A super-quick tour of U.S. history, from Columbus to 9/11. Follows chapter 3-2 in the National Geographic World Cultures textbook.

1. North America
Chapter 3-2: U.S. & Canadian History

2. BELLRINGER
• Share a historical event from U.S. history that
you remember with at least three other
people in your class.
• Brainstorm together: Can you remember the
date that event occurred on?

3. Exploration & Colonization
• In the late 1400s, the only inhabitants of North
America were the many Native American tribes
who lived here.
• In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain
and reached the Caribbean
– Many Native American populations killed by European
diseases, such as smallpox
• In the 1500s, European countries began to
colonize, or settle, the new world
• Spain in Florida, Sweden in Delaware, France in Canada, British
in Virginia and Massachusetts
• British colonies began importing thousands of
African slaves for large southern plantations

4. Settling Quebec
• In 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier
claimed parts of Canada and opened a fur trade
• New France was settled in part by voyageurs, or
explorers, and missionaries, who were sent by
the Roman Catholic Church to share Christianity
• In 1754, war broke out between the English and
French and in 1760 Britain gained control
• Because of its history, Canada has both French
and English cultural influences

5. Revolution and Independence
• In the 1760s, American colonists protested
against British taxes. The most famous protest
was the Boston Tea Party in 1773
• In 1776, the colonists declared their
independence by signing the Declaration of
Independence.
– Support from the French helped the colonists win
• In 1783, the colonists won the Revolutionary
War and became an independent nation.
• This inspired nations all over the world!

6. U.S. Constitution
• The first government of the U.S. was called
the Articles of Confederation
• In 1789, U.S. leaders met to write the U.S.
constitution, a new form of government
• It divided the federal government into three
branches: legislative, executive, and judicial
• The Constitution is changeable; states can
pass amendments, or formal changes
• The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments

7. Expansion and Industrialization
• In 1803, Thomas Jefferson doubled the size of the
U.S. with the Louisiana Purchase
• The expectation that the U.S. would eventually
reach the Pacific was known as Manifest Destiny
• In the 1840s, pioneers, or settlers of new land,
began to spread across the continent
– Santa Fe, Oregon, and Mormon Trails
• Their expansion led to the forced removal of
Native Americans from their land
– The Cherokee were forced to walk 116 days on the
Trail of Tears from the South to Oklahoma

8. Expansion and Industrialization
• Industrialization, or the shift to large-scale
production, continued through the 1800s
– First textile plant in Lowell, MA
• In 1825, the Erie Canal was built to provide a
route from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic
• In 1869, the transcontinental railroad crossed
the entire continent

9. Civil War and Reconstruction
• As the U.S. grew, so did slavery in the South
• Abolition, or the movement for ending slavery,
was growing popular in the North
• In 1860, 11 Southern states seceded, or formally
withdrew, from the United States to form a new
country known as the Confederacy
• The North went to war to reunite the Union,
starting a civil war, or a war between opposing
citizens in the same country

10. Civil War and Reconstruction, cont.
• In 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the
Emancipation Proclamation to free the slaves
• He also delivered the Gettysburg Address
• The Union won, and the Confederacy
surrendered in 1865
• After the Civil War, a program called
Reconstruction forced the Southern states to
recognize the new freedoms of former slaves
• In 1877, however, Reconstruction ended, and
African-Americans soon lost their rights again

11. World Conflict
• World War I broke out in 1914
• Russia, France, and Britain vs. Germany
• The U.S. had economic alliances, or partnerships,
with Great Britain and France
• The U.S. maintained its neutrality, or refusal to
take sides, and worked for peace
• In 1917, when Germans sank a ship carry U.S.
citizens, we joined the war against Germany
• WWI ended in 1918, and many Germans thought
the terms of the peace treaty were unfair

12. World Conflict, cont.
• In the 1920s, the U.S. had a period of wealth, but
in 1929, the Stock Market crashed
• The 1930s were a period of poverty known as the
Great Depression
• In 1933, Adolf Hitler became dictator of
Germany, and in 1939, he started WWII by
invading the nation of Poland
• The U.S. joined the war when the Japanese
attacked Pearl Harbor, a U.S. naval base in
Hawaii, on December 7, 1941
• WWII ended in Europe in May 1945 when
Germany surrendered

13. World Conflict, cont.
• In September 1945, Japan surrendered after the U.S.
two dropped atomic bombs on them
• One consequence of WWII was the Holocaust, Hitler’s
organized murder of Jews and others
– Almost 6 million killed
• After WWII, the U.S. and the Soviet Union became
enemies and spent forty years in the Cold War, a long
period of tension without fighting
– Capitalism and freedom vs. communism
• In the 21st century terrorism, or violence to achieve
political results, has become more common
– September 11, 2001 attacks ended with the death of
Osama Bin Laden in 2011 History of America in 8 Minutes (8:03)

14. ANY QUESTIONS?