History of the United States Summary

Everything you need to understand or teach History of the United States.

  • 1 Biography
  • 23 Student Essays
  • 140 Encyclopedia Articles
  • ...and more

Study Pack

The History of the United States Study Pack contains:

Encyclopedia Articles (140)

1,260 words, approx. 5 pages
Operation Intercept Described by government sources as the largest peacetime search-and-seizure operation in U.S. history, Operation Intercept was launched along the United States—Mexico border... Read more
1,304 words, approx. 5 pages
Ethics Education for professionals in the computing disciplines includes, but is not limited to, degree tracks called computer science, computer engineering, software engineering, information systems,... Read more
3,109 words, approx. 11 pages
Armed Conflicts in America, 1587–1815 Four continuities, or themes, link the disparate wars, rebellions, and revolutions that characterize English North America during its colonial and early na... Read more
1,464 words, approx. 5 pages
Association Test In September 1774, just prior to the outbreak of the American Revolution, the First Continental Congress passed a resolution called the Continental Association. The Association was es... Read more
1,373 words, approx. 5 pages
Brown, Charlotte: Diary of a Nurse Charlotte Bristowe Brown's diary provides a rare firsthand perspective on the challenges facing women who traveled with the British forces, providing medical ... Read more
1,797 words, approx. 6 pages
Camp Followers: War and Women In the eighteenth century civilians, both men and women, who traveled with the military were called camp followers. Camp followers included civilians in official, paid su... Read more
1,003 words, approx. 4 pages
Civil Liberties: Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions When Americans have gone to war, measures to protect national security have often conflicted with civil liberties guaranteed in the Constitution. Thi... Read more
850 words, approx. 3 pages
Drinker, Elizabeth (b. February 27, 1735; d. November 24, 1807) Quaker diarist who described hardships of the Revolutionary War for neutrals. Elizabeth Drinker's diary chronicles the impact o... Read more
1,457 words, approx. 5 pages
Galloway, Grace: Diary of a Loyalist The experiences of Grace Growden Galloway (1727– 1782) illustrate the challenges Loyalists faced when they remained in the colonies during the American Revo... Read more
1,259 words, approx. 5 pages
Generals' Wives: Martha Washington, Catharine Greene, Lucy Knox During the War for Independence, many women moved between their homes and military encampments as they joined their husbands in t... Read more
1,613 words, approx. 6 pages
Hamilton's Reports The War for Independence (1775–1783) created a new nation and an opportunity to chart a future very different from the one inherited from Great Britain. With the imple... Read more
1,688 words, approx. 6 pages
Mobilization, War for Independence Mobilization in the War for Independence is the process by which America raised and organized the military forces to wage war against the British Empire. After the c... Read more
1,827 words, approx. 7 pages
Business and Finance By the end of the nineteenth century, when it had become the world's leading industrial nation, the United States was home to many of the biggest and most successful busine... Read more
2,157 words, approx. 8 pages
Economic Change and Industrialization The United States entered the nineteenth century as an agrarian nation of five million residents. Within one hundred years, the United States transformed itself i... Read more
1,461 words, approx. 5 pages
Allies, Images Of When Americans entered World War I, they held a less than flattering image of their British, French, and Russians, allies. Since gaining their independence, Americans had frequently ... Read more
1,248 words, approx. 5 pages
Civil Liberties, World War I During World War I, the Woodrow Wilson administration took unprecedented steps to mobilize public support for the war. In addition to a massive government propaganda campa... Read more
806 words, approx. 3 pages
Civil Liberties, World War II The federal government, in response to periods of insecurity and conflict, sometimes restricts civil liberties in an effort to maintain national security. U.S. involvemen... Read more
1,123 words, approx. 4 pages
Economy, World War I In April 1917, almost fifty-two years to the day after Lee's surrender at Appomattox, the United States entered the First World War. The federal government moved forward te... Read more
1,208 words, approx. 5 pages
Economy, World War II On December 8, 1941, a day after the devastating Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Japan. On December 12, one day after Japan's Axis partn... Read more
