantively different in form from that of earlier ones. Many of these peoples and their descendants maintain various traditions and practices which relate to the earlier times, as well as combining them with more recently adopted ones.

Colonial history of the United States

The colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the 13 colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, Scotland, France, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands began to colonize eastern North America.^[1] Many early attempts—notably the English Lost Colony of Roanoke—ended in failure, but several successful colonies were established. European settlers came from a variety of social and religious groups. No aristocrats settled permanently, but a number of adventurers, soldiers, farmers, and tradesmen arrived. The Dutch of New Netherland, the Swedes and Finns of New Sweden, the English, Irish and German Quakers of Pennsylvania, the English Puritans of New England, the English settlers of Jamestown, and the "worthy poor" of Georgia, among others—each group came to the new continent and built colonies with distinctive social, religious, political and economic styles.
Historians typically recognize four distinct regions in the lands that later became the Eastern United States. From north to south, they are: New England, the Middle Colonies, the Chesapeake Bay Colonies (Upper South) and the Lower South. Some historians add a fifth region, the frontier, which was never separately organized. Other colonies that contributed land to the future United States include New France, Quebec (Louisiana), New Spain, and Russian Alaska.^[1] By the time European settlers arrived around 1600-1650, the majority of the Native Americans living in the eastern United States had been decimated by new diseases, introduced to them decades before by explorers and sailors.^[2]

History of the United States (1789–1849)

This article covers the history of the United States from 1789 through 1849, the period of westward expansion.
After the election of George Washington as the first president in 1789, Congress passed the first of many laws organizing the government and adopted a bill of rights as 10 amendments to the new constitution; these amendments are the U.S. Bill of Rights. During much of early U.S. there was no popular vote count in presidential elections.
President Washington took action to establish the Executive Branch of the United States Government. Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789, which established the entire federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court.
The 1790s were highly contentious, as the First Party System emerged in the contest between Alexander Hamilton and his Federalist party, and Thomas Jefferson and his Republican party. Washington and Hamilton were building a strong national government, with a broad financial base, and the support of merchants and financiers throughout the country. Jeffersonians oppose the new national Bank, the Navy, and federal taxes. The Federalists favored Britain, which was embattled in a series of wars with France. Jefferson's victory in 1800 opened the era of Jeffersonian democracy, and doomed the upper-crust federalists to increasingly marginal roles.
The Louisiana Purchase, in 1803 opened vast Western expanses of fertile land, just right for the yeomen farmers whom Jefferson championed.
The War of 1812 against Britain was fought to uphold American honor, which it accomplished. Despite incompetent government management, and a series of defeats early on, Americans found new generals like Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, and Winfield Scott, who repulsed British invasions and broke the alliance between the British and the Indians that held up settlement of the Old Northwest. In the 1830s, the Federal government forcibly deported the Southeastern tribes to reservations in the west.
The spread of democracy opened the ballot box to nearly all white men, allowing the Jacksonian democracy to dominate politics during the Second Party System. Whigs, representing wealthier planters merchants financiers and professionals, wanted to modernize the society, using tariffs and federally funded internal improvements; they were blocked by the Jacksonians, who closed down the national Bank in 1830s. The Jacksonians wanted expansion—that is "Manifest Destiny"-- into new lands that would be occupied by farmers and planters. Thanks to the annexation of Texas, the defeat of Mexico in war, and a compromise with Britain, the western third of the nation rounded out the continental United States by 1848.
Meanwhile economic and modernization proceeded rapidly, thanks to highly profitable cotton crops in the south, industries in the Northeast, and a fast developing transportation infrastructure. Breaking loose from European models, the Americans developed their own high culture, notably in literature and in higher education. The Second Great Awakening brought revivals across the country, forming new denominations and greatly increasing church membership, especially among Methodists and Baptists. By the 1840s increasing numbers of immigrants were arriving from Europe, especially British, Irish, and Germans. Many settled in the cities, which were starting to emerge as a major factor in the economy and society.
The Whigs had warned that annexation of Texas would lead to a crisis over slavery, and they were proven right by the turmoil of the 1850s that led to civil war.

History of the United States (1776–1789)

Between 1776 and 1789, the United States became an independent country, creating and ratifying its new constitution, and establishing the federal government. In an attempt to assert their traditional rights, American Patriots seized control of the colonies and launched a war for independence. The Americans declared independence on July 4, 1776, raised armies under the command of General George Washington, forged a military alliance with France, and captured the two main British invasion armies. Nationalists replaced the governing Articles of Confederation to strengthen the federal government's powers of defense and taxation with the Constitution of the United States in 1789, still in effect today.

