You U.S (USA) are the richest and most powerful nation in the world today, and her history is full of important events that marked world history. The territory corresponding to the current United States was colonized by the English, until the American colonists conducted a pioneer independence process on the mainland.
Throughout the 19th century, the United States was transforming itself into an extremely rich nation and became a world economic power in the period of First World War. Its history was marked by wars like the secession war, a Second World War and the Vietnam War.
Furthermore, American history has been marked by social movements — such as the movement that fought for the civil rights of African Americans in the 1960s and had prominent names, such as in Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, between others. Recently, American history has highlighted the country's struggle — questioned by many — against the terrorism.
Access too: Understand the ideology that drove US growth
Summary
The colonization of the USA was carried out by the British.
Thirteen Colonies was the term used to define the British colonies located on the East Coast of the USA until they gained their independence.
The first attempt at English colonization was carried out by the English privateer Sir Walter Raleigh.
The first of the thirteen colonies was Virginia, founded in 1607 by the London Company,
The thirteen colonies were able to develop quite autonomously, with characteristics that allowed them to be divided into Northern Colonies and Southern Colonies.
The independence of the USA was the result of the divergence of interests between the colony and the metropolis throughout the 18th century.
After five years of war, the British, defeated, recognized the independence of the United States.
In the 19th century, Americans expanded their territory in what became known as the “West March”.
At the height of the territorial expansion process, the US entered into combat against the Mexicans in the Mexican-American War, which took place between 1846 and 1848.
The Civil War was the result of political differences between the northern and southern states on the issue of expanding slave labor to new territories.
In the Reconstruction South process, a series of racist laws were passed in the US South, aimed at taking away civil and political rights from African Americans.
In the 20th century, the US became the world's greatest economic power, but took a big hit in the 1929 Crisis, well-known for being an overproduction collapse.
In 1941, the US entered World War II as a result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
On August 6 and 9, 1945, the Americans dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a way to force Japanese surrender.
Harry Truman's speech, in 1947, is considered the milestone that started the polarization that symbolized the Cold War.
Throughout the Cold War, Americans were directly or indirectly involved in conflicts such as the Indochina War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, etc.
At the end of the 1950s, the movement for the civil rights of African Americans was started in the country, which had as great names Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.
From the 1960s onwards, Americans financed military dictatorships in Latin American countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Chile.
In the 21st century, the USA was the target of terrorist attacks in 2001, and, in retaliation, it ordered the invasion of Afghanistan, in 2001, and Iraq, in 2003.
Colonization
THE colonization of the United States was performed by the British in what became known as thirteenColonies. Literally, these were 13 colonies founded by the British and that became the USA. The Spaniards arrived on the American continent in 1492, and, in the territory of the present-day USA, they were the first Europeans to settle down.
Pilgrim Fathers are considered the founders of the USA.*
You first Spaniards arrived in Florida in the beginning of the 16th century, but the colonization of the USA was carried out by the British. The first attempts at colonizing these in North America took place in the reign of Elizabeth I, which allowed Sir Walter Raleigh to begin the conquest of the region.
This initial attempt at occupation failed, and the symbol of this failure is the case of the colony installed in the roanoke island. In 1590, an English expedition arrived in Roanoke, but the colony previously established there was deserted. Natives are believed to have attacked her.
At the beginning of the 17th century, new occupation attempts were established, and the foundation of the colony of Virginia, in 1607, as the starting point of English colonization. The British carried out the concession of colonization and exploration rights to two private companies, which quickly went bankrupt (London Co. and Plymouth Co.).
As the colonizing project materialized, 13 English colonies emerged:
Virginia, founded by the London Company, in 1607.
New Hampshire, founded by the London Company in 1623.
Massachusetts, founded by John Mason and other Puritan separatists, 1620-1630.
Maryland, founded by Lord Baltimore in 1634.
Connecticut, founded by emigrants from Mass in 1635.
Rhode Island, founded by Roger Williams in 1636.
North Carolina, founded by emigrants from Virginia in 1653.
New York, founded by Holland in 1613.
New Jersey, founded by Berkeley Carteret in 1664.
South Carolina, founded by English nobles in 1670.
Pennsylvania, founded by William Penn, 1681.
Delaware, founded by Sweden in 1638.
Georgia, founded by James Oglethorpe in 1733.
Mind Map: American Revolution
*To download the mind map in PDF, Click here!
