The document provides a summary of early United States history from 1800 to 1850, including key events such as the Louisiana Purchase which doubled the country's size, westward expansion leading to conflicts with Native Americans, the invention of the steamboat, completion of the Erie Canal, the Trail of Tears, and the war with Mexico. It sets the stage for discussing topics like Native American removal, slavery, and the growing divisions that eventually led to the Civil War.

1. Building the New Nation 1800-1850 United States History 7 th Grade Maple Team

2. Let’s review how we got here… Remember the “land bridge” that people walked across from Asia? This is estimated to have happened between 10,000 & 30,000 years ago! These people were probably hunting for bison & woolly mammoths. Eventually, people spread throughout North, Central, and South America.

3. Native Americans The people that first settled the American continents are called “Natives” because they were here first. There were thousands of different tribes that adjusted to the environment in which they lived.

4. Exploration from Europe Poof! Poof! Poof! When the explorers set sail, they had NO idea what they would run into! 1492 wasn’t the very first time, though…remember the Vikings? By 1605, England gives settlement a try in Jamestown, Virginia.

5. The Main Reasons for Exploration Remember we wrote a five-paragraph essay on the causes & effects of exploration? Reasons range from the desire to see what the world had to offer, to the greed of finding gold and other riches.

6. Colonies of North America The excitement of a new land couldn’t be stopped. Spain, England, and France became the primary countries to set up camp on the east coast. Thirteen colonies quickly sprouted and with the help of the Natives, they grew! New England, Middle Colonies, and Southern Colonies all had unique ways of life.

7. New England Colonies People in New England lived in small towns or on small farms. They traded fish, lumber, and furs. The Massachusetts towns of Salem and Boston were the main seaports for trade.

8. Middle Colonies Many families in the middle colonies lived on farms. Main crops were wheat, rye, oats, and barley. The middle colonies were a center for manufacturing things such as glass, leather goods, & barrels. Ironworks also became important, such as guns, axes, and tools. New York, N.Y. and Philadelphia were the main ports.

9. Southern Colonies Most southerners made their living from farming. The chief crops were: tobacco, rice, and indigo. Only the wealthy owned plantations and had slaves. Charleston, S.C., & Savannah, GA. were the main ports where cotton & slaves were traded 

10. Colonial Religion We can’t forget about the important role that religion played in the settling of the new colonies. Some settlers were from the Church of England (Anglicans), while Puritans were the group otherwise known as the Pilgrims.

11. Early African Americans Unfortunately, the slave trade grew quickly because the European nations who were selling the slaves made tons of money  People were kidnapped, many times by Africans, and then traded for valuables…in the 1700’s alone, there were at least 350,000 Africans brought to the Americas By 1850, this number was in the millions.

12. African Americans There were at least 3 million slaves by 1850, and this is a conservative number. Marriage was not legal among slaves. Any children born to them were considered the master’s property. Could you imagine? Some African Americans were “free blacks” but could not serve in the military, vote, or attend certain churches.

13. Beginnings of Democracy A House of Burgesses was set up in Virginia…this was the first representative form of gov’t! Then, in 1620, came the Mayflower Compact…which provided for a gov’t and set of laws for the new Pilgrim colonists in Massachusetts.

14. The French & Indian War 1754-1763 Remember our first quarter trade books? The French & the “Indians” fought on the same team…confusing name, hey? The results of this conflict really helped lead to the American Revolution. Also, it made France want to fight on the colonists side in the Revolution! 

15. Causes of the American Revolution (1775-1783) The Proclamation of 1763 The Stamp Act (1765) Townshend Acts (1767) which was the tax on lead, glass, paper, paint, and tea…was lifted on everything but tea. British troops moved in to occupy Boston (1768) This highly tense time led to the massacre of five people.

16. Causes of the American Revolution (1775-1783) The Boston Tea “party” led by Sam Adams…colonists dressed like Mohawks boarded shops and dumped 45,000 tons of tea into the harbor. Britain passed the strict Intolerable Acts…this sent everyone over the edge. “Shot heard ‘round the world”

17. Results of the American Revolution After getting a taste of standing up for themselves (Dec. of Ind. 7/4/1776), colonists became and independent nation called the U.S.A.! Britain gave the United States the land east of the Mississippi, north to Canada, south to the border of Florida and of course east to the Atlantic Ocean. All British control of American trade was lifted! A new gov’t with elected representatives was formed under the Articles of Confederation (this was really a first draft of the Constitution)

18. The Birth of a New Nation (1789-1800) From 1781 to 1789 we were independent of Britain, but under the Articles of Confederation, things weren’t working so well. George Washington ran the Constitutional Convention, which created three branches of gov’t. The Bill of Rights was added in 1791 to guarantee the rights of the people 

19. Now we’re “building the new nation” 1800-1850 Just think of a new building, first the framing goes up, then the walls, then the roof. That is exactly what happened in our country. At the young age of 11, under our third president, we doubled our team size which gave us power globally.

20. Westbound! The land purchased from France’s emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was named “Louisiana” after King Louis XIV of France. We paid $15 million for 828,000 acres, which comes out to between .03 and .04 cents per acre! Nice… What wasn’t so nice was the fact that new settlers pushed the Natives off the land they had lived on for thousands of years. This begins a dark chapter in U.S. history in terms of Native American removal and violence.

21. Wow, what 50 years can do… 1803 Lewis & Clark make it to the Pacific. 1807 Robert Fulton invents steamboat- 1825 Erie Canal is completed 1838 Trail of Tears  1846 War with Mexico begins

22. In our next unit… After we all become history experts, learning about Native American removal/reservation, the growth of slavery, and westward expansion, we will move to how our nation became so divided that we actually fought against one another in the American Civil War (1861-1865)