A very brief summary of the history of the US

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When Christopher COLUMBUS arrived in America in 1492,

many people were already living on the continent. And other
Europeans already discovered it before him.

Explorers from Spain, ENGLAND, Italy, France and PORTUGAL were attracted to this “New
World” because of its ☐ vast territory ☐ population ☐ natural resources .

A few settlements were created on the EAST coast,

which later became the first colonies. One of the
most famous is the JAMESTOWN colony founded in
1604.

Many reasons pushed European people to want to

go to this continent, like ECONOMIC turmoil, or
RELIGIOUS persecutions like the ☐ Pilgrim Fathers
☐ Founding Fathers who sailed on the Mayflower
and landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. The origins
of Thanksgiving come from this group of people.

Many years later, Europeans were fighting for the

control of the American land. Among them, the British colonies expanded well. But a conflict
started with the BRITISH crown and the main reasons were ☐ religious differences ☐ economic
issues ☐ political tensions.

These tensions led to the REVOLUTIONARY War

during which the colonies were guided by GEORGE
WASHINGTON. In 1776, the colonies declared their
INDEPENDENCE and the US Constitution was
ratified in 1787. Washington became the first
PRESIDENT.

US history, especially in the 19th century, is marked by the controversial MISTREATMENT of

minorities like NATIVE Americans as well as AFRICAN Americans. The first group was removed
from their land and displaced (Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the Trail of TEARS) in reserves
or further into the continent as the US continued its expansion into the West.
The other group suffered from the institution of SLAVERY, mainly in the ☐ North ☐ South ☐
West where the economy relied on cotton and TOBACCO plantations which required a large
slave workforce.

The issue of slavery created immense tensions, which

provoked the (AMERICAN) CIVIL War between 1861 and
1865. The Southern states seceded and became the
CONFEDERATE States, while the North fought against them
to ☐ defend ☐ abolish slavery (under the presidency of
ABRAHAM LINCOLN).

The war ended with a Northern victory and slaves were FREED. Yet, a new discriminatory
system was created to ensure white supremacy: segregation with the JIM CROW Laws.

Coming into the beginning of the twentieth century, the US was a prosperous country. But two
crises put a halt to this “American Dream”: the ECONOMIC crash of 1929 which was the origin
of the Great DEPRESSION, and an ecological disaster known as the DUST Bowl.

New policies were implemented to counter this harsh period. This was the “New Deal” under
Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

After these two crises came another one from Europe: WORLD WAR II which started in 1939.
Avoiding involvement at first, the US was forced to intervene when it was attacked in December
1941 in PEARL HARBOR by the Japanese forces. In 1945, to make the enemies surrender, the
US used two ATOMIC BOMBS on Hiroshima and NAGASAKI.

The post-war years were successful for the US despite the start of the Cold War with THE USSR.

But there were still many issues, starting with the

unresolved situation of minorities. In the 60s, in the middle
of the assassination of President JOHN F. KENNEDY and the
beginning of the VIETNAM War, the Civil Rights Movement
finally brought hope to minorities with the passage of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Later years saw the US being engaged in new conflicts in the

Middle East, a phenomenon reinforced by the terrorist attacks
of 9/11. But there were also considerable breakthroughs such
as the election of Barack Obama in 2008.