857 words, approx. 3 pages
Gold Star Mothers Pilgrimage Gold Star Mothers derived their name from the gold star they displayed on service flags in their homes and armbands during America's participation in World War I (1... Read more
932 words, approx. 4 pages
Arts as Weapon When the Cold War was waged most intensely, in the two decades or so immediately following 1945, the arts—and especially popular culture—were phenomena that the American s... Read more
1,713 words, approx. 6 pages
Containment and DÉtente The term containment has taken on many meanings but it is mostly used to refer to a changing set of Cold War policies by which the United States tried to limit the exten... Read more
1,361 words, approx. 5 pages
Adams, Hannah ADAMS, HANNAH. Well known in New England during her lifetime, Hannah Adams (1755–1831) has been remembered, if at all, as the first American-born woman to earn her living by writi... Read more
37 words, approx. 1 pages
George B. Mcclellan Born December 3, 1826 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Died October 29, 1885 Orange, New Jersey Union general known as "the young Napoleon" Commander of the Army of the Pot... Read more
898 words, approx. 3 pages
People to Know A Robert Anderson (1805–1871): Union major who surrendered Fort Sumter to Confederates in April 1861 John Andrew (1818–1867): governor of Massachusetts, 1860–66; or... Read more
3,129 words, approx. 11 pages
A Black Soldier's Letter to President Abraham Lincoln by James Henry Gooding A Black Soldier's Letter to President Abraham Lincoln Written September 28, 1863 An appeal for equal pay for ... Read more
4,532 words, approx. 16 pages
Correspondence with the City Leaders of Atlanta, Georgia by William T. Sherman Correspondence with the City Leaders of Atlanta, Georgia September 11–12, 1864 A Union general responds to pleas t... Read more
2,458 words, approx. 9 pages
Black Freedom Fighters Crispus Attucks Born 1792Near Framingham,MassachusettsDied March 5, 1770Boston, Massachusetts Sailor, leader of the Boston Massacre James Forten Born 1766Philadelphia,Pennsylvan... Read more
2,107 words, approx. 8 pages
Margaret Cochran Corbin Born November 12, 1751Franklin County, PennsylvaniaDied c. 1800Westchester County, New York Camp follower, soldier A tablet in her honor at Corbin Place in New York City praise... Read more
2,719 words, approx. 10 pages
Hector St. John De Crèvecoeur Born January 31, 1735Caen, FranceDied November 12, 1813Sarcelles, France Map maker, surveyor, farmer, writer, soldier, government official "[In America]... Read more
13 words, approx. 1 pages
Deborah Read Franklin Born c. 1707Died December 19, 1774Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Businesswoman "She prov'd a good and faithful Helpmate, assisted me much by attending the Shop, we ... Read more
17 words, approx. 1 pages
Esther De Berdt Reed Born October 22, 1746London, EnglandDied September 18, 1780Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Organization leader "If these great affairs must be brought to a crisis and decide... Read more
3,086 words, approx. 11 pages
Frederika Von Riedesel Born July 11, 1746GermanyDied March 29, 1808Berlin, Germany Baroness, camp follower "I was an eyewitness of the whole affair [the Battle of Saratoga]…. I knew my h... Read more
5,225 words, approx. 18 pages
Lexington, Concord, and the Organization of Colonial Resistance By mid-1774 animosity (bitterness and hostility) between Great Britain and the American colonies had reached the boiling point. Poised o... Read more
7,067 words, approx. 24 pages
Assembling an Army (1775–1776) Key political events occurring in the colonies in the summer of 1775 seemed contradictory. On the one hand, the Sec ond Continental Congress was making a last att... Read more
2,001 words, approx. 7 pages
Resolves of the House of Representatives … Adopted by the Massachusetts Assembly Enacted June 16, 1773; excerpted from The Life of Thomas Hutchinson, Royal Governor of the Province of Massachus... Read more
1,216 words, approx. 5 pages
Notes from the Battlefronts Lord Dunmore…217 Joseph Plumb Martin…221 Thomas Paine…229 Eliza Wilkinson…235 Horace Walpole…241 George Washington…247 Ever since ... Read more
1,191 words, approx. 4 pages
Account of the Looting of Her Sister's Home by British Soldiers by Eliza Wilkinson Account of the Looting of Her Sister's Home by British Soldiers Originally published in 1839; most rece... Read more
1,979 words, approx. 7 pages
Farewell Address to the Armies of the United States by George Washington Farewell Address to the Armies of the United States Issued on November 3, 1783; excerpted from George Washington's Writi... Read more