An important milestone for Americans is the arrival of pilgrims through a ship called Mayflower, which, according to them, brought the “founding fathers”. One of the top US holidays — Day of Thanksgiving — is in celebration of that day held by pilgrim parents for the first time in Massachusetts in the year 1621.
The colony's growth was fast, and a symbol of this is the great population growth of the Thirteen Colonies. Thus, if in 1620 the population was 2,500 people, a century later it had surpassed three million inhabitants, according to historian Leandro Karnal.|1|
The Thirteen Colonies each developed with its own characteristics, as the English colonization was less controlling than the Spanish and the portuguese. With this greater autonomy, the Thirteen Colonies were able to promote their development in the way they thought best.
These have been grouped into two groups depending on their characteristics. These groups were the Southern colonies and Northern colonies. We briefly explain the characteristics of each of them below:
Northern colonies: had a temperate climate, similar to that found in England and, therefore, the agriculture it wasn't very profitable. Agricultural production was based on polyculture and was aimed at meeting the needs of domestic consumption. The predominant work in this region was free and family work, other economic activities of highlights were manufacturing, ship production and fishing, and the triangular market was important for the local economy.
Southern colonies: its climate and soil allowed agriculture to be carried out on a large scale and aimed at exports. The most prominent products were tobacco and cotton, produced in large properties known as plantations. The predominant form of work was that of slave labor carried out by Africans.
Know more:slave labor in colonial Brazil
Independence
In the American Revolution, colonists fought against England for independence.
THE United States independence was declared on the day July 4, 1776, and this event is also known as american revolution. The independence of the United States was the result of the erosion of the relationship between metropolis and colony and resulted in the end of the colonial link that existed between England and the Thirteen Colonies.
The United States emerged in a model republican and federalist, having us Enlightenment ideals your great reference. These ideals made the colonists defend individual liberties and free trade, for example. Despite this, American independence was led by the colonial elite, which was irritated by the posture of the metropolis.
The US independence process had as its starting point the divergence of interests between settlers and the metropolis. This is because the attitude of England in relation to its colony changed drastically, mainly because it was seen as a source that would finance the development of the industrial process ongoing from that.
This resulted in the tax increase for the colonists, and this was what caused the colonists' feeling of opposition to England to grow. Some of the laws enacted by that country, from the 1760s onwards, were:
Sugar Law
Stamp Law
Hosting Law
Townshend Acts
These laws decreed, for example, the increase in product taxes such as sugar, wine, coffee, glasses, tea, among others; made it mandatory that a paid stamp were on any type of document issued in the colony; and determined that the colonists would bear the costs of housing soldiers established in the Thirteen Colonies.
The last determination of England that started the process of independence was the tea law, which stipulated the monopoly of the sale of tea to an English company. This law revolted the settlers and led to an uprising known as Boston Tea Party. In this event, settlers, disguised as Indians, invaded Boston harbor and dumped 340 cases of tea into the sea.
The metropolis' action in retaliation was harsh and became known as lawsintolerable. This led the settlers to gather in the First Continental Congress of Philadelphia, in which a document was issued that protested against the measures of the English king. Soon after, the first conflicts between the colonists and the English began and the SecondCongressContinentalgivesPhiladelphia.
Then the United States Declaration of Independence, which resulted in a war against the British that lasted until 1781 and ended with the victory of the colonists and the ratification of American independence. The winners chose white, red and blue as the flag colors and the eagle as the symbol of the new country.
Access too: Learn more about the US Constitution
United States in the 19th century
The reorganization of the new country was not easy, especially politically. In addition, the process of economic and territorial growth of the United States was carried out at the expense of the exploitation of the African slave labor, taken there through the slave trade, and of the indigenous, who were forcibly evicted from their land.
First outstanding event of the 19th century is the march west, the name given to the American territorial expansion process. This process took place through the purchase of territories: Louisiana, of the French (1803), Florida, of the Spaniards (1819), and Alaska, of the Russians (1867).
Other territories were won through a war against Mexico known as Mexican-American War, which took place between 1846 and 1848, due to disagreements between the two countries over territorial issues. Mexico was financially compensated for its territorial losses, that came to about 40% of your starting territory.
secession war
In the Civil War, the North and South of the United States fought in a conflict that left 600,000 people dead.**
THE secession war or American Civil War was one of the most memorable events in American history, it took place between 1861 and 1865 and resulted in the death of 600 thousand people. This armed conflict was largely caused by the issue of slave labor and its use in the new conquered territories in the West.
