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Christopher Columbus was on a voyage to find India and new trade routes, but he landed on the continent of America. He claimed the land for Spain.
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Christopher Columbus landed in the New World, and this brought on Spanish want for gold. They believed that the Natives had incredible amounts of gold, and they colonized the lower part of the United States. The Spanish enslaved the natives, and many natives died out due to disease.
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Cabot was sent by the English to find a western route to Asia. He sailed across the Atlantic and discovered Newfoundland.
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France has sent Jacques Cartier to find the Northwest Passage, a water passage into the Pacific Ocean. He never found the passage, but he found land for France. France then sent Chamblain, and he set up a trading post called Quebec. They had good ties with the Huron Indians, and they were business partners.
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In 1497, a man named John Cabot sailed across the ocean to find Asia. He mistook Newfoundland for Asia, and planted his flag, and England claimed it. Then, the town of Jamestown was established.
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When the colonists came from England, they had hoped to get food from the local Native Americans. The Native Americans around Jamestown only traded with the English because of Captain John Smith. When he went back to England one winter, the colonists began to starve. 60 of the original 500 were left.
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A man named Henry Hudson explored land went to search for the Northwest passage. He claimed land for the Dutch, and they created New Netherland.
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When the English had arrived in New Netherland wanting to claim the land, the Dutch wanted to fight back. Then, the governer Stuyvesant realized the ammunition was damp. He surrendered New Netherland, and it became New York.
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The King had decided to cut a line down the Appalachian Mountains, to keep colonists and Indians fighting. No colonists were allowed to move west of the line.
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To gain money lost, the King ordered a stamp to be bought along with each paper document, such as letters, wills, or even playing cards.
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This law stated that each family in the Colonies would have to house a British soldier in their house. This means supplying food, and all other needs.
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Charles Townshend decided that since Britain was in debt to a lot of money, he would state that everyone would have to pay extra taxes for British goods.
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This was when Britain decided to lower the price of tea, so Americans would buy it. But then, the "Sons of Liberty" took over the ship dressed as Mohawk indians, and threw the tea overboard.
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Britain had been angered with the Colonists, so they set out laws, that were so harsh that they were named the Intolerable Acts. Massachusetts was closed for all shipping until it paid for the tea, and all of Massachusetts was under strict British control. The British soldiers accused of murder would be tried in England, not the Colonies.
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The British Army wanted to get arms at the town of Concord, and Colonial troops ambushed them and this was the beginning of the first battle of the Revolutionary War.
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Here, they congress of the colonies had to decide on a leader for their Continental Army. Of all, they chose General George Washinton, from Virginia.
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The Americans, were given the objective to defend Bunker Hill.The British came to fight, but the Americans successfully defeated the troops.
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General Washington was running low on supplies. He brought in cannons from Fort Ticonderoga,and surrounded Boston. The British then surrendered the city.
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This was a petition to King George, requesting for peace. Peace is often symbolised by an olive branch, hence the name.
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In July, Thomas Jefferson drafted the first copy of the Declaration of Independence. After some changes, the final draft was written on the 4th of July. All delegates signed this, knowing that this was treason.
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The British were moving into New York. General Washington read the Declaration of Independence to his troops. The British dominated in New York, defeating the Americans.
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The Americans surprised the British at Trenton, by crossing the Delaware river. They surprised the mercenaries, and they took them captive. The American's did not lose one man.
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The British were moving to capture the Hudson River Valley. The Continental Army then met the British, beating them back.
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French troops arrived, to help the Americans. The joint force surrounded Yorktown, and the French navy blocked off the Chesapeake Bay.
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The Articles of Confederation was a document that binded the states together. One major problem, was that it gave the State government more power then the National government.
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The American and British leaders met in Paris, to conclude the war with a final treaty. British were made to regcognize America as an independent country, while America gave the Loyalists back their rights.
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The Articles of Confederation had States printing their own money, and the farmers having to pay their debts back by selling their land. Daniel Shays, a farmer, began a rebellion, by capturing arsenals.
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55 delegates arrived in Philadelphia to help revise the Articles of Confederation. But everyone had different opinions, and there were lots of arguments.
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The delegates finally reached a conclusion. The governent would have 3 branches, made up of congress, executives, and then the Supreme Court. The constitution would be ratified, by being signed by the delegates.
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America acquired the Louisiana Territory because France ceded it to them. This almost doubled America's size.
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Andrew Jackson, the President, decided to invade Florida with 1,700 troops. Spain was then afraid of America, so they sold it to America for 5 million dollars.
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The Tallmadge Amendment said that Missouri be added as a free state. This upset southerners because this would upset the balance between free states and slave states.
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In 1830, President Jackson decided to move all Indians out of their homeland and into a small territory, so they could be together. Indians were forced to move.
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The Cherokee Indians, were forced to walk around 1000 miles from Georgia to the new territory. Out of 17,000 Cherokee, 4000 died along the way. Thus, it was called the Trail of Tears.
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Abolitionists had been sending petitions into DC, telling them to abolish slavery in the national capital of the Union. Congress published a law stating that they would discard all these petitions.
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Texas, was a great land owned by Spain, for its valuable land. Americans wanted this land to settle in. Through rebellion, Texas was left independent, and America made the choice to annex it.
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President Polk wanted to annex all of Oregon, but it was claimed by Britain. He didn't want to risk a war with Britain, so they created a treaty deciding that Oregon would be split at the 49th parallel.
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The Wilmot Proviso stated that there would be no slavery in the lands of the Mexican Cession. This angered southerners because they wanted to keep slavery alive.
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After Texas was annexed, America declared war on Mexico. After many battles and skirmishes, Mexico and America signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which let Mexico give up more then half its territory to the US.
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The Kansas-Nebraska act allowed slavery to be open to these areas to be opened for slavery. Northerners were angered because they didn't want to see slavery expand.
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The Civil War was a war between the Union, the north of the United States, and the Confederacy, the South. There were many disputes, but the main issue was slavery. There were battles and both sides fought. After Lincoln was elected President, he decided he wanted to abolish slavery. In the end, the South lost the war, abolishing slavery for good in 1865.
