2. 
 What do you think of when you hear the word
History?
 Two Standard definitions
 Events which happen in the past
 The study of those events in the past by contemporary
people
 What do we mean by U.S. History?
 U.S. History is not limited to the exact dates of our
nation itself
What is History?

4. 
The First Settlement of
America
 North and South America were the last areas of the
world to be occupied
 First American settlers came from Northwest Asia
and Siberia
 First groups begin to cross land bridge around 15,000
years ago
 Crossed in pursuit of herds and tribes were hunter-
gathers
 Over the next few thousand the migrants began to
spread out across the continents

5. 
Native American Society
 Due to overhunting and the
warming of the climate the
Natives in North America
begin to change focus
 Form semi-permanent
farms focused on Beans,
Corn, and Squash
 Cultural and social
differences abound in
North America mostly
driven by environment
 Most native religion was
driven by local factors and
were polytheistic
 Major civilizations rose in
North America outside of
Mesoamerica

6. 
 Europe was a backwater of the known world before
1500
 Exploration was limited during the Middle Ages
with Marco Polo being the main exception
 Europe’s society focused on trade through
Constantinople for eastern goods
 Europe as a result became obsessed with the goods
from China and southeast Asia
 The Trade was interrupted with the fall of
Constantinople in 1453 to the Turks
Europe before 1500

8. 
Europe and the Atlantic
 Historically the Mediterranean
had been the main focus of trade
for Europe
 During the 15th Century we see
the trade routes shift to the
Atlantic
 To deal with these new routes
merchants develop new ships
 The Mediterranean favored
shallow triangular sailed ships
 Atlantic required durable ships
with square sales
 Compromise was reached in the
Caravel design
 The Caravel becomes the main
ship for both explores and
merchants