History of the United States (1849–1865)

Between the years 1849 and 1865, events that took place in the United States included the American Civil War and the turbulent years leading up to it, during which occurred many events that were critical in its origins.
The nation underwent several economic and cultural changes as industrialization and the transportation revolution changed the economics of the north and west. Immigration also shifted the majority of the population further to the north and began a mass cultural change in the United States from the 1840s until the 1850s.
The California Gold Rush of 1849 brought the issues raised by the Wilmot Proviso to the forefront of discussion. The admission of California into the Union was settled by the Compromise of 1850 whereby the status of the rest of the territory acquired from the Mexican-American War was to be determined by popular sovereignty. Debates over the Fugitive Slave Law and Sectionalism^[vague] were common.
In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act abrogated the Missouri Compromise by providing that each new state of the Union would decide its posture on slavery. The settlement of Kansas by pro- and anti-slavery factions, and eventual victory of the anti-slavery camp, was fueled by convictions that signaled by the birth of the Republican party. By 1861, the admission of Kansas to the Union broke the balance of power.^{[citation needed]}
After the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln, eleven Southern states declared their secession from the United States between late 1860 and 1861, establishing a rebel government, the Confederate States of America on American soil, on February 9, 1861. The Civil War began when Confederate General Pierre Beauregard opened fire upon Union troops at Fort Sumter in South Carolina.
The next four years were the darkest in American history as the nation tore itself apart over the long and bitter issues of slavery and states rights. The increasingly urban, industrialized Northern states (the Union) eventually defeated the mainly rural, agricultural Southern states (the Confederacy), but between 600,000 and 700,000 Americans on both sides were killed, and much of the land in the South was devastated. Based on 1860 census figures, 8% of all white males aged 13 to 43 died in the war, including 6% in the North and an extraordinary 18% in the South.^[1] In the end, however, slavery was abolished, and the Union was restored.

History of the United States (1865–1918)

The history of the United States (1865–1918) covers Reconstruction, the Gilded Age and the rise of industrialization in the United States. This period of rapid economic growth and soaring prosperity in North and West (but not the South) saw the U.S. become the world's dominant economic, industrial and agricultural power, although it exercised less international influence than Britain. The average annual income (after inflation) of nonfarm workers grew by 75% from 1865 to 1900, then grew another 33% by 1918.^[1]
With a decisive victory in 1865 over Southern secessionists in the Civil War, the United States became a united and powerful nation, with a more powerful national government. Reconstruction brought the end of slavery and citizenship for the ex-slaves, but their political power was later rolled back and they became second class citizens under a "Jim Crow" system of segregation. Politically the nation in the Third Party System and Fourth Party System was mostly dominated by Republicans (expect for two Democratic presidents). After 1900 the Progressive Era brought political and social reforms and modernational of many areas of government and society, such as new roles for education and a higher status for women.
In an unprecedented wave of European immigration, 27.5 million new arrivals between 1865 and 1918^[2] provided the labor base for the expansion of industry and agriculture and provided the population base for most of fast-growing urban America.
By the late nineteenth century, the United States had become a leading global industrial power, building on new technologies (such as the telegraph and steel), an expanding railroad network, and abundant natural resources such as coal, timber, oil and farmland, to usher in the Second Industrial Revolution.
There were two important wars. The US easily defeated Spain in 1898, which unexpectedly brought a small empire, of which Puerto Rico and (and some smaller islands) became permanent possessions (as did Alaska, added by purchase in 1867, and Hawaii).
The United States late (1917) entry in World War I on the side of the Allied Powers led to a decisive Allied victory thanks to American financial, industrial and military strength.

History of the United States (1918–1945)

