American history

1. Columbus’ trip to the Americas
2. A pre-history of the Native
Americans
3. The First Settlers
4. The Boston Tea Party
5. The American Revolution &
The Declaration of Independence
Outline

-- CC was born in 1451 in northwestern Italy
-- After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the path to Asia became
very difficult; the Europeans needed a new way to reach Asia and
the Indies in order to import spices, tea and other goods
-- Supported by the Spanish crown, CC went on his voyage,
however, he accidentally landed in the Americas
-- CC completed four round-trips between Spain and the Americas
Christopher Columbus heads to the Americas …

-- Although CC was not the first European to arrive in the Americas,
his trips were historical
-- These trips were the beginning of the European exploration and
colonization of the American continents
-- The Americas were called “The New World” and their discovery
allowed major powers in Europe to build trade and business
networks between the Old and the New Worlds
-- CC was later called “Admiral of the Ocean Sea” in 1492
HOWEVER …
-- Upon arrival to the Americas, the newcomers realized they were
not alone
-- The Americas were inhabited by the indigenous peoples of the
Americas- also known as the Native Americans, or Indians in North
America …
Christopher Columbus heads to the Americas …

The distribution of the Native American tribes
before the arrival of the Europeans …

-- CC and his crew were met with the Native Americans who were
inhabiting the continent
-- These Native Americans were considered to “beasts” and
“savages” and were enslaved by CC’s crew; they were treated with
violence and forced to convert to Christianity
-- In CC’s diary, he wrote: “They (Native Americans) should be
good servants … I, our Lord being pleased, will take hence, at the
time of my departure, six natives for your Highnesses”
Christopher Columbus and the Native Americans
…

-- At the time (16th – 17th Century), the Puritans were an activist
group of English Protestants who rebelled against the Church of
England because they felt it needed more improvements,
because the church had moved away from its godly duties and
became corrupt
-- Therefore, they were severely restricted in England by rules
that tried to control their practice of their form of Christianity.
-- Some Puritans could not imagine living in England anymore;
they wanted to separate from the the Church of England; these
were called Separating Puritans; they headed to America for a
new start & religious freedom
-- In 1620, 100 Puritans (English and Dutch) headed to the
“New World” on board the Mayflower
These were the Pilgrim Fathers; lead by William Brewster
The Puritans …

-- On December 25th 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers arrived in New
Plymouth where they began to build their homes
-- Plymouth is a town in Massachusetts; it is known as America’s
Hometown
-- Bradford wrote that within a few months, half of the Pilgrim
Fathers had died from the harsh winter and diseases of the New
World
-- Bradford also claimed that a Native American, Squanto, helped
the Pilgrim Fathers survive the winter, and showed them how to
cultivate the crop; the seeds that the Pilgrim Fathers brought with
them were useless in this new environment
The Pilgrim Fathers …

-- The 13 colonies Joined
together to break free from the
British Empire, combining to
become the United States of
America.
-- Rejected the authority of the
Parliament of Great Britain to
govern them from overseas
without representation, and then
expelled all royal officials.
-- Each colony had established
a Provincial Congress, or some
type of governmental institution,
to govern itself, but still within
the empire.
The 13 Colonies in North America

-- This is where tea comes into play. The colonists
loved tea. Tea was a symbol of status and comfort.
-- What was the problem??
-- Tea from British suppliers was expensive. Most of
the colonies’ bought smuggled tea in order to avoid
the British taxes on this product.
-- The British did not like to be undermined and passed the
tea act.
-- The Tea Act gave the East India Company a monopoly on
the sale of tea.
*** the British thought that this would be good way of forcing
the colonists to pay the tea tax and still pay less money
overall for the tea.
How did the Tea Party get its name …

-- During the late 1760’s and early 1770’s
the government of GB wanted to make
sure that the thirteen colonies in
America remained submissive and
loyal to its rule.
--In order to achieve this power: they
instigated a series of taxes that the
inhabitants of the colonies were
required to pay.
-- On December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to
return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of
colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by
throwing it into Boston Harbor.
-- The incident remains an iconic event of American history, and
other political protests often refer to it.
Boston Tea Party …