1,339 words, approx. 5 pages
1940s: Fashion The rationing that took place during World War II (1939–45) seriously affected fashion in America for the first half of the decade. Even though businesses were prospering and peo... Read more
2,048 words, approx. 7 pages
1940s: Food and Drink The economic boom that World War II (1939–45) started in America offered disposable income to more people than ever. With more people working, wages more than twice the no... Read more
2,537 words, approx. 9 pages
1950s: Pop Culture Explodes in a Decade of Conformity The 1950s are most often remembered as a quiet decade, a decade of conformity, stability, and normalcy. After the tumult of the 1930s and 1940s&#x... Read more
1,744 words, approx. 6 pages
1950s: Food and Drink Although most Americans continued to eat as they always had—at home, with freshly prepared foods—several important trends in American eating habits began to emerge ... Read more
6,129 words, approx. 21 pages
1950s: Print Culture The 1950s were a decade of tremendous energy in American writing. American writers gained international prominence thanks to the Nobel Prizes awarded to William Faulkner (1897&#x2... Read more
3,137 words, approx. 11 pages
1960s: an Era of Pessimism and Activism While the 1950s are stereotyped—sometimes unfairly—as a decade of quiet optimism, prosperity, and social conformity, the 1960s are often stereotyp... Read more
3,662 words, approx. 13 pages
1960s: Print Culture American literature thrived in the 1960s, helped along by a culture that valued thinking—especially the thinking of young people who questioned the values of adults. A numb... Read more
2,432 words, approx. 9 pages
1990s: the Decade America Went Digital The United States faced several serious challenges as it entered the 1990s. On the one hand, the continued collapse of the Soviet Union meant that the United Sta... Read more
9,041 words, approx. 31 pages
French Exploration and Settlement Spain dominated southwestern and southeastern North America until the late seventeenth century. Within twenty years of that time, however, Spanish influence had gone ... Read more
1,981 words, approx. 7 pages
Brent, Margaret c.1601 Gloucester, England c.1671 Virginia Landowner and business agent " . . . it was better for the Collonys safety at the time in her hands then in any mans else in the whole... Read more
1,136 words, approx. 4 pages
Colden, Jane March 27, 1724 New York City March 10, 1766 Unknown American botanist "[Jane Colden] is perhaps the only lady that has so perfectly studied your system. She deserves to be celebrat... Read more
4,234 words, approx. 15 pages
A Relacion of the Indyan Warre by John Easton A Relacion of the Indyan Warre Reprinted in In Their Own Words: The Colonizers Published in 1998 "So the English were afraid and Philip was afraid ... Read more
4,447 words, approx. 15 pages
A Letter from Elizabeth Bacon by Elizabeth and Sherwood, William Bacon A Letter From Elizabeth Bacon William Sherwood "A Narrative of Bacon's Rebellion" Reprinted in Major Problem... Read more
4,373 words, approx. 15 pages
Electrifying Rural America For many Americans in the 1930s one of the most memorable experiences of a lifetime was the day electric power came to their home. Often with great anticipation homes were r... Read more
2,111 words, approx. 8 pages
Robert Fechner and Aubrey Williams Robert Fechner: Born 1876 Chattanooga, Tennessee Died December 31, 1939 Washington, D.C. Administrator, union leader Aubrey Williams: Born August 23, 1890 Sprin... Read more
5,662 words, approx. 19 pages
Claiming the near West: Territorial Expansion to 1812 From the moment that Europeans set foot on the North American continent in the sixteenth century, they began to expand their influence westward. B... Read more
6,477 words, approx. 22 pages
Opening the West As the British colonies on the eastern seaboard grew ever more crowded in the mid-1700s, colonists began to look westward, beyond the Appalachian Mountains, and imagine the incredible... Read more
4,650 words, approx. 16 pages
Driving the Indians Westward: Indian Removal to 1840 For more than three hundred years, white men battled Native Americans for control of the North American continent. From the early seventeenth centu... Read more
5,302 words, approx. 18 pages
Claiming the Far West: Territorial Expansion After 1812 Though America had won its independence from England in the Revolutionary War (1776–83), the years following that war were hardly peacefu... Read more
2,004 words, approx. 7 pages
Gibbs, Mifflin Wistar Born April 17, 1823 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Died July 11, 1915 Little Rock, Arkansas Abolitionist, pioneer, businessman, lawyer, elected official, college president Miffli... Read more