The history of the United States from 1918 through 1945 covers the post-World War I era, the Great Depression, and World War II. After World War I, the United States signed separate peace treaties with Germany and her allies.
In 1920, the manufacture, sale, import and export of alcohol was prohibited by an amendment to the United States Constitution. Possession of liquor, and drinking it, was never illegal. The overall level of alcohol consumption did go down, however, state and local governments avoided aggressive enforcement. The federal government was overwhelmed with cases, so that bootlegging and speakeasies flourished in every city, and well-organized criminal gangs exploded in numbers, finances, power, and influence on city politics.^[1]
During most of the 1920s, the United States enjoyed a period of sustained prosperity. Agriculture went through a bubble that collapsed in 1921 and that sector remained depressed, and coal mining was being displaced by oil. Otherwise most sectors prospered. Prices were stable, and the gross national product grew steadily until 1929, when the financial bubble burst.
In foreign policy the nation never join the League of Nations, but instead took the initiative to disarm the world, most notably at the Washington Conference in 1921-1922. Washington also stabilized the European economy through the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan. The Immigration Act of 1924 was aimed at further restricting the Southern and Eastern Europeans, especially Jews, Italians and Slavs, who had begun to enter the country in large numbers beginning in the 1890s.^[2]
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression led to government efforts to re-start the economy and help its victims. The recovery, however, was very slow. The nadir of the Great Depression was 1933, and recovery was rapid until the recession of 1938 proved a setback. There were no major new industries in the 1930s that were big enough to drive growth the way autos, electricity and construction had been so powerful in the 1920s. GDP surpassed 1929 levels in 1940.
By 1939, isolationist sentiment in America had ebbed, but after the fall of France in 1940 the United States began rearming itself and sent a large stream of money and military supplies to Britain, China and Russia. After the sudden Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States entered the war against Imperial Japan, Fascist Italy, and Nazi Germany, known as the "Axis Powers". Italy surrendered in 1943, and Germany and Japan in 1945, after massive devastation and loss of life, while the US emerged far richer and with few casualties.

History of the United States (1945–1964)

The history of the United States from 1945 through 1964 was an era of economic growth and prosperity which saw the victorious powers of World War II confronting each other in the Cold War and the triumph of the Civil Rights Movement that ended Jim Crow segregation in 1964 and in 1965 restored the right to vote to blacks in the South^[1].
The period of United States history was a period of active foreign policy designed to rescue Europe from the devastation of World War II and to contain the expansion of Communism, represented by the Soviet Union. A race began to overawe the other side with more powerful nuclear weapons. The Soviets formed the Warsaw Pact of communist states to oppose the American-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance. The U.S. fought a bloody, inconclusive war in Korea and was escalating the war in Vietnam as the period ended^[2].
On the domestic front, after a short transition, the economy grew rapidly, with widespread prosperity, rising wages, and the movement of most of the remaining farmers to the towns and cities. Politically, the era was dominated by presidents, Democrats Harry Truman (1945–53), John F. Kennedy (1961–63) and Lyndon Johnson (1963–69), and Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–61). For most of the period, the Democrats controlled Congress; however, they were usually unable to pass liberal legislation because of the power of the Conservative Coalition. The Liberal coalition came to power after Kennedy's assassination in 1963, and launched the Great Society.

History of the United States (1964–1980)

The history of the United States from 1964 through 1980 includes the climax and collapse of the African American Civil Rights Movement; the escalation and ending of the Vietnam War; the drama of a generational revolt with its sexual freedoms and use of drugs; and the continuation of the Cold War, with its Space Race to put a man on the Moon. The economy was prosperous until the early 1970s, then faltered under new foreign competition and high oil prices. By 1980 and the seizure of the American Embassy in Iran, there was a growing sense of national malaise. This period is closed by the victory of conservative Republican Ronald Reagan, opening the "Age of Reagan" with a dramatic change in national direction.
Memories of the 1960s shaped the political landscape for the next half-century. As Bill Clinton explained in 2004, "If you look back on the Sixties and think there was more good than bad, you're probably a Democrat. If you think there was more harm than good, you're probably a Republican."^[1]

History of the United States (1980–1991)

The history of the United States (1980–1991) includes the last year of the Jimmy Carter presidency, eight years of the Ronald Reagan administration, and the first two years of the George H. W. Bush presidency, up to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Plagued by the Iran Hostage Crisis and mounting domestic opposition, Carter lost the 1980 presidential election to Republican Reagan. In his first term, Reagan introduced expansionary fiscal policies aimed at stimulating the American economy after a recession in 1981 and 1982, including oil deregulation policies which led to the 1980s oil glut. He met with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in four summit conferences, culminating with the signing of the INF Treaty. These actions accelerated the end of the Cold War war, which occurred during the early part of the Bush presidency, and the removal of the Berlin Wall. The second largest stock market crash (percentage-wise) in United States history occurred in 1987, preceding another recession. The largest scandal of the years was the Iran-Contra affair, wherein weapons had been sold to Iran, and the proceeds used by the CIA to aid Contras in Nicaragua.

History of the United States (1991–present)

This article covers the history of the United States from 1991 to present, beginning at the end of the Cold War with the fall of the Soviet Union and the start of the United States' military involvement in the Middle East.