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Mayflower
102 pilgrims sailed from England to America, "the New World", on the ship the Mayflower. The pilgrims wanted religious and political freedom. The long, difficult journey across the Atlantic Ocean continued for 65 days. There were storms on the way and water entered the ship, but they decided to continue on to the New World. -
Plymouth
The pilgrims arrived to America. The ship finally reached land and some pilgrims left to explore the area. They saw a good place and decided to build a village there. Each family built a small house and they had land to grow vegetables and keep their animals. Later they called the village Plymouth. -
Native American
The pilgrims met a Native American for the first time and he introduced them to his tribe. He taught the pilgrims how to grow corn, beans and pumpkins. After this, life became better for the pilgrims. -
13 colonies
By the 1750s, the British had 13 colonies on the east coast of North America and about two and a half million colonists lived there. But France and Spain also owned big areas of land in North America and wanted to influence the New World, too. -
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War in North America
From 1754 to 1763, the British Army and the colonists fought the French over land in North America. The British won the war and got some of the French land. But then, the British government asked for taxes from the colonists to pay for the war. The colonist refused to pay the taxes. The 13 colonies decided to join together to fight the British. -
Independence day
On 4th July, 1776, the colonies declared independence from Great Britain. Their leaders published the Declaration of Independence on this date. Then, the fighting started. -
End of Independence War
The colonists, led by George washington, fought many long, difficult battles. In the end, they defeated the British and signed the Treaty of Paris in 1783. They called their new nation the United States of America (USA). -
The Louisiana Purchase Agreement
In 1803, the French Emperor Napoleon offered to sell the land to the west of the colonies to the United States for $15 million. The president, Thomas Jefferson, accepted the offer and signed the Louisiana Purchase Agreement. This doubled the size of the country and people started to mo west. By 1848, the country extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. -
Trail of Tears
As the USA expanded, the land and traditions of the Native American were in danger. The USA Government created the first Indian territory in the area now called Oklahoma. They forced more than 15.000 Cherokee people to move 1.600 kilometres to their new territory. Around 4.000 Cherokee people died on the way and they called this journey the "Trail of Tears". -
The North and the South of the USA have problems
Abraham Lincoln is now the President of the USA. The people in the North live in towns, but in the South, they live on plantations and own slaves. He wants to end slavery. The people in the South want to leave the Union and have their own nation, called the Confederate States of America or the Confederacy. But Lincoln wants to keep the country together. What will happen? -
Confederacy vs Union. America is at civil war!
The south has got their Confederacy with 11 states. Richmond, in Virginia, is the capital. They think they're a different nation from the Union in the North. Confederate soldiers attacked a Union fort called Fort Sumter, and began the Civil War. -
The Confederates are losing
Thousands of people are dead. Both the people in the North and the south are suffering. It is a terrible war. The war can't continue for long because the Confederates are losing. They have got fewer soldiers than the Union. -
The end of the American Civil War
General Robert E. Lee, the Confederate army leader, surrendered to General Ulysses Grant, the Union army leader. It's the end of the war! But more than 600.000 Americans are dead. Now, the slaves are free and the country is one nation.