2,308 words, approx. 8 pages
Singleton, Benjamin "Pap" Born c. 1809 Nashville, Tennessee Died 1892 St. Louis, Missouri Leader of "Kansas Exodus" and racial unity activist "I am the whole cause o... Read more
13,145 words, approx. 44 pages
Exploring the West As the British colonies on the eastern seaboard became more populated in the mid-1700s, colonists began to look beyond the Appalachian Mountains and contemplate westward expansion. ... Read more
1,712 words, approx. 6 pages
Calef, Robert Born: 1648 England Died: 1719 Roxbury, Massachusetts Civil servant, merchant, and writer Robert Calef's most significant contribution to American history was criticism of various ... Read more
1,972 words, approx. 7 pages
Clinton, Rachel Born: c. 1629 Suffolk County, England Died: c. 1695 Ipswich, Massachusetts Homemaker, care giver, and accused witch Rachel Clinton was one of many people accused in the New England wit... Read more
4,503 words, approx. 16 pages
Managing the Nation's Finances U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945; served 1933–45) had two major home front financial concerns during World War II (1939–45): h... Read more
5,456 words, approx. 19 pages
Agricultural Mobilization In an April 1943 National Geographic Magazine article titled "Farmers Keep Them Eating," Frederick Simpich writes: In the fields. That's where American ... Read more
5,783 words, approx. 20 pages
Minorities on the Home Front Historian Allan M. Winkler, in his 1986 book Home Front U.S.A.: America During World War II, provides the following saying, which was familiar among black Americans during... Read more
242 words, approx. 1 pages
Black Women in Uniform Black women were accepted into WAAC from its beginning in the summer of 1942. About 80 percent of the black women accepted for officer training had attended college and had been... Read more
135 words, approx. 1 pages
American Red Cross Wartime Statistics The following table comes from the Red Cross Web site at http://www.redcross.org/museum/ww2a.htm l. Total contributions received during war years $784,9... Read more
74 words, approx. 1 pages
Something in Common In communities across the United States, big and small, a common sight could be seen. When a family member, such as a son or daughter, joined military service, a service flag with ... Read more
543 words, approx. 2 pages
Five Women Journalists Stationed in Germany in the early 1930s for the New York Evening Post, Dorothy Thompson (1894–1961) was the first woman in charge of a news bureau in Europe. When she int... Read more
1,222 words, approx. 5 pages
Elda Anderson Born October 5, 1899 Green Lake, Wisconsin Died April 17, 1961 Oak Ridge, Tennessee Physicist "Elda Emma Anderson not only worked on the atomic bomb, but was also a pioneer in the... Read more
532 words, approx. 2 pages
Emily Dunning Barringer Like Dr. Elda Anderson, Dr. Emily Dunning Barringer (1876–1961) was a woman of science who would prove to have a major impact on World War II (1939–45). Barringer... Read more
1,324 words, approx. 5 pages
Esther Bubley Born 1921 Phillips, Wisconsin Died 1998 New York City, New York Photojournalist "Put me down with people, and it's just overwhelming." Esther Bubley was a photojourn... Read more
2,216 words, approx. 8 pages
Mine Okubo Born June 27, 1912 Riverside, California Died February 10, 2001 New York, New York Artist "What is beautiful about Citizen 13660 … and the reason it is still in print and used... Read more
9,840 words, approx. 33 pages
Mobilizing America "There Can Be No Appeasement with Ruthlessness …We Must Be the Great Arsenal of Democracy" …4 "The President Proclaims That an Unlimited National ... Read more
8,446 words, approx. 29 pages
Home Front Communities La Verne Bradley …110 Harvey Klemmer …124 House and Garden …137 For the United States, World War II (1939–45) officially began on December 8, 1941, a... Read more
9,690 words, approx. 33 pages
Black American and Japanese American Experiences on the Home Front Turner Catledge …150 Alexander J. Allen …159 Mine Okubo …166 At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Ameri... Read more
8,048 words, approx. 27 pages
Praise and Practical Advice Woman's Home Companion …203 Eleanor Roosevelt …213 Anthony F. Merrill …220 H. W. Hochbaum …228 War spread across Europe and Asia in the l... Read more
2,969 words, approx. 10 pages
Reconstruction Era Timeline 1622 The first African slaves are brought to the British colonies in North America, which will eventually become the United States of America. 1803 The Louisiana Purchase ... Read more
1,674 words, approx. 6 pages