-- The Boston Tea party was a symbolic act that showed the
British how far American colonists were willing to go to speak out
for their freedom
-- This act made the British parliament furious and over the next
two years tension would continue to rise until the Revolutionary
war broke out.
-- In the American Revolution
there were many who were
willing to give their lives for
the cause of American
freedom.
-- The Boston Tea Party was one
of the most powerful and
significant forces that demanded
independence of the American
colonies from Great Britain
Message to the British Parliament …

-- During the 1700s, the British Parliament
passed several laws that limited of many
English colonists in America.
-- These limitations resulted in the forming of
the first Continental Congress in 1774.
-- A list of complaints was sent to King
George (III) but was ignored and after the
second meeting of the Continental Congress
and another ignored letter, the colonists felt
that they needed something to declare their
independence.
-- Rebellion was the only choice the
Colonists felt they had left
Declaration of Independence

-- In 1776, representatives from
each of the original 13 states voted
unanimously in the Second
Continental Congress to adopt a
Declaration of Independence.
-- This rejected the British
monarchy in addition to its
Parliament, and established
the sovereignty (rule) of the new
nation external to the British
Empire.
-- The Declaration established the
United States!
The Continental Congress (May, 1776)
Continental Congress
Appointing George Washington
Commander

-- More specifically, the Congress appointed
this committee to draft the formal
declaration of independence.
-1. Thomas Jefferson
(was the third president of the USA)
2. Benjamin Franklin
(one of the founding Fathers of the USA)
3. John Adams
(the second president of the USA)
4. Robert Livingston
(an American lawyer and politician)
5. Roger Sherman
(an early American lawyer and politician)
This committee then chose Thomas Jefferson to write the first
draft.
The Continental Congress (May, 1776)

-- A statement by the Continental
Congress announcing that the 13
American colonies considered
themselves independent states; no
longer a part of the British Empire
-- Thomas Jefferson composed the
original draft of the document with
John Adams and Benjamin
Franklin; the congress edited and
made the final version
-- John Hancock, President of the
Congress and Charles Thomson,
the Secretary, signed the document
Declaration of Independence (July 4th, 1776) …

-- The Declaration was approved at the second
Constitutional Congress. The Declaration of
Independence introduced a fundamental change in the
view of government.
-- The Declaration is why Congress declared
independence from Great Britain more than a year after
the outbreak of the American Revolution.
-- It allowed for the creation of the democratic
government.
Importance of the Declaration of Independence
…

-- The British responded by sending
combat troops to re-impose
direct rule.
-- Through the Second Continental
Congress, the Americans managed
the armed conflict against the
British known as the American
Revolutionary War
(also: American War of
Independence, 1775–83)
The American Revolution (1)

-- The British sent invasion armies and used their powerful
navy to blockade the Coast.
-- George Washington became the American commander,
working with Congress and the states to raise armies and
neutralize the influence of Loyalists.

-- Claiming the rule of George III of Great
Britain was tyrannical and therefore
illegitimate, Congress declared
independence as a new nation in July
1776, when Thomas Jefferson wrote and
the states unanimously ratified the United
States Declaration of Independence.

-- The Declaration plays a significant
role in our world today.
-- It is because of the words in that
document that women are now treated
the same as men and that all races are
treated equally, that people have certain
natural and legal rights, including the
right of revolution against suppression,
and religious freedom
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness”
Importance of the Declaration of Independence
Today…

- http://books.google.com/books?id=trXE936uHLsC&pg
=PA55#v=onepage&q&f=false
- http://books.google.com/books?id=K4lEy7A8fnYC&pg
=PA146#v=onepage&q&f=false
- Charles W. Toth, Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite: The American
Revolution and the European Response.
- Alfred F. Young, The Shoemaker and the Tea Party:
Memory and the American Revolution
References (only some!)

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