As mentioned, the North of the USA developed based on manufacturing, family farming and free labor, while the South developed based on the plantation, in monoculture and in African slave labor. With independence, these differences deepened and each region of the country had different opinions about the reasons for the conflict in question.
Southerners defended the expansion of slave labor to new territories while Northerners were against it. This division reached the presidential race, and when Abraham Lincolnwas elected president in 1860, southerners were extremely dissatisfied. The following year, they declared their secession (separation from the US).
The separation of Southerners from the Union was the factor that led to the start of the bloodiest conflict in US history. These organized in the Confederate States of America and, over four years of conflict, they were defeated, reintegrated into the Union and had to accept the abolition of slavery through the 13th Constitutional Amendment.
After the Civil War, the United States promoted the so-called Reconstructionfrom the south of the United States, completely destroyed after the war. The reconstruction of the South and the new status gained by African Americans led to a response from the highly racist southern society.
Thus, a series of laws (known as Jim Crow Laws) restricting the civil rights of African Americans in the US South was passed, and terrorist groups that murdered blacks, such as Ku Klux Klan, emerged.
United States in the 20th century
At the beginning of the 20th century, the United States became the greatest economic power in the world. At the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, the country's industrialization took place at an extremely high speed, and the country's population increased considerably with the entry of millions of immigrants.
1929 crisis
The event of World War I only reinforced this position of the US in the world economy, and the 1920s was a period of great euphoria known as the Crazy Twenties. The excitement about economic development gave rise to a bubble of prosperity that ended up drastically bursting in the 1929 crisis, the biggest crisis in the history of capitalism.
O creditunregulated, ally to speculationfinancial and the stagnationFromsalary, created a false sense of prosperity that broke out in the Black Thursday, on October 24, 1929. On Monday, the 28th, more than 33 million shares were for sale causing their value to plummet and billions of dollars to disappear, resulting in the collapse of the American economy.
The most critical period of this crisis was from 1929 to 1933, and the impacts on the American and world economy were drastic. Millions of people lost their jobs and the American economy did not recover until World War II.
United States in World War II
American troops during the invasion of Okinawa, Japan, in 1945.
The Second World War, which took place from 1939 to 1945, was an extremely important event in the 20th century and had great involvement from the United States. The US entry into the war took place when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor naval base, on December 7, 1941.
The next day, the Americans declaredwar to the Japanese and the Axis, and the role of the Americans in the war took place on two fronts. In Europe and North Africa, they fought against the forces of Italians and Germans, and in Asia and the Pacific, they fought against Japanese forces. American involvement lasted from 1941 to 1945.
Know more:The defeat of the Japanese in World War II
Relevant performances by Americans in World War II took place in battles like the Battleinmidway, which took place in 1942 and resulted in the destruction of much of the Japanese Navy. In Europe, Americans played a crucial role in Day D, name given to the landing of Allied troops in Normandy, on June 6, 1944.
A great controversy regarding the American participation in the conflict originated with the release of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on the 6th and 9th of August 1945. The launch took place as a way to force the Japanese surrender and avoid the need to promote the territorial invasion of the main island of Japan. The Japanese surrender was made official on September 2, 1945.
Access too: Understand why the US created concentration camps during World War II
United States in the Cold War
In the Cold War, Americans and Soviets fought for international supremacy between 1947 and 1991.
Shortly after World War II, the Cold War, political-ideological conflict that took place, from 1947 to 1991, between the USA and the Soviet Union (USSR). In this conflict, Americans and Soviets competed for international supremacy, each one based on its ideology. The speech of HarryTruman, President of the United States, affirming the need to contain the advance of the communism in Europe.
The Americans acted directly in the rebuilding europe in the post-war period and financed the reconstruction of these countries through the Marshall Plan. Over that period, the US has invested massively in arms development and launched into space race, sending a manned moon expedition, in 1969.
The most tense moment in American history during the Cold War period occurred in Missile Crisis in Cuba, in 1962. The Americans demanded the withdrawal of the Soviet missiles that were being installed in the Caribbean country. The threat of war led to a climate of intense tension that resulted in the withdrawal of thrusters.
Other indirect or direct interferences by the Americans, during the Cold War, were in the chinese revolution, at Indochina War, at Korean War and in the Vietnam War. The US involvement in the latter was remarkable in the country's history and took place between 1965 and 1973, resulting in the death of approximately 60 thousand american soldiers.