Harry Fenn Born September 14, 1837Richmond, England Died April 21, 1911Montclair, New Jersey Illustrator and painter "At home I was only a little chap who liked to amuse himself with paints. A... Read more
4,877 words, approx. 17 pages
Excerpt from "Argument for the Impeachment of President Johnson" by Charles Sumner Excerpt from "Argument for the Impeachment of President Johnson" Delivered in May 1868; r... Read more
3,273 words, approx. 11 pages
Excerpt from "A Complete and Graphic Account of the Crédit Mobilier Investigation" from Behind the Scenes in Washington by Edward Winslow Martin Excerpt from "A Complete and ... Read more
1,618 words, approx. 6 pages
Grand Dreams for a Better Society: Conflicting Visions of the 1960s The 1960s were years of great and shocking events: assassins gunned down three national figures, including a president; President Jo... Read more
4,257 words, approx. 15 pages
Decline or Revival? Changing Currents in the American Religious Experience As in so many areas of life, Americans in the 1960s questioned past religious practices and searched for authenticity or genu... Read more
787 words, approx. 3 pages
El Teatro Campesino The United States' annexation of Mexico's northern territories in 1858 marked the beginning of the Mexican-American theater arts tradition. Mexican-American (Californ... Read more
2,225 words, approx. 8 pages
Act to Encourage Immigration United States 1864 Synopsis The United States Congress's Act to Encourage Immigration legalized and bureaucratized a practice similar to indentured servitude. Under... Read more
2,600 words, approx. 9 pages
Bureau of Labor Established United States 1884 Synopsis The fight for a federal department of labor began in the late 1800s and spanned almost 50 years. Shortly after the Civil War, William H. Sylvis ... Read more
3,147 words, approx. 11 pages
Cio Anticommunist Drive United States 1949-1950 Synopsis In November 1949, at its eleventh annual convention in Cleveland, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) expelled two member unions&#x2... Read more
2,272 words, approx. 8 pages
Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada (Fotlu) United States and Canada 1881 Synopsis The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States ... Read more
3,302 words, approx. 12 pages
Philadelphia Plan United States 1969 Synopsis With the implementation of the Philadelphia Plan in 1969, President Richard M. Nixon's administration changed the federal government's stanc... Read more
3,472 words, approx. 12 pages
Shoemakers' Strike United States 1860 Synopsis The New England Shoemakers' Strike was the largest pre-Civil War labor event in the United States. Between February and April 1860, over 20... Read more
3,233 words, approx. 11 pages
Strike Wave United States 1945-1946 Synopsis In 1945 and 1946 the largest strike wave in U.S. history occurred when two million workers walked off their jobs at different times during the year. In som... Read more
2,132 words, approx. 8 pages
Tailors' Strike United States 1827 Synopsis In 1827 journeymen tailors in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, went out on strike to protest the discharge of several colleagues who had demanded higher w... Read more
21,353 words, approx. 72 pages
The New Leisure Society. In the late nineteenth century a new middle class emerged that had more leisure time and more disposable income than common people had ever enjoyed before in America. They we... Read more
8,804 words, approx. 30 pages
An Era of Optimism. The scientific trends in the United States during the late nineteenth century were representative of a sense of optimism fed by western expansion, new successes in treating diseas... Read more
13,883 words, approx. 47 pages
New Outlooks. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century industrialization and urbanization profoundly affected the manner in which Americans viewed their society. Great cities arose and industria... Read more
21,326 words, approx. 72 pages
The Gilded Age. The years between 1878 and 1899 were a soul-searching time for Americans, as they examined the basic values they lived by. Middle-class white women became interested in social causes ... Read more
25,958 words, approx. 87 pages
Technological Change. During the last three decades of the nineteenth century, the railroad, telegraph, telephone, electric light, and other technological innovations had a large impact upon the Amer... Read more
20,141 words, approx. 68 pages
Ushering in the Gilded Age. In 1876, as the United States celebrated the centennial of its independence, one of the most disputed and corrupt presidential elections in American history spelled the en... Read more
11,342 words, approx. 38 pages
