The document summarizes key events in the history of North and Latin America between the 16th-19th centuries. It discusses the Little Ice Age period of cooler temperatures, expansion of the US and conflicts with indigenous peoples. The establishment of republics in Latin America led to instability. The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the US. The US Civil War was a conflict over slavery and states' rights that influenced European policy. The battles of Antietam marked a turning point, leading to the Emancipation Proclamation.

1. A Difficult Past - How the Americas Change Svetlana Bogdanova Hist 141

2. The Little Ice Age A period of cooler climate hat replaced warm medieval period, mostly documented for the Northern Hemisphere. Continued until the late 19th century The average temperature were about 2 degrees cooler than today Alpine glaciers destroyed villages Viking settlements in Greenland were cut off from Europe by ice and disappeared Numerous grain crops failures led to famines, and resulted in the change of agricultural practices and the diet (acceptance of potato) Malnutrition weakened the population and helped spreading diseases 1816 – a Year Without a Summer. July snow in New England Mostly popular reasons for the Little Ice Age include: Lower solar activity Increased volcanic activity produced ash that blocked the sun The slowdown of the ocean “conveyor” that transfers the heat between different pars of the Earth “Normal” cyclic climate change Declined human population resulted in reforestation and lower levels of CO2

3. The Americas in the 19th Century – Canada and The United States After the revolution the United States continue to expand: The lands between the Appalachian Mountains and Mississippi were received from Britain as a result of revolution, doubling the size of the United States Louisiana purchase in 1803 doubled the size of the states again Expansion led to conflicts: Indigenous Indian people were forced to leave their ancestor lands with a fight Texas’ acceptance into the United States resulted in war with Mexico Amplified the tensions between the states over the slavery that resulted in the American Civil War The expansion and the Civil War pushed Canada in the direction of political autonomy Canada avoided bloody internal conflicts by granting more independence to provinces The Dominion of Canada was formed in 1867 as a union of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick

5. The only issue both elites agreed on was the policy of taking over American land for agriculture and ranching, which resulted in pushing indigenous people to the edge of survival

6. Military leaders eventually came to power in the most of the Latin America

8. Frontiers of the Americas: The North American Frontier Louisiana purchase in 1803 doubled the size of the United States and led to the Westward expansion Lewis and Clark were the first to map the territory west of Mississippi in 1804-06 New settlers began moving west in search for land to cultivate German explorer, naturalist and ethnologist Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied travelled up the Missouri River in 1832-34 Maximilian’s journey was the first most important expedition to follow Lewis and Clark’s route He studied the native culture and collected many specimens of flora and fauna Prince Maximilian hired a Swiss painter – Karl Bodmer – to create a visual documentary of the expedition Bodmer’s drawings of the North American landscapes give us an insight into the world of Native Americans that was destined to disappear in the nearest future.

9. Crossroads of Freedom – the Civil War The American Civil War – a war for freedom: Confederacy fought for liberty from the central government North fought for the freedom of the Union as a whole Neither one originally considered the freedom of slaves as a goal of the war 11 states of the Confederacy established a government in May 1861 The president of the Union Abraham Lincoln had a difficult task of defeating their army and uniting all state back together The North declared a naval blockade of the South The South turned to Europe seeking help and recognition overseas

10. Crossroads of Freedom - Europe’s influence The Confederacy hoped to follow the same way the United States received recognition from France in 1778 France and English were the biggest European powers at the time, and they both heavily depended on cotton imports from the America Napoleon III was supporting Confederates from the beginning of the war Naval blockade and export embargo resulted in “cotton famine” of 1862 England was more pragmatic – it wanted the South to prove the capacity to sustain and defend the independency Lincoln totally understood the importance of the international recognition for the Confederacy and his envoys were working hard in Europe to prevent this from happening

12. Slave labor was extremely important for the Confederate army, allowing more white man going to the battlefield

13. Proclamation of emancipation would let the North to change European attitude, weaken the South, but at the same time that would strain relations with the border states and increase tensions between the Democrats and Republicans

15. The bloodiest single day battle in the United States history. More than 6,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed

16. The Confederate army was not destroyed, but had to retreat

17. No other battle has such great consequences as Antietam. It is considered as the most important turning point that led to the proclamation of emancipation, lost cause for Confederacy’s recognition in Europe, and brought heavy disappointment to the rebels