The Americans tried to contain the advances of the communists in the Asian country, but, over eight years of involvement in the conflict, they were defeated and the troops were withdrawn from the country by the president. Richard Nixon. This, in turn, was the protagonist of the biggest political scandal in American history: watergate. In this scandal it was discovered that the then president was coordinating an espionage scheme against government opponents and activists. The investigations led to the Nixon's resignation, in 1973.
In the 1980s, Americans became indirectly involved with the afghan war, started in 1979, when the Soviets invaded that country. Americans began to finance and train fundamentalist groups that resisted the Soviets. Shortly thereafter, the US emerged as the winners of the Cold War after the Soviet Union dissolved on December 26, 1991, the day after the resignation of MikhailGorbachev, then its president.
Access too: Understand what were the effects of the atomic bombs dropped by the US
civil rights movement
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, a movement began to gain traction in the United States: the African American Civil Rights Movement. Until then, this portion of American society was highly segregated through the aforementioned Jim Crow Laws. Particularly in the US South, there were laws that created spaces that African Americans could not attend.
A series of movements and associations began to emerge demanding and fighting for the civil rights of African Americans, and big names also emerged from this mobilization. The best known were Martin Luther King, pinkparks and Malcolm X. Martin Luther King, for example, was known for promoting this struggle in a peaceful way and was immortalized with his speech I have a dream (I have a dream).
Know more:racial segregation in the USA
United States and the American continent
Throughout the 20th century, the USA interfered directly and indirectly in matters related to other American countries. At the beginning of the 20th century, the big stick politics it set the tone for North American ideology: it set itself up as protector of the continent, would interfere in neighboring countries if necessary, and act against European influence here.
The American influence happened, above all, in countries of the Central America and Caribbean. So, in 1898, the Americans fought the Spaniards and promoted the Cuba independence, turning it into a kind of backyard for the US, by installing corrupt governments that served the economic interests of the Americans.
When Cuban nationalists turned against the Americans in the 1950s, they isolated Cuba through a heavy economic embargo which lasts until today. Isolated, the island allied with the Soviet Union and became a communist nation.
Americans have also had a strong influence in countries like the Nicaragua, implanting there a extremely corrupt dictatorship. When one guerrilla group turned against this dictatorial government and imposed a government based on the Soviet regime, the Americans began to influence counterrevolutionary movements.
Other countries that suffered strong US interference throughout the 20th century were the Mexico it's the Panama, for example. In the case of South America, the highlight to be made goes to the 1960s and 1970s, when American governments supported and financed corrupt military dictatorships and violent who settled in countries like Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, among others.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the war on drugs led Americans to interfere directly in Colombian affairs, a country that became a major producer of cocaine. More recently, the country at the center of US interests is the Venezuela, which has the largest oil reserves in the world and has been experiencing an intense political, economic and humanitarian crisis since 2013.
United States in the 21st century
On September 11, the World Trade Center was attacked by planes hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists.***
The US has entered the 21st century as the undisputed greatest political, economic and military power in the world. At that moment, the power of the United States was challenged by a new enemy: terrorism. In September 11, 2001, the US suffered terrorist attacks organized by the al-Qaeda.
In this attack, the worldtradecenter (the building ended up collapsing), an important commercial building in New York, and the building of the Pentagon, in Washington. The attacks took place with hijacked planes being launched at the two buildings. The September 11 attacks resulted in the death of about three thousand people.
In retaliation, the US launched the well-known “WartoHorror”. In 2001, the Afghanistan was invaded with the aim of putting an end to al-Qaeda's activities. Despite having removed the Taliban, to this day the group has a strong presence in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2003, it was Iraq's turn to be invaded, and the reasons for this invasion are still considered nebulous today.
More recently, the United States was involved in the international coalition that worked against the Islamic state, a terrorist group that emerged from the disorganization in Iraq promoted by the Americans themselves.
|1| KARNAL, Leandro. The Formation of the Nation. In.: KARNAL, Leandro (ed.). US History: From Origins to the 21st Century. São Paulo: Contexto, 2008, p. 47.
*Image credit: chrisdorney / Shutterstock
**Image credit: Everett Historical / Shutterstock
***Image credit: Ken Tannenbaum / Shutterstock
by Daniel Neves
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historia-da-america/historia-eua.htm