Changing Economy, Changing Schools. The period from 1878 to 1899 was marked by major changes in the American way of life. In the early 1870s the United States was predominantly a nation of farmers, w... Read more
12,211 words, approx. 41 pages
Communications Links. A revolution in transportation and communications accompanied ever-growing industrialization of the United States that followed the Civil War. A national system of railroads, a ... Read more
12,435 words, approx. 42 pages
Change. The span between 1878 and 1899 represented a pivotal period for American businesses and the national economy. Over these two dozen years, millions of Americans found themselves caught up in m... Read more
21,387 words, approx. 72 pages
A New World."Consider that we shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon us," said John Winthrop, first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Winthrop spoke these words in a s... Read more
4,220 words, approx. 15 pages
Austria-Hungary — Emperor Francis Joseph I (1848-1916) China — Emperor Tsai-t'ien (1875-1908), Empress Dowager Tz'u-hsi (regent, 1875-1889, 1898-1908) France — Presidents Marie ... Read more
14,134 words, approx. 48 pages
National Pride. The period from 1815 to 1850 was not one of great achievement in American science and medicine. It was, however, a period during which distinctively American developments in science a... Read more
2,085 words, approx. 7 pages
Sloth and Sin. In the early nineteenth century most Americans believed that time was meant to be filled by work. They looked with disfavor on recreational pursuits, including sports, dancing, drinkin... Read more
20,063 words, approx. 67 pages
African American Christianity Nat Turner: Religion And Rebellion Catholicism Judaism Mormonism Native Americans And Christianity Priest's Prisons Revivalism The Burned-Over District Shakers Social Re... Read more
20,291 words, approx. 68 pages
Heroic Era. The period from 1815 to 1850 is often called the golden age of American law. The famous names of the era illustrate its centrality in American legal history and help explain the importanc... Read more
1,725 words, approx. 6 pages
Food And Clothing Dress Reform: The Bloomer Look The Lowell Mill Girls Homes And Home Life Entertaining At Home: An Englishwoman's View Scenes Of Poverty In New York Living In The South The Undergrou... Read more
20,944 words, approx. 70 pages
Postwar Nationalism. In January 1815 Americans had reason to feel a new sense of nationalism and patriotism. They had held off Great Britain's military forces in the War of 1812, and if they had fail... Read more
16,655 words, approx. 56 pages
Changing Society. From 1815 to 1850 successive waves of economic and social change swept across the nation. Revolutions in transportation, from the canal boom of the 1820s to the rapid spread of railr... Read more
23,661 words, approx. 79 pages
On the Move. A traveler heading west over the National Road in 1817 noted the continuous stream of "family groups behind and before us" and concluded that "old America seems to be breaking up" and mo... Read more
21,518 words, approx. 72 pages
Transportation Revolution. In an 1817 congressional address calling for federal support for a national system of roads and canals, South Carolina's John C. Calhoun noted the potential advantages to Am... Read more
22,498 words, approx. 75 pages
Republican Ideology. The end of the War of 1812, with Andrew Jackson's decisive defeat of the British at the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815, brought a burst of American national pride along wit... Read more
3,871 words, approx. 13 pages
Austria (Habsburg Empire) — Emperor Francis (1804-1835); Ferdinand (1835-1848); Francis Joseph (1848-1916) China — Emperor Jia-qing (1796 — 1820); Tao Kuang (1820-1850) France &#82... Read more
18,849 words, approx. 63 pages
Assessment. The period 1783 to 1815 was a time of few great advances in medical science in America. In many ways doctors continued the crude medical practices of the colonial period, with some indica... Read more
27,650 words, approx. 93 pages
Best of Times, Worst of Times."It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," Charles Dickens described these years; "it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch o... Read more
14,346 words, approx. 48 pages
Distinct Culture. At the end of the Revolutionary War the United States became an independent political state, but the diverse population was hardly unified. The inhabitants were of different races a... Read more
25,168 words, approx. 84 pages
New Nation. Thomas Paine wrote on 19 April 1783, "The times that tried men's souls are over and the greatest and completest revolution the world ever knew gloriously and happily accomplished." The la... Read more
34,640 words, approx. 116 pages
"The Age of Experiments in Government." In 1783 the Treaty of Paris acknowledged the victory of the American republic over the British Empire. In 1815 the Treaty of Ghent acknowledged the American re... Read more
14,077 words, approx. 47 pages
New Nation. After the American Revolution, Americans began thinking of education in different ways. Traditionally education was meant to train children in various skilled trades, either through appre... Read more
23,549 words, approx. 79 pages
Distances. When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, he described for the American people the particular blessings they enjoyed. They were "kindly separated by nature and a wide ocean from the ... Read more
20,891 words, approx. 70 pages
Colonies and Empire. Before the Revolution, Americans benefited from being part of the British Empire. England's command of the seas gave American merchants access to markets in Europe, the Mediterra... Read more
9,163 words, approx. 31 pages
Major Powers And Leaders Major Conflicts Read more
15,869 words, approx. 53 pages
Diversity of Native Populations. From the first contacts between Europeans and North American Indians to the present day, the area which today is the United States and Canada has been home to thousan... Read more
5,072 words, approx. 17 pages
Transformation. Trade in North America began to undergo a sweeping transformation during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries because of the arrival of European traders, explorers, and fishermen. Fo... Read more
19,176 words, approx. 64 pages
Europe at a Crossroads. In the 1400s and 1500s the major states of Europe took their first steps toward imperialistic domination of much of the globe by exploring, conquering, and colonizing various ... Read more
13,912 words, approx. 47 pages
Heathens. In popular thought, the introduction of religion to America began with the Pilgrims' arrival in Plymouth in 1620. The Native Americans, the argument continues, were heathens who lacked any ... Read more
22,489 words, approx. 75 pages
Government. The history of government in North America begins with the coming together of two drastically different political traditions. The Europeans who first came to the Western Hemisphere were t... Read more
8,430 words, approx. 29 pages
Diversity. By the time Europeans first encountered North America, there existed hundreds of Native American groups. Each people had its own history, culture, and language. The type of physical enviro... Read more
7,530 words, approx. 26 pages
Diversity of Native Populations. From the first contacts between Europeans and North American Indians to the present day, the area which today is the United States and Canada has been home to thousan... Read more
15,980 words, approx. 54 pages
Communication. Although the word "communication" may be used to identify activities that do not involve people—animals or even machines can be said to communicate—it is usually defined as the mea... Read more
11,058 words, approx. 37 pages
Colonial Cultural Contact. During the age of discovery, from 1492 to 1600, European explorers, traders, and religious dissenters ventured to the so-called New World. As a result the cultures of Europ... Read more
20,879 words, approx. 70 pages
Ancient North America. North America has been home to humans for tens of thousands of years. The first people came from Asia, and they brought with them a Stone Age culture called Clovis that they sp... Read more
4,034 words, approx. 14 pages
China: Ming Hong Zhi, born Zhu You-Tang(1488-1505), Ming Zheng De, born Zhu Hou-Zhao(1506-1521), Ming Jia Jing, born Zhu Hou-Cong(1522-1566), Ming Long ing, born Zhu Zai-Hou(1567-1572), Ming Wan-Li, ... Read more
18,470 words, approx. 62 pages
Big Business. During most of the nineteenth century, a newspaper or a magazine could be started with a little borrowed cash and a lot of hard work. Most publications expressed the views and preferenc... Read more
25,448 words, approx. 85 pages
Changing Population. During the years 1900 to 1909 the United States was fast becoming an industrial society, yet its laws were based on an ideal of an agrarian society. American society was changing... Read more
13,441 words, approx. 45 pages
Modernism and Nostalgia. In fashion and design — clothing, architecture, furniture, interior design, and automobiles — the turn of the century witnessed both a heralding of the new and a re... Read more
56,727 words, approx. 190 pages
In 1999, the world watched in shock and dismay as President Bill Clinton underwent an impeachment trial for lying under oath about his extramarital affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Alth... Read more